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Same thing when I lived in Austin. 29ers ruled there. In fact they almost seemed mandatory (or at least made the most sense) given the terrain. Not nearly as many 29ers back out here in Oakland.

There will come a time when downhill geometry and suspension design are tweaked to their limits (think 8"-10" bikes in the near future) and prejudices against 29" wheels settles down and you will see them dominate in more events than XC and perhaps enduro. I am not saying they are for everyone, but I think the marginalization of the wheel size will come to a close.

And lets be honest, If were talking jumping then well... a 24" bike jumps better than a 26" bike and damn a 20" bike is so flickable it seems downright absurd to think about jumping a 26" "wagon wheel" bike. See what I did there? :D It's all relative, but to think you can't jump a Tallboy LTc, a Rip9RDO or a Leviathan or ride all day park lifted runs on the new WFO is absurd.
With that I have to say........you are probably doing it wrong. Most riders can't drift, pop cool airs or ride ridiculous steeps so the 29er thing makes sense for riding easy low angle standard multi use trail stuff. I find that kind of riding boring and I wouldn't want to ride something that hinders my abilities for shredding. 29ers do just that whether you can admit it or not but once again you apparently don't understand what I'm saying.
 
With that I have to say........you are probably doing it wrong. Most riders can't drift, pop cool airs or ride ridiculous steeps so the 29er thing makes sense for riding easy low angle standard multi use trail stuff. I find that kind of riding boring and I wouldn't want to ride something that hinders my abilities for shredding. 29ers do just that whether you can admit it or not but once again you apparently don't understand what I'm saying.
...mmmkay...

I rode 26ers for over 20 years. I know how they ride. I currently prefer my 29ers. The mistaken assumption here that you and the poster above are making is that 29er riders have never ridden anything before 29ers were available. In my case thats simply not true. It would more likely be accurate to assume the other way around, that those on 26ers have never really ridden 29ers and don't have a frackin clue.:thumbsup: But I am not making that claim about you or anyone else. If you come from a 26er, 29ers take time getting used to, but you can learn to drift and do most all of those super cool tricks and moves and ride that super duper tech, steep, "drop-infested" stuff as well.

And since you have tried every 29er that ever existed and or will exist and know what they all can do on all types of terrain, you are most definitely qualified to tell me what I do or don't understand about how boring my current favorite mountain bike is. Thanks!
 
...mmmkay...

I rode 26ers for over 20 years. I know how they ride. I currently prefer my 29ers. The mistaken assumption here that you and the poster above are making is that 29er riders have never ridden anything before 29ers were available. In my case thats simply not true. It would more likely be accurate to assume the other way around, that those on 26ers have never really ridden 29ers and don't have a frackin clue.:thumbsup: But I am not making that claim about you or anyone else. If you come from a 26er, 29ers take time getting used to, but you can learn to drift and do most all of those super cool tricks and moves and ride that super duper tech, steep, "drop-infested" stuff as well.

And since you have tried every 29er that ever existed and or will exist and know what they all can do on all types of terrain, you are most definitely qualified to tell me what I do or don't understand about how boring my current favorite mountain bike is. Thanks!
It's basic physics man. They will not perform as well as a 26 inch wheel in certain situations, others they work better, I get that. It's just the areas they work better are the areas I don't care about as much. As I said earlier, I have heard that the geo is getting better with those bikes and the performance is as well. I have not tried the new 29er rigs but I would like to. The first few gens of 29er bikes tho were purely xc rigs aimed at the riders who like milage more than skillful performance. That is a fact.
 
It's basic physics man. They will not perform as well as a 26 inch wheel in certain situations, others they work better, I get that. It's just the areas they work better are the areas I don't care about as much. As I said earlier, I have heard that the geo is getting better with those bikes and the performance is as well. I have not tried the new 29er rigs but I would like to. The first few gens of 29er bikes tho were purely xc rigs aimed at the riders who like milage more than skillful performance. That is a fact.
24 Bikes of the Enduro World Series - Pinkbike

I thought this article was interesting, a few 29ers in the mix, but a lot of 27.5 and 26. I'm wondering though, are these guys only racing these bikes because of their sponsor and the sponsor kinda sways what they want them to ride?

