Last we had introduced you to the new DT-SWISS Tricon XM1550 29″er wheels (here), now we will introduce the content of the other box shipped to us out of Biel, Switzerland – the all new XMM 100 29″er suspension fork. It is an interesting thing with DT-SWISS MTB forks – after DT had bought all designs from British PACE CYCLES in 2008 the re-labelled forks were briefly available and then disappeared until DT-Swiss got all aspects dialed to their high standards. Now they are all back and while still holding some optical resemblance to the PACE heritage definitely are a DT-SWISS product through and through … all internals are completely redesigned and the chassis vastly stiffened up. Let´s see how that transfers to the performance aspects in practice.

Some long term frequent readers may remember, I had already reviewed a DT-SWISS fork, the rigid XRR 470 (verdict here) and found that while looking similar to the PACE RC31, it rode completely different (read: „super stiff and precise„ ) and is a much more contemporary version of a rigid fork (full carbon construction with carbon crown and steerer and much more).

With the suspension forks it took a bit longer to make it into 29″er size, but for 2012 there is a decent range available to cover the needs of racers and trail riders – only the
longer travel range above 120 m is currently still absent. For our test we chose the XMM in 100 mm travel 15 RWS tru axle dropouts, Twin Shot damping and tapered alloy upper, which is going on the ROCKY MOUNTAIN Element 970 for the first testing phase. At DT-SWISS the “XM“ stands for Cross Mountain application (kind of DT´s Do-It-All range) and the last “M“ describes the magnesium cast lower.

TECH TALK: All XMM forks (including the 29″er) share the same Torsion Box Magnesium lowers which simply are more cost effective in material and production compared to the carbon lowers of the top end 26“ forks. The reverse brake arch there is not exclusive to DT-SWISS but the specific execution with the two piece bonded bridge is unique. I haven´t had any contact with this system until now, but Grannygear has and his had comment on it during his Sea Otter visit last year (here) has been that it is an extremely stiff lower casting. Nothing wrong with maximizing stiffness in the casting already, sure won´t hurt the general performance .

The Twin shot is a DT-SWISS´s top end damping system and allows for lowering of the front end. All the suspension forks I had recently reviewed, be it the FOX Talas TERRALOGIC or GERAMAN:ANSWER`s Xcite have had some form of “Travel Adjust“. These are the three modes the fork can run in:

1, Open Mode – 100 % travel and full suspension activity
2, Climb Mode – for technical climbs, fork lowered by 30% and partially locked
3, Lockout – for starts, sprints and tarmac, 100% locked with a blow-off

The damping unit is placed in the upper right stanchion, allowing for better cooling of the damping oil and easy access by the rider. Because of this, the system is said to require very little damping oil which in turn leads to a low overall weight . The compression and rebound damping are still separately adjustable.

There are several other versions of this fork available: 120 mm travel (not convertible internally), the more simple Single Shot damping and 9 mm quick release version are only some of them. Besides the tapered alloy steerer on test, there are standard 1 1/8“ alloy steerer and two one piece carbon crown /steerer versions in tapered – one with the standard taper and one with an ultra short 85 mm taper length to fit even the shortest steerer.

At 1753 g for the testing sample (incl. 15 mm RWS Axle, 270 mm uncut steerer), it is competitively light. If you wanted to go all out light, you could go with the carbon crown/steerer version shaving of another 200 g and getting close to 1550 g for this fork. On the other hand, the MSRP of € 729.- for my version versus the € 999.- of the Carbon version is worth considering. US pricing is $1200.00- for the fork on test. For us Euros, the price is really competitive (given what we pay for ROCK SHOX or FOX forks over here ) but it may look differently from the US perspective .

The axle to crown length is 505 mm – pretty standard for a 100 mm fork.

The fork´s looks are also different from most any other fork. The two most striking features are the strongly sculptured rearward brace with its silver alloy insert (facing the front) and the deep black anodized 32 mm stanchions and alloy crown, which give the XMM a unique look. Not to say that this will necessarily translate into performance, but by the simple fingertip/fingernail testing – the stanchions´ coating appears verrry smoooth .

Looking at what this fork offers, I am really looking forward to this test and seeing how all this translates into the actual trail performance… It is always exciting to get ones hands on a new suspension fork …. with the XMM 100 and TRICON 1550 29 by DT-SWISS, known for their precision and excellent engineering even more so. Don´t you think the ROCKY MOUNTAIN Element test rig is looking sharp with them mounted? I do!!

