29"ers? what is it's value??
 

Been out of cycling for a while and recently I noticed my friends picking up this large wheeled MTB's. Now been seeing them around the town.

should i be considering these for my next ride?

I'd love the large rims for a beach cruiser or to smooth out the terrain on a rocky road. but the large rims/wheels look heavy.

my question is what is the appeal, what is the value?

29'ers are the latest fad for mountain biking, not so much for commuters, where 700 and 26" inch still rule.

29's have been around for several years now. They actually use 700c wheels. The large tires gives them the 29 inch designation. I have a 29'r and have interchanged wheels with my 700c cross bike, and I have used both for commuting.

I like the having options

Only way you're going to settle it- go for some test rides! :D

Not a big fan of my 29er to be honest. I can't put my finger on why...but it doesn't feel as easily controlled as my 26" mountain bike for offroad and is slower on the road than my CX bike. I guess they are suppose to be better for more technical stuff (at least that is what I was told), but I'm simply more comfortable with my abilities on my 26".

The big bike companies are pushing 29ers pretty hard. My best guess: they'd like to standardize adult bikes on one dominant wheel size (700C/29er) due to economies of scale and higher profit.

I don't like them, never ridden one yet that made me wish for one in place of either of my 26" bikes (and as I work at an LBS, I get to ride a good selection of them). In my case, the biggest objections are that the bigger, heavier wheels are harder to accelerate than an equivalent 26" wheel, maneuverability suffers, and of course everything is about 10% bigger/taller/longer/heavier, including brake rotors and cassettes, for equivalent strength and functionality.

One eye-opener for me, was doing a long road/gravel ride with a guy on his high-end 29er and coasting away from him on all the descents with my high-end 26" bike. And he outweighs me by probably 80 pounds. So much for the "big wheels roll faster" tagline that's a favorite of Large Bicycle Company "T". Anyway, it corroborated what I experienced when I rode his bike myself... slow, compared to my XC 26er.

Some folks have a borderline religious fervor for their 29ers for various reasons, so in the final analysis, get whatever makes you happy.

The larger wheels roll over standard obstacles a little better than a standard 26" wheel, which is smaller and that makes the impact felt higher up on the rim, and 29ers usually have wider tires than a 700cc, so that also cushions the road a bit more. I like them for urban riding because you can ride much more aggressively with less shock to the bike.

While on the pavement I haven't noticed much difference with the handling, but very steep, technical MTB paths can give you some trouble because the height of the tire also raises your center of gravity, and if you are going up a steep incline you have to really lean over the front wheel or else it can have a "trampoline effect" when you hit a bump while climbing (because the incline puts most of your body & weight over the rear wheel, so anything that lifts the front wheel during that time can have a dramatic effect...keep in mind, I'm talking STEEP inclines, definitely not beginner-type stuff). On regular MTB paths, it shouldn't be a problem.

Because the only MTB path close to where I live is considered the most technical in the state, I rarely go off road. But it's one of my preferred bikes for the city, in fact I consider it my little urban assault vehicle. In the city I'd ride it over a 26" MTB any day of the week.

There are some downsides for 29er urban riding: it's a little tougher to find aftermarket parts. Solutions exist, you just have to work harder to find them. And although the 29er rims are about the same diameter as a 700cc rim, the tires have a much higher profile and on some bike racks the wheel won't fit underneath the top of the rack so you have to lock up the bike on the side. So for a daily commuter or a one-bike person a 29er may not be that great, but if you are looking for something to take on a weekend joy ride or you just want to burn off a little steam after 5 pm, I would recommend it.

My Fargo feels much more stable on fast descents (the only times go fast, really) on gravel roads or loose stuff. The Rocky Mountain feels squirrely. I don't know if it is because of the larger diameter tires or maybe the wheel base is different. They are both 18" frames but the Rocky Mountain is a bit too small for me and the Fargo feels perfect. I haven't figured that one out either.

I wonder if we could substitute "highly maneuverable" for "squirrely" :thumb: Personally, I like maneuverability... skip to about 4:05 in this video where I'm threading through the rocks at full race pace (going around them always trumps having to roll over them), and then hitting Devil's Down at ~30mph to try to bridge up:


No problem with descending :D

I'm not so fast to claim conspiracy here. While the rim is the same diameter, the width of a road rim is a fraction of a standard 29er rim. You would be hard pressed to fit a 29er tire on a road rim. The tires are also worlds apart, and the tubes vary dramatically in width. In fact the only part that's close to interchangeable is the spoke length.

