27.5 vs 29” let’s Mass debate !! What’s best ??

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Motohawk75

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Title says it in a nut shell …..
Who prefers which and why ? I get the whole mullet set up but that’s sitting on the fence for this question IMO…..
Recently I was looking at a Whyte E160rs vs E150rs …. And get a really mixed bag of opinions as to which would be best in an all round situation….. so for general all roundness , single track , natural forest trails, and the odd bike park , trail centre which would you choose ? ……
 
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I'm on the fence ..

I've always had 27.5 in my limited ebike life ... Therefore, that's felt normal. You then read the positives and negatives of each and build pictures and pre-conceptions in your mind.

Everytime I'd ridden 29 it felt like a huge wagon wheel out front, but then I never rode the bikes for full days to actually get used to the wheel size.

Then I bought a Focus with 29's either end. The wheels felt enormous .. Weirdly though, it only took a couple of rides for them to feel normal.

What can I say, they felt amazing. It seemed I could hit bigger sharper things harder and faster. Smaller things just felt smaller still or completely inconsequential. Boy, did it feel like it rolled fast too and pick up speed everywhere - effortlessly.

The weird thing was then switching back to the Kenevo on 27.5's. They felt tiny. The whole bike felt like a tiny childs bike. It really did feel like you could throw the bike around so much easier, even just turning the bars is so much easier and quicker.

That's where things continue to get weirder .. I ride the Focus (29) and it feels likes I'm riding faster, accelerating faster, hitting things faster, cornering faster. I have more grip, more stability, more confidence.

I ride the Kenevo again and it feels like I'm really having to work, it doesn't feel like it's accelerating or going as fast.

Then I check times. I'm consistently 5-10% slower on the Focus on descents. Top speeds on descents are consistently lower too, despite the fact that it FEELS like I'm breaking the speed of light on the 29's. I'm not sure if it just because the wheel is big, so it feels like this massive thing is spinning up faster and going really fast ..

I'm at a bit of a loss at the moment. It could just be familiarisation - I have a lot more miles and time on the Kenevo.

So then which is best ? I feel like I'm faster and better on the 29's. But in reality I'm faster on 27.5, where I feel like I'm sh1t in comparison...
 
In about 8 years we will probably see 30.5's :rolleyes:

I prefer 27.5's, but my current 29's do the same thing.
 
Motohawk75 said:
I get the whole mullet set up but that’s sitting on the fence for this question IMO…..
Click to expand...
Please explain.

I've done many miles on my Rail as a 29er, a mullet and a full 27.5. If I could get the BB height and seat angle back to stock I'd stick with the 27.5 all round as it's more agile. I've recently gone back to a mullet set up as the 29er front rolls over obstacles better and it raises the BB a little (but slackens the seat angle). It climbs best as a 29er, but aint no-one got time for technical climbs.
 
Doomanic said:
Please explain.

I've done many miles on my Rail as a 29er, a mullet and a full 27.5. If I could get the BB height and seat angle back to stock I'd stick with the 27.5 all round as it's more agile. I've recently gone back to a mullet set up as the 29er front rolls over obstacles better and it raises the BB a little (but slackens the seat angle). It climbs best as a 29er, but aint no-one got time for technical climbs.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info.
The reason I ask is I’ve also had a mullet bike but want a new Whyte E and haven’t had a full time 29 or 27.5 and don’t want to spend out anything on changing it if I can get one out the box that’s great as it is ⚡️
 
@Doomanic
Unless you're 9ft tall seat angle difference between a mullet and a same sized wheeler only affects saddle position by a couple of cm at most so is often adjustable to exactly the same position by simply moving the saddle rails forwards or rearward in your seat post.
BB height on an FS mtb for me is almost always better lower. But I do know to look where I'm going and honestly CGAF about riding technical climbs.
 
Mullet: I have assumed that a smaller rear wheel on the back is compensated for in the design to keep the bike level. Sorry but I have not checked the geometry. I have had 26ers, 27.5ers and recently 29ers. I loved them all at the time and each one was better than the one before for all sorts of (the usual) reasons. By being a late adopter, I managed to avoid the early geometry problems that led to accusations of the 29ers steering like barges and so forth. Now I've got a mullet bike. Another assumption: I had assumed that the major benefit from a mullet was that I wouldn't get my arse buzzed quite as much on the descents as when I was on a 29er. That turned out to be true. I also assumed that the bike would be lighter. Actually that must be true, it's not an assumption. What I did not expect was that the mullet would not be quite as good at climbing as shall we say "parallel" bikes. I can't think why this should be, because of my first assumption, ie that the geo is corrected. So I'm probably wrong and it's me that hasn't made it work yet.

