Report by c_g

New offering on EURO Carbon 29er:

The PLASTIC ONE is a all out carbon frame executed in bare looks with only decals obscuring the carbon. Its strongly sloping top tube and clean lines say “racing” all over. The slight bend on the seat stays is supposed to make it more subtle.

Who said that 29er bikes all need to be originating in the US? Italian based GAS29 has quietly been a 29er exclusive company since 2006 (which in itself is already remarkable) and have just released news of their newest offering – an ultralight Carbon frame aptly called “PLASTIC ONE”.

This perspective gives a good impression of the elaborately manipulated top tube. Which is a bit conic towards the seat tube. The rear triangle is designed for maximum tire clearance

The frame is said to weigh at a respectable 1265 g. GAS29 is claiming to have designed the frame with a more than usual tire clearance, The PLASTIC ONE features all the up to date like post mount disc tabs, tapered head tube and BB30 bottom bracket cups.

The tubes are elaborately shaped and manipulated to create this magic ride of ultimate power transfer and subtlety. The bike will be clear coated only to show the sexy carbon look and keep the weight low. From the pictures the bikes looks nicely understated and fast.

The frame, just like all of GAS29er frames, is produced entirely in Italy. Up until now GAS29 has been focusing on the design and production of high quality steel frames (plus a tricky steel frame with a carbon seat tube) at affordable prices, so it is interesting to see them going off their beaten path and do an all-out, ultralight Carbon bike. The bike is said to be at production stage, with an estimated production / delivery time of 2- 4 weeks with direct distribution by GAS29 (info@gas29.com ).

The prices as communicated are at € 1765.- (in Europe incl. VAT) and $ 1735.- (for US excl. VAT), which is respectable considering the all Italian design and production. I am in discussions about what is going on and about an in depth look at the bike in the near future.

Prototype spy shot of yet another EURO 29er bike:

Yes, news just keep on coming and the 29er movement seems to be gaining momentum here in Europe even more. We have heard rumors of the Danish high end company PRONGHORN Racing prototyping their first 29er bike. The 2 year old company has made a name for themselves within racers circles with their efficient and advanced full suspension bikes (alloy and ultralight Carbon) and a 1-kg-Carbon-hard tail. PRONGHORN Racing claim for themselves to be the geekiest of bike enthusiasts and their bikes show it.

This frame features all the typical PRONGHORN Racing attributes like a horizontally mounted shock above the strongly curved head tube

Seems they have been tinkering with the 29er idea and are now ready now to step into prototyping. This first unofficial shot of a full suspension 29er has reached us by a perceptive reader, who has spotted the bike in northern Italy´s Lago de Garda, a real free ride and All Mountain mecca – thus the wide Velocity P35 rims, we conclude. The bike has one of those delightful (and expensive) DT-Swiss 29er fork mounted which is offered in 80 and 100 mm only; by this we assume the rear travel will be in that range as well.

The bike seems to be fairly large prototype executed in alloy. The horizontal shock is mounted above the top tube, a typical and easily recognized characteristic of all Pronghorn bikes. Usually their suspension bikes are working with a Horst link, while this bike showed a linked single-pivot design. Nothing on the details, the stage of testing or even production as of yet, but now that we have seen proof of this project be sure that we will inquire with the PRONGHRON folks to get more info.

Tubulars for 29er? First look of the GEAX Tubular 29er tires:

I have recently had a chance to inspect GEAX´s newest 29er offering in a pre-production version – the GEAX Tubular Saguaro 2.0 TUBULAR! I have ridden the 26er tubulars for some time last year (and liked them) and this newest child of theirs just makes me wonder what it will be like in a 29er version.

The tire shares most of the technology of its smaller brother like the sew-up, super subtle 290tpi casing, derived from years of experience with road tubulars, a flexible latex inner tube joined by the all round, fast rolling Saguaro thread. Thus one is bound to be fast!

This close up of the GEAX 29er tubulars are telling the true to size dimensions and that these tires are all hand made – a very elaborate process which is said to take upt to 8 h per tire to complete – and all that by mostly hand labor.

Other than the 26” version it had a thin black coating on the skin wall covering the usually skin wall cotton casing (generally a identification help of tubular tires), so maybe this was for disguise ? .

