Jumping in, feet first into the quagmire of who’s best and who has the biggest and best, or smallest and best wheels is a brave mans route into a forum full of good and bad. Hosted in general terms on the internet.
But here is my two-penneth and hopefully will give a little insight into my own experiences which may, or may not shape your views and possibly choices of bikes to buy in the spring. Spring will come, honest!
Having ridden 26″ bikes for years and seeing the way technology has developed it has generally been with regard to components, lighter, stiffer, more comfortable etc and not with some thing as major as wheel size. New materials have shown their advantages, carbon will play a bit part in the future of mountain biking for sure but there is also a growing market in low volume high value beautifully hand-crafted frames, mainly in Steel and Titanium.
Over the crowded roar about this 3 inch phenomenon it must be remembered that all we do this for is fun, riding bikes in fun and it makes you smile. Let not forget that. You can ride both good and bad bikes, some you enjoy more than others but many of us will pick a bike and ride it. Not spend months trying out different geometries and making fine adjustments to their ride.
So are they any good? Do they have a place in mountain biking ? Should you buy one? Will it benefit you? Do they actually look weird or quite cool?
All clearly subjective questions but from my perspective, yes, yes, possibly, maybe and cool, sometimes. It depends on where you ride and what the terrain is like, different tools for different jobs. I am writing based on experience over mixed terrain but the most punishing tests have been on flat out sessions for two hours mixed between fire roads and tight woodland singletrack.
In recent months I have ridden a Cannondale Flash Carbon 29 and a BMC Speedfox 29 in a very wet Wareham Forest at night, Cannock Chase trails in both the dry and wet, some flattish local bridleways and two Winter Races in the Thetford Series along with numerous other quick spins out in both dry and wet weather.
Part 1 Hardtail 29er Cannondale Flash Carbon 1
It’s light, for the entry level into the Flash Range it comes in at XXX without pedals and when I swung a leg over to ride from the office to Kings Cross it just didn’t feel like the wheels were bigger. Not that you will spend your time nipping through traffic in our capital but it hinted to positive things off-road. Medium frame and 6′ 1″ rider, I fitted the cockpit nicely and although the geometry lends itself to racing I have comfortably ridden all day on it. The stem has a -15 degree drop which brings your body forwards and for me, helped pedalling efficiency, you get out of this bike what you put in. Possibly more!
So flattish XC rides were fine, small bumps are taken care of easily and there is a noticeable extra amount of time spent sat down pedalling through such sections rather than either hovering over the saddle or standing. You can stay in the saddle for longer and keep pedalling, I managed to not stop pedalling easily through a 6 mile lap at Thetford which is pretty much a constant bump fest. Also something that helps with a 2 hour 26 mile XC race is the possibility if saving a bit of energy. Through flowing singletrack I could keep up with pedalling 26″ riders by just pumping and using the trail to add to momentum.
Climbing is somewhere where a 29er excels for me, taking it up some steep short climbs the increased tyre print makes a difference on loose or muddy ground. I do feel the extra weight gained by a cheap 29er wheelset could offset this advantage, possibly tamed slightly by going tubeless.
The other side, you go up to come down. Climbing is rewarded by satisfaction and downhill is rewarded with a grin. Speed is key and the way that a good 29er picks it up is something to savour. Rolling over a lip you are off, just fast, simple as that. Roots or rocks in a straight line are sublime, adding corners and off camber sections makes things a little more challenging but the inspired confidence of previous experience carries you through. Super tight turns in the trees are maybe one part of riding where people may think a 29er is cumbersome and difficult to navigate. The thing is, your riding style will change and you will therefore compensate for the wheel size and I honestly think it just won’t stay a problem for long.
For now I have only really ridden XC on this bike, could 29inch wheels work, and really work at the Mega Avalanche or UK Enduro? I don’t know, not done that yet. For riding XC then my experience of a good quality carbon 29er is all positive. Singletrack is great fun, you can still throw the bike around and it will react to what you give it, downhills are great and you can cover ground faster. Some forward thinking means you can be greatly rewarded by a 29 inch wheeled bike, just don’t expect to be able to nip to the BMX track for a few laps!
Going back to the initial questions then, are they any good? In my opinion yes they are, they are fun to ride and some adjustments to riding style and body position will reward you.
Part two looks at a full suspension offering from BMC at a similar XC race, faster? better? who knows, well I do but i’ll save that for the next installment.
The bike
Cannondale have spent some serious design time with the Flash frame and it is definitely noticeable especially when you regard the seat and chainstays whose volume would not be out of place in the Tour de France. Coined Speed Save the system is designed be a ‘ ride-tuned micro suspension system ‘, so basically it’s designed to react to the trail to keep you rolling quickly and enhance the comfort of riding. Does it work? Yes, there is a definite feeling of cohesive power, that combined with 29″ wheels means forward motion is swiftly achieved and once that magic point is reached momentum is for sure easier to maintain.
