29ers - any good?

passout

I ride around Lakeland bridleways quite a bit. I would describe myself as clumbsy / aggressive XC rider or perhap a trail rider. I don't do jumps but do do challlenging trails. I'm 5'9'' too.....

Anyway I'm thinking of getting a 29 inch wheeled On One Scandal. I think that it should be comfortable and efficient for the longer rides I tend to do (sometimes all day).

What do you think about them? Are the claims regarding shock aborbtion, traction & speed justified. Any particular reason why I shouldn't do this & stick to a 26 inch wheeled hardtail?

Thanks.

Alex

They do roll better, smoother than a 26" wheeled bike and there's more grip.

However, they can feel a bit more cumbersome on twistier trails, the tyre, fork and rim choice is limited and they can look a bit kooky.

If you're a tall guy, they do make sense, in the same way that a 24" bike makes sense for kids.

However, for a gent of a perfectly reasonable height and proportion such as yourself, you will most likely, be made to look small by your enormous wheeled bicycle.

joshtp

can of worms, iv never ridden one, but they are suposed to roll better on the bumps, but accelarate more slowly, and be a bit of a gate to handle, but they carry speed better..... its an endless argument, like HT Vs FS, or SPD Vs Flats...

Buckled_Rims

I've only ridden one for a brief cycle around the block. I'm 5'8" BTW. I think the bike I rode was more suitable for a 6 footer, despite it being a 16" framed On-One. The bigger wheels certainly made it feel "bigger".

The lad who owned it was a few inches taller then me and had had it for 6 months. Although he never said it, I think he was disappointed in it. Reading between the lines, I think he didn't like the extra weight and harder acceleration. He wasn't "enthusiastic" like his mates were on their 26" bikes

I think that short ride certainly put me off a 29 or even a 69. As mentioned above the for/against argument will rage on.

Captain Turok

You've gotta ride one.

I put some miles on my dads old Genisis 29'er, personally I found it to be very slow steering and a whole load less agile than a 26'er. Not my cup of tea at all!

bunnerscj

I have both, 26 FS, 29 rigid hardtail.

Personally I like the difference they both give, the biggest difference is that the 29er is much quicker, bit more of a handful on real real tight tracks but other than that, I would go 29er everytime.
Needless to say the FS is getting dusty in the garage !
Try it, you will love it and its quicker than a 26er without a shadow

ride_whenever

the newer 29rs are less tall person specific though.

passout

OK. I'll review finances & test one. Thanks all.

The Spiderman

Rode a mates Scandal 29er back to back against my 26er XTC.
The 29er was noticeably faster,and smoother but did sacrifice some of the 26ers agaility.

If you are into covering big distances and do less of the technical stuff,it would definitley be worth trying a 29er.

Like any bike,I think you soon adapt to the partiuclar stengths and weaknesses adapt and no longer think about it once you`ve ridden for a while.

ratty2k

Test one, I have a rigid Singular Swift and its pretty agile.... No worse than any other bike I've had.
All nthe BS about limited parts is just that....BS, Plenty of forks, Fox, Rockshox, White Bros Manitou... Plenty of tyre by the likes of Panaracer, Maxxis, Bontrager, Intense.... Shimano have brought out a 36-12 cassette so there wont be any change in gearing if you want...

passout

The Spiderman wrote:

Rode a mates Scandal 29er back to back against my 26er XTC.
The 29er was noticeably faster,and smoother but did sacrifice some of the 26ers agaility.

If you are into covering big distances and do less of the technical stuff,it would definitley be worth trying a 29er.

Like any bike,I think you soon adapt to the partiuclar stengths and weaknesses adapt and no longer think about it once you`ve ridden for a while.

That pretty much describes what I'll be doing. I was thinking of the scandal firtly & foremost. Also good to hear that there are plenty of parts.