Murphn8r

My LBS put out this interesting article about the history and benefits of the 29er. Thought some of you might find it interesting.

https://bicyclesportshop.com/page.cfm?pageId=1522

mtnbiker66

Hmmmmm, I can't find any benefits to a29r.

zerocool33

I just bought my Fisher Rig the other day and have been out on it twice. I must say the ride is sweet! I'm not going to brag it up just because I have one, but it appears to be working for me just fine. I will say it is taking a bit to adjust to single speed, but that will just take time and many rides. As far as the 29" wheels go, I would say that I did find it a bit different in the handling area when dealing with technical and slow parts of trails. I will say that I feel like I'm floating on that bike. Part of it being able to use lower tire pressures and also probably the geometry of the bike. I would definitely buy another one, and probably will look at the new carbon Fisher single speed in a couple years.

Dion Rides

After getting my MotoB Ti, I've decided that my 29'er will be my "camping bike". Heck, I may take it to the trails tomorrow. But it's so hard to go from that tank to my ultra quick, fast climbing, geared 26".

skiahh

Have you actually ridden one??

I just bought a niner HT. Now, I'm not a rabid "you gotta go niner" type, but I have found a couple of definite advantages.

1. Before I went FS, I was able to ride about an hour on my 26HT before by lower back cried uncle. I've been 2 1/2 hours on this one with no issues whatsoever.

2. Where I had, say, 2 lines through a tricky section before, I now have 3 or 4 because of the way the wheels roll over things.

3. Baby heads and loose boulders are easier.

4. Sand? I'm fairly big guy and sand would grab my front wheel no matter how I weighted (or unweighted) it. With the big wheels, I just roll through even the deepest sand with only minimal grabs of the front wheel.

5. I don't find it to be slower accelerating than my small wheels. Then again, I'm a slow rider, so probably wouldn't notice this anyway. I do climb faster now... but that might be the HT as much or more than the big wheels.

6. Switchbacks seem easier on the niner. Is it the enthusiasm of a new bike or the stability? Since the newness is wearing off and the switchbacks are still easier, I'm going with the stability.

7. I feel more a part of the bike than on my 26er. i felt this before I read about greater BB drops, placing you lower on/in the bike and effectively lowering your CG, but it makes sense and most definately makes it feel like I'm ore a part of the bike than just sitting on top of it.

Am I ready to ditch my SJ FSR for a 29er FS bike? No, not yet. But I will be testing out some FS niners to see if that may be the way to go for me. I haven't found anything yet that would be too tight or technical for a 29er with good geometry.

Give one a try, you might surprise yourself!!

mtnbiker66

No, I just thought I would throw that out there without ever being on one..........

Yes I've spent some time on more that one and I hated the freakin' things. I can see where they would be great to ride gravel roads but I'll take my small frame 26r for fun trail riding. So I guess I should rephrase that.... for me they would be OK on gravel roads.

DeweyJuice

Not everyone will like the same bike. Good thing we have alot of choices.

Berg417448

I feel the same way about 26ers. To each his own.

Zephyr11

That's a geometry problem with your 26" hardtail. A 26" hardtail that fit you wouldn't give you that problem.

I haven't ridden a 29er, but I'm able to take much sharper turns on my 24" than my 26". I assumed it was because I was on a more agile bike with a shorter wheelbase. However, I would assume that the longer wheelbase on the 29er is what's giving you that added stability. Interesting.

UBUvelo

someone on the trail the other day had a 29 on the front...and a 26 on the back...

i have yet to try one, but i believe what's been said about the advantages. to me, the disadvantage is the weight and, heck, SIZE! i like the response of a 26...

Dion Rides

When I run my 29'er whip, I feel it's not as flickable on the epic trails.

Booyah! - made a point and used overly-used forum phrases!

How's that feel? That's your head exploding.

skiahh

Well, that's possible. I was still pretty new, but did research on the bike before I bought it. Also, it wasn't a cramped, not feeling right back pain, but more that the trail vibrations felt like they were going right up the seat stays into my back.

