Death of 26 inch wheel Mountain Bikes?

There is a compelling argument for a 29er (the GF marketing blurb is really quite interesting) if you are over say 5.9 anything less than that & I reckon the bike will feel big – so at 5.8 and a bit I probably wont bother with it..However, I have mate of mine who is 6.2 and then some & hes just getting into biking I would recommend he looked at one.

Double post oops 😳

Good imagining and guessing

The rim weights in my post are the manufacturers' figures, not a guess. Some 29er wheels and tyres are very similar weights to their 26" version but some aren't. Also, when you up the size while keeping the weight and materials almost the same, doesn't that suggest to you that a compromise is being made somewhere?

I know lots of people who absolutely love 29ers, ride them all day, do well in races on them, etc. etc. Bizarre how people then have to go a step further and say that they are the ultimate bike for off-road, handling, weight and strength isn't an issue, and all sorts of other questionable statements.

Interesting interview.
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235486-us-pro-xct-5-mount-snow/197617-willow-koerber-post-race-mt-snow-2nd

I hope I haven't said they are the ultimate bike! I'm pretty passionate about them,Own a couple, and we do sell lots – (I'd love to say 29% of bikes sold but thats not true!) We have had very few people who test ride them and not buy one. If you don't like them fine I'll happily sell you something you feel happier on or is more suitable. It just amazes me how many people will dismiss something they haven't tried or because a magazine says one thing or another. Try convincing old school roadies that Sram is a viable alernative to Campag or Shimano……

Matthew

Not tried a 29er yet, would love to do a comparison some time. However, the vast majority of 29er's I've seen do look ugly and out of proportion – IMO. 😀

I was photographing SITS and once you start pointing out the 29ers to people standing near by your photo position then you / they start noticing bigger people on 26ers and the contrast is marked – visually it looks plain wrong being on a 26er if you're 6ft or over. Why ride a bike that's very clearly the wrong size? 😆

I'm 5.10 and ride an 18 frame (M). OnOne make a 16, 18, 20, 22 (I think) ergo it's not only tall people who ride 29ers.

http://www.velonews.com/article/95579/mtb-nats-the-death-of-traditional-cross-country-bikes

Also, on the last page on this thread there was talk about "better". If you go down the "my bike is better than yours" you're simply in the wrong place. No one says these things beyond being 11 years old.