The 29er experiment begins

Since March 2007 my marathon race bike of choice has been pretty much the same beast. More than just the same frame and rear shock, the wheelset, groupset, cassette ratio, pedals, seat, stem length, grips, bars – even the bottle cage – have barely altered. Sure, parts have been replaced, but always with another of the same. We are all creatures of habit, but maybe I have been taking things too far?

As we roll towards 2011, I have started to turn over the wheels of change. And like many of my contemporaries, it’s a big wheel. Depending on your locale, ‘29er’ mountain bikes will be new and exciting, or old news. I left Australia days after the Dirtworks 100 in 2007, and I don’t recall ever seeing anyone race on a 29er in Australia at the time. That doesn’t mean that no one rode them – I just didn’t notice any. Throughout the following months I saw nary a hint of a 29er in Austria, Italy, France and Switzerland.

It was not until the following May, at a moist British Marathon Championship that I saw one getting around, albeit with a flat tyre. His race was over. No one else had a tube to lend him. A few months later I gratefully found myself at the end of the first stage of the Trans Alp stage race, and saw what I believed to be the most niche bike I had ever seen: A 29-inch wheeled, Ti hardtail with linkage fork, swept back bars and a Rohloff hub. It was also the only 29er I recall seeing in Europe in 2008.

But then I went stateside, and found myself at the Shenandoah 100. They were everywhere! 29er hardtails, rigid bikes, singlespeeds. I even heard a rumour of a fixed 29er out there. And I saw almost all of them too, as starting behind the moto that stalled meant I had the chance to sight most of the field on my way through. I lost count of the 29ers. This trend continued in the Rocky Mountains. Maybe not to the same extent, but they were around, and they were ripping.

However I still wasn’t that interested. I made a small concession and bought a ‘cross bike. That would do me for off-road racing shenanigans for an English winter. Time carries on and I ended up at Trans Germany, and met an American racing a 29er.

“It’s great on all the firetrail that we have to race on. It’s not so good on the singletrack and roots, but neither am I,” he said. That was brutally honest, and didn’t have me itching to try one.

The next 29er I spotted would have been under another North American, this time at the UCI marathon world championships in Graz, Austria. The bike and the rider placed far better than me, but then most people did. No more than two weeks later, a few hours into the Kielder 100 and I was focusing very hard on a wheel in front of me. A big wheel. A fast wheel. Hmm.

Back home in the Southern Hemisphere soon after and I noticed more 29ers. In shops, in races, in friends’ garages. But me? I stated resolutely: “I’ve got a ‘cross bike, what do I need a 29er for?”

Then, as the Australian winter approached and I found myself flying north again I was seeing more big wheels, but this time it was different. 29ers were in Europe, being raced by Euros. Team Bulls did the big wheels proud in a variety of races this year. The top women in the XC World Cups were on 29ers. Maybe it wasn’t just so tall people’s bikes wouldn’t look so ugly?

Convinced? Hardly. Storming down off the Pass de Chaschauna in late August, trying to make up for time lost higher up, my mind was wandering to T-Shirt slogans – these kind of things happen five hours into a tough marathon. My favourite?

“CX – the original 29er”

The following weekend, back at the Kielder 100, it seemed that everyone who rode effortlessly away from me was on big wheels, doing it easy. That’s it – it’s time to take notice.

So here I am. My wheels are built. A new Fox fork has been slipped in. The last minute tweaks are happening. This weekend I’m rolling large. Maybe I’ll miss the first few corners, maybe big wheels won’t be for me. Marketing or better design – I’m not sure yet. But I’m in, I have signed up. Check out our tech pages soon for a run down of the results of ‘The 29er Experiment’. Watch this space!