Originally Posted by
Zephyr11
Please try both a 26" and a 29er. Just a test ride, to see how they feel. I don't have a 29er, but I did used to own a 26" dirt jumper, and now have a 24" dirt jumper. Very similar geometry, but different wheel size. Huge difference in how they rode, even if I was just riding it down the street. You're going to notice a difference, even if you're not doing anything technical, and you're going to prefer one to the other.
I went back to the lbs and test rode a '11 4300, 12 Marlin, and a 12 Cobia. They all seemed to coast about the same. I've read that the 29ers are supposed to keep momentum a bit better, but it felt the same. The only difference I noticed between the 3 was the fork and the brakes. The 4300 seemed to stop the fastest and when it did, it had no problem bringing the rear tire off the ground. The Cobia needed more force on the lever to stop as fast, and the Marlin didn't have a chance, but you could hear the brakes more so than either of the other two. The salesman said the Marlin needed to have the brakes adjusted. The forks felt about the same - squishy. The shifts were all about the same. They were all fast and precise going up gears, but down was more problematic.