Newbie 29ers or 26

[I like Skol]

The hype almost makes you feel guilty for having old fashioned 26" wheels that were the bees knees up until recently.........
................there does seem to be a bit of a "are you sure you ONLY want 26" wheels" thing coming through

Actually, I feel kind of AWESOME for kicking their sorry arses with 'ONLY' 26" wheels. Guilt? the only guilt I have is being guilty of not being a sheep and following the crowd.

 

[02GF74]

most of the advantages/;disadvantages have been covered already - like for like, a 29er is goung to be slightly heavier.

a good write up here:
http://mbaction.com/Main/News/26er-Versus-29er-The-Shootout-Youve-Been-Asking-Fo-4713.aspx

 

[Sandra6]

I know Specialized aren't making any 26 mtb's from now on - but whether they'll change their mind in a year or two and reintroduce them as "new" remains to be seen.
The cube analogues we went for where less than a £100 more than the 26" version and I found the sizes suited me better.
A 16 on a 26 wheel is too small, but an 18 too big. My 29er is a perfect 17!

 

[I like Skol]

a good write up here:
http://mbaction.com/Main/News/26er-Versus-29er-The-Shootout-Youve-Been-Asking-Fo-4713.aspx

That pretty much confirms what I thought. I've never ridden a 29r but I know my 26" bike is huge fun. That'll do for me.

 

[Andy Hay]

I have a 29er and I keep a second pair of wheels with slick tyres on them for road rides. The bike absolutely flies on the road with the slicks and is much faster than my 26 incher with slicks on. If you're going to be riding on the road some of the time, I think the 29er will give you more pace and flexibility.

 

[Willow]

I have a mongoose crossway and today after a few months of deliberation have taken delivery of a Trek Cobia 29r. I have changed jobs and am cycling to work when in office about 6 miles each way, half road half very rough track and found at times I was am on for dear life with the mongoose plus periodically I end up getting off to go over some relatively small man made concrete edges which rather ruins the flow. Have to say on the mongoose I have always struggled with the gears and even after having them checked over a couple of weeks ago already struggling to get it down to small cog (sorry for technical term) I was tempted with slightly chunkier tyres on the mongoose but felt it still might not be the answer so splashed out (thankfully job came with pay rise although no cycle to work scheme well unless you want to buy from halfrauds). Will report back going for a little spin early tomorrow to try it, sadly only in the office one day next week I took it on a teeny test spin and was amazed at how well it went up hill so might even find myself using on the road in winter - hopefully will be reporting back with good news given the cost!

 

[clockhammer]

I have a road bike but use a mountain bike to commute. Was thinking about a hybrid to replace my MTB as it's getting on a bit but after chatting with my LBS I had a look at a 29er and within 1 minute of sitting on the thing had placed an order. Just love the bike, rolls really well on the road, takes hills very well and is really good fun off-road. The people mentioning technical courses are probably right but the 29er gives the option of just rolling over stuff that would have flung me off when riding the old MTB.

As ever there is no right answer though, try before you buy and enjoy. Whatever you get it'll be a new bike and there is nothing like it :-)