March 2nd, 2007
Brant weighs in on the 69er v 96er debate
Helping to dispelling the myths about acceleration of a 96er (29″ front/26″ rear) compared to a 69er (26″ front/29″ rear) Brant at On-One has weighed in along the same lines as I posted a long long time ago.
From a physics point of view, this theory here would make no odds if it was a 29er front, 26in rear, or a 26in front and 29in rear. The system doesn’t know or care which wheel is driven.
The opinion of folk like Brant who put their money where their mouth is and have built a bicycle empire on the results quite rightly carries more weight than that of the great unwashed like me who just spout. Hopefully other folk will start seeing the truth in what he’s saying there.
For me, and my riding, one of the biggest advantages of a 29in rear wheel is the way it climbs up and over trail obstacles. Ledges that you’d slam into and hook up on with a 26in rear wheel, a 29er will roll up and over, preserving momentum and keep going.
Which is one of the reasons I argued that a 69er would have all sorts of advantages over a 96er. Better acceleration than a full on 29er, use forks to handle the bumps at the front, lift the front wheel over obstacles and let the rear just roll on over ‘em.
Of course Brant favours a full on 29er himself, but then unlike shortarse me, he’s a lanky git :-)
![[Valid RSS]](http://32sixteen.com/wp-content/themes/three_column/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
del.icio.us
March 4th, 2007 at 10:56 am
I must say, the rear wheel will pop up when hitting obstacles no matter what. 29r up front gives you a lot of the advantages of a 29r setup with the better accelleration as you point out from the smaller rear wheel. 26r up front seems to defeat the purpose, might as well run full 29r!
March 4th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
We’ve just built up a Carver 96er for Alison - she likes a lot. Local so maybe you want to try it sometime?
March 5th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I must say, the rear wheel will pop up when hitting obstacles no matter what.
I beg to differ. A 29er rear rolls up stuff better.
From the wording of your post I’m not sure you’ve grasped the point I tried to make and now Brant is also making. Running a 29″/26″ wheel combination improves acceleration over a full 29er but the system doesn’t care whether that’s in front or in back.
A Much Improved Rig
March 5th, 2007 at 11:49 am
It does.
We have some foot high steps in the moors. Loft the front wheel up and shift your weight a bit and the back comes up smoothly.
Do that on 26″ and it’s much more jarring.
Personally it’s one wheel size or the other and I’m not bothered which.
March 6th, 2007 at 9:46 am
It does.
Not to acceleration it doesn’t.
But it does, as you point out, make a difference to the ability of the following rear wheel to ride over stuff smoothly.
Personally it’s one wheel size or the other and I’m not bothered which.
Yes, but if you’re going to mix them, at least put the 29er wheel where you get most benefit.
A Rig that steers