Here are the latest tid bits that are either news or rumors that have crossed by my monitor of late. Take a look at these items from Niner, Velocity Rims, and more….
Niner showed this pre-production carbon fork at Interbike in 2008
Niner Announces Dates For Unveiling Of Carbon Fork And More: Today Niner Bikes sent e-newsletters announcing the date of the unvieling of the production version of the new carbon rigid fork that we got a glimpse of at Interbike last fall. A formal unveiling is scheduled for Sea Otter in the second half of April. In other Niner news, the e-newsletter details the production version of the revamped R.I.P. 9 which will be coming soon. Some changes were made to the production frame which include a redesigned hydroformed top tube that eliminates the gusset plates that were on either side of the pre-production frame and joined the top and down tubes. Now the frame is joined at the top and down tubes for some length before both join the head tube by means of the new hydroformed shape. Neater welds are also reportedly to be seen on the production frames. Finally, their is a new color for the R.I.P. 9 (or should we say, “no color”!) which is “Raw”. This replaces the “Moondust Gray” that was shown earlier as one of the new colors. Niner is taking pre-orders through their dealers on these new R.I.P.9’s now.
Velocity Rim News: Recently I had heard that the 650B version of the Velocity Blunt rim had been retooled to fit the Pacenti Neo-Moto tires better. I also was aware that there have been complaints about the 29″er Blunts fitting poorly, so I shot an e-mail to Velocity U.S.A. and found out that the 29″er Blunts have been changed too. Here’s part of the reply I recieved: ” We have scrapped all under sized rims and we started fresh.” I also found out that Velocity plans on expanding the available colors and graphic schemes for the Blunt rims. Again, from the e-mail I recieved: “They are available in several colors, and you can (expect) to see some powder coated image Blunts soon…Wood Grain, Snow Camo, Skulls and more.” Furthermore; there is wheel news to share from this e-mail as well: “New for 2009 is the Blunt Pro wheel set. Any color Blunt rim, ultra light ATB disc hub, Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes, alloy nipple, weighing in UNDER 1700gm.” (An image of a white rimmed set can be seen above)
Katie Compton To Test 29″er Tubulars?: I got a tip today that Katie Compton, National Champion and World Cup winning cyclo-crosser, will be testing some tubular 29″er tires and wheels soon. The tires are said to be from Challenge, who are also working with Edge Composites on a mountain bike tubular tire tread to work with Edge Composites tubular 29″er rims. Compton is riding a Primus-Mootry bike partially made from Edge Composites manufactured tubing and rides Edge wheels in competition. Starts to all make some sense, doesn’t it? We will try to keep tabs on this as things develope.
Titanium Rumors: In rumors on the magic grayish metal, a frame that has been prototyped in two different forms and was sheduled to be put into production as recently as last December has been killed. Due to constant delays, the company which had planned the 29″er hardtail has now pulled the plug on that project. However; a titanium 29″er rigid fork is still in the pipeline from this same outfit, so stay tuned, as we hope to get a sample for testing when they do become available.
I’ve seen a number of Velocity Blunt rims in various colours popping up on ebay laced to XT hubs so they are already out there it seems…
It’ll be interesting to see what Katie ends up riding. Jesse Lalond had a set of Dugast 45c tubies at the Madison swap meet a few weekends back. I almost bought them, but he talked me out of ’em. Said that they had no traction on the conditions for the upper midwest, no matter the tire pressure. The tread was a new one I haven’t seen on other Tubies. They sure looked damned cool though.
WIll Katies tires actually be big enough? And at what cost?
Was it Origin 8’s Ti that got nixed?
Is the Niner fork suspension-corrected? What offset? Curious if it’s just standard sizing done in carbon, or a completely new fork in every way.
-just got a call from our Giant Rep.
We’ll call him “Rep of the Year”….
Giant will be producing 3 29ers
for late ’09. A single speed and 2 hard tails.
We shall see……….
If Giant pops out a 29″ version of the Anthem and Trance in the future – they might get somewhere. Does the market need more hardtails? What will set Giant’s offerings apart from the current offerings?
Jimmy the Fly. The Niner fork is suspension corrected. From what I understand, it is based pretty closely on the there other rigid forks (steel), but built in carbon. If you look at the shape, it is unique in design compared to other carbon forks. It should keep fore and aft flex to a minimum.
GreenLightGo. Giant will be set apart in there usual way. They will offer a well built, well spec’d bike for less than the competition. That means more opportunities for the masses to get into a twenty niner without breaking the bank. That’s a good thing.
Thanks Oderus. Yeah, it looks more like a road-fork blade shape rather than the tubular style of many current 29er rigid forks.
That is sad to hear about the Origin frame. I really liked the looks of it. If my new “wonder” material ss doesn’t really trip my trigger I might have to look On One’s way. I love the looks of their Lynskey made 29er. I really dig the “track end” style of dropout better anyways.
On the ti fork front, do you have any ideas on what the planned specs are on the fork? I would hope they are leaning towards the current generation of forks to keep things with the times and all. I am still craving a bike with a Ti fork, Ti bars, and Ti post. The all carbon route is ok, I just would rather have something metal underneath my hands and bum.
Oh and good to hear about the Niner fork as well. That thing is sharp looking. Any further word on Soul Cycles fork at all? The possiblility of a 15mm thru axle carbon fork has my interest peaked more than it being as light as the Niner fork. As well as their claimed dampening performance. Keep your ear to the ground for a fellow 29er rider.
Oh so glad those gussets have left the production new RIP 9
I remember the outrage when comments were raised in regards to the hideous appearance of the pre production frames.
Shows that Niner have ears for listening and untimately taste in their frame outcomes.
Well done lads
Ted when you say the Blunt 29ers fit poorly could you be more specific?
Usually it is the tires that fit poorly on rims, like too loose)
Are there just general tire fitting problems?
It would seem with the vagaries of actual tire sizes something would fit.
I’ve had a pair of Blunts for a year and they have taken everything I’ve thrown at them, WTB, Kenda. (Moto-raptors, Small Block 8, Vulpine)
They are strictly trail wheels since I upgraded to the VXC pro-build.
Any idea who makes those “ultra light ATB disc hubs”?
prphoto: Well, I never thought that the Blunts were any worse than other 29″er rims I had tried up to that point, (circa 2007), but since then several rims have been introduced that have made the Blunt and rims like it go to the back half of the class in terms of fit to the average 29″er tire.
Now that the rims have been re-tooled to fit better, I would imagine they are back in line with the newer rims out there in terms of fit to tires, although I have not tested this yet.
As for the hubs, I haven’t been informed as to what they might be.
Ted, What about the Niner Ti frame/fork that was rumored to be in developement?
Tim: The Niner titanium project was nixed for an indefinite period. Niner’s Chris Sugai confirmed that for me at Interbike last September. The other pressing projects in conjunction with a lack of consumer/dealer driven enthusiasm for the titanium project led Niner to scuttle it for now.
Ted, the hubs used on the Blunt Pro and Mid wheel sets are Velocity ultra light ATB disc hubs with sealed cartridge bearings. We love them! They are easily serviceable, high quality, and are covered under our worry free warranty. We have never had any issues with any of these hubs…but go ahead, give em hell. If it has our name on it we stand behind it 100%!
MD
Velocity USA
Thanks MD! 🙂
The Niner fork is stunning in person ;). Want to get my hands on it, but we will see…