26, 27.5, 29 errr what?

[breamster]

Hopefully before Xmas I'm am looking to upgrade my 10+ year old mtb with something whizzier.

Should I go for 27.5,27.5+ or 29? No fatties - nothing against them as such I just can't see me riding one.

I've been getting into organised 30+ mile rides and have never been to a bike park. I'm in my 40s so I'm not convinced my bones are bendy enough. Given I prefer distance and fast single track rather than death defying leaps off of things I'm assuming a hardtail 29 would be my best best?


Any ideas what specific bikes I should be looking at? Choice of bikes is huge and lots of the brands I used to trust are no longer about.

If it makes a difference the budget is sub £1000 for cycle scheme and I'm 5'10". I like light bikes - currently ride a 24lb rigid but I'm suffering due to lack of suspension. Ideally I'd like to try a few bikes and get muddy but my local shops only allow you to ride up and down a pavement which is not great.

Thoughts?

P.S. Thought these look quite good...
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-LTD-Race-2X-29-Mounta...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-7-thirty-2016/
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/cr...

Edited by breamster on Sunday 11th October 10:03

[justanother5tar]

I bought one of these;

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bik...

Got it on sale for £700 though, available through cycle to work scheme.

Its a pretty light bike, with a good standard spec. The finishing kit is the only let down for me, but its easily and cheaply changed. I was looking at bigger brands at first (Specialized, Trek etc) but none of them could touch the cheap Boardman spec wise, unless I spent significantly more. Go Halfords and try their store demo out, you might be surprised like I was.

Also heard good things about Cube bikes too, but I think prices of those are starting to rise as they gain recognition.


ETA; I tried some 29ers and hated them. I came from 26" dirt jump bikes and they just felt miles too big for me, 650b/27.5 felt nice.

Edited by justanother5tar on Sunday 11th October 10:57

[R1gtr]

I have a Cube LTD race in 26" and I love it, Cube make great bikes with great spec for the money. If you want to eat up the miles on easy terrain then 29" is for you tho if trying a bit more technical stuff a 27.5 is a good compromise.
Take a look at Tredz, Pauls cycles, and Hargroves cycles as they will have 2015 bikes with as much as 40% off, get more bang for your buck.

[P-Jay]

I wouldn't discount 27.5, there's a couple of new 27.5 HTs about which are meant to be more fun than the more serious-trousers 29ers.

This looks like it would be very fun, it's not the lightest XC whippet bike and it's got a hell of a lot of travel for a HT, but I reckon it'd be a laugh.

It's roughly £1000 but mail order might not be the easiest thing to get into a R2W scheme.

http://www.commencal-store.co.uk/Mobile/MBSCProduc...

Also, age is no barrier to Bike Parks, there's a regular at BPW who turned 70 a few weeks ago and this would be very good on most of the trails - the blue graded trails are a lot of fun without being too serious.

[paulmon]

I'd go for a small travel 29 full suss. Hardtails are quick but pretty jarring. I love riding mine but boy do I know about it the day after. Big problem is getting one within budget.

Edited by paulmon on Sunday 11th October 18:25

[BadgerBenji]

Why not go for a bit more comfort without the complexity and go for a 27.5+.

Something like http://www.chargebikes.com/cooker-1/

and it's within budget.

[PDP76]

If it's all Xc you are doing, then a hardtail 29er all day long.

[breamster]

Thanks for all the replies...

So far the recommendations are...27.5, 27.5 or 29, 29fs, 29ht and 27.5+.

I think I need to try a couple out to be honest - I'll find out if any demo days are going on locally.

There is a Bike Expo type event run by Primera in Bournemouth next month so will try to get along to that.

You have got me thinking about bike parks though - are there any near Bournemouth?

I hear that Avon Tyrell is a good shout so will try to get over there.

Thanks all.

[WestyCarl]

I wouldn't specifically worry about wheel size (despite all the marketing you read it doesn't make a huge difference in my experience)

Go for the bike that fits you better and feels "good" to ride, regardless of the wheel size.

[paulmon]

WestyCarl said:

I wouldn't specifically worry about wheel size (despite all the marketing you read it doesn't make a huge difference in my experience)

Go for the bike that fits you better and feels "good" to ride, regardless of the wheel size.

Not true I'm afraid. Take the same person and ask them to ride the same circuit back to back on a 26 and a 29er and they will be faster on the 29er every single time. The only benefit of the smaller wheeled bike is agility on really technical trails which is why we have 650b/27.5.

P

[daddy cool]

justanother5tar said:

I bought one of these;
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bik...
Got it on sale for £700 though, available through cycle to work scheme.
Its a pretty light bike, with a good standard spec. The finishing kit is the only let down for me, but its easily and cheaply changed. I was looking at bigger brands at first (Specialized, Trek etc) but none of them could touch the cheap Boardman spec wise, unless I spent significantly more.

