Hey, when you have a slack angled, large forked hardtail, and the idea to give the big wheel Koolaide a taste, things can happen. Thanks go to eBay (fork/wheel), and Larry of Mtn. High Cyclery. (new tire, spare rotor, crown race - nice and easy to not have to pull the stuff off the Pike)

Swapping the taller Pike/shorter 26" wheel for the shorter P-2 29er fork/taller 29" wheel worked out well. At least in the stand, and around the block. Trail test on the local proving grounds tomorrow beforew work.

Steepened my head angle by roughly a degree, near as I can figure out. (insert blond boice: math is hard...) Left a decent amount of steer tube, and have it set right now so that I've got the same bar height that I was running with the 26" setup.

Bontrager Race Disc 29" wheel, Panaracer Rampage 2.35" tire. Running a 26er of that in back, and have liked it after a few rides, so thought I'd give the larger version a shot up front. It was either that or a Nevegal. Me loves me some big fatty tires. The front had been a 2.5" Blue Groove - much fatter than the Rampage. We'll see what happens.

A little bit lighter pedals where thrown on as well. (usuals are Shimano M647)
And front mech/shifterectomy happened, with my old Jump-Stop going back on, for some hot, steamy 1x8 action.
I think I shed roughly 3# off the bike.

Ride report tomorrow! A cheap way to try the big wheel thing, and it keeps the hardtail fresh. Been riding the big squshy more and more, and I don't want to let my riding become sloppy.

(crappy pics; sun hitting right on the deck as i was finishing the wrench time)

1. what we're starting with
2. height difference
3,4, & 5. sweet!

edited to add: better pics, since it's sloppy out and i'm not riding today...

Nice conversion! Let us know how she rides.

Good stuff scrub!

can't remember who makes a taller crown race for both kings and I think hopes..... so if you need to slack it out some more.....

Good stuff scrub!

can't remember who makes a taller crown race for both kings and I think hopes..... so if you need to slack it out some more.....

Ventana makes 'em; doubt that'll be needed though. I'll ride it as is for a few rides before making more changes. Accounting for the sag of the Pike, my actual front end height while sitting on the bike isn't too far off.

With the extra crown race/rotor, a fork/wheel swap takes just a few minutes.
Even tossing the front mech/shifter back on won't take much; left the small ring on. Lock on grips make things like that so much smoother!

That bike is such a chameleon... is there anything it can't do? I'd be interested in how it rides and your thoughts. This is just a precursor to you buying a Black Sheep, like the rest of us!

One of us... one of us... one of us...

That bike is such a chameleon... is there anything it can't do? I'd be interested in how it rides and your thoughts. This is just a precursor to you buying a Black Sheep, like the rest of us!

One of us... one of us... one of us...

i highly doubt that'll happen. not in the budget, and i really, really, really looooove riding the big squish bike.

and now we have a bunch of new/wet/sloppy snow on the front range! crap!

and now we have a bunch of new/wet/sloppy snow on the front range! crap!

Well, what did you expect? YOU caused the snow by building up something to ride today. Everyone knows that Murphy doesn't stand for such plans.

Edit: You are allowed to love the squishy bikes too. I love my Yeti and ride it half the time. Like you said, the rigid hardtail sure does make you pick a better line and work the skills. You'll just have to save your pennies until it's time to talk to James - I'll bet he'd do a lay-away plan for you! lol

So, what is next for your Peyto? Are you going to turn the it into a SS?

Well, what did you expect? YOU caused the snow by building up something to ride today. Everyone knows that Murphy doesn't stand for such plans.

Edit: You are allowed to love the squishy bikes too. I love my Yeti and ride it half the time. Like you said, the rigid hardtail sure does make you pick a better line and work the skills. You'll just have to save your pennies until it's time to talk to James - I'll bet he'd do a lay-away plan for you! lol

So, what is next for your Peyto? Are you going to turn the it into a SS?

nah, i doubt it. ran SS nearly exclusively for a long time, and now the pendulum hasswung back. i like gears. it's 1x8 (9spd cassette, running 6 cogs, spaced out on the hub) now, and will most likely stay that way.

That looks great scrublover - looks like it'll handle quickly, yet the big wheel will make going over and down stuff a ton of fun.

Keep us posted!

Damn that frame has to be the best score ever!!

Damn that frame has to be the best score ever!!

Heh. Breaking the Curtlo was the best thing bike-wise I've done. Ended with me finding this frame!

It should be fine. Taking fork sag into account, it looks like I'm less than a degree steeper than I was before.

Fuggin' snowing again though; damnit! Wet, sloppy trails. Ugh.

And I think this picture tells it.

Short trip to the local testing grounds (Hall Ranch) with a mix of flat/fast/up/downtight/twisty/rocky/smooth stuff.

Did not like the way the wheel rolled, and liked the way it steered even less. The gyroscopic effect, or whatever you choose to call it. Granted, the 69er may not be the ideal platform to try it on, but it there was ever a 26" frame to try it on, they Peyto is it. Liked it little neough that I've not desire to check out a full 29" ride now.

Front end stuffness really, really sucked, even with a decent rigid fork and very tightly bolted 5mm allen head non-QR skewer. Even though I was coming off not the stiffest 20mm fork, it's still pretty damn stiff. Perhaps solved with a stiffer 29" wheel/fork, but at this point, I'm not interested enough to pursue that.

Glad you guys like it, but it ain't for me. This was just a nice easy way for me to check into the big wheel thing, and I think it's not for me.

PM me if you want to sell the P-2 29er fork.

I was wondering how this would all turn out. IMO a 69er misses most of the benefit of 29er. Yes, it will accelerate and feel about the same as a 26er WRT gearing. However it will get the 29er steering quirks without the full benefit of 29er climbing and cornering traction. If you are serious about 29er do yourself a favor and get a complete bike (full 29er f&r).

Fun project none the less, thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

I was wondering how this would all turn out. IMO a 69er misses most of the benefit of 29er. Yes, it will accelerate and feel about the same as a 26er WRT gearing. However it will get the 29er steering quirks without the full benefit of 29er climbing and cornering traction. If you are serious about 29er do yourself a favor and get a complete bike (full 29er f&r).

Fun project none the less, thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

So with a 29" front wheel, you get the steering quirks, but not the cornering traction?

Most cornering traction comes from the front wheel. The most benefit of 29" wheel is realised on the front, not the back.

Ya kanna change the laws of Physics, Cap'n!

No, not trying to change any physics. Just being a bit lazy on the keyboard. Rear wheel cornering grip is something that a lot of people overlook. Don't believe me, put a slick out back and ride your favorite tech single track.

I haven't been on 29er long (about 1.5 weeks), so I don't pretend to be an expert. However what has actually impressed me most about the 29er is the ability to lean the bike hard into fast/loose corners without fear of washing out. Next thing to catch my attention was how fantastic the 29er rear hooks up on steep climbs (to the point that I was trying to break loose just to see if it would).

The front wheel and ability to roll over stuff hasn't been nearly as impressive as the aforementioned traits. Main benefit I see of a 26er rear is that it would spin more like a 26er and would pedal more like a 26er.

JMO, take it or leave it ;)