The Get fit club!

[schmenke]

Question for the cyclists...

I’m planning on ditching my well-aged mountain bike for a new one in the next couple of weeks (thankfully my company benefits package will reimburse a good portion of the cost ).

It seems that a 29in wheel size is the norm these days, although the 650b is also popular.

What do you all ride? Having never ridden one, why would I want a 29in vs. a 650b wheel size?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[janneppi]

Question for the cyclists...

I’m planning on ditching my well-aged mountain bike for a new one in the next couple of weeks (thankfully my company benefits package will reimburse a good portion of the cost ).

It seems that a 29in wheel size is the norm these days, although the 650b is also popular.

What do you all ride? Having never ridden one, why would I want a 29in vs. a 650b wheel size?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I have a 26" full suspension bike with 160mm of travel in both ends, for my riding it's intended for xc rides and the occational enduro/bike park riding. The terrain in my area is quite technical with lot of roots and rocks. If I was looking for a new full susser, I might give a 27,5" bike a try. I probably wouldn't buy a 29" bike unless moved into a area with smoother trails.

My thoughts on the different wheel sizes.
I'm talking about bikes that are intended for actual offroad use, not the occasional ride in a smooth gravel path around the fish pond or downhill racing.
26" bikes nowadays are marketed for "fun" riding
- travel mostly 140mm-180mm (hard tail or full suspension).


27,5" (650b) is the between the the two, nowadays getting quite a lot of manufactures on board.
- travel mostly 120mm-160mm (hard tail or full suspension). Not as much choice is in tyres at the moment but increases if the standard catches on.


29" Most of them are intended for xc use or for longer rides, the geometry is a bit steeper than 26" which makes it a bit sketchier on steep downhills but works better on uphills.
- suspension travel around 120mm
- tyres roll better over small obstacles but isn't as nimble as a 26" around tight stuff.

The most important thing is to pick a wheel size and be a Richard about it.

[airshifter]

I have a 26" full suspension bike with 160mm of travel in both ends, for my riding it's intended for xc rides and the occational enduro/bike park riding. The terrain in my area is quite technical with lot of roots and rocks. If I was looking for a new full susser, I might give a 27,5" bike a try. I probably wouldn't buy a 29" bike unless moved into a area with smoother trails.

My thoughts on the different wheel sizes.
I'm talking about bikes that are intended for actual offroad use, not the occasional ride in a smooth gravel path around the fish pond or downhill racing.
26" bikes nowadays are marketed for "fun" riding
- travel mostly 140mm-180mm (hard tail or full suspension).


27,5" (650b) is the between the the two, nowadays getting quite a lot of manufactures on board.
- travel mostly 120mm-160mm (hard tail or full suspension). Not as much choice is in tyres at the moment but increases if the standard catches on.


29" Most of them are intended for xc use or for longer rides, the geometry is a bit steeper than 26" which makes it a bit sketchier on steep downhills but works better on uphills.
- suspension travel around 120mm
- tyres roll better over small obstacles but isn't as nimble as a 26" around tight stuff.

The most important thing is to pick a wheel size and be a Richard about it.

The hard part for me is finding a good way to do some direct comparisons. At some point I need to get rid of the POS I've been riding, and being most of my riding is in milder terrain, I'm leaning toward the larger wheel sizes. But I really don't want to trade off if it results in sketchy handling.

I don't do what I would consider any hard core off road riding, but what I do is more rooted up, with quite a few logs here and there to cross as well. I really don't know if going to a suspended front end will ease the body beating on this riding enough, or if the larger wheel size would ease the beating even more.

I wouldn't think most people would find the change in tire size is enough to really make handling seem slow in the really tight stuff, as it's still not a very big wheel really. I guess this would be more affected by the rider size.


From everything I've read I think I'll end up going with a 29er if I buy new. Being I've beat up my back over the years the possible trade off in low speed tight stuff handling should be overcome by the larger tire soaking up transitions and obstacles a little better. I'm still torn between buying full suspension or hardtail. Most of my miles would actually be on trails and paved stuff, but as I said anything off road around here has tons of roots and small stuff that shakes you to death at anything above a crawl on a non suspended bike. I'd hate to lose efficiency in the road stuff due to rear suspension, but it would be nice to have something to soak up some of the quick jolting transitions at curb cuts and such as well.

[schmenke]

The hard part for me is finding a good way to do some direct comparisons. At some point I need to get rid of the POS I've been riding, and being most of my riding is in milder terrain, I'm leaning toward the larger wheel sizes. But I really don't want to trade off if it results in sketchy handling.

I don't do what I would consider any hard core off road riding, but what I do is more rooted up, with quite a few logs here and there to cross as well. I really don't know if going to a suspended front end will ease the body beating on this riding enough, or if the larger wheel size would ease the beating even more.

I wouldn't think most people would find the change in tire size is enough to really make handling seem slow in the really tight stuff, as it's still not a very big wheel really. I guess this would be more affected by the rider size.


From everything I've read I think I'll end up going with a 29er if I buy new. Being I've beat up my back over the years the possible trade off in low speed tight stuff handling should be overcome by the larger tire soaking up transitions and obstacles a little better. I'm still torn between buying full suspension or hardtail. Most of my miles would actually be on trails and paved stuff, but as I said anything off road around here has tons of roots and small stuff that shakes you to death at anything above a crawl on a non suspended bike. I'd hate to lose efficiency in the road stuff due to rear suspension, but it would be nice to have something to soak up some of the quick jolting transitions at curb cuts and such as well.

Same issue here, although I’m leaning towards the 650b as it sounds like the better compromise. Most of my riding consists of XC with a few cruising trails from time to time.
I’m worried that with the larger frame of the 29er will be less stable over the bumpy stuff. I'm not looking to break any time records, I just want a comfortable and stable ride.

Airshifter, get yourself a hardtail, you won’t regret it, especially considering that nowadays they are available with a suspension that you can lock out.

[janneppi]

I wouldn't think most people would find the change in tire size is enough to really make handling seem slow in the really tight stuff, as it's still not a very big wheel really. I guess this would be more affected by the rider size.

It's not just the wheel size that affects handling, 29" forks have a different rake to 26" forks which affect the steering input.
The difference isn't apparently very massive.

From everything I've read I think I'll end up going with a 29er if I buy new. Being I've beat up my back over the years the possible trade off in low speed tight stuff handling should be overcome by the larger tire soaking up transitions and obstacles a little better. I'm still torn between buying full suspension or hardtail. Most of my miles would actually be on trails and paved stuff, but as I said anything off road around here has tons of roots and small stuff that shakes you to death at anything above a crawl on a non suspended bike. I'd hate to lose efficiency in the road stuff due to rear suspension, but it would be nice to have something to soak up some of the quick jolting transitions at curb cuts and such as well.

If I hadn't tried a good full suspension bike three years ago I probably would be riding a 29" hardtail with a longish fork. Something along the lines of Kona Honzo. If you don't want full susser, don't try one.