I took measurements of the tire and it came out exactly like labeled at 2.0 inches width (51.8 mm), featured an extra long valve stem (for who knows what aero carbon rims there might be coming.) The weight was a respectable 740 g, which confirms GEAX´s philosophy of rather getting the riding characteristics right than beating the “battle of the scale”.

I have not had the chance to ride on them to see if there is substance in the raving reviews its 26” version had received or how it translated into 29er riding. But we will see if GEAX got their priorities right – as we were given prospects for a set of tires for reviewing even before their official release date later this spring. So let´s hope for more first hand info on this cutting edge technology for 29er.

Tubular 29er rims:

Talking about tubulars the very next question should be: So what rims are there to choose from? There have always been several makes to choose from when you didn´t mind using road or cyclocross components but what is there that is MTB specific?

EDGE Composite´s project of 29er tubular rims has been rumored on this site before but no samples had been seen in public yet. Italy based rim manufacturer AMBROSIO is showing one such rim on their website (http://www.ambrosiospa.com/catalog_eng/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=62 ) but all attempts to finding out about availability have been without much success so far.

The newest rumor on this topic is that FRM / BOR, Germany will be doing a very limited production run of 29er tubular rims. These will most likely be derived from their existing ultralight XMD 308 tub rims which are only 310 g (with eyelets that is in 26”!). Assuming this origin, the target weight of the 29er rims is probably near 350 to 360 g in 29” size at 24 mm width, which should fit the GEAX 2.0 tire just fine. Yet another item indicating the pure breed racing genes of the tubular MTB philosophy. A combo of above mentioned components true racers´ delight. Prices will be in the range of it´s smaller brother. We will keep you informed if we hear more details on if and how you can get your hands on any of them. Rumor says production is not too far away so I try to be timely.

Keep the news coming and those big wheels spinning,
c_g

A new Alfine with 11 speeds is set to bow in late 2010.

Shimano Goes To 11: No, not on a derailluer set up! The ever popular Alfine, which some users have pressed into off road duty with the current 8spd version, will gain three more gears in it’s newest incarnation, lose a bit of weight, (reportedly), and be operated by the trigger shifter shown here which will have some features found on Rapid Fire shift pods including Rapid Release and Dual Release. Also of interest is the reported switch from grease for internal lubrication to an oil bath type. Shimano is shopping this version around now to some European bike brands, but you can expect this to show up on U.S. shores later this year as a 2011 product. We’re guessing it will be a hot product on commuter rigs, but with a range of gearing that reaches a bit lower than current Alfine, this will certainly end up on some mountain bikes as well. Will it work for a 29″er? That is yet to be determined.

Update On Euro-Carbon Rigs: The carbon fiber craze has been seen on 29″ers before, and now European brands are starting to jump in. We reported that On One is one of these brands last week. We have some questions in to On One headquarters which we are hoping we will have some answers to shortly concerning this project.

The “other brand” we mentioned is actually not new to carbon fiber 29″ers at all. In fact- they were the first brand to bring a carbon fiber rig to market with big wheels. Orbea is the name, and a re-designed Alma is the subject of this news. Stay tuned for exclusive details on this mid-2010 model coming soon!

New Euro Source for 29″er Goodness: We were tipped off that a new European based source for 29 inch bicycles and products is now up and running. Touting themselves as an “e-shop dedicated to 29ers”, you can find plenty to get your 29″er up and running there including frames from Niner Bikes, tires, forks, wheel sets, and more. You can check out the site here at 29squadron.com. The site is in English, Dutch, and French languages.

Schwalbe To Intro Two New 29″er Treads: We also were tipped off that Schwalbe is going to introduce two new 29 inch sized treads already in the catalog in 26 inch sizes. The Rocket Ron and Nobby Nic are to be made available soon. No word on exact sizes or when, but our guess is Sea Otter.

Schwalbe’s Markus Hachmeyer has this to say about the Rocket Ron: “This Rocket fulfills racers’ wishes all at once: Low weight and a lot of grip – both straight-line power and traction in curves – and it works just as well in wet or dry conditions. The lugs are widely spaced and provide a great self-cleaning action as with Racing Ralph”. (quote from Schwalbe’s website) Schwalbe’s Nobby Nic is its test winning tread design with a bent towards grip, but in typical Schwalbe fashion, claiming to have good low rolling resistance.

