So, Like....You're Kidding, Right? Part II

Note: In Part I I introduce the premise that Mountain Bike Magazine is going to tell us "The Truth" about 29 inch wheels, which ends up being a treatise circa 2005 about the characteristics of 29"ers and then descends into a discussion of 26 inch versus 29 inch wheels. I give some examples today and my commentary....

Okay, so let's see what this mag is calling "The Truth" about 29"ers, shall we? First off, it all starts out well enough with the obvious roll over benefit of larger wheels. They introduce a scientist and he tells us there is something to it, but it is hard to measure. Then they get around to correcting a misunderstanding some have about the contact patch of a 29"er wheel. It isn't larger, it is longer. Yep! I've been saying that all along. But here's where the scientist goes off the rails and Mountain Bike sort of contradicts themselves in regards to his statement.

The science guy says that even though there is an advantage to the longer contact patch, it "is so small it's unlikely to be noticeable." Then Mountain Bike says that they "know" that 29"er tires have more grip and traction on climbs, provide more grip in corners, and that they perform better in mud and sand.

So they "noticed" the "unlikely to be noticeable". Wow.

Then they explain 29"ers stability, but first they take a stab at the oft repeated, "you can't turn that long board in tight trails" saw. Funny thing about that. If you compare the wheel bases of 26 inch trail bikes and 29"er trail bikes the differences are often less than an inch and sometimes 29"ers have (gasp!) shorter wheel bases! Let's just say I've never had any problem going around the same tight turns on my 29"ers that I did on my old 26"ers. That's my experience. I've heard similar from other 29"er guys. Your mileage may vary.

At any rate, they tell us that a longer wheel base and heavier wheels make the 29"er feel more stable. Really? What about my sub 1500 gram wheel set? You could hardly say that was heavy, yet it is more stable feeling than my old lightweight 26"er wheels that weighed the same. Hmm.... I think they missed it slightly. True, gyroscopic effect is at work, but the geometry of a 29 inch wheeled bike has a lot to do with this, and they do not even mention that.

Then they hit the old "more weight, less stiffness" argument. Yes, at one time this was true, but it is quickly becoming a thing of the past. I can point to any 29"er specific component and show you several examples of stiffer components that relegate this argument as being archaic. Also, the weight thing, that isn't much of a concern anymore either. I mean, we have guys riding geared 29"er hard tails in the low 20's for weight, and single speeders riding 29"ers that rival most road bikes in weight. The thing is, if you followed this logic, roadies would be riding 26 inch wheeled road bikes. They don't, and for good reasons besides the fact that the 700c wheels are a mandated size these days. (That wasn't always the case)

Then we see the old "handle bars are too high" argument. Funny, but I see tons of 26 inch trail bikes with riser bars, and handle bar heights that are above the saddle height. This is pretty common these days with 26"ers. So why pick on 29"ers? And added to this, I have plenty of spacers under my stems on several of my bikes, and not one has the handle bars higher than the saddle. Go figure. I must be an oddball, or a circus freak at 6'1" and a 34" inseam. I mean, if they are right, then I must be all wrong!

Then they talk about trail as if the new crop of suspension forks, (forks that have been out for two seasons already) were never developed. Weird!

Okay, there is more, but this is getting to be pretty obvious. If this is "The Truth" I don't want any part of it.

See ya'all in fantasy land as I ride off on my fairy tale 29"er that doesn't really exist. You know, the one that carves tight turns, accelerates like a rocket, is stiff where it should be, and has great positioning and handling characteristics. Yeah........that bicycle.

C'mon! You're kidding me, right Mountain Bike Magazine? This stuff can't be for real.

So, Like....You're Kidding, Right? Part II

Note: In Part I I introduce the premise that Mountain Bike Magazine is going to tell us "The Truth" about 29 inch wheels, which ends up being a treatise circa 2005 about the characteristics of 29"ers and then descends into a discussion of 26 inch versus 29 inch wheels. I give some examples today and my commentary....

Okay, so let's see what this mag is calling "The Truth" about 29"ers, shall we? First off, it all starts out well enough with the obvious roll over benefit of larger wheels. They introduce a scientist and he tells us there is something to it, but it is hard to measure. Then they get around to correcting a misunderstanding some have about the contact patch of a 29"er wheel. It isn't larger, it is longer. Yep! I've been saying that all along. But here's where the scientist goes off the rails and Mountain Bike sort of contradicts themselves in regards to his statement.

The science guy says that even though there is an advantage to the longer contact patch, it "is so small it's unlikely to be noticeable." Then Mountain Bike says that they "know" that 29"er tires have more grip and traction on climbs, provide more grip in corners, and that they perform better in mud and sand.

So they "noticed" the "unlikely to be noticeable". Wow.

