Hi All....sorry....qui
te late joining this chat. Been on the road again.
Not sure I can add much that hasn't already been said. I pretty much agree with everything BW (Josh?) has already posted....
Mike -- you were asking about 29ers....well, for the right rider and in the right terrain, 29ers are great! Except in tight trees and narrow trails where there are a lot of tight turns. Their turn radius is not as tight as a 26er, so lack some of their agility. Wide bars (flat or low-rise) at 680 to 700 mm, work best with these, but that makes the tight-tree navigation even more tricky (although my shoulders are kinda wide too, so that is a moot point for me...I just stay out of tight trees, just like when I ski). OTOH, their fluid ease of rolling over roots and rocks and large gravel is brilliant. They smooth out the ride, and negate the need for rear suspension except in the roughest terrain. For a guy my size (6'2"), the 29er is the FIRST mountain bike that I felt actually really fit me. On 26ers, I always felt like I was riding a kids bike, or a BMX. I ride a Fischer 29er hard tail, and FWIW, I rarely unlock the front fork -- for the terrain in our area, I could easily do away with the front shocks altogether...the 29er geometry is just that smooth. Keep the tire pressure low (~25 to 30 psi) in the rough stuff, and it is totally controllable and absorbs an amazing amount of vibration and impact. My next bike may just be a rigid 29er, steel frame, carbon forks.
BW -- good advice on tubeless. Might just try that, as my rims and tires are "tubeless ready". But, what happens if I'm in the middle of the woods, 20km away from my truck, and a tire goes flat? How the heck do I fix it without invoking a one-hour procedure? At least with tubes, I carry a spare and some irons, and can swap a tube in 10 to 15 minutes. Otherwise, tubeless is certainly appealing -- if nothing else, at least for the weight savings -- 29ers are a tad heavier.
Jim -- the advice BW gave about body position for climbing and downhill is right on. Uphill, keep yer butt on the seat, lean forward, get low, pull up on bars to unwieght the front wheel (rolls over bumps easier, less jarring), and pedal your guts out. Personally, I have a really hard time starting a climb halfway up a hill, at least with cleated pedals -- in the old days, before SPD and Eggbeaters, I could do it on an easy slope; but with cleats, forget it. I usually end up just carrying the bike up
I have thought of buying the Wellgo 1/2-and-1/2 pedals (model WPD-95B), which are SPD cleat click-in on one side, and rat trap on the other....just flip em over and use the rat trap in tricky terrain, such as starting uphill where you need to get cranking, like, right now! Or in spots where you may have to bail and would fall if you were clicked in. They only weigh 20 grams more than a Shimano 520, but may be worth the extra versatility, and may save you (and me) from a nasty fall. (See below, also, for comments on a new kind of easy-release cleat)
As for downhill, as I said before, get yer butt
off the seat, slide it backwards a little bit or a lot, depending how steep it is, to keep your COM to the rear. I find it really helps to stabilize the bike if I clamp the saddle between my thighs -- keeps the bike from jerking around side-to-side, keeps your body aligned with the bike, and makes for a much smoother descent. On really steep descents, my butt is waaay back, off and behind the seat, out in the open air directly over the rear wheel.....not a pretty sight, a bulbous orb hanging there
but I'm usually at the back of the pack so no one has yet crashed from fright or laughter.
And always keep your elbows bent! to flex and absorb the bumps... Having started mtn. biking 20 years ago on rigid, steel frame 26ers, we had to use our body's joints as the suspension....ankle
s, knees, hips, elbows.....just 'cause you have a full-suss bike doesn't mean that you too shouldn't use them....they are a very valuable tool, and as you get better, they allow you to tighten up the bike's suspension for a firmer ride. Less Buick, more BMW
On the subject of pedals and cleats and easy release, I just installed some new Shimano cleats on my wife's shoes -- the SM-SH56. These are said to be multi-release, meaning they release more easily in all directions than the standard cleats, which is really supposed to help in a panic bail-out. Having injured her knee skiing (no ACL, no meniscus now), she has been most reluctant to try the single track in our local forest for fear of falling and re-injuring herself because she may not be able to unclick in a hurry. First easy ride yesterday and the initial feedback was very good -- much easier for her to unclick. With the standard cleats (SH51) she always had trouble unclicking in one direction, but not the other, and never laterally upward, and this lack of a quick escape made her very nervous when we got into some gnarly terrain. Will report back later on these as she gets more rides in. BTW, the rider reviews on the web about these cleats are all very positive, so they seem to work. If they work well for her, I'll buy them for myself too. At $20, cheap insurance against possible injury. OTOH, if they're no good, then it's the Wellgo pedals fer sure.
Hope this helps....
Cheers! And Happy Memorial Day holiday, to y'all south of the border.....