New to the 29er

[Ajax]

I just recently bought a X-Caliber (have been riding a old Norco for 2-3 seasons now) but have not had a chance to ride yet. I just want to hear the avantages of the 29ers. I was reading posts on another site about some downfalls, but was not sure if the poster had rode a 29er before or was just being a snob. Since something is new must not be as good.

[Homer Simpson]

Congrats on going over to the dark side. I ridden a Mt Tam for about a year and a half now. I does just about everything better in my opinion and everyone I know who rides one loves it. Bigger wheels roll over obstacles better, making the bike climb and descent better. I've read the reviews that said it doesn't accelerate as well or it doesn't handle in the tight stuff as well. Just not true. I adapted to this bike in one ride.Trust the 29er owners, not the demo only riders. Many racers are now going 29er. Many more companies are making 29ers, Surly Karate Monkey, Sofa King, Moots, I hear Haro will soon have a 29er. Are 26" dead, no, just gives another option to choose from.

Hope you love your 29er as much as the rest of use 29er riders do.

Homer
A 29" donut would be good about now, glazed, D'oh.

[el Jefe]

Let's analogize the wheel size quandary to snowboards...

Pipe and park riders like short, flexible boards that turn quick, but don't go too fast. Big mountain downhillers like a long, more rigid board that's stable at speed and carves long turns. And everyone in the middle rides something along the lines of an 'all mountain' board that makes a compromise somewhere in between.

In the skatepark, 24" wheels handle quick and give the bike a tight ride on smooth surfaces. A two-niner rolls fast and maintains speed on the flats, but doesn't handle quite as sharp in the singletrack (mind you, every two-niner I've ridden has pleasantly surprised me on even the twistiest ribbons of trail). 26" wheels make the most sense for 95% of riders, most of the time.

So what it comes down to... Think for yourself. Think about how you ride and where you ride. Then, go get the right tool for the job.

[Homer Simpson]

I humbly disagree that 26" works best for most riders 95% of the time. But that said, ride what suits you, not what suits someone else. My 29er handles as good as a 26" bike in the tight stuff. It may be that the 29er fits my riding style better than a 26" does, but I'm a lot faster on a 29er in all conditions, and more comfortable too. Thats the ticket, ride what makes you comfortable and you'll be fast, doesn't matter if its 29er or 26er. 29er are here to stay, I can say this as a mechanic that works at Treks leading southern 29er sales store. We move them, people love them. And by Trek I mean the Trek family of bikes- Trek, Fisher, Lemond, and Klein. Yes, I'm suprised we sell more 29er's than other stores, but it helps that my boss is the 6 (or 7, I don't remember) time state expert champ, last couple of times on a 29er.

The moral is- ride what you like, like what you ride. Just ride.

Homer

[Ajax]

Thanks for the feedback. I find it a lot more comfortable than my old bike and that would have been my only concern.

The puts down that people had mentioned where they didn't like the ride (but that can happen with any bike regardless of wheel size) and parts.

[dangerousdave]

How is a 29er for a road bike??/ I was considering just a regular hardtail like a Kona or Stumpy or a Rockhopper, whatever for a commuter...thoughts ? advice? I never seem to go fast enough on my converted DH.

[dave66]

is the way to go [well for SS anyways]
my commutes can be on rail trail, pavement singletrack and my SS converted GT tachyon [sort of a CX bike i think] does it all. I also ride a 29'er SS cruiser [van dessel] and an old 27" fixie.
I had always thought the larger hoops would be too flimsy for my 200 + lbs so i had been using mtn bikes to get back and forth to work.
Once I found this not to be the case, i sold off both my 26" bikes.
heck, even throw multiple gears on it ....i hear it is a bit of a fad these days...
:D

[darksky]

I just purchased a Surly Karate Monkey frame. Now, the building begins (as the money allows). It's really sounding like 29" is the way to go. Are there many options for 29" wheels, yet?

[darksky]

Oops! Should have read the other post.

[Mister Chow]

I rode a Mt. Tam for a year. Raced it a few times and took it on a few epics.

On the plus side: Traction when accellerating and braking, most notably on soft surfaces. Absolutely took no prisoners on one wet muddy race. The wheels do roll noticably faster. I think the critisism about slow acceleration has more to do with getting used to the gearing. If you run the same chainring/cog combination as usual, of course the bike is going to feel sluggish, you're a gear or two higher than on a 26" wheel.

On the negative side: I'm pretty short and I couldn't get an ideal XC position on the bike. The big wheel plus the suspension fork plus the headtube plus the headset put the front end up too high. I had to run the stem upside down to keep it low enough.

Not enough suspension fork choices, if you choose to go that direction. The two Marzocchi forks that I tried were both terrible. My boss had better luck with his Whites Brothers and one of the other guys just went rigid.

The Bontrager 29er rims seem to be rather fragile. Maybe a teething problem but everyone I know went through at least one. My wheel seemed to hold up fine until I switched from discs to V-Brakes and I noticed how dinged up the rim was.

There's not a ton of tire choices but hell, how many different 26" tires do you actually go through considering the gamut of choices in that size. You only need the right tire for your riding, 40 other wrong choices won't change anything. WTB Motoraptors worked well for me as all around tires.

That's my $0.02 (Canadian$)