Curious about opinions… in the market.
What type of riding do you plan on doing? XC? Trail?
What is the terrain like near you?
Hardtail or full suspension?
Front range and mountains of CO… Thinking full suspension. Mostly XC, no desire to do downhill. Would like to race some, maybe after tri season or take a summer off trio’s.
How tall are you? I rode a 29" and it felt HUGE underneath me. I’m 5’ 8". 27.5" felt awesome… better than 26".
How tall are you? I rode a 29" and it felt HUGE underneath me. I’m 5’ 8". 27.5" felt awesome… better than 26".
Just over 6ft… Demo’d a 29er last year and like it, big change from my old 26" Specialized.
Given your XC aspirations, I would make the decision based on your height/leg length. How tall are you?
How tall are you? I rode a 29" and it felt HUGE underneath me. I’m 5’ 8". 27.5" felt awesome… better than 26".
Just over 6ft… Demo’d a 29er last year and like it, big change from my old 26" Specialized.
Definitely 29" then. Go full suspension.
If you are a reasonable height. It will depend way more on your riding style than anything else. There are good and bad bikes in both sizes.
Demo both on the same day if possible. They each have advantages and disadvantages. 27.5 is a little more nimble and “flickable”, but 29" rolls over everything a little better and can carry speed on less techy stuff better. I own both and like them equally. Frame layup and geometry makes a big difference in ride quality so ride and many of each as you can to get a feel for what you like. Some 29ers feel like tanks in the tight switchbacks while others will flow through that stuff easily. 27.5 is a little easier to accelerate out of trouble or to get through short punchy stuff. On the other hand, the 29ers just crash through rough terrain so nicely it’s hard not to love 'em. But, again, very much a question of what your riding is likely to be and what feels best to you on that terrain.
I had both 26" HT and 26" FS in the Midwest. I liked both. I said why do I need a 29er. I moved to SoCal and a 29er HT is ideal for all of the fire roads around here. I felt confident on rockier single track with FS, but having a 21 lbs HT is great on climbs…
I also ride my CX bike, but wish it was a disc on the downhills.
I went through this exact same exercise a month ago and we are the same size. Tons of research and discussions with a few of my friends who race and all pointed to a 29er given my size and my XC aspirations. In terms of what 29er you want there is much personal preference in that but you’ll want something with short travel suspension on front and back if you are doing to do more than fire roads. The bikes I really focused on were the Giant Anthem X, Specialized Epic, and Santa Cruz Tallboy RXC. These are all ridiculously good bikes and with that comes a nice price tag even for a used one (3k+). I eventually settled on buying a practically new Trek Superfly AL 100 Elite for $1400 and spending the rest of my money on a power meter for my tri bike and I’ll say so far it has been awesome and I’ve done some gnarly stuff on it. Good luck and enjoy the heck out of it in the offseason
I had riden around 10 years+ with 26 full suspension only, and when I took the leap to 29 i choose a hardtail and dident miss the rear suspension at all.
I mostly do Mtb Marathons some XC riding.
If youre going for XC racing I would recomend av 27,5.
And the same if you want a full suspension.
The best thing is go out and give both a try.
I am 5’8" and have been riding 29ers for quite some time. I have mostly owned full suspension 29ers. Currently riding a Turner Czar with XX1 and couldn’t be happier. Super efficient rear suspension, quick, super fun to ride. It can be raced and ridden on some pretty techy stuff. Check them out.
I’ve raced some extremely rough conditions (New Hampshire granite-strewn trails) on a HT 29’er, and don’t “need” full squish, but it would certainly soften things up, I admit. The real advantage of FS is you can stay seated and pedal through bumpier terrain, instead of standing up through it and using the legs as your shock absorbers. If you’re trying to keep speed through that, or your legs are beat and you need to sit down through it, then FS is your answer.
I won’t go FS because 1) heavier, and I race long races with 10k+ feet of climbing and 20+% grades, and, 2) I like to ride, not “maintain” equipment so much. The FS suspension components vary widely, and some require frequent and expensive maintenance schedules, due to proprietary solutions. Do your homework on this if you go this way.
Get the frame/wheel size that fits you. 6 foot plus should get a 29’er, 5’8" might be better served on a 27.5 as pointed out. My wife at 5’2" stays on her 26.
i have a lightweight full carbon 26 wheel bike that I like a lot. The pivots tend to wear which is a negative though. If I were in the market for a new bike I’d buy a carbon 26 inch hard tail with light wheels. I prefer the lighter wheels and quicker turning of the 26, but most people seem to like the 29 or b size bikes these days. People still win world cups on 26 so it’s not as big a deal as the coffee shop crowd makes it out to be
As others have already said, 29" or 27.5" depends on how you envision you will be primarily riding. Your size, i.e your height, is only relevant if you are at either end of the extremes. Ultimately, I went for the 27.5 because of its versatity. However, before deciding I tried out various 29ers as well. To me, they just seemed too big and unwieldy for the kind riding I do (even though many people - not necessarily salespeople - said that at 6’1" I “should” be riding a 29" mtb. Demo a few, and simply decide for yourself.
Thanks to all for advice. Yes, the versatility of a 27.5 seems very attractive. Demo’ing the Giant Anthem 29er last year, it did feel very “big” but certainly rolled amazing, just did not seem as agile and quick as my old 26er. I would considering keeping my 26" and having 2 MB’s, but since I am more a road junkie, it makes sense to have a one bike quiver for MBing.
I never could get comfortable riding a 29. Always felt like too much work riding tight, fast singletrack. After being at Interbike last week, it looks like the 27.5 bikes will slowly become the new standard. I think 29 is going to stay common on mid-range cross country hardtails but it looks like all the new development effort is on new 27.5 bikes. Some companies are stopping 29 completely and others that never got on the bandwagon over the last few years are only doing 27.5
I had the Anthem 1 26" and loved it, now I ride the Anthem 29er and love it more. It climbs better and takes the bumps nicely. I do feel like I have lost some agility with it and tend to be less brave with it than I was with the 26" in the corners and on more technical areas. I tried a 27.5" demo and liked it a few months ago. I think it was a good mix of agility and still had the smooth feeling over the bumps. I’m sticking with my Anthem 29er and we got a great deal on it barely used. However, if I were going to buy a new bike, I would consider the 27.5. I am a 5’9" female with at 31" inseam.
I would go full suspension. We sold my husband’s hardtail Cannondale 29er because it was just too hard on his back. He rides a Trek Superfly 29er now and his back has been great.