27.5" Vs 29" Mountain Bike Wheels | The Wheel Size Debate Continues

27.5" Vs 29" Mountain Bike Wheels | The Wheel Size Debate Continues

27.5” Vs 29”, the debate that never dies, everyone seems to have something to say about which is fastest, or just which they like best. Neil offers up his thoughts on the matter and how both wheel sizes measure up against the clock.

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Neil takes the Scott Genius, which is designed to take 27.5” and 29” wheels, on a timed run with both wheel sizes to see which is faster and feels the best over different terrain.

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50 Comments

  1. Rah on July 6, 2019 at 8:31 pm

    I’ve got 26 in the front and 29 in the back.
    Awesome, it rides like a dragster.
    I’ve also attached a empty plastic bottle between the frame rubbing the back wheel for a really cool motorbike sound.



  2. Mike Langill on July 6, 2019 at 8:32 pm

    26 all the way……



  3. fernand gauthier on July 6, 2019 at 8:33 pm

    I have a bike on 27.5 wheels if you ride on asphalt be carefull when you turn because if you go fast like i do sometime the tire stretch and is almost expulsed from the wheel . Its a VERY scary feeling when it happen on the front wheel .be ready to have ALOT of rebound ,imo regular tire are by far better .



  4. uRBAN Spaceman on July 6, 2019 at 8:33 pm

    26 for life!



  5. Luis Aguilar on July 6, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    wtf is he saying



  6. Mohammad Hallajian on July 6, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    1:05, they are 250 gr different



  7. Fat Pigeon on July 6, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    Wait o dont get it



  8. Noah Leather on July 6, 2019 at 8:37 pm

    Any 29 front 27.5 rear wheel riders?



  9. HolyMaryFullOfShit on July 6, 2019 at 8:38 pm

    wouldnt it have made sense to use the same tire?



  10. Francisco Moreira on July 6, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    Just dreaming about having one of those bikes that you use in your videos.



  11. Johnny Beasley on July 6, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    does anyone ever go 29 on the front and 27.5 on the back?



  12. Captain Freddy on July 6, 2019 at 8:43 pm

    I ride 27 X 1 14 on an old aluminium MTB frame with no front or rear suspension. As a high-mileage – old fart – cyclotourist the combination works great for me and on the flat can easily keep up with 29ers and wave a friendly bye bye to anyone on 26ers. I don`t race but find my wheel and tyre combination is great for dirt roads and yes it digs into sand but even on a bike with fatter tyres I go slowish downhill on sandy roads after flying over the handlebars once when I ploughed into a deeper than expected sandy spot and the front suspension bottomed out creating a rotation and VTO.



  13. Dave Williams on July 6, 2019 at 8:43 pm

    My XC bike is a 29er and my trail bike is 27.5. XC bike is a hard tail. Trail bike is full squish. And I have got to admit that I wouldn’t have it any other way atm. The next trail bike might get bigger wheels and my next XC bike will probably have a short travel rear shock but as we are all aware I am recovering from a serious, nearly life changing, injury and having the 2 very different bikes has helped loads because one is all about the pedalling and the other is all about moving around on it.



  14. userbosco on July 6, 2019 at 8:44 pm

    Some folks will pay more just to get the tire in their bum I suspect… :-]



  15. John DeF on July 6, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    At my age of 56 I can accelerate better on my 26 than my 29. Havent tried a 27.5 yet.



  16. Kitty Kat on July 6, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    Love them both depending on the type of ride I’m doing. Having 2 pairs is smart!😉



  17. Bailey Newham on July 6, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    27.5 inch wheels are better than 29 inch wheel.



  18. Jayson Gardner on July 6, 2019 at 8:55 pm

    Have you tested a 27.5 in the back, and a 29 in the front?



  19. Matt JC on July 6, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    I don’t think there’s much difference between the wheels but my girlfriend reckons inch and half bigger makes all the difference. I’ve never even seen her ride a bike so dunno how she formed that opinion.



  20. E RRE on July 6, 2019 at 8:59 pm

    Seems to me a 27.5 wheel will stay truer for much longer. LESS LEVERAGE.



  21. juan the corn on July 6, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    What about 26in?



  22. Random Channel on July 6, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    You should have wore a full face helmet. That bike helmet wouldn’t have helped a lot if you smash into a tree at 25mph.



  23. Oliver Ingle on July 6, 2019 at 9:03 pm

    Yo I have a 26 ….

    Dont kick me



  24. Lizard Mechanic on July 6, 2019 at 9:04 pm

    When you flipped the chip I would think it was in the low setting, so you are flipping it to the hi setting. Why would you want to do that with the B.B. already going up with the bigger wheels?



