LE forum francophone sur les 29"ers et FAT

Il travaille comme journaliste pour voiture de sports, et roule sur un spider.

First, a few plain observations:
Bigger wheels roll over stuff better.
Momentum is your friend.
More stability equals less agility.
All of the above, I'm guessing, are fairly obvious to anyone new to 29ers.
But it's the subtleties that I really like.
Transitions, any low spot with a steep entry and exit (dry creek bed, big
hole) which the trail crossed at 90 degrees, were particularly fun.
My normal routine on the Bianchi:
Brake hard. Meter speed so the front tire hits the other side with
precisely the right force to bottom the fork but not destroy the seals (a
technique I've perfected after my last ride on Leslie's single). Then
accelerate hard while pulling the front tire out and ramming the rear tire
in. All very labored, inefficient and often performed with the grace of
Johnny Knoxville on meth.

On the Niner:
Pedal. Brake. Pedal.
Sorta anti-climactic. But fast. It swallows huge obstacles without drama.
Same thing on the rough, rocky stuff like on Rattlesnake. Not much
thinking about precisely placing the bike as the odds of sticking the
front wheel in a hole and catapulting into the bushes are minimal relative
to a 26er. Impressive. Lots of truth in the old adage which says "the
faster you go the smoother it gets" on big wheels. The Niner smooths out
the ugly stuff like a Trophy Truck eats up baja. I'm beginning to think
scandium is a precious metal.
Better grip too. Almost too much. I kept pushing the limits until I made
the front tire slide. Didn't care for that much (not that I ever do) as it
didn't recover with same snapiness (is that a word?) as the Bianchi. This
is when I began to realize that what I'd gained in stability and grip I
lost in nimbleness. It's not that the Niner turns slowly, it's that it
simply doesn't respond as quickly to input as my ultra-racy, hard-focused XC bikes.

However, I'm not sure those slower responses actually reduce trail
velocity. Feels like it just takes a while to learn how to ride the big
wheels effectively. Getting the Niner to rotate, slide and fly takes a new
kind of muscle memory that I haven't developed. But I'm going to.
The gearing really has me baffled. I know I was pushing 46 gear
inches---two more than I ride on the Bianchi, but the perceived effect of
the big tires and momentum really made me feel like I spun that gear out
at an painfully slow speed. Probably just another effect of being new on
big wheels. I even convinced myself the gearing wasn't that tall...until
the end of the ride when I rolled it out vs. a 32x18 26er (also 46 gear
inches) and there was no discernable difference. Amazing how the big
wheels change perception.

But hit some steep and loose terrain and slow the pedaling down to 'lactic
acid enema' speed and there's no doubt the big wheels are harder to
accelerate. Gotta stay on top of that gear to make the increased size
worth it.

Makes me wonder if bigger guys enjoy the benefits more than us little
folk. Or if there are drawbacks for smaller riders. After all, it's not
like I don't fit comfortably on 26-inch wheeled bikes. But, and this is
probably what will seal the deal for me, the Niner just looks freakin'
cool. All big tired and short wheelbased. Like Grave Digger ready to kick
some ass at the Monster Jam World Finals.

I can see the potential. Given the trails we've got here it seems the
benefits outweigh the drawbacks in most every situation. Bottom line? I
like. Had to use the fire extinguisher on my Discover card this morning.
Errr... You two and your new toys.

Dark Helmet

Et un autre :

I have a two mile technical loop on my property starting right at my garage which I've ridden for 10 years. I know every mm of it and have ridden it on hardtails, softtails and a variety of FS bikes -- all 26" until last month when I got my Levi. I'm not a big guy (5'10" 135 pounds) but I can unequivocally state that FOR ME the 29er is faster on THIS trail. It seems to just plane up like a boat over the roots and rocks and rolls over the obstacles -- the 3" travel feels like 5". Yeah, it wants to go a little wide at times....but just reel her in and she sticks like glue to the inside line. Yeah, I can tell the difference getting up to speed but I'm a high cadence rider who likes to maintain the big mo and I don't feel hurt by it. This is from a guy who has ridden 4 Moots over the past years and was fortunate enough to be ranked 5th nationally (Sport Master II) by NORBA last year -- I mention this only to show that I have had a huge committment to 26ers (both financial and training/racing) and would not think of "going over" if I wasn't convinced BY THE CLOCK that I'm faster on the 29er. My next bike? a Mooto-X which is gotta be the best of two worlds. Pardon the rant.