Thoughts on a 29er

gixernick

I've just gone from an upgraded Giant Trance X 2008 to a 2014 Orange Five 29 Pro.
To be honest I've found it very skittish at the front and it seems to wash out a lot. There doesn't seem to be a lot good said about the tyres on it though, they're 2.2 Rubber Queens and seem to lose traction very easily compared to the Fire XC's I've grown to love on the 26's.
I've ordered some Nobby Nic's and I'm hoping they're going to improve the handling.
I found it climbed very well and flattered my shocking riding over the technical/bumpy stuff ;-)

tootsie323

Good for XC riding, which is largely why I switched from 26. Only thing is that I am nervous about taking air, in case I buckle the things on landing! But I'm not a DH person anyway so this is not such an issue for me. Handling seems to be fine, tyre choice is a bigger factor than wheel size in my opinion for this.

rockmonkeysc

The only reason I haven't bought a 29er is that I haven't liked the steering and handling characteristics of the ones I have tried. They are fast though.
The wheels flex more than 26" wheels but aren't particularly prone to buckling.
Conti Rubber Queens are the best tyres I have used as long as they are black chilli compound.
Did you not think to get a test ride before spending such a large amount of cash on a bike.

gixernick

Sadly I couldn't find an XL in anyone's test fleet and at 6'7" with a 36" inside leg trying any other side would be next to useless.
I don't think Mine are the black chilli ones, should it say on them if they are?

thelonegroover

The black chilli/protesction have 'hand made in germany' and the letter M is a different colour.

pilch

gixernick wrote:

To be honest I've found it very skittish at the front and it seems to wash out a lot.

set up? and do you use a dropper on it? I found just dropping the seat a bit makes a big difference to the handling on my 29ers

rockmonkeysc

A dropper post doesn't affect how a bike handles, its just a quicker way to drop your seat.

pesky_jones

RockmonkeySC wrote:

A dropper post doesn't affect how a bike handles, its just a quicker way to drop your seat.

What? I think he was making the point that with a dropper you can drop the seat when appropiate, which affects the handling, massively.

With a standard post you can't be constantly adjusting saddle hight to accomodate the terrain, which affects your handling, negatively.

The Rookie

No....it makes it easier to handle the bike (over, weight distribution etc) it doesn't affect the bikes handling (cornering balance)

pesky_jones

Same thing in my eyes, your're welcome to your technical definitons.

pilch

The Rookie wrote:

No....it makes it easier to handle the bike (over, weight distribution etc) it doesn't affect the bikes handling (cornering balance)

From my experience it makes a big difference in handling, especially on a 29er with a relatively high & slack front end you lower your c of g and get more 'in' the bike, rather than being perched up high wobbling about.

kajjal

gixernick wrote:

Sadly I couldn't find an XL in anyone's test fleet and at 6'7" with a 36" inside leg trying any other side would be next to useless.
I don't think Mine are the black chilli ones, should it say on them if they are?

Same height roughly and I ended up getting a specialized carve comp in the largest frame size. Bike fits me really well and is great for XC riding. First MTB I have had that looks the right size for me

gixernick

Right, the Rubber Queens were the cheap ones.
The Nobby Nics' Evos have arrived and completely transformed the bike.
Glad I had the patience now. Bit disappointed they pit such bad tyres on a high end bike!

JayKay3000

TBH most people pull the tires off for ones they like because high end bikes are generally brought by riders with experience who've probably got their favourite trail tyre.

I made the mistake of riding my Trek with stock tires on my favourite rocky trail and crashes two more times than I ever have before. I went to the website for the tyre specs 'not suitable for rocky terrain' I then pulled them off for something different.

Same reason they don't come with pedals.

Good job. Let us know how you get on.

gixernick

Really enjoying the 29er now and getting used to it. There aren't any advantages to my old 26 other than weight, which I can live with/work on.
It seems more manoeuvrable gets round switchbacks no problem. The big wheel roll over capability makes my riding look loads better then it is ;-)
It has 720mm bars though which I've clipped on trees a few times. Think I'll trim them down a smidge and I want a shorter stem too, it came with a 90 or 100mm I think.

Paper

I found my carrera fury 26 was a bit too sensitive when turning for me, so going with a Boardman Pro 29er to see what thats like. Horses for courses to an extent possibly.

gixernick

I think it's largely down to the geometry evolving nicely. So get the most modern one you can.