Bikernator's thread has got me thinking.

Have seen a bunch of 29er threads here lately, and personally I'm not sure if I should be concerned or just not care about it since I am on the 26" side of things. Nah, I really don't care, one's own preference. There are people that like 29ers and there are people that prefer a 26" wheel. This same debate happened in road cycling numerous times. Between 27", 700c and 650c, ultimately there 700c won out. But hey, road doesn't have the same disciplines that mtb's do and for that there is a place for each wheel size.

When giving consideration between a 26" wheeled bike or a 29er think about the following....

1. What is the terrain like where you ride?
2. Why are you considering a larger wheel size?* See explanation.
3. How tall are you and what's the inseam?
4. What will you be using said bike for?

If considering a larger wheel size because it is trendy, it's a 50-50 chance that you will either like the larger wheel size or hate it because of the large wheel size and geometry, no guarantees. In the case if you are pondering bringing in a 29er as an addition to the stable go for it if you think you will like it for a change of pace on a day you want to do something different. If you are uncomfortable on a 26" wheeled bike, because you are taller than an average person you may like how a 29er fits you. If you are short, you may feel uncomfortable on larger wheels and will feel at home on a 26" wheeled bike.

If you like throwing a bike around 26" or 24" wheels will be a better match where if you are getting long trail rides on smooth to rocks and roots you would be perfectly happy on a 29" wheel or a 26" wheel if you want a good challenge or the trails are all DH oriented.

The biggest thing is this whole debate means nothing as long as you have fun riding what you have.

Great post. Thanks for the insight!

I'm not a big mountain biker. I've had one for years, but I tend to ride 95% of the time on the road, either on my road bike or my tourer. When I ride the mountain bike I usually tend to ride on the local dirt roads. I've done very little single-track riding.

I'm tall - 6'4". I bought a 23" frame Rockhopper with 26" wheels a couple of years ago. It's a hardtail and I put a nice Marzocchi fork on the front. I like it a lot.

This summer I'm riding the Great Divide trail for about three weeks to a month, loaded with camping gear. People told me this was a perfect application for a 29er, especially for someone my size. Well, this whole 29er thing had intrigued me so I decided to go for it. I like getting new bikes. What put me over the top was finding a 23" frame on Performance's website for $99. I pulled the trigger, then wondered, "What have I done?"

Anyway, I finally got it built up enough to ride last weekend and took it on one of my local favorite dirt roads. My initial impression was that it felt huge! However, it rode okay, and the gearing I chose was low enough to make the climbing about as easy as on my Rockhopper, even though this bike is a bit heavier. I think most of the added weight comes from the bigger tires, tubes, and wheels, as well as the discs. (The Rockhopper has V-brakes.)

Where it really seemed nicer than the 26" bike was on the descent. As I got going faster and faster the bike seemed to absorb the bumps, washboard, etc. just a little better. Was the difference worth the cost of building the new bike as opposed to just riding the Rockhopper? No way. But honestly, the biggest reason for the project was that I love working on bikes and building them up. When I don't have a project going I go out to the greenhouse/shop and wonder what I can do. Also, when I hear people touting something like 29ers I like to try it out for myself. It's an expensive hobby, but much cheaper than something like antique cars.

That was a quick impression. I may have more to say after I return from the tour in August.

I am a short guy and love my 29er. The three biggest differences for me are momentum, contact angle, and stability.

I thought the whole 29er thing was just a trendy fad drempt up by marketting departments because they ran out of parts to make in carbon fiber. I rode my buddy's Fisher Rig last year, took a bunch more on test rides and was hooked. For XC riding, I don't think you can go wrong with a 29er. Is it a magic carpet ride? No. But it is a significant improvement (IMHO) over a 26er. The only times I find my 29er a liability is courses with lots of really tight switchbacks going uphill following a long descent.....but that has more to do with the fact I ride SS than the wheel size. The 29er takes a little extra oomph to get going, but once it is going, it stays rolling and carries you through spots much better than a 26er. I also notice a big difference in stability in cornering. More stability/less bumps = more confidence = riding more aggressively. Smaller rocks, logs, etc. are barely noticable.

