-Tristan

Turner has a different outlook on FS than Salsa does, and I think this is a better way to look at this. Salsa comes from a “singletrack, tight twisty” mindset and Turner is located in the South West , which has a different trail type all together. The bikes are sort of born out of these mindsets in a very general sense.

Salsa; therefore, has a quicker feel. Right out of the box, I could feel the Salsa was a great single track slicer and dicer. I thought it had a great tendency to “squirt” forward, much like a hardtail, when mashing a pedal down. It was very responsive to tempo changes and this was with the damper set wide open and at a lower pressure in the can than you might think you need. To my mind, it’s aimed dead center at the endurance crowd. Tough forged connections, great suspension action that isn’t stressed to the max to work correctly, and sensible weight. It all adds up to a reliable looking choice for an endurance mount.

That’s my take.

My guess is that you would say that the Sultan is a bit more on the “FS” side of things, but I’d like to hear it from you

I’ve been taking my time in picking a frame for my next bike. I have decided that it WILL be FS, and it WILL be a 29er. This will be my first FS, after many, many years on a good ol’ Schwinn Homegrown hardtail. Perks there are a) lightweight b) climbs like a scalded monkey c) handles nicely through singletrack. However, I am anxious to move towards endurance racing, which means (to me) the FS is key. That said, can you make a recommendation as to a frame choice?

Thanks again, keep rockin.

The Niner RIP 9 is a fun bike. In comparison to the Salsa, I felt as though I was more “on top” of the bike and with the Big Mama I felt more at home, more “normal” if you will. Definitely the Big Mama has more of an ability to pop up the front end for wheelies and manuals. It also has a great acceleration factor. Instead of sitting back into its travel before leaping, it can jet right forward, more like a hard tail. The RIP 9 does not do this. The RIP 9 definitely feels much more “FS” , and by that I mean to say that at all times you know you are on a full suspension device with plush travel. The Big Mama tends to become more “invisible” in that regard. It still eats up the chatter and bumps, but I didn’t notice it so much. I felt more “connected” to the trail, not so “isolated” from it as on the RIP 9.

In conclusion, I think both rigs are extremely well thought out and are great performing 29″ers. If I had to say concisely what is the difference I would say this: The RIP 9 is more for folks coming from AM/FR 26″ers and the Big Mama is more for folks who want 4″ travel but without the overtly “plush”, couch-like feel that a lot of FS 4 plus inch travel bikes have.

That’s being far too simplistic and unfair to both bikes, but ya gotta start somewhere!

Do you have any comparisons to the Niner RIP 9 and Specialized Stumpy FSR 29?
They are the only other 4″ travel 29ers that I have ridden so wondering what you thought of the differences if you’ve tried them.

Thanks,

Slim

It’ll be ill, son. ILL!

Here are some pics from MTBR