RIDE ON,

c_g

Twenty Nine Inches - 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News

It has been some time since we last reviewed products by DT-SWISS here at TNI Europe. In 2010/11 we have had the first ever 29er complete wheel on test – the XM 1800 29″er, which were a great workhorse set but lacking in tubeless qualities and weight (see here). These wheels had been revised for 2012 and received a completely new tubeless rim design which makes them a whole lot more attractive.

All new for ´12 and adding quite a bit of bling is their Tricon XM 1550 29″er set of wheels. Tricon stands for „Triple Connection“ and is a technology envisioned by DT-SWISS and already well established in 26“ format. Now for 2012 they have added a set in 29″er format.

This is what DT-SWISS say about them : “Tricon technology evolves by using the feedback of pro riders, test riders from all disciplines and progress in material- and manufacturing-technology, proven components are improved and new wheels designed. …. the other new family member, the XM 1550 Tricon® 29, also makes good use of the stiffness provided by the open crowfoot lacing. It combines the immense grip of the big wheels with the suppleness of tubeless tires. At the same time it is elegant, lightweight and has the stiffness which makes all the difference between a mediocre and a good 29″er bike.“

THE NUMBER GAME: The XM 1550 29″er wheels are stated by DT-SWISS with an core applications in what they call Cross-Mountain – which ranges from XC-Allround to All Mountain / Trail riding. DT-SWISS extends the range weill into XC racing and even Enduro riding. DT-SWISS is known for emphasizing reliability and function over weight. The complete set weighs in at 1800 g (835 g – 100/15 mm front and 965 g – 142/12 mm rear), which is well within the ball park of the core applications. The wheels came to us in 15 mm through axle front and 10 mm RWS quick release rear, but with all parts necessary to adapt to any other axle standard. Conversion is easily achieved by different end caps. There is even a Lefty-specific front wheel available for those many lefty lovers .

DT-SWISS states a maximum rider weight of 100 kg for them which knowing their approach to safety can surely be called conservative.

Here a short rundown of the technologies involved in these wheels (directly out of the DT-SWISS tech book, with our comments):

Two piece hubs: The two piece flange and hub shell design keeps the bearing seat free of tension. This allows the bearings to spin as smoothly as possible.
(The discs are mounted via Centerlock adapters. The black shell and silver flanges make for a strikingly technical appearance – I like it!! No comment on function yet)

Straight double threaded spokes: This spoke connection is considerably stronger as it is play free on both ends and therefore subject to smaller peak loads (The spokes are the bladed kind – my favorite for their strength and weight. The aerodynamic advantage probably is negligible for the intended use, but the larger side profile sure helps making the all white spokes stand out even more ..)

Open crowfoot: Spoke pattern with combined radial and crossed spokes for high stiffness and perfect transmission of torques.-(Without being an expert wheel builder – having radial and crossed spoke lacing in combination makes sense to me … radial to maximize lateral stiffness and tangential for optimal power transfer. The special design requires a spoke count that can be divided by 3 – in the case of the Tricon 29″er it is a never before seen spoke count of 30!!)-

Torx nipples : Thanks to the Torx design the truing tool has a better grip on the nipple. (Anyone here, who has not fought with rounded alloy spoke nipples? )

Rim insert: The spoke inserts are supported on two sides in the rim creating a big contact surface. The rim can be designed lighter and is airtight for tubeless compatibility. (The silver inserts have a very large rim interface, which considering the really high spoke tension of 1050 N on the front and up to 1350 N on the rear, seems very sensible. Besides the blend in nicely into the rim, but add contrast by the silver color.)

Star ratchet: Thanks to the proven DT Swiss Ratchet System® the hubs can easily be converted to different axle standards and rotors. (Well known and proven system that is gret both in function and serviceability)

Concave rim profile: The concave shaped sidewalls counteract the expansion force induced by tire pressure and spoke pull. (25.8 mm wide on the outside and 19.5 mm inner width, completely tubeless and smooth welded joints)-

You see there are a whole lot of new technologies included in these wheels – some immediately make sense, some have a bit of “marketing air“ about them . I like the way the spokes are integrated into the hubs and rims. I am happy to see the rims being tubeless and how the inserts are integrated into the rim, but reading about the smoothly spinning bearings from the two piece hubs makes me wonder how I could have survived with my conventional hub designs all these years . Somehow I have never fought with badly spinning bearings on other hubs? Did you?

