Well, it is that time for me to dole out the honors here at Interbike. The decision of the judges is final, let’s have the envelopes please!
Best 29″er Of The Show: Without a doubt, the Fargo was a surprise to me to get this honor. I was fully expecting ahead of time, (based on my super-secret intelligence gathering spies abroad) that the award for Best 29″er Of The Show would go elsewhere. However; the competition didn’t come to play, and the Fargo is unquestionably the biggest buzz creating bike in the 29″er category. Congratulations to Salsa. The Fargo is your Best of Show for 2008.
Biggest Surprise Of The Show: The re-design of the R.I.P. 9 was a big surprise for me. Taking all the cues learned from the development of the W.F.O. 9, Niner didn’t wait to trickle that down the product line for a year, they did it right away. The R.I.P. 9 benefits by gaining steering precision and lateral rigidity that I didn’t think the R.I.P. 9 was lacking before. However; once you ride the new R.I.P. 9 platform, you will agree: Niner has propelled this bike even further up the scale of excellence. The Niner R.I.P. 9: The Biggest Surprise Of The Show.
Weirdest 29″er Of The Show: Quite possibly the oddest bike at Interbike period, this prototype from Wimmer Bike is not slated for production until mid 2009. Sporting unusual technology for 29″ers at each end of the bike, the Wimmer defies description. Definitely unique, the Wimmer Bike receives my “Weirdest 29″er Of The Show” hands down.
That closes the Awards show for Interbike 2008. Look for further coverage from this final day in Las Vegas coming soon, and extended coverage coming in the following days.
The Fargo seems a copy of Singular ‘s Swift which has been in production for well over a year
jeremy uk: Similarities are there for sure, but as you know, the Singular brand hasn’t been available here in The Colonies and the Fargo does have a few more braze ons.
GT – did Bontrager not show their new or upcoming 29er specific tires?
Congrats on that Fargo Salsa! I really, really need one of those drop bar bikes
GLG: Bontrager doesn’t show at Interbike. We probably will see new stuff from them at Sea Otter.
Oh – didn’t know that! Thanks. Sea Otter is so far away……
Weird, or genious? 2×7″ travel, with constranr trail figure.
Just might ride incredibly well…
The Fargo was called “the dirtiest bike at the Demo” several times. Seemed that everyone had to ride it and nobody had a bad thing to say about it. It has great trail manners and even jumps pretty well! It was the only non-suspension bike I rode last week and I took it on the same lines as the others
Niner did a great job of keeping the new RIP under wraps. They did have it in the catalog at Eurobike but few noticed. I never rode the original so I can not comment on the stiffness gains.
Did not realize the Wimmer was a 29er. My first thought when I saw it was of the original Whyte fully.
First of all thank you for the honor of the Weirdest Bike at Interbike’s 2008 Show. I experienced at the Interbike 2008 show that most people did not seem to get what the bike was about. The prototype is a concept bike and “test mule” for the development of my final Wimmer-Bike that will be made from carbon fiber. The front end is a new patented technology that allows the front end under suspension to change rake and trail in a completely different way than a regular fork, thus going downhill, over bumps and under braking. You have much more stability than any other bike. On the rear I tried to address the problem of changing chain length under suspension. My bike has zero chain length over the maximum of 7″ travel. In addition my frame geometry, through design, is so adaptable that a rider could switch between 29″ or 26″ wheels without needing a new frame. When the final bike is ready I will send you the technical data and pictures.
Martin Wimmer,
Founder of Wimmer-Bike
Martin: Thanks for your comments. I would invite you to do just as you suggest and do send us the final specs on your prototype when you are ready.
I think that it shouldn’t at all be surprising that people had a hard time seeing your intents with the Wimmer Bike. Since it is so radically different, and so much is going on with that design, I should think it would cause some curious looks and comments along with a fair bit of confusion.
I invite you to take the chance to clear that up anytime you would like.