by motocross269 » May 27th, 2012, 1:06 pm
Actually MBA picked the 29er Second over the 26....
Win: This 27.5-inch-wheeled bike proved to be the most versatile of the three hardtails. It did an excellent job of blending the best traits of the 29er and 26er with- out ever feeling like a compromise between the two. This bike scampered away from the 29er on steep uphills or after a speed-zapping mistake. It then gapped the 26er on the other side of the mountain on the way down—all the while delivering a very resilient ride that didn’t beat up the rider.
Place: This 29er couldn’t match the 27.5 in a drag race from a standstill or up a steep ascent. If your riding is wide-open trails with few surprises, the large wheels will hold an advantage over the 27.5. Our 29er held a slight advantage on the descents over the 27.5 (and blew the 26er into the weeds), but the advantage was less than what the 27.5 could throw down going up.
Show: This 26er felt the lightest of the group (it was), and, in experienced hands, it would beat the other two in acceleration and slicing up or down a trail. It propelled its rider with pumpatude power and liked to manual, wheelie and hop around obstacles. The operative word here is “experienced.” An accomplished rider can pump and manual all day long. The rider who can’t do those things won’t have as much fun on this 26er as he would on either of the other bikes.
Either way...I would say whatever works for the individual rider is the best wheel choice.....It's pretty much as simple as that..