The DT-SWISS Racheting system is dead secure and bomb proof and seals/bearings usually are top notch with DT Swiss, so I am not expecting any issues with that, but how about the superior wheels stiffness by the Crowfoot lacing? How will the tubeless rims do tubeless? If I ever need to work on them, will the Torx Nipples really be better? How about converting to other axle standards and how about the overall ride feel of them?

… and how about the MSRP of € 1159.- (? $1650.00-)? That is about 30% less than the REYNOLDS MT29 (also on test) but a huge step up from the AMERICAN CLASSIC All- Mountain 29″er wheel set (reviewed recently on this site – see here).

Well, we will find out in the coming months … one thing though I can say right out of the box already: By looks these wheels are the most desirable set of wheels I have seen in
a long time. You may disagree, but I am looking forward to see them mounted up on my equally white´n red ROCKY MOUNTAIN Element 970 .

Stay tuned for the build and my first impressions on them to come your way soon.

RIDE ON,
c_g

Twenty Nine Inches - 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News

We looked at this ‘not for North American consumption’ single speed frame set from Specialized here in the last post and so now it is time to build it up and get on the trail.  First, the build up.  I had been pretty impressed with some of the SRAM based Truvativ parts on the Spot SS I had reviewed  and so I thought I would head that direction with a slight bump in quality into the 40 series, giving me some Noir T30 10S carbon bars, a T40 90mm stem,  T40 carbon seat post, and a regular Stylo OCT 1.1 SS crankset and GXP BB.  So there was a slight nod to carbon, but the parts were still very solid and simple.  The flat carbon bars are very nice at 700mms wide and with 10 degrees of sweep,  make for very nice SS bars with good leverage and hopefully some buzz deadening.

The brakes were some new ‘storm grey’ Avid Elixir 7s, a simple but decently light brake set that gave me some reach adjustment at the levers, but not much else as far as frills.  160mm HS1 rotors front and rear did the deed. A WTB Pure V saddle is my go to saddle for any hardtail as it is well padded, wide, and has a kick at the back that feels great when sitting and pushing a tough gear.

The rest of the parts were borrowed from other bikes as I was waiting for some wheels and a new fork.  So, to get on the trail in the meantime, I grabbed a set of Easton EA90XCs with the blingy red hubs, a set of Geax TNT AKA 2.2s run tubeless, and a 2010 Fox F-29 that I stepped down to 80mm of travel to stay closer to the intent of a stock (geared) Carve in geometry.  The gearing went to my fav…a 34T chain ring matched to a 21T rear Surly cog and a SRAM PC991 hollow pin 9 spd chain.

Phew!  On the scale the Carve with SPDs weighed in at 23 pounds.  That was right at the weight of the Spot Rocker SS and that bike had felt fast enough.  Sweet!  It turned out to be a good looking bike and the lines on this one are much closer to the look of a Stumpjumper than the old Rockhopper SS.  It looks fast just standing still.

I now have a good amount of hours on the Carve Pro SS, maybe 50 or so, over a blend of local sub 2 hour rides and some much longer endurance stuff, including a 65 mile event over sections of the very rough and challenging Arizona Trail and I have some strong impressions of the frame, so here goes:

