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29" DH bikes

Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,630
AK
Did it. I still believe most people haven't experienced DH rims and tires on a 29er, massive rotating mass and you absolutely feel it in medium radius turns at high speed. Lots of 29ers are fun going downhill, but the fastest way down a DH track? Hell no.
 
ianjenn

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
3,003
708
SLO
StiHacka said:
Are you saying DH will be like american motorsports? :think:
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Like SUPERCROSS? Oh wait......

Also KIDWOO time to sell your V-10 and jump ship they most certainly hate you.

"Greg practically forced me to try the bike" reveals Loris Vergier. "I tried it once in testing, but went straight back to my original 27.5 inch bike because that's what felt fastest across the length of the test track. But Greg insisted I give the 29er another shot. So I did, and I felt like it was still slower. The clocks don't lie though, and I was consistently posting quicker times on the new bike compared to the old—and this was on my local track! That's when I realized the new bike was deceptively quick."
 
dcamp29

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
Jm_ said:
Did it. I still believe most people haven't experienced DH rims and tires on a 29er, massive rotating mass and you absolutely feel it in medium radius turns at high speed. Lots of 29ers are fun going downhill, but the fastest way down a DH track? Hell no.
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The article literally says the 29er was faster in testing.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,149
13,358
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
Jm_ said:
Did it. I still believe most people haven't experienced DH rims and tires on a 29er, massive rotating mass and you absolutely feel it in medium radius turns at high speed. Lots of 29ers are fun going downhill, but the fastest way down a DH track? Hell no.
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The SC guys with be fine with enves but you know those tires are going to be too pinner to keep the weight down.


I imagine this is how it kind of felt when that little bunny hopping, stop cornering off season sideshow called supercross started taking resources away from motocross.

edit: oh shit, sniped by ian!


No wonder peaty quit last year :D
 
ianjenn

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
3,003
708
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dcamp29 said:
The article literally says the 29er was faster in testing.
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The trails around here are turn filled at least in town. Like bad switchbacks on many. I was always faster on a 29" bike be it The Wreckoning, The Following or even WFO go figure.....compared to the 650B bikes I have had.

And in KIDWOO's moto example he forgot that Monster spends more in a season than all the bike companies combined do to run all their teams just in advertising at Moto races.
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,630
AK
And when the fuck are they going to come out with the + version?
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,630
AK
ianjenn said:
The trails around here are turn filled at least in town. Like bad switchbacks on many. I was always faster on a 29" bike be it The Wreckoning, The Following or even WFO go figure.....compared to the 650B bikes I have had.
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Switchbacks are no problem on 29ers with decent geometry. The perception of them being bad comes from the goofy ass gary fishers and other XC bikes with horrible geometry that were the mainstay of 29ers for years. You're simply not going fast enough in a switchback to have any big effect from gyroscopic rigidity, so that's not where you scrub all the speed.
 
dcamp29

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
I seriously don't understand the problem with 29ers in DH... Other than wheel durability (which is surprisingly OK since the wheels just flex out of the way instead of bending) :)

I'm going faster on my Wreckoning than any other bike I've ever owned. All trails, all corners it goes faster.
 
ianjenn

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
3,003
708
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Thats true I only noticed the 29" tires acting weird a few times on the 3 bikes I have had. I think all the times I did I was going through turns that had berms. Do they use those in UCI DH races?
 
FlipSide

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,432
888
dcamp29 said:
I seriously don't understand the problem with 29ers in DH... Other than wheel durability (which is surprisingly OK since the wheels just flex out of the way instead of bending) :)

I'm going faster on my Wreckoning than any other bike I've ever owned. All trails, all corners it goes faster.
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I don't understand either.

First there were rigid 26ers, then hardtails, then full-susp, then skin suits, then sticky rubber, then better suspensions, good frame geometry and telemetry, then 27.5, then 29er. All these changes occured because they made the bikes faster.

If there is no rules forbidding it, then I think it's fair game for WC racing. The negative impact it has on the weekend warriors with their expensive and newly obsolete bike is an unfortunate collateral damage, but these teams are there to win.
 
Metamorphic

Metamorphic

Monkey
May 12, 2015
274
177
Cackalack
I've ridden 4 29ers lately. On trail rides, Enduro, Trail Pistol, SB4.5, and a Fuel EX. Didn't like a one of em. So guess what? I am an American. I do what I want. And that includes riding a 27.5 bike because they're more fun (to me) (right now).

No doubt Syndicate boys will shred the big wheels. How rad if they all crush this weekend? Would love to see that. Get weird in World Cup to try to go faster, that's exactly where people should be experimenting like this.
 
Udi

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,918
1,213
dcamp29 said:
The article literally says the 29er was faster in testing.
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I have absolutely no doubt that 29 is faster on many tracks.
This stuff was measured and proven when 27.5 came out for DH as well.

I just think it'll encourage making tracks straighter with less corners, it's been happening over time and if wheels keep getting bigger the situation will only get worse. I'm not talking about your trailbike either, I'm talking about fullblown DH bikes where the wheelbases are already getting solidly out of hand on bigger sizes (as pointed out by a few above). Anyway, no real hate here, I'll jump on whichever bandwagon rolls best down the tracks I ride (650 for now).

I just think WC DH was sick to watch when people were smashing turns all the way down and it'd be a shame to see that go away entirely.
 
atrokz

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
Some of us aren't. We're just waiting for 30" wheels. Because if we've learned anything, if you make a wheel bigger you go faster, *everywhere*.
 
F

fwp

Monkey
Jun 5, 2013
415
410
A victory aboard a 29er would have an asterisk next too it, atleast until the rest of the teams were on 29
.It would be a bummer if 29 er V 10 gives an unfair advantage to the Syndicate. I would rather see all the guys run the same wheelsize and let the best man win.
On the other hand it could turn out to be a negligible difference, 29 wheels haven't been a game changer in the EWS? Richie Rude and Sam Hill prefer 27.5
Aaron Gwin can beat the worlds best without a chain, I doubt he needs bigger wheels.
 
Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,065
10,630
AK
I mean, surely privateers were dominating DH races on E29s over the last 2 years, right?

Honestly I don't care what wheelsize people run, nor should it be regulated, I just agree with Udi that they should not design courses for wagon wheels. They should design courses for DH difficulty.
 
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