I've been hoping to get a new mtb for this season. If all goes well I'll need to decide on what to get. But being a traditionalist it won't be an easy decision. It appears that the 29 inch craze is here to stay. I'll admit that I'm skeptical. It's not like this is the first time that a larger wheel sized mtb has been introduced to the industry. I'm sure some of you recall the Override series, I'm sure there were others, from Diamondback that Dave Weins and crew were rockin back in the early to mid 90's. They eventually failed because they didn't hold up and DB pulled the plug on them. Sure they were 700c wheels and wheel technology has come a long way since then. But maybe, just maybe the technology isn't the only thing that has changed. I recently read Doug Swanson's post regarding how mountain bike courses have changed. Maybe that's why these 29'ers work. I keep thinking back to the strength of the 26 inch and the fact that the smaller wheel is physically easier to get up to speed. But then there is something to say about a larger wheel being easier to maintain momentum of choppy stuff.
I'm interested to hear from anyone who has a 29'er out there. Are they happy they switched? Is it better suited for today's race course? Is there a brand that is considered an expert in the 29 inch world?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment