29er vs 26, opinions???

First, I apologize if this thread is somewhere in the discussion board, I tried to search for it! :o

I'm a 5'2 rider who is looking for a new hard tail mt bike to adventure race and do endurance mtb races. After getting opinions from bike shops and other riders (male!), I'm still confused at what type of bike I should be looking at. Some argue with my size (short) I won't notice any benefit from a 29er, is this true?? Will I compromise anything on the bike ie frame, components for the bigger wheels? I need a light bike that climbs well! I currently ride a Trek 26 Hardtail and love it but it is old needs replacing, and heck new bikes are always nice!! :)

Any opinions, help etc would be greatly appreciated!!

I love a 29er, but they're not for everyone. I appreciate the ability to climb, but I've heard that it's harder to get the wheels rolling (I don't notice, but it makes sense).

You certainly won't sacrifice components for bigger wheels, but 29ers for shorter folks can be harder to come by. It depends on the brand, but I (at 5'7") usually take a small frame if I'm going with 29in wheels. A few brands have started making WSD 29ers (I know Trek & I think Specialized, at least) and you may want to check those out first. I don't know anything about weights though. My current bike is a tank.

29ers for little people ARE out there. There's an extensive discussion in the mtbr women's lounge. My good friend C. is 4-11 and loves her 29er.

I am 5'2.5" and LOVE my 29er. My inseam is 29", one of the girls on my race team is 5'2" with a 27.5" inseam and loves hers. My 29er is my first race geometry so I don't know if that changes it from my 5" travel bike I previously raced but I think the 29er climbs better, is responsive and shockingly nimble. They do feel different descending, which is what I am struggling with on mine after two months but getting there.

My bike is the Specialized Epic Comp, a "unisex" frame. I find even with a very short torso (perfect WSD candidate) I am not a fan of Specialized WSD geometry but I LOVE my Epic. It is the small which is 15.5" frame. Specialized will be rolling out a 29er WSD hardtail for 2012 and has a WSD Full Suspension in the Myka. However the Myka is not a race bike and that is what I wanted. I found I fit the Stumpjumper hardtail nicely in the 15.5" frame as well.

Hardtails depend on if you are willing to drop the money for carbon, my friend got a hardtail Specialized Stumpjumper Expert and it is around 24 pounds.

Thanks all for the info! I did check out the discussion in the MTBR women's lounge which gave me some good info.

Amanda, thanks for the great info! How is the 29er different in descending? more unstable?? I will check out the Specialized. I know my LBS has the TREK WSD 29er X-Caliber but not sure if I should go WSD or unisex. My other 2 mountain bikes and road bike are WSD and I seem to have good luck and fits with those. and 24 pounds for a bike would be nice!

This season I got to race the first races in a 26" fully suspended bike, and the other half of the races on a Ellsworth Enlightenment 29er hardtail. I love the 29er, as it does everything great and it works great for me. I found that the Enlightenment 29er:
1. Climbs great in rocky technical climbs (rolls easier over rocks)
2. Is fast on rocky technical dowhills, not as plush as my 26 fully suspended but still very fast.
3. It is easier to keep the momentum on flats and gradual climbs if compared to my 26" bike.
4. The ride is not at harsh as a 26" hardtail, the 29er feels more like if I was riding 26" soft tail.

I find that they descend faster which can catch you off guard when you first start out. Also since the front wheel is larger it comes in contact quicker if you are going off a ledge, at first it feels like you are going to nose wheelie then you realize you have both wheels in contact sooner which is why it feels that way. At least that is how it feels to me.

The fun thing is it eliminates many instances where you might need to do a slight lift on a 26er so you can just power through things with your legs. It is also makes quick work of roots and rocks, you feel like you float more and I am able to clean more rock gardens than I did on a 26er.

And I agree with Bellisma, on the flats you feel like you're riding a sports car. In fact I had to learn to watch that I wasn't in too hard a gear if a climb popped up because you will be using harder gears on flats than you did on a 26er.

FWIW in Trek you're looking at the Gary Fisher Geometry (I believe) and there I liked WSD. You should just test them all and see what fits. You may not like WSD just because you are a woman!

Has anyone looked at the El Mariachi from Salsa? I see that some people on the mtbr forum are talking about it. I also am pretty short and this seems like a good hard tail you could do some endurance or gravel rides on.

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Originally Posted by marjoriealice

Has anyone looked at the El Mariachi from Salsa? I see that some people on the mtbr forum are talking about it. I also am pretty short and this seems like a good hard tail you could do some endurance or gravel rides on.

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I own a 2009 El Mar and love it! They've made some changes to the newer one (different tubing, sliding dropouts instead of an eccentric bottom bracket), so I'm no help there... It's the kind of bike that I can ride all day, and be comfortable.

FWIW, I'm 5'4", short torso and long legs, and the small fits me well.