wiggydiggy
Guru
Genesis Mantle 20 myself, love it
26 or 29inch
- Thread starter Egon Belmontie
- Start date
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Hacienda71
Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
- Location
- Wilmslow, Cheshire
I would be interested to hear if anyone has hammered both a 26 and 29 on some proper technical rough stuff. We hear the same arguments but it is normally hearsay rather than real life experience. I road ride a lot more than mtb but ride a Spesh Stumpjumper Expert 26er despite being 6'4ish and have always found it poised and quick to react both on rough trails in the Pennines and on purpose built trailcentres.
marzjennings
Guru
- Location
- Houston, Texas, USA
I've ridden both 26" and 29" and still do. Keeping one of each depending on the ride I plan. Mostly I ride the 29er as for 90% of the trails around here it's faster, simple. Carries speed better through corners, over lumps and bumps and uphills. The 26" wins when the trails get too twitchy and twisty or riding technical downhill.
Learnincurve
Senior Member
- Location
- Chesterfield
I think it's all down to the individual, the riding style and the terrain. I used to do a lot of riding on the technical rough stuff using my old school hardtail with 26 inch wheels, and I went out on the hardtail 700c with MTB wheels on it for the first time in years and years the other day and I was fighting the bike and not the hills. "oh god, why are you doing that" was the theme of the day. I'm absolutely sure it was the larger wheel size, it's hard to describe but it felt like the steering was disconnected from the ground. It's not the first time this happened either, it felt like that on grass/light mud with the hybrid tyres on, but on the other side of the coin it loves gravel no matter what tires you have.
in conclusion. I'm not convinced by 29ers at all for heavy off road use, but I absolutely can see their virtue for lighter off road stuff gravel/old train lines/packed earth
in conclusion. I'm not convinced by 29ers at all for heavy off road use, but I absolutely can see their virtue for lighter off road stuff gravel/old train lines/packed earth
Scotchlovingcylist
Formerly known as Speedfreak
My commute is 11 miles each way, 90% road. I also like the occasional blast on the trails when I get chance, coupled with the fact I only have the funds and storage for one bike I find the 29er to be a nice comprimise.
As @Archeress says it is really easy to wind up to speed and feels nice and stable when you get there. Also im 6'1" and 17st so I like the fact its built like a tank, takes the abuse of potholes and curbs on the road and rolls over just about everything on the trails.
As @Archeress says it is really easy to wind up to speed and feels nice and stable when you get there. Also im 6'1" and 17st so I like the fact its built like a tank, takes the abuse of potholes and curbs on the road and rolls over just about everything on the trails.
jack smith
Veteran
- Location
- Durham
Go with what your comftorable with, if i got a mtb id personnalu go 29 but even my s works venge has been on a full on woods mtb track (by accident i took the wrong turn) the breaks couldnt stop it so i just carried on and it seemed to fair okay on 23mm tyres at 120 psi lol so for commuting it will be fine, but tbh i dont see why your not going with a hybrid
Ive got a jammis dekota 29er thats never seen a mountain or a trail centre. The suspension forks havd been removed and replaced with carbon forks, tyres are 28mm conti 4 seasons. Its got a seatpost rack, full hydraulic disc brakes and is awesome on my mix of canal towpath and cycle path commute. I loves it. Ive even put on origin8 drop bar extensions on it, so i can get lower into the wind...........so its now virtually a drop bar/flat bar cx bike
Learnincurve
Senior Member
- Location
- Chesterfield
The kind of hybrid you are talking about is basically a hard tail mountain bike with thinner 700c wheels rather than the 29er mtb wheels. They are a bit of a marketing scam if I'm honest. Hard tails are cheap to make and since the invention of suspension mountain bikers are not that interested in hard tail any more. They are also very heavy, in some instances even in comparison to a mountain bike with front suspension. I like my hybrid, it's great for mixed stuff like road and towpath, but I'll not take it off road again, partly because of how skittish it was, partly because front suspension exists now and I'm not that nostalgic.
I'm afraid I can't agree with the statement that mountain bikers are not interested in hard tails anymore. When my club goes out on an MTB ride including Leigh Woods and Ashton Court, I don't think there is a single Full Susser in the group. We also have a qualified MTB instructor who favours hard tail and he is into some quite extreme riding.
Hugs
Archeress x
Learnincurve
Senior Member
- Location
- Chesterfield
I may be getting the terms wrong when I say hard tail I mean no suspension at all, not no rear suspension which I've never used as they are too heavy and all your pedal power is going into your rear suspension.
You youngsters, don't know you've been born, pffsh in my day bikes were hewn from iron, didn't bounce, and at least one person in the group would break something or go home bleeding per ride.
You youngsters, don't know you've been born, pffsh in my day bikes were hewn from iron, didn't bounce, and at least one person in the group would break something or go home bleeding per ride.
Is this a hybrid or a mtn bike. What bike is it?
Ah, that explains it then, a hard tail has front shocks but no rear shocks. I would agree then that most MTBers would not have a fully rigid bike.
Hugs
Archeress x
Learnincurve
Senior Member
- Location
- Chesterfield
I'm old, and stopped bouncing around the pennine trail when front suspension came in so it turns out my bike language is somewhat out of date. We called what you now call ridged, hard tail and bikes with front suspension "suspension bikes". Everyone in my youth rode bikes with no suspension. The bike I had problems with being too twitchy was the hybrid with 29er mountain bike tyres on which turned it into a ridged mountain bike - and there is the hybrid scam, I paid £150 for my bike second hand, which is actually a fair price, but it was £400 new. Who in their right mind would pay £400 for a ridged mountain bike with V brakes and tourney gears? No one, but swap the wheels and call it a hybrid...
You're not that old. I've only just stopped riding a rigid 26, now set up for touring. There's quite a difference in today's 29ers, I'm not sure what you have is directly comparable.
Learnincurve
Senior Member
- Location
- Chesterfield
I feel old when you see fit young men posting about 22mph averages 
I know I'm not explaining myself very well, but it was the feel of the extra height and how it felt that little bit more disconnected from the ground which made me prefer the 26 inch for heavy trails. But that's just me, I have no doubt that someone else will feel exactly the opposite. What I'm saying about hybrids is that in my opinion if you are buying a hybrid new and above £300 then you need to look very hard at 29ers and what you intend to be doing on your bike.
I know I'm not explaining myself very well, but it was the feel of the extra height and how it felt that little bit more disconnected from the ground which made me prefer the 26 inch for heavy trails. But that's just me, I have no doubt that someone else will feel exactly the opposite. What I'm saying about hybrids is that in my opinion if you are buying a hybrid new and above £300 then you need to look very hard at 29ers and what you intend to be doing on your bike.
