DMC707

It is time to get a new bike and I am torn between these two choices and was going to ask anybody who has tried both

I am short, but not freakishly short (5'8) and have a roughly symetrical skeletal structure and was going with either the Yeti Sb75 or 95 - Both essentially the same bikes except for wheel size

I ride a medium santa cruz superlight now and it was also suggested to me to go with a size small if i got a new clown bike

My preferred riding style is to stay in the saddle and let the suspension do all the work while i motor along.

Anybody roughly my height out there try both sizes yet?

pbass

Somewhat different set of considerations I suspect as I ride a hardtail for XC type riding (plus I'm a noob), but I ride a Medium 27.5 and it fits me very well. Smalls felt too cramped to me, in almost every brand I tried. When I test rode 29'ers they felt too big to me, and a little weird, like I was sitting down in between the big wheels - the 27.5 felt just right instantly.

roccobike

DMC707, I can't offer any solution but I'm watching this thread with great interest as you beat me to it. I'm in the same boat, and only a 1/2 inch taller than you, so virtually the same size. I rented a 29er a year ago and liked the way it rolled, but haven't tried 27.5 yet. My LBS has a leftover Trance 2 small frame, 29er at a great price, but I'm not sure I want a 29er. For info, I ride small frame 26ers, feels real good, much better to me than a medium frame. Like you, I'm in the saddle a lot. Thanks for starting this thread.

Gallo

best bike handler I know is about 5' 7" and rides a 29r

Another guy I know is a former Cat 1 and a master mechanic and not a small guy 5 10 200+ and prefers the 27.5

I went from a 26 to 29 with little issues the mechanic thought that was due in part to my road biking and the tire size was somethin I was already used to

test different bikes with different wheel sizes and find your own sweet spot

NormanF

I'm a short guy, being all of 5'7" - I ride a 17" 29er. Its not too big for me.

pbass

I'm about your size too, and even though I got the hardtail I mention above is a 650B for the reasons I mentioned at the time, since I made that post, I now have a 17" Kona Unit 29r incoming. I test rode one and it felt and fit great right outta the gate. Very comfortable cockpit fit, etc. Didn't feel unwieldy like the other 29rs I first tried out.

drider85

I am short (5'5") and have owned both wheel sizes. Picking one is about picking the characteristics for where you ride and how you ride. If your more of a hit it head on and plow through I would highly recommend a 29er. I am the opposite I prefer to duck and dive. I currently ride 27.5.

c_m_shooter

I would go 27.5 in a full sus. I am 5'8" and ride medium frames on my 29ers all rigid. Test rode a medium Specialized Camber 29er awhile back, cockpit felt good but seemed very sluggish and felt like I was trying to turn a bus around the tight corners. Rode a couple of Giant 27.5 mediums in hardtail and full squish and they all seemed good, snappy and changed direction well but still rolled over everything I pointed them at. Don't go small frame, they are very short and cramped.

osco53

I'm 5'11" 175 lbs
I did ride a 19" frame 29er hart tail,
now I ride a 19" frame 27.5 full squish,

There are plenty of shorter riders on 29'ers and they enjoy a good fit.
I just didn't like feeling perched way up there.

The Base line I go by:
If your in RIDE/ATTACK position, not just sitting on the bike but chest down some, elbows bent, a buddy holding you up or a knee
against the wall. I'm talking about the body position your in when your getting it on!
If you can see the front axle behind the handle bars you need a shorter stem.....
If you see the front axle In front of the bars you need a longer stem...If a 90 or 100 mm stem with a low or no rise does not extend the bars over the axle the frame may be too small for you.
If a 50mm or so stem does not bring the bars back to cover the axle, you may want to test ride the next larger frame...

This Is just a baseline that has nothing to do with stand over or seat to pedal height, only reach.
Getting low makes a bike handle better than any other single factor IMO..............


For ME everywhere people said the 29er was better, I found the 27.5 to be better.
Every way people said the 27.5 was better, well that was all true for me.
I don't need wider bars on the 27.5 to help control the extra gyro effect that the 29er hoops had.
Now I can slip through tight tree's better..

When I would purposley stop the 29er in a tight spot or between roots or rocks and just balance it, getting it rolling up and out was very hard.
not so with the 650b's...
Rollover was still great with the smaller wheels.
Acceleration, do I really need to mention that ? I will anyways, It was a hands down win for the lighter wheels.
Down hill and or high speed stability, cannot judge this as the 27.5 had a bit slacker Geometry....

I can pick up the front end and set it back down just a few inches left or right real fast to miss something with the 27.5.
The 29er took more energy to toss and point. I just did not have the engines to be agile on the 29er..

