How To Ride A 29-Incher
September 22nd, 2005 by Guitar TedI get several e-mails asking me about 29-inchers. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Could the 29 incher be right for me? I think that there are several advantages to the bigger wheeled format. It’s just that you have to have the key to unlocking those advantages!
To experience the 29-incher properly, you have to know how to ride it. There needs to be a paradigm shift. If you don’t know the secret, you will not like the way it rides. Well, not right away, at least! I found out that I needed to go beyond what I knew and was comfortable with when I rode the 26 inch wheels. It all has to do with the nature of those bigger wheels!
This is most noticeable when riding tighter singletrack. Generally, the feeling is that the 26 incher is better here because of it’s greater manouverability, and ease of getting up to speed. Those attributes are true to 26 inch wheels; however, the 29-incher has something that can trump that! Because of the different contact patch the tire has with the ground, the 29-incher can grip the ground better. If a rider attacks a corner on a 29-incher a little hotter than he would on a 26-incher, he will find that he can carry more speed through the corner. He could use less brake, too. When coming out of the corner, the 29-incher doesn’t have to recover as much speed because he didn’t loose as much! It’s an issue of trust at first, because it’s hard to believe you won’t wash out that front tire, as you might on a 26-incher. Many new 29-inch riders find out that they can lose their riding buddies in the twisties because of this advantage.
The bigger wheels also have a greater gyroscopic effect which gives more stability. More stable in slow manouverings, and in the downhill runs. Added to the ability of the bigger wheels to roll over stuff better, and you have an unbeatble XC/ trail bike. Use the attributes of the bigger wheels to your advantage by adjusting your riding style, and I’m sure you’ll come away with a big smile on your face.
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Great article!
Funky idea…
I remember from my skateboarding days that if I lifted the front, and set it down left-right-left-right, I’d be propelled forward. Could it be that, although this doesn’t work on a bike very well, the larger wheels somehow have a similar impact on rolling over tight singletrack? All I know, I just keep rolling like a mad train!
I’ve been on a 29er since May of this year and I don’t think I can go back to a tiny little 26 inch wheel MTB again. 29ers are sooo much faster - in every respect - than 26 inch wheels. Your riding style will change when you hop on one. Riding a 29er is like the Matrix - no one can be told what it’s like, you have to experience for yourself.
G-Ted talked a bit out these very things when I emailed him about 29ers. It wasnt until I rode one that I knew what he was getting at. He is spot on with these points. The bike just rolls faster, which makes everything easier.
Well, I have only test ridden them. Two X-Cal’s (1×21″, 1×19″)
I rode the 21″ first and thought it was much more difficult to pull up the front end. I was pretty discouraged with how long and not-agile it felt.
I rode the 19″ a week or two later at a different shop and I fell in love with it. It felt just as nimble and easy to handle as my 19″ HKEK 26er. I am just used to 19″ frames, so the XL sizes are uncomfortable for me, I guess. I am seriously thinking about trading my HKEK in on the 19″ X-Caliber. I just don’t know if I want my one and only bike to be a 29er…I may miss my 26″ ride. I would definately love it for a secondary bike, though.
Who knows, if I actually had a chance to take it out on the trail I may say just the opposite.
Sometimes I do miss my 26″ bikes. Only, I actually still own them and have been totally neglecting them for 3 years now. Someone else (a non-convert) would have appreaciated them much better, and I could have gotten good cash for them had I sold in time.
I only ride 26″ anymore for 4-cross (hardly ever) and to let my buddy ride a proper bike sometime (almost every serious trail ride). Swapping bikes all the time helps you see detailed differences more clearly. When we used to trade between my 2 29″ers, with difference crank lengths, at one point we both hated the 175mm bike, which now is our fav that’s it’s gotten 180’s.
Yesterday we rode 6 laps over a 7k singletrack lap. Flat but fast, and probably 200 real turns per lap.
I did one timed lap (17min and a bit) on the 26″ bike as it had a speedometer. When I was done, we discussed how much I should deduct for doing it on the (hevier) 29″ bike. Even my buddy agreed it should be around 30s at least, despite the 26″ bike having superior rolling tires.
Excellent article - I found all this out and more early 2003 when a buddy invited me to ride along with him so he could swapped and compare his bikes (a 26″ Sugar and a 29″ Supercal)along the same trails. The 29er would always gap the 26 no matter what the terrain or who was riding it. It convinced me enough to buy one the next week. I continued using my 26″ bikes, but the 29er always felt better and faster so eventually I sold off all my 26″ bikes with no regrets. I do not think 29ers are for everyone, but they are for me.