29'ers

[ima_bleeder]

Ima, I'm glad you posted this because I have a bad knee. I'm curious, what 29'er do you have? Was it easier for you to ride a 26" with the bad knee?

A lot of people wouldn't even notice a couple of gears. The only reason I did is because of the wonky knee. But now I'm doing PT to strengthen it, and my PT showed me how to tape it for rides (it doesn't track properly). So I find now I don't even need that super-low granny gear quite so much anymore.

So certainly on the steep steady climbs the smaller gearing made it easier on my knees. But I don't know if I'd say it was "easier" to ride a 26er. The 29" wheels made all the technical stuff easier. And now that we've changed the small ring on my 29er, I have my low 26" bike gears back. I told my man that I wanted it all, and he made it happen

Oh, I have a Niner e.m.d.

[sundial]

That's a really classy bike. You have a GREAT place to ride, too. Since I don't have the technical trails that you do, and my knee is crappy from lack of cartilege, I guess for now I'll stick with the 26'er.

[SadieKate]

A lot of people wouldn't even notice a couple of gears.

I'd notice one gear. Only the ignorant wouldn't notice because they'd assume all bikes are that way.

As a pro racer I know said, "God made those gears for a reason."

[Tuckervill]

Would 29" wheels make a difference for someone who is extremely tall? (6'7") I've been trying to figure this out. The distance to the ground is not really the issue, but the distance to the top of the saddle to the bottom of the down stroke is. I'm guessing the 29ers don't come with necessarily bigger frames. Would you be able to put 29ers on any bike?

At least he wouldn't look like a clown on a mini-bike!

Karen

[sundial]

Hubby has a Gary Fisher Montare that allows him to put both 700 or 29'er on. For many bikes you can't put 29's on a 26 bike frame because the chain needs to be longer on the 29'er bikes.

I think tall people will like the 29'er bike but us average and shorter folk might actually enjoy the 26 better--for now anyway.

[SadieKate]

Would 29" wheels make a difference for someone who is extremely tall? (6'7") I've been trying to figure this out. The distance to the ground is not really the issue, but the distance to the top of the saddle to the bottom of the down stroke is. I'm guessing the 29ers don't come with necessarily bigger frames. Would you be able to put 29ers on any bike?

At least he wouldn't look like a clown on a mini-bike!

Karen

A 29" inch wheel is just the mountainbiker's way of avoiding calling it a 700c wheel. OK, let's not get in the details of rim width, but the diameters are the same. It's just an industry thing to use inches for mtb bikes and centimeters for road bikes.

So, the answer is yes and no about using it in the same bike. My husband has a Spot singlespeed with disc brakes. The disc brakes mean no brake pad alignment issues when swapping wheels BUT he uses skinny tires AND a rigid fork when using 700c wheels. He puts a suspension fork on when using knobbies on the 26" wheels. The suspension fork would not provide clearance for the 700c wheel. He also swaps chain ring and chain to accomodate the change in gearing with the larger wheel and the chain length. If you use disc brakes, it really comes down to clearance issues with fork and chain stays.

And, yes, 29'ers can be the way to go for tall people. If a very tall friend came to me and asked what to look for in a mountain bike, I'd certainly bring 29'ers into the discussion.

[sundial]

He puts a suspension fork on when using knobbies on the 26" wheels. The suspension fork would not provide clearance for the 700c wheel. He also swaps chain ring and chain to accomodate the change in gearing with the larger wheel and the chain length. If you use disc brakes, it really comes down to clearance issues with fork and chain stays.

How difficult is it to change out forks? Would it require strong man hands?

[SadieKate]

Nope, not at all. Though this tends to be a seasonal swap out. You wouldn't want to do it very often as it's time consuming.

Bubba runs the 700c slicks during the winter when he's riding pavement. He'll swap to the knobby suspension set up for the summer.

You can see pictures of the bike with its 700c setup here.*

PS - thanks for giving me the opportunity to brag.

[madisongrrl]

Nope, not at all. Though this tends to be a seasonal swap out. You wouldn't want to do it very often as it's time consuming.

Question: If I were to swap forks on the same bike would I have to make sure that I had the same type of crown race so it would fit with the headset cups? Or would a generic crown race suffice.

I just completed my first bike build and I was thinking of chaining my fork out (and not buying a new headset just to use the crown race, I just wanted the part I needed for the fork)....but then I thought doing this sounded like too much work. I have a WTB headset and can't find just a crown race from the same company.

[madisongrrl]

How difficult is it to change out forks? Would it require strong man hands?

It's not difficult. But if you bought a new fork, you would have to have the steer tube cut and have the crown race/headset pressed. Once that is done you can change out the fork easily with simple allen tools.

[ima_bleeder]

I'd notice one gear. Only the ignorant wouldn't notice because they'd assume all bikes are that way.

As a pro racer I know said, "God made those gears for a reason."

I thought it was just me.

I ride with so many strong riders, including some single-speeders, that I start to feel like a bit of a pansy with all my tiny gears. In fact my husband doesn't understand how it's physically possible to stay upright and ride as slow as I sometimes do going up steep stretches. But that's EXACTLY how I feel. I want every last gear!