MTBing for dummies

[jessmarimba]

For me, the added help climbing outweighs the more difficult cornering in favor of the 29er. But if you can, demo both - decide what you think.

[Bethany1]

26 and 29 ride differently, but both are great at what they do and neither one is better than the other. It's just personal preference. I like the 29er because it puts me up higher for better visibility and ability to roll over stuff like roots. They climb well. 26ers are more nimble and turn faster. 29ers can turn corners well, you just have to get used to it's different cornering.

Fork, fork and fork. Better the fork, the more comfortable you can make the ride and adjust to your surroundings. You want one that you can adjust the rebound (how fast you bounce back up) and the suspension. The lower end models usually have Suntour forks. They are heavy and have minimal adjustments. My understanding is that air forks are better than coil. I've never owned a fork with air so I wouldn't know. Obviously you don't need to start out with a TOL fork, just something mid range. I think the Recon is the start of the better forks out there.

[indysteel]

I think one thing you might fine--or at least I've found--is that it's getting harder to find well speced HT 26ers. Most of the bigger manufacturers still offer them, but they're entry-level or just above entry-level IMO. If you want a nicely speced bike, you end up having to either build up a 26er frame yourself or buy a FS bike (either 26er or 29er) or a 29er (either HT or FS).

As for forks, there are advantages to each. Coil forks are harder to set up and fine tune, but often easier to maintain. For lighter riders, i.e., those under 140 lbs, they can often be too stuff. Air forks can be harder to maintain and are generally more expensive. But they're also lighter and easier to fine tune for riders of all sizes.

[Becky]

I think that the cornering thing greatly depends on the geometry of the 29er. My FS 26er corners better than my Salsa 29er, but my Salsa isn't designed to be a corner carver. It's an all-day kind of frame, and I knew that when I bought it. Wider bars and a shorter stem help with its cornering. OTOH, the Niner Jet RDO that I demo'ed cornered like it was its job. That thing flew through turns. Both are good bikes, but they have very different geometries.... (On a semi-related note, I'll probably end up selling the FS 26er to help finance and make space for a FS 29er.)

Ride lots of bikes. IMO, it's the only way to start forming preferences. Test rides at shops, borrowing friends bikes, anything....

[indigoiis]

I read a great post over on mtbr (in the Beginner's section) that talked about a couple of guys who took a couple of Wal-mart bikes out on the trail. The WM bikes did everything they could wish for. What matters most is you get out there, even if it means starting with a bike that is not all the rage.

When I first went out a few years ago I went out on a circa 1990 GT heavy steel frame "mountain bike" that was wayyyy to big for me, but I loved that it was too big for me because it made me feel more confident. I just crashed into logs with that thing. It only had 26 tires but because the frame was big I felt taller.

Then I went and bought a used Specialized rockhopper 26er a couple of years ago and it did not really improve my abilities any. I'm just closer to the ground when I fall!

I hesitate to "move up" to a 29er because I really thing my 26er does a great job with cornering and climbing, and that's most of the battle on my local trails (which are rooty, pricker-bush laden twisty singletrack.) The one thing a 29er can do better? Going over stone walls and big drop offs. I won't even attempt those. But, I'm still a beginner.

Sometimes I wish I had the old GT back, though. I felt pretty fearless with that big guy.