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Yes, I know it's true that I recently got an Endorphin and have been gushing about it like a virgin that just got laid by a hot nymphomaniac that moved in next door and visits daily.:lol: 
The fact is the Endorphin has some traits that people think you need a 29er to get. And now I realize you don't.:nono: Slacker geometry really transforms the 26" wheel.
I get this perspective coming from a steeper 69 degree Motolite, to a 69.5 degree 29" Behemoth, and now to the very slack 67 degree Endorphin.( Which may be more like 66.6 degrees with my 160mm fork vs the 150mm in the geometry chart.) I had always equated slack angles like this to downhill bikes. Not for overall trail riding.:nono: I was wrong!!!:yesnod:
Last night we rode a section called "Yetman Wash" here in Tucson, and it is just the kind of place people say their 29er's work better for them. It consists of a trail through the bottom of a draw with nothing but sand, pea gravel, lots of loose rocks, and embedded rocks. It is a momentum nightmare!!
It is a hard section of trail to maintain momentum. I always make it through it, and don't ever dab, but it is not a fun section, and sometimes not so graceful looking doing it. Generally the front end is trying to knife in, and squirrel around, plus you hit things you wanted to miss, and get bounced around. It takes concentration, and really focusing to keep the weight off the bars and things going straight.
The 29" wheels helped a little bit compared to the 26" wheels of the Motolite. I expected this from the things I had read about 29er's.
What I did not expect was for the Endorphin to exhibit this same trait even better!!:eekster:
The Endorphin absolutely slayed this section!!
The front end did not knife in and stayed on top of the deep, loose junk. It was really easy to keep the front end straight, and when I did hit rocks it just rolled over, and soaked it up without changing lines. I normally run in the middle ring in first or second in back. But even after 10 weeks off the bike, I was running 4th and 5th gear and hammering like mad!! This was the fastest and smoothest I have ever rode this section of trail. Instead of struggling with it, I flat tore it up!! I met some oncoming riders and let them have the better worked in line, and I steered out into the bigger loose rocks where they did not want to go, and powered on around them, still cranking like mad.:thumbsup:
It seems to me that the slacker head angle gives the 26" wheel the same traits as the 29" wheel. It wants to push up over rocks instead of getting hung up. It wants to float on sand and gravel instead of knifing in and robbing momentum. It steers through this stuff like nothing I have ridden before, and that includes the 29er I just came off of. Add in to it that the suspension is better than any bike I have ridden and it is a win, win.:thumbsup:
So I feel that I did not lose anything at all moving to this from a 29er. I gained better suspension, better fork choice, stiffer fork and wheels, and much better turning. I thought I was going to lose the 29er stability, and sand/gravel float. But it is actually better. You can't go very slack on a 29er or it turns like crap. But on the Endorphin, it works everywhere!!
All the strengths of a fantastic 26" bike, and it out 29's a 29er.:thumbsup:
The fact is the Endorphin has some traits that people think you need a 29er to get. And now I realize you don't.:nono: Slacker geometry really transforms the 26" wheel.
I get this perspective coming from a steeper 69 degree Motolite, to a 69.5 degree 29" Behemoth, and now to the very slack 67 degree Endorphin.( Which may be more like 66.6 degrees with my 160mm fork vs the 150mm in the geometry chart.) I had always equated slack angles like this to downhill bikes. Not for overall trail riding.:nono: I was wrong!!!:yesnod:
Last night we rode a section called "Yetman Wash" here in Tucson, and it is just the kind of place people say their 29er's work better for them. It consists of a trail through the bottom of a draw with nothing but sand, pea gravel, lots of loose rocks, and embedded rocks. It is a momentum nightmare!!
It is a hard section of trail to maintain momentum. I always make it through it, and don't ever dab, but it is not a fun section, and sometimes not so graceful looking doing it. Generally the front end is trying to knife in, and squirrel around, plus you hit things you wanted to miss, and get bounced around. It takes concentration, and really focusing to keep the weight off the bars and things going straight.
The 29" wheels helped a little bit compared to the 26" wheels of the Motolite. I expected this from the things I had read about 29er's.
What I did not expect was for the Endorphin to exhibit this same trait even better!!:eekster:
The Endorphin absolutely slayed this section!!
The front end did not knife in and stayed on top of the deep, loose junk. It was really easy to keep the front end straight, and when I did hit rocks it just rolled over, and soaked it up without changing lines. I normally run in the middle ring in first or second in back. But even after 10 weeks off the bike, I was running 4th and 5th gear and hammering like mad!! This was the fastest and smoothest I have ever rode this section of trail. Instead of struggling with it, I flat tore it up!! I met some oncoming riders and let them have the better worked in line, and I steered out into the bigger loose rocks where they did not want to go, and powered on around them, still cranking like mad.:thumbsup:
It seems to me that the slacker head angle gives the 26" wheel the same traits as the 29" wheel. It wants to push up over rocks instead of getting hung up. It wants to float on sand and gravel instead of knifing in and robbing momentum. It steers through this stuff like nothing I have ridden before, and that includes the 29er I just came off of. Add in to it that the suspension is better than any bike I have ridden and it is a win, win.:thumbsup:
So I feel that I did not lose anything at all moving to this from a 29er. I gained better suspension, better fork choice, stiffer fork and wheels, and much better turning. I thought I was going to lose the 29er stability, and sand/gravel float. But it is actually better. You can't go very slack on a 29er or it turns like crap. But on the Endorphin, it works everywhere!!
All the strengths of a fantastic 26" bike, and it out 29's a 29er.:thumbsup:
