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29ers or 26ers?

9K views 101 replies 50 participants last post by  mnigro 
#1 ·
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
 
#68 · (Edited)
I think its usually best to settle this debate in your own mind by considering the specific geometry you want, and how a wheel size supports that. e.g. a 29er will give you a lot more bb drop with the same bb height, which typically give good stability, but makes manuals/bunnyhops harder and manueverability is different. There are similar changes that happen to CS length, rake and trail, etc.

Looking at rolling resistance data, the difference between 26 and 29 tires is usually small (like 20 vs 22 watts for a fast XC tire made by specialized), and for chunkier tires often non-existant. So, think about the geo you want, look at the wheel size that supports that and go from there.
 
#72 ·
This is the all mountain forum. For any true all mountain use, it's highly unlikely that 29" wheels will ever be a viable option vs. 26". It's simply not possible to get the tire width and frame geometry for true AM in a practically sized package with a 29" wheel size. But people are certainly trying!
Sorry there, chap. Just not true. I know, I know. I've seen your recent posts trying to rip on 29ers whenever possible, but your arguments are just plain bad. I work with a few of the better 'AM' riders in the state of Utah (they have the podium finishes to back that claim up, btw). Guess what they ride? One rides a Yeti SB-95, another rides an Ibis Ripley 29er, and another just got an S-Works Enduro 29er. They destroy any trail you put them on, and faster than the did on their previous 26ers they all owned. As long as you build it up right, a 29er an be an extremely capable AM bike. It all depends on what characteristics you personally do best with. I personally ride a 26er, and I do best with 26er ride characteristics. But I'm not vacuous enough to say that 29ers are categorically inferior to 26ers. You really ought to ride a good, recent 29er, rather than sipping the Haterade. They fit nice and fat tires, they have low bottom brackets, and even short chainstays and slack head angles. I'd say some of them are every bit as good as any 26er or 27.5er on even near DH terrain, but again it all comes down to personal preference.

Nothing wrong with voicing an opinon.
Yes there is when you're being a troll.
 
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#5 ·
This. I've done plenty of all mountain riding on both 26 and 29" bikes. In reality, if I'm brutally honest, all those bikes were XC bikes I was pushing the limits on. That said, the 29ers are more comfortable to do that on than the 26ers were. And that said, having ridden a couple of modern 27.5 AM/Enduro bikes, one of those is for certain in the cards for my next N+1, as budget allows. I don't see it replacing my cross country rigs, but man are those things nice when you start to push the limits of an XC rig.
 
#12 ·
Welcome to the board Matt,

The ship is only a good as the captain...Practice will take you far on each platform...Get a good fitting bike. Make, sure the seat is comfortable and the grips/bars feel good after a long ride. Keep practicing and the rest will come.

Have fun :thumbsup:


~JRA
 
#16 ·
26" may be hard to find soon.

I ride a 26" Trance and now that I am in the market for a new bike in the all mountain category, I no longer see many high end choices in that size. I've ridden plenty of 29" but never felt they were worth the investment. I can't be sure but the type of bike I'm looking for would probably be best served by a 27.5" these days.
 
#22 ·
The Spec Crave Comp 29 has a 71.5 headtube angle and 442 chainstays with a 46mm offset fork. Those are not the geo of a stable all mountain ride. That is last gen XC numbers.
Pick one of the many 29ers with slack geo and you can end up with something that makes your Crave by comparison feel twitchy and not worth riding on some trails even though both bikes have the same wheel size.
You could get more info at a demo day or two when they come around your area. Bikes are really very different.
 
#66 · (Edited)
...27.5ers are a definite difference from 26ers, and 26ers are still around and some prefer them.
Really? An entire 1/2 inch increase in rollover is a definite difference? :confused: That's not water in your camel back, it's a MTB manufacture marketing department's cool aid. Marketing is a powerful thing.

And their not 27.5". 650b is only 1" bigger in diameter than a 26" wheel which equals 1/2 inch increase in rollover. Stop implying that 650b is 1.5" lager wheel diameter than a 26er:madman:

As fas as "26ers are still around"; umm, the vast majority of mtbs ridden to this day are 26ers, so ya, duh there still around.

Those who have been around riding for more than a few years have known for a long time, if you want more rollover and more traction without extreme weight, put some single ply 2.5" tires on your 26er.

This gives better traction than a 2.2" 650b tire, since the contact patch on the 26" 2.5" is bigger and you can run lower PSI than the 650b 2.2".

The rollover is virtually the same and even though the 26er 2.5" may weigh 100-150g more than the 650b 2.2", the 26er wheel weighs less so the overall weight is about the same. But since the 650b has longer spokes the 26er wheel is stiffer and will accelerate better since more of 650bs weight is pushed out further from the center of the wheel.

There are a few 2.4" 650b tires(and I mean a few cause 650b tire selection is a joke especially when compared to 26er and even 29ers) but that will add more tire weight than the 26er 2.5" along with heavier wheels with the weight further out from the center. Regardless, the 650b 2.4" will only add about 1/4" to 1/3" more rollover than the 26er with 2.5" tires. Whoop de do.