80-90% of the people I know as well as myself are on 26ers, but like others have said I think that probably varies based on the geography and type of trails ridden. As far as the industry "killing" the 26, that statement is highly over done, but 26 is probably the easiest to hate on right now :)
 
I think if you post to a thread once you are offering your opinion. I think if you need to reply to posts that share a different opinion, or better yet quote and dispute you have gone to fan boy status and are possibly ignorant of the benefits of the other wheels sizes offered within the industry today.
I also believe that anyone who comments that smaller riders are somehow inferior in their mental capacity is very "small" themselves, and I feel sorry for their insecurities.
I think if you take offense to somebodies obvious sarcasm and joking then what was said probably does apply to you especially when it was pointed out and stated that it was actually just that and not a true opinion.

I also think that just because you don't actually quote the person you are directing your statement to it doesn't mean you aren't disputing them so everything you said also applies to you personally.

Thankfully I don't share in your opinion though so I can just quote you without feeling insecure.

.....Oh and I almost forgot this ;)
 
Hello everybody,
My name is Matthew Thompson and this this my first thread on this website. My bike setup is the Specialized Carve Comp 29 2014 model. I love my 29er, but sometimes I feel like I might have liked my old 26er better because I had more control. I was just thinking about it and wondered what you guys liked better, 29ers or 26ers?
Thanks,
Matt
First of all, most of us here don't use our real names so we can all be total know-it-all dirt bags and not worry about more than cyber-repercussions. Suggest you come up with some catchy one and also find some cool avatar.

Since the bike industry has done a 180 on wheel sizes and now is pushing 27.5" wheels, you are going to have to get with the program! Your 29r is now obsolete and all your biking problems will be solved if you purchase a new shiny 27.5" ride!

:)
 
It's basic physics man. They will not perform as well as a 26 inch wheel in certain situations, others they work better, I get that. It's just the areas they work better are the areas I don't care about as much. As I said earlier, I have heard that the geo is getting better with those bikes and the performance is as well. I have not tried the new 29er rigs but I would like to. The first few gens of 29er bikes tho were purely xc rigs aimed at the riders who like milage more than skillful performance. That is a fact.
OK, cool. I can get behind this.

And I agree that the geometries are constantly getting better as they move away from the XC pigeon hole the early adopters put them in. Chain stays are shortening, travel is increasing and head tube angles within the segment have gotten slacker by about a degree a year for the past 5 years as manufacturers work out the potential gains on this wheel size and create new categories of bike within the 29er size.

Will they ever match the flickability and downhill prowess of a smaller bike? Maybe/Probably not for the physics you imply above, but they can get a whole lot closer since they ditched the 73 degree HT angles. And for those of us whose body type/proportions are much better suited to the bigger wheels thats a great thing!

I ride what works for me and its great that you appear to be as well.:D
 
Discussion starter · #53 ·
Hey guys,
After looking over the forum more, I realized that I just posted the same question that hundreds of other people have asked so I am sorry to have wasted your time. Newbie mistake I guess. I will stop posting on this. Thank you anyway for those who responded, and have a nice day.
Thanks,
Matt
 
29ers have a stigma for being for riders who cant ride. Its mostly true, I did an XC race this weekend, most of those guys had zero skill. They were fit, but had no clue how to handle thr bike. Hence the popularity of the 29er, it masks bad riding.

That said, one of the fastest guys on know is on a 29er Enduro. They do rollover things well, and help on rough climbs, and rocky decents. However, they arent great for small riders, are heavy, and respond slower due to physics.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Tapatalk
 
I ride in wild ,tight tracks really rocky ,my current bike is a Ibis HD 26" and I think the new 29r" are the answer for some impossible situations to 26" or 27,5 ,some;) friends had changed their Nomads 26" for 27,5(Mach6,troy) ones but I can´t see they having any advantage diference over me in my outdated HD 26" ,climbing or descend any advantage.I´m just waiting for to come the 2015 E29 to push the trigger.
 
