Unless you're racing the only 29er is a fat bike imo, I've been on a Surly Pugsley for about 4 years & love it. Trying to ride it without grining is like trying to eat a fruit pastal without chewing
. It goes anywhere, you'll run out of power before you run out of grip, depending on tyre pressure I have 6 to 10 times the amount of rubber on the ground as a normal 29er. Its on 26" rims but the 4" wide tyres are 3.25" deep so stand 29" tall. Don't believe the people who say they're cumbersome, the Pug isn't & as well as being 29" my wheels alone weigh 10lbs each, bikes 35lbs total. Desipte that I used to run it round Dalby red route in 2h 15m, half the guide time. The only thing I'd swap it for is a Surly Moonlander, the ultimate XC bike, in terms of nothing else available will cross a greater variety of terrain or do it as effortlessly, so want one, its tyres are 5" x 31", try stopping that
. The only down side is that you're going to need £153 worth of tyres every 2k miles ouch. I'll be putting the Pug in the buy & sell thread when I get round to it, £850 ono if anyones interested. That's almost half the price of a stock one & mine is in pretty good condition with a way better spec, cost me £2250.