• Pedaling performance - even if you are not racing, an SS is very much about what it does when you push very hard on that single gear.  If that feels dull or the bottom bracket swings around, the frame deflects too much, or it just plods along, then you will not be happy.  Well the Carve Pro SS simply is very, very good here.  I only do not say great as, when compared to carbon, it is just a bit less snappy and solid, but really, it impresses me every time I ride it and I KNOW that there have been a lot of moments that the light weight, good wheels, and stiff pedaling response has gotten me over the top of iffy, grinding climbs.  Compared to the older Rockhopper SS I rode, this frame is much, much more dialed for single speed use.
• Handling - With the already somewhat low A/C Fox F-29, the 80mm setting gave me a nearly 72 degree head tube angle and handling that was not too quick really, but not to my liking as an all day trail single speed.  So, I upped the travel back to the 100mm setting and that felt spot on.  The Fox fork at 100mm is still a bit under, say, a Reba at 100mm, as far as A/C height, so I am likely at an equivalent setting of 90mm in a Reba, but it feels right.  I will be moving to a new fork soon, a 2012 Manitou Tower Pro at 100mm, so we shall see if that feels proper or not with a slight bump in ride height.  With the 80mm setting, it felt low and racy.  With the 100mm setting it feels more trail friendly and is a good mix of slow to fast, never feeling too twitchy.  Steering wise, the Carve goes right where I point it and hard pulls on the bars do not show any frame twisting that I can sniff out.  All that hydroformed tubing and tapered head tube stuff is gettin’ it done.
• The ride - I was most concerned about this part of having an aluminum hard tail.  I am not getting any younger, so getting beat up is not my idea of a good time.   I am, after all, a steel fan, but this frame gives pedaling performance that no average steel bike I have been on can match (although the Spot Rocker might be there…but it costs three times what this does).  So what I did do was keep to a slightly fuller figured tire in the 2.2 Geax AKA and ran it at 26psi.  That was enough to keep my rims off the rocks and still take a bunch of the trail chatter out.  The carbon seat post is decently compliant, but the aluminum  version in a T30 actually rides nicer.  However, besides what that is doing for me I have been quite pleased at how the Carve frame treats me over a long day.  It is no smooove steel whippet, but it only feels like aluminum when I hit something like a succession of ruts at speed, then it kicks up a bit where the Spot seemed to not be all that disturbed.  Now it is a hard tail, right?  So that is that, but I could ride this full time and to prove it, I had the choice recently of taking the Epic with carbon wheels, the smooth and steel Blackbuck SS, and the Carve on a recent endurance race over some pretty rough country around Tucson, Arizona.  I took the Carve and it treated me very well.  In the end, it is a trade off that every rider makes based on their preferences and terrain.
• Other stuff - the Easton EA90 XC wheels actually are pretty darn good on here and light enough at around 1700g, but the inner rim width of 19mm is limiting in that at lower than 25psi settings, I think I can feel the tires rolling over a bit on hard turns.  Could be my imagination, but it went away at a bit higher air pressures.  Wider is better when it comes to rims, single speed bikes and bigger tires at low pressures.  I have a set of single speed wheels from American Classic that will be replacing the Eastons and I will gain some rim width there at the same approx weight.  The Geax AKAs are a fast rolling tire and have good volume but are not so great when it is loose rubble over hard pack or in sand and the rear tire spins easily on steeper climbs in those conditions.  But when there has been some moisture in the ground, they just hook up and fly.  I ended up with a chain stay length of 17.5″ (pretty much) but I am nearly at the end of the eccentric bottom bracket swing so I think I need to revisit that chain length.  I think what I really need is a 1/2 link to get that number down, but do they make those for 9 speed chains?  I don’t think so, so I may swap to a SRAM 8 speed chain and use a 1/2 link there.  There is no real need for a 9 speed chain on as single speed anyway and I have used some of the better quality 8 speed chains with great success.  They are cheaper, too.

The Carve has won me over, something I thought no aluminum frame could do.  It is not quite as smooth as some steel bikes I have ridden nor quite as direct and zippy as some of the better carbon ones, but for value vs. performance, it is a pretty hard to beat deal.  It would make a fine race bike and it would not be the lack of a carbon frame that made the podium difference if you lost on a Carve Pro SS.  Compared to something like a Niner Bikes One 9 at a suggested retail of $899.00, the Carve is half the cost or less and has a superior eccentric bottom bracket set up in my opinion.  It is better than I expected it to be as an all around trail single speed.  The tire clearance is very good, even with the plump 2.2 AKA and I think a reasonable 2.3 would fit too.  The worst thing I can say about the Carve Pro SS is that most of the readers of this article will not be able to buy one and that is a shame.

Time to send a few emails to the Big S about that, eh riders?  We are not done with the Carve Pro SS by a long shot, so stay tuned as it gets a new fork and new wheels and gets back out there for some Spring epics.

A pilgrim in a foreign land.

NOTE:  The Carve Pro SS was provided at no cost to twentynineinches.com. We were not paid or bribed and we gave our honest opinions of this product.

