Here are my first impressions of my first ride on a 29’er. I am a former endurance racer who has been off the bike for quite a while. When I last rode 29er’s had not hit the market. So they were obviously of interest to me as I consider a new bike to potentially begin endurance racing again. My specs are 6’, 205 lbs and I ride with a 30” saddle to center of crank distance. Previous bikes include GT Thermoplastic LTS, Zaskar LE and a few Yeti’s including an ARC and ARC Ti.
Bike Specs: Kona Hei Hei 29er Deluxe 28lb 10 oz.
Size: 21” ??
Build: XT/XTR mix with Chris King HS and Hubs. Fox Fork, WTB XC Speed Disks and WTB tires.
The climb:
A mostly middle ring fire road starting at 3,142’ and finishing at 4,370’ and @ 5 ½ miles long. I base lined this climb on Monday on my old Yeti Ultimate. It took 50:10 at an average HR of 146. During the climb I had to drop to the little ring 5 times for short steep sections.
Today I climbed it on the above listed bike. The same climb took 48:50 with an average HR of 138. During the climb I dropped to the little ring twice for short sections. Overall I was running taller gears through the whole climb. When I stood to rest the blue vein I would drop 4 gears to maintain cadence as opposed to 2 on the 26”er. The ride was far smoother and I found that I was not dodging small rocks and gravel. I just rolled over them. Most importantly throughout the climb my heart rate was noticeably lower as was my effort. I was not slowed nearly as much when I had to cross washboard. I found that I was able to hold gears longer and as a result was shifting far less through the climb.
Verdict:
The full suspension Kona climbed better than my Yeti hardtail. The Kona is almost exactly 1 lb heavier than my Yeti. Yet the combination of 29” wheels, gearing and shock lock outs made this one sweet climbing bike. It is far smoother and the combination of gear ratios and 29” wheels results in a much better climb. I am impressed!
The decent:
The decent that follows this climb is @ 1.7 miles of fast single track with quite a few tight switchbacks. On the Yeti with and old Manitou MK 5 on the front it took 12:08. The beginning of the decent is through a small piece called the rock garden. Choosing your line is required unless you want to taste dirt. It is a technical piece that catches even good riders off guard. After the rock garden the trail is a series of fast traverses with roots and trees as obstacles. The switchbacks are tight but not too tight if you know your bike. There are a few roots in the shade that can cause problems but are no issue if you are prepared. At the base of the decent on the Yeti my arms were hammered and pumped and my lower back was definitely feeling cumulative effects the chop and hits.
The decent on the Kona was a different story all together. It took 10:50 and was far smoother. The rock garden was a non issue other than one show stopper. I easily skirted around the big rock and basically rolled the rest of the garden. It felt very smooth and the line was not as critical as on the Yeti. The rest of the decent was a cake walk. The switchbacks took a little concentration but all in all were not much more difficult. The roots actually became fun and only one caught me off guard. That resulted in a slight forward pitch as the rear came off it. No big deal but it was one motion to take note of for future reference. The only other noticeable handling trait was found in the tightest switchback on the decent. The approach to it is very fast and there is a sharp compression right on the apex of the corner. I hit it with higher speed than I normally do on my 26” bike. At the apex I felt and saw noticeable flex in both the wheel and the fork. I heard and felt one solid pop from a knobby skipping and the tire hooked up and launched out of the corner. This provided solid confirmation that 29” wheels do flex more than 26” wheels. It really didn’t matter in this case as the end results were still a faster pass through this corner. At the end of the ride I was relaxed and felt no pain.
Summary:
I love it. I will be buying a 29er in the future. The only question will be whether to go full suspension or soft tail. This bike is on loan from a good friend and if it were a 19 or 20” bike he may not have gotten it back. The weight is very reasonable for an endurance FS ride. The comfort is way above the majority of the bikes I have owned and ridden.
Bike Specs: Kona Hei Hei 29er Deluxe 28lb 10 oz.
Size: 21” ??
Build: XT/XTR mix with Chris King HS and Hubs. Fox Fork, WTB XC Speed Disks and WTB tires.
The climb:
A mostly middle ring fire road starting at 3,142’ and finishing at 4,370’ and @ 5 ½ miles long. I base lined this climb on Monday on my old Yeti Ultimate. It took 50:10 at an average HR of 146. During the climb I had to drop to the little ring 5 times for short steep sections.
Today I climbed it on the above listed bike. The same climb took 48:50 with an average HR of 138. During the climb I dropped to the little ring twice for short sections. Overall I was running taller gears through the whole climb. When I stood to rest the blue vein I would drop 4 gears to maintain cadence as opposed to 2 on the 26”er. The ride was far smoother and I found that I was not dodging small rocks and gravel. I just rolled over them. Most importantly throughout the climb my heart rate was noticeably lower as was my effort. I was not slowed nearly as much when I had to cross washboard. I found that I was able to hold gears longer and as a result was shifting far less through the climb.
Verdict:
The full suspension Kona climbed better than my Yeti hardtail. The Kona is almost exactly 1 lb heavier than my Yeti. Yet the combination of 29” wheels, gearing and shock lock outs made this one sweet climbing bike. It is far smoother and the combination of gear ratios and 29” wheels results in a much better climb. I am impressed!
The decent:
The decent that follows this climb is @ 1.7 miles of fast single track with quite a few tight switchbacks. On the Yeti with and old Manitou MK 5 on the front it took 12:08. The beginning of the decent is through a small piece called the rock garden. Choosing your line is required unless you want to taste dirt. It is a technical piece that catches even good riders off guard. After the rock garden the trail is a series of fast traverses with roots and trees as obstacles. The switchbacks are tight but not too tight if you know your bike. There are a few roots in the shade that can cause problems but are no issue if you are prepared. At the base of the decent on the Yeti my arms were hammered and pumped and my lower back was definitely feeling cumulative effects the chop and hits.
The decent on the Kona was a different story all together. It took 10:50 and was far smoother. The rock garden was a non issue other than one show stopper. I easily skirted around the big rock and basically rolled the rest of the garden. It felt very smooth and the line was not as critical as on the Yeti. The rest of the decent was a cake walk. The switchbacks took a little concentration but all in all were not much more difficult. The roots actually became fun and only one caught me off guard. That resulted in a slight forward pitch as the rear came off it. No big deal but it was one motion to take note of for future reference. The only other noticeable handling trait was found in the tightest switchback on the decent. The approach to it is very fast and there is a sharp compression right on the apex of the corner. I hit it with higher speed than I normally do on my 26” bike. At the apex I felt and saw noticeable flex in both the wheel and the fork. I heard and felt one solid pop from a knobby skipping and the tire hooked up and launched out of the corner. This provided solid confirmation that 29” wheels do flex more than 26” wheels. It really didn’t matter in this case as the end results were still a faster pass through this corner. At the end of the ride I was relaxed and felt no pain.
Summary:
I love it. I will be buying a 29er in the future. The only question will be whether to go full suspension or soft tail. This bike is on loan from a good friend and if it were a 19 or 20” bike he may not have gotten it back. The weight is very reasonable for an endurance FS ride. The comfort is way above the majority of the bikes I have owned and ridden.
The only way to tell is by riding one yourself. I would guess if you are shorter than 5'10" you may not be comfortable on one.
