Anyone ride a 29er?

[Irulan]

I am very intrigued but convinced all 5'2" of me cannot ride them. But then I saw a woman who didn't look over 5'4" riding one and that made me think maybe. I am not shopping but she had a purple one and anything with purple automatically speaks to me. What are you testing the waters of the dirty side for?

There are a lot of tiny women on 29ers, don't let anyone tell you that you can't. MY good friend Colette is an even 5' and she's got one that is her primary bike now. If you to got the women's lounge at MTBR.com and do a simple search, you'll find lots of discussion of small gals with big wheels, what they are riding and how much they like it.

oh, oops, didn't see prior post!!

[rocknrollgirl]

Thanks for posting the link. We had an indepth discussion about this on our local board also. The problem is, and someone in that mtbr thread mentioned it, is that if the bike is small, you can end up with the seat lower than the handle bars. On most of those bikes, the seat is at the very least at the same height as the bars. That would be a significant change in my riding style.
That being said, it does not mean I would not test drive one if I could.

[TrekJeni]

5'4" and I ride a Gary Fisher Hi Fi Pro 29er. LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

I have ridden the last two seasons on a entry level Trek WSD 7600 hardtail (that I keep saying is for sale but every time I think about it, I talk myself out of it). At our last Trek demo, I rode the 29er and fell in love. Had to have it.

The 29er got some bad press for not being very shortie friendly. Geoff (5'8")had a 06 Gary Fisher Caliber 29er that he sold because he said it rode like a school bus. They have since redesigned the fork and they ride so much better. He drools over mine and as soon as he sells his 26, he'll be back in the game.

My first race on the 29er was this fall. Geoff's cat started 3 minutes ahead of me and I ended up PASSING him in the middle of the race. Talk about a long, quiet ride home...

Love the color of the Niner.

[PscyclePath]

The 29er got some bad press for not being very shortie friendly. Geoff (5'8")had a 06 Gary Fisher Caliber 29er that he sold because he said it rode like a school bus. They have since redesigned the fork and they ride so much better. He drools over mine and as soon as he sells his 26, he'll be back in the game.

Love the color of the Niner.

Mine's an '07 model, with the "newer" Genesis geometry.



Mine's a medium/17.5" frame. I've since added green bottle cages and a pair of the green Ergon grips, which made a big difference in comfort, road and trail alike. Looking to add an Old Man Mountain rack this year so I can do a little off-road touring with it.

[alleyoop]

My first race on the 29er was this fall. Geoff's cat started 3 minutes ahead of me and I ended up PASSING him in the middle of the race. Talk about a long, quiet ride home...

Love the color of the Niner.

Ha ha ha, snort. That is fabulous!

That Jet9er would be the bike I would buy right now if I could trade up! Do you know the weight on the small?

[bboston88]

I heard toe overlap is an issue, like it is an issue with small cross bikes...but now I'm not so sure. Darn, I just got a smokin' deal on a juliana and now I'm having bike envy!

[CarbonCandy]

So glad this tread was started!! I am VERY curious to how the HIFI 29s would ride and how women like it, not just the guys...YAY! My next bike was going to be either the HIFI or an FX, and know I'm thinking more about the 29! Thanks :]