I’m sure there was a thread on this recently.
What was the verdict in the end ?

Neither.

Everyone knows 650B is the future 🙂

700D ,be really niche

For the size of frame you use MTG 29er or 650B from an aeshetic point of view.
It struck me while at Exposure the other weekend due to virtually everyone being on 29ers that 26″ bikes now look out of proportion, (mine 26″ is a 19.5″ frame with look of seatpost so am fully aware I look like a circus bear on a minimoto 😳 )

I’m sure there was a thread on this recently.

Really? Must have missed that.

129er

What ever you prefer to ride.

And yeah Loco we noticed that too 26″‘ actually looked odd at Exposure they stood out a mile. It use to be the other way around, I still think 29″ on small frames looks odd though.

My mate swears by his 24 inch rear wheel

I still think 29″ on small frames looks odd though.

Yep xs and sml frames can look a little strange, but am guessing it will all look ‘normal’ in a year or two when everyone is riding them.

Not planning to get rid of the 26″ so looking forward appearing niche/weird in the coming years 😉

My mate swears by his 24 inch rear wheel

Same here, my mates got one of them Big Hits with the 24″ back wheel and its really fun.

this is going atm:

classic

31ers are the future of something. Wait and see how this will influence a lot of other things.

29

Being really tall and riding stupidly sized bikes, I’m glad to say my new 23″ Stumpjumper HT 29er looks completely normal. It just looks like it’s closer than it really is. I’ve not taken a photo yet, need a wider camera lens to get it all in shot.

Riding 410mm seatposts maxed out on 26″ bikes looked stupid, even on the standard 21″ max frame size.

I bought a 23″ Stumpy FSR 29er too, should be interesting.

Wow! Toasty how tall are you?

I’m assuming the bench is your seat at the table? 😀

My mate swears by his 24 inch rear wheel

If he’s that sick of it why not get something biggerer

when I looked at Toasty’s bike I thought the wheels were 23″ 😆

Kylie protest!

Amazing discounts on 26er means I can buy an olympic class xc fs frameset. Same money buys not much in29er. I will fall faster and harder on my 21lb 26er.

Must be the Wednesday trolling session. ❓

I’m in the same predicament for my new bike.

I feel a sort of loyalty towards a 26 however never actually riding a 29er this maybe a little unfair.

In the real world is there actually much difference or would the benefits only really make a difference at competition level when every second counts kinda thing.

Hhhhmmmm decisions decisions

P.S the 27.5 will be available very soon

Rode 29rs when travelling in NZ, my next bike will be a 29r but for now im still lovin my fleet of 26rs

I love my prophet and my dialled alpine but i have just built up a titus fireline. It is a bit lighter than my other bikes but it does have its advantages. Best example is that there is a really techy rocky single track that i ride. It has some wooden steps/ walkways on it as well. On my other bikes i can clear it on a good day with some care and luck. The wooden steps are just under bike length and i have not cleared it yet. On the 29er i have yet not to clear the trail and i don’t have to take so much care as it can barge its way through. Cornering seems more sharp as well. Climbs where you slow down due to lack of traction are the same. There are some draw backs though. I built a little pump track in the back garden and the 29er is easier to go round it but it is just not as much fun and it sows not respond to rider imput as much, for example pumping off small rocks or jumps is just not as much fun and it is harder to get airborne. There is a really steep rock that i have been sessioning and it feels more like you could go over the bars rolling off on the titus.

I think with the right bike a 29er will be best for 90% of most peoples mountain biking of your riding rocky stuff or need as much traction as possible. Normal wheels for trail centers(smooth groomed trails and jumps and techy downhills) . Oh and if you just rode one sort you will probably forget about the advantages of the wheels, get lazy and ride the way you always have anyway.

Some of the 29ers remind me of Bambi.

Amazing discounts on 26er means I can buy an olympic class xc fs frameset. Same money buys not much in29er. I will fall faster and harder on my 21lb 26er.

Curiously I’ve found the opposite, a couple of years back 29ers were much more niche, everything cost a fortune. Stacks of really decent 29er frames, forks and wheels about for not much money now. That said, if you’re purely looking at the scales then you’re definitely better off sticking on the smaller wheels. 😛

What Olympic quality frame did you buy that is terrible value in 29″?

Stuck the 23″ Stumpjumper S-Works 29er jobby with my other bikes after building it up. It actually looks slightly bigger than my 61cm Tricross, I may have gone a bit far 🙂

6’6″ btw! The Mojo was a particularly bad example, that seat tube really accentuates the stupidly long seat post. Shortly after taking that picture it got some scary looking cosmetic cracks, oops.

The best bikes I’ve ridden were all 26ers. But that’s probably just because they’re great bikes not because of the wheels.

In conclusion- ride good bikes.

29er for me. Having got round or down 10 Under the Ben, Fort William red, Laggan red (in the rain),Skye Quiraing and Schligan (sp!), Golspie black, Balblair, Glentress and Mabie in 5 days on a Santa Cruz Highball with 100mm forks and only a handful of bottle outs I can confirm wheels don’t fold, I didn’t die and it rolled over everything fine (bottle outs were just me being weak).

Only put the seat down for the Fort Bill red and Golspie too.

69er fixie

26er for DH, 29er for XC style riding IMO. Will be interested to see where 650b goes…

26er or 29er, which is best ?

Yes.

Next year it’ll be 24ers, just you wait.

What Olympic quality frame did you buy that is terrible value in 29″?

Merida 96 Carbon Team frameset with shock, remote, headset, topcap, bottom bracket and seatpost collar. Something I always wanted and could never afford. A new 29er frame of the same quality would be well north of £2k?

Maybe olympic is pushing it a bit but very light and fast – much faster than me!

26″

Or

That’s an ecumenical question.

the orange five never gets used now ive got a cheap 29er, anyone want to buy it?

Has anybody seen any videos where somebody is being really active on a 29er ? There are lots of clips of people really chucking 26″ trail bikes around, bouncing off everything in sight, but the clips I’ve seen of 29ers always look that bit more sedate. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough though.

Mine is not as easy or fun to chuck around it is really great on flattening tech trails. Could not live without my fix of 26 wheels pinball though. This for the same reason many folk have hardtails instead of fs bikes. Easier is not always better. No reason why you can’t like both though.