The bikes are also said to include mechanical disc brakes, 100mm suspension forks, and internal cable routing. The 29er comes with 29×2.35″ tires. In another departure for the department store chain, the new line of mountain bikes will be offered in three sizes: small, medium, and large.
Hoping the 29 x 2.6 is a better match. I stuck a yardstick behind my 29x2.6 XR4 on an i30 rim and eyeballing it, it's a bit over 29 1/2 inches tall. My 27.5x3 i36 wheel is just a bit over 28 3/4. So about 3/4 inch taller. Figure half of that for rise in BB.
But that isn't what is happening. When it's all said and done, the 29 XC bike isn't going anywhere. 27.5 is largely replacing 26, so I'd say that the 27.5 is actually a continuation of the trend towards larger wheels. But for an bike with heavier low-cost wheels, the heavier wheels would bias things in favor of 27.5.
Because 29-inch wheels have a larger contact patch, they provide better grip (traction) compared to 27.5″ wheels. 29er mountain bikes ride smoothly over slippery objects such as roots, especially in wet conditions. 29er. They already have a better attack angle – the extra grip makes it even better on rough terrain.
3535 posts · Joined 2004. #1 · Dec 11, 2014. Looking at the proliferation of 650b ("27.5") bikes it downed on me that unlike the conversion 26 to 650b the reverse, 650b to 26, is much easier. Putting to the side all the diatribes, at the end of the story the difference in radius between 650b and 26 is just around 1cm, and to use a 26 wheel on
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mountain bike 26 vs 27.5 vs 29
