DH 29er 26

David_Motay

12/3/2011 6:29 AM

I dont think this was meant to lanch off a 29er debate...its just some bike goof

David_Motay

12/3/2011 6:16 AM

Sooooooo funny,good one bro...

DHmental

12/1/2011 5:01 PM

Haha I'm not a 29er hater but this is funny!

redride

12/1/2011 10:12 AM

hahahaha... too funny! love it!

cameron.hoefer

12/1/2011 9:55 AM

Can we just round it off at a nice even 30 inch wheel and call it a day?

lev

12/1/2011 8:54 AM

27.5" is the way forward. Best of both worlds. Mavic are working on this as we speak!

Daniel_Goss

12/1/2011 8:46 AM

Everybody needs to lighten up, this is just funny! If you actually think about it, the first real bikes that rode off-road were 29ers (cyclocross), and some manufacturers, like Ross in the early 80s, produced flat bar, fat tired 700c (29in if ya haven't figured that out yet), bikes that many of the old dogs you know were pioneering the trails you ride now on them.

Balfaboy

11/30/2011 11:03 PM

So funny!!

JimEG

11/30/2011 10:53 PM

VOY

JMell179

11/30/2011 10:27 PM

Gotta love all the arguing here. personally im a 26 guy but i have ridden a few 29ers. I LOVED it too. but personally i dont think the cornering on the 29er would be good for DH. It would have to be a pretty straight track for it to be really worth it.

Erik_Nelson

11/30/2011 9:44 PM

beigewolf - good point, point taken! dustboy - even better point!

dustboy

11/30/2011 8:10 PM

BeigeWolf

11/30/2011 6:46 PM

IF YOU LET AN INTERNET VIDEO ABOUT THE SIZE OF WHEELS HURT YOUR BUTT'S FEELINGS, THEN YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY THAT YOU ARE THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DORK.

Erik_Nelson

11/30/2011 6:44 PM

yeah, that's me. I'm glad i'm not the only guy with this type of background noticing the benefits. Who are you?!

Ol Dirty Jose G

11/30/2011 6:21 PM

I agree erik about how 8-10 inches probably wouldn't be necessary. On a 29er platform I'd say 7 would certainly be sufficient. Also I agree that the whole MX bike comparrison is stupid. They have motors and race on non-gravity fed tracks- momentum has nothing to do with MX like it does in MTB. If we went of that we'd all be riding 3-4.5 inch wide tires on single pivots with 12.5" of travel. Times change and 29er may be part of that change. A few years ago everyone scoffed at carbon fiber anything on a DH but now it's slowly becoming a normal. Who are we to say that they won't be able to figure out how to strengthen the wheels, lower the BB, and slack out a 29er??? Engineers have conquered tougher situations... P.S.: Are you the ex BMXer that used to hand it to me in Jr X 4x back in the day?

Erik_Nelson

11/30/2011 6:10 PM

wait a second! this video is suggesting motorcycles are the gold standard for wheel size. Maybe they're on to something. I'm definitely going to try and put a 21 inch front wheel and 19 inch rear wheel on my downhill bike tomorrow!

kidwoo

11/30/2011 5:24 PM

29zerz iz seereeyuss bidness!!

Erik_Nelson

11/30/2011 5:10 PM

I have to agree with you guys, this video is terrible, i'm honestly a little surprised it got put on the main page, even still, the humor is not lost on me. I'm just confused as to why vital would go such lengths with the likely risk of alienating a portion (however small) of their viewers....

another interesting thought i've had in my short time on a squish 29er... I always just thought that an ideal DH 29er would have at minimum 8 inches of travel. Basically the same minimum we would consider for something to be a full on DH race 26in bike. Upon riding my 135mm 29 bike, i was really surprised at the raw "plushness". Even the medium to large size bump absorption seems slightly improved of an equivalent 26in. That smaller angle of attack angle really does wonders for rolling over small bumps. The benefit is less pronounced the larger the obstacles get, but its still there a little. It seems like to me they just generally don't transfer as much of the bump to the rider as a 26inch. Assuming you're comparing 2 bikes where the only difference is the wheel size, i don't think 5 inches on a 29 is necessarily equivalent in ride characteristics to a 5inch 26 bike. It certainly feels like a bit more to me. Which brings to mind the question. Would a DH 29er really need 8inches to get the job done? As of my today my opinion on this is, not necessarily. From my experiences i find it at least plausible that a "DH" 29er could be in the 6 to 7 inch range, and totally get the job done... I think this would also ease the design constraints for engineers; something that seems to be a reoccurring theme in 29er dh discussions. your thoughts?

GreyHornet

11/30/2011 5:03 PM

I too used to hate 29ers. Hell I have owned a few and sold them quickly after. 29ers flood the MTB world with the single speeds and the XC bikes. I realized I just had to try a non XC bike! I rode the INTENSE TRACER 29 and like others instantly took back everything bad I ever had to say about 29ers. On that bike not only did I pedal faster up but descended faster than ever before,and still did the same drops and jumps. Bottom line is it felt more like a 7" travel 26" bike than a 5"travel 29er. I say why fight about if? If you like 26 that's great have fun and if you hate 29 that's fine two, there will always be a trail and a bike for everyone.

scriz

11/30/2011 4:49 PM

Not sure I'd say 20" is proven better for 4x, but I think you make a good point.... it's all about having fun. My 26" and 7" bike feels perfect to me for AM/DH stuff, but I may have to invest in a 29er if I start getting smoked by soccer milfs.