Mountain Bike 29er

[adrianzulu]

So, new to MTBing, looking to buy something fairly light. Are the 29er's worth a look, I understand the size of the wheels is better and eliminates the need for rear suspension, is this the case?

[bychosis]

Can of worms.

How tall are you? how much do you want to spend? how light is fairly light? What sort of riding will you be doing?

29ers do not eliminate the need for suspension, you can roll over larger obstacles with less impact on your body but they do build 29er suspension bikes for a reason. 26ers can be more maneuverable in tight single track, 29ers will lope along on fire trail all day. 26er will be lighter with the same specs. Ther are pros and cons for both.

[AUbicycles]

bychosis is on the right track.

29ers don't eliminate the need for rear suspension - where trails mean riding a full suspension makes sense, it goes for 29ers as well. So I would probably first decide whether you are after a hardtail or full suspension, then look into the wheel size.

If you are a smaller fellow, then 29ers may not make as much sense. A though a lot of brands still build bikes in small sizes with 29" wheels because of the popularity even though they screw up the geometry.

[clackers]

The 29er hardtail may be more comfortable along dirt than a 26 hardtail. But if you have climbs, remember that all other things being equal it will take an 11 percent hit (IIRC) in gear inches.

[Scarfy96]

adrianzulu - you just described me as well.

I got a 29er, one of these:
http://www.fujibikes.com/bike/details/nevada_29_15_d

Overall I have been very happy with it, fire trails are a cruise, single track has to date been fine and I have been able to ride around everything no issues. I am far from being on the advanced runs however.

Climbing seems fine to me. I have strava and have top 5 on a number of climbs in my area with 30+ people on them so clearly it goes uphill fine.

I am 6 foot 1 if that helps and from a road bike background so the transition was very comfortable.