Twenty Nine Inches - 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News

Many of you who pay attention to these little bits and remarks in our posts might remember a couple of references to the ONZA brand (e.g in the posts on the BMC Speedfox SF29). Also, those of you who are a bit older, will remember ONZA from the “olden days” when they made a range of tires, grips, seatposts and some of the most controversial pedals (elastomer, not spring based) that I know of. Their popularity has wavered over the years and I believe that at one point they may have been out of business all together. Well, Onza’s back (same name but as a SWISS company!!) with a full range of tires for road, BMX and various types of mountain bike riding. (www.onzatires.com). For this test Cosmic Sports (www.cosmicsports.de), the ONZA distributor for Germany has sent us a pair of Onza Canis MTB XC Race/All Mountain tires. There are several versions and sizes of this tire in the 26” format but for the 29” Canis there is only one size (2.25” ) with the choice of two different casing qualities (60 or 120 TPI). Thus far, the 29″er tires, strangely, don’t appear on either website but they are available. In any case, My two samples weighed in at 780 g & 790 g, while according the info we have, they’re supposed to weigh 700 g a piece. Early production issues or an overly optimistic brochure?

PRE-RIDE DESCRIPTION: The tread pattern is a “curious” mix of repeating widely spaced knobs and also four triangular-closely spaced knobs in a triangular pattern. All the front faces of those tread knobs are tapered to help reduce rolling resistance which seems to work. Between those sets is a trio consisting of an “X” in the middle and a couple of reverse facing knobs. Also, all along the outside of the tire there is a row of side knobs for cornering traction. The photo shows better. On the 2.25” version that I have they measure at 52.6 and 53.0 mm for the casing and slightly wider at 54.6 and 55.0mm on the widest point of the tread. Oh, and there’s a cute little wolf paw print that occurs on the tire occasionally as well.

This version of the Canis on test comes marked with C3 120 ( that is 120 TPI casing), which suggests a soft and supple but equally light and durable casing. In direct comparison to other 120 TPI casing tires it feels quite firm though. The compound is called RC2 (Dual Racing Compound) which is 65a/55a durometer dual compounds split between the center and the sides. Like the other the 26” versions it is tubeless ready. Onza rates the Canis 5/5 for rolling resistance (on the good side I’m assuming) and 2/5 for cornering efficiency. ONZA’s recommendation is for hard pack or medium soil and loose over hard surfaces. MSRP of the 29″er version on test is € 59.00. The lower end version should be a bit cheaper.

MOUNTING & RIDE IMPRESSIONS: Mounting the tires onto the BERGAMONT´s EASTON EA70s was a lot harder than I had expected. I broke one plastic lever trying to pry it on. Strangely c_g who has the same tires and wheels on his current test rig, (the BMC), didn’t have any such issues – so it may be that mine were brand new or simply an overly tight batch – I will report back on this in my later posts. Initially I mounted only one tubeless which pumped up immediately with a floor pump and no “sauce” inside. When later I finally mounted the other tire as tubeless also, it had stretched out while being used with the tube, giving me some difficulty in re-inflating it tubeless. After a couple of rides on the tires in gravel, rocks, snow, ice and pavement, I have had no issues in regards to the performance of the tire. In fact, I like them quite a lot. They roll well, dig into nearly any surface and hold well and corner well. You can see in the photos that they shed mud relatively well too, but then again my dirt is not the sticky clay-based kind.

Due to the cold/ice I haven’t really tested how far it can lean before breaking free though but I will keep on riding them and report back in more detail – this is merely a first impression after all.

Keep on Riding!
M1

Note by c_g: The ONZA Canis have also been on the two BMC rigs reviewed here recently (here and here), so we have double ride impressions on them. I will chime in with M1´s ride impressions when due.

Twenty Nine Inches - 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News

In our last post we had presented you with the verdict on the BMX Speedfox SF29. While being completely different in riding style and background, both I and Banks have come to similar conclusions: The SF29 is trail bike by nature that meets the needs of those riders looking for a all-day, confidence inspiring rig (for the full post – see here). When picking up the Speedfox M. Eggiman from BMC asked whether we wanted to extend the test by riding their TEAMELITE TE 29″er hard tail for a few days … and of course we took that offer.

The Teamelite also features BMC´s signature trademark ICS design (“integrated skeleton concept”) with strongly hydroformed tubes. I have never seen anything like the top tube´s
cross section that resembles the letter T. Part of the ICS is the split top tube towards the seat tube junction, meeting the seat stays pretty low on the seat tube (kind of reminds me of GT Bike´s Triple Trangle design).The components are absolutely identical to the Speedfox – down to the last bit … also in tech features (tapered headtube, 73 mm BSA bottom bracket, direct mount front derailleur, post mount brake mounts and 135 mm quick release rear axles). One thing I am not a fan of is how the shifter cables run openly along the down tube – fully exposed to the elements and directly under attack from dirt coming off the front wheel.

