ROB COOKSLEY

Yes I rode one a couple of day’s before the Brechfa Enduro last January, loved it, decided to do the race on it and won, and that was that. 

I knew the 29 rolled better than the 26 in general, but I was unsure about how it compared in fast tight tech stuff, I had never gone back–to–back against the clock though.

It was a really good enduro type stage or let’s face it, ‘a standard bit of trail for the UK’ just like you get served up at the UK Gravity Enduro. Definitely not trail centre kitty litter surface shite, it had a bit of pedally fire road but the finish was steep and loose in places, so you had to be on your guard.

I don’t feel that the 29 is quicker on any one part of the track we rode, it feels like once I build up the momentum it keeps its head of steam better than the 26. The smoothness that you enter and exit corners is so noticeable you feel the momentum building as you ride. It feels really nice to have that big wheelbase. The 26 Carbine feels fast accelerating and playful, direction changes are rapid and that can be a bonus if you make a mistake and need to correct fast, but even though Carbine had a super tacky dual ply front tyre on at 25psi I still felt like I couldn’t get the grip like on the 29, which considering I had a 2.25 Maxxis Ardent single ply at 30psi that’s saying something don’t you think? The whole feel of the 29er was laid back which gives me time to look up and see what’s coming, where as the 26 Carbine felt playful but hurried. I think 26″ bikes give you more feedback which means they can be more fun for definite, but I’m f–ked if you’re getting that 29er back off me Jones.

Does this add up to a better ride though?

The ride is simply made easier on these 29 bikes, for covering rough ground locally here in the Mendip hills the 29er is far more enjoyable and better than 26 as my line of sight stays very level with the extra stability of the wheel base/size. 29 is more stable for sure, will out–climb a 26 in all conditions, period, and has more grip in the wet. I love jumping and the 29er feels crap to jump but jumps OK. We all like manuals and on the 29 they can be a ball ache. But…29 is a better ride. Where 26 comes into it’s own is manoeuvrability in very tight situations, jumping and manualling is lots of fun. So yes 26 is more playful, but not as fast, but more fun than 29 in many situations.

I would say the wheels are stronger with shorter spokes but after you’ve been on 29 you can feel 26″ wheels hang up on rocks and roots so they have to be stronger to contend with this.

Not a more cushioned ride at all in anyway I’m afraid, I used to come back from most rides with a stiff back but not so much anymore.

There’s a glut of shit–hot 26x150mm trail bikes to choose from and sod all decent 29ers at present so with that a low choice of tyres, rims and forks comparatively to 26 you could still consider a 26 as a possibility.

For ‘wheels on ground’ riding the big wheels are unbeatable without question, for holding off–camber they are on another level, as they will hold on far beyond the limits of grip we have come to be familiar with 26″. I don’t like jumping them at the moment because it feels a bit weird, but that will probably get better the more I ride them. But this is it and I don’t give a toss what people think, when I got home from this test I had flogged my new Carbine to this geezer within four hours because I had just been given the devastating news from a set of timing poles and a watch that I (and everyone else) had been riding the wrong size wheels for racing for over 20 years.

Some people, like my life–long mate (and Danny Harts technician), Dave Garland from Stendec, absolutely hate me for all of what I believe (and more to the point know) about 29ers, but I can’t help the truth. I don’t even own a 26″ wheel bike anymore, and doubt I ever will to be honest. I can see DH over the next couple of years going to 650b because of the rear end space issues with DH bikes. It seems to me that the finer points of perfect bike set–up on 26″ wheeled machines, which have to be adhered to in order to not get spat off the thing at speed, are nowhere near as important on bigger wheels. For years I could tell you to the nearest psi that I was running in my tyres, how many clicks of compression or rebound I was running in fork and shock. Now I pump my tyres up to around 30, stab the front and rear suspension a few times, a click here a click there, set my saddle height and win a national fricken enduro, “it just don’t add up”. Fine set up is bulldozed by the sheer might of geometry.