hey all - i promise i tried searching and couldn't seem to find a discussion on this.

i do a lot of road cycling and have recently been demoing mountain bikes. for those in northern CA i've got a circuit i've been using in Waterdog as the test loop. it has a mix of xc, technical/steep climbs, singletrack and switchbacks.

i was trying all 26s - stumpy fsr, ibis mojo sl, pivot 5.7, santa cruz LT and TR. i was set on buying the stumpy, but decided to give a 29er stumpy a go just in case.

i was shocked - the 29er seemed to get up the technical/steep climbs easier and definitely rolled over obstacles easier. the bigger shock was i also found it easier climbing switchbacks and only moderately more challenging descending tight switchbacks. i did notice that in the same gearing you definitely worked a bit harder on the 29er, of course.

i'm now leaning toward the 29er. is there anything i'm missing in this equation?

thx!

No. Make the jump and do it

as nike says... Just do it.

i made the same jump last year.. and as McD says. Im loving it

My experience is that outside of really technical riding, 29ers are faster and easier. Don't get me wrong, though, I would love a pivot 5.7, (or a stumpy evo, or a SC nomad), but for the type of riding I do most, aggressive XC/singletrack with moderate descents, 29 is fast, fast. Strange that you take a liking to it, when I bough my 29er, it took a while for me to warm up to it.

You should try the camber , love how that thing feels. However, all those bikes are badass, if you find one you like, you shouldn't second guess yourself.

A mate of mine gas a verry nuce collection of recent model highend mountainbikes, like a santa cruz fully specialised fsr zaskar carbonand rescently bought a santa crus tall boy or high rooler (? (;
He's had for about 3 months and his last post on facebook was....

Can somebody tell me why not to buy a 29r fully

With that trying to say he is ridding this bike more than any of the others its by far the best bike he has, he is a fast technical ridder very fit and
Good technical skills.

As they say in oz: GO SON GO SON !!
(;

Do it! I have 4 29es.

_________________
For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

I like both 26 and 29. My only advice is that you have to buy light 29 wheels if you want to have a good time. The difference between light 29er wheels vs stock 1700+ gram wheels is night and day. I did not like 29ers until I went light.

I've been very happy with a 29" HT and a 26" FS in the area. Waterdog is kind of gravelly and loose a lot of the year so having a big tire helps. There's nothing too rutted or technical until you get down to where the dirt jumps are - i think it's a good call.

I've been on 26" FS XC bikes for years. Finally converted to 29er HT and love it. Haven't looked back. I'm 5'6" and my 29er doesn't feel too big.

Hi
I am also thinking on jumping into a 29er. I have a 26 FS which I will keep, though.

On the HT side I am looking at Scott Scale Pro 29 and Cube Elite 29 Super hpc.

On FS I have been looking at Scott Spark Pro 29 and Specialized Camber Comp Carbon 29. Does anyone out there knows the weight of this Specialized?

Thanks in advance

I can only vouch for the Scott Pro 2011, its very nice. Best bike i ever had

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=88302&p=848312#p848312

Hi,

Which 29er do you ride and what size is it? Thanks.