gbike

I know its a lot of personal preference, but I've also read about 5-10% speed gains on a 29'er. Seems hard to believe... if that's true, wouldn't most pros be riding them. Or is it that most of the big manufacturers are a bit slow to produce 29ers, and wanna keep selling standard 26ers?

I'm interested in getting one when I replace my current mtb, so just looking around for some info

thanks

Berg417448

The 29er is much better for me. I am fairly tall...6'03"...so that may be a factor. On my 29er I can climb hills and obstacles which always defeated me on a 26" bike. Descents are more confident and endos have become a thing of the past. I don't know if the 29er is faster but I notice that I can do the same speeds with a bit less effort. It seems a bit slower handling on twisty singletrack but you can adjust after a few rides. I can't see ever buying a 26" bike again.

a2psyklnut

I think it depends a lot on the rider's style and the trails. My thoughts are that for smooth buff singletrack, the 29er gets the advantage, but on tight technical singletrack, a smaller wheel would work better.

Just depends on preference and trails.

outdoorboy

What kind do you have and how did you choose it?

jayson

They look very cumbersome and unwieldy in my opinion, i'll be sticking with 26" until somethin else becomes the standard.

outdoorboy

I was thinking about one for adventure racing since 80% of most races are on fire roads. I could really cook then! I'd keep my 26" for the fun stuff and mtb races.

trekkie820

Actually, not. The 29er, being larger, rolls over rocks and roots better. Similar to the reason you put HUGE tires on a rock crawler, and why monster trucks can roll over cars. The only place I would see disadvantage would be in a tight switchback.

pnj

size is relative.

29 is WAY too large for me. 26 seems too large most of the time.

it's personal preferance, as mentioned but I like smaller. It's easier to move around on tight tracks. I don't have a problem lifting the bike or bunnyhoping so getting over obsticles isn't much trouble. I never go really really fast on trails, I'm just out there pedaling around.

born2bahick

I would love to try one, Not just a ride down the street at the LBS but really take one to the trail and try it for a day! I have an old hybrid with 700x40c tires that seems to have a small advantage going up steep rocky steps, even with it's crappy fork! I though about making a 29er out of it but I'm afraid the width between the chainstays won't accomodate a much bigger tire, especially with knobs on it. So I would relish the chance to try a true 29er and see what it's like in the corners, downhills, and drops, witch is something my hybrid's smooth tires and short travel fork doesn't do well!

a2psyklnut

I guess my idea of tight technical singletrack is just that, a lot of tight turns including switchbacks, short chutes, in between trees...etc.

When I was in CO, I finally understood what people meant by smooth flowing buff trails. Just like ribbons or dirt layed across the landscape. Hardly had to turn the handlebars at all. Just flowed and flowed.

Maelstrom 

Think of wheel strength too. The smaller the strong, the larger the weaker. As a big guy I would never ride a 29" wheel, there is no way it will be as strong as a 36 hole 26" rim let along my dh rim which is 36hole as well.

serious

I don't think strength is much of an issue for most riding styles.

Primarily the compromise is between riding comfort (the bigger the wheel the better it handles rough stuff and better fits tall people) and ease of turning (the bigger the wheel the more effort it takes to turn). By "turn" I mean rotate.

Secondarily for tight, technical single track, smaller wheels are an advantage. So is a smaller bike (less wheel base).

By the way, bigger wheels are not "faster" either. In the car industry it is well known that a big 20" wheel, although nice looking, will kill some performance relative to a 16" wheel - since the HP of the car does not change!

Raiyn

Hilarious!

Maelstrom 

I would disagree. Even in xc I see no reason to sacrifice strength ever. I would rather ride something a little heavy that won't break then take chances. If you are a remotely agressive rider then strength should always be taken into account.

trekkie820

If were going with that assumption, hey, KonaRider or Maelstrom, wanna switch wheels for a minute? My XC wheels should hold up to your style...

