Dumbo’s Feather: A Redux

I rode my 26″ “baby” wheeled bike last weekend, which I briefly touched on in my January week of training.

I rode 26″ wheels for 3.5 hours, and miraculously enough I did not crash.

Justin wanted to see if it was indeed just big wheels that made a difference for my riding, or if it was the smaller cockpit of the 29er Small frame (vs. my 26″ medium frame). The cockpits on the 26 vs 29 are the same as far as top tube and stem length and bar width.

I was super stoked that the Burcham’s offered up the exact same 685mm Specialized flat bar that had been on the 29er for me to try out on my 26″ bike. You guys are awesome!!

Justin installed the bar and my 75mm roadie stem on my 26″ bike for Sunday’s mountain bike ride.

The idea was to try simulate the cockpit of the 29er on my Epic.  This meant bringing the bar closer for one, and giving me much more saddle to bar drop than I’d had previously, as well as widening the bar.  Interestingly enough, the 2009 Epic had a 640mm bar; the 2011 Epic had a 660mm bar, and the 29er Epic had a 685.  The 26″ bikes both came with riser bars, as opposed to flat bars.

Success.  Unfortunately, it meant if I crashed and the bars went sideways, the shifter(s) would nail the top tube.  He doubled up some clear protectant tape and we hoped for the best (phew, no issues!).

The frame itself obviously has more space (for a bottle for instance) on the medium…

But, it’s hard to say if it’s just pulling the front end under my body more and putting me more over the front tire that helps enough.  The other thing about the bike I had been riding (by and large) is that the fork may not be that good.  It’s sort of a loaner.  We know the suspension on the bike I rode on Sunday (and the test bike 29er) was good to go.

So… is it a question of suspension alone?  Or, is it the good suspension mixed with overall cockpit set up and feel?  We have no idea.

The one thing I’m stoked about for sure is that I went 2 weeks without crashing!  That means, above all else, that I’m finally getting healed up and am ready to keep on trucking!