I'm 5'6" and went from a (crappy) full-suspension aluminum 26er to a (much nicer) titanium hardtail 29er about 6 months ago. Granted, the new frame and its components are a lot better quality, so it's not a completely equal comparison, but the bigger wheels are great and I haven't had any problems with the size. The standover clearance isn't as much as it was / should be, but the overall ride is much improved. The only issue I had was getting the cockpit set up right, given how high the front wheel comes, so I had to play around with different bars and (negative rise) stems. There's probably less flexibility around the bar height given those extra few inches on the wheel, but once I was able to get it dialed in I've been very happy with it.
I highly recommend riding a few 29ers first before you make the plunge -- there are a bunch of demo days coming up, and some shops have rentals available (Ballwin Cycles and Outside Outfitters both have Niners you can try). I tried a few and that's what convinced me.
Over the past few months it seems like 650b is getting a lot of attention. If I was making the decision today, I'd probably try that too just to see the difference, but I'm in no way regretting choosing a 29er over a 26.
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