Maelstrom 

...I have been there trekkie. I trash xc wheels. I have the unfortunate problem of not being able to stay on the ground. When riding xc, anything can be a jump or drop depending on how you ride it

And to the question, which is best. There isn't one. There never will be a best. There is no best fork, no best wheels, no best frame. Once that gets completely figured out, the world will be much better. 29" is good for its purpose, 26" is good for another, 20" kick ass in their discipline of biking.

Berg417448

I have a Gary Fisher Mt Tam. The only change from a stock bike is the addition of Avid disc brakes.

Once I became aware of 29er bikes I tried to find one. One LBS had a demo but it was one size too small. I tested it anyway. I found a field with some rough terrain near the LBS and rode it for a while. I found a steep hill (on the road) and climbed for a while. I could really feel the improved climbing even on the road.

Later on I got a chance to ride a Fisher Suger 292 on a local trail when Trek had a demo day. Once again, the only bike I could ride was one size too small ( L instead of an XL) but it still showed me a few things. I

I didn't have the money for the 292 so I bought the Mt Tam. I had to send the rear wheel back for a warranty issue but I have had no problems since then (over a year ago). Now there are a lot of tires available and you don't need special 29" tubes.....the 26 x 2.3 tubes work just fine.

29ers are not for everyone but they just work much better for me.

Dannihilator

Sure, how would you like wheels back as Tacos or Pretzel?

hebrew_rider

a problem with 29ers is that, with riders who do everything, the bigger wheel requires more tire clearence. This significantly reduces travel, or you have to settle with a massive tube tube angle.

Hopper

Also there is less choice in tyres.

Buzzbomb

Better? I'm not sure what you mean. If I was riding North Shore stunts, I'd stick with smaller wheels, same with a DH specific bike. I ride lots of XC singletrack (some of it very tight w/lots of switchbacks), and have found my 29er to be nothing but an advantage. When I bought mine, I had a Cannondale built up with a lot of lightweight high bling factor parts, and I never rode it again. I held onto it in case I decided I liked it better, and ended up selling it last year. I ride with some Clydes, and they have no problem with wheels, neither do I. The thing you have to keep in mind is that the change from 26 to 29 inch wheels is incremental, and all the pros for the move come at the expense of corresponding cons. Do slightly heavier, larger wheels take more effort to accelerate? Sure, but they hold momentum better. Do smaller wheels build up stronger? Maybe a little bit stronger, but I get mine done with 32 holes and 3x crossovers with 14/15 butted spokes and haven't had a single issue with them in three years of hard riding. The point/counterpoint thing could go on all day. What you have to do is evaluate your riding style and decide if it makes sense for you. Then ride one, not just in a parking lot, but out on the trail, all day long. When I first got mine the thing felt huge, but the stability inherent in the design (larger wheels, larger BB drop) made it a quick transition to just feeling stable as all get out. I'll not go back to 26 inch wheels. Ever. My .02

serious

What's so funny? You think that a 29" wheel built with the same materials and spoke configuration will be much weaker than the equivalent 26" version. Perhaps you need to understand some physics before responding that way.

People on this site have this weird notion that everyone is some kind of expert doing huge jumps and requires top materials to keep the bike in one piece. That is simply not reality for most riders (even most riders on this site). I bet that for 90% of riders the strength difference between equivalent 29" & 26" wheels is negligible.

And by the way, the "most riding styles" was meant to exclude the huckers and downhillers. Yes, they are the minority - by a huge margin!

Maelstrom 

We just talk the loudest ...(well type the loudest)

hooligan

The only unhelpful advice I can add is....

I am 120 lb and really bent (still ridable) my ditch witches. Terrible stuff.

SpiderMike

Sheesh guys yall have took asking which is better 29 or 26 and turned it into something like asking beer drinkers to choose between Bud LIght and MIller Light.

When it comes to making your choice.... try them out. At least you won't get a hangover from a bike. There should be a listing of demo days on the fisher website if you need to find a shop that might carry a 29er.

As for me I am going home now.... I am going to tell my fiance that I am going to order the Karate Monkey. And then I have a case of Lone Star Beer to work on. Or was taht the other way around...oh well, I'll figure that out when I get there.