LA Times on 29ers

April 25th, 2007 by Tim Grahl

The LA Times recently put out an article called the “The wheel, reinvented” which is their short take on big wheels. While the article is neat from the standpoint of mainstream media attention, it’s obviously more of a fluff piece that didn’t have much time put into it.

First off, while Gary Fisher can be attributed to pushing the big wheels into the spotlight and getting dealers on board, the statement “Gary Fisher came out with a radical new mountain bike with extra-large wheels” is not extremely accurate. Mountain bikes with 700cc wheels wasn’t anything brand new back in 2001 and, as we’ve mentioned before here, Diamondback released one way back in the early 90s.

From there, they mentioned four different bikes… three 29ers and the Trek 69er. For each 29er they had a long list of likes and zero dislikes. That alone is a little weird… every bike has some drawbacks. And then on the Trek 69er, part of their dislikes was “riders need to carry two different-sized spare tubes, tires and spokes.” Who carries extra tires on anything but the longest rides? And most riders would know they can use 26 inch tubes in 29 inch tires, so no real complaint there.

Anyways, I’m glad to see that 29ers are getting some good media coverage, I just wish it wasn’t done in such an obvious half-ass way.

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7 Responses to “LA Times on 29ers”

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  1. 1 mtbdee  on Apr 26th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

    “riders need to carry two different-sized spare tubes, tires and spokes.�

    That gave me a good laugh. Hell, why not carry extra wheels and a frame as well? ;) Apparently the LA Times reporter is hardcore.

  2. 2 Tim Grahl  on Apr 26th, 2007 at 1:52 pm

    Actually the safest thing to do is just strap another bike to your back for the ride, that way you can leave your first bike in the woods when you get a flat and ride out on your extra one.

  3. 3 Jake  on Apr 26th, 2007 at 4:25 pm

    Yeah, but what happens if something goes wrong with your backup bike? Better carry another one, just to be extra safe.

  4. 4 sean350  on Apr 26th, 2007 at 6:51 pm

    I always ride with two backup bikes… just in case.

  5. 5 ki-chan  on Apr 26th, 2007 at 8:12 pm

    just carry a cell phone . call your mom to come pick you up . oh wait a minute , the caravan wont make it up the mountain . maybe in 2nd gear ?

  6. 6 MG  on Apr 30th, 2007 at 4:17 pm

    … maybe gary fisher could ‘invent’ an even bigger wheeled rescue vehicle to come ‘n git ya outta there, ‘eh?

  7. 7 Matty  on May 1st, 2007 at 2:09 am

    Ive heard rumors of a 57er coming out of balken pennisula. keep checkin back for updates!

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