No word on what, if any, technologies Schwalbe possesses will be applied to these tires in 29″er sizes, but judging from Schwalbe’s past efforts we would not be surprised if they were fairly basic.

(Thanks to the 29Squadron for the tip)

As always, stay tuned for any further news as we get it………

Carbon Fiber 29″er From Across The Pond: On One, the company that brought us the Inbred steel hard tail, (more about that in a minute), is working on its carbon fiber 29″er frame. The 26 inch version is already on the way. In the image above we can discern a couple of features on this new model.

It appears as though On One is going with a direct mount derailluer which allows much more freedom in shaping the seat tube, as you can see that they have taken advantage of here. Also it appears as though they are in the tapered head tube camp. One thing that isn’t yet apparent is whether this will be compatible with single speed drivetrains. Our guess would be that it will be somehow, perhaps with an eccentric bottom bracket. On One has a history of producing some fine single speed rigs and we would be surprised if they didn’t offer this as a bike that could be geared or set up as a single speeder.

On One says that sample frames will be going out to sponsored riders in about three weeks. Stay tuned for any further updates.

No More Inbred 29″ers? In a surprising announcement, On One reveals that its longstanding steel hard tail model, the Inbred, is no more. Apparently the frame failed to pass the much more stringent new CEN testing procedures. This news was particularly about the 26″er version, but it is unclear if it also pertains to the 29″er as well. It was revealed in this posts comments section that the Inbred will perhaps be re-designed to pass the CEN standards, but again, it isn’t clear as to what the fate of the 29 inch version will be. Stay tuned for any updates we may get.

More Carbon 29″er Goodness From Europe? That is what we are hearing. News has reached Twenty Nine Inches that a top level World Cup athlete is helping a Euro based brand develop new carbon and aluminum 29″er hard tails to be released later in 2010. Rumor also has it that more 29 inch projects are in the works besides the hard tail line.

This may be part of a growing trend we are noticing in Europe that signals a new acceptance of big wheels as viable trail bike choices. Not only that, but with the news of top flite athletes becoming involved in these projects, we have to wonder if it won’t be long before we see some of these athletes using 29″ers on some select World Cup dates in 2010.

Salsa Cycles Titanium: We have posted on the new titanium El Mariachi here before. Now we will be getting our first up close and personal look at this frame in a few weeks at Salsa Cycles parent companies open house for dealers called “Frostbike”. We will be asking about the rumor we have heard regarding the future single speed version and steel El Mariachi re-designs that we are hearing will use sliding drop outs instead of the eccentric bottom brackets Salsa has employed in the past. Stay tuned for more information on this and other 29″er news coming from Frostbike in February.

Giant Scuttles Proposed Model: The news that Giant was to enter the market with a 29″er earlier in the year was only surpassed by the announcement of an “Alliance” framed model that was to feature an “all purpose” drop out. The carbon/aluminum composite frame was to be compatible with a geared, single speed, or belt drive set up. Unfortunately, Giant was not pleased with the testing of the drop out and deemed it “not ready for prime time”. As for now, no news on whether this model might re-appear or be scuttled entirely. We were told that there would be much to be excited about for 2011 though.

New VooDoo: VooDoo Cycles introduced a new steel frame on their blog recently dubbed the “Soukri”, which means “Sacred Temple”. The frame is a Reynolds 631 steel model with new gusset designs and the ability to be geared, single speed, disc, or linear pull brake in set up. The geometry features suspension compatibility with 100-120mm forks. Most sizes come with a 72 degree head angle with the exception of the smallest and largest sizes which go one degree slacker on the smaller size and a half degree steeper on the largest, which is an XL. Don’t expect to see one of these in 3D until next year sometime.

New Continental Tire Model?: That’s right. We’re hearing more rumors that a new Conti tire for 29″ers is in development. based on the Rubber Queen/Trail King designs. It is rumored that it will be a 2.4″er and made for aggressive trail riders. We’ve liked Conti tires in the past and if you can be patient enough to let them stretch- which they do more than any other tires we’ve ridden- then the width and performance is very satisfactory. No word on when this new tread would be available, but we’re betting spring 2010 will bring some good news.