I got the carbon version of that:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bik...
Lovely lovely bike - quicker than mt 26" Full Sus around my local trails, but it makes you work for it and you feel beaten up at the end!
I bought it mostly for local XC races, as i wasnt ready for the jump to 29'er, though in retrospect maybe i should have done.
Like you OP, i prefer XC/Distance than crazy downhill/jumps. Did the 75 mile L2B Offroad ride recently and was glad i wasnt on a 26'er (like my mate). A 29 would have been even better!

[olliethehut]

Was in the same situation last year and managed to get a previous season Zaskar 9er at a decent price on C2W scheme. Cant recommend the big wheels enough.
Love the increase in rolling ability, IMO they climb better, I even entered an XC race this year as it was feeling quick. Also I swear my Strava times are faster since I went up a wheel size...
I'd still recommend demoing one, but for a xc bike a 9er with 100-120mm forks should be sound.

[WestyCarl]

paulmon said:

WestyCarl said:

I wouldn't specifically worry about wheel size (despite all the marketing you read it doesn't make a huge difference in my experience)

Go for the bike that fits you better and feels "good" to ride, regardless of the wheel size.

Not true I'm afraid. Take the same person and ask them to ride the same circuit back to back on a 26 and a 29er and they will be faster on the 29er every single time. The only benefit of the smaller wheeled bike is agility on really technical trails which is why we have 650b/27.5.

P

Disagree, it depends on terrain, tyres, type if bike, etc and fitness, skill of the rider.

Top pro's may notice a different, but most other people won't.

[paulmon]

WestyCarl said:

Disagree, it depends on terrain, tyres, type if bike, etc and fitness, skill of the rider.

Top pro's may notice a different, but most other people won't.

Disagree all you want, you are still wrong and anyone taking your advice on the matter would be stupid.

[boyse7en]

R1gtr said:

I have a Cube LTD race in 26" and I love it, Cube make great bikes with great spec for the money. If you want to eat up the miles on easy terrain then 29" is for you tho if trying a bit more technical stuff a 27.5 is a good compromise.
Take a look at Tredz, Pauls cycles, and Hargroves cycles as they will have 2015 bikes with as much as 40% off, get more bang for your buck.

I've got one of these too. Love it to bits, it feels very 'wieldy' around the tight narrow trails I frequent.

I tried a 29er on a test ride and didn't like it. it felt heavy to steer and less chuckable. I also don't like the way 29ers look - they just look out of proportion to me.

[BadgerBenji]

paulmon said:

Not true I'm afraid. Take the same person and ask them to ride the same circuit back to back on a 26 and a 29er and they will be faster on the 29er every single time. The only benefit of the smaller wheeled bike is agility on really technical trails which is why we have 650b/27.5.

P

If only that was true, got 29ers, a fat bike and a 650b and they are all very different, on a lap of Dalby red with a bit of black chucked in, there are bits where one is quicker than the others even the fat bike. Chuck in the difference between a full suspension 29 er and a single speed fully rigid 29 er and even they are not equal! A change of tyres or setup of a fork can make huge differences as well.

[scherzkeks]

P-Jay said:

I wouldn't discount 27.5, there's a couple of new 27.5 HTs about which are meant to be more fun than the more serious-trousers 29ers.

This looks like it would be very fun, it's not the lightest XC whippet bike and it's got a hell of a lot of travel for a HT, but I reckon it'd be a laugh.

It's roughly £1000 but mail order might not be the easiest thing to get into a R2W scheme.

http://www.commencal-store.co.uk/Mobile/MBSCProduc...

Also, age is no barrier to Bike Parks, there's a regular at BPW who turned 70 a few weeks ago and this would be very good on most of the trails - the blue graded trails are a lot of fun without being too serious.

Not only would I not discount 27.5, I'd go for it. About to get a new MB myself and can't see the point of the 29er in the long run. They have their strengths, but 27.5 is replacing 26, and it is more maneuverable for tight terrain while still rolling over obstacles quite well. 29 seems more limited, there can be sizing issues for smaller people, and there are rumors that some companies are discontinuing them.

[nickfrog]

paulmon said:

WestyCarl said:

Disagree, it depends on terrain, tyres, type if bike, etc and fitness, skill of the rider.

Top pro's may notice a different, but most other people won't.

Disagree all you want, you are still wrong and anyone taking your advice on the matter would be stupid.

There is no need to be binary about it, there is no right or wrong. It's not a race so whether someone may be quicker with a wheel size or another is quite irrelevant.

I much prefer the feel of 26', however slow that makes me compared to 27.5. Like I prefer the feel of RWD, however slow that makes me compared to 4wd.