Short peeps and 29ers

Gary67

I recently went into my LBS to get some info on 29ers as i want a mtb but also speed for commuting,but was told 29ers are not really suitable for small peeps like myself(5'7)not in an unfriendly way as the shop was very good overall.
But i'm still interested in them so can i have someone elses opinion please.

milfredo

Sounds like rubbish to me. A racing bike has 29" inch wheels no matter how tall you are...

Gary67

milfredo wrote:

Sounds like rubbish to me. A racing bike has 29" inch wheels no matter how tall you are...

True,i do not have any problems on my road bike and was also thinking about a fixie freestyler which i'm sure there is not a height limit lol.

alan_sherman

But a racing bike has 23mm section tyres and doesn't need mud clearance and suspension forks.

A 26 inch wheel will accelerate quicker than a 700c wheel (all else being equal) which makes more sense for commuting anyway I'd have thought (i.e. stop at traffic lights, accellerate up to speed, repeat many times.....).

Raymondavalon

Gary67 wrote:

I recently went into my LBS to get some info on 29ers as i want a mtb but also speed for commuting,but was told 29ers are not really suitable for small peeps like myself(5'7)not in an unfriendly way as the shop was very good overall.
But i'm still interested in them so can i have someone elses opinion please.

From what I've read 29'ers are best suited to the 6'1 and taller type riders.
At 6' on the button I didn't find the 29'er I had a spin on in any way too big for me, but I did like the way it rolled.

angry_bird

29ers are the devil.

getonyourbike

I'm sure one of the women who rides for the Trek Subaru (or somethnig like that) team was only 5ft 2" and she was on a 29er.

McBlipiere

Gary67 wrote:

I recently went into my LBS to get some info on 29ers as i want a mtb but also speed for commuting,but was told 29ers are not really suitable for small peeps like myself(5'7)not in an unfriendly way as the shop was very good overall.
But i'm still interested in them so can i have someone elses opinion please.

I say go 29er route. I am 5'8" and have rode 29er and more recently 69er (29 front with 26 rear). When I get back on my 26 susser now it feels a tad twitchy and the front digs in a bit. By comparison also having a 29 out front allows the bike the roll through stuff that normally leaves a 26 chattering. Downside not brill for mega twisty singletrack and at first the front does feel a bit slow. For me the pluses outweigh the minuses, it largely depends on your riding, if ur a hot shot freeride 4X dude then a 29er makes no sense. Get a good demo and ride like you like to ride and compare back to back with similar 26.
Sorry to ramble, hope this helps - in summary at 5' 7" reallly no issues with 29er ...

Gary67

I think I'm going to insist on having a go and ride like I've stolen it lol

Anonymous

milfredo wrote:

Sounds like rubbish to me. A racing bike has 29" inch wheels no matter how tall you are...

A road bike has a much lower BB height than a mountain bike, and lower profile tyres.

Still, I don;t think you'll struggle at 5'7".
There obviously IS a point at which height becomes an issue though, which is why children don't ride full sized road bikes.

McBlipiere

what version you looking at Gary?

Gary67

McBlipiere wrote:

what version you looking at Gary?

Trek cobian and mamba

snotty badger

alan sherman wrote:

But a racing bike has 23mm section tyres and doesn't need mud clearance and suspension forks.

A 26 inch wheel will accelerate quicker than a 700c wheel (all else being equal) which makes more sense for commuting anyway I'd have thought (i.e. stop at traffic lights, accellerate up to speed, repeat many times.....).

Depends on the commute really, I just have countryside and two junctions to slow down/speed up for.

John Moore

5' 8" here and I've got ride off all but 1 of my 26ers (shop and pub bike).

6 x 29ers and counting so far

Johnny Napalm

Itd be like a monster-truck bike to me.