27.5 or 29er?

a.s.

a.s.

Mr. Chainring
I’m getting ready to purchase a new bike. The bike I want (let’s forget brands for a minute) comes in 27.5 and 29. Geometry is basically the same and early reviews give both bikes a thumbs up. About the only difference is weight, with the 29er coming in 2 lbs heavier.

I’m an aggressive rider who likes to go fast, bomb through rocks and hit the occasional jump. Will I regret going all the way to 29?
 
what size bike/how tall are you? full suspension or hard tail?
My finding is that on size medium and smaller full suspension bikes the 29er just has too many compromises to make the wheels fit. So I ride a 27.5 full suspension. It also turns considerably better than a 29er. But I ride a 29er hardtail because they can get the geometry pretty good with a hard tail.
Ideally bikes would come with a 27.5 rear wheel and 29 front wheel. But too many people would start mouth breathing because it's different. 7-8 years ago when 29er full suspension bikes were downright terrible my top fuel 69er handled AWESOME. And it had good gearing, another 29er problem at the time. Not really an issue anymore though.
 
I feel like I stepped in a Time Warp and went back 5 years.


But I would take Luke's advise. It seems a large portion of the industry has decided height is the answer. Many s and m (hey now) bikes are 27.5 and l and xl are 29.

I'm a hair under 6'2 and have both. I rarely distinguish between the 2 when I'm riding. Both just become an extension of me and I don't think about it.

Yeah for new bike day.
 
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jShort said:
I feel like I stepped in a Time Warp and went back 5 years.
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Strangely, the difference has changed. My buddies on the west coast are all going to 29er and acting like they found the new world. . While here on the east coast we’ve had a ten year run with 29ers already.



There is a case to be made for both and the things that made people hate on 29ers have been diminished.

The tricky thing about 27.5 right now is what it may morph into. Many are saying that if you go 27.5, the frame should allow for a 2.6” tire. This isn’t the case on all Bikes.

Personally, I’ve been having a ton of fun on 27.5 x 2.8” tires and my bike can also do 29..

Look for more bikes that can do this swap as we move forward.
 
jShort said:
I feel like I stepped in a Time Warp and went back 5 years.
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It does feel like I’m the last one to the party. The bike I currently ride is seven years old.

Seems like the argument for 27.5 is losing ground. I’m not interested in plus size.
 
I have been thinking about getting a new bike for a few years. But I just enjoy my good old 26" Giant Trance x1 too much. I recently cracked my frame and of course Giant backed their product and gave me a new frame. My old Trance put in many years,. miles and utter abuse. So in essence I have a new bike. After a lot of research I am planning on getting a new Giant, leaning towards the Trance Advanced 1 which is a 27.5. I am loyal and a lifetime warranty is a deal breaker for many of the other brands out there.
 
I ride both wheel sizes and in the medium flavor . My 29er tallboy is the most playful fun bike I've ever had . Short chainstay is the key
 
Zero question in going 27.5 unless you are taller than 7’8”. Th 29er problems have been solved, the answer is 27.5.
 
a.s. said:
It does feel like I’m the last one to the party. The bike I currently ride is seven years old.

Seems like the argument for 27.5 is losing ground. I’m not interested in plus size.
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For me (riding a medium) the 27.5 is more nimble and the 29'er is more like a tank....plows over stuff better but not as nimble.
 
The Trance was on my radar but now that I’m leaning towards 29 it’s been put on the back of the list.
 
a.s. said:
Yeah how? @stb222
I have no idea what Luke is taking about. ;)
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The axle height of a 29er wheel is too high for a trail bike feel, you lose leverage to lift the front end. You can compensate for that by shortening the chain stay more, that helps but on a 29er you can't go any shorter because the wheel is in the way. The only alternative is to raise the bottom bracket which raises the center of gravity.
You can't solve that, and you can't solve the increased gyroscope effect of the larger diameter wheel. You can help with carbon wheels and light tires but the diameter is still a problem making the bike turn, especially moving the bike around in the air.
This is why BMX bikes are 19"
29ers have an advantage in rolling, 27.5 have an advantage in geometry for trail bikes.
It's not been solved, there is a choice and a debate for a reason.
I'm not convincing anyone of anything but trying to highlight the debate.
On an xc bike, 29er is a no brainier unless you're very small. The bb drop as and super stable rotating wheels help your typical xc rider.
 
Why aren't you into plus sizes? Based on your riding descriptions, bombing down aggressively, they would seem to hit the mark. But as Luke has described about an active front end and playful rear, it's more for picking lines and navigating through tech. I'm going through the same process now and this discussion is spot on.
 
gtluke said:
The axle height of a 29er wheel is too high for a trail bike feel, you lose leverage to lift the front end. You can compensate for that by shortening the chain stay more, that helps but on a 29er you can't go any shorter because the wheel is in the way. The only alternative is to raise the bottom bracket which raises the center of gravity.
You can't solve that, and you can't solve the increased gyroscope effect of the larger diameter wheel. You can help with carbon wheels and light tires but the diameter is still a problem making the bike turn, especially moving the bike around in the air.
This is why BMX bikes are 19"
29ers have an advantage in rolling, 27.5 have an advantage in geometry for trail bikes.
It's not been solved, there is a choice and a debate for a reason.
I'm not convincing anyone of anything but trying to highlight the debate.
On an xc bike, 29er is a no brainier unless you're very small. The bb drop as and super stable rotating wheels help your typical xc rider.
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Am I reading this correctly or did you just call my “typical?” :p
 
a.s. said:
Yeah how? @stb222
I have no idea what Luke is taking about. ;)
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29ers were pushed by the industry just enough for everyone to get on them and then changed what is pushed back to 27.5, which is where it probably should have been. If you plan to race, 29er since you move alittle bit further with each wheel revolution but at the expense of flickability and the wagon wheel effect. The comparison of “look, some pro can do the same thing on a 29er, 27.5, 26”, 22”, 20”, 700c, etc, is pointless because someone out there can do everything on any bike.

Having recently went from a 26”-27.5 conversion hardtail (ie, high B.B.), to a 27.5 trail bike, I did notice the B.B. drop “issue” that @gtluke mentions however after a few rides I have adapted and am not hitting my cranks on stuff.

In any case, all of those “issues” are trying to refine some designs that are pretty damned refined already.
 
stb222 said:
29ers were pushed by the industry just enough for everyone to get on them and then changed what is pushed back to 27.5, which is where it probably should have been. If you plan to race, 29er since you move alittle bit further with each wheel revolution but at the expense of flickability and the wagon wheel effect. The comparison of “look, some pro can do the same thing on a 29er, 27.5, 26”, 22”, 20”, 700c, etc, is pointless because someone out there can do everything on any bike.

Having recently went from a 26”-27.5 conversion hardtail (ie, high B.B.), to a 27.5 trail bike, I did notice the B.B. drop “issue” that @gtluke mentions however after a few rides I have adapted and am not hitting my cranks on stuff.

In any case, all of those “issues” are trying to refine some designs that are pretty damned refined already.
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Not bb height, bb drop. Different things. The drop dictates your leverage on the front end with the pedals. Height and drop used to be the same thing when all bikes were 26 but now you have to factor the drop and height to get an idea of position on bike, leverage on front, and pedal strikes.
 
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