Thanks for the concern You'll be pleased to know that my saddle has gone up 1.5cm since that photo, but even on the road, despite my height, I only run 79cm saddle height - that's what works for my body and pedalling style. It sounds like you and I are on opposite sides of the leg-torso balance, but because of the long stem and drop, I've never had an issue weighting the front wheel on the C-dale set-up, or others I'd raced in similar position.

Perhaps that has been the big difference. On set-ups like the above, the front wheel has been relatively close to me in the past, so it's easier to get my weight onto it and carve through, while it's still possible to pick it up fairly easily for manuals. If I kept the same reach and position over the BB (required to keep my knees happy - they can be a bit temperamental), then unless I'm looking at this completely wrong, that should make it harder to get as much weight on the front wheel. Right?

Either way, it's becoming more and more clear that I just need to get on a few bikes to feel these differences for myself... but I'm still enjoying all of this discussion!

I'm 194 (6ft4) with an inseam of 96cm. I am running a cannondale 26er too, with a 130mm stem, but my saddle is relative high (few cm's lower than on my roadbike) I like to run the frames relative small too, my roadbike is a 58cm with a 120mm stem. I run my saddle a tad higher on my roadbike than on my mtb's.

On my 29er i run a 100mm stem. The toptube simple is longer. The drop from the saddle to the handlebar is about 12cm on my 29er. on my roadbike this is tad deeper, but in the drops it's a fair bit deeper. (long legs, short torso, long arms.

An observation from my side; With smaller sized frames, the angle of the seat-tube is more backwards. So with the same total saddle height for a small and a large frame, the more your positioned above the rear-wheel with a smaller frame. (at least, the frames i've came acros)

i've jumped the 29er wagon as soon as it came out. started with a Salsa Mamasite in L, which turned out to be very shimmy at speeds above 15mph, and i'm now riding a Gary fisher Superfly. The position on my 29er gives me a far more secure feeling when cornering. (I can cut faster corners, so i don't need to invest too much energy to get to speed again)

What size superfly are you on then Serum?

I've also preferred 58cm road bikes (Tarmac, Cervelo & Giant in L), and run a 130mm stem, with similar drop, so it sounds possible that we might enjoy similar positions.

Do you have any pics of your set-up, ideally with you riding? I'd be keen to compare notes.

I'm on an XL, which turned out perfect for me. (although the seat tube sticks out rather far above the toptube, so its quite an unfair 'XL' entitlement IMO).