29"/26"

[Browne]

So a while ago, I had a brain fart about using a 29" front wheel and a 26" rear wheel, thinking that I'd get the roll-over effect without... well, to be honest, I was just thinking about being more one-off than the next guy. A quirky niche kinda thing.

So just a few moments ago, I get off the phone with Gary Fisher who tells me he's done just that. A Sugar 29" frame, mated to a Sugar 26" rear triangle. He tells me it weighs a little less, gets that same roll-over effect, but doesn't climb as well as a true 29er.

Anyway, I just thought someone might be interested in this. Here's the picture

[riderx]

Hey, hey Mr. Browne, drop forum user Cloxxki an email or PM. If I remember correctly, he posted on the MTBR.com 29er board about doing this. I'm pretty sure he rode it extensively before he got a true 29er.

[The Rose]

swap the 26 for a 24. now that would really be one off from the next guy.:D

[Cloxxki]

Cool pic!
I rode 29/26 bikes for a while, indeed before I lay my hands on the good stuff.
A while ago Gary did tell me about his plan in this direction, but never saw the pic or get the report.

My experience with a fully rigid 29/26, was that all at once, the rear feels really harsh. Like it used tobe a softtail, and just became the harshest or harsh hardtail. The 29" front definately offers more roll-over-obstacle capacity and ability, which I sensed as comfort and control.

My VooDoo FS bike for a while ran a rigid 29" front with Kenda tire. I never rode it, but my buddy did. He didn't like it, though it did function. The rear was too bobby (non-SPV damper in an URT design, figures), and the front was too harsh with overkill grip. A suspension 29" front would have raised the bike to DH levels (almost a plan..), and a rear 29" would just get stuck.

Gary knows it and agrees, I want a Fisher Cake 29".

[Browne]

whoa. 29 Cakes. talk about having it, and eating it too.

That's out of control.

I can't wait to ride it.

Wait... this is sounding more and more like a Penny Farthing!

[Cloxxki]

Did you ever ride a Cake then? I haven't, but the design makes a lot of sence to me.

[Browne]

I've spent about 2 weeks on one. There's a Cake 1 in the basement now, but it's been too crappy to ride trail for some time now.

It's a cool ride. Comfortable.

With 5 inches, it was easy for me to get in over the capability of the bike. But i like to go fast. And when a bike allows me to drop into something or hit something at speed, I'll do it. This bike is a cross country bike. I had to keep reminding myself of that.

When I stuck inside the parameters of the bike, I had a blast. Five inches. Damn, that feels good.

I like that they stuck with the traditional front triangle. No problems with dropping the seat or mounting on a trunk rack. I hate it when you're allowed just 2 inches of seat adjustment due to contact with the shock or radical changes in seat-handlebar length.

One thing I wasn't so keen on was the way the cartridge bearing for the single pivot is held in place. Due to maunfacturing, the drive side bearing only has about 50% contact area with the frame. And since it's held in place by loc-tite, I think durability might be an issue. After a few weeks of really hard riding, ours came loose. Easy to replace, but that 50% contact area seemed, well, not right.

The bike is light. Something that's really nice to have with all these 30lb. full sus bikes floating around.

Parts choice is right on.

[Cloxxki]

Thanks for that review! How did the SPV damper enhance it's overall pedaling speed, with all those inches? How would you think a 4" travel niner version would ride?

[Browne]

I still haven't mastered the SPV stuff.

I had problems with the shock not rebounding quickly enough, and after a couple weeks testing, sent the shock back for a different one. Manitou told me there was nothing wrong with the old one, but it appears that I inflated the chambers in the incorrect order. After one ride on the new Swinger, it worked a bit better. But I only had one ride on it before I had to pass it to Chris.

Then it snowed. And rained. And iced.

I haven't touched it since. I look forward to riding it come spring time.

[grislybikegeek]

kinda reminds me of the old cannondale 26/24.