Then they explain 29"ers stability, but first they take a stab at the oft repeated, "you can't turn that long board in tight trails" saw. Funny thing about that. If you compare the wheel bases of 26 inch trail bikes and 29"er trail bikes the differences are often less than an inch and sometimes 29"ers have (gasp!) shorter wheel bases! Let's just say I've never had any problem going around the same tight turns on my 29"ers that I did on my old 26"ers. That's my experience. I've heard similar from other 29"er guys. Your mileage may vary.

At any rate, they tell us that a longer wheel base and heavier wheels make the 29"er feel more stable. Really? What about my sub 1500 gram wheel set? You could hardly say that was heavy, yet it is more stable feeling than my old lightweight 26"er wheels that weighed the same. Hmm.... I think they missed it slightly. True, gyroscopic effect is at work, but the geometry of a 29 inch wheeled bike has a lot to do with this, and they do not even mention that.

Then they hit the old "more weight, less stiffness" argument. Yes, at one time this was true, but it is quickly becoming a thing of the past. I can point to any 29"er specific component and show you several examples of stiffer components that relegate this argument as being archaic. Also, the weight thing, that isn't much of a concern anymore either. I mean, we have guys riding geared 29"er hard tails in the low 20's for weight, and single speeders riding 29"ers that rival most road bikes in weight. The thing is, if you followed this logic, roadies would be riding 26 inch wheeled road bikes. They don't, and for good reasons besides the fact that the 700c wheels are a mandated size these days. (That wasn't always the case)

Then we see the old "handle bars are too high" argument. Funny, but I see tons of 26 inch trail bikes with riser bars, and handle bar heights that are above the saddle height. This is pretty common these days with 26"ers. So why pick on 29"ers? And added to this, I have plenty of spacers under my stems on several of my bikes, and not one has the handle bars higher than the saddle. Go figure. I must be an oddball, or a circus freak at 6'1" and a 34" inseam. I mean, if they are right, then I must be all wrong!

Then they talk about trail as if the new crop of suspension forks, (forks that have been out for two seasons already) were never developed. Weird!

Okay, there is more, but this is getting to be pretty obvious. If this is "The Truth" I don't want any part of it.

See ya'all in fantasy land as I ride off on my fairy tale 29"er that doesn't really exist. You know, the one that carves tight turns, accelerates like a rocket, is stiff where it should be, and has great positioning and handling characteristics. Yeah........that bicycle.

C'mon! You're kidding me, right Mountain Bike Magazine? This stuff can't be for real.

So, Like....You're Kidding, Right? Part I

A week ago, a co-worker of mine hands me an issue of Mountain Bike and asks me if I am interested in a few things in the issue. It turns out it was the July '09 issue and their were a few pages bent over at the corners to help me find the articles he was wanting me to see.....and comment on. Oh! I know that wasn't really the point that was made, but the inference was there. I get it. So, here goes............

First off, this issue is emblazoned in the lower left corner of the cover with this gem: Why 29ers Are All Wrong! (Or Right). Okay, I don't usually go out looking for this sort of thing, so please understand, I don't really mind what the established media says about big wheels, but this title already says to me- "We're straddling the fence on this issue." Interesting. I guess it is an admission that a certain portion of the readership might get offended. That's always good for some feedback and increasing the numbers of units sold. Can't blame them for doing their job, ya know.

Next, I go to the first tabbed article my co-worker was curious about. Good ol' Wes Williams of Willits! Well, if you wanted to upset the apple cart, Wes is your man. He is a smart, experienced, talented guy that has no "mind filter". You know- He just processes stuff in his head in raw form and out it comes. Like it or not. You get about 10 seconds to figure out where Wes is coming from in regards to 29"ers. If you can't figure it out after that, you are either deaf, dead, or too stoned to understand. Let's just say this: If I were a public relations dude for 29"ers in general, Wes would be far from my first choice for the uninitiated to talk to. Don't get me wrong. I like Wes. But he is what he is, and he ain't gonna sugar coat it. So, an interesting salvo to start out your latest issues 29"er coverage with. (By the way, the piece is hilarious, in my opinion. Some real corkers are let off by Wes here.)

So, on to the main article. Under their "Gear" sector in the aptly named "Tecnobabble" area is an article named "The Three Inch Difference- Finally, the truth about 29- inch wheels" Okay, this is promising. "The Truth" about big wheels! This ought ta be good! (Oh! And ironies of ironies, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski is shown in a full page pic on his 29"er. He just won a National Marathon Championship aboard his Superfly 100, beating a course record and his wife, Heather Irminger also won a Championship the same day aboard a Superfly.)

