I have a 20" for practice and a 29’r for fireroad cross-country and I would like to get into single track Muni riding. Is there a significant difference in a 24’’ vs. a 26" and what about crank length 165, 170 or 175? Are brakes really of any use or just look kool?
a few questions:
1 how tall are you
2 do you want to do mainly downhill muni or cross country
3 how are you at rolling hops on your 20" compared to your 29"
If you have a 29, definitely get a 24; you want something that’s different enough to be worth riding. I would go with 150mm cranks; everyone I know who’s run 165/170mm cranks has either switched to shorter cranks, or is thinking about it. No one switches from shorter cranks to longer.
Brakes, that depend on what you are going to use it for and where. The only use for them is to save your knees on downhill so on a 20" there is less use for it than on a 24". If you are going to ride in the netherlands you’ll have no use for it. If you live in a mountanous country you will find it very useful. I have one on my uni it is not only to look cool.
- I am 6-3
- A 75/25 mix of x-country/DH
- OK on the 20 non-existant on the 29
in my opinion you should go for the 26" better for distance and for someone your hight, if you can hop on your 20" you can learn to hop on a 26 in no time. as for the crank size and brake i have no idea but kris holms rocks a brake and he is possibly the best muni rider out there soo…
hope that helps a bit
Re: 24 or 26 Muni
2008-03-17, 10:54(-05), mtnjeffe:
>
> I have a 20" for practice and a 29’r for fireroad cross-country and I
> would like to get into single track Muni riding. Is there a significant
> difference in a 24’’ vs. a 26" and what about crank length 165, 170 or
> 175? Are brakes really of any use or just look kool?
[…]
I can share some experience on the crank length.
I bought a 26" muni which came with 125mm cranks. I first found
it hard for muni especially on steep ground, so I bought 152mm.
It did feel a great improvement at the time, and I didn’t feel
like it was that worse wrt speed. I’ve had them for about a
year.
About 4 months ago, I’ve put the 125mm cranks back, and I
noticed a big improvement in terms of speed, and discovered I
could go almost anywhere I could before with the 152mm ones
after a little practice.
2 weeks ago, I’ve acquired 102mm ones…
Again, it made a huge different in terms of speed on road. But
then riding off road became a lot trickier. There are slops on
which I simply can’t climb or couldn’t go down without brakes.
From my point of view, on a 26":
102mm is great on road
152 is great for muni, and I don’t think it’s worth
considering longer cranks.
125 is a good compromise speed for commuting on road vs
moment for muni.
The good thing with a 26" is that it’s easier to find tyres and
inner tubes. I’ve not tried a 24" so I can’t compare.
–
Stéphane
I am a big 26er fan but I don’t have a 29er (yet).
If you want something that closely resembles a 29er in wheel diameter but can take a hell of a lot more of a beating, then a 26 is probably for you. But if you want something a bit more flickable than a 24 would probably be better. It all depends what you want to use it for.
Cranks are a very personal thing, different lengths work for different people. Here are my observations and opinions.
For cranks on my 26 at the moment I have 152s. I started with 170s but they were a little bit awkward. I switched down to 152s last year and they feel better but I miss the extra torque produced with the longer cranks. I am building up a new wheel and am going to get some 160s on there, I think they would be about perfect for me.
I have 150s on the 24 and they feel about right.
I keep my 26er for the more technical stuff I can find. It is not as maneuverable as a 24 but it can just roll over stuff that would otherwise throw you. In other words it is a tank and I love it.