Cowardlyduck said:
I also tried a 26" on the front for about a day. Didn't like it at all. Totally messed up the geometry and feel of the bike. I didn't do anything with the rear to compensate, so that may have been part of it, but it just felt so weird I couldn't deal with it.
CD, Thanks. Did you bottom out the front end suspension to check tyre clearance? You should hear a loud noise upon tyre contact. Or you just go straight over the bars.
If you didn't raise the rear to balance out the bike then it would have been choppered out, so it would turn very poorly into corners. You'd feel very sluggish front end steering response. Also you could easily feel excess forces through the bars as the tyre contact patch is knocked side to side. Nasty stuff, but not a problem specifically with a 24 vs 26 MTB front wheel. I suspect a bigger wheel will work better over the rough stuff and I'll have more tyre choices in 26x3 MTB size.