IMO the 'Fun Factor' jumped way way up with the smaller lighter, MUCH LIGHTER, more ridged wheels....

Oh yeah almost forgot, My 27.5x2.25 Schwalbe Rocket Ron's come in at just below 500 grams each, Find a light weight tire
in a 29 inch size that has some real traction, not a race tire and get back to me

Dilberto

I'm 5'6" and the 29er is the best out of ALL I tried(26/27.5/29er). I ride a 15.5" ....but at only 23.7lbs, the bike rolls over and climbs everything I point it towards:

Miller2

Im a newbie to mtn biking and at 5'8" I ride a large Fuji Tahoe 27.5 with a 100mm stem. The medium felt to small. I feel better on the large, however I DO NOT have the generally accepted 1" of clearance between body and frame while straddling the bike. For the record I do have longer legs, shorter torso and long arms. My road bike is a 54cm Fuji.

qclabrat

to the OP, I think it really depends on what trails you ride

I'm only an inch taller than you and have one 29r, I only use it for flowy XC trails as I find tight switchbacks tiresome to keep on track and fear bone breakage at rock gardens when sitting taller

really mulling over whether I should get a 27.5 as most of my mtbs are 26

TallTravel

Ride your two top choices on the same hilly single track, then make a decision.

DMC707

LOL ---- i live in Oklahoma (not a cycling friendly state ) ---- demo days are few and far between --- i'm going to have to make my decision based on the best info i can compile , then live and die by it for a couple of years since bikes with decent spec start at 4k and go from there it seems

I'm going to talk to a few folks at the trailhead and ask them --- ask whether they like their 27.5's/29's and what they would do differently -- this input in this thread has been great, but i'm going to try to get some opinions from guys who ride the same trails i do as well

currently we are too muddy to ride though

Pendergast

I'm about 5'7" and like 29ers. Took me a while to adjust, but I can't see myself going back to smaller wheels now.

klondike300

I'm 5'4" and ride a Scalpel 29er with no problems. Added a dropper post since my inseam is out of proportion on the short side to the rest of my anatomy. No problems what so ever. Ride as many bikes as you can and then decide. The Scalpel was the best weight to dollar ratio I rode. Would have preferred a 650 since it seems they have more tire options but hasn't been a problem yet. 1 summer set of tires, 1 winter set.
Another benefit of bigger wheels is being able to mess with your gear ratios. I dropped the front derailleur and put a 42 tooth on the back so single up front and huge range in the back. Love it.

DMC707

Its been about a month since i checked in on this thread ---

but as an epilogue, i ordered a medium Yeti SB-95 with a 1x10 shimano drivetrain ---- i talked to as many people as i could who were my height or close to it ---

Its about a 2 week build/delivery time , so i will check back in after the first ride or two --- i am hoping that the weather will cooperate and get above 20 degrees in that time frame while i am waiting -- LOL

markymark69

You wont regret it. im 5'8 155# and race on a trek 29 superfly hard tail. Keep in mind I was making the switch from a 26 to a 29er. At first I could make really tight switchbacks and blamed it on the taller stance. Finally cut my bars down to 620mm and now I have absolutely no problem.

Just my opinion: But when I hear people complain about slow spin up on 29er's 9/10 they have a really crappy wheelset.

7up

I just purchased a Trek xcaliber 8 29er which is either 1/2 size or one full size smaller than the 26er. They fit exactly the same on me.

newbie101

OP, I'm 5'8" also. I assume your concern is about standover height and/or top tube length?

I was concerned about a lack of standover on 29er's. I just assumed that since I wore a size 30 inseam, I had to buy a bike with standover of 28 or 29."

I realized, however that my "true" inseam is pubic bone height. With cycling shoes, my pubic bone height is about 32." So, in actuality, I had a lot more standover clearance than I initially assumed. With that, I can easily find a 29" bike to ride with the correct standover and top tube.

fietsbob

Ibis' Mountain Trials Bike. was a clever combination of a Smaller, stronger , 24" rear wheel . and a 26" Front wheel ..

a Build now that 29ers are so Common the even Bigger front wheel would roll over obstacles even Better ..

