This rendering appears to be overlaid on an image of a current Alma 29″er. We can’t really make out much for details for certain, but we expect many of the same bullet points to show up here as they do on the Alma World Cup 26″er. The semi-integrated head set-full 1 1/8th steer tube, Direct Route cable routing, and the signature “fender” molded into the down tube.

Word is that this bike will debut at the Mellow Johnny’s Classic May 29th with Georgia Gould of Luna Chix possibly using it in the race that weekend. A full presentation of the bike will be given then which will reveal the new Alma’s details. Stay tuned for any further updates.

Well, to that end, Ritchey saw fit to send us their latest WCS model. A flat, high modulus carbon fiber job, that is 660mm wide, with 10 degree sweep. That doesn’t tell the whole story here though. This bar has something a bit different that sets it apart from most bars of this type. Let’s take a look….

You will notice that this bar has the now familiar to alt bar fans “forward wiggle”. This is a design feature intended to allow for a swept bar yet not require a change in stem length. Ritchey designed in this “forward wiggle” in the carbon bar with a 10 degree sweep, which is definitely more than a standard XC bar, but is right in line with a riser bar. The second thing to note is the lack of rise. This bar is absolutely flat, and this is in part aimed at 29″er riders to allow them to set the bar height lower yet retain a “riser bar feel” with the sweep.

The WCS Carbon Mountain 10D Flat bar is available now and MSRP is $169.95. The bar is listed as having a “UD” finish, and has a claimed weight of 178 grams. The center section of the bar is textured to allow for a better interface with a stem. The rest of the bar is finished in a high gloss, smooth look.

Our sample weighed in at 190 grams, so a bit more than claimed, but less than the aluminum bar it replaced which weighed 230 grams. Also, in a strange twist, the Ritchey bar actually lengthened the cockpit length of the bike I mounted it to by about 12mm. So the “forward wiggle” actually wiggles a bit too far forward, apparently. This didn’t really mess with my personal preferences too badly, but for someone who is ultra sensitive to position changes, this should be noted. Another noteworthy item concerns the grips I chose. Originally I was going to stick with the stock, light weight, lock on grips that featured 2mm Allen bolt clamps. Unfortunately, the slick looking finish on the bar was too slick. I couldn’t keep the grips from spinning. So I resorted to the Ergon grips, which I prefer anyway, and they held on just fine. Grip choices may be an issue here.

Now that the bar is mounted, a test ride or two is in order. I’ll report back with my impressions and a final take on these bars then.

Note: This product was submitted to Twenty Nine Inches for review at no charge. We are not being bribed or payed for this review. We will strive to give our honest opinions throughout.

The Woodchipper is claimed to weigh in at 332 grams. My example weighed in at 330grams on my digital scale, so that seems right on. A Moto Ace Woodchipper weighs in at 360 grams on my scale versus a claimed 353 grams. Hmm……..seems okay to me. Let’s face it though, you don’t get an off road drop bar because of weight. Still, it’s nice to know that the 31.8mm bar saves you a few grams.

The Woodchipper bars also come in a 42cm width, but I have chosen 46cm width examples since I wanted to use these off road and wanted maximum leverage. It must be said though that the Woodchipper is really wide! Much wider than the Midge bar, so if you have some close trees or other tight spots on your trails, you may want to go with the 42cm bar.

The second set of bars went on the Singular Gryphon that is in for test/review here. I’ve had a few rides so far on it as well. The Woodchipper is a forgiving bar in the Moto Ace flavor. It definitely has some give over rough stuff. The sweep of the extensions seems about right to my mind for comfort and helps in getting your elbows out more effectively for slow speed, techy stuff. This manifests itself as leverage which allows better control when the front end gets crazy on my rigid set ups. As the spring time progresses and more trails open up, I hope to explore this a bit more on single track.