Okay, so anytime a mag lays down the claim that they have "The Truth", you know it is going to be good, right? Well, I couldn't have been more disappointed. The article read as if it had been written circa 2005. Amazing statements showing the lack of current 29"er technology and geometry are made. Scientists are brought in to ferret out "The Truth" and even they couldn't agree on several points.

Oh, and did I mention that the entire piece was a 26"er versus 29"er one? Yeah.........imminent fail.

Before I write Part II and get into the specifics, I am going to lay out my position again, as I have from the beginning, on what the deal with 29"ers and 26"ers is. This hasn't changed in my mind since about March 2003:

29"ers are better at keeping me from having endos, wipe outs, and other crashes when I ride out in the woods. They do smooth out bumps, climb steeps better, and descend in a more stable, controlled manner than my former 26 inch wheeled bikes. This is more fun for me. I suggest you actually ride a 29"er to see for yourself whether you too might benefit from this larger wheel size.

There! That's it in a nutshell. We can have all the science guys babbling all day long, have experts yak the yak, and even racers winning on them, but the real and "true" way to figure it out is to ride one and see. I've always held to this belief. No science guys, magazine writers, or even me, can convince anyone without them actually riding one first. The wheels sell themselves, that is the bottom line.

With that said, I'll return Wednesday with some fodder and comments regarding this article. Stay tuned!

So, Like....You're Kidding, Right? Part I

A week ago, a co-worker of mine hands me an issue of Mountain Bike and asks me if I am interested in a few things in the issue. It turns out it was the July '09 issue and their were a few pages bent over at the corners to help me find the articles he was wanting me to see.....and comment on. Oh! I know that wasn't really the point that was made, but the inference was there. I get it. So, here goes............

First off, this issue is emblazoned in the lower left corner of the cover with this gem: Why 29ers Are All Wrong! (Or Right). Okay, I don't usually go out looking for this sort of thing, so please understand, I don't really mind what the established media says about big wheels, but this title already says to me- "We're straddling the fence on this issue." Interesting. I guess it is an admission that a certain portion of the readership might get offended. That's always good for some feedback and increasing the numbers of units sold. Can't blame them for doing their job, ya know.

Next, I go to the first tabbed article my co-worker was curious about. Good ol' Wes Williams of Willits! Well, if you wanted to upset the apple cart, Wes is your man. He is a smart, experienced, talented guy that has no "mind filter". You know- He just processes stuff in his head in raw form and out it comes. Like it or not. You get about 10 seconds to figure out where Wes is coming from in regards to 29"ers. If you can't figure it out after that, you are either deaf, dead, or too stoned to understand. Let's just say this: If I were a public relations dude for 29"ers in general, Wes would be far from my first choice for the uninitiated to talk to. Don't get me wrong. I like Wes. But he is what he is, and he ain't gonna sugar coat it. So, an interesting salvo to start out your latest issues 29"er coverage with. (By the way, the piece is hilarious, in my opinion. Some real corkers are let off by Wes here.)

So, on to the main article. Under their "Gear" sector in the aptly named "Tecnobabble" area is an article named "The Three Inch Difference- Finally, the truth about 29- inch wheels" Okay, this is promising. "The Truth" about big wheels! This ought ta be good! (Oh! And ironies of ironies, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski is shown in a full page pic on his 29"er. He just won a National Marathon Championship aboard his Superfly 100, beating a course record and his wife, Heather Irminger also won a Championship the same day aboard a Superfly.)

Okay, so anytime a mag lays down the claim that they have "The Truth", you know it is going to be good, right? Well, I couldn't have been more disappointed. The article read as if it had been written circa 2005. Amazing statements showing the lack of current 29"er technology and geometry are made. Scientists are brought in to ferret out "The Truth" and even they couldn't agree on several points.

Oh, and did I mention that the entire piece was a 26"er versus 29"er one? Yeah.........imminent fail.

Before I write Part II and get into the specifics, I am going to lay out my position again, as I have from the beginning, on what the deal with 29"ers and 26"ers is. This hasn't changed in my mind since about March 2003:

29"ers are better at keeping me from having endos, wipe outs, and other crashes when I ride out in the woods. They do smooth out bumps, climb steeps better, and descend in a more stable, controlled manner than my former 26 inch wheeled bikes. This is more fun for me. I suggest you actually ride a 29"er to see for yourself whether you too might benefit from this larger wheel size.

There! That's it in a nutshell. We can have all the science guys babbling all day long, have experts yak the yak, and even racers winning on them, but the real and "true" way to figure it out is to ride one and see. I've always held to this belief. No science guys, magazine writers, or even me, can convince anyone without them actually riding one first. The wheels sell themselves, that is the bottom line.

With that said, I'll return Wednesday with some fodder and comments regarding this article. Stay tuned!