While in other aspects pretty well thought through, I was surprised to see a very limited chain ring clearance. The 24/38 double chain rings have only 2 mm distance to the chain stays – that reads trouble if you ever have a chain suck.

In geometry BMC went for their own interpretation of 29″er handling in the TE29, which consists of 70° head and 73° seat angles, a pretty roomy effective top tube (615 mm in size M) but a short chain stay length (430 mm, achieved through the bend seat tube) and a 65 mm bottom bracket drop: Again one finds a tall but short stem (70 mm) mated to a wide and sweeping flat bar.

There are two versions of the TEAMLITE 29: A budget version (SHIMANO SLX drive train with Rock Shox Recon Gold fork and Elixir 3 brakes, claimed weight: 12.0 kg) and the X.O on test (FOX Float RLC 32 Factory QR15, EASTON EA 70 XCT wheels, Elixir 7 brakes with Carbon levers). The prices are € 1599.- and € 2999.- respectively. My sample (size M) weighed 11,45 kg (25.44 lbs). At a claimed 1725 g ( 3.8 lbs) for the frame alone and the decent spec, my primary target for weight saving would be the wheels – at about 2.0 kg for the set of EASTON EA70 XCT and 800 g for a tire there is lots of potential there – but it really depends on what kind of ride the bike is so let´s directly step into my …….

RIDE IMPRESSIONS: Even after my limited ride time on the Teamelite TE29 it is obvious how this bike has a completely different personality than the Speedfox SF29. The TE29 spells NIMBLE in capitol letters. It can be steered intuitively both by leaning and steering. While by numbers only 5 mm longer, it feels a whole lot more stretched and clearly aimed at speed and efficiency. This bike immediately has you set out for the next sprint! Getting out of the saddle is very natural. No. it is not a XC racer by weight but it sure rides like one. The frame is pretty stiff, too. I could get a bit of front end flex when trying hard, but nothing that is distracting when riding. The good stiffness and steering precision also translates into a rather direct “zingy” ride – very little damping to be felt from either frame or seat post.

DESCENDING on the Teamelite is a very secure thing – the short stem and wide bar maximize control without disturbing the agility. There is never the sensation to go over the front wheel, regardless of how steep or technical things get. The bike with its agile handling requires a bit of handling skills, but not capricious by any means. On the more wintery trails (read: wet and slippery) I sometimes found myself over steering, putting the front and rear wheel into a easily controlled drift, which soon became a really fun way of taking the corners
.
CLIMBING? Really good. Just like the Speedfox it took every climb willingly and stoically. Here the efficiency and excellent power transfer really help getting you to the top. Again no issues with the short and steep stem – thanks to the very short head tube and integrated headset.

One thing though: When cranking really hard, I noticed some rubbing sensation coming from the rear, which turned out to be the tire rubbing against the shifter cable. Obviously my
bike had a wrong cable guide mounted that made the cable intersect into the otherwise good tire clearance. BMC knows about this (the first batch of bikes has that problem) and has
provided a correct shifter guide for those few bikes affected. All newer bikes don´t have that problem.

In contrast there is no mud build up at the chain stay as there is no bridge behind the bottom bracket. Even the worst of conditions could not get any mud accumulation in that crucial area.

IMPRESSION SUMMARY: It has only been a brief period on the BMC Teamelite TE29, but a fun one. What a contrast! Where the SF29 has been a trail bike by nature, the BMC Teamelite TE29 is a XC rocket! It loves tight and twisty single tracks and is trimmed for efficiency. I virtually jells out “Race me!” Excellent control and great fun in the twiesties. The only thing holding back the bike´s urge for speed and great climbing qualities is the precise but slightly overweight wheels – the EASTON EA 70 XCTs and ONZA Canis are great for their good all around qualities, but would not be my choice for XC or racing. (Yes, with the very limited tire clearance, due to the wrong cable guide, my bike has not been perfect but since this has been resolved already by BMC, I won´t hold it against the bike in general .. only against their claim for perfectionism, good to see even the Swiss re human and make mistakes .)

Thanks BMC for your support in the testing period and keep those 29″er bikes coming!

RIDE ON,
c_g

PS: We have just received an e-mail from BMC and GATES on bikes done in cooperation with each other – both to be part of of the lifestyle range for BMC. I especially think that the MC01 is a really sexy bike, don´t you!? (For further details go to www.bmc-racing-com.)

Twenty Nine Inches - 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News