Can't get a 650b 2.5" tire, cause like I said 650b tire selection is a joke.

And I have tried all 3 wheel sizes, but could not tell any difference between the 650b and my 26er which I ride with 2.5" front and 2.4" rear.

Now my 29er, that's a definite difference over a 26er.
 
#27 ·
No, you must do what the industry tells you to do otherwise the industry will fail and collapse because you aren't consuming more goods that you don't need.

Also size does matter.
You can be a man and get big 29" wheels or be a little sissy boy and get 26" wheels.
If you are not sure what category you fall in then get 650b/27.5" wheels.
Then let everyone know that you are a little sissy boy trying grow up or maybe that you are a manly man trying to be in touch with your sensitive side but I don't know.
 
#32 ·
It all depends on what you are after. 26 inch wheels are best for cornering and popping airs, 29 inch wheels are better if you have a more "roadie" type mentality and you are after milage and more xc riding. If you don't understand this concept you are probably better off on a 29er. The 26 wheel size is practically going extinct as company's are all moving there line ups into the 27.5 realm.

With that being said I have heard that 29 inch wheel bike are getting better at AM/aggressive trail riding with better geo. I'm not completely sold on it tho since I prefer a bike that handles more like dh rig for xc riding. Those big wheels feel slugish and awkward to me. It may be better for straight forward rolling but once again that is not a factor or benefit that out weighs the drawbacks for me.

The 27.5 is probably a good in-between feel getting a little best of both worlds but I have yet to try one, they look sweet.

Don't listen to the "this is what I ride so it's the best comments". All bikes are cool and fit different styles. Just try and figure out what you are after and go from there.
 
#35 · (Edited)
It all depends on what you are after. 26 inch wheels are best for cornering and popping airs, 29 inch wheels are better if you have a more "roadie" type mentality and you are after milage and more xc riding. If you don't understand this concept you are probably better off on a 29er. The 26 wheel size is practically going extinct as company's are all moving there line ups into the 27.5 realm.
Nonsense. There are plenty reasons to ride a 29er, (or any size for that matter) having a roadie "mentality" is not really one.

With that being said I have heard that 29 inch wheel bike are getting better at AM/aggressive trail riding with better geo. I'm not completely sold on it tho since I prefer a bike that handles more like dh rig for xc riding. Those big wheels feel slugish and awkward to me. It may be better for straight forward rolling but once again that is not a factor or benefit that out weighs the drawbacks for me.
I wonder about comments like this because, if this is accurate at all, then wouldn't 24" or 20" or even 16" wheel be better than your oversized 26" bikes? ;)

Don't listen to the "this is what I ride so it's the best comments".
I disagree. Although I was making fun of myself for saying the 29er is best because I ride one, the truth of this statement should still ring clear: threads like this are basically asking for opinions, so I am giving mine. Since this topic has been beaten to death, over and over and over again, I feel responses like the one I gave are the only honest reply in a thread like this, everything else comes off as disingenuous drivel. ;)

Carry on....
 
#33 ·
I'm building a 27.5 now. Everything else, and everyone else on anything else, just sucks :)

In all seriousness, I had an old 26", and upgraded last fall to a badass 26" A/M bike. (Gt sensor 1.0 full XT, 150 MM) and loved it! I'm short and have stand over issues. I wanted (or was told I wanted) a 29er. This September Jenson had a deal in a small Niner Jet 9 29er. I scooped it up and sold the GT. I fell in love with it for my basic cross country rides. These were mixed in difficulty, but fairly open and smooth. Typical roots and such, but no rocks and no super tight, tetchy stuff. The 29s were very smooth, inspired confidence, and rolled over anything.
My wife got a 27.5, and I took it out one day just to see what I thought of the wheels. I rode the same trails I usually ride, and truly felt like the 27.5 was the best of both worlds. I hit things head on, and in the same manner as I did on the 29er. I didn't feel like I gave up much (if anything) in the rollover department. I did notice the handling was much quicker and more precise, like the 26 was.
Fast forward to now, and I'm building a XC/AM setup with 150MM of travel, on 27.5 wheels. I've been riding more rocky, technical stuff and feel that the 29s, while great rollover wise, are a bit sluggish in really tight stuff I'm riding now. The added travel will help with the tougher areas. (I had 80/100MM).
Test rides are great if you have access to them, but not all of us do. I'm a believer in the "tweener" 27.5 wheel size now, from personal experience in my ride area. Your experiences may vary, but I hope this helps. I'm 1000% unbiased and just like to ride.
 
#40 ·
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 ride steep, rocky, rough, tight, drop infested, chunk where a bike needs be agile, flick-able and easily thrown about and manhandled. Then i ride it fast enough that everything is a blur and the bike is whipped and drifted as a result of the speed rather than for style points that seem so popular in current bike videos.
I'm 5'-7" and ride a 26" bike that provides the geometry, travel and weight that best fits my riding terrain, my riding style, and my physical proportions.

If that sounds like you, consider a fair evaluation of capable 26" bikes before the wheel size zealots force the cool aide on you.

Good luck.
 
#48 ·
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 ;)
 
#51 ·
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!

:)
 
#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
 
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