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Hello all,

I’ve been riding road or hybrid stale bikes really since 2005 when I sold my mountain bike to move countries. Recently I got thinking about jumping on a mountain bike and riding some of the trails in my area. Maybe even commute a bit. I’m looking at the karate monkey which my lbs has in stock. The models they have are all 27.5 plus tyre ones. I am exactly on the midway between sizes of medium and large. Riding both were ok but the large just seemed a bit better. Could be because I am comfortable on my road touring frame and they are similar. The monkey can run both 29 and 27.5 wheels and tyres though not 3” tyres in 29. The shop has a special when buy the monkey you can get the extra 29er wheels at 50% off. There are no monkeys setup with 29 tyres for me to try. Obviously the bigger tyres will raise the frame a bit and I am wondering how that might affect my comfort on the bike. The geometry doesn’t change but the top tube will be sitting a pinch higher I would think. Has anyone else have this situation with two sets of tyres and how does it impact your ride?

Thanks and cheers
DA

LesterOfPuppets

27.5 x 3.0 and 29 x 2.25" wheel/tire assemblies would theoretically be very close to the same exact height. In practice you'll probably want the 3.0 pretty soft so they may run a little lower, more like a 29 x 2.1 maybe.

SpedFast

I found the handling on a 29er less agile, but it might just have been placebo effect. As far as fit, no diff. If I had to choose between a smaller bike and a larger bike I will always go with the larger bike for more stretched out comfort.

oldbobcat

Only when you put your feet on the ground.