Wednesday, May 24, 2006

29er Bashing and the Call to Arms of the Zealots!!!

MTBR has had a lot of  talk about people bashing 29ers because they're slow and I find the discussions interesting.  I haven't been very patient with reading and commenting intelligently in these threads because the debate because it just seemed a little weird to me.  I tend to just post something stupid and annoying and then pat myself on the back because I think I'm the funniest guy around.  (As a side note, I still tend to think that's true, even though I KNOW with all my heart and soul that I'm the ONLY person in the world that agrees with me.  I'm used to it.  I'm a legend in my own mind.) :D
 
My theory on 29ers has always been that if your body type, trail conditions and riding style lend themselves to a 29er, then that is probably the bike for you.  If not, then you should ride a 26er.  If you have strong feelings either way, get the bike that makes you feel good inside and leave it at that.  Debate over as far as I'm concerned.
 
Then I did something really weird and completely out of character for me.  I actually bought Mountain Bike Action and read the article that people have been writing about.  I was suprised at how balanced and fair the article seemed.  MBA basically said that there are some things that 29ers do better than 26ers and that if you're of a particular body type and/or ride particular trails and/or with a particular riding style, then a 29er will be a faster bike for you.  It also pointed out that there are inherent shortcomings to both 29ers and 26ers.
 
Pete

2 comments:

Drew said...

I thought that was a pretty good article, too. Further, I don't think MBA is nearly as horrible as so many seem to believe. In fact, I think they've become the unofficial "whipping boy" of the MTB world - it's just fashionable to bash MBA.

Your Name Here said...

Just like everyone wants to be different so everyone is riding a 29er. Bwahahahaha

Just kidding. :D