I always strongly consider observations from anyone willing to wave a 44 Magnum in people’s faces. As such, I’ve always appreciated Dirty Harry‘s recommendation that a man know his limitations. For example, I can appreciate that I am not an elegant creature and it is best if I avoid sports involving hand-eye coordination. I’ve also noted that things go more smoothly when I keep my feet affixed to the ground, to say nothing of keeping my wheels or skis out of the air. I’m also not great with imaginary numbers, like eleventeen or thirtytwelve.
I am, however, pretty good at riding bikes. That said, I am prone to overconfidence when it comes to cornering. My father, a devoted BMW motorcycle loyalist, bought a mid-Eighties BMW R100 RS to give to me for my 16th birthday. In the meantime, however, I picked up bike racing. He sold the R100 before I got a chance to ride it, citing my proclivity to overshoot turns on bicycles and observing that I didn’t also need a motor helping me crash at higher speeds and with greater consequence.
A self-professed Roadie, I do wander off-road occasionally, and generally do so aboard my beloved MB-Zip. I went for a ride on Saturday with some friends who were riding bikes built in this century, and was struck by the advances in technology involved. While my bike utilizes flexy stems and elastomers, they were aboard 29ers (which is Mountain Bike speak for “bike built on 700c wheels”) with full-suspension.
I could easily match the climbing portion of the ride, but as soon as we pointed downhill, I was left in their dust, to borrow their vernacular. Obviously, it wasn’t my descending skills – it had to be the gear. I promptly rented a top-end 29er full suspention rig and agreed to join my mates for a longer ride out east of the Cascades on Sunday.
I’ll let you in on a secret: the advances in Mountain Biking since 1992 have not been made in the name of climbing. That’s not to say the 29er didn’t feel great on all the other terrain, but climbing felt more akin to sitting on a balance ball than riding a bike. Descending, on the other hand, I felt like a different rider. I was rippin’ gnar with my bra’s (that’s Mountain Bike speak “descending quite well and managing to keep up with my friends”) and at a certain point made the observation that perhaps I was over-confident, given my unfamiliarity with the bike in particular and with the notion of riding a full suspension bike in general.
About halfway along the descent, I started noticing a peculiarity in the bike’s handling: while cornering, the front wheel was tending to wash out. All the washouts were controllable, and I continued on my way. A few turns from the bottom of the descent, however, I failed in righting a washout in a particularly nasty corner and found myself in a tangle on the ground, bike bopping me in the face, and scattering a variety of equipment in a blast-pattern around the ground-zero of my crash. The bike literally creaked with pain as it lay in the dust.
I was mostly unhurt, but I did taco the front wheel. Limitation noted: don’t attempt to keep up with more experienced riders on a highly technical descent aboard a bike you are not familiar with.
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@frank
if you were to get another MTB, it sounds like you need a singlespeed.
@Jarvis
I noticed my mates had only double-rings. That's another innovation in mountainbiking not intended to improve your climbing. That Zip, ugly-stick as it is, is all about going up the hill, baby!
@Steampunk
My apologies for getting the diameter of a fucking hand-canon wrong by one fucking tenth of an inch. I bet you'd feel the difference when he pointed that thing at you.
I was in Kerala, India, once, pressed up against the fuselage of a dual-prop, with four soldiers pointing their big-ass automatic rifles at my head. I didn't notice the caliber of their guns.
On the other hand, I learned not to photograph an aircraft in a Communist State that day. That's something.
Oh, and in regards to all this, Rule 55 applies, whether on-road or off.
The original Dirty Harry - one of my favorite movies of all time. Killer classic '70s film.
I'm a recent 29er convert, there's no going back to 26" wheels for me - for hardtails anyway. The 29er is smoother, rolls faster, and feels more stable. It still retains the hardtail snappy feeling as well, though smoother in the rear. It rocks. I've ridden mountain bikes since 1984: No suspension, hardtail, full suspension, back to a hardtail, and now the 29er hardtail. If you're an old school XC type, can't help but dig it. Give it a try.
For full suspension, I'd stick with a 26" wheel. But that's just me. Gotta find you're own groove.
Frank- if you want a tour of my local trails - email me. Would be fun.
I just had to change the Magnum to a 44! Like saying "I was gonna get a 26" bike, but ended up with a 29er... it's only 3 inches!"
29ers are a good choice for a hardtail, but it's still a hardtail. If I was considering a hardtail, a 29er would be in the picture. Then I'd wake up to myself and get a 5" travel dually... Like Dan said, each to his own.
As one of the blasphemous 5'9", 5" travel 29er riders that joined Frank on this ride (deathmarch?), I just have to recommend trying a FS 29er before knocking it. And this doesn't mean "I rode a 29" Specialized Stumpy 4 years ago and it was awful" - try a modern 29er from Niner, Turner, Santa Cruz, Spec, even Fisher - it will change your dirty riding world.
The only place where 26" wheels give an advantage is in strength (at the extreme), absolute weight, and changing direction in the air. The advantages of speed, efficiency, smoothness, and ability to defend them in public forums far outweigh the few disadvantages. Plus, check out Willow Koerber's success as a 5'1" racer here
I assume you're all riding 650C wheeled road bikes... ;)
@VwVoodoo
you've got me thinking now. As I'm running a long-term back injury I'm preparing myself for having to change my approach to bike riding in the future - no more singlespeed, full-suss instead of hardtail - and now, perhaps the higher front end of a 29er merits their consideration again.
Now tell me good chap, do any decent brands make 29ers? This means someone other than Fisher Trek or Niner (Niner have distributor issues in the UK)?
Santa Cruz Tall Boy. Only 29er that needs mentioning.
@pakrat
ahahahhaha! Not at that much money
Check out the Turner Sultan, Specialized Stumpy 29 or Epic 29, Santa Cruz Tallboy (carbon).
I've never ridden a 29er full suspension rig - need to try one. I'd imagine it works pretty well. Still think I'd stick with 26" wheels for full suspension however - more room for travel. For that, I'd go with a Yeti ASR or Ibis Mojo. Yes, please. Send money.
For hardtails, the Niner EMD or Air 9 are pretty sweet. I've test ridden the Niner, the Specialized, and a Scott Scale 29er. All set up as mid-priced bikes. $1800 - 2000+. Similar parts build and Rockshox fork.
I wound up buying a Sette Razzo 29er online from Pricepoint.com. $1240 delivered to my door. No sales tax. 30 day return policy, 5 year frame warranty. Very similar SRAM kit and same fork. I thought if the frame sucked, I'd eBay it, and move everything to a Niner frame - and still be ahead money wise.
No need to, the Sette frame handles well, plus only 3.2 pounds. I also like the short 3.5" headtube that lowers the normally jacked up 29er front end. Made in Taiwan, probably in the same factory pumping out bikes for the bigger brands.
If you're not concerned about what sticker is on the downtube, don't require bike shop support, and wish to dabble in the 29er world without a big investment - worth a look. After the usual saddle, 'bars and stem swap - I'm digging mine.