29"against traditional 26"

vipergoat

hi all

toying with the idea of trying out a 29" front end 26" rear.any feed back is it better .should i go rigid or bouncy. running 26" 130mm bounce just now!!

VWsurfbum

never ran a 26" rear and 29" front but i can tell you that the 29er is soo much faster than the my old 26" bikes(once rolling). if you have the 29" front you want to be running approx 10-20mm less travel up front and a much steeper head angle.
Be wary as the world of 29ers gets addictive and expensive.

scale20

VWsurfbum wrote:

Be wary as the world of 29ers gets addictive and expensive.

tell me about it, since i got my first 29er, rigid ScandaI, have been bitten by the bug, I have ditched the Pace 26er and bought a Niner RIP 9 (not built yet)

You will find a massive difference in the wheel size, one of the bonuses I have found is that the bigger front wheel rolls over obsticles better, obsticles that I know 26" wheels would have come stuck in or caught me out!

Only downside I have had with the bigger front wheel is if you ever hav to ride in rutts, the slightest turm of the bars and the whel catches the rutt edges.

I would say go rigid with some nice On-One rigid carbon forks 8)

bobpzero

http://mountain.bike198.com/ventana-el-chucho-a-69er-mountain-bike-review/

Northwind

I remember following a mate on a 29er through a very wheeltrappy section and thinking I wished I had big wheels, his bike just rolled straight over it while everyone else was having to work like mad to keep moving. But I bet somewhere out there is the perfect 29er wheel trap and when he finds it, he's not going to be expecting it and he's going to end up halfway up a tree And all the 26s will just roll through it.

I like them though, the only ones I've ridden haven't been particularily good but they still stood out. I can see a Scandal or similiar in my future...

VWsurfbum

My scandal will be blessed with a new set of forks hopefully in the not too distant future because the Dart 3's that are on it are pretty diar. then hopefully by march i'll finally get my hands on the Garry fisher Rumblefish which suits my needs all round. FS with 120mm travel and a more do everything mindset.
If i could of got the Rocky Mountain at a english dealer i would of been tempted by that.

Theres too many people ready to put them down before actually riding them, and the artical in MBUK a few months ago described exactly how its been for me, once at the back of your groups pack and now leading the pack

Mental Mickey

The Singular Hummingbird is designed to take the 69er setup, might be worth checking out as the Hummingbird and Swift frames look really nice/niche. Fancy one myself if I ever go down the rigid route which is likely 8)

http://www.singularcycles.com/hummingbird.html

scale20

Mental Mickey wrote:

The Singular Hummingbird is designed to take the 69er setup, might be worth checking out as the Hummingbird and Swift frames look really nice/niche. Fancy one myself if I ever go down the rigid route which is likely 8)

http://www.singularcycles.com/hummingbird.html

I'm thinking about a singular swif build for next year, rigid with single speed. Lovely frames.

Shaggy_Dog

My first 29" wheeled experience was on board a Trek 69er, there was so much more capability on the front than the back that the bike felf very unbalanced through the rough stuff, like riding a very long forked hardtail. It opened my eyes to the benefits of big wheels, but that's all it did for me

stubs

I tried several 29ers and for some reason even though they should suit me at 6 foot and suit the riidng I do I just couldnt get on with them. My mate had a quick spin on one of the bikes I was testing shot off like a scalded cat came back 20 mins later with a grin from ear to ear went in the shop and ordered a frame kit on the spot.

Oh well be a dull old world if everyone liked the same bikes.

VWsurfbum

Very true