One of the questions concerning the 31.8mm Woodchipper is about compatible stems. Salsa makes the Moto Ace in black, but as I was researching stems for the Woodchipper, I came across these Bontrager Race Lite stems available in black, silver, and white for color and in a 40 degree rise. Running a bit lighter weight than a Moto Ace, my example pictured here weighs in at 150 grams. Perfect for the 31.8mm Woodchipper. Several reaches are available as are other rises. It should also be mentioned that IRD also offers some 31.8mm stems in a 30 degree rise. So a good range of 31.8mm stems does exist for these.

Look for more Woodchipper updates in the coming weeks.

Well………..we figure it wouldn’t hurt to at least try!

Thinking Out Loud About Tire Design For 29″ers.

Tires. The one component of a bicycle that connects you to the trail. Pretty important stuff. It can be argued that no other component on your bike has as big an effect on performance and ride quality as tires do. Obviously it also is one of the biggest necessities to accomplish building a 29″er- the right sized tire and in the right width.

Bontrager introduced tire designs that are “29″er specific” in 2008.

Originally, having any tire available in a 2 inch width that would fit a 700c/ISO 622 rim was cause for joy. However; as time went on, and new designs proliferated in 29″er sizes, questions about how 29 inch tires are designed arose. Do 29 inch tires necessitate a specific design separate from 26 inch designs? Bontrager seems to think so. In 2008 they announced that the entire 29 inch tire line up would be redesigned in the future to reflect a 29″er specific design philosophy. Tires designed from the drawing board to enhance a 29 inch wheels specific traits and strengths. Several of these models are now available. Does this design philosophy make a difference? Well, it is possible, as for example, we gave the 29-3 Bontrager tires a nod in our Top Ten list from last year. Or was that just a lucky coincidence?

Some would argue that what 29″er riders really need are not specific tread designs, but things that 26″er riders have enjoyed for years. That being wider, more aggressive tires, or faster, lighter race tires, and probably even more importantly, tires that feature technologies not seen in 29″er tires. UST, (which has been tried by the way), rubber durometers outside of the norm, bead treatments, side wall reinforcements, and the like top this list of “wants” by 29″er riders. Basically, more choices that reflect what the 26″er market has.

Some would argue that 29″er tires need more high end technologies in their construction, like this 29 inch WTB Dissent has.

Thinking Out Loud Now…… Do 29″er tire companies need to design specific treads for their 29 inch diameter tires, or do they need to make more high end construction techniques available? Shouldn’t we really be asking for both? Perhaps it might be a better idea just to focus on having most tires be made tubeless ready? What do you, the 29″er riders out there think?

Okay readers. Have at it in the comments section. But keep these ground rules in mind: #1: Comments must stay on topic. #2: Play nice! Overly negative, aggressive, slanderous, and rude comments will be deleted. Okay? Have fun!

Back in 2001, a man with a vision for a high school mountain bike league started a team at Berkley High. His name is Matt Fritzinger. His team needed competition, and several surrounding high schoolers came to compete in semi-organized teams. Now the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League boasts over two dozen organized high school cycling teams that compete in events, attend skills camps, and learn how cycling can lead to a life-long love for cycling that will benefit their health, raise awareness of their environment, and promote healthy relationships with others.

One of the newest teams formed in the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League is the Trojan High School Mountain Bike Team headed up by Coach Mark Ferry. Coach Ferry sent us the following story detailing the teams beginnings and recent successes. And check this out, out of the 14 riders he has on the Trojan team, 13 are riding 29 inch wheeled bikes. But before we get into that, check out the following story………

TROJAN MOUNTAIN BIKE RACERS WIN MEDALS IN LEAGUE OPENER
First Race for Newly Formed Team

March 8, 2010 – Eleven of the fourteen Oak Ridge High School student athletes participated in the Central Coast Invitational mountain bike race held in Monterey, CA over the weekend, with three Trojans earning medals for their winning efforts in their first-ever interscholastic bike race. Racing as the “Trojans High School Mountain Mountain Bike Composite Team”, which is not officially recognized by Oak Ridge High School, Maren Cosens took 1st place in the Junior Varsity girls division, Cody Kaiser earned 3rd place in the Varsity boys division, and Kyle Beasy grabbed 5th place in the Junior Varsity boys division.

