New Bike

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Deleted member 476

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As a shorter rider (I'm 5'6"), I've always ridden quite compact frames.
I am only 5'7 ish.
Although my limbs are smaller than that. (all my height is in my torso)
(I'm 5'6'' too)
Yeah, I think rider heights important. I'm a 5'10" MTB rider and 29ers work well for me but for shorter riders, I've read online that can be an issue. I know MTB Youtuber, Seth Bike hacks (link below), is a 5'4" MTB rider and he rides 27.5's for the same reasons you all mention. Namely 29ers feel unwieldly to him. Another option is to go rent one for the day, shred some trails and see how it feels.

 
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Macbeth

Active Member
At 77, I can't ride a bicycle......the narrow seats and sitting position aggravate my prostate: my urologist said I COULD but I'd be sorry.
So this morning I took out my HONDA SPORT RED MOTORCYCLE and did a blistering 55 mile circuit through the twisties in the Swamp. Comfy and exhilarating. I've had it about 5 years and it has been life saving: especially during the Covid isolation. There is NO traffic in the Swamp roads ( except the occasional alligator, water moccasin, turtle, armadillo, turkey, or deer crossing the road, and NEVER ride at night. Cajun "RouGaRou" might get you!!!
 

Francorelli

Forum fella
My Cotic Soul will probably outlive me though, so I'll be sticking to 26''!
Very nice steel hardtail, the Cotic Soul.

I'm still on 3*9 and 26'', no real need to change either. If I were to buy a new MTB, I think I'd go the 650b route.
If I'm totally honest, I don't really need to upgrade my bike. It's not as if I ride competitively. With increasingly decrepit knees and ankles, I've had to accept that I'm unable to do either the amount or type of riding I used to enjoy in my younger days. It's just hard to shake off the old MTB geek in me that makes me yearn for some new kit.

I still enjoy every ride whenever I get the opportunity. After having a long break from MTBing, it's been interesting to come back and see how the industry has completely discarded 26". Not even a boutique frame offering from anyone.

The other big change is Drivetrains from 3X to 2X & 1X. Most new MTB's here are moving to 1X, but I went with 2X because I like the wide gear range for the type of trails I do and it makes the steep climbs much easier. Plus its funny to pass 18 yo walking their 1X bikes up the mountain, when me, the middle-aged fart is riding up the climbs.
I like the idea of 1X drivetrains. As with most things in life, I crave simplicity. Losing the front mech appeals to me. Again though, not sure if my knees would cope with the extra work...
 

Batch300

Extraordinarily Uncomplicated
I would rank as possibly vertically challenged (short). For my last purchase, I tested several bikes. Within 50m of the bike shop, the 29" Surly was my obvious 1st choice. I disliked the color and some components, but the bike just fell right. For me, the 29" seemed much more diffucult on tight turning MTB trails. Otherwise, just a favorite ride.
 

Holyzeus

Forum GOD!
Very nice steel hardtail, the Cotic Soul.


If I'm totally honest, I don't really need to upgrade my bike. It's not as if I ride competitively. With increasingly decrepit knees and ankles, I've had to accept that I'm unable to do either the amount or type of riding I used to enjoy in my younger days. It's just hard to shake off the old MTB geek in me that makes me yearn for some new kit.

I still enjoy every ride whenever I get the opportunity. After having a long break from MTBing, it's been interesting to come back and see how the industry has completely discarded 26". Not even a boutique frame offering from anyone.


I like the idea of 1X drivetrains. As with most things in life, I crave simplicity. Losing the front mech appeals to me. Again though, not sure if my knees would cope with the extra work...
Depends where you ride. My knees are shot but I went 1X a few bikes back.
 

Merkurologist

Forum GOD!
Francorelli, I bought a new hardtail MTB last spring and crossed over to bigger 29ers then. It took me a couple of months and 1,000km+ of riding to get used to them, especially climbing and descending dirt single tracks in the Canadian Rockies, but now that I have 3 different sets of 29er tires, for 3 different dirt trail conditions, I've adapted to their handling differences, what air pressure works best and love em.

The other big change is Drivetrains from 3X to 2X & 1X. Most new MTB's here are moving to 1X, but I went with 2X because I like the wide gear range for the type of trails I do and it makes the steep climbs much easier. Plus its funny to pass 18 yo walking their 1X bikes up the mountain, when me, the middle-aged fart is riding up the climbs.

What bike are you considering?
I decided to go for a 29er only because l look better on a 29er than on a 26". I'm 6f tall and a 29er suits me better. A 26" wheel is a stronger wheel than a 29er so I built my wheels with 36 spokes for my own piece of mind, while I had 32 spokes on the 26" wheels and they took all the abuse I managed to throw at them.
My Surly frame can run 26", 27.5" and the not so popular 29er.... after being so popular with bike manufacturers some years ago. The initial idea was to be able to run all 3 sizes of wheels, I had planned to build a set of 27.5" wheels to run 3" tyres but I prefer to build a proper fat bike at some point.

I don't do very technical trails, not my thing really so I haven't noticed big differences in the handling with my old 26" wheels ride on that aspect. I'm very happy riding 29ers, it just feels right for me and it's a joy crossing water streams, etc. So I'd say the only disadvantage, so far, for me it's the weight penalty but I can live with that.

