I’ve got the wheel and frame for a 29er but I still need to sort out a few things.
Crank size. I need some guidance here. This is for XC, so im guessing that longish cranks will be better. Right now the wheel has 125mm cranks which are great for road but are a pain once you start climbing! So the question is: 150 or 175. Cranks are cheap though (square taper) so I may try both.
Saddle. I’m not sure if I should get the KH freeride, or build an air seat. I’m sorta up in the air on it really. I do really want one of those handles that sticks out a bunch in front and uses bike grips. I don’t know where to get one though. Also, do rail adapters/posts make a big difference in comfortability?
I think the Fusion Freeride is better than an air seat.
I can’t imaging running 175mm cranks on a 29er. I think 140-150mm is probably the best for XC; 125mm is feasible for a lot of terrain. I would probably lean towards 140mm if I were setting up a 29er specifically for XC.
Don’t go longer than 150s. My 29er was my first bigwheel, and 125s felt short even on pavement, but now I ride some offroad with 125s on my N36. For what I typically call XC muni though, I love the 150s on my KH29.
I’d stay away from an airseat just because I love my fusion saddle, and because a broken air seat 5 miles from the car makes for a long hike.
just repeating what everyone else has said really but yes 150’s are my favourite for XC on a 29er. 125’s are great on the flat but can be hard work on hills. Also on fairly flat but twisty singletrack I’ve found 125’s to be very hard work and not really any faster than 150’s.
Saddle wise i’d recommend the fusion freeride, its a great saddle and i use it on all my uni’s now.
Unless you’re one of those who like the seat wildly angled, for comfort sake, I don’t think the rail adapter makes much of a difference. But being able to add a brake may be nice if you ever decide to ride down really steep trails.
