Glentress | The Hub in the Forest | Tweed Valley

Kona Kula 2-9er - Size matters !! | Article : Jake Law

Twenty nine inches, 622mm, 62.2cm......what's in a number?
Well, quite a bit, it seems, when it comes to mountain bike wheel sizes.

A quiet revolution (if you'll excuse the pun!) has been brewing in the United States over the past few years, and it's now starting to make headway over here in good ol' Blighty.... it's called 29ers, and those who
believe in the concept also believe it could well change mountain biking forever.

A handful of bicycle companies have started to dip their toes in producing
one or two 29er models, and for 2007, Kona has followed suit.
So, to see what all the fuss is about, the Hub in the Forest has added two
Kona Kula 2-9 bikes to the demo fleet, a 18'' and 16'' frame respectively.
The bikes are built around a scandium frame (very, very light, with a more
forgiving feel than aluminium), a Rock Shox Reba 29er fork, finishing kit
by Easton, Race Face and WTB, and, of course, those humongous 29 inch
wheels.
Nothing prepares you for how odd a 29er looks, especially when compared to
it's 26 inch cousins....the 16'' frame looks minute, nestled between two
massive hoops of rubber, but it also provides the rider with masses of
stand over height, thanks to Kona's trademark sloping top tubes.

So, how does it ride?
The Glentress red route was the testing ground, a route my Heckler is very familiar with, so it made the perfect route to compare the two wheel sizes.

The first thing you notice is that you need to carefully select your frame size - I normally ride a 17/18'' bike (I'm 5'10''), but the 16'' felt perfect, not too stretched, with LOADS of stand over height, even if the
smaller frame meant I had the seat post extended almost all the way out.

The second thing you notice is that, initially, the bike feels a bit
sluggish, almost slow, especially going up the climb to the Buzzard's
Nest...the flip side of this, though, is that, once you have it up to
speed, the wheels seem to keep the momentum going for ages, happily
coasting along, as if you were riding a road bike on smooth tarmac.

Because of the bigger wheel size, the bike also felt amazingly
comfortable, even to a 5'' travel full sus lover like me.
The wheels make molehills out of mountains, smoothly rolling over roots
and rocks without ever losing traction, urging you to try gnarlier lines
and swoop round berms faster than usual.
It really feels like you are riding two big wheels, not a bicycle, the
frame just disappears between the spinning wheels.
It's only when you stop and look at the bike that it reminds you how weird
it looks, prompting onlookers to ask sarcastically if you're riding your
dad's bike, ha-ha!

The only fly in the ointment I could detect during the two times I rode the bike was the inability to really 'throw' the bike around, just kinda play around with it, getting some air here, flicking the side out there, just the type of riding that Spooky Wood encourages...it just felt a bit
too smooth and controlled, I was a passenger, not a part of the bike.
Try as I might, I just couldn't get my wheels of the ground, barely lifting the front wheel when hitting a set of doubles.
Maybe it's just me, or perhaps you adapt your style and get used to the feel (I did manage to wheely it very well...the bigger wheel stopped me from falling over backwards as I normally do!)

So, to summarise (and you will be tested on this!), here follows the pros
and cons of 29ers:

Cons-
Increased wheel weight - this is due to longer spokes, a larger rim, and a
larger diameter tire. As such, rotational weight increases significantly
over an equivalent 26" wheel,
Many types of tires, rims and forks do not come in 29"-compatible
versions, though the expanding popularity of the size is reducing this
problem,
Longer spokes and rim result in a theoretically weaker and more laterally
flexible wheel,
Smaller riders (i.e. less than 5'5") may not be able to find a 29" bike
with a geometry suitable for them, and
They just look weird!

Pros-
Larger wheels roll over obstacles more easily due to decrease in approach
angle,
Larger wheels have a lower rolling resistance for the same width tire,
29"er wheels are less prone to sinking in soft material such as sand and
mud,
Larger wheels are less prone to pinch flatting,
The longer contact patch increases cornering traction, and
29"er bikes tend to offer taller riders a more "natural" frame geometry.

So why not see what all the fuss is about and give the Hub a ring today to
book a test ride (01721 721 736).

Viva Revolucion'!!
Jake the snake.