And the news keep on coming – this time we are to present the 2013 product news by DT- SWISS and SCHWALBE. Now it is DT-SWISS´s turn. For all those who have already asked where the name DT-SWISS comes from, here is the answer:

• D stands for “Drahtarbeiten“ (German for „wire works”)
• T stands for “Tréfilileries” (French for „wire works“)
• SWISS is … well you know they are SWISS through and through .

The 2-fold “wire work” refers to the complete bilingual (German and French) life in the city of Biel in which DT-SWISS´s origin and headquarters (management, R&D, design and testing) are located. DT-SWISS, whose origins lay in a company called a “United Wire Works (dating back into the 17th century), has become an independent company in 1995 with the production of spokes and over the years has added more and more components (nipples, hubs, rims) until they were able to produce complete wheels all by their own. To our knowledge DT-SWISS currently still is the only company worldwide that develops, manufactures and builds every component of their own wheels. For the 29er market the entry has been somewhat slow with a few rims, then the middle-class wheelset M1800 29 (tested here in 2011) and in 2012 with the currently high-end XM1550 TRICON 29 wheelset (currently under test) and the “race only” XRC 950 T 29 (tubular wheels).

Another pillar of DT-SWISS since 2001 has been suspension technology, initially with their own shock and later on with their own forks (after purchasing the suspension technology and production from British PACE CYCLES). Faithful readers know that we are currently reviewing such a 29″er fork, the XMM 100 29 with the cool Twin-Shot damping technology.

So much for the past, but now to the interesting news for 29″er fans:

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SPLINE wheels:

For 2013 DT-SWISS introduces a brand new family of wheels, which will replace some of the conventionally built wheels in their current line-up – the all new SPLINE series (Staight Pull Line). DT has produced such straight pull hubs and wheels for other companies for some years, but now is offering them for the first time directly under the DT-SWISS label. The wheels are based on specific hubs for straight spokes and tubeless ready rims. All hubs are convertible between RWS quick release (with aluminum levers) and through axles by exchanging the end caps.

For 29″er, there will be 3 categories differing in the quality of the individual components and thus by weight & price.

The top-end XR 1450 SPLINE 29 with a really good 1555 g for the set, will come with the finest balded spokes, welded rim (18 mm inner width and 28 h) and the proven star ratchet engagement. This wheel set is kept in all white and directed at racers reaching for a podium finish. They were also mounted on my bike, during the demo ride … but more on that later.

Next in line is the X 1600 SPLINE 29 wheel set with a respectable weight of 1770 g, but with sleeved rims (28h), butted round spokes and a little simpler hubs (but still with a star ratchet freewheel system). With these specs it should appeal more to performance-oriented all-round / touring bikers.

Last of the bunch is the X 1900 SPLINE 29, with straight (non butted) spokes, a 2-pawl engagement system on the 6-hole hub and simpler pinned rims, which, although slightly increasing in weight (as indicated: 2027 g), is said to excel in durability and is designed to combine high responsiveness with a “very competitive” price.

As with all the other 2013 products no prices were set at the time.

Contrary to my expectations (especially after the victory by Nino Schurter on his 650b SCOTT Scale), there will be only one 650b wheel set for 2013 by DT-SWISS, the M 1700 SPLINE 650b. It will come with a 6-bolt hub, star ratchet engagement and a 19.5 mm wide (inner width), sleeved- rim. The set is said to weigh around 1785 g. The photo shows Florian Vogel’s race bike with a 650b fork and tubular wheels.

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Interesting to custom wheel fans are the 240s & 350 Straight pull hubs, both in quick release and through axle versions (easily convertible). Special straight pull spokes from the Competition-family (butted 2.0 to 1.8 mm) will be available in 2013 as well. Driven by the increasing demand for through axle type hubs in the XC-segment DT-SWISS introduces the top- of-the-line hub 180s Carbon Ceramic for ’13 as through axle version.

The rim range remains unchanged. Top of the line are the XR 400 29 rims (450 g), followed by the X 470 (470 g, formerly called X 430 29) – both directed at Cross-Country racing and lighter riders with their inner width of „only“ 18 mm. Tougher and wider are the XM 490 (500 g, 29 formerly known as X450) and the M 520 (520 g, M480 formerly 29), each with 19.6 mm inner width for tour to all-mountain and more aggressive riders.

