Pick a Wheel Size - and be a d**k about it!

29, 27.5+, 27.5, (26 RIP)...

OK, this is more than just about wheel sizes - it's geometry, suspension and tires too.

Spend 20 minutes with some great riders as they try to somewhat scientifically analyze which bikes are fastest on a somewhat chunky, somewhat pedally DH track in Wales. Tracey Moseley, Steve Peat and a host of others do their best to de-mystify.

If you dislike 29ers, don't watch this. I'm looking at you - mirror! Warning, a few F-Bombs in the mix.



And for those of you who, like me, just got stoked on your first 27.5, only to immediately be thrown into angst about 27.5+ you may find some solace here in the form of the Achilles heel of the breed - thin sidewalls.

 

29 FTW...

 

Every time I get sucked into thinking they are going to do a shoot out and give me that final conclusion, it always ends in... "We leave it to YOU to make your decision".

What is that?

I'm on a 26 and know it's inferior.
But in the time that I have debated a different wheel size, the industry has waffled from 26 to 29 to fat tire to 27.5 to 27.5+!

For the serious rider on a budget.... That constitutes a wtf?

I can't afford a stable, so I have to choose wisely.
I just replaced all the bearings and bushings in the rear end of my 26" Yeti and I felt like it had that new car smell. For me... It was back to amazing. Had a great ride yesterday at P12 (discovered my battery was dead on my Garmin )
And thought sure I broke some world records.

The debate for me is over on wheel size and type of bike. I enjoy the hell out of what I ride and will do my best to choose carefully on my next bike purchase. Will it be a 26'er? No... You can barely buy tires for them anymore, ha hah!

 

Screw it. I'm going with the 32.125" wheel and never looking back.

All you tiny-wheel-having losers can just pedal faster! !

 

Even though my upcoming Highball will not run a 27.5+ in the back like the el Mariachi, I can still run one up front if I choose to. That configuration was a lot of fun, with a lot less penalty than running plus front and back. I still think the smartest move for us guys on a budget is a frame that will accept 29 and 27.5+, and just keep an extra set of wheels to swap back and forth. There is a thread on one of the other forums that is hundreds of replies long, and has examples from all of the popular brands that work right out of the box.

I was focused on the hardtails in there, but there are just as many FS conversions to check out...

 

For us mere mortals, the right wheel size is the one on the bike that we spend the most time riding and makes us the most comfortable on the trail.

That said... "Twenty Niner!" <in an aggressive death metal type growl, while displaying devil's horns on one hand like Butthead!>

 

Don't you mean 36"?

The Keener:

 

You beat me to the dirty sixer

 

Without watching the video.....I'd say the fastest bike is gonna be the bike the rider can ride the fastest. Meaning, it is the rider more so than the bike.

However, each wheel size is going to excel in certain conditions while be hindered in others.

I know I can throw my 29er around just as easily as I could throw my 26er around.

@Mikie experienced this on the run down Golden Eagle. Even though he was on a FS vs. my HT, his 26" wheels could not outrun the 29" wheel. Given that he knew the trail and could ride it blind, while it was only my second time down. Sure, there were a few spots were he would pull away, but again I attribute that more to trail familiarity than bike....yet I would reel him in each time.

The big thing that used to be the deciding factor was always the amount of travel. 29er's were always short on travel, the bigger wheels made a 3" travel bike feel like 4", and 4.5" travel bike feel like a 6" travel. Whereas now with the longer travel 29ers, I think the gap has shrunk when riding through the chunkier trails.

Not sure where the whole 27.5+ fits in....but oversized tires have been around forever....I know back in the day Michelin had a monster 2.8, Maxxis had a few tires in a 2.7, Nokian made the Gazzalodi in 3.0. Those all high stiff DH sidewalls....and weighed a ton 1400g+ each. The new + tires seem a bit more fragile to get the weights down.

Personally I am perfectly happy on my wagon wheels.

 

36 er....piffle! I'm creating my own proprietary wheel size that I can sue over. I can be the next Specializedish wheel god.

 

Surprising...DH bike are faster going DH.

One of the guys that have never ridden a 29r was faster on the 29 than his 27.5.

I'm going to stick a 27.5 wheel on my Mach 5 this weekend and see how that goes.

 

@Mikie As you know, no one can make the decision for you. 29ers are faster, will cover more ground quicker and allow for these ridiculous all day 10,000' sufferfests that our most prolific posters tend to ride. The new breed seem to have taken care of the "battleship" feel of the past.

If you ride with guys on 29ers, you will continue to be left in the dust, or expend more energy to cover the same distance.

That said, you are a genius on a 26er, and a 27.5 will feel exactly the same. It will only feel faster for a little while, unless you go back to riding a 26er every once in a while.

So, why am I not on a 29er? Purely image. I don't want to give up on the idea that I'm too rad for a 29er. It's a lie I'm willing to live with.

 

You could actually ride a bike that looks like it is proportionally correct for you.

 

Having watched the video early this morning, if my memory serves me correctly, you pretty much summed up Moseley's stance. Mainly, it's the Indian, not the arrow and going fast (notice I did not say fastest) is what is fun for her and 29'ers are fast...that's why she rides one.

 

hmm interesting. As we all know there is very little climbing on any of our local trails.

Faster down or faster up? I'll take a big helping of both please!

 

Both, I presume.

 

Well motorcycles have 18"-21" wheels, and I don't see them changing sizes to be proportionally correct with tall riders.... Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, Gee Atherton and many other DHers are very tall and won world cups and world championships on 26" wheels (now 27.5") so...

But proportional is in the eye of the beholder, so if I look disproportionate to you, my apologies.

But ya gotta give me props for at least singing the praises of a 29er, even if I didn't buy one and don't really want to...

 

This is the best mtb ever...

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/robot-bike-co-r160-first-look-2016.html

And only $6500!

For the frame...

But I would seriously love to try this thing! DW Link version 6? OMG...

 

Step 23, (2:57) for those who have not yet seen this...

 

Awww crap, now what?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pivot-switchblade-first-look.html

I'm going to go crawl into a hole until we all decide on one bike for everyone. All of these options and innovations got my head a swimmin'!

 

E-bike. 40 inch tires. 10,000 watts and 24 hour battery life. Think of the possibilities. Santiago Peak without breaking a sweat. Harding? Pshaw!! The Wall??? What wall??? Bwah ha ha ha!!!

 

More on the Switchblade. Cool video - and no, I do not ever want to do the White Line "trail."

Oh and this is the first Pivot with a top tube long enough for me...

http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/memb...-Aaron-Chase-and-Mason-Bond,31565/bturman,109

 

I like it.Vid was good, they are great riders.

 

Oh hell, now there's "Super Boost" spacing...

 

Wow... This is only a guess, and I usually gloss over the numbers. But, It seems that they had to go wider in the rear end to get to the 3.25" tire clearance to hit the marketing goals. Most home conversions can hit 2.8 and some can hit 3.0. Very very few can get to 3.25. When you start researching + size tires, there really are several tiers. The 2.8s will fit just about any 29er out there right now in the front, and most in the back. But, they aren't much bigger than a normal Ardent 2.4 in width. Getting to 3.0 is another level, and getting to 3.25 is almost in genuine fat bike territory, and something that a conversion can't get to easily.

Still a really cool bike that I'll never own... And it holds true to what I've been saying. One bike and multiple wheel sets is the way to go!

 

I like how Kona put together their promotional video of their Process lineup of the different wheel sizes.