Here are some tidbits that have crossed my desk recently that I’ll share with ya’all. Some are confirmed news, some are rumors. Let’s take a look-see!
Pictured: The 2008 Haro Mary SS with straight top tube.
Say Goodbye To The Straight Top Tube: In a sneak peak of what to expect for 2010 from Haro, Jill Hamilton, Haro’s head honch has let it slip that the Mary 29″ers will share the same type of bent top tube configuration that Haro employs on its current line of Beasley 650B wheeled models. It is not known whether this will also apply to the Ally 29″ers. The Mary SS will also move from having a chromoly unicrown fork to a segmented style fork along the same lines as the Beasley. Stay tuned for any further updates.
Shimano To Introduce A 29″er Specific Cassette?: Rumor has it that there is a cassette being developed by Shimano which will have a 12-36T gearing spread. This cassette is said to be in developement with 29″er riders in mind specifically. Look for further updates, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see some 2010 29″er models show up with this gearing and those bikes may start appearing in pre-production form as early as next spring. Keep your eyes peeled!
And A Crankset Too?: I have been affirmed that there still is a crankset aimed at those wanting an affordable double ring set up which will feature 29T inner and 44T outer chain rings with an ISIS compatible bottom bracket interface. Now if we could just get a 20T granny added to that…..
Grey Matter: In titanium 29″er news, we have been officially leaked to by Lynskey Performance Designs in regards to a “sport series” titanium 29″er hard tail model soon to be revealed to the world. Made of “aerospace grade” 3/2.5 straght guage tubing, the Chattanooga Tennessee made rig is slated to retail for $1250.00. We are promised some photos of the first build, so hang tight for that coming soon.
More Grey Matter: In a strange mix of rumor/fact/unobtanium, I am being told that a titanium rigid fork is out there being tested for 29″ers. Said fork is supposedly going to be offered with another rumored hardtail frame made out of the same dull gray material. How close is it to reality? Well, I have been hearing about this project for a year now, but that said, a part number exists for the fork, so one can only surmise that it is pretty close to reality. Stay tuned! I have a spy in the field who is going to try to catch this rumor on his digital sensor. If he is successful, we’ll show you the results!
More 2010 Tire News: In other future news, I have it on good authority that a 2.3″er 29″er all mountain type tread UST cased tire is coming. It looks as though UST is actually going to catch on with 29″er tire makers after all. This model, which already exists in 26″er sizes, (shhh! I can’t say what model yet!) is known to have a fairly round casing and is said to be at least a true 2.3 inches. This should satisfy demand for a burly aggressive treaded tubeless all mountain tire. Target weight for the full on UST version is sub 850 grams.
That’s all I have for now. However; if any more news turns up on these items or anything new, I’ll be back with more. Stay tuned!
Sooooo, we will have a 2.3″ 850 gram UST that compares to the 750 gram Rampage that holds air all day long with durable sidewalls tubeless. Who cares if it is UST, if it works it works.
It is no surprise to me that Haro is going to go back to the bent top tubes. This actually used to be their trademark look going all the way back to their bmx roots. The are most likely trying to bring more of their branding back so their frames don’t look like every other one on the market.
-198
So WHY introduce a monster cassette when the easier and lighter option is smaller chainwheels??
A crankset based on the ISIS standard that is allmost dead and buried…?
These rumors are just jokes, right?
JeroenK: Jokes? No…….not in the least. I suppose since you say ISIS is “almost dead and buried” that you would say square taper is dead and buried? Someone better tell Phil Wood, Middleburn, and White Industries.
So for 2010 and beyond no fullies are predicted? What about Scandium and titanium fullies?
No Yeti 575? No Titus Moto lite? No Santa Cruz Heckler?
ps. GT I wrote you an e-mail about lacing pattern- did you get it?
Noooo, that’s not what I meant
.
I read more and more that the riders that do not want outboard (or BB30-like) bearings for whatever reason, turn to square taper for reliability, not to ISIS.
great to hear about shimanos 12 -36 cassette! that adds a whole new world for the 29 world. action tech is currently the leader in 29 specific gearing but expensive becuase of high cost of ti. i been running 20-30-38 gearing and is great, feels real close ratio . the rear cassette is the way to go you can 1×9 2×9 or 3×9 setup and any cool crankset you got ! hats off to the gear techs.
Bent top tubes have to be just about the ugliest way of doing things out there the way Haro is doing it. A good old slopping top tube is tough to beat, doesn’t need that extra step to bend it, and is clean looking. But then again, Haro bothering with 650b is a sign of too much money to burn or a desire to die a slow painful death.
I will applaud them for offering good price point 29ers and while I’m not a huge fan of the Mary bars I think it’s a great way to make you brand stand out on the show room floor and get noticed. Some people will love it or some will learn to love the bike and just swap the bar out.
“Haro bothering with 650b is a sign of too much money to burn or a desire to die a slow painful death.”
Hmmm….no it more about making bikes people want and filling niches where the other “big” manufacturers aren’t willing to fill.
