29er vs 26, opinions???

[TeeBike]

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!

[bellissima]

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.

[Aggie_Ama]

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!

[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.

[Becky]

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.

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.