Y2K 'Pipmeister' Kona Kula
- Thread starter Mikey08
- Start date
Mikey08
Kona Fan
When I see a short person on a 29er I think it looks ridiculous. Roadie wheels on a MTB? hmmm... When Gary Fisher first did it way back we all said no thanks. But it came back for whatever reason and its here to stay. Thats the way technology has taken us and the facts on better rolling of 29" are true. I've been out of the MTB game for a long time and after soaking up as much Youtube content as I can to get a feel for modern mountain biking, Im seeing the terrain people are riding and it cant be denied the bikes are more capable now. So much so that people with really lazy riding styles can roll through rock gardens like its nothing. I still think modern bikes with big wheels and 'long, low' slack' geo look really weird. Steep seat tube angles where your butt is right over the BB looks so odd to me. But I understand the technical reasons why its better for climbing. One day I would like to own a 650b bike and then try out a 29er. Apparently a modern bike can feel really strange at first and the riding style your used to goes out the window. People are much more over the front end these days, without fear of going OTB. Of all modern bikes the ones that appeal to me the most are the 'Downcountry' style bikes. An XC bike basically that has a bit more travel at the front and more trail focused setup. They tend to have more attractive lines and look more 'traditional'. Some of the longer travel Enduro style bikes look so strange. Check out that Pole that Neil from GMBN rides, WTF?? Its lovely that we have this place to remenice and droll over the old school bikes we lusted over in our younger days. Its fantastic and I'll always love the look of bike from those days. But technology moves on and its pointless to argue that older bikes were better. Do a timed run on a mid 90's XC bike then compare it to a modern machine, it'll be a forgone conclusion. MTB has evolved and more and more people are on bikes than ever before. This bike Im building partly for nostalgic reasons but also to be as capable as possible by embracing more modern technology such as 1x drivetrain and disk brakes. I want to make it as capable as possible. I'll treat it as a stepping stone A, to ease me back into mountainbiking on familiar geo and wheel size, and B, to bridge the gap to a more modern machine. Maybe when I have another more up to date bike I'll re-build it with more period parts. We'll see. Love the old but embrace the new! (never thought I'd say that lol)
stubb
Retro Guru
29 has been pushed onto us by the media and industry giving every tuber a 29 and even ebikes now to make the sheep rush out and buy them , 29 does roll over stuff its obvious but that just allows lazy people to not need line choice and less riding skills, personally 27.5 is as far as ill go i like some pop and flick to my bike, and tubers will say what they are told as free stuff wins every time,
Mikey08
Kona Fan
True. Saw a vid recently where a guy was following on the gopro and the guy in front was just stood over the pedals doing nothing. just static level pedals bike doing all the work. It annoyed me to see that. Theres an argument that modern bikes (enduro and trail focussed bikes) are boring. Theyre too capable meaning its too easy to ride gnarly stuff and takes the fun out of it. Thats why I like this new downcountry style of bike.
stubb":7y9cqbnv said:
What is a tuber? Anyway, I don't agree with the generalisation that 29ers make people lazy. My 26" DH bike weighing in at 56lbs made line choice fairly irrelevant. In contrast my rigid Scott Scale 29er is pretty unforgiving if I get it wrong. Same situation with my 27.5 Lapierre Zesty allowing me to get away with a lot more than my 29er Titus Rockstar.
I'm not really interested in sales hype and the 'latest thing'. I choose what works for me and I guess being 6'2" means I am more suited to bigger wheels
