29'er

Welcome to the Church of rotating mass

Twenty nine inch wheel mountain bikes are a hot topic. Depending on which side of the fence you sit they are either a new fad dreamed up by marketeers to sell lanky beanpoles more bikes, or the greatest thing since the modified clunker that started this whole thing that we now call mountain biking.

To the un-initiated, a 29’er is a bike that has the same rim diameter as a road or touring bike. If it was a road bike wheel we would say in was a ‘700c’ wheel, but just doesn’t sound cool, so they get called 29’ers, much cooler eh? A bigger wheel changes a lot of things, they roll over rough rocky ground better, they maintain speed & momentum better, and give a smoother ride. There must be a good reason that something like 50% of hardtail mountain bikes over $2000.00 sold in the US have 29” wheels.

After all, the 26” wheel MTB only came about because those were the only sized decent tyres that Gary Fisher and the pioneers of mountain biking could lay their hands on back in the late ‘70’s. That said, we don’t think they are for everybody, but they do suit a lot of people. You can read opinions for days on the web, but really you need to ride one. Then you will be able to understand the differences for yourself, and decide whether a 29’er is the bike for your trails and your riding style. We ride 29’ers, and lots of our customers do, and we stock the widest range of 29’er demo bikes in Wales. Come on down, give it a try, the Climax trail is just up the road, you may find a few preconceptions get left behind on the trail.