The old 26er vs 29er again...

[66 triumph daytona]

The only 29er I have is a hardtail and to be honest for the riding I do the gains over my other 26er are marginal.Is the difference more pronounced on full sus?I have a 2011 26er Anthem x2(hands down the best bike Ive ever owned) and have my eye on a 29er full sus xc frame this year,likely another Anthem or Horsethief.Other than the wheels,is there a differing frame geometry on the newer frames compared to the slightly older 26er Anthem?Is it worth the outlay?

 

[coomber]

Re:

With 26" being "dead" for so long now... I think you'll find a massive difference just with how geometry has changed over the last 10 years.

 

[coomber]

Re:

The front end will be a lot further away from you as bikes have got a lot longer. Slacker even from a few years ago.

I just find modern full susser a lot of fun. My gt lts is so much more twitchy. You are sat right up front on it.

Even my mates 26" yeti feels underwhelming to a basic 29er full susser.

Only my opinion though as a tall, unfit lazy bloke

 

[The History Man]

A couple or three years ago I took a fs 26 and 29er to mayhem. Lap times were similar but 29 quicker, easier. So much more confident was I that I went too quickly and stacked it, lying in the woods for five minutes. So really 29 is far superior.

 

[Mike Muz]

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Oh christ here we go again :facepalm:

 

[coomber]

Re:

If you like 26" and are happy with it stick to it. Would never say choose one over another. I just like modern 29er. Early wagon wheels were a bit... meh

 

[Duxuk]

I've noticed that 29ers are superior on technical climbs. They roll over rocks much more easily. 27.5" are somewhere in between!

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

I have seven bikes at the moment. 5 have 26 inch wheels, 2 have 29 inch wheels.

If I actually want to cover ground, I take the 29ers, but most of my 26ers are over 20 years old and have more of a sentimental attachment, so they're just different. The 29ers are more 'tools'.

Modern geometry really is very different, but you'd never ask what's better; a 20 year old ford escort with 100k miles on the clock, or a brand new ford focus.

Equally, 'Gravel bikes' are essentially now just 90s MTBs with drop bars, and they're very popular, so it obviously depends on your needs/fashion...


Just different.

 

[Baulz]

This topic still comes up a lot but as noted earlier bikes have changed so much in 10 years it is impossible to do a fair comparison.

I would be cool if someone built a 26" wheel bike with modern geometry, stiffer forks, wider tires, etc. to get a real head to head battle and what wheel size is best.

My first 29er sat for a couple years before I really go into riding it, now going back to the 26" hardtail feels so weird. Now to be fair the 26er is an 18.3lb weight weenie hardtail with flexy everything and narrow bars.

 

[66 triumph daytona]

Re:

A 29er Anthem it is then,thanks lads...