Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => MTB => Topic started by: IbisTouche on 28 July, 2012, 10:10:35 am
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We are looking after new mtb´s. Dorte is 158 and I am 186 cm. As we do not ride any specific tecnical riding but more gravel track in the woods we started wondering about trying 29 wheels instead of 26. Is Dorte to small to get any benefit of this. Would the 29 wheels have difficulties carrying the extra weight of the Carradice plus what is in it - would the wheel be a lot less strong than the 26 one? Which compagny should we be looking for?
Carsten &Dorte / Ibistouche
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There's a good explanation of why Singular go for 29" wheels here (http://www.singularcycles.com/tech/). The perceived wisdom is that 29ers roll over bumps better and hold their momentum but are slower to accelerate and less manoeuvrable.
I'm 5'8" which I think is about 180cm and ride a Swift. For the sort of rides that I do I think a 29er is perfect, my riding leans towards the longer, non-technical side of things. If I've got the conversion to metric right then Dorte may be too small but Willow Koerber is about 5' and was very successful on one.
I wouldn't have any concerns about the durability of the wheels: a well built 29" wheel will be stronger than a bady built 26" wheel! And a lot of riders in the Tour Divide rode it on 29ers.
At the end of the day it is about the bike :) the geometry and design of the bike is far more important than the wheel size.
At the end of the day
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If you're not going to do any wanging it around super technical stuff, then 29 is the way to go. I think that if you watch the Olympic XC racing every single rider (male and female) will be riding 29ers.
As for height - there was an article on cyclingnews.com a while ago about a female rider (her name escapes me at the moment) who is about 5ft (153cm). She rides a 29er - smallest frame possible, no headset spacers, special short cranks etc etc.. So clearly being able to ride a 29er was seen to be an advantage...
Edit: As per Paul's post, I think it was Willow Koerber...
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As for height - there was an article on cyclingnews.com a while ago about a female rider (her name escapes me at the moment) who is about 5ft (153cm). She rides a 29er - smallest frame possible, no headset spacers, special short cranks etc etc.. So clearly being able to ride a 29er was seen to be an advantage...
That was Willow Koerber, the thing to note is that she was racing for a factory team (Trek I think?) who were pushing 29ers at the time which may explain why she was riding a 29er. Although I agree that given the Olympic course will favour the larger wheels there won't be many on 26" wheels.
And of course there's always 650b....
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PaulF, I'm getting bad messages about that Singular link from Google's diagnostic page for some reason:
Of the 137 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 41 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2012-07-29, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2012-07-29.
Malicious software includes 5 trojan(s).
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PaulF, I'm getting bad messages about that Singular link from Google's diagnostic page for some reason:
Of the 137 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 41 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2012-07-29, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2012-07-29.
Malicious software includes 5 trojan(s).
Obviously apart for owning two of his bikes I've got no connection but I dropped the owner an e-mail anyway.
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As someone looking at getting into off-roading (not massively technical stuff) is it definitely worth going for a 29er?
I've just been looking at a comparable spec 26" and 29er in my LBS and he was definitely positive about the 29er, but then again it cost another £150.
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I'm not so sure now to be honest. As Paul alluded to up thread - most of the pushing of 29ers seems to be coming from the manufacturers/retailers rather than from within mtbing in general.
There are plenty of videos on youtube showing direct comparisons. Some are interesting and others are pure propaganda trying to make 26" look shit.
Downhillers and enduro riders ride 26" wheels no bother and they're hitting bigger bumps the XC riders!
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Downhillers and enduro riders ride 26" wheels no bother and they're hitting bigger bumps the XC riders!
I think that's where the smaller wheel probably has the advantage, on less technical terrain te difference is less clear. In the last Mountain Flyer magazine there was a side by side test of two Scott bikes a 29er and a 26er over a variety of courses to supposedly play to the strengths of both wheel sizes but with the same rider. The results were measured using a stopwatch and powertap. And the conclusion? Over all the courses neither size was more than a couple of percentage points better than the other.
Like I said the bike design is probably more important than the wheel size!
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If you're not going to do any wanging it around super technical stuff, then 29 is the way to go. I think that if you watch the Olympic XC racing every single rider (male and female) will be riding 29ers.
Not Absalon.
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Alright smart arse :P
Edit: Actually, fuck that!
Linky (http://singletrack.competitor.com/2012/08/bikes-tech/olympic-tech-prototype-and-new-tech-we-will-see-in-london_33933)
Athens and Beijing Olympic champion Julian Absalon should ride his Orbea Alma 29er hardtail.
So let's wait and see eh?!
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If you're not going to do any wanging it around super technical stuff, then 29 is the way to go. I think that if you watch the Olympic XC racing every single rider (male and female) will be riding 29ers.
Not Absalon.
I saw a tweet that one was on a 650B
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I'm 6' 5" which, if I believe the advice, means I should be on a 29er. I rode one and hated it. Felt all wrong, especially when I got out of the saddle, and boosted my theory that the 29er craze is, at least in part, fuelled by reduced tooling costs on the part of manufacturers. But maybe that's just my cynicism.
I opted for a new 26 inch wheeled carbon hardtail at a time when everyone seems to be going the other way. Can't say I'm worried. In fact, I'm benefitting from being just as technically able as I was on a familiar set-up, and still overtaking plenty of 29er riding others whilst I'm at it. I got into and love MTBing for the technical challenge of the riding. Not stupidly big drop-offs, just tight singletrack, woodlands and the usual cross-country stuff. No doubt if I was good enough to be sponsored, or ride MTBs for a living I would be riding the 29er that my sponsors/employers want me to ride. The biggest determining factor when it comes to speed is legs, not wheels IMHO!
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Sheesh you guys are SO last year. Any fule no that 27.5 is the fewchur.
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Quite good being 'so last year' two years ago ;)
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:P