27.5 vs 29 for short rider

[dougefresh]

Originally Posted by kppolich

Politely,

29er, 27.5 is dead.

he's not wrong folks

[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.

[Tony]

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.

hasn't been to any enduro or downhill races, nor familiar with freeriding.

[CunegoFan]

Ask them what Youtube channel they like. If they like Seth then get them a 27.5. If they follow BKXC get a 29. If they like Singletrack Sampler then get them a beard grooming kit.

[cmbicycles]

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.

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.

[SpeedyChix]

Originally Posted by Tony

hasn't been to any enduro or downhill races, nor familiar with freeriding.

These don’t seem particularly applicable to the OPs search.
My comment re pedaling is my annoyance at low bb heights while climbing heavily rooted or rocked terrain

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by SpeedyChix

These don’t seem particularly applicable to the OPs search.
My comment re pedaling is my annoyance at low bb heights while climbing heavily rooted or rocked terrain

This is my primary complaint with modern Long Low Slack geo as well. The bike (v1 Hightower) hauls in every situation, especially flow trails, but we’ve got a ton of chunk on the Front Range and I clip a lot of pedals, even in “high” mode. I like everything else about it - having that front center way out there has saved me many times.

I agree that you’ll rarely find anything not 29” on the contemporary go-fast circuit, whether that’s enduro or DH or XC. But those are pros - what works for them to get from A to B as fast as possible may not work for you to max out your fun. I’m a 29er guy myself, but enough people enjoy their small wheeled bikes that I’m not going to say 29 is the only way.

[Ronsonic]

Last year I put my 12yo neph on a Med 27.5 with XC geo that's just a bit big on him with plenty of room to seatpost and stem it out as he grows.

Part of this is living among very twisting trails and him just coming off of crappy BMX bikes so wanted it to be an easier transition.

[simplemind]

I'm 5'11" and everytime I hop on my Med 2007 26" Yeti 575 it just feels so natural and well balanced. Actually my Strava times on that bike are better than on my Med SB 4.5, which are 29".

Personally I wouldn' have anything larger than 27.5 on an XS or S frame size. Yes you can cram 29's in there, but you're just not going to get the balance geo that the smaller wheels afford. Sure they can roll over obstacles better, but that's not the point. You want to learn skills and pick lines, right?

For that matter, put them on a BMX to learn the skills first. That's what my son did and he's the best bike handler I know personally.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by simplemind

I'm 5'11" and everytime I hop on my Med 2007 26" Yeti 575 it just feels so natural and well balanced. Actually my Strava times on that bike are better than on my Med SB 4.5, which are 29".

Personally I wouldn' have anything larger than 27.5 on an XS or S frame size. Yes you can cram 29's in there, but you're just not going to get the balance geo that the smaller wheels afford. Sure they can roll over obstacles better, but that's not the point. You want to learn skills and pick lines, right?

For that matter, put them on a BMX to learn the skills first. That's what my son did and he's the best bike handler I know personally.

I'm seeing a few bikes on the trail this year with a 29er front and 27.5 rear.

[the bottle ride]

East coast here- 29er rolls over the tech better in my opinion.

[cmbicycles]

I found a Trek Fuel 26" bike for one kiddo that is a good fit and full squish is making for more fun, now time to upgrade the other. What is a good bike(or 2 or 3) to keep an eye out for that will be under $500 on the used market.

I've been browsing here, pinkbike, CL & ebay by size/wheel and just seeing if there are strong opinions on further narrowing down the choices. Plan is to go with bigger wheel HT, unless another great deal on a FS falls into place.