Some members of the Trojan High School Mountain Bike Team (L to R) Parker Eide (sophomore), Brendan Worsley (sophomore), Matt Decker (sophomore), Scott Derksen (assistant coach), Mark Ferry (coach), Maren Cosens (Junior), Amie Ferry (assistant coach), Coach Ferry’s children (McKenzie and Taylor), to the right of Amie is Reid Lionakis (Senior), Doug Cosens (proud father of Maren) photographer: Mark Taylor

This season opening race, which kicked-off the NorCal High School Cycling League’s 9th season, featured nearly 500 racers representing more than 40 high schools across Northern California. It was the first time the Trojan cyclists were able to see how they measured up against other high school racers in the region.

“It was a really exciting and fun experience,” said Cosens after beating her field of 32 girls by nearly one minute on the 12 mile, JV cross-country course. “I learned a lot during the race that will help me prepare for the rest of the season.”

Maren Cosens powers her way to a first place in the Junior Varsity Girls division aboard her Fisher Mamba 29″er.(photo:Mark Ferry)

Cosens, who also runs cross country and track for ORHS, had never ridden a mountain bike until early December 2009. She credits her cross-training and coaching for her early season success. “Our coaches have been great,” said Cosens. “They have helped me with my bike skills a lot and they make the club fun.”

Kyle Beasy drops in on his Sette 29″er in the first NorCal High School Cycling League event of 2010.(photo: Wayne Shen)

The Trojans Mountain Bike Club was formed in the Fall of 2009 under the guidance of El Dorado Hills resident, Mark Ferry, who saw the opportunity to involve more youth in a sport he’s been passionate about for more than 25 years. “Our team is really coming along great and Sunday’s race shows we are off to a fantastic start,” said Ferry. “It’s very rewarding to see each of these kids excel in both skill and dedication in such a short period of time. We are hopeful that the high school district will recognize our self-funded mountain bike club in the coming season.”

Scott Folwarkow, father of Freshman racer Dan Folwarkow and JV racer Rick Folwarkow agrees with Ferry. “This was an eye-opening weekend,” said the proud father. “I saw high school teams with 50+ riders. I think that’s more than some football programs. The enthusiasm these kids have for mountain bike racing is contagious; my Freshman son is really excited about the team and being able to race the next few years for his high school.”

The Trojans will be back in action again on March 21st as the second race of the high school series heads to their home track in Granite Bay. The Trojan High School Mountain Bike Team goes into this event as the #1 ranked team in Division 2.

To learn more about the Trojans mountain bike club, go to www.trojanmtbracing.com.

Twenty Nine Inches asked Coach Ferry why so many of his Trojan mountain bikers were riding 29″ers. He had the following answer: ” I think it was two things, myself and one of my assistant coaches (who is fast) Tom Hartman (Stumpjumper 29) ride 29ers and the kids know who is winning and when they see the top racers winning on 29ers their decision is made. Kids are smart and they want every technical advantage they can get.” Coach Ferry rides a Santa Cruz Tall Boy. You can find his thoughts on that bike in our post here.

We can’t help but think that not only will this sort of sport catch on in more places across the nation, but that it will end up being beneficial to these youths health and well being far beyond their high school years. It can’t hurt the prospects for future American mountain bikers to be more competitive internationally either if mountain biking as a sport becomes more prevalent at the high school level. Finally, we will be interested to see how this will affect racing and 29′ers in the years to come, especially if 29″ers prove to be as successful in high school mountain biking as the Trojan High School Mountain Bike Team are showing them to be.

Twenty Nine Inches would like to thank Coach Mark Ferry for contributing to this post. Good luck on the rest of your season!

I rode the Santa Cruz Tall Boy and the Epic Marathon back to back at Interbike Demo Days 2009 and it immediately struck me that when questions are posed on internet forums across the nation (and beyond) as to what XC 29er FS to buy for fast trail work, any short list should include these two bikes. So now, after riding the Epic Marathon for quite some time, and recently the Tall Boy on the same trails I am quite familiar with, I have come to some conclusions. And interestingly enough the conclusions are very very close to my initial thoughts at Demo Days.

