I know quite a few of ya’ll ride 29" wheels. Today I switched back to my 140’s on my 28’r from the 150’s that came with it. I noticed it seemed to ride must faster without too much handling problems (4 miles in 38 minutes, including 2 stop lights and 4 UPD’s). I’m thinking about going with even shorter cranks.
Recommendations please?
I’m currently using 125mm on my 29-er, I’m getting pretty comfortable on them and find that I can ride up the hills of Sheffield as well as do a little off road stuff.
Mike Fule uses shorter ones, 110’s I believe.
I can reccomend getting a 29" tyre, I’d completely stopped used my 28"-er till I got the big tyre, since then I’ve ridden it every day; it’s a lot more comfortable and copes better with curbs/bumps.
I ride my 700c/28" wheel with 102s, generally, or if the road is relatively flat, i’ll use 90s. I find the 102s to be amazing on hills, and that they have plenty of control, and the 90s are also good. but if it’s hilly i ride with the 102s. I was going to be using 127s for super hilly rides, but i find i d’ont need them. This is just what has worked for me.
You’ll have to experiment, but definately smaller than 140s.
-Ryan
Did you start longer and work down to the 102s, or are they what came with the uni?
How long did it take to get used to them?
I’m getting tempted to get some shorter cranks than my 125s.
im (finally) useing 145’s on a WTB MotoRapter equiped 29er.
my uni is geared more for cruzing on less crazy 24x3 type trials but it can keep up on the pave’
most folks seem to have gone for the 29 size for distance on pavement.i once had a 29 with 102’s but it would skip out from underneath me on fast appoaching cracks in the asphalt.they were fast but dont let your guard down (cell phone free or UPD never happend to me.)
102’s are not good for lots of mounts and remounts like city in traffic.go for 110’s,i have some.i didnt sell those…
they are fast though,and you look like Tinkerbell when you hit Hi-Rpm’s…
I bought my 28 with the 110s fitted. I was immediately able to mount and idle it. I find 110s a good compromise for speed and distance, and a little bit of light cross country.
125s are painfully slow, and make the 28 even more like ‘just a big 24’.
I tried 102s but only briefly. I like them on my 24, but on the 28, the extra concentration needed, the increased stopping distance, and the general twitchiness meant I preferred the 110s and put them back on. 102s are rideable, but I like my 28 optimised for road use, and safety is the prime consideration there.
I own some 89s. On the 24, they were fun, but not noticeably faster than the 102s. I wouldn’t put them on the 28 except to experiment with top speeds on the flat.
As for 150s and 140s - except in the special case of very small wheels, where pedal strike is a consideration, I can’t see there is any significant difference. About 7% is probably barely detectable by a normal rider in normal conditions.
I bought the uni with 102s, and it took no time to get used to them. I really like them, and wouldn’t ride anything longer on road.
-Ryan