By the way, I believe that wheel size is partially height dependent. Children would look silly on a 29er (impossible in fact), so they have height appropriate wheel sizes. I look now at pics of me on my 26er and the wheels look comical. I look at pics of my then 4' 10" grandson on my 27.5" wheeled bike and it looks enormous. I have seen young teens riding about on a small size 29er and the bike looks just wrong. I am that happy height of just over 6' where 27.5 or 29 look OK and works OK too. Someone 6'7 looks and rides a 29er better than a 27.5 and looks ridiculous on a 26er.

The bike designers agree. How many sell bikes with smaller batteries on the size S because the normal battery just won't fit. Geometry matters and compromising frame design to make a size S fit a 29er or an XXL fit a 27.5 is marketing gone wrong. Height appropriate is the key.

I have not ridden a 69er (26 rear, 29 front), but apart from that I have owned all of the usual wheel sizes and loved them all at the time. The best MTB bike I ever owned was a 27.5er (Whyte 130C RS). For me, the jury is still out on the best wheel size for an emtb (if there even is one, which I doubt). I loved the 29er and I expect to love the mullet, but I haven't had it long enough yet. The problem is that my perception will always be influenced by the rest of the bike! :unsure:
 
@Gary It's not so much about seat position as climbing ability. I also CGAF© about technical climbs but my local gnar has an unavoidable steep climb that is definitely easier with a 29er rear. I'm also capable of reading the trail, but bring the BB back to stock would remove some of the small print... :ROFLMAO:
 
I'm fairly sure you have the capacity to see the irony in worrying about climbing ability with 19mm less tyre radius but one of the most powerful motors on the market to propel it. ?
 
Gary said:
I'm fairly sure you have the capacity to see the irony in worrying about climbing ability with 19mm less tyre radius but one of the most powerful motors on the market to propel it. ?
Click to expand...
Power is nothing without control, and the 29er is easier to control on a really steep climb.
 
Motohawk75 said:
Title says it in a nut shell …..
Who prefers which and why ? I get the whole mullet set up but that’s sitting on the fence for this question IMO…..
Click to expand...

I currently run a 27.5" bike and a mullet, but there are other differences between the two bikes, so it's not comparing apples to apples. On the one hand, in the really rough rocks, the mullet rolls over them better. But it's a heavier bike, so it might just be more of the steam-roller effect. Even though it's a pig, it will carve tight corners. I think this is due to the short chainstay.

When I want to push the bike around, the 27.5" is better. But the bike is considerably lighter. So while my experience is exactly what all the magazine writers tell us, there are a bunch of other considerations.

In my subjective opinion, the mullet is what I'm most enthused about. If I was looking for another bike, and everything else was equal, I'd stick with the mullet.
 
I went from 27.5 to 29. Beat all of my Strava timed segments within a few weeks of ownership of the 29er.

Maybe it’s “new bike syndrome” but I am faster on the 29er.

Same thing happened when I transitioned from 26 to 29 on non-ebike a few years ago.
 
29er for me, I’ve been back and fourth between the two since I started riding 4 years ago. 27.5 is better if your a good experienced rider as they do have more remover ability and make the bike much more play full. For me 29ers are just much more forgiving when you get it wrong and gives me the confidence to hit bigger stuff which exceeds my skill level. The big one for me has been hitting trails blind and going off drops to slow not realising how big they was. Many times I’ve thought if I was on a 27.5 that would not of ended well.

Very steep with narrow tight cornering are the only ones I find more a challenge and feel much more slower at.

But any sort of casual riding, 29er just wins hands down. I’ve found a 29er is much more enjoyable to ride with the motor off. I’ve done a couple of rides over 100 miles where I’ve just used the motor assist on the big hills and kept as much as I can for the ride back. I never attempted this when I had a Cube 160 2021 it just felt hard work and slow whenever I turned the assist off. I currently ride a Trek rail.

Overall I’m way faster on a 29
 
I don't give a shiny sh!te what the wheel sizes are, I just do what Queen advised and 'Get on your bike and ride'! :)

I have a 2x26" vintage GT from 1995, a mullet Merida from 2020 and now a 2x29" Rise. I just ride the damn things...

