Mountain Biking - 29ers starting to show edge in certain races

Kinda old, but interesting title.

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

Interesting. Top 5 or so were all on 29ers. 6th place was a 26.


http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8839/60396026.jpg

Interesting. Further goes to underline chelboed's point about how different sized wheels have different intended uses and can be best utilized over certain terrain. Another article about 29ers linked off the bottom of the one you posted states, "I believe the big-wheeled bike is the fastest for smooth-to-moderately bumpy terrain." On the other hand, I doubt 29ers are going to be taking over the 4x scene anytime soon.

Interesting. Further goes to underline chelboed's point about how different sized wheels have different intended uses and can be best utilized over certain terrain. Another article about 29ers linked off the bottom of the one you posted states, "I believe the big-wheeled bike is the fastest for smooth-to-moderately bumpy terrain." On the other hand, I doubt 29ers are going to be taking over the 4x scene anytime soon.

What's even more interesting was when the second article stated this:

"The prowess of the big wheels in my measured testing and racing leads me to continue to pronounce the death of the 26-inch-wheeled hardtail."

Bang! What a bold statement. Makes sense though.

yeah. definitely an old article.
they didn't mention how lance won on a 26" wheel (yes, fs i know, but still a 26")
if a 29er is "faster" covering terrain, you think the perfect course would be a 100mi endurance race.
they would put the current "best rider in the world" (up for debate) on a 29er........wouldn't they?

oh, and this was written a couple weeks ago:

http://singletrack.competitor.com/gear-and-tech/still-flashy-demise-of-26-inch-hardtail-premature/

quote:
on the very same day that the 26-inch hardtail was reported to have suffered an untimely demise, two European national championships were won on new, 2010 Cannondale Flash carbon hardtails. 26-inch hardtails, to be precise.

ps- 2nd place at leadville was a 26" ht

What takes place on the groomed courses of national and international XC race courses has very little relation to the trails that many of us ride.

yes, GROOMED is a key word here...

VeloNews seems to be on the 29'er bandwagon in a big way. I like my 29'er, but I also love my 26".

Problem with 29'er articles, it never states where 26" wheels provide the advantage over 29'ers.

Well it's just an example of how 29ers are starting to take form in competition. The article makes a good point that the biggest disadvantage of the 29er was it was heavy due to bigger wheels...big frame...etc., but thanks to new tech, guys can use sub 20 pounds hard tail 29ers. i think Pretty soon 26" bikes are probably going to be more suited for kids, and adults will probably use 29ers.

Seriously? I must be a child, cause I don't see a 29er in my future period.

Planning on having a period in the near future, are ya?

Only the periods of bewilderment when I read some of the opinionated crap on this forum! HE HE

I gave birth to a 1lb. brown, baby boy this morning.

Later on, about an hour after breakfast, I had triplets.

That's...just...wrong...O...M...G!

Now this thread is goin somewhere!

I just bought a 29er and love it, but I also think that 26ers are fine if that's what you like. I'm not going say 26ers suck, I rode them for 15 years. But I personally think 29ers are becoming more relevant whether people think magazines are endorsing them or not. Just ride what you like and ride a lot!

One of the guys on my brother's race team is an engineer for Ibis. I guess he's attempting to debunk the 29er "science". But I agree, folks outta just ride what feels good.

i think Pretty soon 26" bikes are probably going to be more suited for kids, and adults will probably use 29ers.

lololololololololololololol

i think Pretty soon 26" bikes are probably going to be more suited for kids, and adults will probably use 29ers.


Except for the hardcore 26" fans. They'll probably cut down and re-pin 36 hole "29er" rims into 32 hole 26 inch hoops. I think some guy named Keith did that once. :rolleyes:

i think Pretty soon 29" wheels are probably going to find their way onto recumbents and then they'll really take off.Fixed.

Well I didn't mean that as an insult to 26" bikes. I only said it because they are smaller and you can do more tricks with them, and that's what kids mostly like to do.

Well I didn't mean that as an insult to 26" bikes.

Yes you did. Just admit it.

they are smaller and you can do more tricks with them, and that's what kids mostly like to do.

are you kidding me?
you better shut up quick, because if you keep this ***** up, everyone that's already jumped on the 29er bandwagon is gonna jump off thanks to these dumbass comments.

I'm just really going by what the article is stating in the 1st post, as it's the article that's claiming the "death of the 26" hard tail," not me.

Shops do tend to sell bikes that the pros use, so if pros are only using 29ers and 26" full suspension bikes, then 26" hard tails could lose popularity.

I'm just really going by what the article is stating in the 1st post, as it's the article that's claiming the "death of the 26" hard tail," not me.

Shops do tend to sell bikes that the pros use, so if pros are only using 29ers and 26" full suspension bikes, then 26" hard tails could lose popularity.

You also have to keep in mind the target audience of Velonews - racing folks. That is not necessarily the majority of MTBers out there, at least it has not been in any of the places I've lived and ridden. Yes, 29ers are growing in support and sales, but to say that either format will go the way of the dodo is stupid.

For them to claim that 26" bikes are or will be dying is just asinine, and irresponsible journalism, IMO.

Granted it's still all personal preference, but there are a lot of riders who have tried 29ers and disliked them for their riding. Yes there are positives to 29" wheels, but it's always entertaining to me to see how many articles and reviews also completely forget to mention their negative attributes.

There are a lot of riders who have tried and disliked the bigger wheels, and many who really don't give a rats ass what the pros use or ride. Big name venue and international XC race courses also do not resemble at all many trails ridden by non-racers. Groomed short track racing, mechanical assist pits? Come on.

You also have to keep in mind the target audience of Velonews - racing folks. That is not necessarily the majority of MTBers out there, at least it has not been in any of the places I've lived and ridden. Yes, 29ers are growing in support and sales, but to say that either format will go the way of the dodo is stupid.

For them to claim that 26" bikes are or will be dying is just asinine, and irresponsible journalism, IMO.

Granted it's still all personal preference, but there are a lot of riders who have tried 29ers and disliked them for their riding. Yes there are positives to 29" wheels, but it's always entertaining to me to see how many articles and reviews also completely forget to mention their negative attributes.

There are a lot of riders who have tried and disliked the bigger wheels, and many who really don't give a rats ass what the pros use or ride. Big name venue and international XC race courses also do not resemble at all many trails ridden by non-racers. Groomed short track racing, mechanical assist pits? Come on.


R.I.F.

they didn't claim 26'' bikes are dying, they claimed 26'' xc racing hardtails are a dying breed. they are correct.

Personally I would take the bigger wheels any day.. but its personal preference really.

R.I.F.

they didn't claim 26'' bikes are dying, they claimed 26'' xc racing hardtails are a dying breed. they are correct.

i still stand by what i said, and disagree with them. i don't really care about racing xc or otherwise though.

You also have to keep in mind the target audience of Velonews - road racing folks.Fixed. Velonews is a roadie pub, really, no matter if it has some MTB content.

Hey guys. I just called David Wiens and told him he could've beat Lance this year if it weren't for his 26" hardtail. Just thought you should know.

R.I.F.

they didn't claim 26'' bikes are dying, they claimed 26'' xc racing hardtails are a dying breed. they are correct.

They...and you are correct.