Anyone else gone to the dark side? Confession: I’ve just bought a 29er..

[Tootyred]

Pushing harder and faster is fine, but its artificially harder and faster. The rider has got no better, it reliance in the bike to make the gains. We saw that all the time..." ive just bought the GSXR1000 now im faster"....errr no....the bikes faster, your just the same. What would have been better, would have been to spend the money on some track day tuition!

Also, frankly, i not racing anybody except myself and the reaper, so speed is not really an issue....but, if you want to cheat yourself into beliving your skill set and fitness just got better (oddly at exactly the moment you spent £2000) then that's great. But, im not that deluded.

Also, like many, most of my riding is cross country, flying off things in some ariel assult is just not on the cards. If your doing that regularly or downhilling, then as I said at the very beginning, a 29er is very much the correct tool.

But hey! Your free to belive in anything you like, its the joy of having a big old human brain.......father Christmas, Gods, 29ers.....take your pick.

 

[The History Man]

Zool?

 

[Tootyred]

Deffo Zool.....or should that be " ZùuuuuuùuuuuuL"

 

[al-onestare]

Meet Bee

In my limited modern experience, she is absolutely insane. It takes mountain biking to another dimension, one that's equally terrifying and wonderful. For sure, the 26ers are brilliant and will be ridden, but like classic cars, when the time is right. For "proper" mountain biking, embrace modern geometry and some (not all) of the best design features and components available: dropper posts, suspension that works, brakes with proper modulation, etc.

Someone said they are boring to ride. You're riding the wrong trails. These are designed for knarl, not our bread and butter 26er single track. The more you throw at it, or the faster you ride your trails, the better it gets.

 

[sparkybhp]

Whoa, there’s a hefty dose of cynicism here! That logic just doesn’t stand up, no way. If that was the case we’d all be on penny farthings looking down our noses at people whose front wheels match the back and tutting!
Mountain bikes by their very nature are designed to take us farther and faster - that’s why they were built. Like I say they are constantly evolving.
By all means ride what you like and what you enjoy but you can’t judge people on different stuff negatively. Especially not if you while away the hours tinkering/altering/improving old bikes using newer bits and pieces! Double standards says I!

 

[clubby]

@Tootyred

I’m going to sing this to myself and think about you the next time I’m out.

 

[JimK404]

Just wondered if anyone else here has gone up a couple of wheel sizes recently?

Definitely thinking about it, been wondering about getting one to see what the differences are.

I’ve got a garage full of exclusively 26” bikes, none have disc brakes. I love them all but trouble is - when the weather is like this I’m reluctant to use all but a couple of them for worry of getting them dirty or wearing out components which are getting harder to source for sensible money.

I feel this for a couple of my old bikes; maybe I should keep those, get rid of the ones I'm not that fussed about and use that cash to get a 'modern'.

I’ve opted for a Marin Pine Mountain 1. It’s steel, seems well specced and reviews suggest that with the upright riding position it’s designed to be ridden for miles at a time.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this. I do like the idea of having old and new Pines, and I really like what Marin say the new one is for.

 

[Hotwheels.]

I'm guilty too, I got a 27.5 5010 last year and just taken delivery of a mullet Nomad and they absolutely require a different tack of riding style opposed to retro. Modern v retro are worlds apart regarding capability too and the modern bikes I've ridden ride quite differently from one another so it's not all 'they all look the same so must ride the same'.

 

[The History Man]

Whoa, there’s a hefty dose of cynicism here! That logic just doesn’t stand up, no way. If that was the case we’d all be on penny farthings looking down our noses at people whose front wheels match the back and tutting!
Mountain bikes by their very nature are designed to take us farther and faster - that’s why they were built. Like I say they are constantly evolving.
By all means ride what you like and what you enjoy but you can’t judge people on different stuff negatively. Especially not if you while away the hours tinkering/altering/improving old bikes using newer bits and pieces! Double standards says I!

Er, what’s the name of the site again?

Those newfangled internal combustion engines will never catch on. Steam and steel rims for me!

 

[The History Man]

Chestnuts roasting, on an open thread…….

Crackpots nipping at your toes……