Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyChix
At 5'6" I ride both wheel sizes and for tight and tech I much prefer the 27.5 as it's more flickable and nimble. For trails that are wide open hauling I opt for 29. Tire mass and constant re-acceleration of the larger tires can be a significant energy drain.
Your local riding terrain and trails plus preferred riding style should take more weight in deciding vs someone saying one wheel size is dead or only slacker long low geo works. If you ride terrain where there are a lot of rocks or logs ratcheting pedals or having to stop pedaling when you'd rather been the gas can get old fast.
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Thank you for the "in a nutshell" comparisons, good info to consider. The following youtube video (not mine) is the trails where we ride most of the time. Not particularly rocky.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...WrkUFpPj-fp6CR Around 7:25 in the video is where my oldest broke an arm earlier this year.
They'll probably be getting hardtails unless I find a really good deal on FS. At 10 and 12 they will likely outgrow whatever we decide to get in about two years.
I will ask some of the other parents if we can borrow someones bike sometime to try out different wheel sizes. I considered demo bikes, but not too many shops have demos around here that I am aware of, and since I'll likely be buying used bikes I wouldn't feel right using their demo bikes with no real intent to purchase from the lbs.