If I am going to be contentious, I would say the tyre on the wheel is the more important factor and probably defines the feel and performance more than the wheel size...
 
Gary said:
I'm fairly sure you have the capacity to see the irony in worrying about climbing ability with 19mm less tyre radius but one of the most powerful motors on the market to propel it. ?
Click to expand...
Of course I do Gary, which is why I admitted that it is me that just hasn't made it work yet. I also know from personal experience that changes in suspension set up and small changes in geometry or tyre pressure can make a noticeable difference. By noticeable I mean to get up the climb that had been giving me problems.
I didn't mention it because the thread was about wheel diameter, but I had expected 22% more torque to have propelled me that last two feet to the top of the climb. It didn't, I just looped out! The fault is sure to be entirely mine, I used to get up that climb on an MTB, but that was 7-8 years ago, when I felt like Superman! :cool:
It is frustrating and disappointing to be reminded of my advancing decrepitude in such a manner. :(
 
Both have their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, even a mullet setup has strengths and weaknesses.

If I'm not mistaken, the reason why the mullet setup became fashionable was because some manufacturers didn't have a 29er dedicated frame. So mullet setup was the next best thing.

I doubt any wheel size is going to be phased out any time soon. 26" wheels are slowly creeping into the bmx side of things.

If anything, the real question is, "how long before superboost becomes the new standard?".
 
For me on an EMTB a 27.5 is better out back - front not so fussed, though 27.5 works better on my local trails which where mostly built when when MTB’s had the same size wheels and geometry as a modern kids bike so a nice manoeuvrable bike works best.

I think the 27.5 out back puts the power down better and accelerates faster, but that’s just my experience.
 
R120 said:
For me on an EMTB a 27.5 is better out back - front not so fussed, though 27.5 works better on my local trails which where mostly built when when MTB’s had the same size wheels and geometry as a modern kids bike so a nice manoeuvrable bike works best.

I think the 27.5 out back puts the power down better and accelerates faster, but that’s just my experience.
Click to expand...
Same here.
I mean, my only experiences of a mullet would be my Status 160 and the Merida E160.
But as for running a 27.5 rear wheel, I tend to notice that it will accelerate quicker when climbing.
 
R120 said:
works better on my local trails which where mostly built when when MTB’s had the same size wheels
Click to expand...
Were trails really built to a particular wheel size? I’m not so sure on that, 700c (29)has been around rather a long time.

Do trail builders really consider wheel size when building trails.
 
St4nley said:
Were trails really built to a particular wheel size? I’m not so sure on that, 700c (29)has been around rather a long time.

Do trail builders really consider wheel size when building trails.
Click to expand...
Certain features may be built around a particular standard of bike.
One good example I can think of is bar length. The shortest I'll run is 800mm but some trails I've rode tend to favour shorter bars.
 
St4nley said:
Were trails really built to a particular wheel size? I’m not so sure on that, 700c (29)has been around rather a long time.

Do trail builders really consider wheel size when building trails.
Click to expand...
No, but a lot of the local trails where built 20 plus years ago, and yes they have evolved since then, but are fundamentally suited to a shorter travel nimble bike the a wagon wheeled enduro rig.
 
I have 2 29" acoustic and 1 27.5 PLUS commencal meta power. I roll over things and don't launch. Mostly NorCal and Sedona single track. The footprint of 27.5 plus yields great traction on almost all surfaces. Most shredders are youngsters who are seeking to launch and I can't speak for that part of mountain biking at age 70 with multiple injuries over the years so I'm much happier to stay planted on the ground and if that's what you're trying to accomplish 27.5 + is the ticket.
 
I’m 64 inches tall and I love my new Orbea Rise small, but would much prefer 27.5 on it (like my acoustics) to its 29s. I have always felt top heavy on 29s and it is more pronounced the heavier the bike is. I wouldn’t mind a little more standover either ( :
 
My de-restricted Kenevo is set up like a motorcycle with 3.0 27.5 Purgatory. 20-22 pounds. Set next to my son's Santa Cruz with 29's, it's about 3/4 Inch lower. I'll keep my big knobbies and do just fine.
 
27.5 for me, I’m short and light found 29 way too big I don’t know how people under 5”4 ride them. Would still quite happily ride 26 if wheels were still readily available for them where I am, 29 felt like being on wagon wheels after racing BMX 20 & 24’s
 
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