There is a new category of bike being pushed now that I find interesting for several reasons. Based upon 29 inch wheeled mountain bikes, these bikes are meant for a different rider than the typical 29″er rider.
A 2010 Fisher Bikes Montare “Dual Sport” bicycle.
Whoops! Did I say this was a “new” category of bike? Well, that really isn’t true if you consider that Gary Fisher Bikes has been doing their “Dual Sport” models for several years now. In fact, it was the Dual Sport line that pretty much revived the 29″er line up at that company, whose 29″er bike line was on “life support” in 2003 and in danger of being axed from the line up. I would submit that this is a “new” category when you consider that now, in 2010, Gary Fisher Bikes isn’t the only company that is doing such a bike. While not called “Dual Sport” bikes by other companies, these bikes are clear in their intent for riders. (Editor’s Note: I had originally written this piece before the news last week that Gary Fisher Bikes as a brand is no more. The Dual Sport bikes will now be found at Trek retailers under the “Gary Fisher Collection” moniker for 2011 and beyond.)
Marin’s Point Reyes 29″er.
These bikes are billed as the “one bike that does it all” bike for consumers who are looking for a bicycle to cover their urban/commuter/bike path needs while being capable on off road terrain as well. Okay…….maybe not “capable” in terms of the full on 29″er freak, but certainly able to cover multiple types of terrain reasonably well. But hold on a minute! haven’t we been down this trail before? I think that in a way, there is a bit of “deja-vu” when it comes to these bicycles that I like to call, “29”er lite”. Not really full on 29 inch wheeled mountain bikes, but bicycles based off of 29″er design and bent to a multi-purpose application. Kind of like what happened in the early 90’s in many ways.
Back then, the mountain bike was taking cycling by storm. The problem was that at that same time, the designs companies were rolling out for mountain bikes were getting more and more performance/NORBA influenced which left a lot of average cyclists wanting something not quite so aggressively set up. These folks were into the idea of recreational, multi-terrain bicycles that could be used to go on rides in the city to rides in the woods, and anywhere in between. Cue the entrance of 700c wheel based bicycles with flat bars, mountain bike components, and a more relaxed geometry than what was found on the typical road bike of the day. There were several designs based upon this idea, and some were even more mountain bike than pavement oriented, (most notably the Diamond Back Overdrive), but they were not well understood. Dubbed “hybrid” bikes by the industry, these eventually became more and more pavement oriented bikes, losing any semblance of off road-ability that they once had.
Now we are seeing a re-emergence of this idea for a bicycle that can be a “go anywhere-do anything” bike for the masses. 29″er freaks and “niche-chasers” need not apply, but the average citizen who has a taste for some adventure while wanting a practical machine may find something appealing here. Does it make sense? I don’t know. From having worked in a bicycle shop myself all these years now, I can say that there are a lot of customers I have come into contact with that could certainly use a bike that could cover the multi-terrain card. Seeing pavement bikes in my work stand clogged with mud and grass is one clue, to be sure! Having a vast network of back roads and crushed rock roads is another. Perhaps city dwellers with rough streets and a penchant for the unbeaten track will see these as a way to solve the problem, that used to take two bikes, with one bike.
It will be interesting to watch this category in the future. Fisher has had great success with their “Dual Sport” models, so perhaps the rest of the industry will too. It may be that these “29”er Lite” bikes might just be the answer to many cyclists needs, and then again, it may end up being a “jack of all trades” bike that isn’t measuring up to expectations of off road performance while being light and nimble enough for urban duties. At any rate, it is a category that may end up being a catalyst for parts and accessories that will find their way on to less expensive 29″ers for off road at a more reasonable price than we see from most companies.
Calling these bikes ‘lite’ is just plain wrong 😉
Correct me if I am wrong but I do not see the re-emergence.
While 29ers are just getting started in Europe, ‘sports’ bikes with 700c wheels have been around for ages. Just check the catalogs of Stevens and the other big German brands. They started out as road bikes with straight bars and got (low tech) suspension, slightly bigger tires, disc brakes and Alfine/Rohloff along the way.
In other words, they are not based on 29er mountainbikes! The only new thing is U.S. manufacturers putting this under the trendy 29er umbrella.
@JeroenK: I specifically stayed away from “trekking bikes” or any other type of flat bar road bike specifically because they were not developed from a mountain bike mentality. Also, in the case of at least two of the three bikes I used images of, they are in fact 29″er frames. 😉
I understand where you are coming from, but in this case, the “29”er Lite” really has some 29″er substance to it. 🙂
That said, you are completely right in that they are great bikes for urban use.
GT, I know SRC’s can’t keep enough of the the Misceo 2.0’s around. They are selling very well over here. They are a great gravel bike for the money.
Funny. My brother had a Schwinn “dual-all” bike back in 1993 that was basically a 29er. We rode it everywhere. The geometry was a little too upright for serious off-roading and the wheel durability was a little weak, but it was certainly ahead of it’s time. It was great for him too since he was 6′ 1″ and a clyde.
I wish more companies would make bikes like that. I get tons of customers asking for a bike that will let them commute 5-10 miles, is comfortable to train for and do the occasional MS/AIDS type ride, take camping and do the gravel roads and bike paths, and even let their friends talk them into doing the once in a while easy mtb ride. I’ve sold a fair amount of entry level 29ers that I then change various bits on to make fit their needs. I would have sold more had a model like that been on the floor and the customer (not a tech type cyclist) could actually see it instead of having to visualize it, pay for it and then pick it up later hoping it’s the right thing.
It’s funny how the bikes of 1900 are being reinvented. 🙂
It makes sense.