Woodchipper To Be Out Soon: Salsa Cycles introduced the Woodchipper off road drop bar design to the world at Interbike this past September and now the news is that this bar will be hitting the U.S. any day now. Twenty Nine Inches will have a Woodchipper on test soon, so stay tuned for that. In other Salsa related news, we are hearing rumblings of big changes for the brand with new introductions coming in February at Salsa Cycles parent companies late winter show called Frostbike. Nothing for certain is known at this time, but the feeling here at Twenty Nine Inches is that Salsa Cycles will be surprising a lot of folks in 2010. Stay tuned……….

Will There Ever Be A High End 9 Speed 12-36T Cassette? : This was a question I posed to Shimano peeps at Interbike. It seems that the cassette, which is a Deore level cassette, is being spec’ed on many 2010 29 inchers, but some have balked at the extra weight of this mid-level cassette. Shimano appears to be weighing market response to the cassette before committing to doing a higher level version. In other words, buy the Deore level cassette and Shimano will support a higher range version in the future. If OEM spec is any indication, it may well happen.

Scalpel 29″er Rumors…Again!: We’ve heard that Cannondale Scalpel 29″ers have been tested in proto-type form many times over the last three years. Well, we’re hearing it again anew. Apparently there have been eye witness accounts of the mythical wagon wheeler from the desert Southwest. Could it be that recent XC and Marathon wins aboard 29″er full suspension bikes has piqued interest in doing the platform in a 29″er version? Possibly, but if it is true, we’re betting that the recent infusion of cash from Cannondale’s parent company, Dorel, has more to do with this than anything. Keep an eye on bikes at this weekends Moab 24 hour race, maybe the beast will show up there since it is in the vicinity, apparently.

Fork It Over!: After seeing the redesigned Bontrager Switchblade at Sea Otter, the anticipation level for this new design has been at fever pitch. Promised for late June originally, information regarding the fork was scarce until just recently. Twenty Nine Inches has learned that the fork is now due at the end of the year at the earliest. Looks like most of us will have to wait till spring to see one of these on dirt. No word on why the delay is so long, but this still should be a pretty popular fork when it does come through. Two offsets for G2 or “standard” geometry 29″ers means that Fisher will finally have the rigid fork to match up with those looking to set up the lightest possible Superfly and Superfly single speed builds. (Not to mention Rig owners and Fisher G2 hard tail freaks!)

Forks With A Sense Of Humor: You can always count on Peter Kieller of Misfit Psycles to mix in equal doses of humor, irreverence, and techno-geek speak when he announces new product ideas. So check this out: We all know that a lot of the rigid carbon forks out there bear a strangely similar resemblance to each other, even though they bear different brand names. Well, Misfit Psycles future carbon fork will apparently skewer that idea with its name, the “Parody”. Misfit claims the new fork will be offered in 445mm and 470mm axle to crown lengths, but no mention of offset as of now. Also in the works is an as yet un-named steel fork with a target weight of 1000gm for a 465mm axle to crown fork. The carbon Parody fork will be offered separately or as a companion to the diSSent aluminum 29″er. The steel fork may be offered with the steel “Fe” 29″er only. No decision on that as yet. Stay tuned for more as we learn it…..

Singular Swift In Titanium?: Apparently this is true. Singular Cycles will offer a titanium version of its 29 inch wheeled Swift model in titanium which will be torched up by Italian titanium purveyors Nevi. This from a blog post on Singular’s U.S. distributor’s website. Apparently it will be a “production” Swift but on a per order basis. In other Singular news, the drop bar friendly model Gryphon is supposed to hit U.S. shores yet in the middle of this very month. Stay tuned…….

That’s it for this edition of News And Rumors.

Cielo 29″er?- That’s Right!: Many of you who are fans of the handmade bicycle shows will recognize Cielo as the marque brought to life by Chris King. (Yes…..that Chris King!). Most examples of Mr. King’s handiwork have been in the form of classically inspired road rigs. Well, news has reached me that two Chris King employees will be cruising Eurobike next week on handmade Cielo 29″er single speed hard tails. One of those two belongs to Chris DeStefano, who was kind enough to forward a couple images to me.

That is a new Cris King Inset in a steel frame with some cool detailing on the head tube, and of course, the head badge.

S&S couplers make traveling with this bike a snap.

And a view of the entire rig.

If you happen to be at Eurobike, be on the lookout for this one. (Thanks Chris for the pics!)

