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Easier or harder to climb with 27.5 vs 26?

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acousticbiker

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm finally looking to update my decades old 26" mountain bike and wondering whether it's easier or harder to climb on a 27.5" (assuming same chaingring/cassette/ratios)

Also, debating between a 32 x 10-50 Eagle GX vs 30 x 11-46 XT setup and would appreciate any thoughts from those who've ridden both.
 
#2 ·
Depends on the terrain. For fire road climbing, having less rotating mass with the 26ers is going to be an advantage. On a more technical climb, the 27.5ers may allow you to roll over some things that you'd need to lift/hop over with 26ers and therefore be better at climbing.
 
#3 ·
I'm guessing any difference will be negligible, maybe a slight nod to 27.5 on traction. You may notice the "inch gears" difference keeping the same drivetrain though. I would absolutely go for the eagle, chainline alone makes it worth it with a 32 up front. I'm liking eagle much better than 11 speed on all fronts.
 
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Discussion starter · #4 ·
WHALENARD said:
I'm guessing any difference will be negligible, maybe a slight nod to 27.5 on traction. You may notice the "inch gears" difference keeping the same drivetrain though. I would absolutely go for the eagle, chainline alone makes it worth it with a 32 up front. I'm liking eagle much better than 11 speed on all fronts.
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Thanks, what do you mean by 'inch gears'? And can you say more what you mean by 'chainline' in your comment about 32t (I'm also considering 30 x 10-50)?
 
#5 ·
acousticbiker said:
I'm finally looking to update my decades old 26" mountain bike and wondering whether it's easier or harder to climb on a 27.5" (assuming same chaingring/cassette/ratios)

Also, debating between a 32 x 10-50 Eagle GX vs 30 x 11-46 XT setup and would appreciate any thoughts from those who've ridden both.
Click to expand...
Easier because of the longer, slacker geometry. Older 26" is harder to climb because of the upright, shorter frame. Many people would disagree with this but I don't care lol.
 
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#6 ·
It seems counterintuitive until you see it and ride it in person but the larger diameter front ring has a pretty drastic effect on chainline. This has a pleiotropic affect on everything from dropping chains to component wear to shifting performance. If you google inch gear gragh or the like you can read up on that but it's essentially tire size vs gear ratios.
 
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#7 ·
I'm 66. I went from a Pivot 5.7c, all decked out (26) to a Yeti SB5c 2 seasons ago, all decked out. I've posted over a dozen PR's on climbs I've tracked for years. The climbs are from 45 minutes to over an hour and a half in the Wasatch, starting at 7000 feet.

So, I vote "easier".
 
#8 ·
I think that all that was posted above have merit. On smooth climbs 26ers are probably better, as trails get a little rougher the bigger wheels will definitely be better.
As far as gearing goes, I went from Eagle, back to XX1 11 spd because my bikes max chainring size is a 32, and I never ever needed a 32-50 gear. I now run a 32-46, which works better for me, although I don't use the 46 that often.
I was hoping to run a 36t chainring with the Eagle.
 
#10 ·
I would go with a 27.5 since there will be a better tire selection. Most companies are making a small and medium 27.5 so companies like maxxis will continue to put out 27.5 ikons and ect. The biggest thing is finding a bike that fits your local trails and old 26" bikes are still at home on some of them. Vittoria is the only company I really know of releasing new nice 26" rubber such as the mezcal and barzo.
 
#11 ·
The difference is minimal at best. Tires are going to make the biggest difference climbing or otherwise. Plenty of options available in both sizes.

Why not 29er?

As far as drivetrain, I'd hold off for the release of XT 12spd but if I had to choose, I'd get the current XT with a Sunrace cassette.
 
#12 ·
when i switched from 26 to 650b there i did not noticed any drawbacks in climbing while maintaining same gearing 32front 42rear. you dont need much more. i live in co front range, lots of steep rocky climbs and i dont even use 42 most of the time. mostly stay in 36 in steep grinds. now this past summer i tried to switch to 29 (demoed about every new bike available) but the difference in climbing was pretty noticeable to me. for same trails, i had to even use 50 cog while only having 30 front. they are just so sluggish for me and i ended up getting another 650b bike instead.
 
