Some random rumors…
February 16th, 2006 by Tim GrahlA few rumblings I’ve been hearing about lately. Nothing confirmed as of yet…
- A new Kona scandium only 29er frame is past the design stage and developing a prototype
- According to the comments of this post, Specialized definitely has some 29 inch plans for 2007, however my source that actually works at Specialized says it’s news to him.
- KHS is in the very early stages of planning for their own 29er. It should be very affordable bike probably ringing up under $500.
We’ll see if anything comes of this.
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What about the complete Kona Unit 2-9 bike I’ve heard about?
I’ll take 2 out of three. KHS would be nice, but I prefer the other two
I cannot wait to ride some of these HT scandium frames (On-One, Niner, and now possibly Kona! I have ridden a scandium Salsa cross bike and it is a nice ride and the weight is right. I hadn’t heard anything about a Unit 2-9 but I know right now that Kona is having a hard time keeping the frames in stock! Hopefully companys will realize soon that this 29er thing is here to stay.
Maxxis is coming out with two new 29″er treads. One is supposedly a 2.35 Advantage and the other is a race tire called the Cross Mark.
Also, there is another company along the lines of KHS coming out with two 29″er steel hardtails. One geared, and one single speed/ EEB. Both should be announced within weeks!
I found out today that there is also a “knock-off” of the Midge bar in the works to show up this fall, possibly. It’s promised to be very similar but at a price that is much cheaper.
For decades no-one would make a properly flared drop bar, and now they’re already starting to rip off the one that dared make it happen?
Doesn’t WTB also have something like that again now?
Cloxxki:
The WTB bar is perhaps more like Salsa’s Bell Lap bar than it is their own flared drop bar of yore. It only has THREE DEGREES of flare! It also has a 31.8mm clamp surface, which severely limits the necessary high rise stem choices to just about zero. No, this WTB bar is really a cyclo-cross bar, and nothing more.
The gentleman I spoke with in regards to the new knock-off has said that they are looking into different factories at this time to get their design made. I suggested that they lengthen the drop portion of the bar slightly in comparison to the Midge bar. Guys with really big hands would appreciate that, I’m sure, as would anyone looking for a slightly more forgiving hand posistion.
What about the Kenda Nevegals? Is no one else excited that these are supposed to hit any day? I haven’t read about them anywhere. I think they will be a big hit if they are anything like the 26″ version.
It took Kenda 3 years or longer to go from “yes, it’s coming” to the actual materialization of the Karma. So many just tend to wait and see rather than get totally excited, buy bikes to later put the Nevegal on, etc.