MTB 101 - Gear »
Demistifying the 29″er: The downside
This is the last entry in the series and, after spending some time looking at the benefits of the 29″ wheeled bicycle, this time I will explore some of the disadvantages of going with a 29”er.
The typical reasons people give for not going with a 29 inch wheel are not going to be found in this article. Popular arguments against 29″ers — the wheels are too ’slow’, the wheels aren’t stiff enough, 29″ers corner poorly — are either misconceptions about technical elements or are issues related more directly to a rider’s skill level than the 29″ wheeled bike. This is especially true since wheels can be built especially stiff, bike speed can be gained by different gearing, and cornering is actually better on 29”ers if the rider knows how to use the correct techniques.
Finding the parts
One of the biggest problems for riders moving from 26 inch wheels to 29 inch wheel is the lack of quality choices with 29 inch specific parts. At this stage of the game, the choices for tires, suspension forks, and wheels are the most noteworthy of these deficiencies. Since the technology that is available tends to be rather pedestrian, and lags behind the cutting edge technology found in the 26 inch parts available, 29″er riders are behind the eight ball when it comes to finding the latest-and-greatest for their rides. Thankfully, the word in the industry is that the gap is going to be narrowed considerably for 29”ers very soon.
Changing gears: choosing the right cog for your 29″er
The gearing for steep climbing is another disadvantage in going with a 29”er. Due to the wheels’ larger diameter, a 29″er’s gearing needs to be approximately 10% lower than a comparable 26 inch wheeled bike. As it stands, getting gears that are low enough can be troublesome, as there aren’t many cassettes equipped with anything larger than a 34 tooth cog.
The only way to get lower gearing is to address the crank set gearing. The typical solution is to mount a 20-30-42 set of rings on a five arm, compact crankset. Sounds easy, until you realize that the choices in five arm, compact cranks are rather slim.
Height limitations
Sizing for smaller riders is problematic, as well. Standover clearance, top tube length, and toe overlap can be limiting for folks who don’t hit the 5′5″ mark on the measuring tape. While custom bike builders can build around some of these challenges, until the off set for suspension forks is corrected for 29”ers, small people will have issues finding a mass-produced 29″er that matches their specific height-related demands.
Rolling on: growing into the 29″er
The issues I’ve discussed in this writeup are weighty problems, but they are not insurmountable.
Since the 29”er is a relatively new development in mountain biking, I expect that growing consumer demand will spur consumer interest in the product and, with that, I hope to see that these technical issues will be be addressed by the cycling industry.
1. Posted by Cory | 9:44 am, 3 April 2006
There are some good thoughts from a 29″er newbie over at the MTBR.com forums. Check them out for a well-balanced writeup!