29er vs 26" performance benefit?

AllezAllezAllez

Are 29ers just a trend or is there a benefit?

My mate has just bought a hardtail 29er and all day I was hanging off his back wheel....did he just have a good day or is there a noticeable benefit?

We rode around Sherwood Pines red route which is flat and not technical. I was on a 26" full sus bike.

We tend to ride together and have similar fitness levels.

I'm about due a new bike and have toyed with the idea of a 29er, has anyone made the move from 26" full sus to 29er hardtail?

roger_merriman

Are you comparing like with like?

Ie is his hard tail a xc whippet? Even tyres make a huge difference.

benpinnick

There is a noticeable benefit yes. 29ers are cheating. I am afraid unless you start riding down big mountains your mates arse will become your normal view.

97th choice

AllezAllezAllez wrote:

We rode around Sherwood Pines red route which is flat and not technical. I was on a 26" full sus bike.

You've answered your own question, you can either subscribe to the view that one 'do it all' (compromise) bike is suitable for everything or have a selection of different bikes.

As n+1 applies I would recommend the latter.

tarbot18

What 97th above said n+1 you can never have enough bikes im toying with getting the whyte t129s next year for my next toy just because i can vaguely justify it ........

I have a 29er and it is fast on cross country stuff and bridleways etc but then its lighter than my full suss has quicker tyres no pedal bob to worry about and bigger wheels roll better as they are rounderer .......

But if i go anywhere mildly demanding i miss rear suspension and the increased travel of my full suss.
Use the bike thats right for you on that day so n+1 always applies

kajjal

My 29er XC hardtail for me is noticeably faster than my 26er XC hardtail.

AllezAllezAllez

A new bike it is then!

CitizenLee

I'm not a hater like many 26" die hards, but its the flexy nature of 29" wheels that puts me off. My mate just spent 800 on carbon rims to make his stiffer. I'd much rather go a fraction slower on 26" and put that 800 to better use. Plus I like a flickable bike. Horses for courses though. If you can try and demo a few and see what feels best for you.

njee20

Does that translate into anything negative though? I had ultra light and flexy 26" wheels, I liked how they felt. Didn't go any quicker with 'stiffer' wheels.

I've bought some £120 carbon rims for my 29er, seemed rude not to at that price.

rockmonkeysc

Personally im not a fan of 29ers but for xc riding they are noticably faster for most people.
I don't like them because I do a lot of more technical riding and I don't like the flexy wheels or the way they steer. Having said that if I can get a light xc bike to have as well as my Mega it would almost definitely be a Giant Anthem 29er. I do enjoy the occasional xc epic ride and 29ers are perfect for that.

ddraver

AllezAllezAllez wrote:

A new bike it is then!

Unless your an XC racer there's not much point in that (unless your current one is due upgrading/knackered)

apple eater

i added a 29er to my 2 bike collection in september and i have noticed a significasnt difference in my ride skills / speed. the 29er rolls much faster but i do need to get the back wheel trued up a bit as last nights tyre fitting fiasco showed the slight buckle. my 26er is what i tend to trash a bit harder in jumps and over rougher ground. the handling is different but i enjoy both bikes equally.

devbrix

Sadly, most of my segment times are faster on my old 26er Cube Stereo than my double the price Santa Cruz Tallboy LTC 29er

stubs

I have gone from a 26er full sus to a 29er hardtail. On smoother trails I am quicker and on bumpy cobbly type ones I am slower particulary towards the end of a ride when it would be nice to just sit and pedal letting the suspension float you along. Climbing when its dry is quicker but when its slippery suspension helps with grip so a F/S is quicker.

All in all one size of wheel is much better than the other the only problem is that size advantage changes plenty of times during a ride.

Corners R Us

650B full sus the best of both worlds?

rockmonkeysc

Corners R Us wrote:

650B full sus the best of both worlds?

The positives of everything with no negatives at all?

paul.skibum

I always assume people who ride 29ers just dont really enjoy riding mountain bikes.

The Rookie

Indications are that a 650 to most people gives circa 80% of the benefits of a 29er with only 20% of the downsides! as a compromise that sounds great but at times a 29 or 26 is still better. My frame will take a 650 rear wheel, would need new forks though!

pilch

The Rookie wrote:

Indications are that a 650 to most people gives circa 80% of the benefits of a 29er with only 20% of the downsides! as a compromise that sounds great but at times a 29 or 26 is still better. My frame will take a 650 rear wheel, would need new forks though!

Interesting... can I see the documentary evidence & your workings please? I love a good statistic

The Rookie

Yes check out the comparison article in MBUK, and as already discussed it's terrain specific, hence the about.....

pilch

And there was me thinking you had researched it...

stubs

paul.skibum wrote:

I always assume people who ride 29ers just dont really enjoy riding mountain bikes.

