29er - do you or would you?

M6TTF

Simple as , would you have one, do you have one?

Jayng

Santa Cruz Tallboy! For sure! If I had the extra cash, and after maybe 2 more bikes.

Anonymous

no no no no no no no.
I have a mountain bike.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Love the idea of one...

bomberesque

if I was 6'6" maybe.

and my road bike is 29er/700c (ofc) but nah, can't imagine why I would tbh. 26" is the right size for mountain bike wheels IMO.

hoathy

i like to keep al my stuff compatible, as everything get swapped around so much. couldn't handle the 29" wheels

Anonymous

Where will it end? Penny farthing/monster truck wheeled bikes?

supersonic

I think, as with any other bike, you need to try them out.

But no ;-)

The Spiderman

I`ve tried one.I`d say it was different,pros and cons to it,massively faster,more stable,but felt like a barge through singletrack.
Wouldn`t have one as my only bike,but if I wanted something fast to ride over more open trails,it would be worth considering.

Northwind

I would, but it'd be my 3rd or 4th or maybe 5th bike... The only one I've ridden really was a barge, long and heavy- a KHS Flagstaff weighed down with a fairly pointless 60mm or so of rear suspension- but it still gave me an idea of what they can do. But there's a load of other things I'd sooner have first.

RealMan

If I was tall enough and had the money, yes. Though how bout a 36er? Would have to be even taller for that, I imagine..

N0bodyOfTheGoat

A silly part of me thinks that rather than paying out ~£700+ for a traditional 29er from On-One; Gary Fisher etc., why not buy a Carrera Gryphon Disc for £330 (or any other 700c hybrid with disc brakes) and then perhaps invest in a 29er suspension fork?

Obviously dependent on tyre clearance of Gryphon for a start, cannot recall from my test ride back in March...

The Northern Monkey

I'd never buy a 29er ... nooo no no no no... never... honest.. well maybe... oh wait... I did..

I'm a bit of a big bastid though so it makes sense to me

ratty2k

I've had a few TBH, and my current one is brilliant- Singular Swift. Not a barge through turns and I can keep up with most folks with a sus fork whereas I'm riding rigid. They have improved greatly in the last year with more of the big name companies getting on board- Giant and Spesh now do 'em along with Intense and the more established names such as Niner etc... All this about needing to be 6ft 6" is a load of balls, frame size is the same- just get the TT length right and the rest will follow. Different yes, better? Dunno TBH... But nowt wrong with 'em.

salsarider79

I had a Salsa El Mararchi. I wanted to keep it, but never used it much round Bath, so I sold it. I had that as my only MTB. If I was going back to the dirty side, I'd not even look at 26" anymore. I love 29ers.

p.s. I'm 5' 10"

joshtp

i might consider a rigid 29er 1x9 as a 6th or 7th bike, but otherwise, no way.

projectsome

I like the idea but wouldn't really have nowhere to ride one.

ride_whenever

hmmm, i really want to try one, i'm 6' so shouldn't have an issue with toe-overlap which is my main concern.

I'd want a FS singlespeed xc whippet one though. I do like my ssxc whippet bikes...

belugabob

ride_whenever wrote:

hmmm, i really want to try one, i'm 6' so shouldn't have an issue with toe-overlap which is my main concern.

Sorry if I'm being dense, but could you please explain the toe-overlap thing?

Sheppy

I'm already saving for my Gary Fisher Rumblefish

Bit more expensive than I was hoping but looks very good to me...

ride_whenever

bigger wheels, when they turn you can clip your toe if the tt is too short, more of an issue on small frames.

RealMan

is what you want.

M6TTF

That thing's mental LOL - love the stashed hip flask

guilliano

I did like the original Trek 69er and would like to try a 29er SS rigid fork over the winter, but would like to try one long term before I bought

John Moore

I've had/have (long story) 3 of them and saving up for another one or two as I type.

I'm 5'8" and with modern builds you don't need to be over 6ft.

I'm selling my Cotic BFe 26er with 140mm Pikes because I'm crap at downhill and on some stuff technical stuff I can ride my 29er rigid over it when I have to dab on the "proper bike"

I'm keeping my on one SS 26er as the pub/shop/emeragncy bike.

John Moore

From Chevin Cycles website (I'm not linked to them, in fact I've never walked through their door)

http://www.chevincycles.com/news.php?articleid=242

Why 29ers will take over!

Here at Chevin we are 129% behind the fastest growing sector in cycling – 29” wheeled mountain bikes. A lot of people and supposed experts will tell you that they are just a fad…..WRONG! Here is where we will tell you why we love ‘em.

Here we will answer any of your doubts.

You have to be over 6 foot to fit a 29er.

While they do fit tall people perfectly, we sell as many in 15” frames as 21” frames. In fact Gary Fisher Pro Rider Willow Koeber is 5 ‘4” and races and wins on a 29er. So whatever your height you can reap the big wheel benefit.

They’re no good on technical single track.

Your right they’re not good, they’re fantastic! The only limit is your ability. The bigger wheels make you more stable, the longer tyre contact patch gives more traction. And with Gary Fishers G2 geometry the handling is 26” wheel razor sharp. And the bigger wheels smooth out ruts and drops- added comfort without any suspension!

They are an unfair advantage racing.

Yes! For every pedal stroke you go further. 26” wheels are at a disadvantage. They are a race legal advantage for speed. And that also counts for the commute to and from work. Extra speed for no extra effort. Why wouldn’t you want it?

You don’t have much choice in tyres.

We have tyres for every condition and riding style from every manufacturer. Another bonus of the 29er is you can now fit any tyre from a 700x28 road tyre, to hybrid, to 2 ½ inch knobbly. If you want one bike to do everything then a 29er is it!

But they look wrong.

No you’re just not used to them, after a while 26” wheels will look like a child’s bike!

You’re only saying all this to sell the latest bikes

Yes and No! Yes because we belive if you give them a chance you will not be disappointed. And No. we won’t “not sell” you a 26” wheeled bike, But bear in mind our staff can buy whatever mountain bike they want. A majority now ride 29ers, some of us have 2!

John Moore

ride_whenever wrote:

bigger wheels, when they turn you can clip your toe if the tt is too short, more of an issue on small frames.

False

ride_whenever

John Moore wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

bigger wheels, when they turn you can clip your toe if the tt is too short, more of an issue on small frames.

False

That's exactly what toe overlap is and why it's a problem. :P

John Moore

Ok I ment it's not an issue for me with any modern 29er wheels and small frames.

My Jones front wheel is over 2" away from my toes as was my small framed GF Rig.

Now my CX bike was always catching my toe tips, but not on an MTB

shisaa

Bought a Gary Fisher Rig a couple of years ago, 29er singlespeed. Definitely rolls smoother than a 26er, and I think handles as well on singletrack (this maybe due to the GF geometry though). On the other hand accelerates slower, so maybe less fun for stop start riding.

It's definitely worth a try though.

Never had a problem with toe overlap.

Anonymous

id really like a go on a jones thingy me bob, in the same way as i d like to try a recumbent and a penny farthing (i really would!) but i doubt i would want to own one.

those niners look really good looking though.