A similar geometry FS solved the problem. Maybe i could have found a better fitting HT... I'm not sure. But this 29er is very, very comfortable.

Darth_Firebolt

suspension seatpost?

mcoine

29ers do not have a lower center of gravity.

dminor 

I'm waiting for a DH-able 650b rim so I can try my 650b/26 combo experiment.

Must . . . resist . . . urge to . . . BAN . . .this . . . user . . . ..

FlatSix911

Interesting article and I learned something new ... a 29er actually uses the 700c road bike wheel adapted to fit.

https://bicyclesportshop.com/page.cfm?pageId=1522

skiahh

Hmmm... maybe I didn't express it right.

I guess that's a better way of putting it. It actually does make sense that a 29er wouldn't have an overall lower CG and in fact, with the bigger tires, it would be logical for it to be a bit higher or, if the geometry puts the rider lower on/in the bike, the same.

Dion Rides

*tee hee*

I'm gonna take my big wheel out in a little bit. I know it's gonna suck compared to what I've been riding these past few weeks, but oh well.

born2bahick

I'm gonna ride with a guy this week on his 29er, he's in way better shape, and know's the subtle nuances in the trail way better than me. But, I'm pretty confident that I can roll anything he can roll, I can Climb anything he can climb, I can go down anything he can go down, and in the end i'll be right beside him when we reach the parking lot.
Does that make a 26 better? or a 29 better?

Dion Rides

Alright, I'm back. After not riding that thing for a month, I feel I can give a fair assessment.

Here's the deal: full rigid (full riggie?), SS, cheapest 29'er on planet earth (MB Outcast 29'er), low-tech brakes, cheapo cheapo cheapo. Oh, and my grips were doing full 360's on my bars. I hate non-locking grips on MTB's. So set aside the lack of travel, lack of gears and slipping grips for a sec.

Now, I don't know if it's the efficiency on the SS, if it's all in my head, or I just had POWAH today, but the sucker seemed easy to ride, climbing and rolling was a little better. Standing up and climbing ruled and I can outright feel the difference in lower rolling resistance. It felt like I had a nice wind blowing from behind and pushing; it just rolled better.

The downside to the 29er is you really can't turn the thing as quickly as the 26" and I did test the "29'er ability to roll over things easier" and I can't really say there is a night and day difference... maybe because my 26" has a suspension fork and my 29'er is rigid.

Eventually I'd like to replace that frame with a Karate Monkey and a nice suspension fork, still keeping it a SS.

I don't think I'd replace my 26" with a heavier 29'er, but it sure is nice to have as a back-up or a change of pace. I liken it to riding my road bike and riding my fixed gear.

johnnytheboy

you see no benefits of a 26" bike?
seriously?
i guess no one else did either.....that's why they were the standard for 20+ years right....???!!!

guadzilla

Having switched to a Niner EMD9 in May, I will never go back to small wheels again.

For my style of riding, the Niner corners and turns well enough - but the big wheels have ratcheted up my ability to clear technical sections by one or two whole notches. I can now easily clear stuff that would make me dab or go endo on a 26er. The only downside is that on steep extended climbs, I could use smaller gearing (I am talking a 30km ride up from 11,000 to 17,000ft, for example) - and the big wheels are notably harder to re-start if you stall on a slope.

V.

scrublover

They aren't for everyone.

https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=491856

Some like them, some don't. I ride with a couple people who love them, and a couple others like me who've tried them and disliked them. The 29er zealot types that try to push them on others and deride 26" stuff just seem like *******s to me, and would probably be so no matter what they ride. I don't get why they get all pissy about someone else not digging their wheel size.

ed 

I think we should all "progress" to 24's with 2.6" tires.

sced

I am not a mountain biker, but recently helped my son do the research on a bike for him. He's 6'1" and about 220 lbs. The shop we went to said a 29er would be a good bet for him. The reading we did said that they provide some of the benefits of a full suspension 26 bike with less complexity at a lower weight because of the longer wheelbase and larger diameter wheels. The wheels also provide for better stability and traction because of higher angular momentum and footprint. The drawbacks are higher weight and slower turning compared for a front-suspension-only 26.