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As a (somewhat belated) response to the shocks (with platform damping) by ROCK SHOX and FOX, DT-SWISS presented the X-313 Cross shock. Just like the current M 212 shock, it will have adjustable (low speed) rebound damping but additionally to OPEN and LOCK-OUT option it will come with a third mode called „DRIVE MODE“ (which is a platform damping). Unfortunately we only had a quick spin on a bike equipped with this shock (with a promising first impression), but hope to receive a test-shock in the coming time.

As a world premier, we also got to see the all-new X 313 Carbon Cross Shock, with the same interior, but with carbon Air-Chamber and weight-optimized small parts that will hit the scale at only 145 g (or 165 g with a handlebar remote).

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When it comes to 29″er suspension forks DT-SWISS again read the signs of the time and now will complete the range of the XMM 29″er forks (100 or 120 mm travel) with a top version, by combining the lighter carbon fiber steerer / crown with a 15 mm through axle lower. The weight is specified at 1632 g (100 mm) or 1647 g (120 mm).

Shown as a prototype only (and already ridden by team SWISSPOWER this season) the 650b fork will not go into production for 2013.

Smaller modifications (but by no means less important) are the modified remote lockout lever with which DT responds to criticism on durability and mounting. With a slightly different design it is now less fragile and easier on your bars (by adding small rubber inserts on the inside), but remains to bet he world´s lightest at 11 g (!) and most minimalistic with its width of 6 mm.

During our winter riding of the XMM fork we encountered a poor suspension performance at extremely low temperatures with the XMM fork, so they have worked to resolve this by new upper wiper seals and introducing a special oil (called PANOLIN) for lubrication and damping duties. Since the oil is said to improve the overall feel of the fork – we have asked DT-SWISS to do those modifications on our test fork (along with swapping from the remote lock-out lever to the fork mounted one) – but we will report on that in the next update of our fork review.

Soon, we will report on new products by SCHWALBE and the the demo ride we took with the XR 1450 SPLINE 29″ wheels on a STÖCKLI BERYLL Carbon RC 29″er hardtail.

RIDE ON
c_g

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

Well, Chris King has stepped up to put another choice out there. Here is the Press Release:

Image courtesy of Chris King

Introducing 83mm and 100mm Chris King Bottom Brackets

It’s no secret that downhill and fat bikes experience a tremendous amount of abuse putting significant wear and tear on their components. With the introduction of the new Chris King downhill (83mm) and fat (100mm) bike bottom brackets these off road titans can now rely on the precision and reliability built in to every Chris King component.

Our peerless bearings lie at the heart of our bottom brackets. Starting with high quality domestically sourced materials we create our own angular contact bearings in-house. This design virtue allows Chris King sealed bearings to wear in rather than wear out. Our bottom bracket features a specifically designed sealing system that integrates with our injection tool allowing the system to be purged and re-greased quickly and easily. This combination of strength and serviceability gives us the confidence to offer an industry leading 5-year warranty. Like the slippery smoothness of ceramic? All of our bottom brackets are also available with ceramic ball bearings.

For more on Chris King bottom brackets, see the site here.

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

Life as a bike tester is usually great – you get to ride cool bikes and parts, meet new people and do what is fun anyway … biking. But sometimes, when for days all circles around bike issues, it also happens that I just get enough if it. And so it was near the end of the BIKE festival and I still needed to take the new FELT Edict Nine for a ride (tough life, I know ).

The 2013er FELT Edict Nine was already revealed at Sea Otter, but since Grannygear had not had the opportunity to cover it, it was up to me. Undoubtedly, the bike is a real looker – the flowing lines and sporty graphics are simply beautiful. Then there are the top end components of the test bike (complete with XX group, SID XX fork and a set of brand new MAVIC SLR 29″er wheels ?), but somehow I just didn’t feel like test riding another bike – well, I’m only human after all .

Therefore, the pre-ride talk was cut rather short, and after some adjusting, I was ready for the test ride – Mt. Brione was the destination.

One thing immediately sticking out is the FAST suspension system (“Felt Stay Active Technology”), in which the rear pivot point is eliminated and handled by the flex of the carbon rear triangle. The whole suspension system is designed in a way that the unsagged rear is slightly tensioned, and only becomes tension free in the range of the recommended sag. This way the rear can be built lighter, stiffer and as part of the suspension equation. The suspension itself is a rocker driven single pivot system with 100mm of rear travel.

It is interesting to see how FELT sticks to traditional values like a quick release rear, International Standard brake bosses, a BSA bottom bracket, and a clamped front derailleur. Doubtlessly State of the Art is the special carbon construction (FELT calls it “Inside Out”) where FELT utilizes a PU high pressure bladder on the inside of the mold to best utilize the material and achieve the highest strength and stiffness at the lowest possible weight, by squeezing out every unnecessary resin.

A real treat to the eyes are the asymmetrical chain stays that combine a good tire and chain ring clearance with great stiffness in an aesthetically pleasing way. Unlike many competitors nowadays only the rear derailleur cable runs internally on the Edict Nine, the brake line and the front derailleur cable all run externally on the down tube. Almost standard by now is the tapered head tube and 15mm through axle on the front.

But now to the actual RIDE IMPRESSIONS:
Already on the first few meters, I noticed how sporty yet comfortable and easy to handle the Edict Nine feels. The steep angles (71.5° head and 73° seat angle) together with the moderately long rear (450 mm chain stay length) result in a pleasing and harmonious all-around handling.

Despite the XC-like position with low front, I felt very good on the bike. Not surprisingly, that the Edict was a great performer when it came to going fast. After the first 100 meters in altitude gain, I knew that the bike is really stiff and precise. It is perhaps not quite such an extreme race machine as the BIANCHI Methanol 29″er (here), but it definitely is a fast bike. The race with my E-Bike armed Co-tester showed how much fun all out riding this bike is The rear end felt consistent and pleasant when climbing even with the rear shock´s platform damping on open. With the platform damping engaged it felt like a pure breed XC racer, and with the shock locked it ran like a hard tail – Exactly as it should be for this bike.

Up to this point the FELT Edict Nine positively surprised me as a pleasantly riding, strong and stiff XC-/endurance race bike, but even that could change my reluctant mindset only partly. On top of all that the mounted ROCK SHOX RT3 (a early ’13 prototype!) failed briefly before we reached the summit leaving me with only 50 mm of completely undamped rear travel … and thus robbed me of my hopes of a fun downhill. Because of this defect, I can say very little about the rear suspension performance, but a lot about the bike´s handling.

Those readers that know the downhill of Mt. Brione, know that it has a lot to offer, from flowing, gently winding passages, to real steep steps and rock strewn sections. Actually, I was expecting some sections where the Edict with its XC-ish handling would probably be overwhelmed, but none of that. Already halfway down (and with a 130mm 29″er full suspension bike breathing down my neck) it dawned to me that the EDICT NINE was more than just a great XC rocket. On the second half of the downhill I deliberately took the heavier lines and rode more aggressively still, yet never came to a point of anxiety or overwhelming. The rear suspension was indeed harsh and completely out of control, but the bike itself has been as good-natured and confident as I very rarely see in such a fast XC bike.

A big compliment to FELT for this brilliant and versatile 29″er geometry! Back at the Felt booth my mental low had completely vanished thanks to the excitement about the FELT Edict Nine.

A few words about the different FELT Edict Nine models: The top-end version with “UHC Ultimate + Nano” Carbon frame (as ridden), will likely come as a frameset (with damper, as with the FELT Edict Six). The slightly heavier “UHC Performance” carbon frames and the triple-butted 7005 alloy frames should come as complete bikes. The aluminum frames get an additional pivot as the alloy rear wouldn’t take the flex without.

The exact specifications and versions are not yet set and may also vary depending on the market. Same for prices and expected availability – we will communicate when we learn more.

RIDE ON
c_g

Ps: The first impression of the Crossmaxx Mavic SLR 29″er wheels have also been very positive – fast, light and precise as far as the short test round can tell.

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

1, MAGURA 29″er forks (www.magura.com)


German component manufacturer MAGURA (Gustav Magenwirth GmbH & Co. KG) has already dropped smaller bits and pieces on their all new SLE product line (SLE stands for “Smarter, Lighter, Easier”), which will include 29″er forks for the first time. This should translate to optimum rigidity with minimal weight and very low-maintenance requirements with an easy setup. Hidden behind the new “Fork-Meister-Concept” (FMC) name are special bushings and surfaces that in connection with the “Fork-Meister- Grease” (FMG) are to provide a very sensitive action. The 29″er models will be available from 80 to 120 mm, with internal conversions only possible from 120 to 100 mm and from 80 mm to 100 mm.

The forks spring characteristics are deliberately designed to be progressive to avoid deep diving on technical descents and in steeps. The construction of the MAGURA forks with their typical Double Arch Design (DAD) is designed for uncompromisingly high rigidity. As a new feature all 29″er models, forks will receive the MAGURA M15 thru axle with a self-securing thread. The necessary Torx T25 key required to tighten the axle (universal for installation and service on the MAGURA MT brakes as well) can simply be inserted into the axle, where it is secured by an O-ring – so no risk of forgetting such a vital part (but you better not loose it ). As steerer options MAGURA offers 1 1/8 “and tapered (1 1/8 to 1 1/2). Another interesting feature are the “Protection Caps” at the bottom of the fork, that are designed to prevent damage to the dropouts and the rebound adjuster when the wheel is removed.

There will be three groups of forks to chose from: The middle class version TS6 and the top group TS 8 that is divided into a SL and a R version. All have the same lower legs with PM7“ brake mounts (meaning the smallest possible disc diameter is 180mm, stated incorrectly in one picture ).

• The TS 8 SL is the super-light version with fixed adjustable compression damping, firmer Albert SL (default platform, cannot be switched on or off!), adjustable rebound damping and air suspension with 80mm, 100mm or 120mm of travel.
• The TS 8 R is the all-arounder with DLO² compression damping (on/off either at the fork, or with RCL handlebar remote control), adjustable rebound damping and air suspension with 80mm, 100mm, 120mm. As option the DLO² can be replaced by Albert Select+, thereby providing an additional platform adjustment.
• The TS 6 is almost identical to the TS 8 R, but by the different internals and steerer tube comes out heavier and at more budget price.

The very attractive Lift Select adjustable travel (appx. 30 mm height difference) unfortunately won´t become available for the 29″er forks. Prices and delivery times are to follow, but we were promised a set of 29″er forks for testing. We will keep you updated. (In the 26″er fork range there will be more variations. The 26“ forks are designed to work equally well with 650b wheels.)

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2, BRAKE FORCE ONE disc brake (www.brakeforceone.com)

The BRAKE FORCE ONE disc (short: BFO) is the first and only product of the equally named German company. These high-end disc brakes are rather progressive and ahead of their time by using a low pressure design with a two-stage brake booster. By this the BFO achieves very high braking forces with minimal hand forces – a true one-finger brake, is claimed. The modulation is more like car brakes, contrary to the usual force-dependent modulation as with bicycle discs. Rubbing pads should therefore no longer be an issue, since the pads are pulled back actively and the resulting a gap between rotor and pads is considerably wider than with any other disc brakes on the market. The wider gap also provides for better ventilation and should make the brake be less sensitive to dirt. As the brake is designed as a low pressure system, there is no need for a reservoir tank. The engagement adjuster at the lever also functions as pad wear adjustment.

The specific operation of the stepped power transmission takes place by means of two pistons that divide the lever throw into two stages: a first (valve-controlled) phase quickly pushes the pads to the disk, and a second phase where the piston correlation is changed towards power, then applies a high braking force with little finger force required. The modulation is performed by the lever throw and not the finger force, which may feel odd at first. BFO indicates that you can go with rotors one size smaller than previously, without compromising on power or unnecessarily risking overheating and fading. Sounds good so far, wouldn’t you say?!

In addition to the „original“ BRAKE FORCE ONE, there will be a special edition by TUNE, called „KILL HILL“. The main differences from the BFO brake caliper is that the Kill Hill gets some extra milling, and the lighter ti-/alloy-hardware which is to shave another 15-20 g … and of course the TUNE typical anodized colors. The weight of the “normal” BFO (with 180 mm rotors and adapters) is stated at 220 g.

At the event we have only seen black anodized version of the brake, but in the production it will also give versions with red or black anodized calipers. The MSRP of the BFO (per brake) is a proud € 390.-, TUNE´s Kill Hill is closer to € 500.- so we are indeed talking High-End.

RIDING IMPRESSIONS: We had the occasion to ride a BFO equipped bike briefly and can say one thing with certainty:

• The BFO feels like no other known disc brake out there.
• It is one of the strongest we know of disc brakes and …
• the exclusively designed one-finger brake lever is definitely sufficient for any stopping action.

Unlike many other testers with whom we talked, we found the path-dependent braking feel is something we need time to get used to. The short test has not been enough for us to feel 100% comfortable with them which is why we are in discussions for a long term test with BFO.

We are looking forward to this test and are eager to see how we get used to the new “brake feel”.

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3, FOX Doss adjustable seatpost.

Dropper seat posts are a fine thing in varying technical trails if you do not count every gram on your bike. In my opinion they enhance riding pleasure and safety big time. Now there is another offering of that sort. After a long wait, endless prototyping and testing, FOX now has presented their first adjustable post – the DOSS. Unlike many other such posts, the Doss is not an infinitely adjustable post, but offers 3 fixed height settings – following the 2013 motto of their suspension products of CTD (Climb – Traction – Descent).

• The top position is the “Climb” position
• A 40 mm lowered “trail” position allows a good combination of control and freedom of movement.
• The lowered “Descent” position (lowered depending on the model 100 or 125 mm) for maximum freedom of movement .

The post will be a 30.9 and a 31.6 mm diameter and either 100 or 125 mm adjustment range to choose from.

The Doss is locked into position via several cams that ensure a never before known lack of free play and extreme longevity. The extension of the post is indeed driven pneumatically, but claims are it could be operated manually even at zero pressure (the recommended pressures are as low as 10 to 25 psi or 0.7 to 1.6 bar). All FOX Doss come with the new cable-operated remote control, that can be mounted right and left, above and below the handlebars. Boy, but it looks rather chunky. The weight should be in the league of the competition around 500 g.

Although Fox has not yet fixed the final price, the DOSS is likely to be more expensive than the competition – a concession to the elaborate construction and high manufacturing costs. Availability is scheduled for August’12.

Tomorrow we will have the final post of the Garda Festival with another ride report.

Until then …
RIDE ON
c_g

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

And on we go with the finds from the BIKE Festival in Riva.

• Who rides to work with the bike a lot and is struggling with the daily strenuous exercise?
• Who has a „weaker“ partner / friend who is struggling to keep up?
• Who often rides with children in the trailer and notices how the strain on their muscles finishes them off too quickly?
• Who of you is forced to realize that he/she is not as strong a rider as years ago?

Whoever answers even one of the above questions with a YES, may find interesting the following post, because it is about 29″er MTB pedelecs!

Never heard of Pedelecs before? These are the bikes often referred to as E-Bikes, but with the electric motor supporting only during active pedal pressure and intervening only to 25 km/h (beyond that it is all your legs ). Such bikes are getting increasingly popular here in Europe (because they don´t require any license or special insurance), but the fact that there are now even 29″er mountain bikes pedelecs, shows that the 29″ers are not understood as a niche anymore. This was reason enough for us to take a look at these bikes at the show.

Dont worry, we will not bother with wattage, battery capacity, yield, or the intricacies of the various technologies – there are specialists in the field and we sure are NOT. What we wanted to find out was, quite simply, the answers to the following questions:

• How do these bikes ride, uphill and downhill on the road and on the trail?

• How do the extra weight and construction related often much longer wheelbase affect handling?

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One of the earliest 29″er MTB pedelecs that we know, the ROTWILD R.C1 HT29 Hybrid unfortunately was not for test at the fair (the photo is from Eurobike). The bike is similar to the bikes featured in that it runs by a Bosch central engine that provides up to 250 watts and allows for only one chain ring. As with all, the degree of support is variably selectable via an easily accessible display on the bar. The battery is like most such systems fixed somewhere within the main triangle. The ROTWILD R.C1 HT29 Hybrid is probably one of the 29″ers most aesthetically pleasing pedelecs, but at € 3999.- it may well be one of the more expensive ones, too.

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The first 29″er Pedelc, we’ve had a go on, was the recently introduced HAIBIKE eQ XDURO 29″. The elaborately manufactured frame (triple-butted 6061 aluminum) is designed to act as protective cage for the low-sitting assist motor but creates a optically “unusual” silhouette.

The components are all MTB worthy: The drive train consists of a mix of Shimano´s Deore and XT (in this case because of the Bosch drive in a 1×10 setting) and the MAGURA MT brakes with 203 mm front and 180 rear rotors are well adapted for the higher total weight. The front shock is a Rock Shox Reba RL with 100mm of travel.

On a tour of Mt. Brione (some may know it) the eQ XDURO 29″ showed us what it is about. The assist motor is really potent, and allowed even the weakest rider in the group to pull away from all of us. We noticed positively how sensitive the drive acted so that even in steep loose gravel sections we always had enough control to ride safely and never loose traction. Logically, we had to ride a little careful in technical terrain as ground clearance was a bit compromised, but overall, the bike behaved with quite a good-natured attitude. The total weight of approximately 19.6 kg (43.2 lbs) showed up less negatively than expected, however the central motor, required the bike to have an extremely long rear end (500 mm chain stay length!). Combined with the 69 ° steering angle and high front (135mm head tube) this made for a rather unflattering ride down. Too slow and stable in the rear and almost nervously on the front. At € 2699.- the XDURO ist he least expensive of the bunch.

