Well what I meant by that is that many who champion the 29er talk about em like they're a crutch. You hear things like "I can clean a section now " or "the bike is more stable" which to me means that the wheels are making up for their technical shortcomings. I don't have a problem with that. If it makes the ride more enjoyable for them that's wonderful but for me many of the characteristics that make the ride more enjoyable for them, takes the fun out of it for me. Like I said before, I'm not trying to debate anyone on the viability of wheel sizes but it seems to me that the movement for larger wheels are being forced onto the market due to hype that's being feed by peoples lack of skills.
I wonder if back in the infancy of mountainbiking if Tom Ritchey, Charlie Kellie, Gary Fisher, etc. if they would of started with the 29" wheel if we wouldn't of progressed in reverse. Being sold on the benefits of the 26" wheel with it's quick acceleration, flickability and better handling. I think why I feel so much backlash against the 27.5 is that the market didn't let a buzz build up over em like what happened with the 29er. It's not letting me decide if I like them or not. They're just telling us "This is what you're gonna get and you're gonna like it. Like it or not."
Isn't that what happened? I know I rode my dad's cruiser before I got a stringray, and that thing had some monster wheels. Of course I was like 8 years old and maybe they just seemed big. They did roll pretty well on our little dirt trails in the riverbed, but the stringray was a definite upgrade.
http://www.sixfifty.com/ "What about bikes? At the moment you seem to have quite a few possibilities to choose from…Why the 650B in South Africa? Yer, for sure in the past years the big wheel advance has grown but a 29er has never fitted me perfectly. The bike for me is too big. I can’t have my perfect race position on it because the handle bar is too high and never felt that good on a 29er. For sure you have an advantage with big wheels, then when less than a year ago we started the 650B project…the first time on that bike the fit for my body size and everything was just perfect, everything was in proportion. I think it is not just something like a size in-between, it is really the golden centre. How is rolling compared to a 26″? It is much much smoother, not that hectic. It is rolling much smoother but still in cornering it is feeling like a 26″. With the 29er sometimes you need more power to put the bike in the corner, with the 650B it is like cornering with a 26″. When you go straight or over rocks its rolling much smoother you feel quite a big difference compared with a 26″. It is not a big difference with the wheel size but it is quite a bit different for riding and I think for me it is the perfect wheel size. I’m quite sure in the coming years it will be one of the wheel sizes everyone uses. Are there courses that the 29er is good for still? It depends on your riding style and how tall you are. I would say the most XC riders they are between 170-180 cm, and at that height the 29er is not the best size. You are more between the wheels and not on the wheels. For all those riders 650B is the best choice. Also for acceleration you feel it is lighter you don’t have a heavy fork, everything is lighter so in my eyes for XC it is the perfect size 650B. 29er makes sense for tall racers, or if they are not riding that aggressive. I talked to a lot of other riders that are not riding Scott and they said that they want to have from their bike makers the 650B. Im sure in 2 years in the world cup, there will be more 650B bikes than 26″ and 29er." - Schurter, 2012 interview Uh..huh....must be all about the wheels..... Slater, suit, barndoor and end of most surf stories about "best shape"...
They are and they aren't. They're forcing it on you, while making you think it was your idea. They're telling us that we want what they're giving us, no, selling us. And the sheep get in line. Not only do they get herded, they get recruited to sell it to the rest of us. Now, I'm not saying a 29er is not the right bike for some, but by no means should the industry be changing like this, where the 29er is the standard. Marketing is a science, and as soon as we recognize that, we will be a little less slave to it.
Some observations of the difference: ...Trail type..................................29er....................................26er [TABLE="width: 100%"] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Long, easy climb[/TD] [TD]Nice Rhythm[/TD] [TD]Very consistent[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Singletrack[/TD] [TD]Heaps of fun[/TD] [TD]Even more fun[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Switchback Climb[/TD] [TD]Confident Line[/TD] [TD]Tighter cornering ability, less need for power[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Descent[/TD] [TD]Bumpy but good corner grip[/TD] [TD]Very smooth[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Flat Flowing Singletrack[/TD] [TD]Felt quick but wasn’t[/TD] [TD]Smooth and fast[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Technical Singletrack[/TD] [TD]Easily rolls over obstacles[/TD] [TD]Hung up at low speed but fast/controlled descents[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Whole Trail[/TD] [TD]Comfortable Ride[/TD] [TD]More work but quicker immediate response[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] You can add your own experiences.