So to begin with, let’s take a look at the two bikes as far as parts selection, set-up, and weights and dimensions.

Parts:

The Epic is a nearly stock Marathon model, XL with only tire changes from the way it came out of the box with a $6100.00 retail price.. It is a rather impressive combo of 2×10 XX SRAM goodies, a custom Reba with carbon crown, etc. The Roval wheels are quite nice. Top end stuff here, but the parts do drive up the cost of the Marathon. And, there is a bit of resistance in the off road world to 2×10 as a viable mountain bike drive train for the average Joe, citing increased wear, finicky set –up and high replacement costs as an answer to a question they were not asking. However, my time on the 2×10 has been flawless and it makes other shifty stuff feel numb and slow in comparison. And as always, the good stuff always costs. It is also available as a frame/fork/seat post/front derailleur combo for $2800.00

The Tall Boy is a frame set retailing for $2400.00 that you can order parts kits for from Santa Cruz or an authorized bike shop can build up or whatever. In this case the XL Tall Boy I had to ride was a very decent mix of XT, Avid, DT Swiss, etc, with a Fox F29 Fit/RLC 15QR fork set to 100mm, the basic SPXxc kit,which should sell for $4700.00. It was a very smart build and typical of what an average buyer would spec for weekend duty, not racy weight weenie-ness.

Set-up: By set-up, I mean the overall feel of the combo of the parts and the bike as a whole. The Epic Marathon is a 100mm front and 90mm rear travel bike. It has a slightly narrow handlebar compared to my normal bikes I ride and the long top tube, 105mm stem, and low Q-Factor SRAM XX crank add up to give the bike a tucked in, stretched out and fast feeling ride. The Mini Brain and the highly tunable Reba make for a bike that immediately comes off as a fast pedaling, firmer feeling ride. It is not a quick steering bike despite the parts list, and Specialized chose to keep things manageable with a slightly slacker head tube angle.

The Tall Boy as I had it with 100mm front and rear travel, felt nearly equal to the Epic in overall feel, but had a wide handlebar that is more like I run on my single speed. Other than that, the relationships of bar height, reach, etc were very, very close between the two.

The tale of the scale/tape: I hung both bikes on the scale (with the same SPD pedals) and the Epic squeaked out a victory by 9 ounces. The Epic was 27lbs, 6oz and the Tall Boy was 27lbs 15oz. The Tall Boy begins with a weight advantage with the carbon frame, but the uber-parts selection of the Marathon overcomes that. The Tall Boy with a comparable parts build in XTR, etc would be lighter than the Epic for sure and would likely cost about the same. The dimensions of the two are very close. The Epic’s combo of angles and dimensions gives it a ¾” longer wheelbase, likely from the .25” longer TT, the steeper seat tube angle, and the slacker HT angle. BB heights, chain stay lengths, etc are all very close. I applaud the move across the 29er full suspension market toward shorter chain stay lengths. 18”-18.25” is an old and tired dimension in my opinion and the advertised 17.5”-17.75” range of these bikes is welcome.

OK. So what? In the end what really matters is how does the bike feel? What does one do better than or worse than the other? Well, first off let me say that we are in an era of really, really good 29er FS bikes. The sharp bike makers have got this pretty buttoned down now and either one of these choices are pretty stunning in comparison to what we had to choose from a couple of years ago. However there are enough things going on here to set the two bikes apart a bit. And so, let us get down to it and choose a winner.

Weight weenie award: Tall Boy The Epic’s M5 aluminum frame kicks it out of contention for the lightweight contender and it takes some very light parts to get at the 27 pound mark with an XL frame. The Tall Boy with a light build would likely be 1.5 pounds lighter, I would guess. It would cost ya’ though to get there. Carbon rules here.