If we’re dying a slow painful death because of 650B bikes, so be it. We’ve just about sold out of our first shipment of the new Beasley 650B hardtails. Selling bikes sure is a painful way to die!
“Haro bothering with 650b is a sign of too much money to burn or a desire to die a slow painful death.”
Hmmm….no it more about making bikes people want and filling niches where the other “big” manufacturers aren’t willing to fill.
If we’re dying a slow painful death because of 650B bikes, so be it. We’ve just about sold out of our first shipment of the new Beasley 650B hardtails. Selling bikes sure is a painful way to die!
Kudos to Haro for filling the gap where others fear to tread. Let the consumer decide what they want and it sounds like they want 650B Haros.
grannygear
I think the Beasley’s not a bad looking bike – rework the Mary and it’ll be fresh again – with the segmented fork.
My guess on the UST tire – WTB WeirWolf full tread. Just a guess.
I,ve seen a coulpe black sheep ? forks this week that apeered to be ti. both were small diamiter tubes suspention corrected lenght forks.
if these are the forks they look very nice.
12-36 Cassette- Sweet! I could get a 1:1 on my 22/36 LX double crank! I wonder why only a 12T gear though? Speaking of crank, how about just buying a triple that will fit what ever gears you want?
a Ti fork- can you say Sibex, already in mass production. The Sport Series frame just might be worth looking into.
Thanks, Guitar Ted! I need rumors like this to get me through the tough days of winter while I’m waiting for the trails to freeze over enough to ride!
Also: Haro is cool and so is Jill Hamilton – way to go!
Any news on an E2 headset? It seems silly to me that the road crew got the 1.5″ lower race first. The noodley nature of a 29er front end is one of the universal complaints. Why not stiffen things up with technology that abounds on new road bikes and is finding its way onto 26″ wheel mtbs. Goes hand-in-hand with the Maxle Lite hub hitting the market IMHO.
rkappius: The upcoming Niner W.F.O.9 has a 1 1/8th to 1.5″ headset. It is the first of what I suspect will be several 29″ers to have the headset standard in 2010.
@Jeroen:
I’ve been pushing larger cassettes as opposed to smaller chainrings for 29″ for many years.
So you KNOW
1 – it’s eventually going to happen
2- You’re going to hate the idea
3- Eventually, you’ll succomb and ride it, with a wide grin.
Why would you want to add those one or 2 ounces of weight in chain, rings, and cassette?
1 – drivetrain efficiency works on 100% of your power output, and larger cogs help for that.
2 – slower wear rate
3 – reduced chain suck
4 – crank selection
Ti fork = neato! And itsNOT a Sibex/spicer/chiTi – those are known for breaking. These upcoming ones stand a fair better chance.
@Cloxxki,
It will probably be introduced, but I doubt I will use one ever. I do not use 12-34T cassettes either and those have been on the market for some time.
There are good reasons for a smaller cassette too:
* Smaller gaps between gears. Ideally, I would like to ride a 11-21 cassette, if it were not for the reduced gear range.
* Shifting accuracy of the rear derailer (you do not have to adjust it to be a bit further away from the cogs).
* You do not need a longer chain. If you mount a smaller front ring to correct this, this ring will wear faster than a bigger ring. If you would have a longer chain, you would have to watch out for cog-chainwheel combinations that result in too much chain slack. You know what too much slack leads to… chain slapping on the chainstays, jumping off the chainwheels, touching itself at the rear derailer cage.
As for your arguments:
* Crank selection? There are developments and lots of options in that area.
* Reduced chain suck? A tiny bit less when you are actually riding the 36, because there is a bit more tension on the chain, but there are so much more variables that contribute to chainsuck… One of the biggest factors in the “Chainsuck triangle” (I love the article that describes it, search!) is chainwheel deformation because of pressure combined with soft material. Yes, bigger front rings would have less pressure per tooth, but that’s just evading the problem and introducing a lot of others.
* Wear rate? Are you kidding? How much time would you spend on your smallest gear, if you would have a triple crankset?
* Drivetrain efficiëncy… I am not going to theoretically discuss small differences in percentages of a small percentage of total efficiëncy anymore. Sorry!
I could imagine a cassette with a 36T cog would aid those who like to ride with one chainwheel, wanting to expand their gear range. Sure, but anyone who wants a respectable gear range AND small steps between gears has no choice to use a cassette with less spread and choose chainring numbers and sizes according to the required range.
Therefore, apart from a niche, it is no substitute for smaller chainrings.
Isn’t going back to the bent top tube look like following the trend. Seriously. Haro had the trademark look of a bent top tube an everyone hated it. Suddenly you see every manufacture make a bike with a bent top tube of some sort whether it be hardtail, FS, or 29′er. Now all of a sudden they are back to the future with their old look. I find it sort of amusing because now the bike will blend in with all the others.
Any word on if/when the Niner carbon fork will be available?
Jcolflesh: I’m hearing that it will become available sometime later in ’09. We should know more by the time Sea Otter happens.