To all you 29er's out there!

if you want suspension then get a proper mtb, 700c fake mtb's have the same leverage as a long travel hardtail but you can only fit 100mm of travel in there, you also have to beef up the headtube/down tube to take into account this extra leverage so you end up with a heavier bike. the big manufacturers like trek are now doing lo-end 29'ers that weigh 3-4lb more than an equivalent mtb, don't forget those 2 large gyroscopes you have wizzing around either(with their extra rotating weight too)
my mtb LBS owner was talking to keith bontrager the other day and he hates the marketing driven 29'er especially as the mtb has now pretty much evolved with tubeless and good air suspension. seems mad to then offer a ponderous handling heavier bike as the next big thing.
proof that suckers will believe everything they are told.
i guess if you can't ride for shit and like towpaths a 29'er has a certain appeal.

That's interesting but doesn't really capture the full picture, though it's accurate as far as it goes. If you expand the description to include born again cyclist, middle aged, more money than sense, no fixie, I like gears, and no real riding skills of any sort, nor any particular desire to gain them. Then you'd be getting a lot closer to the mark.

An alternative view could be that I designed a bike that I wanted to be able to accomplish long mixed surface rides on, up to about 150 miles in a day. I could have gone with a variety of road/off road adventure type builds and I settled on a 29er. I didn't for a second think that made me a MTBer, just a guy with a big wheeled on/off road bike. I also insisted on it being able to take proper mudguards and a rack.

The only surprise was that I hadn't realised I was committing some cardinal sin by asking about suspension. Let alone the fact that I've built up a bike that doesn't meet with your approval. I'll bow to your superior wisdom and trust that you'll plough on keeping it 'real' on behalf of numpties like me. But if it's ok with you I'll plough on enjoying myself and picking up info on things that catch my interest.

By the way I actually find some canal towpaths quite tricky!!!