I’m having trouble seeing the appeal of a bike like this over a good cyclcocross or touring bike, preferably steel, for stated “do-it-all” type riding. Unless, the point is to sucker in newbies who are easily wowed by cheapo suspension forks and low end disc brakes.
interesting, this article describes my 29er. i have an el Mariachi which has been wearing 32mm tires most of the year. it’s great for commuting and bombing around town. i crash over train tracks five or six times on the way to class and i like having a mtn bike under me. now that school is out, it’s dressed with the 2.35″ tires it needs for it’s intended purpose, but it’ll go back to 32mm in a couple of months. i don’t hit the trails much during during the semester, so the bike gets much more use this way.
To me they are trekking bikes unless outfitted with fat tires. The heavy argument is old.
Bad pavement and light offroads? FAT tires!
35mm is not fat.
42mm is not really trying.
50mm us being content with a nice number
57mm is where it starts getting interesting
60mm Aaaahhh
I commented about two years ago on this site seeking advice on the GT Zum or creating a similar 29er lite. Back then I had a Fisher Sugar and a Lemond road bike. I wanted something to commute on and maybe hit the trails (when not on the sugar).
I sold the Fisher and bought a Stumpy 29er and love it for racing. I then used most of the parts from the road racing rig and outfitted a Redline cross frame. I race that and use it as my daily commuter.
Now that I have both of these bikes, I can’t imagine having a 29er lite, but at the time it sure made sense to me.
Hybrids. Seriously? Please, take this article down. We’ll all feel better in the morning.
The majority of these buyers aren’t what we’d call “cyclists”. They are enthusiasts that just want one nice bike that does most stuff pretty well. A cross bike with drop bars and it’s unique geometry is off putting. They aren’t bombing gnarly trails. When they take them on trails, the trails are generally pretty sedate and they just want something that is stable and capable of getting them from point A to point B. These people are buying nice ski boats and RVs and want a bike of similar quality, but don’t have the time or inclination to have a quiver. None of them read forums or obsess over reviews of various parts, let alone understand offset, trail, geometry, etc. They do know they want a comfortable, capable bike that can easily transition between genres and uses. I’m all for 29er lite or whatever stupid name comes up with to describe them.
Does a non-avid Dual Sport rider want to buy and change new tires for a prop off-road ride?
The key to these is a lockout fork. I worked in a GF/Trek/Specialized shop about 5 years ago, and folks were always wavering between a fully-rigid (Trek 7.2 FX ish bike) and something like the Montare, until I showed them the fork lockout. BAM! your off-road ish bikes is now all rigid and zippy feeling and pavement-y.
Anybody else remember the headshok(w/lockout)-equipped Cannondale xs800 cx bike? I never should’ve sold mine.
The weird thing about these “29er lite” bikes is how perception and marketing play a role. If I had the choice of a Montare as shown, or a flat-bar equipped Surly CrossCheck with 50mm micro-knobbies, I’d take the fatter tire and curved steel fork blades over the Montare’s front shock and narrower tire any day on any terrain.
I think #13 Thom and #15Jimmythefly sum it up the best. Collectively we (on this forum) may not be the intented customer, but then again, from reading these comments it sounds like we are and still are to some degree. Let’s face it, we all dream of the ‘what if’s’ and holy grail of bicycles, but this just a nice rounded solution for a new generation of customers that value this versitility but don’t care to have a fleet of bikes in the shed or geek out on parts changing. If this is the newer generation hybrid buyers, then I say GREAT, what ever it takes to keep more folks riding! I also saw that Giant has a series of these bikes called Roam which they coin as X-Road type bikes, and do not position them with their other 29″ MTB models. Seems they see this customer to be a bit broader than just MTB enthusiast.
Haha, hybrids is what they are. And Like Jeroen said, they started to emerge here in about 1990, some could even take the wider tires (I think the early Giant X1500 could have like 40mm tires or more) I have been mountainbiking such a bike (ok, less tire clearance as the in the article mentioned bikes) for a few years untill I got sick of bend wheels when I moved to a more ‘MTB friendly’ place). Thank God some guys decided to make 28″ wide tires. And now they reinvent these bikes again 😉
But you are right. For quite some people this is the perfect bike. Upright touring position, not having to stop for a gravel road, leisure touring. But not the kind of bikes the MTB centered crowd here is longing for..
was just milling about a do all relaxed roadie with buddies the other day and the conclusion came to disc brake cyclocross or for an even more relaxed ride a road geared super light rigid 29er.
you can build a carbon/scandium rigid 29er to arond 7.5kg all up with pedals, discs and dura ace with ease.. only a few hundred grams away from the uci limit.
some riders enjoy the relaxed flat bar ride a road bred 29er can provide so i think this is great that they are being offered to the masses. many people would never contemplate building up their own bike. either limited by imagination or skill.
i ultimately would prefer a crosser for such an application due to shorter seat stays, drops and sharper geo but why not this?
its cool.
My .02: I rode a bone-stock SE Stout to work for almost a year and am ready to go back. This was simply the best commuter I tried, and I’ve tried a lot. BTW, I only ran 30 psi in the 53mm tires. Perfect.
I have just in the last year bought a new bike. I had a 99 specialized FSR but I spend 90% of my time commuting around town on it.
I decided I needed a bike that would be magority Commuter and with few changes an alright bike for the trails. The way to go seemed to be to get a Cheaper 29er hardtail frame build it up with a decent spec but put slick tyres on it.
I ended up getting a Voodoo Dambala with sliding drop-outs. set it up as a 1×9 and put Schwalbe Marathon supreme 2.0 on it. Best commuter ever, fast, reasonably light and steel durability. All I need to do to get her ready for the trails is a quick tyre change.
You don’t need a ’29er lite’ category you just need a nice Hard tail frame and set it up right, like #9jkd did with his el Mariachi. You can solve the seating position problem by putting on the right parts.