I’ve heard countless stories of 29er wheels that keep getting bent out of shape with hard, enduro riding but most of my chums on 650b have very few issues.  Therefore, I wondered that now plus tyres are getting decent with Maxxis & Schwalbe in on the act, why folk don’t just go 27.5 plus for almost the same OD, buta more robust rim for pinning it.

I deffinately think 29ers have their place for XC / Trail riding but I suspect aggressive riders are better off with smaller, stronger wheels & more rubber making up the large dia.

I’ve heard countless stories of 26″ rims getting bent why don’t we all ride 20″ wheels…

Bad rims are not the exclusive territory of any wheel size.
Bad building is not the exclusive territory of any rim size.
Nor too low tyre pressures, bad riding, poor landing etc.

It’s the classic “light, strong, cheap, pick two”

As for why not 650+, the same issues with poor product and poor build will still be there, your tyres will be bigger and chunkier which means weaker or heavier, your rims will be smaller which means lighter or stronger. My money is on most people who complain about trashing rims choosing weaker and lighter in that list because they likely already did for 29er.

Heard more stories of plus-tyres getting holes in them from pinning it.

And the diameter of 2.8in wide B-plus tyres is a fair way off 29in wheels with something like a 2.4 or 2.5in tyre.

…well obviously cos we couldn’t find any tyres to fit 20” wheels you silly boy

Yes…..the wheels explode…..constantly. I’ve died 3 times so far.

Also 650b brings the trail alive.

Also,it’s not 2010 anymore.

Also pinning it.

…well obviously cos we couldn’t find any tyres to fit 20” wheels you silly boy

Perfect comparison for decent hard wearing b+ then.

One must consider the puncture resistance & sidewall integrity of a plus tyre when pinning it and schralping corners.

Improve your riding technique. Cheaper than breaking rims.

http://www.managingcommunities.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/not-sure-if-trolling.jpg

Troll

dskelly

…well obviously cos we couldn’t find any tyres to fit 20” wheels you silly boy

You didn’t tyre hard enough… 🙂

On initial look I thought there were stabilisers on that bike.

The most succesful enduro race bike of all time is a 29er, and probably always will be

Is that T-mo’s trek?

just to check though this is a 29r wheel exploding at the end of the Garbo DH

‘And the diameter of 2.8in wide B-plus tyres is a fair way off 29in wheels with something like a 2.4 or 2.5in tyre.’

I suppose if you call ~ 10mm a fair way you are correct.

The hope enduro 29er build seem pretty tough to me, having smacked the rear in to a few roots ham-fistedly.
I’m not sold on 29er Vs. 27.5+ yet.
Still conducting the experiment.

Greg Callahagn, the heaviest rider on the EWS circuit.. moments from 29″ wheel related death.

I think the fact that the overall diameter doesn’t differ that much gives you some idea how much the true difference in strength due to the wheel size itself actually is.

Particularly when you consider the trend towards fewer spokes, wider hubs etc.

A decent 29er rim is plenty strong.

“Pinning it” 🙄

I suppose if you call ~ 10mm a fair way you are correct.

I may measure when I’m in the garage later, but mine are way more than that – even with skinny 2.3in Maxxis 29er tyres.

It’s more like a 20-25mm difference between 27.5×2.8 and 29×2.5

OP – have you actually seen these failing 29” rims or are you just going on hearsay?