I have the same saddle height. I race a 29er in the Cat1/open class. Most of the 26/29er debate is rider preference. Most of my local XC is fast and flowing and the 29er is a large advantage. The only gripe is it is harder to get the front end low enough for a correct drop to the bar. If my terrain was alot more mountainous or technical I might ride smaller wheels.

FYI I ride a Flash in medium.

Had that idea, just wanted to confirm.

Thanks for the quick answer, I'm gonna beat a little more on my 26" and then change to a 29"

Cheers

All of you guys who need to get the front end lower:

Check out the 25 degree Ritchey WCS 260 stem.

Or, the new FlatForce stems from Syntace.

And, the new, negative rise handlebars.

All of those will help you guys get the drop you need.

Everything has already been said... I am too small in stature, I have 163 cm. Also considering larger wheels, I ride very rugged and hilly terrain, so the choice clearly falls on the 650B

I had a Trek 29er singlespeed. 164cm. I personally found the handling to be clumsy, and the wheel flop at low speeds to be annoying.

I'm currently building a 650b conversion, will report back when I'm done.

@ Zweigelt , hwoah those are awesome bikes and really awesome pics. Thanks for sharing.

@ makoy, Im really contemplating on a 29er. I asked Noy and he said its hella fast. But I'm just not sure how it looks, kind of looks awkward to me aesthetically.. hehe

And for those small guys with 29ers, hope you can share more pics of your build(s). keep em coming...

I wouldn't recommend it, 26 will serve you better, this is my opinion and its up to you?

With people arguing for 29er, and others arguing for 26, seems 27.5 is going to win within a few years.

_________________
http://djconnel.blogspot.com/
Fuji SL/1
Send your data to Weight Weenie listings!

I agree. If only there's a light enough fork for a 27.5, then I'll sure be having a 27.5 WW bike soon.

Light enough suspension fork or rigid?

Suspension fork. Sorry about that.

I loss about 6kg and burn/wasted a lot of energy thats about $1000 a kg for a bike weight loss.

Me too I'm inclined in trying out or wait out for the 27.5... The current offerings aren't that much, so tire choices and suspension forks are limited.

I'm waiting for 27.5. I would have bought a Scott this year if they released it. Hopefully Cannondale has a Flash 27.5 in 2014.

The wait is very long, try a different brand.
Alhoa