Big Mama 29er Test Ride Photos
Setting Up The Big Mama
The Terrain at Bootleg Canyon
Big Mama On The Test Ride |
The Big Mama 29er from Salsa
What better place to test ride my first 29er than Bootleg Canyon on Salsa's (Salsa Cycles)new line of full suspension rides:
The Fit: The Big Mama has 4-inches of rear travel and a Fox Float 29er in front. Although a small frame was a good fit for my 5'8" stature, I could have jumped to a medium just as easily with the top tube down-curve that gives riders plenty of room. Although my toe did hit the front tire right off during my mount, I never had a problem after that.
Rollover: The bike was a good ride and it did not feel a whole lot different than the 26-inch bikes on the way to the trailhead. Once on the trail, however, the improved rollover quality from the larger diameter wheels became apparent. The many rocks and lips along the desert trail proved good for testing this feature and I sought as many as I could. The 29-inch wheels proved their metal as the ride was smoother and more controlled than what my 26-inch could give.
Inertia: This trail is fun and undulating. As I dropped in and out of one ravine after the next, I took notice of how well the bike flowed up and over each rise on the way out of every dip. Several riders never quite pulled it off on 26-inch bikes as this thing did lurch up and over. I can only attribute this to the added inertia of the bigger wheels, a subtle, but very real difference (and an advantage in this case).
Maneuvering: Finally, I wanted to determine if this thing was harder to handle in tight situations. I soon had the chance as the rider in front took a spill on a narrow ledge. As I maneuvered past him to find a spot so I could pull over and help, I negotiated several small boulders between his fallen bike and the ledge to my left with no problem. The tight turns ahead were no problem either.
So, I conclude that 29ers, and the Big Mama in particular do in fact bring a handful of advantages as advertised: better roll over quality and more rolling inertia without any dramatic downsides. I thought the roll over feature was very obvious, with the increased intertia being a little more subtle. Of course, more inertia can also work against you when getting started, but I didn't notice this to be a problem. Finally, all these advanteges, didn't seem to come at the expense of maneuvering in tight turns. I'll definitely look at the 29er for my next ride, and the Big Mama seems to fit the bill.
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