29ers are the darkside but . . .

[jonnyboy666]

just looked at cotic frames, i didn't realise the 'simple' is able to take an alfine hub, so that appeals to me

 

[firedfromthecircus]

@ FFTC, i take it you use yours for a bit of actual adventuring?

That's the plan. Only been built less than a week so no adventures yet.
I have a Karate Monkey ss and I am totally sold on the concept of 29ers but I wanted one with gears. IGH seemed the way to go and it is another revelation. :mrgreen:

 

[Mindmap3]

The Cotic would be a good option, but them I'm turning into a fan boi having never paid much attention to them. Other than that, it's a bit outside my field of knowledge because I've largely ignored 29ers.

They are starting to look more like normal bikes now though.

 

[Jono_blackheart]

Personally I fancy a 29er, but the missus says no....

Mind you, I'm 6'2", so most 26" bikes tend to look a little.... Gate-like.... 29ers look a little more "normal"

 

[velomaniac]

What about the Specialized Crosstrail series and their counterparts from other manufacturers like Marin.
Hybrids that are almost 29ers with 45mm wide semi knobbly tyres. A proper half way house bike with all the useful commuter touches.

 

[MikeD]

just looked at cotic frames, i didn't realise the 'simple' is able to take an alfine hub, so that appeals to me

I reckon the Roadrat would be nearer what you sound like you're looking for than the Simple, tbh. Will take big road tyres or skinny MTB ones, hub gear ready:

 

[MikeD]

The handlebar on a 29er will always be higher than on a 26 (unless you go with negative-rise stems and upside-down riser bars or other extreme stuff).

This simply isn't true. The only thing that will always be higher for a given amount of fork length is the bottom of the head tube. 29ers designed by people who are paying attention will have substantially shorter head tubes than the equivalent 26in bike. If we're talking suspension forks, then 29ers usually have less travel than 26in bikes pitched at the same kind of riding at the same kind of point. If you look at manufacturers that have 26 and 29in versions of the same bike, if the 26in one is 120mm travel the 29 is likely to be 100mm. And since most modern 26in bikes have riser bars, some stem rise and a bunch of spacers under them, you don't need a very extreme front end setup to get a 29er bar down to the same height. Usually just a flat bar does it. The only 29ers I've seen with neg-rise stems are XC race bikes for short people.

Remember that while a 29in wheel usually does measure about 29in, most modern "26in" wheels are more like 27, so there's not that much height to lose

 

[jonnyboy666]

@velo, I sort of wanted a bike/frame from a smaller brand as opposed to the bigger companies like specialized, the marin bikes I prefer though out of the 2 brands

@mike, I looked at that but was unsure for some reason, I'll take another look, it's a Brando like but I had discounted it for some reason that escapes me at the moment

 

[MikeD]

That's the new (as in, announced today) Roadrat, so maybe you discounted it before for something they've changed. Maybe just because it's not brown

 

[wynne]

Or to put it another way, my Darkside is a 29er. Actually this was bought as a 650b frame, but there's room for a 29 wheel in there as long as it's not too muddy... ah, I see my mistake there. Lot of fun though.