I Want A 29er... Bad Idea For A Clyde??
 

I'm looking at a Surly Karate Monkey or Pugsly and really wanting a 29er...
Someone said Clydes should avoid because of the long spokes on the 29 inch wheels. If that was the case, why would we ride road bikes with road wheels?
Any thoughts? Also, what drive trains and wheel sets would you recommend?

It's an AWESOME idea. Go for it!

Go test ride a few and pick the one you like best. Drive train would have the same considerations as a 26er. The Pugsly will probably offer a very interesting ride with those tires, I would highly advise test riding one if possible.

Pffft. Especially with the wider rim for strength and big tires for cushioning, you shouldn't have any problems. I weigh 230-ish and I routinely beat on a pair of singlespeed "road" wheels from IRO that I have on my monstercross bike with some 37mm tires. I hammer those things like it's a full on rigid MTB.

I have a friend who rides a 29er (Marin Muir Woods) pretty hard. The guy is skinny, but jumps like you wouldn't believe. (Especially without any shock absorption!) The bike is several years old, hasn't had a tune up or got a new chain (he estimates 3,000 miles on it), and the wheels are fine.

Does length have much affect on the strength of a spoke? We're only talking an extra inch or so, it's not like you're building a suspension bridge.

I've never understood the appeal of 29ers, especially on the road, but my friend loves his.

Not at all a bad idea! I am on my 3rd and not because I broke anything. These are solid bikes if the wheels are built right.

While wheels are usually an issue for clydes it's not necessarily about spoke length. Usually the arguments are for spoke count and wheel build quality.

I know that the off-road appeal is that larger wheels have less difficulty in rolling over obstacles due to approach angles. I suppose that a CX bike is just a lightweight 29er, and I really dig mine for trail riding.

I think the extra air will help protect the wheels. My Hunq is built for touring but has clearance for 2" knobbies.

http://simplecycle-marc.blogspot.com...unqa-29er.html

If not for my incompetence in the dirt, it would be fun!

Marc

29ers and 700c are the same size right?

Basically, just fat tires on a 700c rim.

Marc

29ers are hecka fun, and once your roll them up they are surprisingly fast on asphalt. Resist the (LBS) temptations to select one that's a size too large. Before you buy, test ride the next size smaller just to be sure. Weight tolerance? Well, 29er MTB wheelset, tires and disc brakes - I don't think you could find anything more weight tolerant oem - the 29ers I've ridden have beefier wheelsets than 700c road bikes.

So my Surly CrossCheck could be a 29er if i mounted some fat tires on the rims?

Not quite. If you throw some fatty 40mm knobbies on your X-Check you've got a monstercross bike. A true 29er MTB is built with serious off-roading in mind. Sloping top tube, usually a suspension-corrected frame geometry for mid-travel forks, flat/riser bars instead of drops, and clearance for mongo 2.0+ tires.

Oh Yeah!!! Go for it. You will not be disappointed:thumb:

I am on my second 29er and I weigh in at 255. I have about 4000 miles on the first bike (GT Peace 9er Multi) and only started having broken spokes last summer, which was not a result of anything more then I had bent the rim on a curb hop and had trouble getting it back true.

The new bike is a Giant XTC 1 :love::love: In the last 45 days, I have put 300 miles on it of all trail riding and I have done my best to beat the hell out of it and all it wants to do is keep going. And, this bike weighs in around 26# with platforms and does not seem to care that I am a CLYDE :)

The GT Peace
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/IMG_2643.jpg

The XTC 1 :love:
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...1/IMG_1386.jpg

If you are 300 lbs + then I'd think about 26" wheels with 36 spokes per wheel since they will be stronger than a 29" wheel. When you slim down to about 200 lbs the the entire bike world opens up to you!

Oh, and I road some cheaper 29ers when shopping with a friend. They were disappointing. I think you'll be fine component and wheelset-wise as long as you stay away from the $700 LBS entry level bikes.