Thievery In Europe: Speaking of Eurobike, Santa Cruz, who planned on showing the new Tall Boy 29″er for the first time, had the rig pinched, (along with a slew of other cycling gear and bikes) from a U.K. warehouse where it had been shipped prior to the show. Word from Santa Cruz’s Mark Ferrentino is that this was the first complete, ride able Tall Boy in the world, so it won’t be easy to hide this carbon fiber rig. You can read the details here. Of course, if you have any leads on the whereabouts of this rig, get a hold of Santa Cruz directly: Tel: 831.459.7560
Fax: 831.459.7561

Blackbuck Gets Bigger and Smaller!: One of my personal favorite 29″ers, the OS Bikes Blackbuck, is rumored to be going back into production for another run of frames. Only this time there will be more than one size.

If the original size didn’t fit you, maybe one of the two new sizes will.

Word is that there will be one size smaller and one size bigger than the original Blackbuck size, which I would characterize as a Large. Some may recall that there were a few 650B wheeled Blackbucks made in a size smaller than the 29″er, but this will not be done again. All the future Blackbucks will be 29″ers. So, if you are one of the lucky few to have grabbed a 650b Blackbuck, you have got a rare one!

Eurobike Next Week: This show, which has gained pre-eminence amongst the trade shows for bicycles, is grabbing more of the limelight when it comes to 29″ers. As previously mentioned, the first ride able 29″er Tall Boy was to have bowed here, and Niner Bikes new carbon hard tail is being hand delivered to the show to make its very first appearance to the public. surely there will be a few more tidbits, such as American Classic’s new wheels that are reported to be tubeless ready, and probably some other things we don’t know of. Check out this space next week for any bits we get forwarded to us in the coming days.

Rumblefish 1 & 2. Aluminum frame & swingarm(?), 110 mm travel rear ABP, 120 mm front thru-axle. Dual chambered Fox rear shock & linkage design like the Superfly 100. Think of a 29er Roscoe. The claim is that the Rumblefish is designed for more “technical terrain or more demanding rider”.

The Rumblefish 1 is slated to have a Shimano SLX drivetrain, the Rumblefish 2, a Shimano XT drivetrain.

When we know more we will post, but this will be a very anticipated rig. Rumor has it that it will replace the HiFi line. Stay tuned!

The W.F.O. 9 is finally about to hit the trails!

W.F.O. 9 To Hit Trails Soon! In a few weeks, W.F.O.9 bikes with 5.5 inches of C.V.A. suspended rear travel will be hitting the trails. The bikes, as we have reported before, will signal Marzocchi’s re-entry into the 29″er fork market with the 140mm travel “44″ model featuring travel adjust, a tapered steer tube, and a 15QR through axle.

WTB KodiaK 2.5 Inch Tire: Also featured and exclusive to Niner Bikes on the W.F.O.9 is WTB’s newest monster 29″er tire, the Kodiak 2.5″er. I have ridden early prototypes of this monstrousity, and I can tell you that it will not fit in many bikes available out there. It is a big, wide, heavy meat of a tire, but for its intended use, it is perfect. And this production version is said to be much improved. Niner Bike’s Steve Domahidy had this to say about the tire in a thread about the W.F.O.9 on mtbr.com:

They are 2.5’s with Super Track DNA rubber compound, inner peace anti-pinch flat, and Aramid bead (to save a little weight). We prototyped DH casing and wire bead and they were too tight to put on a rim and weighed too much. We felt like this was the best way to go for an all mountain/big hit bike. The tires will retail for $60 per tire and will be available through us directly or your local Niner dealer.

No word on exact weights, but expect this tire to be well in excess of 1000 grams, perhaps in the 1400-1500 gram each range. For aggressive, down hill oriented, “chunky gnar-gnar”, (Don’t ask!), this tire should be king.

Rocky Mountain Altitude Coming Soon: The Rocky Mountain Altitude 29″er full suspension rig is in beta test mode on the East Coast at this very moment. (I hope to get some detailed ride info shortly) I reported on this rig in my Sea Otter coverage earlier this spring. The Altitude 29″er features 120mm of rear wheel travel with some very unique features such as the pivot at the drop out which is positioned on the chainstay in such a way as to avoid the Horst link patents, a tapered steer tube, and something Rocky Mountain is calling “Straight Up” geometry. The Straight Up philosophy is that the seat tube needs to have a steep static angle, (Rocky says 76 degrees) which sags into a proper seat angle when the rider is on the bike, (approximately 74 degrees).

