Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 91 total)
  • Anyone gone back to smaller wheels from 29er?
  • bigjim
    Full Member

    I’m curious to try the same size Transition Scout to compare to my 29″ Smuggler, just to see the effect the wheel size has as they have very similar geometry. I do really like the rollover of 29″ wheels.

    No way I’d go smaller than 29″ on hardtail though, that’s a no brainer for me.

    Who makes a “long travel 29er full suss”?

    Spesh Enduro 29 is 160mm I think, that’s long travel in my book anyway, though everyone seems to be on 160mm mince tanks these days so maybe it has become normal travel.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    Spesh Enduro 29 is 160mm I think

    *Goes off to look.*

    bigjim
    Full Member

    The latter would probably result in the Five being ridden in the crap weather and the (multi-link) Smuggler being saved for nicer days (although I’m not a fan of keeping bikes for nice days, so I’m not sure how long this would last).

    I think that’s a bonkers idea for the sake of a few extra bearings at a few quid a pop. They are quite well protected on the Smuggler anyway.

    *Goes off to look.*

    My friend mikeep of this parish has one and drones on about it endlessly gushes about it profusely as well as rides it very fast indeed. It’s certainly a beast of a bike and very light for it’s trail munching capability.

    Fresh Goods Friday 698 - The Boom Box Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 698 - The Boom B...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    hopeychondriact
    Free Member

    Bigjim,

    I’m more conservative in that I stick to a 26er full suss with 115mm-130mm rear/140mm front and built up to take a pounding.
    Think Blur 4x lines.

    I wouldn’t allow myself to become a 160mm mincer ever!
    I always found that 130mm’ish was enough for UK and that it’s better to use most if not all of that travel then you can say you appreciate it more.

    There’s still some of us rockin’ the old skool 😉

    roverpig
    Full Member

    I think that’s a bonkers idea for the sake of a few extra bearings at a few quid a pop. They are quite well protected on the Smuggler anyway.

    It’s not the cost that bothers me it’s the hassle of trying to extract and replace lots of bearings in hard to reach places. But, to be fair, I have no idea how hard it is on a Smuggler and as I said, it’s not a plan that would last long anyway. I’m not into babying mountain bikes.

    I do find the Five much more stable than the Solaris when things get really slippy though. Not sure if this is a big vs small wheel thing or something else (e.g. HT vs full-suss or just a lower CofG on the Five).

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Never moved away from 26″. Everything 27.5″ or 29″ I’ve tried has left me feeling a bit meh.

    I’ll keep rocking the bandit until it falls apart or snaps. Hopefully by then they’ll be making 26″ trail bikes again…

    renton
    Free Member

    Orange 5 29 is 140mm which is classed as long travel for a 29er.

    I’m sure the codeine is even longer.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    In your mind i’m sure it is.

    kjcc25
    Free Member

    I’m on my second Trek Superfly HT and can’t see myself going back to a smaller wheel or going FS.

    Clink
    Full Member

    I’m on my second Trek Superfly HT and can’t see myself going back to a smaller wheel or going FS.

    What is it you like so much about the Superfly?

    mlke
    Free Member

    My most used bike is a 26″ hardtail with a v short wheelbase. It is perfectfor the tight twisty singletrack near where I live. Most other places inc. trail centres, open moorland and scary steep stuff it would be inferior to most new bikes

    renton
    Free Member

    In your mind i’m sure it is.

    Would you not say that 140-160mm is long travel for a 29er then ?

    bowglie
    Full Member

    I may need to revise my comment about manuals being hard on a 29er

    Yes, after riding and practicing skills stuff on various wheel sized bikes, I think it’s very difficult to be prescriptive on ‘manualability’. As well as the more obvious stuff like geometry, Ive noticed even things like shock tune can affect things like ease with which the bike can be manualled. I’ve had 26″ that have been easier to manual than 29ers….and vice versa. As an example, I had a single pivot Salsa Horsethief 120mm FS 29er (currently selling the frame;) which has 460mm chainstays – and that was easier to wheelie and manual than my Tallboy LT that has 450mm chainstays and a slightly lighter front end! Even though the Devinci Atlas has 430mm chainstays and very firm feeling 110mm rear suspension, the Salsa was much easier to wheelie, and had a more natural balanced feel when getting the front wheel up – definately less of a full on involving handful that the Devinci can be on rough natural trails. (I though it might be bar height on the Salsa that made things easier, but I double checked relative bar heights, but they were actually slightly lower than the TB – all I can think is that it’s down to a combination of suspension action and BB height(?))

