Come over to the 29er-side of the force...

[gecallo]

I haven't really given 29er's much thought, until I went to my LBS last night. The guy @ the shop had just built up this bike, and I was drooling.
(Sorry for the quality of the pics, but my cam-phone has past it's prime.)

Raw finish
RockShox 3" 29er fork
Element rims
FSA carbon cranks
Carbon bar & seat post (not sure what brand...too distracted by the raw finished look of the frame)
Avid 7's
26 lbs. of 29er goodness.....Mmmmm...Mmmmmm

 

[ShinKen]

ohh danngg!! now that's a sweet bike!! me droooling too eh!!

 

[Collette]

Hmmmmm, maybe I should cancel my 575 frame order and wait for the 29er 5.5s.:-k

 

[new2mtb]

damn! 26 lbs for a geared 29'er ? what wheels is that ? that is light!

 

[FoShizzle]

Yeah, the new Spider 29er looks sweet! Charles (from hammerheadbikes gave it a GLOWING review). This dude (Charles) has ridden every bike, you name it. Here is his spider he just built up.

 

[ShinKen]

ohh man!! we should change the name of this tread to 29er PORN!! (droooling)

 

[dstepper]

Depends on your riding style, not sure if you want to do big drops with 29 inch wheels. I had a Turner Sultan on order but I cancelled it a few weeks ago. Between my 5-Spot and the Niner One-9 I am not sure what fits. I was thinking a light 29 inch geared bike...now i am leaning more towards a Saint hub/axle and 3-4 gears for the back of the Niner. You know, for those trails that singlespeeding is not right for, but you still want a light bike.

26 lbs is a great weight for a 29 full suspension geared bike. But after riding a light rigid singlespeed everything else feels heavy and slugish.

 

[gecallo]

damn! 26 lbs for a geared 29'er ? what wheels is that ? that is light!

The rims are Xero Element's w/ Maxxis 29er's(Ignitor's I think)...don't know if he was running tubeless, but when I lifted that thing, I couldn't believe how f'n light it was (having no paint must help some too).

 

[FoShizzle]

Depends on your riding style, not sure if you want to do big drops with 29 inch wheels. I had a Turner Sultan on order but I cancelled it a few weeks ago. Between my 5-Spot and the Niner One-9 I am not sure what fits. I was thinking a light 29 inch geared bike...now i am leaning more towards a Saint hub/axle and 3-4 gears for the back of the Niner. You know, for those trails that singlespeeding is not right for, but you still want a light bike.

26 lbs is a great weight for a 29 full suspension geared bike. But after riding a light rigid singlespeed everything else feels heavy and slugish.

good call Dean....after talking to aquadouchebag about his demo ride, it confirmed his and my thoughts about the whole 29er FS thing. They have their place for sure...perhaps as an only bike but they cant replace a more robust 6"-ish travel bike, period. Sultan is just a very nice bike but really doesnt offer a whole lot unique to what you already have.

as for the One 9 running a saint, i am not sure it will work. i looked into it and the configuration of the saint (in dropout area) is such that we did not think it would fit, but then again, we never tried.