So Whats Up With These 29'er Bikes? - Round 2

We got a lot of comments on the 29'er entry from yesterday. It's great to see the 29'ers have so many dedicated followers.

I don't think the debate over Wheel size is going to go away anytime soon. There is no reason why there won't be room for both 26 and 29 inch wheels in the future, or any other size for that matter.

While we had no intention of picking sides, nearly every comment was in support of the 29 inch technology. As I said before, there are plenty of good arguements for 29 inch wheels, but just for arguement sake, and since we didn't get any comment in support of the 26 inchers, I may appear to pick the 26 inch side for the rest of this entry.

It is true that the 26" wheel standard has somewhat arbitrarily beginnings. The 26" wheels and tires used in the early days were simply used because that was a convenient size found on adult and cruiser bikes of the time. However, using this as an arguement in support of 29" wheels downplays the fact that those 26" wheels of the day were that size for already good reasons.

I think by far, the biggest arguement against the 29 inch cetegory is that it creates some issues with longer suspension travel and it seems that is the way the industry is moving these days. As far as the center of gravity issue goes, my analysis with some simple assumptions shows a slight but insignificant raise in the center of gravity in a 29" bike.

The real trick here is finding a bike that works for you. If it has 29 inch wheels, great. For more information on 29 inch bikes visit twentynineinches.com, they have plenty to say.