In On One’s most recent web news letter, there are hints that the brand known for its steel Inbred 29″er, Scandium/aluminum “Scandal” frames, and famous “alt” bars will now be delving into the black wonder material.
Here’s a quote from the e-newsletter:
Yes, we are breaking the hot news that we have been spending the past 6 months working on developing the On-One fleet by using the black wonder material and were getting very close to launching some hot new
models in 2010.This is a World exclusive sneak preview to the first product to be launched in what we will be a first year launch of three exclusive frame designs plus the worlds first, only, and probably last carbon
29er rims.
Interestingly, the”sneak peek” they refer to will be a carbon rendition of the venerable AM hard tail, the 456. Also of interest is the mention of the carbon 29″er rims, but obviously they are not the “world’s first, only, and probably last carbon 29er rims”. We’re taking that as a bit of cheeky Brit humor here. That or they are daft. Anyway………
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this development. We can’t imagine that a carbon 29″er Inbred could be too far behind the 456 intro.
You can check out On One by clicking the link.
I love my steel Inbred 29 as much as any bike I’ve ever had. It gots soul, even though it’s actually Taiwanese volume product. Part of the initial appeal is its low price though. That geometry in carbon would be sweeet. Hopefully it could end up cheaper than their Ti frames also (fingers crossed…)
Everytime i hear ‘carbon 29er’ i get flashbacks of Niner’s new Air9 with their wonderfull carbon fork; its collar a perfect match to the Air9 headtube and that black and white paint job…am i in love?
On-One really = Planet-X now. Planet-X knows its carbon. Affordable carbon, I might add.
t0m, let me guess : the Inbred is your first 29″er?
It’s not about the guy who welded it (find an American who can weld frames at the rate of a Taiwanese, near the same quality), bu about the nutcase that told the Taiwanese how to chop and then weld it. If the American or Italian welder would put that tubeset together, it would not be a better frame.
For years, I was “this” close to ordering a Planet-X time trial bike. So affordable, so cool… And I’ve really only done a few TT like things, in a different decade. I just WANTED that thing so much, for no other reason than to want it. A carbon 29″ frame, when they get the geometry right, could be quite something… IMO, the Inbred 29″ steering geometry is outdated. I think I have a right to say that. The reasons leading to it, no longer exist.
“IMO, the Inbred 29? steering geometry is outdated. I think I have a right to say that. The reasons leading to it, no longer exist.”
I know you’ve said this before. Surely it’s not that different rom other frames?
Geometry is in the details. Fisher stands out, because they actually tried what works, and found something out of the usual range, which they liked better. So much so, that they found reason to have Fox forks custom made for it, a costly matter.
But you are right. From that era, many frames were within a very tight range. Angles, Top tube, BB height, etc. Really, I consider the Inbred 29″ a rigid bike. The fork and its offset were what “set” it apart, by, oh 8mm, from the rest. The suspension forks to match it didn’t exist at the time, so with a plain Reba (which you wanted in case of suspension) would have leveled your Inbred with any 2nd generation 29″ with steeper head tube angle. “To get it to steer”.
By lack of longer offset forks, and making rigid budget SS bike anyway, the ork was customized. Much like in the 80′s as I recall. Rigids usually had both shorter forks, and more offset on them. No wonder a rigid bike usually ended up nimble. But try to ride such a bike today, and you won’t understand how you kept it on the trail back then. Early this decade I raced a VooDoo 26″er with 405/45mm fork. Nimble? I didn’t even dare take it off dropoffs. Later with 29″ hardtails, much less of an issue.
Buddy of mine has a Scandal, with a “normal” offset Bontrager rigid fork. Handles like a mobile home. Like all those bike from that era. Early adopters, apart from Fisher I must say, seemed to handle like real estate. Now, we’ve come to appareciate a stable ride. Back then, “slow” handling in the public eye equaled a slow bike. A burden. A holdup. A fun killer.
Trails have not changed, so the Inbred is still fine. Just, an ideal 29″ bike would conform to other demands today. And if I were to label any 29″er ideal or “best”, some painful changes will need to be made. Rid of the 100/135 hub standard for instance. 9 speed cassettes. But hey, I’m a freak, I don’t like mainstream, it’s outdated by default. Exception to the rule : Gary Fisher Superfly. Easy enough to make or improve, but made with a mindset vastly different from its competition. So, while I had offers from custom carbon builders, I just picked up a Superfly. Well, I rode it, and had to have it. But I digress.
