If i stick with the hardtail thoughts on going 26 vs 29er for off road duathlon and triathlon?
29’ers are fast!
If you are going hardtail, then a 29er can be bought for a reasonable price and will be faster. I personally won’t buy another 26" bike if that helps.
I rode a 29er this year and would recommend that. If you are in the market for a 17", send me a PM as I am going to replace mine with another 29er.
29er’s aren’t inherently faster than a 26er. They will roll over rougher terrain easier though, which will make it faster in those conditions. But if your race is mostly dirt, it won’t matter much.
If you’re going hardtail, then 29er wins hands down. If you’re willing to go for a light weight FS 29er you will be even faster. I’ve had a Niner EMD9 for three years and it’s great. It’s fast and steady. This year I built up a Jet9 that at 24.9lbs in 1.5 lbs more that the EMD. I rode them back to back to back on the same trail this spring with the same wheels and tires. The Jet blew it’s doors off!
If you are going hardtail, then a 29er can be bought for a reasonable price and will be faster. I** personally won’t buy another 26" bike if that helps.**
Same for me as well.
I am 6’2’ and ride a 21 inch hardtail 29er. I have found that a 29er helps compensate for my MTBing deficits (chiefly, holding speed through corners) and enhances my strengths (straight speed/holding speed/climbing).
David K
Not the world’s best MTBer but I wouldn’t buy anything other than a 29er, hard or soft tail.
29er’s aren’t inherently faster than a 26er.
take-home quiz…
Pedal a 26-inch bike in the 39x11 at 90rpm.
Then pedal a 29er in the 39x11 at 90rpm.
Report back which is faster.
I raced with my first 29er, a Jet 9, this year and loved it. My take on it is if you are already a good mtn biker a 29er may not make you faster, but it definitely will not make you slower.
When you say other off road racing, are you talking about cross country? Or just MTB triathlons?
A 29er will be a bit heavier, if that matters. That said, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a good selection of carbon hard-tail 26 inch bikes. The trend is towards all things 29 inch.
I placed second (overall) in an xterra duathlon last year on a full suspension 26er. The bike was overkill for the course. And at 28lbs, it was way overweight. I plan on racing future off road triathlons/xterras on my cyclocross bike. I don’t think there are many courses a cyclocross bike can’t handle. The most difficult aspect will be a rock garden downhill. Even if someone gains 30 seconds on the descent with a full suspension trail bike, I’ll make up 2 minutes on the ascent on my 17lbs bullet proof, race-breed awesomeness.
Drop handlebars aren’t allowed at Xterra races, so the CX bike probably won’t be the best choice.
And I wish the Xterra and other off-road races here were easy enough to not need a mountain bike, I could go way faster.
I assume you’re kidding right?
Of course a larger diameter wheel is physically faster. Most people shift gears though, and the op wasn’t referring to actual top end speed running a 1x10 setup. A 4th grader could tell you thats faster, so let’s not presume he’s actually a complete moron, but is asking a more intelligent question that relates to many variables like handling and terrain.
It’s a flat bar CX build.
Slightly tongue in cheek, yes. But notwithstanding the forgoing, I’m convinced 29ers are just faster.
Here’s another take-home quiz:
Put your garden hose across your driveway.
Roll a lacrosse ball at it & see if the ball gets over the hose, and how far it rolls past it.
Now roll a volleyball with the same force & see how far it goes past the hose.
The two balls are roughly the same weight, vastly different diameters. 26 to 29 isnt as big a delta, but the physics is the same.
My Blur at 20lbs will be right on your tail on that climb then drop you like a stone on the descent 
.
For me, the biggest difference that makes my 29er faster is the effective lowering of the bottom bracket - allows me go much faster through corners.
I do not discount that the bigger wheels contribute to speed (getting to a higher speed and then holding the higher speed) just that the bb drop is even more important.
David K
I believe it. There’s a reason why professional cross country cyclists race on XC bikes and not CX bikes.
But how is the Blur on the flats?
I ask because when I did xterra’s pacific champion last year, the first 4 miles and last 1.5 miles were on paved roads. The main climb was on a fireroad. Only about 3 miles of the 13 were singletrack/technical.
I’m not suggesting 29ers aren’t fast. I ride one BC it’s faster for me. But take this to a mnt bike forum and they will shred you for any kind of sweeping logic proposed here BC some guys are just faster on 26ers.
It’s fast, especially with fast rolling tires. The VPP suspension is as close to perfect as can be found and overall the bike is just awesome.