#13 ·
brankulo said:
when i switched from 26 to 650b there i did not noticed any drawbacks in climbing while maintaining same gearing 32front 42rear. you dont need much more. i live in co front range, lots of steep rocky climbs and i dont even use 42 most of the time. mostly stay in 36 in steep grinds. now this past summer i tried to switch to 29 (demoed about every new bike available) but the difference in climbing was pretty noticeable to me. for same trails, i had to even use 50 cog while only having 30 front. they are just so sluggish for me and i ended up getting another 650b bike instead.
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What are you smoking? Kona Hei Hei, Giant Anthem Advanced 29er, Spesh Camber/Epic EVO, Niner RKT9 and the list goes on. None of these are sluggish. At all. Yes, I've demo'ed them all on actual trails. Some had Eagle, some XT. Never needed the 50t and I'm not even a strong climber.
 
#14 ·
I recently went from 26 to 27.5 (see bikes in sig). For me the increase in wheel size did not seem huge. Yeah, the bigger dia makes a bit of difference in 'rollability' over terrain but it's subtle. I think people who go to a bigger wheel size tend to overlook the other differences between an older bike and a newer designed bike.

I really noticed the following:
1. Totally different geo between the 2 bikes. On new Kona the front wheel is way forward compared to the Heckler and the swing arm is shorter. Totally changes how the bike feels in all conditions. For climbing, geo is a big factor and if your terrain includes lots of climbing, I would make sure the bike design you get is the right tool for the job vs focusing on wheel diameter. The new Kona happens to be a great climbing bike for an XL 153mm travel FS bike.
2. First dropper for me...being 6'4" it changed things in an unexpected way. The obvious benefit is pushing the seat down and out of the way in technical terrain. But I found that I can finally extend my seat to a fully extended climbing position which is huge. Before droppers, I set seat at a happy medium for tech terrain and climbing which meant I never really had full leg extension on climbs.
 
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#15 ·
acousticbiker said:
I'm finally looking to update my decades old 26" mountain bike and wondering whether it's easier or harder to climb on a 27.5" (assuming same chaingring/cassette/ratios)

Also, debating between a 32 x 10-50 Eagle GX vs 30 x 11-46 XT setup and would appreciate any thoughts from those who've ridden both.
Click to expand...
Just swapping to a bigger tire on my 26er it was obvious how much better the taller wheel rolled through rough terrain, which is most of what we ride here. Going to a 275er was noticeably better again. I didn't notice a huge difference in terms of gearing going 26er to 275er. I'd skip Eagle for the 275er unless you really need super easy gears. I think a 30 x 46T low gear would be fine.

For a 29er Eagle or equivalent is nice.
 
#17 ·
WHALENARD said:
It seems counterintuitive until you see it and ride it in person but the larger diameter front ring has a pretty drastic effect on chainline. This has a pleiotropic affect on everything from dropping chains to component wear to shifting performance. If you google inch gear gragh or the like you can read up on that but it's essentially tire size vs gear ratios.
Click to expand...
Huh?

Are you saying that a 29" can get away with a higher gear ratio for climbing than a 26"?
 
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#19 ·
acousticbiker said:
Thanks, what do you mean by 'inch gears'? And can you say more what you mean by 'chainline' in your comment about 32t (I'm also considering 30 x 10-50)?
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What he's trying to vomit out is that with a smaller teeth front ring and 12 speed you spend more time in the smaller teeth sprockets which then have a better chainline so you drop chains less or whatever (I've never dropped a chain with Shimano 11 speed 1x or 2x).
 
#20 ·
WHALENARD said:
It seems counterintuitive until you see it and ride it in person but the larger diameter front ring has a pretty drastic effect on chainline. This has a pleiotropic affect on everything from dropping chains to component wear to shifting performance. If you google inch gear gragh or the like you can read up on that but it's essentially tire size vs gear ratios.
Click to expand...
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pleiotropic
 
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