Back at Sea Otter, Grannygear got tipped off at the Breezer Bikes booth that they would be introducing four 29′ers in 2011. An aluminum “Jet Stream” model in two spec levels and a carbon fiber “Cloud 9″ model in two spec levels, all being hard tails, in fact. Well, following this you can read a portion of the official press release with an image of the aluminum Breezer Jet Stream Comp 29″er hard tail.
Editor’s Note: Photo updated 6/24/10 per Breezer’s request
Mountain Bike pioneer Joe Breeze Announces New 29″er Line: Cloud 9 and Jet Stream will come in carbon and aluminum; billed as the best climbing 29″ers on the market.
Breezer Bikes founder Joe Breeze will release his first 29-inch wheel mountain bikes for the 2011 model year. The Cloud 9 will come in two versions, (Pro and Limited), and the Jet Stream will feature two aluminum models, (Comp and Sport). Both feature innovations that will shake up this increasingly popular category. Breeze has a long history of spurring the bike industry. In the 1970′s he and a select group of visionaries created the mountain bike, which opened the world of cycling to a whole new range of riders. Breeze has now embraced the 29-inch segment with the same gusto.
“We have spent lots of time optimizing the design of our 29″ers to make them the best riding two-niners on the market,” Breeze says. Notably, the Breezer 29″ers will be exceptional climbers. “By shortening the chain stays I am addressing the Achilles heel of 29″ers- their less than optimum traction on climbs. Cyclists will be delighted by the lively, fast ride.”
Editor’s Note: We hope to be getting more information soon on these new models. Interestingly, it would appear that Joe Breeze is not enamored of the way previous 29″ers climbed, although it is oft stated that 29″ers actually climb better than 26 inch wheeled bikes due to the better roll over ability of the wheel size and differently shaped tire contact patch. Perhaps the shorter chain stays will enhance traction further, as we have noted on some models we have tried recently with sub 17.5 inch chain stays. How short Breezer 29″er chain stays actually are is still a mystery. (As is price, availability, and geometry)
Stay tuned as we will share more on these Breezer models in the future. See more Breezer Bikes at www.breezerbikes.com
I’m sure they will be great bikes but I’m no longer impressed by the introduction of yet another aluminum 29er hardtail. Strip the decals and would anyone notice anything unique?
@Vescus: Great point! I think it points to something larger though. Something I predicted was going to happen a couple of years ago, and your comment, (and others like it), are bearing it out. That would be this: Another 29″er introduction is really just…………………
wait for it……………………….
another mountain bike!
But to your point on this bike: I think the answer is in the details, and I would submit that through all the marketing hyperbole, that is exactly where Breeze is coming from on this introduction. They are saying, “best climbing 29″er”. Okay- that’s significant, albeit unproven and subjective. Still, there is substance here with the claims of a shorter chain stay, (many riders “Holy Grail”, if I read the forums correctly), and other details like the chain stay mounted brake. Maybe the geometry is different, (guessing it is to some degree), and of course, the carbon model is yet to be revealed.
So, there is still room for some unique offerings, but it is getting closer and closer to “just being another mountain bike”, at least here in North America.
I loved Breezer’s bikes- my vote for best looking bike ever is the steel Lightning in blue and cream.
That being said, you gotta be kidding- the Achilles heel of 29ers is their climbing? Here I thought it was a key strength. I have never been sold on ultra short chainstays, in fact the few bikes I have ridden with extremely short chainstays cornered noticeably worse than standard bikes. Those would be: Fisher Montare in the late 80s- had 16.5″ stays IIRC, Gios Compact on the road, and then I owned an aluminum Origin8 Scout which had the shortest stays I know of on a 29er. Get it in a fast corner or an off camber, and feel the rear break out unless you load up the front. Not a good tradeoff for dubious climbing gains in my opinion.
Agree 100% with t0m’s first sentence. I always wanted one of those… and when I was ready for a new frame, they were no more. Those were my favorite 26er steel HT frames.
And, now that I read the rest, I agree with that as well.
So what constitutes “best climbing?” It’s different for everyone. I happen to agree with Tom’s take on chainstays, while others like short chainstays. So it’s a dubious claim at best.
And Breezer… sorry. The Lightning was hot. This is not. Not buying the hype.
@t0m @Dave: Well, I was also on that same wavelength with the short chain stay idea, but I have also ridden some “short-ish” chain stay 29″er bikes that I have been impressed with. Most in the 17-17.25″ range. Like any bike design, that is only one facet that goes into making the performance whatever it is on any particular model. What that means is that there is a way to do short chain stays and make it work within the design, but “just” having short chain stays in and of them selves is not meaningful.
So again, so much is unknown here about the Breezer. I think all we can do is wait and see if what is said is really there, or not, but that will take some test riding. My hope is that we can get one in for testing here, or at least throw a leg over one at Interbike.
The first time I spoke to them…and each and every time since then, I have made a case for a Lightning 29er in steel with the classic paint job I remember and loved. It was blue and creme as was mentioned. Elegant, classy, smooth.
Not to take away from the alu and coming soon…carbon… at all. I bet they are fine bikes and will be no slouch among big wheeled HTs. But I wager that if you put out a post on the 29er forum a year ago and said, “hey, I heard that Joe Breeze is making a 29er” and that was all you said, the folks that are old enough to remember the Breezers of days past would get VERY excited about that and the post would say stuff like, “Oooo I would love to have a big wheeled version of a Lightning with updated geo, etc.”
