I made the jump to a 29er... Oooooooh

weeksy59

So, i was sitting there yeasterday after having a few problems with my gears the day before (all sorted now) and thinking "i'm not sure the Meta 55 is ideally suited for my XC riding"...

So bought a new Giant XTC 29er instead.

I've got an 80 mile night ride on Sat, so it should be totally ideal for that i think.

Not sure what to expect from it yet... how it will handle, how it will climb.. etc etc

I'm slightly daunted at the thoughts of it's first ride being a 12 hour ride lol.

Giant XTC 29er, 2011 - Hardtail Mountain Bikes - Mountain Bikes - Bikes

I'm excited and scared all at once

1mancity2

Reviews are good so I reckon your on a winner.

weeksy59

I never actually read any you know...

Just a few 29er thoughts on here etc.

It was 12.26kg compared to 12.98 for the comparable Trek... also the Shimano brakes instead of Avids....so i thoguht "sod it, i'll buy it"

DodgeT

Have you actually ridden it though, car park or similar? I'm guessing you just haven't ridden it on a trail etc?

VWsurfbum

you'll notice the speed difference but the comfort might be slightly different to your Meta?

Ideal bike for the 12 hours in the saddle

weeksy59

DodgeT wrote:

Have you actually ridden it though, car park or similar? I'm guessing you just haven't ridden it on a trail etc?

Nopes. NEver at all.

I did ride a 29er on Wed, about 30 yards, with SPD pedals and trainers lol.

I'm not one to 'try' things really... not tried any motorbikes i've bought and never tried the Meta55. If something isn't quite right you can make it fit with bars/stems etc.

I'l try it for frame size of course, make sure the 18" is correct.... but apart from that... feet first, straight in

DodgeT

OK, hope you like it.

Must admit, i'm on my 5th bike in a year and the latest one i've bought is the only one I rode before buying.. Re-reading that, it might tell me something.. (I do have 2 though, one for proper riding and one for streets / canals etc)

stubs

Never been totally convinced by the wobble round a car park or even ride it on a trail before you buy thing. I have never bought a bike that felt right first time out its always taken at least 3 or 4 rides plus tinkering and parts swapping before it feels right. Lets face it moving a saddle quarter of an inch can make a hell of a distance I reckon as long as you sit on it and it doesnt feel wrong then its okay you can adapt the bike to fit properly.

Beardface

I joke, that looks lovely, I'm still curious about 29'ers, but would need to have a test on one at a demo day before I took the plunge!

Good luck on the first ride though.. a very nice way to break it in!!

weeksy59

Well it's a nice looking beast looking forward to getting out on it.

Sadly i've got to strip the Meta down tonight as the frame is sold, so won't have time to get it ridden.

Will get 30 mins before the event i rekon in the park to play with settings/bars/etc.

VWsurfbum

weeksy59 wrote:

Well it's a nice looking beast looking forward to getting out on it.

Sadly i've got to strip the Meta down tonight as the frame is sold, so won't have time to get it ridden.

Will get 30 mins before the event i rekon in the park to play with settings/bars/etc.

Woo go steady with all that set up time LOL
Make sure you take a few tools with you on that 12 break in ride!

bartimaeus

Maxx Exposure? If so, have fun and let us know how you get on

weeksy59

Bartimaeus wrote:

Maxx Exposure? If so, have fun and let us know how you get on

Yes sir.

belugabob

I rode one at a demo day earlier this year.

It was very nice, but a bit too 'low down, all-out racer' for me - which was a shame, as it was the only Shimano equipped bike I rode that day. The others had a more upright riding position and felt more comfortable for me, but they all had SRAM kit, so I decided (somewhat irrantionally, I know) to avoid all of them.

Ended up doing a custom build to get exactly what I wanted.

I'm sure that you'll enjoy it, as it just eats up the ground and handles very well.

weeksy59

Well that was an intersting hour or so. Tried the bike out and hated it LOL. I mean it was just garbage...

So, set about with the spanners and tools making it mine.
First was the saddle, it was the wrong angle and too far forward.
Then onto the Suspension, too harsh and too much rebound
Next up was the bars and levers/shifters.... Couldn't get them right no matter what i tried.. so swapped them out for the risers on the Commencal... spot on...

Bike now feels pretty much perfect

The shifting is totally seamless.. instant press of the button and it drops in perfectly to gear, makes you realise that over time your gears lose a little of theie smoothness. If the Meta stays it's going in for new cables, mech, chain and cassette.
Biggest difference is the way you ride the bike, you (well ME, i dunno about you) find yourself lifting and manouvering the front end as opposed to just bumping over things on the full susser. Speaking of which, DAMN you can get some air under the wheels with ease on this thing compared to the FS.