The bike also features a hydro-formed tube set with a tapered steer tube and a widely flared seat tube where it meets the bottom bracket shell. This is done to provide a flex free chassis. The design of the seat tube forced Rocky Mountain to find another way to mount the front derailluer and they went the direct mount route.

The bike looks promising as an all day, endurance type of bike that should be quite interesting. Stay tuned for any further updates.

Finally, in a blog post on the possibilities for down hill 29 inch rigs, Bike Hugger invited some industry types to weigh in on the subject. In the post, a guy from Banshee Bikes identified as “Jay” lets on that they are working on a 29″er full suspension rig. He is quoted in the piece as saying, “Even at this moment Banshee is designing a 17.3” chainstay 5” travel 29r and the challenges to maintain those numbers are tremendous.”

While the challenges are certainly stout, it will be interesting to see what this gravity driven brand might bring to the table for a full suspension 29″er. This one will bear watching!

That’s it for this edition of News And Rumors. Stay tuned for further developments. (Hint: Something will be leaking very, very soon that will be a big news item in the cycling industry concerning 29″ers.)

Superfly 100 specs: Here is how the 2010 Superfly 100 will be spec’ed out. This info was sourced straight from Fisher. Interestingly, it will use SRAM “Design Your Ride” touches and not a XX group.

Frame OCLV Co-Molded Carbon main frame and rear swingarm, G2 Geometry, E2 Headtube, ABP, Topswing Carbon Link
Rear Suspension Fox Float RP23, Boost Valve, Air Pressure, 3-position ProPedal, External Rebound, 7.25 x 1.75″ custom race tune
Wheels
Wheels Bontrager Race X Lite 29 Scandium Disc, Tubeless Ready
Tires Bontrager XR1 Team Issue 29×1.9, 120TPI, Aramid Bead
Drivetrain
Shifters SRAM X.O Redwin
Front Derailleur Shimano XT Direct Mount
Rear Derailleur SRAM X.O Redwin
Crank Truvativ Noir Redwin Carbon, 44/32/22
Cassette SRAM PG990 11-34 9speed
Pedals n/a
Components
Saddle Bontrager Race Lite, superlight hollow cromoly rails
Seat Post Bontrager Race XXX Lite Carbon OCLV, Carbon Shaft, infinite adjust Carbon Bontrager head
Stem Bontrager Race X Lite OS, 7d rise, 31.8mm clamp
Handlebars Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep, 640mm width, 12d backsweep, 31.8mm
Headset Cane Creek Frustrum E2 1-1/8″-1-1/2″, semi-integrated, cartridge bearings
Brakeset Avid Elixir CR Hydraulic Hydraulic Disc, 160mm rotors front and rear

Shed Fire Leaks Pics Of New Off Road Drop Bar: Well, I will admit that this isn’t really a 29″er specific part. However; many of us 29″er freaks are using “alt bars” and I thought this would be of interest here. Brant Richards, formerly of On One and now running his own design firm under the Shed Fire name, has released images of a new off road drop bar he is calling the “Luxy Bar”. Check out the following images of the very raw prototype bar. Certainly there will be refinements and tweaks, so be aware that the final production bar may differ slightly.

As you can see, there is sweep to the extensions and they are longer than the current Midge Bar extensions. Also, the bar will initially be available in a 583mm or thereabouts. The sweep on the extension is 120 degrees from the plane of the top section. Also noteworthy is that the clamp diameter is 31.8mm and that dimension will be extended across the entire top section of the bar. No word on availability or on pricing as yet.

Santa Cruz Tallboy 29″er We’re hearing that Santa Cruz’s Rob Roskopp was quoted as saying the new Tallboy 29″er will indeed be at Interbike, the annual U.S. trade show for cycling held in the fall. He also tipped off that the frame will be under 5lbs weight in carbon fiber. Pretty impressive. We’ll be looking forward to seeing this at the fall show.

Ellsworth Carbon Fiber 29″er Tony Ellsworth of Ellsworth bikes was showing off a new 26 inch wheeled carbon fiber hardtail frame and let on that a 29 inch version would be forth coming. No word yet on what the frame details will be or where it will be made, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for this one.