    StuE
    Free Member

    Niner WF09 will take 160mm forks
    http://www.jungleproducts.co.uk/niner/wfo9

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    Would you not say that 140-160mm is long travel for a 29er then ?

    160 rear yes 140 no.
    I’ve been riding a Tallboy with 135 rear and 160 front for a few years but i’d not consider it to be a long travel bike.

    andyjh
    Full Member

    I moved from a 26 Epic to a BMC FS 29’er and have found the bike so much better everywhere I ride. The majority of my riding is across the South Downs so xc type terrain but I have riden it at trail centres and Afan and it has never felt slow or unwieldy. I recently bought an Orange Five Alpine 29’er to try a long travel bike to see how well big wheels and slack ha would work out. I’ve been really surprised not only how well it worked at BPW and Afan but also climbing and xc type riding. I thought it might be a very limited use bike but I could happily use it as my only bike to be honest.

    Whilst at BPW I rode my Brothers 26’er for a wee while but I was more than happy to get back on my 29’er 🙂

    I would like to try a decent 650b over a longer period of time to give it a good go but so far I’ve had quick rides on a Stumpy and SC Heckler and neither had me wanting to change from either of my 29’ers.

    renton
    Free Member

    Ive got a 5 29er as my only bike and would echo Andy’s comments above.

    lovewookie
    Full Member

    I had my first 29er in 2008, gary fisher xcaliber. it was a nice bike and all the things you’d hear about 29ers then were true, rolled nicely, held speed, was a dog in tight switchbacks…

    I actually really liked it, so much so that I sold my 26er and used the 29er.

    but, I bought an old 1998 kona 26er as a commute/messabout/hack thing. The turn of speed through the tight stuff brought a grin right back on my face and I started to question the whole 29er thing, and whether mny riding style, had actually changed.

    So back to 26ers I went.

    I picked up a Scandal 29er about 2 years ago, with the intent to use it as a hack bike as it was very cheap.

    then found I was riding that more than my 26er carbon bike. For me, holding speed through singletrack was great, and much more enjoyable than on the 26er. I could sacrifice a little climbing ability for more fun through the twisty stuff. So I swapped the good bits off my 26er, and sold it.

    I had one bike. The 29er scandal for about a year. it was great.

    It’s still my main bike, but I now have another, cheaper 29er as a hack bike.

    would like to try 27.5, but my wife would rather I didn’t. 😉

    chestrockwell
    Full Member

    160 rear yes 140 no.
    I’ve been riding a Tallboy with 135 rear and 160 front for a few years but i’d not consider it to be a long travel bike.

    You might not but from every other direction it seems to be accepted that 140mm+ on a 29er is classed as long.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    A larger wheel doesn’t magicaly turn 140 into 180 you know. 😉
    As good as my 135-160 combo works on a lot of stuff it ain’t no long travel bike.

    renton
    Free Member

    Ok stu.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    Just to help you out a little. 😉

    Long travel.

    Not long travel.

    renton
    Free Member

    Erm….. That’s a downhill bike of course it’s a longer travel than the orange. ???

    Two different types of bike.

    core
    Full Member

    I’m riding 26″ & 29″ these days, 29″ Scandal XC machine, 26″ Soul.

    Scandal just feels so fast, stable, and covers ground brilliantly, 100mm sus fork, climbs really well, ideal for training/xc rides on all surfaces.

    Soul is much more fun for techy stuff, trail centres etc, just nimble, handles quicker, jumps better.

    I like both & can switch between them easily.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    Two different types of bike

    Yes.
    One long travel one not. 🙄

    core
    Full Member

    To me, 29″ makes sense for fast, short travel hardtails.

    It might also be quicker or smoother on longer travelled and/or full sus bikes, but the fun and enjoyment I get from riding bikes is not all about speed and going as fast as I can ALL of the time.

    renton
    Free Member

    So how would you differentiate between a long travel 26er and a downhill 26er or are you just being pedantic for the sake of it.

    There aren’t many 29ers that are 140mm+ hence why they are classed as long travel.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Renton, for once I think most of us agree with you! 😉

    The way I see it is with 26/27.5 there are short (<120), medium (120-155) and long (155+) travel bikes, plus downhill bikes (which I don’t think need separating by travel because their function is so clear (like slopestyle and 4X bikes too). And with 29ers there is narrower range of travels, just short (<125) and long (125+). I can’t think of a single 29er with more than 155mm rear travel – there may be some but not enough for their own pigeonhole.

    leegee
    Full Member

    I have been having thoughts along the lines of the OP, I have a Sultan with a 120mm fork and it’s cumbersome in the twisty stuff and my mates on 26 and 650b get away from me in these situations.

