T-Bob Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 29er is Lekker fast when going in a straight line. Thank goodness my local trails have tight switchbacks.....my 26'er loves them. I measure a ride in fun not speed on a straight gravel Road......Just saying from my point of view. Road my mates 29'er and it is faster. Still prefer 26' and I have a road bike if I'm in the mood for speed. Could have been better said. Two exact reasons I ride dirt and road. Every one rides for their reason (fun, challenge, what ever), mine may not be the same as the next guy so my bike may not be the same as the next guy and his line may not be the same as mine and his bike may not be the same as mine. So what. End(uro) of issue.
Christie Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Somebody must let the DH guys know. AFIK the top 10 guys are riding 27.5", which is crazy, if their wheels are so much slower than 29". Every second counts there. No wait! Perhaps I can enter on a 29er, and beat them all
Mntboy Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 I outrode a stronger fitter friend on his 29'er up and down the mountainA buddy of mine has a full sus 29er and I have a HT 650B. The only time he got the drop on me was on a short sharp hill and he was able to open a big gap. Otherwise I pretty much was able to keep pace with him. So imho it really just all comes down to fitness levels.
Hairy Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Could have been better said. Two exact reasons I ride dirt and road. Every one rides for their reason (fun, challenge, what ever), mine may not be the same as the next guy so my bike may not be the same as the next guy and his line may not be the same as mine and his bike may not be the same as mine. So what. End(uro) of issue.So what is the moral of the story, choose the bike that suites your area, your style and intended riding style. #ENDURO is so 2014, 2015 is all about riding out On the trails with your friends and having a good time doing it, doing solo rides and stopping to take photo's. #IRIDE4FUN
Wayne Potgieter Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 So what is the moral of the story, choose the bike that suites your area, your style and intended riding style. #ENDURO is so 2014, 2015 is all about riding out On the trails with your friends and having a good time doing it, doing solo rides and stopping to take photo's. #IRIDE4FUNThis post for the win
T-Bob Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 So what is the moral of the story, choose the bike that suites your area, your style and intended riding style. #ENDURO is so 2014, 2015 is all about riding out On the trails with your friends and having a good time doing it, doing solo rides and stopping to take photo's. #IRIDE4FUN Soz Hairy, my auto correct and not paying attention made my post go from giving you props for a 100% post with 'couldn't have been better said' to something odd with 'could have been better said'! And a sign off that should have been 'So ride what ever. End(uro) of issue'. Anyway back to normal service!
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Somebody must let the DH guys know. AFIK the top 10 guys are riding 27.5", which is crazy, if their wheels are so much slower than 29". Every second counts there. No wait! Perhaps I can enter on a 29er, and beat them all Someone already tried that... Mitch Rapelato. He's now back on 275.
Bizkit031 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 For me the 29er is fast on the straight and rough stuff but throw some tight and twistys and it really battles. But the new gen 29ers that are coming out now ie. Banshee,Kona,Transition and Evil are changing that and putting that fun factor into riding a 29er. But SA will unfortunately never be like Europe and USA when it comes to getting a lot of these bikes here due to the Marathon mentality we have here.
Samurai Pizza Cat Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 What I find to be the most interesting about this test is that the 26" is faster than the 27.5 /650B... So the "conspiracy theorists" out there might have been right: This whole 27.5 wheel size thing is all about the bike industry making more money. Even Greg Minnaar stated in an interview that there were no difference in speed between the 26" and 27.5" wheel size when SC tested it on a DH course. But a year later SC launched the "all new" V10 with 27.5 wheels? Five years down the line they are probably going to tell us they were wrong, and 26" is the best wheel size...Then we have to get rid of all our 27.5 frames, forks and wheels to buy new stuff we originally sold for peanuts on the HUB in 2014.
GoLefty!! Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 The "Scientist" made the point at the beginning. "no statistical difference". His opinion that the 29er is fastest is probably taken from favourable data. In order to draw a proper conclusion the would need to do many many laps with each wheels size. they didn't so the "science" is not very good.
hboli4 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 So what is the moral of the story, choose the bike that suites your area, your style and intended riding style. #ENDURO is so 2014, 2015 is all about riding out On the trails with your friends and having a good time doing it, doing solo rides and stopping to take photo's. #IRIDE4FUNVery well said. It all boils down to what you want to get out of riding the bike and your personal preference, plus the 'fun' factor. Experienced it first hand when Hairy showed me some of his local trails. I had my 29er HT with on holiday and I did enjoy the rides, but at times I struggled getting the big wheels through the switchbacks and know for a fact that my 26er, hanging in the garage at home would have given me much more pleasure, and the DS I don't have even more. Back in Bloem, hitting the district road for some distance training, the 29er came into its own, and the SS rigid is way more fun than any of the abovementioned when cruising around the neighbourhood with my wife. Pick the bike for the riding you do and speed won't matter as much.
droo Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Someone already tried that... Mitch Rapelato. He's now back on 275. After a brief spell spent on his face on the first rock on the Cascades DH course...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 After a brief spell spent on his face on the first rock on the Cascades DH course...after which he was dubbed Mitch Crashalotto
Headshot Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Read an article by a SS endurance racer. H had a sixer and a niner with matched gearing. His fastest laps were on the 26er...just sayin.
mtbride Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 My Anthem is not fast in tight corners with its big wheels and long chain stays, but everywhere else it motors. The only benefit to the larger wheels I guess is rollover (which is obvious), thus making for a smoother ride. Things like wider bars etc make more of a difference than wheel sizes Legs and technical ability over rules any wheel size
droo Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 The main reason for this finding IMO is confirmation bias, reinforced by the marketing machine that has managed to convince everyone that 29 is faster. It goes like this: 1. Fudge some data to make everyone believe that 29 = fast2. Sell several million 29ers to said brainwashed consumers who, then discard their trusty 26ers3. When the entire XCM community is on your preferred wheel size, aside from a few weekend warriors and statistical outliers, claim, "Oh look, 29ers are faster because the top riders are riding them!"4. Repeat from step 1, but with a different wheel size. It's all hype. Just ride your bike.
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