  25. Kurt Auzinger on July 6, 2019 at 9:04 pm

    👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍



  26. Joker Seriously on July 6, 2019 at 9:04 pm

    It’s a sales tactic…all my Bros who ride 27.5 cant keep up to me on my 26" wheels, light, strong and definitely not buying into this bike industry bullshit! I have over 10 -26" rigs , I’ve invested a lot of skrilla and I wont be upgrading anytime! Keep em, thanks for showing us that they are not worth it.



  27. The Chili Guy on July 6, 2019 at 9:05 pm

    BB drop or offset as you called it is a straight line from axle to axle then measured how far below that line the centre of the bb is. You haven’t changed the position of the axles so your bb drop/offset is exactly the same no matter what size your wheels are. Do you mean clearance?



  28. bart ioi on July 6, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    No need for a war, just be creative:
    27.5 at front and 29 at the rear. Problems and discussion solved 🙂

    PS: i am owning a 27.5 bike and 26 bike. Tried a 29, but that felt horrible to me. i’m just 5 feet 9, so that’s prolly the reason 😉



  29. Nick Wilson on July 6, 2019 at 9:08 pm

    250g not 25



  30. DraVids on July 6, 2019 at 9:09 pm

    Where do you buy that bike?



  31. Lars Voelker on July 6, 2019 at 9:10 pm

    Two years ago the debate was ’26vs27,5′. Soon we will be sending on penny farthings😂



  32. Alain Dumesny on July 6, 2019 at 9:11 pm

    Kaiser vs Baron – not exactly same tires…



  33. RushNReady on July 6, 2019 at 9:11 pm

    ok so i have had a 22 inch cube fore many years as got it off a friend years ago and i am only 5ft 10. so going by there website i should be on a 18" 19" at a push. with inside leg length. I fell in love with a second hand cube attention 2018 …….. it is a 19" now after comparing that to my old bike at 22" i knew it was a lot smaller 3" in fact. I looked up the 19" and they have 29" wheels. i did not think much of it and got the bike met the person half way between and got it. My question is as although the frame is 19" the 29" wheels add more to the size as my 22" was only 27.5. I feel like there is not that much between them. I have got the 19" and i ma enjoying ridding it. Is there really much difference between a 18" 27.5" vs 19" 29". i am the same height as you. I will use it a lot on roads and trails so a bigger frame is ok. just for years i wanted to get an 18" thats perfect size for me. But i love the bike so much i couldn’t let it go aha. Is there much difference to worry about thanks



  34. merimies on July 6, 2019 at 9:11 pm

    26 all the way. 27.5, fine. 29= ridonculous unless you’re 6’4" and into xc



  35. Don Dornbrack on July 6, 2019 at 9:12 pm

    What are you thoughts on running a 29er up front, and a 27.5 on the rear (or vice versa?)



  36. chirayu walmiki on July 6, 2019 at 9:16 pm

    which would be better for the hill climb 29 or 27.5 ?



  37. Erik Stahr on July 6, 2019 at 9:16 pm

    Pick a wheel size and be a dick about it. 👌



  38. Eerik Lilles on July 6, 2019 at 9:19 pm

    Great production value.



  39. sai charan nattam on July 6, 2019 at 9:21 pm

    Damn what a beauty



  40. iwannabeyourdog90 on July 6, 2019 at 9:22 pm

    my aero racebike would be faster there with its continental 5000 tl



  41. Ruirodtube on July 6, 2019 at 9:25 pm

    1:07 the weight difference is 250 grams. Not 25 grams.

    Two wheel total is 500 grams, which is half a kilo, not 50 grams.



  42. MTB XC Trail Rides on July 6, 2019 at 9:25 pm

    I ride 27.5 and I’ll never be tall enough nor have enough confidence to ride a 29



  43. racemanstill on July 6, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    What will be next dimension, 28.25?



  44. Cryptic Tension James on July 6, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    im thinking of getting a new mountain bike and I’ve just turned 14 and im about 6,1 should i get 29 inch wheels or smaller??



  45. JTMarlin8 on July 6, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    My penis is 29" long using a special homemade ruler.



  46. Szymon Cichy on July 6, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    1:09 That’s 250 grams difference, both wheels are 500 grams of difference



  47. Richard E on July 6, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    To be able to use the same fork with both wheels, did you start off with a frame set up for a 29? I’ve heard that a person can use 27.5 on a bike setup fir a 29, but generally not use 29s on a bike setup fir 27.5. I understand the fork is the limiter.

    If buying a new bike, and one wants to possibly interchange between wheel options, which size (27.5 or 29) generally would you go?



  48. Ярослав Гагарин on July 6, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    29 !) 👍



  49. Von Drilla on July 6, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    Wht is the bake called



  50. Eduar on July 6, 2019 at 9:29 pm

    26 giles ql