DMC707

Epilogue:

Bike arrived today - photos below

Medium 29'er --- The cockpit area is not any bigger than my old Medium Santa Cruz 26'er ,-- and may be a tad smaller with the shorty stem that is on there (and seems to be en vogue these days)

I am curious how it is gonna roll, but just my luck , i have an ear infection and the temps outside are not favorable

------ frame is an alloy front triangle with carbon swingarm --- The build kit is budget oriented , with a mostly Deore 1x10 drivetrain , and a smattering of Race Face components sprinkled about for good measure --- but i valued the prospect of getting top shelf suspension and the Kashima coated Fox stuff does not disapppoint

As it sits -- with Deore, a generic Race Face wheelset, and big 'ol 2.2 tires -- it weighs in at 29lbs 2 oz. -- so add my old XTR pedals and she will be sitting at 30 lbs ready to go

-- I'm guessing with a lighter build and lighter wheels - this thing could dip into the 27-28 lb range pretty handilly -- My 26" Superlight weighed 27.5 --- so all in all , -- the big Yeti is lighter by a couple of pounds than i thought it was going to be



I dont think i can ever throw enough money at it to equal my original steel Yeti hardtail in weight though
--- 23 lbs 4 oz as it sits sans pedals --- but this one should be a far more comfortable ride at this stage in my life if i can get used to the big ol clown wheels

ColinL

^^ Nice bikes! Congrats.

DMC707

Thanks man

Had a turn in the weather and i was able to get this thing out for a couple of short rides. The trails were similar to your Millers Meadow trail -- tight with lots of roots, but just enough open areas to get on the gas and boost the ride's average speed a bit from time to time


I'll try to give this thing a quick review for the purpose of the thread

Its tough to compare it to my old Superlight , as the head angle is a lot slacker and its a longer travelled machine -- setting up the suspension was not too tough to get it acceptable, But im a heavier guy, so took a while to get the right sag setting.

My fears were unfounded about a 29'er riding like a tank (at least with this frame). The big wheels do feel like they flop over a bit in super slow speed turns (180 switchbacks between 2 trees , etc). - but once the bike is rolling at anything over 4 or 5 mph that feeling goes away, and i dare say, the upright riding position combined with the wide bars and seemingly bottomless suspension feels pretty comfy

When i got back to the truck and was looking at my Garmin, my average speeds on my loops was about the same as i got out of a good session on the old bike, but i havent ridden much at all since Thanksgiving, so was getting pretty winded.

What really impressed me was the gear ratios of the 1x10 -- with the 32t front sprocket, i spent a lot more time in the meat of the cassette, and less time on the 32, 34, 36 bailout cogs. Its fun! I still may need a 2x if i ever get back to Colorado, - but the 1x works darn good where i ride the most

Still fussing around with suspension settings a bit , but i tend to hold onto my bikes for awhile -- if it takes me a few more rides to dial it in perfect, so be it

Its physically a large machine, but as i mentioned before, the cockpit on my size M is more upright than the M Superlight i had - but admittedly, a Superlight is more of a XC specific frame design.

Great fun so far

DMC707

Update

After a bit of trial and error and tinkering around with seat position (dont set the seat level on a FS bike that needs a lot of sag-- if you do, once the bike sags, the nose of the seat will be into your tender regions )

I am glad i picked the 29'er for my riding style --- it works as advertised -- i just sit on top and provide the motor while the machine soaks everything up under me -- its rare that i have to get out of the saddle unless its a tough descent --- rocks, roots, everything is fair game (in the saddle)
tight technical trails are not supposed to be a 29'ers forte' either --- My favorite root filled tight switch-backy trail i completed with a 9 mph average speed , and previous best on my 26'er was around 8
Doesnt sound like much but over the course of an hour, the 29'er is 7 or 8 minutes ahead ---

I'm sold - i just dont think i would have gotten that big of an improvement on the 27.5 (still like to give one a try though someday )

I cashed out a mondo amount of Discover card cashback bucks to add an XTR 9000 1x11 drivetrain to it since i have had it (minus the crank - the stock Race Face crank is fine ) plus XTR "trail" brakes --- and have went through about 5 seats trying to find the perfect one, and settled on a 10 year old NOS Flite saddle i had laying around
As it sits now ---- I am waiting on a Renthal handlebar/stem setup now so i can get the bars a tad lower -- but i am calling this a done project and a full success so far

Interestingly enough, when i swapped out all the components, i broke out my trusty gram scale --- difference between XTR 1X11 and Deore 1X10 group was less than 1/4 pound -- (i added a rear cog though ) ---- i saved more weight swapping saddles from the stock steel railed one to the Flite ------ just goes to show me, the component groups now are better and better, even the cheaper units -- they performed fine too , but i gotta admit, the XTR brakes are a sweet upgrade, they have the ability to put you on your helmet if you grab too big a handful

---- HEre it sits in "upgraded" condition --- my trail companion for the next 4 years or so at least