Looking forward to a Planet-X like 29″er! Hope it’s going to be a steal, an alternative to hard-to-get Fishers, and pricey others.
This is great news if you are into carbon frames. The more players the lesser the cost.
On-One is a reputable player and they should certainly expand the field (or make it more crammed– for each his own…)
Still, I rather spend my dinaros on Ti…
@proffssed:
Niner is a fabulous company. I haver two of their carbon forks and they are heaven. However, shunning EBB like a mouse keeps away from a cat, I will never get any of their frames.
The new Carbon bike, in a SS configuration, requires an EBB. I cannot see myself spending 5K on a bike with EBB. If I ran geared, Niner Air Carbon would be my bike…
@ cloxxki, excellent comment about those who put extra thought and spend time on
geometry.
Having recently fitted a niner carbon fork on my orbea alma,
I am amazed how the forks height and offset have transformed the bike into something
which you ride intuatively.
It makes the previous suspension fork set up feel ungainly in comparison.
Fishers set up has a different feel yet again, don’t know if it is necessarily ‘better’
And their frame sizing doesn’t seem to work for me.
So much of this is personal preference for most of us anyway
@ rubberboy, don’t be scared. I have a new biocentric EBB on my niner sir and it does not creak or slip. Heaps of adjustment for swapping out rear cogs too.
But I might be blinded by lust for the carbon air nine frame…
May the planet x / On One be as good looking to distract me!
Has anyone ridden a meeusew flax carbon bike? Cloxxki, they are just a little south of where you are noV
@professed:
The Orbea has a 71deg head tube angle, does it not? Nothing bad per say, I really like how it worked out on my Flight, but it does ask for some offset (we took 47mm for the Flight as Redline didn’t dare to better On-One’s 47mm, even if I would have liked that, just to have a different, higher number, Fisher later did it with full ball exposed, but confidently).
Please tell me you have the alu Orbea? That carbon one is just divine. Had it been launched in my size at the time…I would probably not own a Superfly today.
I greatly envy you for having a frame that suits the Niner fork. I don’t really have one, that warrants any fork change, let along carbon bling. Yes, it would be mighty nice on my pre-G2 Fishers, but those are fine with Surly forks as they are. Work horses. I can’t bear to imagine my Flight any different than it is now.
And had the Niner fork come in an offset to match my Superfly’s…oh my…
Museeuw bikes? I would not be found dead in the same city as one. Just no big respect for the man. He rode like a champ, but doped like a loser that needed it. It’s just a name on a downtube, but I can also get (OK, personal import required now) Fisher bikes in all mainstream categories. Gary Fisher vs. Johan Museeuw, oooooh a bit of a difference. Just talking downtube names.
To be honest, all I ride lately it the 7km to work single trip.
Cloxxki – Agreed about Museeuw – but the reason for bringing him us is just that On One proposes to make their 29er carbon frame from a carbon/flax mix and the only ‘brand’ that i know who markets such a fabric mix in their frame sets at present is Museeuw bikes.
Anyone riden a flax bike? (or bamboo bike for that matter?/!
)
Yes my Alma is the carbon in the one and only medium size ( fortunately I am only 176cm tall ) and the finish weave on the frame matches the niner carbon fork finish weave almost perfectly.
The niner offset and forklength are also perfect for the frame making the handling just sublime.
Sadly the head tube is a bit fatter than the niner fork’s throat hence my passion for an all niner fork/frame combo for the ultimate look !
One One – please take note of the Niner fork for any planned developments, its the new benchmark.
Yea !!!!
http://www.on-one.co.uk/news/products/q/date/2010/04/15/2010-carbon-29er-weighs-in-under-1kg
>>> on-one inbred out-dated geometry ??? Not really.
Yep, some miss that increased offset is important for one reason with a steeper head angle because it keeps the axle to crown distance down and thus a “real” 72 head angle and less wheel flop. (remember fork height determines ha, and more offset drops the front end.)
For shorter guys that hate lazy steering (I am 5’9″) give me a 72 head angled 29er, don’t worry I can get the axle to crown height I need so offset is not a big deal. (That way I don’t need crazy, long wheel-based, laid back head angled g2 29er geometry with a custom offset fork.) <I already have a boat to drive.
Remember, most bike manuf design these frames generically, for the bigger guys (even though they should be changing angles more; though-out the size range). That is one reason they are going to the slacker head angles.
But, with a big 29" straight tracking wheel up front the under 6 foot guys that like great steering and still want a stable bike; 72 degree ha is spot on; at least for the small and medium sizes.