Just bought another bike...

[Judith_39]

So... I was on vacation in Colorado recently, and I borrowed my sister's bikes when I was there. Road bike, fine, she has a Specialized Amira, which was nice, but I prefer my current ride, however her mountain bike... different story.

I am currently riding a Giant XTC Composite, S. It's a 26" wheel, super-light carbon framed bike, which climbs fantastically, but scares me to death on descents, to the extent that I often get off and run next to it! Sis has a Specialized Rumor Elite, M. I tried it out in Winter Park, on some fire roads and single track, including some stream crossings (early season) and I felt comfortable on it. the 29" wheels rolled over obstacles like they weren't even there, and it didnt feel as heavy or cumbersome as I'd expected, even on the climbs. I gained in confidence on one ride, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, whereas previous MTB outings usually leave me feeling glad to have survived.

So to cut a long story short, as the thread title says, I just bought myself another bike, but now I'm doubting myself... I didn't test-ride any others, it's a 29" not a 27.5" and I've only ever ridden 26 before last week. My lbs here in CH said that that the 29" would be what they would recommend me, and that the girls that race for them they tend to put on mens' Scott bikes, which are 29". We looked at the equivalent Scott (Genius), and decided that the spec/price was better for the Rumor, and the fact that I'd ridden it tipped the scales more in its favour, but I'm worried that it's too heavy compared to my current steed, (which weighs 10.8kg in reality, this one is 12.6 on paper) and that I don't really need the full suspension, that 27.5" might have been a better choice and mostly that I should just have got better and used my other bike...

Do any of you have good things to say about the Rumor Elite, or 29" full-sus in general? Help me convince myself I've not made an expensive mistake!

And also, name suggestions are welcome - my current bikes are called Eric and Fred (Road bikes), Modi (The Giant XTC mentioned above) and Arthur, an old hard-tail I use for riding around town.

I'll post pics of it when it arrives anyway, early next week they said.

[ny biker]

I've never ridden this bike, but someone who has ridden it had this to say about it.

I tried it out in Winter Park, on some fire roads and single track, including some stream crossings (early season) and I felt comfortable on it. the 29" wheels rolled over obstacles like they weren't even there, and it didnt feel as heavy or cumbersome as I'd expected, even on the climbs. I gained in confidence on one ride, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, whereas previous MTB outings usually leave me feeling glad to have survived.

As someone who has tested more than 10 different shades of pink paint for a bathroom remodel and is still not sure she chose the right one, I totally understand where you're coming from. But it seems that you really liked riding the bike that you bought, and you had the opportunity for a nice long test-ride. Is there something else out there that you might also like? Sure. But I think you'll be happy with your choice.

[FahrRad]

I Second nybiker. You can stress about it if you have lots of extra time and energy and nothing better to do, but I would just take it out and have a great time. =You= feel confident on the bike, and that's all anyone is going for... None of that objective stuff really matters--just have have fun with your new bike!

[Whocautencen]

You can also add MTB riders wearing ear buds to the "Im a dumbass" list, its not just a hiker/trail runner issue.

[north woods gal]

Judith, I can't help you on full suspension bikes because I have never owned one. All my 26" MTBs have been hardtails, but
I am aware of the pros and cons of that size.

I can help shed a little light on 29er size bikes, though. I recently bought a Salsa Fargo which is a breed unto itself. It's actually a drop bar mountain bike, if you can imagine such a thing, but it runs 29 er tires in the 2.2 to 2.3" size, so it is a true 29er. I got the bike because I wanted a bike that could do pavement, do gavel roads and go off trail loose sand, mud and gnarly single track, even snow in the winter. The usual 700x35 cross bike just wouldn't cut it.

The first week I got the bike I ran it strictly on pavement to see how it would do as a road bike, comparing it to my lighter Trek Domane carbon road bike with 700x25 tires, riding a 20 mile loop of pavement with one bike than riding it with the other. I certainly wasn't expecting the Fargo to keep up with Domane, but I hoped for a bike that could maintain a reasonable speed on pavement, because I would be riding on pavement out to some of our gravel roads and MTB trails.

Now, I'm no newbie to bikes and bike riding, but that Fargo has made me rethink everything I thought I knew about bikes. I ran my test over and over just to make sure I wasn't crazy. The actual fact is that the Fargo not only kept up with the Domane as far as average speed over 20 miles, it sometimes beat it with a slightly higher average. Huh? I also discovered that I had to do less shifting with the Fargo than the Domane to maintain speed and climb hills. More importantly for your issue with downhill runs, the Fargo was much more stable at 20 plus mph speeds. With the Domane, I always had to be on the alert not to allow the bike to start wobbling. With the Fargo, crank and go.

What gives? For one, the larger diameter wheels on the Fargo makes for a faster rolling bike than the smaller 700x25s - one revolution of the pedals moved the wheels farther with the bigger wheels. For another, the heavier, bigger wheels on the the 29er developed tremendous momentum once I got the speed up. Oh, sure, the bigger wheels took longer to accelerate than the smaller, lighter wheels, but the other side of the coin was that those big wheels didn't decelerate as fast, either. I found it easier to maintain speed with the 29s with less shifting of the gears.

Last week, I sold my 26" MTB. Way too slow on pavement and not as good on gravel and loose sand as the 29er and harder to roll over roots and rocks than the 29er. I think you'll love your new 29er. Should make a very comfy stable ride for you.

P.S. Even a 700x25 wheel has a larger outer diameter than a 26x2 wheel setup that you get on a standard 26" mountain bike. 26" wheels have their place, but for my riding, bigger wheels are better.

[Irulan]

well..... I don't love 29ers. Caveat, I don't own one, have never ridden one, but I teach mountain biking and see a lot of gals on them. My observation is that if you are on non technical trails they are probably fine, but for anything technical they appear to be unwieldy and less than responsive. 100% of the gals that have gone through our organization's skills program ( based on ICP and PMBI) replace their 29ers within the same season. Just my observation here. Non one has issues with 27.5 - if anything that is the wheel size to go for.

[rocknrollgirl]

I own all three wheel sizes. Here are my thoughts:



I went to a 29" Salsa Mamacita hardtail from a 26" Titus RacerX. It was a night and day switch in bikes. The Salsa was too big for me from the start. I am what my LBS guy and friend calls a tweener. Between xs and small. So that being said. The bike never was my perfect fit like the Titus. But I was racing on a team at the time and a deal came through and all the women on the team got them.

The 29er rolled over everything, That being said. I am small. 5'3" and 110 pounds. It was a lot of bike for me to get up to speed. Once it was up to speed, it rolled right along. I raced on it for a few seasons, and it was 'fine"

I finally decided to ask my lbs guy" if you could put me on any bike right now, what would it be?" he said a 27.5. So I measured up my Titus which fit me like a dream, and ordered, sight unseen an XS Giant Lust 27.5.

From the first ride, it was LOVE. It rolls over things beautifully, but has the nimble feel of my Titus. I fell back in love with mt biking.

NOW, that being said. I was on the wrong 29er for ME and I am really on the small side to be on one. I know TONS of women here in NJ, NY and PA, that are riding and racing 29ers and love them. On all trails. Technical, rooty, rocky single track.

So if you felt good on the bike, I am sure you will be happy. Just enjoy it when it comes in. Go roll over some big stuff!

[north woods gal]

Good point. I'm just a bit over 5' 9" with a 32" inseam, so a 29er is a good fit for me. I have no problem getting it up to speed or maneuvering it. Have heard it said, though, that this is not a good choice for smaller riders and I can understand why.