Will a 29er spoil my love of all things 26 and old?

[shedobits]

Re:

I built up a dream XC hardtail as a birthday present to myself. It's easily the lightest, fastest, most comfortable and capable bike I have ridden. So why do I pick my 26ers over it? They are more fun is the answer for me.
In my case 26ers are spoiling my love of 29ers. Just a thought.

 

[greencat]

The trick is keep swapping around. My old bikes get used for shopping, commuting and the occasional play in the local woods. My modern bike I keep only for mountain biking with my mates who have far nicer bikes and generally do more hard core stuff.

 

[james1985]

I have just got myself a 29 inch wheeled thing for xc racing.
Its not actually that light at the moment, at 24lbs its a fair chunk heavier than my Ti Hardtail that it has replaced, but I will soon be completing the XTR group set so will make it a fair bit lighter.

Despite the present extra weight, I'm faster on the new bike, although it also has disc brakes and the latest Rockshox SID ultimate which I have to say, are incredible.
The rims in general are a lot wider, so tyres can be ran at lower pressure and still be well supported. I have burped the 26 tyres on a few occasions.
I have a lot more confidence in the new bike, I absolutely love it. It has saved my ass a few times already, and I only used it at Mayhem (built that week) and then one evening race.

I switch bikes often, I tend to commute on a road or gravel bike, but sometimes 26ers come out. Still fun to ride, but I choose where I ride them, rather than following a course between the tapes.
It takes a bit of getting used too as my first impression when going back to 26 is it feels like being on a little kids bike, I also feel a lot more top heavy and front heavy.

To summarise, if you want to feel everything going on underneath you and make it feel like your working hard, go 26.

If you want to feel everything going on underneath you and make it feel like your working hard, but go a bit quicker and yet also have a just a bit more margin to help you stay on the bike and out of trouble, go 29

FYI, I have a Specialized Chisel frame, it is an awesome bit of kit and I have built it with a nod to the 90's theme.

 

[Mike Muz]

Re:

For me, Iuse the 29er for when I'm competing against others on 29ers. Pure and simple. You can get away with dodgy lines more, so therefore can roll over things easier. Meaning you go faster.
For everything else, such as the monthly shop ride tonight, I use my 26ers

Mike

 

[ultrazenith]

After I got my first 29er a year ago, my 26ers stopped being so interesting, because on my 29er I was getting faster times and could handle tougher technical sections, particularly steep drops where stability and a longer wheel base help me avoid going over the bars.

Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to take my Brian Rourke 26er out for a spin on my usual route, and my times were just as fast as on the 29er, but was more fun trying to zip around to get the smoothest line on the climbs, or dodging giant rocks easily on the descents. I guess riding a 29er has helped me become a better rider.

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

It will be a very personal thing and come down to how much you enjoy switching bikes and styles.

For me my modern bike certainly did spoil my fun of retro but that's as much down to the geometry and having a bike that fits as the fact it has 29" wheels. Problem for me with retro is that being a tall chap I need gate frames really but always squeezed myself on to 18/19" frames that were too small. Because of this when I go from my modern bike that fits perfectly to a retro ride the retro feels very odd and just not so much fun any more.

I did have a modern 27.5" bike for a while and it's true that it was a bit more 'fun' than my 29" but ultimately when I had to choose between the both I kept the 29er.

There's only one way to find out.

 

[munkey_bwy]

It is like comparing chalk and cheese.

take the course at mayhem, on a 26" you had to concentrate all the time. There was 26" wheel size holes everywhere but you have the nimbleness of the small wheels to play with. On a 29" there was only one wheel stopper on the course the rest was fun rolling. Not hat the 29er made for a better experience, just different.

You will notice the slower spin up on 29's but once they are rolling you just go. the comments about the blandness of modern geometry are so correct. The bike can take you for the ride at times, it gives you far more time to enjoy the view.

Try it, just don't give up on one for the other. Have a quiver of many different arrows.

 

[TOMAS]

So with me I've gone from riding my 29er and 650B bikes 2-3 years ago and have suddenly come onto the scene of 'Retro' really in the last year... see part of my fun of bikes is buying them, building them, trying different components etc and it was getting rather too expensive with modern stuff and the massive depreciation when you buy from new... so I got into Retro.

I regularly use my Retros for lots of flat riding here around Nottingham, effectively I treat them all to what I imagine most gravel riders are doing, road, cycle tracks, canal paths, gravel country park tracks etc. However when the going gets rough or seriously demanding I always turn to my modern stuff, absolutely no question they ride better and quicker, that's natural with 20yrs progression, but the retros certainly ride differently, being very stiff and still quick on what I ride them on and I enjoy that, I just wouldn't dream of smashing through a rock garden or 4' drops etc on them... I used to fold back wheels in half/snap forks etc far too much when I was 16 years old and I was fly weight, I now weigh a good 4 stone more and ride the retros with lots of respect!

 

[greencat]

After I got my first 29er a year ago, my 26ers stopped being so interesting, because on my 29er I was getting faster times and could handle tougher technical sections, particularly steep drops where stability and a longer wheel base help me avoid going over the bars.

Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to take my Brian Rourke 26er out for a spin on my usual route, and my times were just as fast as on the 29er, but was more fun trying to zip around to get the smoothest line on the climbs, or dodging giant rocks easily on the descents. I guess riding a 29er has helped me become a better rider.

This is a great point. My modern bike pushes the limits of what I think I can reasonably ride - and then feel more comfortable riding more difficult stuff on my older ones.

 

[legrandefromage]

26 wheels are too small for many larger riders. I found 29 too big but have yet to try 650b

However, I do find large modern tyres work well with older 26 wheels to bring the rotating size up to almost a 650b equivalent, some tyres bring the circumference beyond my road bikes.

But I also dont have the money to throw at a new bike every 5 minutes so can only live in the world of 26 and 700c road