i do love my gary fisher hi fi+ 26er, but i’ve been coveting the "now on sale" at my local shop hi fi deluxe 29er. i tried it in the parking lot and liked it. the guys in the shop, who are totally not salesmen type, tell me they are selling a LOT of 29ers and that people love them. the one thing about them being not as great in tight sections…if you get a brand new 29er from a company like fisher who makes a lot of them, i bet it would be better in tight spaces than a 26er from 3 or 4 years ago. also ask yourself what % of the time are you really in tight twisty places vs. flats, downhill turns etc? that said, i visited marin county CA’s camp tamarancho last week and if i were on a 29er i might not have made it back due to all of the tight downhill switch backs! i’m thinking hard about it, to be honest.