This is my new 26 inch. Born this morning. Just finished my first ride, made some changes and heading out again. This frame can be set up for either 26 or 650B. I like my bikes quick and nimble so I stuck with the 26. On a personal note, its nice to have the option to run the 650B in the future. Even if i never go to a 650B, its nice to know it can be done. Before anyone starts to hammer me on the steer tube length and bar height, I already cut it down some and lowered the bars. Thank you Fullerton Bikes!
Not a popular opinion but there is a lot of truth to it. I also feel that 29'ers gained so much traction early on because people were coming from "old school" 26" inch bikes where the handlebars were 3+ inches below the saddle. With 29'ers you had to run the bars higher whether you wanted to or not and that made people take to them quickly, especially less skilled riders. Also, almost without fail the guys I know who came from bmx still prefer 26" bikes for aggressive riding because all the skills you learned (Bunnyhop, manual, wheelie) are suck on a 29'er. This is based on my personal experience also, I have a 29'er hardtail, 26" trail and FS XC bikes. The motorcycle guys seem to like the big wheels because it's more point and shoot like a moto with less bike manipulating.
I'd love a ride report after you have some time on the new bike. I'm looking at the same bike as a replacement to the one I had stolen recently. I've heard the HDR is still a great climber like the other Mojo models but more plush on the downhill. I'd really appreciate your input!
29ers are no more of a crutch than, say, suspension forks. For that matter, I suppose someone banging around trails on 20" wheels could look disparagingly at 26" riders as underskilled. The "crutch argument" can be applied to just about any piece of equipment. Insofar as we ourselves don't have wheels, any wheels make up for humanity's "technical shortcomings." 29" wheels come with benefits and disadvantages that add up to them being better for some kind of riding and terrain, and worse for others. The same is true for 26" and 27.5".
wow, based on this article, I would ask if the 26er AND 29er are dead: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/650B-For-All-Giants-Elite-Level-Mountain-Bikes.html
Interesting article... I was at summit yesterday and 95% of all the bikes I saw, including mine, was a 26" wheel. (I'm not a wheel snob, so I don't really care. My bike rode sweet yesterday!) So I wonder if that article be "true". How long would the phase out be, if any at all...?
Luckiky giant hasn't made a bike I wanted to ride for a long time . We stil have transition and banshee, knolly doing things right. Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
Nope, not quite the same thing IMO and here is the reason why. Anything I can ride on FS I can ride on a HT, just maybe not as fast. I have ridden throughout the hills by my house where I grew up and the SG mountains on my full rigid BMX bike when I was a kid and have ridden stuff like Car Wreck, Elementary and Rockit on full rigid back in the day. I have never used the excuse of not having enough suspension as a reason why I couldn't clear a section. Hell I witnessed a guy in his 60's clean a section on the Tunnel Trail on a full rigid that I have yet to clean on my FS bike. No excuses, that guy had skills. I knew people would get their panties in a wad with that statement. I'm sorry, I know it was political incorrect to say but lets face it, the ones who fell in love with the big wheels (with the exception maybe of people over 6' just because the bikes fit them better) would rather keep their wheels on the ground and roll over obstacles rather than manualing over em, popping off of them, dropping em or being able to pitch the bike in the air. I'm sorry if that strikes a nerve but you know it's true.
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but you just contradicted yourself. You said anything you can ride on a FS you can ride on a HT, only slower. This statement by definition agrees exactly with obfsk8r's statement that wheel sizes come with both benefits and disadvantages. In your example, the disadvantage of riding the HT is a loss of speed.
I guess if you wanna look at it like that then you're right. But my point was that many times you hear that someone couldn't clean a section until they rode a 29er and if I can't clear it on my HT chances are I won't be able to clear it on my FS.