I always assume that people who judge someone by what they ride are winkers

cooldad

stubs wrote:

paul.skibum wrote:

I always assume people who ride 29ers just dont really enjoy riding mountain bikes.

I always assume that people who judge someone by what they ride are winkers

Mmmmmm

kammybear

IMO you gain "performance" at the cost of "fun".

I have a 29er and a 27.5. I had to grow to love the 29er while the 27.5 feels like a 26er ie awesome, nimble, maneuverable, dynamic.

With a 29er you'll go faster, roll over everything, climb faster.

Disadvantage? You'll roll over everything effortlessly, bounce about less and struggle to go around tight turns and switchbacks. I'm just a newbie but I don't think 29ers are suited to the UK...and it's pretty clear they'll be kept niche in favour of 27.5

CitizenLee

A lot of people who jumped early on the 29er bandwagon might disagree but it does look to be going that way. Giant have said they plan to pretty much phase out 29ers over the next couple of years, along with 26" (apart from Glory maybe). I know that's only 1 company but they're not the only one hailing 27.5 as the best thing to happen to mountain biking. Maybe they're right, but I still think for the majority of normal people all the supposed performance gain is simply placebo affect after spunking a wad on a new bike. Especially if it's a different type of bike like changing h/t to f/s etc. I remain unconvinced until I try the exact same model with 26" and 27.5".

Northwind

CitizenLee wrote:

I know that's only 1 company but they're not the only one hailing 27.5 as the best thing to happen to mountain biking.

As long as by "mountain biking" you mean "their ability to sell bikes", anyway. Giant spent a couple of years telling you their 29ers were amazing, now they're putting all their effort into telling you that actually they sucked balls and that 650b is what they should have been selling last year. Marketing men are all well and good when they know their place but the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

(also, Giant specifically had the issue that their 29ers look incredibly bad. I rode a Trance X 29, it was a bloomin brilliant bike but the performance benefits of the wheels would be offset with the performance impact of all the eye bleach)

CitizenLee

Northwind wrote:

CitizenLee wrote:

I know that's only 1 company but they're not the only one hailing 27.5 as the best thing to happen to mountain biking.

As long as by "mountain biking" you mean "their ability to sell bikes", anyway. Giant spent a couple of years telling you their 29ers were amazing, now they're putting all their effort into telling you that actually they sucked balls and that 650b is what they should have been selling last year. Marketing men are all well and good when they know their place but the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

(also, Giant specifically had the issue that their 29ers look incredibly bad. I rode a Trance X 29, it was a bloomin brilliant bike but the performance benefits of the wheels would be offset with the performance impact of all the eye bleach)

Preaching to the converted mate. I've always thought it's just a bunch of marketing b/s to sell more bikes and parts.

declan1

Northwind wrote:

CitizenLee wrote:

I know that's only 1 company but they're not the only one hailing 27.5 as the best thing to happen to mountain biking.

As long as by "mountain biking" you mean "their ability to sell bikes", anyway. Giant spent a couple of years telling you their 29ers were amazing, now they're putting all their effort into telling you that actually they sucked balls and that 650b is what they should have been selling last year. Marketing men are all well and good when they know their place but the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

(also, Giant specifically had the issue that their 29ers look incredibly bad. I rode a Trance X 29, it was a bloomin brilliant bike but the performance benefits of the wheels would be offset with the performance impact of all the eye bleach)

You don't have to believe what they all say. If you don't like 27.5, that's fair enough. I personally find 26ers too small as they don't roll over obstacles very well. 29ers feel way too big but roll over everything as though it's not there. 27.5 rolls over obstacles well but still keeps the nimble handling of the 26er.

I'm saying this out of personal experience and opinion - I think the only way to decide is to ride all three.

CitizenLee

Assuming you've probably rode various 26" bikes for a good few years before trying a 29er, did it ever cross you mind that 26" was too small and didn't roll well over obstacles, or is it just looking back?

Totally agree that anyone undecided should try them all as opinions are far too divided on the web

supersonic

And of course any bike fitted with crap parts will be crap regardless. 26ers are winning budget tests time and time again simply because they are better value, and sorted forks and good tyres make any bike work well.

Northwind

It is interesting, because in the past, when people went from a small 26er tyre to a big one, not once did anyone ever say "Hey, the extra size of the wheel really improves this bike's ability to roll over things". And yet when you get the exact same increase in rolling radius by virtue of a heavily marketed bigger wheel, it make a noticably performance difference. Weird!