@reed and @LWK I actually find the opposite to be true. A \*bigger\* travel bike like this is steered by the heels not the hands (arguably most modern mountain bikes above XC are). Control is defined by the traction a rider can make the bike generate. If a larger wheel and good geo has more mechanical grip and better rider weight distribution (weight or pressure = traction) then the rider doesn't need to be tending to the front wheel as much, leaving them to steer with the hips and heels. Real power and control is found by driving a bike from the mid-point, I find.
Personally I find there to be a magic feeling in the relative axle heights of mixed wheel bikes – front, BB and rear axle – that makes controlling them so much more intuitive and requires less energy to initiate direction changes (than 29ers) and fend off feedback from the trail (than 27.5). Less of these two forces means the rider can channel more effort towards dictating how the trail is ridden. On the kinds of trails Cam rides I find myself having to think a lot about where the limits of grip are in a 27.5 front wheel rather than where every little root gap or high line is.
June 9, 2021, 7:20 a.m. - Seb_Kemp
@reed and @LWK I actually find the opposite to be true. A \*bigger\* travel bike like this is steered by the heels not the hands (arguably most modern mountain bikes above XC are). Control is defined by the traction a rider can make the bike generate. If a larger wheel and good geo has more mechanical grip and better rider weight distribution (weight or pressure = traction) then the rider doesn't need to be tending to the front wheel as much, leaving them to steer with the hips and heels. Real power and control is found by driving a bike from the mid-point, I find. Personally I find there to be a magic feeling in the relative axle heights of mixed wheel bikes – front, BB and rear axle – that makes controlling them so much more intuitive and requires less energy to initiate direction changes (than 29ers) and fend off feedback from the trail (than 27.5). Less of these two forces means the rider can channel more effort towards dictating how the trail is ridden. On the kinds of trails Cam rides I find myself having to think a lot about where the limits of grip are in a 27.5 front wheel rather than where every little root gap or high line is.