When I was deciding to buy, the biggest obstacle to me was tope tube clearance. At 5'8", I had a hard time getting crotch clearance. Now, there are a ton of people that say standover clearance is overrated......but my nether regions tends to differ. I like to be able to not eat a tube where the sun don't shine if I stall out on a climb, stop to smell the roses, or need to remount in tricky terrain. I settled on a Vassago Jabberwocky (steel and SS) and absolutely love it. I still ride my 26er (if for no other reason than to justify having it), but it always feels really "small" to me now.

29ers are a different ride experience. They have their merits, but also their drawbacks. The former outweigh the latter IMHO. Whether any person will like one will depend on terrain and riding style. Don;t listen to the naysayers or the 29er zealots. Go ride one and see for yourself.

I claim 49.9% credit for anything positive that comes out of this thread...

Blue and Skank (ha), when you switched over did your fork travel change any (did you go from 120mm 26 to 100mm 29, etc)? I'm curious because I currently have a 100mm 26 that I pretty well max out at some point on most rides (so say the dirt rings), and am looking at about a 120mm fork on a new 26, but noticed the 29er counterparts have typically reduced travel. Did you notice this lack of play to be resolved simply by the larger tires? I know some will say "hell, it's only 20mm," to which I respond: "true, which is a difference in 20% of my current setup, which is substantial." Thanks for the input.

This thread has taken a strange turn from the OP. Quit pushing your kool aid here!

I'm gonna drink what tastes best to me!

I went from 100mm to 0.

Actually, the Jonestown Cult didn't drink Kool-Aid. They drank a generic called Flavor-Aid, but since nobody knows much about it, they just say "Kool-Aid," which has to make the makers of Kool-Aid a bit annoyed by now.

Plus, Flavor-Aid doesn't roll off the tounge as well as Kool-Aid when spoken.

You could think of Flavor-Aid as the 26-inch wheel and Kool-Aid (which is smoother) as the 29-er.

26 is BEST!

29 is BEST!

650b is BEST!

Combinations of the above are BEST!






. . . or not.

The only difference between 26 riders and 29 riders is that 26 riders don't care if you're on a 29er.

I actually like to think of the 29er as a can of PBR: trendy right now and popular with the hipsters. On the other hand, the FS 26" is an expensive scotch: refined, smooth, and never goes out of style. Then you have the 24", the Arrogant Bastard: aggressive and lots of hops, but you probably won't like it, because you're not worthy.

I take offense to this as I have a 29er and I think PBR tastes like.... well, let's just say it's not for me. As for the hipster thing, the frames of my glasses are made of metal and wire rather than black plastic, so there's another hole in your theory (though I do have a mac book pro)

Damned hipsters and their PBR . . .

'round here, PBR is still a redneck beer... I didnt know what a hipster was until I went to University. I would only ever own a 29er if it was SS, and I imagine it wouldnt be utilized all that much. I'm a small guy and I love picking my way through large rocks. 26 for me.

When niners popped up everywhere I instantly started worrying about 26" availability. Luckily that hasn't happened yet. 26" brakeable rims and 26" forks with bosses are getting pretty rare, but...

Eh? It was sarcasm...

If it's got two wheels and pedals ride it. Hell it can only one wheel (if you ask unigeezer) who cares. I don't care about your wheel size so please don't be concern with mine.

^^ Welcome back, msb. Where ya been?

Thanks for the welcome back dminor I didn't think anybody would remember me.
I don't know what happened brother. I did this awesome Colorado/Utah trip last October and when I got back I felt burned out and I parked my bike and didn't touch it literally until last Sunday. I went for a short ride and boy did I miss that feeling.
So here I'm. Back again with the old friends.
Sorry for the hijack people.

Here's to your finding your mojo again

Thank you. Good to be back.

admit it, that's PBR in those mugs. hipsters.

I can't wait to get a new mtb. keep arguing so I can have something to read after I get back from my road rides.

also, cheers for getting back on the bike stolen.

I've posted these catalog scans before, and it seems like a good time to post them again.

From the 1992/93 Diamond Back catalogs:







Yes, these are 700c wheeled mountain bikes from the early '90s before the catchy "29er" name was coined.

Big wheels roll over, not into obstacles....Superior rollover.....crazy claims of speed and performance....

Sound familiar? Think about that the next time you hear Gary "full of s**t" Fisher tell his fabricated backstory about how he came up with the idea years ago.

Yeah right. Some of us have been into this sport for a long time, we've seen it before and we're not falling for it.

If you like your 29er, good for you. But please quit trying to convince the rest of us how great they are.

And before diamondback it was Bianchi.