Any ladies out there prefer 26" tires over 29"

[thekarens]

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.

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

[rocknrollgirl]

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.)

[missjean]

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. :-)

[zoom-zoom]

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.

[Irulan]

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

[Wahine]

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...

[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.

[paigecmckinnon]

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.

[zoom-zoom]

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.