To all you 29er's out there!

I'd say that those that want to ride SS, are better suited to bigger wheels, for the momentum the hold when you can no long spin the peddles faster.

the key to holding momentum is how you work the bike.

any small advantages the bigger wheel gives you are lost by the disadvantages of big wheels.

That's why you need one of those 69ers or 96ers , whatever they were called.

Advantage of a small wheel and advantage of a big wheel. Constant uphill though.

Most suspension corrected 29er frames untill recently, were designed for 80mm travel forks. The idea being to keep the front end from getting too high. Also with bigger tyres you need less travel. This has changed recently, with slacker head tubes, and more travel, seeping into the XC world. So a newer 29er frame is more likely to be 100m travel corrected. If you buy a 100/120mm travel 29er fork. You can usually limit them to 80mm anyway. Leaving the option for more travel and a slacker front end, if you want it (might handle poorly like that though, it difficult to predict).

You should be able to track down the hub-to-crown length, and rake, of you current fork, and compare it.

Thanks SF, yep I have all the specs on the existing so will do that, it's probably idle curiosity as I'm happy with the fully rigid. I think it's when all the offers flood the inbox I just get curious.

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!!!

On a roadie, i find climbing hill a lots easier on a normal 700c bicycles than a smaller wheels one (like a Pacific), would this equation also be true to mtb?

I ridden a lots on a steel 26ers, nothing serious, just usual back country stuff, will be interesting to see how the 29ers feel tomorrow in comparison.

Sounds like you wanted a cyclocross.

And I knew I should've stayed away from this thread. It's becoming as bad as the guardian bike blog one this week.

Hey, we ride bikes. Track bikes on the road, polo bikes on the road, and we like franke bikes.

I only want a 29er because I was a shit BMXer but loved the bomb proof recklessness of it, of letting my anger out in a controlled way by putting myself in a situation I shouldn't get out of but letting the bike and such do the work and feeling the elation of coming out without a splash.

I have no problems with anyone who wants a 29er just to pootle down the shops. No problem at all no sirree. Just as I have no problems with a Ferrari being used for similar. Whatever brings people happiness. You're keeping someone employed, and you worked hard for your money... do what you want.

Sounds like you wanted a cyclocross.

And I knew I should've stayed away from this thread. It's becoming as bad as the guardian bike blog one this week.

Hey, we ride bikes. Track bikes on the road, polo bikes on the road, and we like franke bikes.

I only want a 29er because I was a shit BMXer but loved the bomb proof recklessness of it, of letting my anger out in a controlled way by putting myself in a situation I shouldn't get out of but letting the bike and such do the work and feeling the elation of coming out without a splash.

I have no problems with anyone who wants a 29er just to pootle down the shops. No problem at all no sirree. Just as I have no problems with a Ferrari being used for similar. Whatever brings people happiness. You're keeping someone employed, and you worked hard for your money... do what you want.

Sounds like you want a 26er.

I'd like one of everything. But there's no space in the flat for that.

I also insisted on it being able to take proper mudguards and a rack.

you lost me right there.

29'ers are so 2010
650b with 10 speed is the off road zeitgeist.

BTW...It wasn't really me in that video..cos I know you all believed me right? ;]

Sounds like you want a 26er.

exactly what i was thinking. something not too OTT a nice 5in 27lb all day bike with a decent pedaling platform (not a pure single pivot) and a nice low bb that corners on rails.

all this talk makes me want to ride my mtb

Swinley tomorrow? Come on Gary

you lost me right there.

29'ers are so 2010
650b with 10 speed is the off road zeitgeist.

nope, couldn't lose you, I never had you in the first place, but as a 29er hater you're definitely hanging out in the right thread.

Gary, you know there's nothing more you loved to see than watching me attempt to blast down the hill on a cheap 29ers and end up crashing onto a tree due to the level of my experience, c'mon!

Swinley tomorrow? Come on Gary

would love to, but short on time. i'll have a think about it but i don't have a 29'er :-)

Well that's a shame, you won't be able to go over the large obstacle with your 26ers where we're going.

http://youtu.be/FkKcizm4KVo

it's not about the bike.

:-)

It's about how well the bike matches the outfit!

Had a blast at Swinley today with the others on the cheap rigid Diamonback 29ers.

It was my first proper off road riding in years, I wouldn't count going through Wimbledon Common as 'off roading' which I'm sure you'll all agree, my last experienced of MTBing were on my old steel 26" Kona with a suspension fork's too long for the frame.

The rigid 29ers was interesting to says the least, it's not the best of frame, the fork is noticeably crap, the gearing is a little on the high side (61GI) that I end up bailing on the steepest part, and of course it's heavy compared to the other's.

I notice the problem Smyth pointed out - it doesn't quite do tight singletrack well, I did notice that from what I remembered of my 26" MTB, but I reckon that's down to the frame geometry rather, as Prancer seemed to be handling it quite well on his 29ers as his 26ers cousins, I cannot comment on the acceleration as it got a high GI making it harder to make an assessment, neither on the brakes as my last MTB had V-brakes!

H-bar are awesome, without a doubt, could not imaging doing the same thing with a flat bar, Prancer find it harder to climb with that bar, but I find it perfectly fine (the reach is a little short for him).

The advantages I really did notice is that it does indeed roll over obstacle very well, I find myself being able to plough through stuff that I know often slow me down quite a bit (muddy puddle for example), I was worried that it will be too stiff due to the lack of suspension, but found myself actually enjoying the technical part, and were able to descend with aplomb, I lose some grip on the front every now and then, but after lowering the pressure on the front tyre a tad, it grip a lots better, I really don't think I'll need suspension to be honest, least for the kind of riding I like to do.

The 61GI turn out to be useful as it allowed me to keep a smooth cadence through the worse part, I can't quite explain it, when pedalling, I was able to loosen my legs to let the bike float over the obstacle if that make sense, it's only a problem on the steep ascend, will think about putting a 20t instead of changing the 18t for a 22t and see how it go from there.

Perhaps all of this is in my head thinking the 29ers does make a difference, perhaps not, perhaps I do talk bollocks especially when I tried to explain how it feel to me from what I remembered of my 26" MTB, all I know is that I did enjoyed it, and seriously need to overhaul the Diamondback as it was creaking and grinding by the end of the day...

Ed - I've got a 20T cog you can have. You'll have to wait another couple of weeks until I get back though.

That's me you numpty!

is that really you????

unharmed, that'd be great, thank!

is that really you????

BTW...It wasn't really me in that video..cos I know you all believed me right? ;]

;]