29er are the fastest bikes

[cwah]

Hello,

Just look at this study:
https://youtu.be/kxfrykeSNCE

29 inch wheel are significantly faster than other type of wheel.

So... when we say that 26" are dead... we're not so far.


It's a good news for mid drive users who can take full advantage of the wheel size and the gears....

But what about DD ones? I've decided to stick to DD for its minimal maintenance:
- Minimum wear on brakes with regen
- Minimum wear on chain
- No wear on gears or parts
- Ease of maintenance and fix of the motor
- Ability to have bigger peak power


However... it's not efficient at all with bigger wheel.... and smaller is better


What do you do? Any of you tried 29er on DD?

 

[Racer_X]

You misspelled fastest on the title btw.
I have had a 29er DD for over a year and am now in the process of going back to 26.
The tire selection sucks and the 9x7 9c DD struggles and complains with my lightweight 30a controller on 48v.
Might work better with a bigger motor and controller.
If you are 6 foot or taller a 29er would look better on you and is worth the shortcomings, I am 5'10" and it is not worth it for me.

 

[RLD70]

You misspelled fastest on the title btw.
I have had a 29er DD for over a year and am now in the process of going back to 26.
The tire selection sucks and the 9x7 9c DD struggles and complains with my lightweight 30a controller on 48v.
Might work better with a bigger motor and controller.
If you are 6 foot or taller a 29er would look better on you and is worth the shortcomings, I am 5'10" and it is not worth it for me.

I wonder if the MAC would be better suited for these sized wheels instead of a small DD? Im buying a 10T in a 700C/29er rim for my next build as Im actually returning to those size bikes as preference in riding. I like the 26" bikes but theres something about those 700C, 28" and 29er bikes that keeps my interest even after 10+ years of actually riding one. I know theres a difference between the 29er MTBs and the 700C hybrid bikes but there resepctive tires are basically 29/X/X tires. Its the frame size for the 29er becasue on the 29ers Ive seen in my size of 20 its too big for me yet the hybrid 700C size fits me perfectly and its a 20. Im 5' 10 1/2" and one of my friends, who also owns a local bike shop in town, told me my frame size for a 29er is 18 and he was right.

 

[Jon NCal]

Well, this is only of value for cross country (human powered only) MTB racing, and for marketing. I think the bigger wheel does roll over bumps more efficiently in climbs when pedaling. The 26 was faster on downhills and the mid size 27.5 was slowest overall. On smooth roads, this study is not applicable. With a motor instead of human powered I don't think there is much of a noticeable difference from different wheel size.

 

[TheBeastie]

I probably shouldn't comment on all this but during the last Olympics in Britain the vast majority of the bikes participating in the mountain biking event were 29ers.. These folks that rode tried to win a gold metal, they didn't do it for fun..
But I would say that most would of chosen the 29er based on the riding course that the mountain biking event had be designed for.. Wouldn't surprised me that the Olympics track was deliberately created to benefit the 29er bike to induce more sales.

 

[gsa103]

26in wheels are dead for mountain bikes. You almost can't buy them anymore.

For geared or mid-drive motors, the gearing can be adjusted so it doesn't matter.

DD motors are more problematic, but maybe could be redesigned. The differences are small though. A 559x50 tire has a rollout of ~2050 mm, 700x25 is 2105, 29x2.1 is 2288. You're talking about a ~10% difference in motor rpm, so it really shouldn't matter much.

As for off-road. A 29er hardtail is pretty much the best bike for climbing, and that's been pretty much proven by everyone out there. Lightweight and good rolling properties. For any MTB racing other than downhill (and now Enduro), 29er's rule it all. The reason is simple, you spend far more time climbing than descending. Any negative handling on the descent is totally outweighed by the speed you gain climbing. For the exact same reason, MTB racers basically all look like road cyclists, because what really matters is climbing ability. Enduro racing was created because heavier riders got tired of losing to 140 lb sticks who aren't very fast down, but fly uphill.

 

[MadRhino]

Pedal powered bikes are not to be confused with motor powered. Then, the proper wheel size for any bike is the size that rides the best where the bike does have to ride.

 

[Raged]

..

I told everyone that 29ers were the future over a year ago and it's great to be validated =) Hahaha j/k =)

The MAC10T was a beast on my old 29er (Focus black forest which is now dead). I ran 52V (14S) and 40A controller for a top speed of about 52-55km/h. MAC10T torque would lift the front wheels a bit which gets sorta sketchy when you're going over a crest, but it was fun. It was a good commuter.

Some of my old video's.

12% climb with the MAC10T :
[youtube]pn9OPYqDvtA[/youtube]

I run a BBS02 cyclocross (29er frame with drop bars) at the moment for Xcountry/Enduro and commuting. Its not as powerful, but the weight placement and smaller battery pack make it less a motobike and more a cycling bike.