A couple of years ago, the death of the 26er was predicted, due to the benefits of the 29 inch wheel. Those benefits are real, and the popularity of 29ers was justified.
All of a sudden all those benefits are supposed to be traded in for 27.5 which is just something less good.

It's easy to pick a 27.5 bike right now. You don't really need to have a preference in any particular direction.

I just had the opportunity to have any bike I wanted, and picked a Tallboy LTC. Despite the hype of 29rs being for roadie mentality people who cant ride and like gravel roads. That bike does everything better than the 27.5s I tested. 29ers are not for dirt roads. I find the biggest advantage to 29ers on rocky technical trails where I will blast over rocks I could not with smaller wheels. A good 29er with optimized geometry has no handling issues. That bike was the best trail bike I tried, out of all the cream of the crop bikes in the 140 mm travel range.

I love my 26er and I recognize that there are benefits to all size wheels, but some of the marketing BS in this thread has to be challenged.

27.5 doesn't have the maneuverability, light weight, or strength of 26ers, or the efficiency, and roll over capability of a 29er. Best of both worlds? In my test rides, it wasn't.

With that said, I would be a very happy owner with any of the top 8 or so bikes I was picking from. Wheel size does not make or break a bike. We are lucky that there are so many great bikes to choose from. When you ride any of these bikes, you are thinking about how capable they are, not what size your wheels are.
 
A couple of years ago, the death of the 26er was predicted, due to the benefits of the 29 inch wheel. Those benefits are real, and the popularity of 29ers was justified.
All of a sudden all those benefits are supposed to be traded in for 27.5 which is just something less good.

It's easy to pick a 27.5 bike right now. You don't really need to have a preference in any particular direction.

I just had the opportunity to have any bike I wanted, and picked a Tallboy LTC. Despite the hype of 29rs being for roadie mentality people who cant ride and like gravel roads. That bike does everything better than the 27.5s I tested. 29ers are not for dirt roads. I find the biggest advantage to 29ers on rocky technical trails where I will blast over rocks I could not with smaller wheels. A good 29er with optimized geometry has no handling issues. That bike was the best trail bike I tried, out of all the cream of the crop bikes in the 140 mm travel range.

I love my 26er and I recognize that there are benefits to all size wheels, but some of the marketing BS in this thread has to be challenged.

27.5 doesn't have the maneuverability, light weight, or strength of 26ers, or the efficiency, and roll over capability of a 29er. Best of both worlds? In my test rides, it wasn't.

With that said, I would be a very happy owner with any of the top 8 or so bikes I was picking from. Wheel size does not make or break a bike. We are lucky that there are so many great bikes to choose from. When you ride any of these bikes, you are thinking about how capable they are, not what size your wheels are.
+1

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29ers have a stigma for being for riders who cant ride. Its mostly true, I did an XC race this weekend, most of those guys had zero skill. They were fit, but had no clue how to handle thr bike. Hence the popularity of the 29er, it masks bad riding.

That said, one of the fastest guys on know is on a 29er Enduro. They do rollover things well, and help on rough climbs, and rocky decents. However, they arent great for small riders, are heavy, and respond slower due to physics.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Tapatalk
I'm 5'8" and my Anthem 29er works really well. If you move your body around the bike, switchbacks, drops, rocks, roots, etc are a lot more manageable.

If you can ride a road bike switchback style in a single parking space, translating that to dirt isn't that different in terms of how you move on the bike.

I don't think these are bikes for people can't ride. Yes, amateur XC races have a lot of road riders that have fitness but might still be bringing their handling skills up to snuff. But, there are also a ton of really skilled riders as well.

There are a lot of UCI XCO Pro Women who ride them that aren't much more than 5'3"/5'5" who have awesome handling skills.

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/article/25417-Pro-Bike-Emily-Battys-2014-Trek-Superfly

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