Thoughts on 29ers

Maxumo

I'm in the process of buying a MTB I'm a roadie at heart but want something for the winter

I quite like the Carrera Fury for the spec & money but I've told that 26ers are old news and everyone will eventually have a 29er I've ridden a 29er and I quite like the feel of it but I'm just still unsure

supersonic

What you have been told is absolute rubbish lol. They have advantages and disadvantages (plenty of threads to search on them) - and a bad bike is a bad bike regardless of wheelsize.

Best bet is to try a few if you can. Carrera Fury just won a test in MBUK, 5/5.

pnev

:ninja:

pnev

But... Like mentioned on another forum, it's personal preference, get a test ride on both if you can

Maxumo

:toppa:

Wily-Quixote

If you're a noob a 29er is a good start as it is more forgiving around corners, rolling over obstacles and general bumps in the track. Smoother over rough roads for commuting too. If you're used to a long low position on the road bike, going to a MTB might seem odd at first, and some 29ers have a very high head tube height, making a low position difficult. In sayin hat, a lot of 26er riders put on riser bars etc to get a pretty upright position anyway. In the states the 29er is pretty ubiquitous on hard tails and x-country bikes but plenty still prefe the 26er ESP for long travel and 'trail' bikes(whatever that means'). There's a lot of comments that 26ers are moreflickable, fun and accelerate more quickly. It really depends somewhat on he style of riding you're intending to do IMHO.
For what's its worth I have found he 29er to be excellent, it really suits my style of riding and my location and I found the transition from the road bike to be fine. I used to have a 26er but find the 29er suits me better - especially my lack of bike handling skills!
I'm 5'8" and there's plenty of short guys and gals on 29ers. There's no truth to the contention that they're for tall people only, that's an aesthetic judgement not one based on riding position ( although some 29ers have geometry that suits the smaller rider better than others just like a road bike really).

Maxumo

Thanks for the reply - I really like the look of the Charger 29ers and my LBS has a few in stock which I'll take a look at

passout

You could buy this as a starter bike - flexible enough to use as a second bike / commuter etc if you want something more expensive later. Good value.The new one is disc ready if you want to upgrade at some point:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... 9-11-45606
and see http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn29.html
I quite fancy one of these myself!

These are good, a slightly lower spec model is currently available for £799:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... r-12-45966

Don't dismiss 26ers though; still more 'flickable' / fun IMO.

ktino

I was in a similar position to you. I am from a road/triathlon and wanted a cheap mtb for winter riding, when it was too wet for the road and to improve bike handling skills. I have just got a Rockrider 5.3 from Decathlon (http://www.decathlon.co.uk/big-rr-53-id_8202905.html) and my experience to date has been good coming from the limited off road experience I have. From where I live there will always be short sections of tarmac to link up the off road bits and I can roll at 30kph fairly easy on these sections.

felix.london

Had a go on an Anthem 29er and it did feel fast but very far from sold on the whole thing.

Saying that, this looks pretty sick and looks well suited to my local trails...

http://thehairyrider.com/2012/10/18/2012-transition-bandit-29/

lostboysaint

The wheels are too big.

The Rookie

Very helpful comment...not!

I tried some 29ers at the cycle show, the Trek Cuperfly Elite carbon was awesome once up and rolling but still felt big and cumbersome in slow tight corners compared to my 26" HT (atht copst 1/9 as much), the Ex-9 just felt big and cumbersome everywhere, like riding a steamroller, tried a Pivot Mach 4 26" and was blown away by it, so while I could feel the advantages of a 29er, I couldn't justify one for the benfits, 650B maybe though.....

felix.london

The Beginner wrote:

Very helpful comment...not!

I tried some 29ers at the cycle show, the Trek Cuperfly Elite carbon was awesome once up and rolling but still felt big and cumbersome in slow tight corners compared to my 26" HT (atht copst 1/9 as much), the Ex-9 just felt big and cumbersome everywhere, like riding a steamroller, tried a Pivot Mach 4 26" and was blown away by it, so while I could feel the advantages of a 29er, I couldn't justify one for the benfits, 650B maybe though.....

Yeah - went out for a ride with friend who's a guide yesterday and he'd had a test ride on the 2013 Scott Genius 650b bike and he was also blown away!

Although that link I put up above has a video of that Tranny and it doesn't look too shoddy on the tight, techy stuff either