Just three of us at Bewl this week (myself, Duncan and Ivan). Duncan had kindly brought along Dave HH's (thanks to Dave for letting me try it) hard tail 29er. I was keen to test it and see how it stacked up against an old 26 hard tail. For once Ivan's, "Ivan power" had deserted him and he was complaining of feeling tired before we had even started. On the first lap I used the 29er. First impressions were what a fantastic fit it was, I felt like I had ridden it for years. With the larger wheels and the lovely modern plush suspension it was more comfy that my Marin even though the Marin has got a suspension seat post fitted. On the first lap (and for probably the only time ever)I managed to drop Ivan without really trying. The first lap seemed to fly by really quickly.
lap two and away went the 29er and out came my old faithful Marin from 1997. Getting back on it I realised just how aggressive the ride position is with my head in a much lower position due to the shorter head tube and shorter travel forks. My legs felt nicely warmed up from the first lap and so I was able to push harder. I still enjoyed throwing the old Marin around the corners although I was getting more bashed about than I did on the 29er. Despite pushing harder, Ivan now longer had trouble keeping up with me and dropped me about two thirds of the way round (even though he said he felt even more tired on the second lap)
So what is the conclusion to this test? First of all I would say a 29er hard tail is far better than a 26 hard tail. It is more comfortable, handles just as well and is significantly faster for the same level of effort.So if you are buying a new hard tail, it a no brainer what to buy. The only remaining question is " is a 29er hard tail better than a 26 full suspension?"
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