Anyone ride a 29er?

[Andrea]

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

I just demo-ed one at my LBS (Gary Fisher HiFi Pro 29), and, other than some bruised ribs () I had a freakin' BLAST! Now I'm prettymuch dead set on getting one. Luckily I somehow can always fit slightly larger bikes than other 5'6" women- maybe it's the kinda long torso & really long arms- so I shouldn't have a hard time finding one with a suitable geometry. The Fisher was pretty sweet, but I'm thinking I may go for something that's a bit more race-ey like the Niner Jet 9:


NIner Jet 9


Anyone else riding the big wheels? Post photos!

[Aggie_Ama]

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?

[PscyclePath]

I started mountain biking a little over three years ago with a 26" Specialized Rockhopper. I did okay with it tooling around on the bike trails and farm roads around home, but when it went to anything more technical, I spent about as much time over the handlebars and climbing out of the briar patches as I did riding ;-)

After a year or so, I finally decided to take the LBS guy's advice and try a 29er. It made a big difference, and stuff where I would wipe out on the Rockhopper I would just float over it with the 29er. I would up going home with a Gary Fisher Caliber, and I really like that bike... I think the HiFi replaced the Caliber in Fisher's lineup starting last year -- I rode one back last winter on a demo day, and it felt pretty much like my bike, but the price had gone up a good bit ;-) They're good trail/cross-country bikes.

Last month, I tried one of the Pivot 429s on the bike shop's demo day, and that is one awesome trail-riding machine...but was a little over twice the price of my old Fisher.

I'm 5'11", so I did not have a whole lot of trouble with fit, or with feeling comfortable on the bike. That may not be the same for smaller folks. The bigger wheels take a little more power to get them rolling and to accelerate at times, but once you get going it's a lot easier to keep your momentum, and much easier to float over the rough spots. If that HiFi fits you well, I'm pretty sure you'll be very happy with it should it go home with you...

I do like your taste in colors on that Niner though... my Fisher is about that same sour-apple-green color!

What are you testing the waters of the dirty side for?

You'd be surprised how much a regular dose of trail riding with an MTB will improve your bike-handling skills... Over the past couple of years I've gotten into mre than one sitaution with my road bike where the stuff I learned with my mountain bike has kept my hiney from being smeared all across the pavement.

With apologies to Mr. Twain, go ride a mountain bike... you will not regret it, if you live ;-)

[Aggie_Ama]

I am teasing. I attempt to play in the dirt, eat dirt, it is excellent crosstraining and makes me better at riding my bike with no handlebars. And it is also an excellent lesson in the miracles of our bodies, I bruise in the most magical colors.

[rocknrollgirl]

I am too small. My DH is very tall and rides one and loves it. Although numerous folks swear up and down that at 5'3" I am tall enough, it is not so. For me anyway. When a 9er is small, it changes the position of the rider and makes the geometry like a beach cruiser. Not good.

[Andrea]

There's an entire thread on the MTBR forums about "short" 29ers! You have to join to see most of the photos, though.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=370509

[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 :]

[ChainsOflove]

I got GF Hi Fi Pro 29 full suspension, top of the line fancy yadda yadda and it is AWESOME.

It really helps learning, goes over everything and fits fine.

this idea that smaller people can't ride 29 is wrong.

I am going to meet Gary Fisher today at a store opening, will get his take on this issue and post.

Also, chedk out BF's team 29ercrew.com

TTYL

[Andrea]

Glad to see everyone's response! I think I've settled on a white Jet9. Black is too common, and I think that there's a chance that I'd hate that color green at some point.
I have a great LBS who isn't officially a distributor, but since there is another person in town who has committed to buying one, they're going to also order one for the shop in order to meet the three frame buy-in.
It's going to be outside of the budget I'd originally set for myself, but that just means it'll be an ongoing build rather than an order-all-at-once bike



Now if someone would just buy my road frame, I'd be in business!!!!!!