Best XC Race Bike Award: Epic Marathon The Tall Boy pedals really well, is stiff at the BB and handles like a Ferrari. But the Epic comes from a lineage of winning XC bikes at the pro level and the Mini Brain, the Reba, the XX parts…mostly the Mini Brain…just make for the best FS pedaling experience I have felt if you value a responsive, fast pedaling, good handling race bike. Frankly I would not want either one of them for fast and smooth-ish pure XC racing. Give me a carbon 29er hard tail. But for endurance racing or rougher, longer XC contests it is plain to me that the Epic was bred for that stuff. Yes, it will be heavier than a Tall Boy has the potential to be, but weight is not everything.

Best Trail Bike Award: Tall Boy The Epic is a better trail bike then you would expect it to be. The 90mm of rear travel feels pretty good as long as hucking is not part of the plan. The handling is actually calmer on the Epic with the slacker HT angle compared to the Tall Boy. But, not everyone’s trail is the same. Some folks live in the land of fast and smooth and others in roots and rocks city. The Tall Boy wins this award due to its versatility. At 100mm of front travel, it handles like a sports car and would be killer weaving through the hardwoods (better cut down that handlebar though). Run a 120mm fork (something that would void the warranty on the Epic Marathon) on the Tall Boy and it would slow it down juuust a touch as far a steering response and give it a bigger bike feel for rougher trails. The Epic’s Brain shock, unless you tune it to be pretty much useless, will always add some degree of initial bump resistance. With the Mini Brain set for all around riding which for me is about 5-6 clicks out from fully ‘on’, plush is not its thing although it would not be right to call it harsh. Frankly I prefer that, but to be fair, the VPP of the Tall Boy is plusher and stays hooked up over all kinds of stuff regardless. In the end, versatility wins the day.

Best Value Award: Epic Marathon This will likely get the most raspberries from the crowds but I will say my piece about it. The Tall Boy is not cheap to begin with at $2400.00 for the frame only. A sharp build on it will be pricey but so is the Marathon. But there are things about the Marathon that carry it over the goal line in this contest. The heavier chassis brings with it an air of durability and stoutness that carbon has not obtained yet. It may some day, but not yet. I like my bikes to last a while and although the Tall Boy is coming from a reputable company, time will tell how it holds up long term. You could build a Tall Boy with XX as long as the narrow crank would fit, but the Reba with the carbon crown and titanium innards…the system of the Roval wheels ready for tubeless duty…if the Marathon meets your ideals it is an impressive package right out of the box.

Summation: All in all it comes down to what you value in a FS XC bike. The Tall Boy is plusher by design, more versatile, dead sexy looking, carbon light, and the VPP is magic when pedaling over techy sections of trail. The Epic is the King of overall pedaling response and taunts you to go faster and then some. If you like to pedal out of the saddle and feel like you are leaving nothing behind in wasted effort no FS bike can touch it (that I have ridden) and yet it will move very fast down the trail, rough or not. For where I live and what I value in a bike, I would choose the Epic. The single speeder in me loves to climb standing and the Epic rules there. I also have come to find that I do not really care for bikes that are very active/plush. I actually run my Lev 3.0 with Propedal on 90% of the time and I think it is fine. But, if I lived in an area where I spent more time pedaling up and over ledges and nasty stuff, roots, etc, I would sit down and be happy on the VPP linked, carbon beauty of a Tall Boy and never look back.

The overall winner in this contest is not Specialized or Santa Cruz, it is we, the buyers of this new crop of 29er FS bikes. The choices are many, the bikes are great. Choose your weapon.

This rendering shows the Vegas full suspension bike which will be made in a 26 inch wheeled version as well as 29.(image courtesy of Soul Cycles blog)

The design will be a 5.5 inch single pivot type design that features a low leverage ratio travel, will be Hammerschmidt compatible, have front derailleur routing, 10 and 12mm rear axle options, iGlide based scissor link, and will be fabricated from an Easton FS RAD tube set. The scissors linkage will help stabilize the swing arm laterally. All pivots for the scissor link will rotate on Igus “iGlide” bushings. The frames are said to be coming by early summer. Soul Cycles estimates that the price of a frame set with a Fox Shox RP-23 rear damper will come in at a sub-$1000.00 MSRP. No word on what the final geometry of the frame is as of now.

Stay tuned for any further developments.

