Any ladies out there prefer 26" tires over 29"

It appears the general consensus is 29 and I have demoed both with the 26 being a women's specific and had a lot of fun in the quick flowy parts, but had a hard time getting used to it in the rocky switchbacky stuff and am thinking at first the suspension was too soft, so after we fixed that it was better. I'm also thinking since it's so responsive and quick to change direction, everything happened faster which surprised me a lot.

When I rode the men's Specialized Camber 29 I noticed it just rode over the big stuff so easily and seemed to be a smoother ride, less jarring than the women's Specialized Safire 26.

As of right now, I am just confused, I thought I would fall in love with the women's 26 but felt pretty out of control, which had a lot to do with the suspension bouncing me around for a while til we stiffened it up a bit. Any experiences similar or strong opinions either way?

My partner and I both ride a 26, but they are men's, not women specific. I think you need to try a lot of different bikes and brands to see what works for you. Not all 26 and 29ers are created equal. I prefer FS over HT. If I had the money I would have gotten a 650 :-)

29ers roll over stuff better because of the bigger wheel size. That's something to think about. But 26" wheels, for a given geometry, tend to corner faster. I want a hardtail 29er, I think, but everyone is different, and the terrain in your area will play a part in what you should be looking for.

Try more bikes, both 26 and 29, both full-suspension and hardtail.

I no longer mountain bike, but I prefer 26 over 29 inch tires because they do corner better (at least for me). The bouncing sounds more like a suspension adjustment issue or too much tire pressure for your weight than it does the size of the tires. I concur with the others, demo more bikes :)

I would not buy a 29er in part because I'm short, and I just don't believe the geometry would be correct for me. The other factor for me is the ease of storing/carrying the bike. A bike with smaller wheels is easier to fit inside a vehicle without having to lie it on its side. Not a factor if you have an outside rack, but we prefer to carry our bikes inside our vehicle for security. I would think a bike with 26" wheels would be a little lighter than with 29" wheels too, all other things being equal.

Not to confuse you even more, but don't rule out 27.5 inch wheels either. A few companies--Jamis most readily comes to mind--are adding 650b wheels to their mtb mix. The marketing at least suggests that they might be a good compromise for shorter riders.

I, myself, have only ridden 26ers. While I've been curious about 29ers, for now, I'm happy with my 26er. My husband, however, loves his 29er. A others have suggested, just demo all that you can.

I have both and I use them in different terrains. I use my 26 on the wet side of the state where I am frequently riding in mud/rain/places where I need a more responsive turn. I use my 29er on the dry side of the state. It's much easier to get over the lava rocks etc and get through the desert sand on that one.

Initially, I was really crazy for 29ers because I loved being able to roll over big roots going uphill vs. I just fall off on my 26er because I get bucked off of the big roots.

However, as a 5ft1in female, the 29er made me feel less secure when cornering on the downhill switchbacks. The 29ers roll faster downhill and don't corner as well as the 26ers. I HATE going downhill fast. It scares the crap out of me! So, I guess I'm glad now that I did not buy a 29er.

But, I think that I will test out a 650B this summer just for fun. Hopefully, I don't end up with buying yet another bike.

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Originally Posted by TigerMom

Initially, I was really crazy for 29ers because I loved being able to roll over big roots going uphill vs. I just fall off on my 26er because I get bucked off of the big roots.

However, as a 5ft1in female, the 29er made me feel less secure when cornering on the downhill switchbacks. The 29ers roll faster downhill and don't corner as well as the 26ers. I HATE going downhill fast. It scares the crap out of me! So, I guess I'm glad now that I did not buy a 29er.

But, I think that I will test out a 650B this summer just for fun. Hopefully, I don't end up with buying yet another bike.

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Ugh; I hate uphill roots. I did get better, finally, on one particular section of trail that has a lot of them, but I hate to psyche myself out every time.

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Originally Posted by TigerMom

Initially, I was really crazy for 29ers because I loved being able to roll over big roots going uphill vs. I just fall off on my 26er because I get bucked off of the big roots.

