Practically every new wheel size was a stab in the heart of every wheel size fundamentalist. Then came the time when 29-inchers were accepted - in cross country. But not in downhill, and some of the last of the Mohicans were still mucking about with 27.5-inch wheels. Above all, however, the large wheels were dismissed as too unstable for downhill, as they could not withstand the enormous forces. However, people were still banging on about them, and not just since yesterday. It was also an open secret at the beginning of the year that Trek was running 29er prototypes.

So it was only a matter of time before the first Twentyniners rolled onto the World Cup tracks. Shortly before the World Cup in Lourdes, Santa Cruz is now the first manufacturer to let the cat out of the bag: their entire Syndicate team around Greg Minnaar will be competing with 29-inch V10 bikes, thereby writing a big piece of wheel history. The question of why is easily explained. In racing, every opportunity to become faster must be seized. Twentyniners have established themselves in cross country, as they have significantly better rollover behavior and offer even more grip. The old problem with soft wheels no longer exists today. This is also clearly visible in enduro racing, where twentyniners are also on the rise. So why not use them in downhill too?

Minnaar driving force behind 29-inch project

With the "Hightower" model, Santa Cruz has a 29-inch enduro/all-mountain bike that has become very popular within a short space of time. Multiple downhill world champion Greg Minnaar also took a liking to this bike. As a 29-inch version of the V10 downhill bike had already been tinkered with earlier, it was Minnaar who got the big wheel rolling again.

But if 27.5-inch wheels can't simply be slid into a 26-inch bike, it's certainly not possible with 29-inch wheels. Santa Cruz had to adapt the rear triangle, linkage and geometry in record time. However, a project like this is always dependent on other parts manufacturers. Fox was able to supply suitable suspension elements, just as Enve and Maxxis supplied the rolling stock or Chris King hubs and headsets. This meant that a race-ready downhill bike with 190 millimetres of suspension travel was produced in a very short space of time.

The skeptic in the Syndicate team was the Frenchman Loris Vergier: "Greg literally forced me onto the new bike. I tried the 29er briefly, but immediately switched back to the familiar 27.5er - it just felt faster. But Greg insisted that I give the 29er another chance, and it felt slower once again. But the clock doesn't lie. I was significantly faster on my home course than with the 27.5-inch wheels," says the young Frenchman, describing the impressive difference.

27.5-inch dead?

Well, you can't call the medium wheel size dead. With the exception of 27.5-Plus, the classic 27.5-inch size for the most common frame sizes should actually become a discontinued model, as was already the case in cross-country. For children as well as very small people, this wheel size is likely to be around for a long time to come. The supply of spare parts or new products will also be guaranteed thanks to the increasing popularity of plus-size tires.

The full story about the 29-inch V10 project from Santa Cruz can be found at the following link.

www.santacruzbicycles.com/syndicate-29-inch-v10