n00b question on 26 v 29er

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

Moderator: Moderator Team

sethjs
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:02 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

by sethjs

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!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



nspace
Posts: 308
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 3:08 am
Location: Milton, Canada

by nspace

No. Make the jump and do it :)

mgr
Posts: 103
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:01 pm

by mgr

as nike says... Just do it.

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

socratease
Posts: 160
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:25 pm

by socratease

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 :wink:, love how that thing feels. However, all those bikes are badass, if you find one you like, you shouldn't second guess yourself.

User avatar
michel2
Posts: 1144
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:47 am
Location: somewere floating between here and the other side

by michel2

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 !!
(;

User avatar
yourdaguy
Posts: 2204
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:25 am
Location: Southern Indiana USA
Contact:

by yourdaguy

Do it! I have 4 29es.
For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

fat tire
Posts: 268
Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:54 pm

by fat tire

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.

User avatar
mgordon
Posts: 340
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:38 am
Location: TN
Contact:

by mgordon

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.

mtnbkr
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:19 pm

by mtnbkr

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.

Solaris71
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:25 pm

by Solaris71

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

mgr
Posts: 103
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:01 pm

by mgr

Solaris71 wrote: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

DarkRider
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 2:39 pm

by DarkRider

mtnbkr wrote: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,

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

pumpkins
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 4:21 pm

by pumpkins

For beginner with not so high height , using 29 n riding to steep hill its torturing ,
i also pickup a wrong size ,well my height its in between s and medium , n pick medium.
Can i do something to make it more comfortable ?

jason9020
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:42 am

by jason9020

As a fellow racer in the Northern Cal area, I say go for it. Most trails are fast-flowing so you can really hold momentum on a 29er. After racing on one for 3 years manueverability isn't really an issue for me, and even when I go out on a trail bike the lowest I'll go is 650b.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Jrock831
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 11:41 pm

by Jrock831

http://m.bikeradar.com/gear/article/pro ... ite-30569/
Check out this article! Trek pro rider Emily batty's Trek 29er.
she's 5 ft 3 and they re worked the bike to make it fit. Reverse a 25 mm setback seatpost. And used
A -25 negative stem to compensate. I guess 29er 's can be for everybody.
2004 trek carbon 9.8
2013 giant talon 29er
2001 mongoose XR-500

Post Reply