29er – Shore Worthy ?

This is a short and sweet article on my 29er and how it handles the Shore.  I have been riding mtb bikes over 15 years and 10 of them on the Shore.  Most trails I ride would be considered black to double black.

My background onto 29er:

I really didn’t pay much attention to the “fad” until late summer/early fall last year. Arthur from SuspensionWerx was raving about his Tallboy.  I knew Seb Kemp was slaying Whistler on his but was still pretty narrow minded on the whole concept.  Arthur kept bugging me about how awesome his 29er is…..  long story short, I saw Jason from Specialized up in Whistler and within a couple of months I have a 29er ready to roll.

Basic 29er Physics:

The concept of a larger diameter wheel is simple: it will keep your wheels on top of oncoming obstacle gaining more control and stability.

The larger wheel offers increased rotational inertia, which in turn improves the bike’s stability. The extra three inches also increases the amount of tire contacting the ground at any one moment, meaning enhanced tire bite. 

Below are a couple of links from Niner Bikes that explains the physics better than I can write about:

Part 1:

Part 2:

My 29er Setup:

It’s a pretty pimp setup at 28ish lbs with SRAM XX drivetrain (39-26) but with heavish wheels and a Reverb. 140mm up front and 130mm at the rear at around 69 degree HA.  700mm bar width and a 50mm stem to keep it “steezy” as the kids would say. 180mm rotors front and rear and it’s a size Medium.

I’ve been abusing the bike for around 6 months now that mostly consisted of wet trail thanks to “Climate Change”.  I’ve ridden it 95% of the time on Seymour and the rest on SFU, Burke (kick ass mountain) and Fromme.

There are a lot of misconceptions on 29ers that have lingered around since the concept of 29″ wheels for mountain bikes.  Here is what I have found:

– toe lap:  never happened once to me.

– manualing: never had a problem lifting the front end.  Chainstay length is about the same as most DH bikes.

– troubles with tight switchbacks: the wheelbase is around the same as my SXT and never had any troubles.  The bb is lower than the wheels axles so it is stable.

– extra suspension: some people say it’s like adding an 1″ of travel.  I don’t find this as true.  Bigger wheels or not, 5″ feels like 5″.  The bigger wheels do smooth out the trail but it’s not like adding suspension.  Hard to describe in works.

General Impressions:

It took longer than normal to get really comfortable with the wagon wheels.  The differences are subtle and at times hard to notice a difference.  It’s not night and day as a lot of people think.  I kind of compare it to a long board as it just loves to carve.  The way I have my bike set up, it definately goes up or across better than going down.  I attribute this to travel, tires and head angles.

Pros:

– climbs like a goat whether it’s pavement, gravel, rock, loam.  It’s really like cheating.

– trails like Bridal Path and Baden Powell with lots of rock and roots is where this bike really excels.

Cons:

– angles still seem steep me (67 to 68 would be ideal)

– would like more travel (160mm F/R would be ideal for me

– wheels are slightly heavier 

– I can definately feel the flex in the fork and wheels

– some manufacturers don’t make sizes for small sizes.

What I would like to see in the future:

– more travel from fork manufacturers.

– slacker head angles

– better tire selection (Maxxis with 29er Minion would rule)

– more 142 in the rear on all 29er models

Closing Thoughts:

29ers are here to stay am stoked to ride one everytime I hop on mine.  It does seem that the fork and tire manufacturers are what’s holding back the advancement of the 29er movement in the AM/Enduro style of riding.  The XC is dialed as you can get a pimped FS Carbon 29er at 21 lbs.  I think it’ll be another couple of years before we see a 160 front and rear 29er but when it comes, it’s game over.

Is it Shore Worthy ?  I probably wouldn’t want to ride mine down 5th Horseman but for 95% of the trails we have here, no problem.

Cheers,

JW