However, as a 5ft1in female, the 29er made me feel less secure when cornering on the downhill switchbacks. The 29ers roll faster downhill and don't corner as well as the 26ers. I HATE going downhill fast. It scares the crap out of me! So, I guess I'm glad now that I did not buy a 29er.

But, I think that I will test out a 650B this summer just for fun. Hopefully, I don't end up with buying yet another bike.

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I vote that you do buy it because I really want one :-)

Hi Guys,
I lurk more than post these days, but I had to weigh in on this one. I have both a 26er and a 29er. My 26 inch bike is a FS Titus RacerX ( named Gidget). Loved her and her alone until Big Red ( my hard tail Salsa 29er) came on to the scene 2 years ago. I too had trouble cornering at first. I likened it to driving an SUV as compared to a Mini. And then this guy on my team said, stop trying to turn it like a bike and ride it like a motorcycle. Lean into the turns. Worked like a charm on all types of terrain.

This winter I had a longing for a full suspension, so the hubs dusted off Gidget, greased her up and off we went. I was miserable. Agile she may be, but on techy down hill stuff, the 9er is better. On techy uphill stuff, the 9er is better. If I point the 29er uphill to climb, that front wheel does not stray. So back into hibernation the 26er went.

We passed her in the stable the other day and the hubs said...you gonna ride her again? My response...Can we trade her in for a full suspension 29er?

We talked about getting a 27.5, but if you read the fine print on the specs, many of them actually measure out over 28 inches anyway. May as well go for it.

(Just for the record, I am 5'3.)

Last year, when I finally decided that it was time for a new bike, I test rode the Santa Cruz Tallboy and the Yeti SB95. Both were great fun - I rode the SB95 down the single track trails on Burke Mt. in VT with a huge grin on my face the whole time - but I ended up with a 26" Yeti ASR 5.
In the + column for the 29" bikes:
They go over everything.
Awesome climbing & fearless going downhill.
In the - column:
I love twisty, tight, technical trails and I found the 29" difficult to maneuver.
They make things too easy, all you have to do is point & pedal. Now don't laugh at me when I say that! but I really enjoy the challenge of finding the right line & the victorious feeling when I finally clear a tough section.

If I lived in an area with long, flowy trails, or if I lived on Burke Mt, I'd have bought a 29", but I am loving my regular, old 26" bike. :-)

My first mtn. bike was a freakishly heavy and sluggish 26er...new ride is a faster/lighter 29er. It's hard to compare the two, since the 26 was such a dog on uphills and I struggled to keep up with anyone. I really like my 29er (well, I did before busting my wrist in Nov. I've not been on it a whole lot on trails since then, since my focus now is continuing to heal my wrist and train for an olympic distance duathlon in July), but I wish I'd had some 650/27.5 bikes to try, too. I'm just under 5'4", so something splitting the difference between 26 and 29 would likely have been ideal. The shop we'd frequented when I was shopping didn't carry any 650 models. The shop we are now frequenting (after a bunch of ugly politics had a lot of people jumping ship) does carry some 650/27.5 models. Bad timing.

Anyone tried 27.5 yet? It's the next coming thing. There are a few out this year, more coming soon.

My BF had a bike built for him that was a 29er and he just never felt right on it. So he built 650B (27.5) for it and he loves it now.

I personally have tried a 29er but that was at least 2 years ago. I didn't like it at the time, mostly because it felt like it was big and handled awkwardly, especially for cornering. I think that companies are constantly improving the geometry. I still ended up buying a 26er for my last frame. I love that bike. It's tight, corners well and I can fly downhill. I wasn't willing to give up cornering for rolling over stuff, especially since I don't really have trouble with rolling on the 26. I did notice that getting my fork suspension dialed in on the 26 helped a lot with the feeling that I was getting bucked off obstacles with I was climbing.

I am intrigued by the idea of building a 650b bike myself but...