I've not done anything other than outside the house and a few kerbs so you'll have to wait for the full report.

Pics to follow (my boy has just go home)

weeksy59

sabrezx

Hmmm, like that alot, been thinking on dropping my 29er to 100mm at the front( its 120 atm), how do you find it after the susser?

John Moore

DON'T BUY 29ers.....

Unless you have a big bank account......

I bought my first 29er in 2007 and got the bug. Now I've got ony one 26er (for the shops and when out with the dog) but now I've got 5 of the 29er buggers and no money in the bank :roll:

weeksy59

Well that was an interesting little ride. Did a 40mins ride at what is a 'known' distance and pace from 3 other rides on my GPS, my best time on the Commencal was 41m 13s..... My time today on the Giant 38m 32s. My average heart rate on both was 151 and my max of 163 and 164 on them. So it came in at 0.5mph quicker on the Giant over my previous PB.

Over the 4 other attempts my average for a mile was
5m 02
4m 46
4m 17
todays was 4m 09. So average 8sec per mile quicker.

1mancity2

Your liking it then

weeksy59

1mancity2 wrote:

Your liking it then

In all honesty mate, i bloody hated it... Although that was my own fault and setup time before the 80 mile SDW ride.
I found out after i got back that my forks should be 85psi or so for my weight, they were set to 115psi for the ride.... my tyre pressures seemed to be about 50psi !!!!

So overall, the bike was exceptionally harsh.

However the forks are now sorted and tyre pressures lowered and yes, i like the bike a lot more... I'm still setting it up bit by bit.. today i've got back and raised the seat-post slightly and re-adjusted the seat angle.

On a ride, in some ways i'd prefer the FS.. it's more comfy and more 'plush'... However IMO the 29er is quicker... but doesn't soak the bumps quite as well ... As my target is usually speed and ending up quicker.. the bike is what i wanted it to be.

VWsurfbum

I did what you have done, i came from a nice carbon trail bike to a HT 29er, loved it, sold the 26" bike (more for money than a complete conversion) set about finding a FS 29er and now have the best of both worlds. Comfort speed and something that little bit different (which is inportant )

I still get a lot of people ask how it rides, i offer them a go and you'd be surprised that almost no one takes me up on the offer :? Are they scared that it will show their 26" bikes up? I dunno?
I wouldnt go back but may get a 26" play bike

weeksy59

Indeed a 29er FS would be superb... but at the weight consequence and the linkages/bearings etc....

Tempting... but not right now.

getonyourbike

I guy I ride with regularly has one of those and absolutely loves it

weeksy59

Jeeeeezy this thing FLIES...

Did a 12.6 mile ride on my usual trails..

Average speed of 12.5mph

On these trails i'm usually getting about 11.4mph.

Suspension and bars are happy now....

lostboysaint

weeksy59 wrote:

Indeed a 29er FS would be superb... but at the weight consequence and the linkages/bearings etc....

Tempting... RIGHT now.

http://www.ktm-bikes.at/mountain/29er/full-suspension-alu/Phinx129.php?lang=EN

Your perfect bike

Thewaylander

There only quicker on the up's and flats, never managed to get one going down quickly....

But if your an XC racer or XC bimbler then i think there great for that, Just no one try to convince me it could replace my Dune heavier is better, would go coild if i thought i could pedal it lol

VWsurfbum

lostboysaint wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

Indeed a 29er FS would be superb... but at the weight consequence and the linkages/bearings etc....

Tempting... RIGHT now.

http://www.ktm-bikes.at/mountain/29er/full-suspension-alu/Phinx129.php?lang=EN

Your perfect bike

I like that a lot!!

Thewaylander

VWsurfbum wrote:

lostboysaint wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

Indeed a 29er FS would be superb... but at the weight consequence and the linkages/bearings etc....

Tempting... RIGHT now.

http://www.ktm-bikes.at/mountain/29er/full-suspension-alu/Phinx129.php?lang=EN

Your perfect bike

I like that a lot!!

You weight weeny

weeksy59

He only say that becuase he knows i'm a KTM freak at heart

VWsurfbum

Thewaylander wrote:

VWsurfbum wrote:

lostboysaint wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

Indeed a 29er FS would be superb... but at the weight consequence and the linkages/bearings etc....

Tempting... RIGHT now.

http://www.ktm-bikes.at/mountain/29er/full-suspension-alu/Phinx129.php?lang=EN

Your perfect bike

I like that a lot!!

You weight weeny

LOL me never :oops: