With winter clamping down on the Northern Hemisphere, we thought it would be good to send out some warm thoughts on big wheeled mountain bikes. Here’s the latest scuttlebutt from around the world of bigger wheeled and 29 inch wheeled bikes.

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The new Rawland Cycles rSogn 650B bike.

Rawland Cycles Re-introduces A 650B Model: Rawland Cycles first made its name as the 650B mountain bike company from Minnesota. Now re-located to Austin, Texas, Rawland’s Sean Virnig hooked us up with this information on the re-designed rSogn 650B bike. Here’s a bit from the press release:

rS4Following the success of the Rawland Sogn, which finally made a true fat-tired, production road bike available to the cycling world, the re-issued Sogn, or rSogn, shares the core design principle of all Sogn models: a frameset that has true road geometry including a steep head angle, low-to-mid trail fork, and moderate chain stay length – paired with the ability to fit tires up to 2.5” wide. This design has become a favorite for both daily commuters and long distance cyclists who appreciate quick handling bikes that climb well and encourage exploration of all paths less-traveled.

See Rawland Cycles site for more information.

Our View Is that even though you could opt to set up the rSogn as an off-road bike, as shown, it seems that the press release is suggesting this is more of a road bike in the classic French Touring sort of way. We at Twenty Nine Inches wouldn’t at all be surprised to see that most rSogns end up being purposed this way, and in fact, we believe this is where 650B will end up going in the long run.

Trek Does Big Wheeled DH?: Images have flooded the web recently stemming from a Trek hosted media tour of Trek’s HQ where several photogs got an unintended sneak peak at a rolling test mule Trek engineers are toying with. You can see an image here on Dirt Rag’s Facebook page, or here on Pink Bike’s site. Twenty Nine Inches inquired about the bike and was told that there were no plans for the bike to be put into production as it is, but that several ideas were being explored with the concept. While a down hill 29″er sled may not become a reality from Trek anytime soon, there are hints that something with a bit longer travel will be coming later. There are some rumors floating about concerning this and Trek as well, but according to our sources, nothing is set in stone as of now. Stay tuned…..

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Going Long (er): Back in September we introduced you all to our Rock Shox Reba 140mm travel fork, (here), and this is going on our Project Long-Legs bike now. As of now, it is the longest travel 29″er fork that you can get from Rock Shox. As of now……….

That won’t be the case soon, as we have it on good authority that a new model 29″er fork, a single crown fork, with up to 150mm travel, is on the doorstep. This shock exists in 26″er format now. Let the guesses begin……….

French Carbon Hard Tail Introduction: We were tipped off recently to another, (yes- another carbon fiber hard tail, but take a look- it’s different! 😉 ), from France that is being offered by Chiru Bikes and has a specific design goal of being a great endurance bike platform.

CHIRU PULSE X0 29er non drive side view

Chiru Bikes founder, Pierre Arnaud, tells us that “The specifics of a Chiru bike is Comfort, Power transfer, and Reliability. We have specifically worked on the comfort of the PULSE, the seat stays design enables to filter high frequency vibrations from rugged trails.” Here are some bullet points on the frame….

-Asymetrical chain stay for optimum power transfer
-Carboflex 50 seat stay for high frequency vibration filtering.
-Multistandard bottom Bracket- (Fits 68 mm Bottom Bracket, fits GXP, BB30, PRESS FIT, Excentric BB for single speed)
-Tapered Headset compatible
-Handle bar protection plate
-Anti derailling device (This device is under development, the eyelet to fit it can be seen on the down tube )

Following are some more images from Chiru Bikes of the Pulse 29″er. Geometry specs follow afterward.

PULSE 29er UD Asy CS pict
Asymmetric chain stays.

pulse 29 UD pict 1
A look at the bare frame showing some of the unique shaping in the seat stay area, seat tube/top tube junction, and the top tube handle bar and chain stay protection plates.

PULSE 29er BB rings pict
Bottom Bracket inserts for different bottom bracket standards. An eccentric is also available for single speed set up.

PULSE 29er UD rear Triangle pict
A look at the unique rear triangle shaping said to absorb vibrations for more comfort on longer rides.

The geometry of the Chiru Bikes Pulse 29″er is pretty standard fare with a 72 degree head angle, 74 degree seat tube angle that matches up with its 440mm chain stays. Sizes offered run from Small to XL with top tube lengths starting at 585mm, then 600mm, 622mm, and 640mm for the XL. Tire clearances up to 2.35″ are here with a post mount rear brake, (160mm rotor max), and an anti-slip finish for front derailleur mounting. There is also an optional rock deflector available for the down tube. For more information, see Chiru Bikes website.

An interesting take on a carbon framed 29″er.

That’s all for this edition of News And Rumors. Stay tuned for any further updates.