(Note: All images courtesy of Soul Cycles blog)

Report by c_g

New offering on EURO Carbon 29er:

The PLASTIC ONE is a all out carbon frame executed in bare looks with only decals obscuring the carbon. Its strongly sloping top tube and clean lines say “racing” all over. The slight bend on the seat stays is supposed to make it more subtle.

Who said that 29er bikes all need to be originating in the US? Italian based GAS29 has quietly been a 29er exclusive company since 2006 (which in itself is already remarkable) and have just released news of their newest offering – an ultralight Carbon frame aptly called “PLASTIC ONE”.

This perspective gives a good impression of the elaborately manipulated top tube. Which is a bit conic towards the seat tube. The rear triangle is designed for maximum tire clearance

The frame is said to weigh at a respectable 1265 g. GAS29 is claiming to have designed the frame with a more than usual tire clearance, The PLASTIC ONE features all the up to date like post mount disc tabs, tapered head tube and BB30 bottom bracket cups.

The tubes are elaborately shaped and manipulated to create this magic ride of ultimate power transfer and subtlety. The bike will be clear coated only to show the sexy carbon look and keep the weight low. From the pictures the bikes looks nicely understated and fast.

The frame, just like all of GAS29er frames, is produced entirely in Italy. Up until now GAS29 has been focusing on the design and production of high quality steel frames (plus a tricky steel frame with a carbon seat tube) at affordable prices, so it is interesting to see them going off their beaten path and do an all-out, ultralight Carbon bike. The bike is said to be at production stage, with an estimated production / delivery time of 2- 4 weeks with direct distribution by GAS29 (info@gas29.com ).

The prices as communicated are at € 1765.- (in Europe incl. VAT) and $ 1735.- (for US excl. VAT), which is respectable considering the all Italian design and production. I am in discussions about what is going on and about an in depth look at the bike in the near future.

Prototype spy shot of yet another EURO 29er bike:

Yes, news just keep on coming and the 29er movement seems to be gaining momentum here in Europe even more. We have heard rumors of the Danish high end company PRONGHORN Racing prototyping their first 29er bike. The 2 year old company has made a name for themselves within racers circles with their efficient and advanced full suspension bikes (alloy and ultralight Carbon) and a 1-kg-Carbon-hard tail. PRONGHORN Racing claim for themselves to be the geekiest of bike enthusiasts and their bikes show it.

This frame features all the typical PRONGHORN Racing attributes like a horizontally mounted shock above the strongly curved head tube

Seems they have been tinkering with the 29er idea and are now ready now to step into prototyping. This first unofficial shot of a full suspension 29er has reached us by a perceptive reader, who has spotted the bike in northern Italy´s Lago de Garda, a real free ride and All Mountain mecca – thus the wide Velocity P35 rims, we conclude. The bike has one of those delightful (and expensive) DT-Swiss 29er fork mounted which is offered in 80 and 100 mm only; by this we assume the rear travel will be in that range as well.

The bike seems to be fairly large prototype executed in alloy. The horizontal shock is mounted above the top tube, a typical and easily recognized characteristic of all Pronghorn bikes. Usually their suspension bikes are working with a Horst link, while this bike showed a linked single-pivot design. Nothing on the details, the stage of testing or even production as of yet, but now that we have seen proof of this project be sure that we will inquire with the PRONGHRON folks to get more info.

Tubulars for 29er? First look of the GEAX Tubular 29er tires:

I have recently had a chance to inspect GEAX´s newest 29er offering in a pre-production version – the GEAX Tubular Saguaro 2.0 TUBULAR! I have ridden the 26er tubulars for some time last year (and liked them) and this newest child of theirs just makes me wonder what it will be like in a 29er version.

The tire shares most of the technology of its smaller brother like the sew-up, super subtle 290tpi casing, derived from years of experience with road tubulars, a flexible latex inner tube joined by the all round, fast rolling Saguaro thread. Thus one is bound to be fast!

This close up of the GEAX 29er tubulars are telling the true to size dimensions and that these tires are all hand made – a very elaborate process which is said to take upt to 8 h per tire to complete – and all that by mostly hand labor.