Although I suppose there is a trend for wider road rims...maybe you're on to something

The only advantage I see is the versitility of using my touring rig off road. It was built with clearance for 2 1/4" knobbies, so I can throw the bigger tires on it and take it single tracking rather than have a separate bike for both. I defer to the wisdom of the other, more experienced MTB'ers for their opinions on handling. I just don't have enough experience off road to know the difference. I like it enough that I am building up a separate set of wheels for the dirt. Has anybody out there tried the P35 rims on their 29er?


touring
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b7T1Z0gDp5...0/IMG_0717.JPG

29er.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bFJL7ffcVK...0/IMG_0635.JPG

Marc

A few years ago, 26" wheels were faster and stronger than 700c wheel but due to a recent change in the laws of physics, that situation has been reversed.
29er wheels belong on big bikes for big guys and 26" wheels belong on small bikes for small riders.

The robotic wheelbuilding systems are where I think the big bike companies would benefit, if that helps clarify it. But whatever their reasons, when I compare equivalent 26" and 29" bikes, I prefer 26" and that's what I'm going to buy. I'm not their pawn.

Agreed! My 29er Fargo feels much quicker, more stable, and smoother than my 26" wheeled bikes, and they have suspension forks! Could be the Fargo geometry but the big wheels sure do roll fast and smooth over our beat up roads.

6'3" or so a 29er mountain bike will feel right, but as a commuter,
a 35 wide tire at 80psi, will have a lighter rolling feel,
than a 50mm wide tire at 20psi..
there is a Schwalbe big apple in 29er size now, as well as in 26"..

frame clearances for 29ers , of course will accept the narrower tire,
as 622 is the common rim size to both ..

i have noticed the laws change every few years. apparently manufacturers are able to do what
the rest of the universe cannot!

Since you posted in the commuting forum, I assume you want answers for commuting. 29s just don't work as well, particularly if you need to start/stop and accelerate frequently, have to deal with sharp turns and quick moves, and want something that's very responsive. However 29s are fine if your commute involves just a long raod/path without much stopping.

I use a 26 hardtail for commuting but wouldn't want to use a 29 for the same route

One of the LBS in my area told me that they don't order 26" wheeled bikes much anymore. They push the 29er really hard. I hate it when people take the choice away from you.

There are very few models with 26" wheels left available to pick from at the LBS, at least here in North America. Globally, 26" is a lot more common.

I've never ridden a 29 but whenever I look at them at the store they look huge. At 5'9" my 26 works for me.

I'm surprised nobody has brought up 650b. It's been a trend in the MTB scene for a while now too, as well as in commuting and city bikes for many years (especially in Europe)
I don't put much faith in the bike industry conspiracy thing for 29er MTB. It started as a fringe thing and the bike industry RESPONDED to what the "People" wanted. Same goes with 650b, more are starting to pop up. Actually the same reason 26" tires took hold as the first MTB tire in the early 80's....folks were converting their old 26" cruiser bikes to be more capable off road, and a few companies responded with more dirt friendly 26" tires. It took off as the standard for many years, and just recently have other tire options become more available...not because the evil bike industry wants to suck you dry, but because people want to have bikes that fit them in size, riding style, etc...and not everyone is built the same. Now, instead of one standard MTB tire size, there are three.
I think options are great. 26" is not going anywhere any time soon. It's the most popular size of tire world wide.
Anyways, I would think 650b is a more practical option for commuting than 29er. That's my personal opinion.
Bike shops respond to what people ask for. If 9 out of 10 customers ask for 29ers, that's what you're going to see on the sales floor. If it makes more sense profit-wise to manufacture 29er bikes because 9 of 10 customers are asking for them, that's what the "big" companies are going to carry. If you don't like it, buy one of the millions of 26", 700c, 650b, 650a, 650c, 20", 24"...etc...bikes that are still available

If you're over 6' they feel more normalized based on the trend of having manufacturers build frames that place the rider on top of the bike. If you're on a slopped top-tube bike, it feels big.

They're great for straight, bumpy conditions; where they tend to fail is sketchy switch backs. I've had them wash out hard in conditions my 26" doesn't seem to have many issues.

For me, personally, I like a 29er simply because you can swap out 2-3 sets of wheels between a variety of bikes if you are using all SS/FG frames/builds. This means I can put meatier tires on my commuter (Handsome Devil) and swap back to 25c/28c without having to worry about going down to a 26".

the 650B (27.5") is yet another size deal that's been around for ever. I think the problem for most people is that these wheelsets make sense on a size of the rider basis, not on a what's hot economically one.

I doubt many LBSs are going to risk losing sales by stocking bikes nobody wants.

Do they have the same spacing? They're both 135mm in the rear?

Just curious as I've wondered about how much difference there really is between a cross + 29er.

FYI, its doesn't get an apostrophe when it owns something, any more than his or hers does. It's with an apostrophe is for "it is."

Sorry this doesn't answer your question. But it's still good to know.