Originally Posted by
2old
I never would have predicted this, but my 5'5" wife's 26" Santa Cruz Superlite was stolen a few months ago and replaced with a 29er. This transformed her riding and she's a better climber (we have pretty serious ascents in socal) and better and more confident at bike handling. There will be all kinds of opinions so who knows why she improved so dramatically.
There are many differences between an old 26er Superlight and a pretty much any modern bike beyond wheel size. Modern geo is a major improvement for both climbing and descending and overall stability for most riders.