Bought a 29inch Vitus nucleus VR can anyone help with wheel advice.

[Jimbo]

I recently bought the Vitus Nucleus 29 VR from chainreaction and i am happy with it but im thinking maybes i should have bought the one with 27.5 wheels on and not the 29 as its harder to accelerate. I sent an email to customer support asking if they could reccomend a 27.5 wheelset and they said cant put 27.5 on the 29vr because its different frame. But my understanding is its exactlly the same frame. So question is can anyone point me in the right direction just in case in future i want to change wheels to 27.5. Can anyone recommend a matching 27.5 wheelset that would fit. Thanks.

the bikes....

Vitus Nucleus 29 VR Mountain Bike - Black | Chain Reaction​

Buy your Vitus Nucleus 29 VR Mountain Bike - Black from our Hardtail Mountain Bikes range at CRC. £454.99. Free delivery available.

www.chainreactioncycles.com

Vitus Nucleus 27 VR Mountain Bike - Black | Chain Reaction​

Buy your Vitus Nucleus 27 VR Mountain Bike - Black from our Hardtail Mountain Bikes range at CRC. £454.99. Free delivery available.

www.chainreactioncycles.com

 

[fez]

Your bigger issue would likely be the front where forks are either 27.5 or 29 and it changes the head tube angle and can void warranties if run with the wrong wheel size.

What makes you think that they are identical frames btw? Its perfectly reasonable to assume that different wheel size would result in different frame measurements/angles. Going from 29 to 27.5 would probably be fine on the frame and fork fundamentally as its a smaller wheel whereas a larger wheel would almost certainly run into issues.

TLDR: perhaps not an ideal solution but you should be fine.

 

[Jimbo]

That's great thank you for the help. I guess I've just found it a different ride as I mainly used a hybrid Boardman comp which is closer to a road bike than a mtb. I'm only using to commute to and from work at the moment but do plan some off roading soon though. So next question for anyone, any reccomdation for 27.5 wheels I see there's a few on rainforest. Budget Maybes. £200.

 

[Begbie]

It also drop the bottom bracket substantially, so you might end up hitting the pedals on the floor quite often.

If you look at the geo charts, it does look like they are different frames, and not just different wheelsets.



But I doubt youll notice a difference in acceleration, it's probably the tackyness of the tires rather than it is the wheelsize.

Also weight of the wheel will have a bigger impact on speed, so if you buy a cheap (heavier) wheelsets you might exchange one problem for another.

Superstar have some offers on wheelsets now and then. I've had a set and for the money, they were really good.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

How recently did you buy it? They have a no quibble 30 day returns policy on vitus.

Also, i don’t think the difference will be that noticeable. For me the better rolling ability of 29er is more important.

Also, you could just get a lighter set of 29er wheels but not sure it’s worth it on a cheap bike.

I say just ride it.

 

[fez]

It also drop the bottom bracket substantially, so you might end up hitting the pedals on the floor quite often.

A good point, I had completely forgotten about that. It can be an issue as well as I well know. I have a 29er bike and i am on 165 cranks for that reason. A pedal strike at speed is not nice!

As others have said, its probably worth just leaving it. What size is the bike as well?

I love a 29" wheel but I am 6'2" so perhaps if you are short then its more of an issue.

 

[mattyfez]

I wouldn't bother changing the wheels, too many variable to consider and correct.

You could try lighter weight and less draggy cross county tyres if the stock ones are heavy ones, they will make some difference:

Maxxis Ardent EXO TR tyre review

A tough and reliable lightweight trail tyre or beefed up XC tyre with a smooth ride

www.bikeradar.com

The Ardent is a fast and versatile XC come trail tyre, feeling sturdier than most lightweight XC race tyres.
You pay the price on the scales for that stability because compared to other, racier XC tyres like the Continental Race King, the Ardent is on the portly side. You notice this when sprinting out of corners and building up speed over crests and any time you’re climbing. It doesn’t have the zip of lighter weight rubber.

The gearing is probably a bit differnt to what you are used to also.. it says its 1x8 in the specs?

 

[famas]

Rather than wheel size, I think the issue is you're coming from a road/gravel bike with narrower tyres more suited to tarmac use, It was probably lighter with different gearing also.

MTB's make horrible commuting bikes compared to road focused bikes. the Nucleus comes with Ardent tyres which are relatively wide grippy tyres for off road use. they will be very draggy on tarmac.

Get it out in the country side and it will be a whole other story.

Personally I wouldn't bother changing wheel size, you wont gain much, if anything. It will cost a load and could potentially be a never ending rabbit hole.

You could change your tyres for something more road focused but then they would be rubbish off road.
Another option would be two 29" wheel sets. one for commuting the other for off road, but then you'd need two sets of discs and cassettes.

 

[Jimbo]

Some really great advice there thank you all. I'm going to need it and leave the wheels as is. Yes the bike just feels harder to ride compared to my Boardman comp. I'm 5.9 so not overly short and I suppose as was said the tyres are new and Maybes just not suited to road riding to work and back. Other than that it's a really nice ride. So I've made the decision to keep it for off roading days out and as a good back up, it comes with good reputation. Meanwhile my Boardman I've ordered some new tyres and I know this is a terrible thing to admit but I've never changed them and I've never suffered a puncture and I've owned the bike since 2016! So I'll use Boardman for work and Vitus for fun. Oh I bought bike 21st September but I've rode it a few times so they probably wouldn't accept back now? I've no qualms keeping though just wish I'd known was going to be much different ride.

Edit.. Just checked 30 day trial was between 28 Sept and 21st October I was before so guess I'll have to keep.