As you say, the new trend for MTB is the 1X, it's a neat idea but not for me, with 3X you have a few gears that repeat and also with 2X but less so, with 1X you don't and you save weight. I find that to get the equivalent range on a 1X of a 3X for example, you have to go for a very big cassette and those are really expensive. I'm not surprised you see young people walking their 1X up the hill as most bike's come with cassettes that aren't big enough unless you pay top price. I went for reliability and durability instead, 3X with a 36T cassette that I can find anywhere for under £20 while a very large cassette can cost more than 10 times and they do wear out and more frequently with 11 or 12 shifters as they come with thinner teeth. I went for 9 speeds shifters because they make the most durable drivetrain, although 10 speeds is not too far off now (since they started making more durable cassettes)
 

Holyzeus

Forum GOD!
I decided to go for a 29er only because l look better on a 29er than on a 26". I'm 6f tall and a 29er suits me better. A 26" wheel is a stronger wheel than a 29er so I built my wheels with 36 spokes for my own piece of mind, while I had 32 spokes on the 26" wheels and they took all the abuse I managed to throw at them.
My Surly frame can run 26", 27.5" and the not so popular 29er.... after being so popular with bike manufacturers some years ago. The initial idea was to be able to run all 3 sizes of wheels, I had planned to build a set of 27.5" wheels to run 3" tyres but I prefer to build a proper fat bike at some point.

I don't do very technical trails, not my thing really so I haven't noticed big differences in the handling with my old 26" wheels ride on that aspect. I'm very happy riding 29ers, it just feels right for me and it's a joy crossing water streams, etc. So I'd say the only disadvantage, so far, for me it's the weight penalty but I can live with that.

As you say, the new trend for MTB is the 1X, it's a neat idea but not for me, with 3X you have a few gears that repeat and also with 2X but less so, with 1X you don't and you save weight. I find that to get the equivalent range on a 1X of a 3X for example, you have to go for a very big cassette and those are really expensive. I'm not surprised you see young people walking their 1X up the hill as most bike's come with cassettes that aren't big enough unless you pay top price. I went for reliability and durability instead, 3X with a 36T cassette that I can find anywhere for under £20 while a very large cassette can cost more than 10 times and they do wear out and more frequently with 11 or 12 shifters as they come with thinner teeth. I went for 9 speeds shifters because they make the most durable drivetrain, although 10 speeds is not too far off now (since they started making more durable cassettes)
You can get 10 spd 36 cassettes fairly reasonably £40-60 even 42 can be had for
£60 ish.
I had a fat bike for a while, put 4” tyres on it.
Stupid idea with my knees but it was fun
968CFD53-A8C3-4D18-9638-C3D4BC3BE9E9.jpeg
 

Merkurologist

Forum GOD!
You can get 10 spd 36 cassettes fairly reasonably £40-60 even 42 can be had for
£60 ish.
I had a fat bike for a while, put 4” tyres on it.
Stupid idea with my knees but it was fun
View attachment 68738
Absolutely, the prices depend on the model.... give or take a few grams.

That's a beautiful bike.

When I was researching what frame to get for my "do it all bike", I had a change to test ride a Surly Pugsley and since then I've been thinking about one....I just need to persuade the wife it's a good idea lol

I don't know what's wrong with your knees but over 30 years ago my knees forced me to give up football, my doctor suggested swimming but I'm a terrible swimmer so he suggested cycling on low gears, high cadence on low gears made a huge improvement on my knees.
Knee pain on a bike can be a matter of correct fitting on the bike.... I had knee pain when riding my road bike and it took me a while of trial an error to find the correct saddle position, stem legth, etc before the pain went away.

In my experience as a cyclist, you never stop tinkering with one thing or another lol
 
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Holyzeus

Forum GOD!
Absolutely, the prices depend on the model.... give or take a few grams.

That's a beautiful bike.

When I was researching what frame to get for my "do it all bike", I had a change to test ride a Surly Pugsley and since then I've been thinking about one....I just need to persuade the wife it's a good idea lol

I don't know what's wrong with your knees but over 30 years ago my knees forced me to give up football, my doctor suggested swimming but I'm a terrible swimmer so he suggested cycling on low gears, high cadence on low gears made a huge improvement on my knees.
Knee pain on a bike can be a matter of correct fitting on the bike.... I had knee pain when riding my road bike and it took me a while of trial an error to find the correct saddle position, stem legth, etc before the pain went away.

In my experience as a cyclist, you never stop tinkering with one thing or the other lol
My knees are a result of 30 years of roofing unfortunately.
Bike fit is a big thing yep, if my seatpost is altered by just 5mm I can notice it
 

Grarea

Forum Plod
Very nice steel hardtail, the Cotic Soul.


If I'm totally honest, I don't really need to upgrade my bike. It's not as if I ride competitively. With increasingly decrepit knees and ankles, I've had to accept that I'm unable to do either the amount or type of riding I used to enjoy in my younger days. It's just hard to shake off the old MTB geek in me that makes me yearn for some new kit.

I still enjoy every ride whenever I get the opportunity. After having a long break from MTBing, it's been interesting to come back and see how the industry has completely discarded 26". Not even a boutique frame offering from anyone.


I like the idea of 1X drivetrains. As with most things in life, I crave simplicity. Losing the front mech appeals to me. Again though, not sure if my knees would cope with the extra work...
Maybe treat yourself to some upgrades.
What about a dropper seatpost? I quite fancy one of those.
I know what you mean about simplicity. Years (decades)ago I had a fixie and loved it.
I live in a hillier area now, so no chance.
I think the 1x is a step too far for me.
I like to hang around at least one step behind. Stuff is well cheap then.
Plus I do like the range that you get with at least a 2x.

When I get worked out on frame shape/angles I will consider a 26 for my do it all bike as well.
Less toe overlap, stronger for the size etc etc.
 

Grarea

Forum Plod
Stop ! Now, you buggers are making me think of getting my old Kona Hahanna out !!! 26” wheels and no suspension. Even looked at electric conversion kits ! NO Northam NO !!!!!
Dooooooo it.........
It is gorgeous out and I can hear your kona looking longingly out of the shed window......
 
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