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29'er vs 26'er gearing

1K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  richwolf 
#1 ·
After making the switch to 29'er, I still can't get the gearing right with the adjustment to the new size. Any suggestions. If I was riding 11-32 with a 46-34-24, what should I be riding on my 29'er.

Cheers chaps.
 
#3 ·
ShoMyOFace said:
After making the switch to 29'er, I still can't get the gearing right with the adjustment to the new size. Any suggestions. If I was riding 11-32 with a 46-34-24, what should I be riding on my 29'er.

Cheers chaps.
Probably best found by a 44/32/22 on your 29"er to be close to what you rode on your smaller wheeled bike and if you keep the same 11-32 cassette.

You can read threads like these to see what others are doing, have done or are not doing:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=168596

Also do a search on this forum for 29"ers vs. 26"ers gearing.

BB
 
#4 ·
Numbers

Let's see - 11-32, 46/34/24, 26er
29er with 11-32, you need 41/30/22 to approximate same gearinches
I'd say that a standard compact crank at 44/32/22 would work fine - but with more top-end range. If you want a lower low, you can run an 11-34.
 
#5 ·
The wheels are 10% bigger so you need to go 10% lower in ratios to end up in the same place. I'd suggest keeping the same cassette and going to 44-32-22 or 42-32-22. Those are pretty standard combinations these days.
 
#7 ·
On my old 26ers I ran a 44-32-22 with an 11-34. I pretty much swapped them over to my 29er but I really seemed to bog down between gears. The problem with the wheel being about 10 percent bigger is that the gaps will be about 10 percent bigger too. So I pretty much solved it by running an 11-32. I know I lost a little bit of low end but since I am riding a little more it isn't that big of deal. The gaps bothered me more than losing a little bit of gearing. If I didn't take it out on the road so much I would probably try to tighten it up even more by dumping the 11 tooth high gear.
 
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