Well I took my brand new 29er out for the first ride of any distance today (6 miles, loose gravel/mud/clay etc) and it was the first time I've ridden a real bike in probably 12 years or so. Every bike I have owned previously (in my full grown years) has been a 26" so I guess I had a few (ignorant) ideas about what a 29er was going to be like. In some cases I think I was right but for the most part I realize I really had no idea on the reality of the 29er. I haven't ridden this thing nearly enough to even BEGIN to act like I know anything about the 29er but there are a few misconceptions (or misunderstandings) that I had that even in my short time on the 29 I was able to clear up.

This is MY OWN experience and your mileage may vary - I am a GREENHORN and this is just a few things I have realized about MY 29er in MY experience. If anyone else has experiences to share (things being different than you expected) I'd love to hear it. I love talking bikes in general. Always have even in my long hiatus.


What I thought (WIT)
What I Realized (WIR)

WIT - 29er's probably lose a lot of turning ability due to the huge wheels

WIR - HA HA - This bike turns tighter than I could on any of my 26" wheeled bikes (its also MUCH newer for what its worth). At one point I had to come to an almost complete stop waiting on my neighbor who was riding with me and as I waited I started playing with figure 8's etc and realized I could really twist the bars on this bike and turn TIGHT circles even at extremely low speed without any feeling what so ever that I was losing my balance. I also flew as fast as I possibly could (in the distance I had) down a gravel hill and leaned onto a paved road (90d right turn from road I was on) and while I took it a bit wider than I would have liked (there was a pedestrian walking his dog to my inside on the road I was turning on) I know the bike could handle it at a much harder lean and a tighter turn.

I don't know for sure about more/less turning ability etc in any definitive way yet but what I do know is that as far as any bike I have ever had (all being 26's) this 29er gives up NOTHING to them in its ability to turn and carve on the loose and / loose on hard roads I've ridden so far. I need better tires before I go to the trails as my stock tires are more road/dirt than anything muddy/wet.

WIT - That thing is huge. There is no way I could possible be comfortable on something like that. EVER! (I'm 6'2 230lbs)

WIR - This thing is comfortable (changed the seat!!!!!!) with plenty leg room and although it sits me up higher than any bike I've ever ridden, it does not make me feel skiddish about whipping it around. Originally I figured It would be a top heavy affair that would leave me laying in the ditch or on the side of a trail somewhere the first time I really leaned hard. NOT the case.


WIT - Something that large and heavy (30 lbs, hardtail) can't be flickable

WIR - It isn't "quite" as quick to switch side to side and flip around as my old 26's but I feel this may actually be more of me needing to work on my technique and get back into actually doing this sort of stuff. I believe that with proper technique, more endurance and practice I will be able to rapidly spin, flick and hop this bike just as well as any 26 I've owned.


Maybe there are others out there who have never rode feel a little "meh" about a 29er. I was for a long time but now that I have ridden (and now own) one.....I LOVE it.

I haven't been on it enough to get to know it well and I haven't even taken it to the mountain tracks yet but already I have learned that much of what I thought was just born of my ignorance to the 29er. that being said... I am looking forward to learning more and more about it and going on many many adventures in the world of the 29er........... But I still want another 26'er to go next to it

Ride hard and fast and remember......Speed will never hurt you. The sudden stop is what gets ya!

I noticed a big difference when I got my 29er too. None of the differences were bad compared to 26, just different. I just got my sweetie a 27.5 bike. Now I have to ride it to see what the difference is with those size wheels.

Happy riding!

-SP

My trails have lots of short punchy climbs and tight twisty stuff..

I just did not have the engines for the big 29" hoops

My 27.5 accelerates to my liking and is very flickable at low and high speeds.

I still miss my 30 pound 29er HT, even if only a little, no Idea why..

The ability to turn on a dime is a function of wheelsize and wheelbase. Try riding a 20" wheel minivelo with a 93cm wheelbase. Lots of fun for city riding.

and fork rake/trail.

Being only 5'8" I cant shake the feeling that the 29er is just too tall and wheels too big. Somewhat ungainly on tight twisting singletrack, not flickable like my 26" bikes at all-- but worth it on many trails for the rolling ability of the larger hoops over obstacles.
Although I've only ever ridden a 27.5 bike on a short demo, I can definitely see it as the sweet spot for wheel size, and that will be my next MTB.

Wheel size really does depend on what you are getting up to... I ride a 29er hardtail and for trails/xc it just cant be beat, especially up hills. That said, since I have a 110 cm wheelbase the twisty stuff gets harder, and switchbacks are slightly terrifying since the rear is so far back. But by far the best bit about the 29er is their straight line speed.

I'm 5'7" and I ride a 17" 29er. Of course if you're smaller, a 27.5 is the ticket.

I'm almost 5'7" barefooted and ride two 29'ers. I find them both a heck of a lot of fun. If I were to choose just one bike it would be an 29'er XC geometry hardtail.

+1

My wife is 5'4" and she is faster on her 29er than she was on her 26" bikes. I asked why she feels she is so much faster on the 29er and she said "the clown bike is way more fun to ride than my old bikes".

Good points by all and I should probably mention I'm the 'old guy' in the bunch, started out riding and racing rigid 26ers back in the mid 80s.
I also should have pointed out on every timed lap I've ridden (although I don't do that much anymore) I am faster on the 29er.
And my newest 29er (2010) is now old-tech anyway.

I made the conversion from a 26" to a 29" a little over a year ago. I have no problem with either one. With that being said, I like some of the advantages to both. I can definitely roll over more things on the 29er. This gives me some extra confidence at times. However, it is not as quick in turns and as the bike currently sits, the bars are very wide. This bothers me on narrow trails because there are times when I am not so sure that I am going to fit between trees. I have also hit more trees with my grips than in the past. This weekend, I do plan on cutting a little off of each side of my handlebars. I still have my old faithful 26er but I find that my 29er is now my go to mtb

Shuffleman, you must be riding twisty Florida woodland trails like I am. I'm on a new 27.5 and loving the wheel size but not liking the current fashion of wide bars. I think it was after my third ride I pulled out the tubing cutter. Which, BTW, I highly recommend as the way to shorten bars, much better than trying to get a clean hacksaw cut.

I got my first 29er a few years ago. It was too big bit managed to make it work for 3 years. I found a deal on craiglist for a new wsd x-cal. I was nervous because its a 29er (i'm not quite 5'4) but went down to a 14.5 frame. I absolutely love it!

IMO wheel size is mostly a bike fit variable, nothing more as newer 29er Geo is getting so good...

Recently took one for a spin, had decent wheels, quick response, turned very well at all speeds,,nice !

The single biggest thing for me to go faster on a 29er,,or even my bike was to simply stay off the brakes

Its funny that you mention that. I road my 29er to the shop on Friday and was talking to them about cutting down my handlebars. He thought that was a bad move and told me that the new bikes (Mine is a 2015) have even wider bars. He advised me to position my grips where I would like to make the cut and try that first. I have not had time to do this but I will follow that advice. I am guessing that I will still cut them because I really don't like the width. And yes, I am riding some narrow and twisty trails. For the record, I will leave the hack saw and the sawzall alone for this project.

For those that dont have a large tubing cutter, you can do it by hand. Use some masking tape around the bar with no side overlap. That will give you a straight marker to use your saw against and get a mostly straight cut. Surprisingly I have found bars very easy to cut with a saw.

-SP