Cannondale 2010 Models: We reported earlier that Cannondale will have two models of carbon fiber hardtail 29″ers coming out for 2010. Dubbed the “Flash 1″ and “Flash 2″ these are reported to be the lightest 29″er hardtails ever. Expect big price tags as well. We hear that the 26″er version is $8800.00. Alongside these models will be the aluminum hardtails. I have seen a sneak peek of these and here is what I can relate from the viewing I got.

There will be five aluminum models. The “29er 5″ will be red and single speed. It features a rigid carbon “White Brothers-esque” fork, Avid mechanical brakes, and Kenda Smallblock 8 rubber. The “29er 4″ model is geared, features a standard fork with big decals that say “Duece” (Perhaps the new RST model?), Deore trigger shifters, and hydraulic brakes in white. This model is flat black. The next model……you guessed it…….. the “29er 3″, is white with red graphics, has SRAM trigger shifters, Avid Juicy brakes in white, and a Lefty fork done up in white to match. This model also gets TruVativ Stylo handle bars. The “29er 2″ is a moss green color, has SRAM X-9 looking drivetrain components, white brakes again, TruVativ bars, and a Lefty with lock out. All the aforementioned models have Smallblock 8 rubber. The next and highest model in the aluminum range is of course, the “29er 1″ and is raw aluminum looking with what appears to be an XT kit, including brakes. The big news here is the wheels which appear to be Stan’s ZTR Arches shod with Racing Ralph rubber.

All aluminum models seem to share a brand new frame design with heavily manipulated tubing. (Hydro formed?) and even the seat stays are flattened with the intention of giving a more comfortable ride. These are all emblazoned with “Flash” decals which would lead us to believe that the carbon models will also feature these flattened stays. The graphics are similar to last years models with some minor changes.

More on these models as we get the info. We’re also hearing that Cannondale is going to make 1 1/8th steerer versions of its unique Lefty fork. No word on any aftermarket sales.

Update: I have now seen an image of the Flash Carbon 29er 1. It will be a SRAM X-0 bike outfitted with Avid Elixir CR carbon brakes, a Lefty Carbon at 80mm travel, Lefty SL front hub with a DT Swiss 240 rear hub laced to Stan’s ZTR Arch 29″er rims shod with Racing Ralph rubber. It is black, but I couldn’t tell if it was a nude carbon finish or not. (The spec says “Race Red”??) The graphics are different and more in line with Cannondale’s other 26″er hardtails. No price has been determined for the Flash 29er 1 as of yet. Also, I am told that the 1 1/8th Lefty is actually an aftermarket adapter kit and that the Lefty will not appear on Cannondale’s rigs with the smaller sized steerer.

Easton Wheel News: Twenty Nine Inches learned today that Easton will be releasing all new mountain wheels which will be UST standard compatible. This includes at least one 29′er model in the range, (dubbed “Haven”), and it is likely all models will be UST type. This is a trend which I personally have been advocating for pre-built wheels. Hopefully we will bring you more news about these wheels soon.

FRM Rims: Our European contributor, chris_geotech filled us in on some goings on over in Europe regarding 29″ers. One of the new developments is a FRM rim that is tubeless compatible. It looks as if a test will be in the works and Twenty Nine Inches will hopefully be able to bring you the results. “chris_geotech” also tells us that work on Geax’s tubular 29″er rubber is still progressing and that something may pop up in late summer as a prototype. Stay tuned for more on these European stories which we hope to bring to you.

Superfly 100 Meets With JHK’s Approval: In a bit of racing news, we have learned that Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, who recently won the Winter Park Series XC event last weekend, was quite pleased with the performance of the new Superfly 100, which will likely see duty in an upcoming event. That will likely be the National Marathon Championships next weekend. (Firecracker 50). News is that it will get an upgrade to SRAM’s new XX group, so if you are around next weekend, keep your eyes peeled for this rig and JHK.

Oh……did I say “no images”? Well, I have to throw in this one of super-wrench Matt Opperman. Known as “MattO” , JHK and the rest of the Subaru/Gary Fisher Team rely on his skills to attain their peak performances week in and week out. As a mechanic myself, I have to give a fellow “wrench” some props!

That’s it for this edition of 2010 news. Stay tuned for more as Twenty Nine Inches gets it.