Animation 29' vs. 26' Mountainbike

This animation shows the differences between 26" and 29" wheels, of course eliminating the riders influence to concentrate on the actual difference the size of the wheel makes.

[elansubs]

OMG, I am waiting for the 37.5" Bike:)

[TheRubikmaster]

Funny how the video is 29 seconds long

[Mark]

I've got both 26" and "29"  full sussers. The 29" cost me a lot of doe so I have worked hard to get the best out of it. No matter what I do I keep coming back to the 26" It handles better, lower centre of gravity, climbs better and most of all....Wait for more Fun. That's what we do it for! Not for the manufacturers to sell us another dream.

[kram]

This is completely accurate. People that ride 29ers just sit and roll and let their bike hit everything head on with both wheels with all their weight. Just don't tell them they'd actually be better off on 39ers or they'll get their knickers in a knot.

[nikolai]

"We will pay for everything new" The key word for the bike industry. We tend to think first improving our bicycle before improve our skills and there is when we spend more than they should.

[Dogeggz]

That proves nothing. You wanna go faster, smoother, better? Stop worrying about numbers and just ride your bike more!

[bergamont]

@Zanetti7
Yes, the animation does not consider the riders impact on a 29er bike, however, it does correctly display the benefits of bigger wheels. You could of course argue it is a little more drastic than it would actually occur in real life but then of course it is supposed to show only the theory behind bigger vs. smaller wheels.

@all
We are well aware that 29ers are an emotional topic, you are all more than welcome to discuss and post your criticism but please check your language - thanks!

[bergamont]

@msrx08 We'll see how 27.5 (or 650B) will perform. There are some advantages for the construction of fullsuspension bikes especially above 100mm of travel. The future will show if this is enough to justify yet another wheel size.
Nevertheless we believe the 29ers are here to stay, especially for hardtails.

[mzungu]

Why settle for 29" then? If bigger is better.... Go for the 29.5" or 30", or even 31"

[bergamont]

There are tons of different 29er rigs, some work, some don't. We took great care to develop a frame platform that utilizes all the benefits of bigger wheels without compromising ride quality. You might want to check out twentynineinches website for a long-term-review of our Bergamont Revox Team.

[rulfryder]

@bergamont Okay ill try one... but what´s on a technical trail track? Are there benefits too.... of the bigger wheels ?

[bergamont]

Not exactly what we were saying: the geometry will deteriorate eventually if you increase the wheel size indefinitly - that was in response to "oh, so if bigger is better why don't you make 36" wheels next...". As we have stated on several occaisons before, the animation shows the two bikes perfomance without any rider influence to emphasise the differences between 26" and 29" wheels.

[Idonteatdog]

@KevinNeidorf I think the 29er simply roll better when you are descending in a rocky section. The 26 acelerates better and I guess it climbs better too. But the 29er will be a pain in the ass in a fast descending singletrack or a curvy downhill section.

[bergamont]

As we have stated before, you would of course be able to ride more smoothly with bigger wheels but you cannot make ever bigger wheels as you will get handling issues. The 29er Revox Platform gives us the opportunity to build a mountainbike with big wheels that still handles like a propper mountainbike for cross country racing - what's not to like?

[msrx]

@helmetless sorry I'm not english mother tongue. What the meaning of bikkeggeddon? Something similar to Carmaggeddon?

[bergamont]

@Idonteatdog That is actually not a bad idea. The thing is that you can not simply stick two different wheels on. You need a frame that has an adapted geometry. We, and as I know others, have played around with such setups on fullsuspension bikes - what will actually become available to the public is yet to be seen.

[bergamont]

@itcw
As a manufacturer we did extensive testing on th advantages of 29er wheels, this included giving a Revox Team to one of our XCO World Cup riders to use for racing. All this resulted in now the 2nd generation of 29er frame geometries.
While I totally agree that the setup of a bike and the riders capabilities play a decisive role in how well/fast you cross terrain, in order to correctly compare 26" and 29" bikes you of course have to eliminate these factors.

[kenh]

The thing they neglect to explain as that the larger the wheel the less travel you can have on your bike with out seriously compromising its geometry. 26 inch actually works out best in most situations in my eyes. Depending on your size most people can easily have 3 (small women) to 5 (6 foot guy) inches of travel on a 26" bike and still retain a good XC geometry. Where as a 29er your talking hard tail or very short travel to get similar geometry. Good suspension makes a far bigger difference then wheel size in my eyes and in so 26ers are still the best for most people in most real world situations.

[theephemeralglade]

If two sleeping pills work good... Then the whole bottle will REALLY help you sleep.

[bergamont]

Well, we do make a 20" MTB and several 24" MTBs for kids and smaller riders, including a 24" dirt bike and a 24" freeride fullsuspension bike.