When 29″ isn’t 29″…

It was reported yesterday on velonews.com that Katie Compton was the first elite racer to win a national mountain bike title on a bike with 29″ wheels. The next photo then described her wheels as 1.8″ cyclocross tires. Even in the accompanying story, they couldn’t be consistent in their description saying her bike “had brand-new 29-inch Edge aero wheels with 1.8 inch Dugast ‘cross tires.”

Okay, so what is it – a 29er or a ‘cross bike? In my book, she might have ridden a frame designed to accept 29-inch wheels, but she wasn’t riding 29-inch wheels. This may be splitting hairs, but a 1.8″ tire is 45c (as noted in the photo of her wheels). An inflated 45c tire measures 710mm (according to my chart of wheel/tire diameters). The last time I checked, 710mm is the equivalent of 27.9-inches. Not even 28-inches and definitely not 29-inches. One of my main rides is a bike with 45c tires and no way I would consider it a 29er. It’s a ‘cross bike – or a monster cross bike as I like to call a ‘cross bike that accepts 45c tires. What she rode to victory is a custom mountain bike designed for 700C x 45C tires. The article even states this bike mimics her cyclocross bike.

The article would have read much better if there was no mention of 29-inch and instead called it what it is – 700C. Katie Compton was the first elite racer to win a national mountain bike title on a bike with 700C wheels. But you read the article and decide for yourself.