I bet. Of course some would say, “yawn, another steel HT” but ya have to figure that will always happen. Heck, they said that about the Ti El Mar.
I am very interested to see how these play out because Joe knows his stuff. That cannot be denied. In fact, we are working on getting into Joe’s brain a bit in an upcoming article and see what his take on it is beyond the press release. I do know that any one detail like CS length does not tell all or cure all and the key is a balanced, synergistic product that works every time you ride it. I bet Joe is on that track. We shall see.
But really, play to the heart here. Gimme’ a steel, small tubed, SS ready Breezer 29er. I bet it is coming. Gotta’ be.
Oh…and give it Breezer drop-outs, maybe the sexiest part of some bikes back in the day. Small, elegant details make a difference in the sheep pen of bikes.
And in any case, I think it just rocks to have guys like Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher, Potts, Eriksen, etc…guys that pioneered lots of bikes…still out there making cool stuff for us to ride.
grannygear
IMO the best approach for chainstays are sliders.
The upshoot is a reasonable range (30mm, I believe) to fool around with the rear wheel stance.
Yap, a bit heavier, but SS convertible to boot.
Short chainstays are great for lifting the front wheel, but do nothing to enable climbing if the riders weight is distributed behind the contact patch of the tire when the gradient points up. The taller the rider, the worse this is. Take a person over six feet and drop a plumb line from the back of the saddle and see where it intersects the tire’s contact patch. Now, keeping the rear wheel stationary, elevate the front wheel to replicate a 6-10% gradient and see where the contact patch falls. Now bump up the elevation of the front wheel to a 12-20% gradient and see if the contact patch is now behind the center of (or even completely behind) the contact patch of the rear wheel. That is why on steep and sketchy climbs you are either looping out (weight back over the remaining contact patch, no weight on front wheel) or spinning out. Check out hillclimb motor bikes. They all have huge chainstays to combat looping out and to keep the power through the bottom of the tire tread as the hill gets steeper. I’m not saying all bikes should have a set length of chainstays. But all bike are a series of compromises and depending on the frame size and geometry, some bikes will do some things better at the expense of other things.
If you want to make a case for short chainstays, then first get on a LONG chainstay hardtail. Like a sliding dropout bike, preferably with gears.
The Redline MC, albeit singlespeed, allowed for a good inch of adjustment. Bring an extra powerlink and chain link, and you’re set to swap a few times during a ride. With smooth sliders and gears, even easier.
I LOVE high-speed cornering with long CSs. And steep, seated climbing without a hint of front wheel loft, there’s something to be said for that also.
Then, there is comfort. The difference an inch of CS makes, even or especially for a tall dude as yours truly…it can only be underestimated until tried.
Short CSs IMO have a place for forced standing climbing, and really tight singletrack.
Joe Breeze is a good guy and I mean no disrespect. I especially like his move into commuters and urban bikes in the last decade. His designs have always been strong- the Lightning was regarded as one of the best handling bikes back in the day. It just seems a bit off to claim current 29ers don’t climb that well… I certainly think they climb better than the 26ers I’ve had, regardless of geometry differences. I’ve had a few of each by now.
Tons of respect for Joe Breeze and what he’s done. I’m actually sort of surprised he’s getting back into mountain bikes. I thought his passion had moved on to transportation bikes. I assume that’s still the core of his brand. But, gotta keep the lights on, I guess. Not everyone wants or needs a $2500 commuter. I’m hoping that this crop of 29ers is just sort of the baseline stuff aimed at mass appeal and more exciting stuff is on its way in the future. 29er Lightening? Yeah, that would rock. I’d also like to see more bikes like the Fargo. That would be the perfect fussion of Breeze’s mountain bike and transportation bike expertise.
Anyway, I’m scratching my head trying to figure out why short chain stays are such a big breakthrough. Wasn’t that the Karate Monkey’s schtick back in like 2002? I mean, its definitely a school of thought, especially in the age of G2 and Wet Cat and whatever other cool names there are for stretched out geo. But short CS’s aren’t exactly revolutionary.
You could get really short c/s if you used 20″ wheels….
I’m with Cloxxi on this one – I’ll stick to long chainstays
Yet another 29er HT aluminium- yeah another mtb. They had better make a short travel Carbon FS 29er and a 120mm carbon FS 29″ and exact aluminium copies of those. Also a rear maxle 150×12 options on all 120mm carbon 29ers. What do you think?
Wait there is still a large room for improvement. 150x12mm light hubs not those hefty DH ones, also more light 36h rims and hubs like DT swiss 240, 340. If you can build a 32×3 26er wheels then why not get comparable stiffness with 36×4? You may not want it, but how can you know till you try it out?
I am not willing to trade of any stiffness at all on 29er vs 26er, not even a bit of it. I am willing to pay the penalty of 20-30 grams per wheel.
+1 on the Lightning steel 29er comments(owner of a black & cream 26er)
This thing looks like a Advanced Sports/Fuji/SE/Kestral/Terry clone
From Bicycler retailer “Joe Breeze commented, “I’m very excited to join Advanced Sports. Our agreement will allow me to focus on design and advocacy. Riding bicycles for transportation creates a wonderful path to a better world. As popular as mountain biking has become, I see everyday bicycling as having exponentially greater potential.”
So is Joe just capitalizing on the 29er surge? Or just late to the party?
New interview at Bike Intelligencer with Joe:
http://bikeintelligencer.com/2010/06/joe-breeze-qa-a-legend-revives-his-signature-bike/