Other than the 26” version it had a thin black coating on the skin wall covering the usually skin wall cotton casing (generally a identification help of tubular tires), so maybe this was for disguise ? .

I took measurements of the tire and it came out exactly like labeled at 2.0 inches width (51.8 mm), featured an extra long valve stem (for who knows what aero carbon rims there might be coming.) The weight was a respectable 740 g, which confirms GEAX´s philosophy of rather getting the riding characteristics right than beating the “battle of the scale”.

I have not had the chance to ride on them to see if there is substance in the raving reviews its 26” version had received or how it translated into 29er riding. But we will see if GEAX got their priorities right – as we were given prospects for a set of tires for reviewing even before their official release date later this spring. So let´s hope for more first hand info on this cutting edge technology for 29er.

Tubular 29er rims:

Talking about tubulars the very next question should be: So what rims are there to choose from? There have always been several makes to choose from when you didn´t mind using road or cyclocross components but what is there that is MTB specific?

EDGE Composite´s project of 29er tubular rims has been rumored on this site before but no samples had been seen in public yet. Italy based rim manufacturer AMBROSIO is showing one such rim on their website (http://www.ambrosiospa.com/catalog_eng/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=62 ) but all attempts to finding out about availability have been without much success so far.

The newest rumor on this topic is that FRM / BOR, Germany will be doing a very limited production run of 29er tubular rims. These will most likely be derived from their existing ultralight XMD 308 tub rims which are only 310 g (with eyelets that is in 26”!). Assuming this origin, the target weight of the 29er rims is probably near 350 to 360 g in 29” size at 24 mm width, which should fit the GEAX 2.0 tire just fine. Yet another item indicating the pure breed racing genes of the tubular MTB philosophy. A combo of above mentioned components true racers´ delight. Prices will be in the range of it´s smaller brother. We will keep you informed if we hear more details on if and how you can get your hands on any of them. Rumor says production is not too far away so I try to be timely.

Keep the news coming and those big wheels spinning,
c_g

Rider Info: 6′2″, 170lbs, racer turned coach, 3-4 hour rides all the time, last bike was 1st 29″, can’t ever see going back to a 26″

A couple things to note. The first is that I am not riding the bike reviewed. And the second is I really like the VPP suspension design on both Santa Cruz and Intense bikes. Riding the Spyder 29er (with a 120 mm FOX Fork, to tame the steep head tube) built up as a 1×9 with a Mavic CrossMax wheel set. The bike was my favorite to date. There was only three things I thought could make it better. In order of importance they were, make it stiffer/less flexy, a squeak free bearing/linkage design and as always making it lighter never hurts. I remember listening to Mike Ferrentino a year ago tell me about the new Blur LT Carbon and how the frame was a pound lighter than the Aluminum Blur LT. The part that shocked me was when he said the frame went up 80% in stiffness. Think about it. That’s the kind of increase that makes a small bike manufacturer be able to give their bikes no rider weight limit and any fork option they want.

The day I heard they were going to make the Tallboy I placed my order. I knew this frame would have all the changes that I was looking for including the new bearing design that is smooth, silent and easy to fill with grease. Since this bike is not the same as the 27.5 lb one that is tested in this write up I thought it would be helpful if I gave you the lowdown on the bike build. I run Easton Carbon Downhill bars for the longer width 28″ and 180mm crankset for a little more leverage since I don’t have a granny ring and only run a single ring in the front. The Tallboy you see in the photo is 24.21 lbs on the scale at Bicycles Plus in Folsom. Quite a bit lighter than my Spyder 29er and sooo much stiffer, it has become my dream bike for all day rides. The fork is a custom tapered FOX FIT w/ 120mm, handlebar lockout and the 15QR axle for even more rigidity. It’s amazing how much more I use the lockout now that it is mounted next to my shifter. The brakes are Hope M4’s with a 200mm floating rotor on the front and a 160mm on the rear. They don’t even blink at Downieville. I love extra powerful brakes. The drive train in the front is XTR 180mm crankset w/ MRP guide and single ring, the rear is XX shifters, derailleur, cassette and chain. It’s currently running a Stans ZTR Race wheel set. Not what I planned but, they are really amazing for how light they are. My planned wheel set is the stiffest one I could dream up, a pair of EDGE Carbons that I have been waiting forever due to a pair of back ordered Chris King hubs (hopefully one day soon). I rode a pair of these on a Tallboy at Demo Day and knew that was the stiff I was looking for (amazing but, uber expensive). I have run a lot of tires on this bike and so far my two favorites have been 2.4 Racing Ralphs and 2.2 Geax Saguaros.

