Mountain Bikers.... 26" or 29er??

I'm going to buy a new Mountain bike soon.

I am stuck on 2 issues

1) Full suspension or Hardtail???????

2) 26" or 29" wheels????

 

It depends on the terrain you will be riding in and ultimately what you prefer (or can afford). Full suspension bikes can save your energy on long, tough trails because the shocks are doing a ton of work eating up impacts that your body will have to do on a hardtail. That said, cheap full suspension bikes suck - they are heavy clunkers you should avoid. Get at least Deore components or better. And disc brakes for sure.

26" wheels are stronger and have a shitload of tire options
29" wheels roll faster and make sense for less technical terrain

I'd say full suspension with 26" wheels. But I'm jaded.

 

Agreed, totally depends on the terrain. Myself, I'm a hard tail 29er fan, I like to haul ass on flat smooth trails. If you plan on hitting any jumps or doing aggressive downhill, def go for the 26er, you will taco a 29er rim pretty easy trying to jump ramps and things with it, unless you spend a small fortune on your rims. For normal trail riding/cruising around, the 29er is great though, especially if you like to ride fast, and it does give you the monster truck feeling when riding over obstacles. Most all bikes come with a suspension fork, some are better than others, if you do go hard tail, try to get the best front suspension you can, it makes a world of difference in how the bike handles. If you go full suspension, you're on your own there. I've never been a fan of full suspension, best bet is do some reading on what's available and go take a few test rides. Figure out what you are willing to spend, what you like, and shop around.