All experiences from the brief ride put together we think of the HAIBIKE eQ XDURO 29“ more of tame tourer and off road commuter than an actual MTB pedelec, but given a few geometry tweaks there is quite some potential for a real trail worthy steed.

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The second pedelec we tried was the CUBE EPO 29″er (EPO stands for “E-Power”, though the general connotation may lead down different paths). We have already introduced this 29″er briefly during our Eurobike’11 coverage (here).

With this bike the drive is completely integrated into the rear hub, a system that is called DYNAMIC E-Assist. The rechargeable battery is also integrated and acts as a seat post … actually a quite charming approach. The EPO comes with a 3×10 mix by Shimano, a Reba RL 100 fork and costs a fair € 2999.-.

The test bike weighed 20.5 kg (45,2 lbs) with the weight concentrated on the rear. When climbing one feels little of this and with the neutral yet not too relaxed postion, one feels just like with any other MTB. Even on the technical downhill sections the EPO rode pleasantly and with a good-natured handling. The only downside of the extreme imbalanced weight distribution was how the rear side had a tendency to suddenly break free on loose surfaces if you were not extremely careful with the brake fingers. We believe it is possible to lift the rear wheel in a controlled way, but for us (given the short time on the bike, we never managed.

Still we find the claim of a true off-road mountain bike 29″er with the CUBE EPO closely met – which we contribute mostly to the trail worthy geometry. For MTB applications we actually see that the rear engine (and weight associated) compromise the balance and ultimately the handling more than we had wished.

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The last rig for this the short pedelec test was the all new CENTURION Backfire Ultimate e29. Like the HAIBIKE e29, this pedelec also is based on a BOSCH-drive, but in a 110 ° rotated position, so that the assist drive actually is quite a bit exposed and at risk of impact – ground clearance is limited to 260 mm. The function and operation was also very efficient and pleasant, and even more difficult climbs with loose surfaces were a breeze. Very good. As far as the handling goes, we found the CENTURION to be the most coherent and most good-natured of the trio – not least because of the compact geometry and central/low weight. Even small jumps and technical sections were no problem with the CENTURION e29 – the exposed drive never gave us any trouble during the short testing round up Pobale road, but ground clearance was always present in our minds – we would expect that sooner or later in technical terrain, we would have some unwanted ground contact. All components of the bike, the 100 mm Fox fork, to the powerful brakes, or 1×10 drive train seemed very well adapted. At 18.3 kg the Backfire Ultimate e29 also was the lightest bike tried.

Although we do have our concerns because of the location of the BOSCH drive, the CENTURION Backfire e29 felt like the most balanced and trail worthy pedelec 29″ers we tried. Unfortunately the bike was so new that CENTURION was unable to give us any details on availability, pricing or the geometry of the bike so all we have is our driving impression for this assessment – but these were rather promising.

* It was also interesting to see how the 1×10 driven bikes with the BOSCH engine allowed as steep climbs, as the 3×10 on the CUBE, whose transmission in theory should be even better suited for mountain biking. Instead, we even noticed a tendency for a slightly uneven pedal stroke in the lowest gear with the CUBE, that we never observed among other bikes.

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FIRST CONTACT CONCLUSIONS: After the three trips with these three 29″ers pedelecs we understand how, even for experienced bikers there is some fun factor in such bikes. Although two of the bikes could not convince us completely in terms of handling – the HAIBIKE suffered from the unusual geometry, the CUBE from the rear weight distribution – we were positively surprised to see that the high weight and somewhat slower handling have not been as dominant as we expected . CENTURION caused us some mental discomfort by the exposure of the engine, but could otherwise infatuate us most – whether on- or off-road and even in difficult terrain, it ran almost like a normal (really heavy ) 29″er mountain bike.

Ultimately, we see the pedelecs based on 29″er mountain bikes to be quite exciting concepts that as tested grant access for easy to moderate MTB tours to a wide audience. From the perspective of a real „performance“ mountain bike, the CENTURION provided the best compromise of off-road handling and riding pleasure. However, since some of us answered more than just one of the initial questions with YES, we will continue to keep half an eye on 29″er pedelecs and report more on them if necessary.

Tomorrow we will commence with “normal” 29″er MTB matters.

RIDE ON
c_g

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