A woman I "know" from another forum did a write up for Bike Magainze on a new line of bikes manufactured by Santa Cruz under the name Juliana. It touches on the 26er versus 27.5er versus 29er issue a bit, especially as it relates to shorter riders.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

A woman I "know" from another forum did a write up for Bike Magainze on a new line of bikes manufactured by Santa Cruz under the name Juliana. It touches on the 26er versus 27.5er versus 29er issue a bit, especially as it relates to shorter riders.

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Very interesting! This article re-confirms that for me (since I would take an XS in each of these bikes), the 26" wheel size is right -- just as I always figured. :D

I started this thread and I finally picked out an awesome bike. I went with a Devinci Atlas small frame 29. The second I got on it, it fit and rode great. When we got it out on the trails, it cornered great and quick. Later after some research I read that they designed it to ride like a 26 with 29 tires by not stretching out the frame to fit the bigger wheels. I definitely felt it. I think I'll really fall more in love with this bike the more I ride it. Thanks for all your tips and suggestions.

I'm 5'2 I have a specialized hardrock 29er. After struggling with this bike for a few months I decided a 26 is better for me. My hardrock rides beautifully over rocks and stumps. I love it for that type of trail. However, when I am trying to do the more technical trails I have little control over the bike. It is very frustrating. The last few strokes to get to the top of the hill is impossible. I fell backwards on my first ride and got a concussion. So I just bought a Cannondale Lexi 3. My advice would be to demo as many bikes as you can. Not just in a parking lot either, unless it has a giant dirt hill ;)

more --- I've been talking to my coaching buddies, and the consensus seems to be that 29ers take a lot more effort to corner properly with, and that this may be an issue for smaller riders.

I am currently riding a Niner EMD XS - and love it...but I am 5'1" and after demoing a 26" Pivot a few weeks ago I realized that for my size a 26" is for me. The climbing on my hardtail is awesome and the 29" wheels just roll over everything but it is not as nibble going around the corners.

I really like geometry on the 26", it is easier for me to handle, and it is so nibble on the corners...so now I am on the market for a full suspension bike. I love my 29" but I am in Colorado so I feel I would benefit more from the 26" wheel.

Try some out - they are all different.

I'm 5'5", and I just bought my first mountain bike after moving to the Keweenaw, which has amazing trails. I went to visit the local bike shops assuming I'd get a 29er hardtail (full suspension was financially impossible this summer).But after test-riding a lot of 29ers and one 26" Kona, the 26" bike felt a lot more nimble and controllable to me. As I get more experience, this may change, but for now, I'm happy with my new 26". (I also paddle a very agile, responsive, nimble kayak, so perhaps this is a theme for me.)

DH and I were revisiting this topic the other night and I think in a year or two that I will most likely start checking out a 650b, once there are more models to choose from. I think it's a bummer that I moved from my tank of a 26" wheeled bike when I did. Had I been able to try some 27.5" wheeled models I am reasonably certain that I would have gone that route. I have to admit that after breaking my wrist I'm more than a little gunshy to get back on the trails and my El Mariachi just feels a bit like too-much-bike. I love that it's a far better bike than what it replaced and I can keep up with people on uphills, but on twisty stuff it's not nimble.

If I decide to get a mountain bike, I'm on the fence now. After taking my CX bike on what's supposed to be an easy MTB trail, I can see where those big wheels are both an advantage and a disadvantage! (I realize a CX bike isn't going to be quite as nimble as a MTB!) I'm tall enough that I can find a 29er with not too much difficulty, so that part isn't a problem. The 650b sounds intriguing, though I'll wait a few years so that there's a good selection of models and tires on the market.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

I have to admit that after breaking my wrist I'm more than a little gunshy to get back on the trails and my El Mariachi just feels a bit like too-much-bike. I love that it's a far better bike than what it replaced and I can keep up with people on uphills, but on twisty stuff it's not nimble.

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I have the same perception of my El Mariachi. I love it, but it's not a corner carver and it wasn't designed to be. My Niner has a totally different feel in the twisty stuff. Geometry is the key...although I've never compared the differences between the two.