    I have looked at lots of bikes 26 and 650b but I can’t ignore the benefits of the bigger wheels and I’m a tightwad and buying another 29er frame and moving everything across would be cheap 😛

    Other than the Devinci previously mentioned what are considered nimble 29ers preferably alloy frames?

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    I can’t think of a single 29er with more than 155mm rear travel

    Which is why I asked about long travel 29ers.(and got a good answer about the Spech at 160)
    The only thing I’d ever seen before was this.


    I think Lenz also built something along the same lines too.
    Irrespective of wheel size 140mm is not long travel 160+ is.

    renton
    Free Member

    Chief…. I think ssstu is just looking for an argument.

    Because of the wheel size 140 IS classed as long travel on a 29er.

    If you make them any longer travelled people won’t be able to get on them.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    Lenz also offering a long travel 29er.

    http://lenzsport.com/mountain-bikes/pbj/%5D
    Note it has more than 140mm.

    You keep telling yourself 140 is long though. 😉

    jonnyseven
    Full Member

    Interesting thread but it has to depend to an extent on the individual. Out of curiosity I tried out 29 and 650b enduro’s earlier this year and went back asking why they bothered making the 650b because for me the 29er was a far better ride (and better than the Whyte and Trek 29er’s I also looked at).

    None were any faster on the same trails than my 26″ strive according to strava but the 29 enduro was as much fun and left me wanting more. It’s all just riding bikes at the end of the day

    slackalice
    Free Member

    I’ve read most of the first page and it’s all very convivial, which is very lovely to see on a potentially fraught issue, such as the size of one’s wheels.

    Has it degenerated yet to a slanging match? 😉

    Haven’t read page 2, although from reading the first few posts on page 3, am I right thinking that it’s starting to warm up over a few extra mm’s?

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    The Enduro29 is 155mm travel. The Lenz equivalent is 150mm. The Lenz DH bike is 7″ travel but it’s a downhill bike, not something you can ride down AND up.

    The Tallboy LT is long in actual travel but doesn’t have modern long travel 29 geometry.

    chestrockwell
    Full Member

    Well done sss for proving you’re a dick and for also ignoring what’s in front of your face. Shame as there was no reason to troll this thread.

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    I only asked what real long travel 29ers were out there. 🙄
    Some people even answered instead of getting all insulted.
    No need for insults.
    I’ll leave you and your long travel bike to it.

    Shackleton
    Full Member

    To me, 29″ makes sense for fast, short travel hardtails.

    It might also be quicker or smoother on longer travelled and/or full sus bikes, but the fun and enjoyment I get from riding bikes is not all about speed and going as fast as I can ALL of the time.

    Agree/disagree; long travel 29ers (>130mm) are a bit dull on most terrain I’ve encountered because they flatten everything. I couldn’t find anything to challenge them in the UK outside of a DH track! Short travel slack 29ers (100-120mm) are much more versatile and fun.

    I guess it depends on what you mean by fun but my take is being able to pop off anything, ping from obstacle to obstacle and move the bike around the trail. Generally pretend to be a small child riding a BMX or relive the speeder bikes scene from star wars. I can do that much better on my Phantom than I ever could on my 26″ wheeled bikes of any travel or suspension type.

    vondally
    Free Member

    Having had at the same time a
    Yeti asr 7 so 160 front /160 rear …26er
    Turner Sultan 140 mm fromnt /125mm rear ..29er
    Rocky Mtn Element 120 fr 98mm rear …29er

    29er suit me better, going back to the 26er was just not right, felt unstable, twitchy, and just not right so settled on 29er

    sold the Turner as it was flattening everything and whilst a great bike I just felt it was too much for me

    Rocky does everything from 100 miles Fred Whitton to just playing out and nevers feels it is too little travel nor getting in the way, going up it was 2 to 3 minutes faster that the turner and descending is an equal- ish just more interesting

    I have supplemented it with a Ritchey 29er hardtail which due to back injury is sat doing nowt but it is a great bike

    so no will never go back to 26 though was tempted by a Turner six pack and having ridden a 650 not bothered

    bigjim
    Full Member

    the fun and enjoyment I get from riding bikes is not all about speed and going as fast as I can ALL of the time.

    this x10,000

    but then I come from a time before strava and endooro

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 91 total)

The topic ‘Anyone gone back to smaller wheels from 29er?’ is closed to new replies.