I’ve been only riding this bike for a short time but so far this one is incredible. Every time I throw a leg over it I smile and feel like I’m cheating.


Coach Mark
www.trojanmtbracing.com

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Mark and be sure to stay tuned on our upcoming story about the Trojan High School Mountain Bike Team.

Before I go any further, I’ll give the run down on the complete build:

Frame/Fork: Singular Cycles Gryphon, size large
Wheels; Industry 9 single speed hubs laced to DT Swiss TK 7.1 disc rims
Tires: Front- Geax Saguaro TNT/ Rear WTB Vulpine- both set up tubeless.
Crankset: White Industries ENO w/34T ring
Cog: Surly 17T with Surly spacer kit/lockring
Bottom Bracket: Shimano cartridge, 115mm spindle/ Phil Wood EBB insert.
Pedals: Shimano
Chain: SRAM PC-951
Brakes: Avid BB-7 mechanical disc brakes/ Avid Clean Sweep rotors. 185mm front/160mm rear
Stem: Thomson 100mm
Handlebar: Salsa Woodchipper 46cm
Brake Levers: Tektro RL 520
Tape: Double wrapped. Outer layer Deda.
Seatpost: Thompson
Saddle: Brooks Special B-17
Cables/Housing: Standard road brake cables w/Jagwire housing.

The build of a drop bar specific rig differs a bit in terms of set up from standard 29″ers and from drop bar conversions. Here the taller head tube allows for a set up that uses very few spacers and a standard stem. The caveat is that you will have a frame with a severely sloping top tube. (Otherwise the set up would require a severely sloping stem!) With a rigid fork layout and a lower than most bottom bracket, the Gryphon sets up nicely with the Woodchippers. I was able to easily match my desired saddle to grip area drop. The Gryphon is set up, as most off road drop bar rigs should be, with the primary hand position being the drops. (Note: I didn’t say you “never” use other positions. It is just that during most rough, technical riding, you’ll want to be in the most advantageous position- that being the drops.) Because the drop section is where you’ll be spending most of your time, you’ll want to make sure you can operate the brakes from the drops. Take a look at the following image to see how that looks.

Notice how the levers are positioned downward. This allows me to reach out my index finger while I grip the hook and easily grab the tip of the Tektro lever to operate the brakes. If the lever was higher, I would have to cock my wrist upwards, which would be very awkward and uncomfortable. Because the levers are positioned the way they are, you won’t have a super convenient hoods position, but as I said, it doesn’t matter, since you’ll be riding off road and in the drops most of the time. Not that you can’t cruise around on the hoods, or use the tops, because you can. It just isn’t the point of an off road drop set up, which we pointed out in our drop bars for off roading post here. I’ll post more on the off road drop bar subject coming up this week.

My impressions of the bike now are that it is very similar to the Fargo by Salsa Cycles. The important points where it varies from that drop bar specific rig is that the Singular can be set up as a single speed and the Singular is not a bike that bristles with braze ons like the Fargo does. No, the Singular makes do with only the two bottle mounts. There are subtle differences in the frame and fork from the Fargo though that I will detail in a later post. The frame seems to have decent clearance with the 2.1 inch Vulpine in back and plenty of room up front around the Geax Saguaro. The rest of the bike is pretty straight forward. Now it will be on to the handling department, and a First Impressions post will come in a couple of weeks.

Note: This product was provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for reviewing. We are not being paid or bribed for this review. We will give our honest opinion or thoughts through out.