I mentioned this in the Racing Rumors thread but its probably more relevant here. Trek was testing what looked full carbon Session 29ers alongside that aluminum prototype a page back.
I remember back in 2009ish all I wanted was a 29er DH bike(this was pre-27.5), I just loved the rollover of the big wheels. I met a guy at mountain creek that had a Lenz 29er, PBJ I think? setup with a coil shock and a manitou dorado, we swapped some stories in the parking lot before he invited me to do a few runs with him and try the PBJ. I was absolutely blown away by the speed, it was scary fast. I was sold on the concept right then and there but unfortunately me and the other guy lamented about how no company would probably ever mass produce 29er DH bikes.
It was also right around the time Intense did the 2951 and the other guy told me he had personally spoken with Jeff Steber and told him to name his price for the 2951 frame but Jeff said it wasn't for sale.
I sold all of my DH stuff and bikes right before the 27.5 changeover and jokingly told my buddy that I would get back into DH when they started making 29er DH bikes... Looks like I need to start saving.
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even 26" wheels
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even...
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even 26" wheels
You might want to ride the wheel before you make comments like that. what if they're just as quick side to side as a 26 but roll faster over rock gardens with less hangups, would they go down champery or schladming even faster?
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even...
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even 26" wheels
I'm tearing up here. RIP downhill mountain biking. All tracks are now going to be flat and have no rough bits at all.
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even...
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even 26" wheels
I'm tearing up here. RIP downhill mountain biking. All tracks are now going to be flat and have no rough bits at all.
I'm not sure how increasing the wheels size suddenly changes the current tracks to be flatter or less rough? I doubt you'll see anyone removing the rocks from Val di Sole or rerouting the final pitch of the Andorra track any time soon.
There definitely seems to be a noticeable change to to some tracks over the course of several seasons (long before 27.5 was even a thing) but that's more the result of the venues' choices and limitations than anything else. Like wanting the 'World Cup' track to be on their existing public trail network partially out of cost/convenience and so every weekend warrior can ride the same track as Aaron Gwin.
Remember a few years ago when 27.5 was going to ruin, flatten, straighten, pave, kill DH racing too? And instead we got a show from Ratboy winning the overall and one of the most dramatic World Champs to date?
some more v10 pics from the santa cruz article and this quote:
"It's still early days for 29-inch wheels in downhill and there will always be 'horses for courses.' At the end of the day, we want to win races. So if any of our riders feel more comfortable in particular conditions or on certain courses with 27.5" wheels that's what they'll ride. Greg, Luca, and Loris are riding the new bike in Lourdes on April 30th because that's what they feel most confident on."
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even...
I guess with all these big wheels it's definitely the end for tracks like champery and Schladming unless people will revert back to 27.5 or even 26" wheels
I'm not sure how increasing the wheels size suddenly changes the current tracks to be flatter or less rough? I doubt you'll see anyone removing the...
I'm not sure how increasing the wheels size suddenly changes the current tracks to be flatter or less rough? I doubt you'll see anyone removing the rocks from Val di Sole or rerouting the final pitch of the Andorra track any time soon.
There definitely seems to be a noticeable change to to some tracks over the course of several seasons (long before 27.5 was even a thing) but that's more the result of the venues' choices and limitations than anything else. Like wanting the 'World Cup' track to be on their existing public trail network partially out of cost/convenience and so every weekend warrior can ride the same track as Aaron Gwin.
Remember a few years ago when 27.5 was going to ruin, flatten, straighten, pave, kill DH racing too? And instead we got a show from Ratboy winning the overall and one of the most dramatic World Champs to date?
Don't think it's flatter, more straight section or less turns as that's easier to shoot for TV...
This looks like the future of DH. Like it or not the evolution is on.
Personally I resisted 29ers until I fell in love riding one. A well designed long travel wagon wheeler can actually be loose in technical terrain and incredibly fun to ride. + Any experienced rider will be able to whip it, scrub & enjoy quality airtime once the learning curve is conquered.
The Santa Cruz crew assumes its leadership position again with this piece of work. Their innovative attitude and the ability to go from experimental to refined bikes is impressive as always.
Props to them for pushing the limits of our sport as they have done in the past with creations like the Tallboy LTC a few years ago and the Nomad in 2005.
But here is where the new 29" thing will shine... for those cat2 races where the course is a little smoother than the cat 1/pro think of all the guys that have bikes like a wreckoning or slash 29r. get a DH wheelset and a 49r from fox and you have a cat 2 race bike that will be badass! great fun park bike and won't require an entire new bike to go ride DH....
This could actually open up the sport to more people as a way into DH and then down the road they get the dedicated bike....
[img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2017/04/30/5125/s1200_Screenshot_20170430_225439.jpg[/img]
Greg Minnaar was the fastest of the top 10 in Qualis, not sure if conditions were that much worse for him vs Loris and Loic.
Greg Minnaar was the fastest of the top 10 in Qualis, not sure if conditions were that much worse for him vs Loris and Loic.
I too made this observation.
Top 10 qualifiers as follows:
Rewind 3 years or so and the same things were being said about those awful 275 DH bikes that no one wants to ride...
I guess...
Rewind 3 years or so and the same things were being said about those awful 275 DH bikes that no one wants to ride...
I guess for anyone who stills enjoys taking the piss out of enduro racing as well as 29ers, you can thank those guys for refining the tires, wheels, and geometry the past few years so the DH guys can enjoy a couple extra inches too. I'm not sure why they'd bother though, just look at how bad shorter guys like Strobel struggle on the big wheels. It's basically hopeless.
**Full disclosure. I've swallowed all the kool-aide and have a Yeti 29er en route
Which is exactly what I'm basing some of that on. Remember the first few races where 27.5 wheels were predominant? Remember all the flats? I do...
Which is exactly what I'm basing some of that on. Remember the first few races where 27.5 wheels were predominant? Remember all the flats? I do.
And the jump from 27 to 29 is a bigger handling gap. If some of these teams make their 5'2" women ride 29ers, just watch how many can't even get over the back of their bikes any more.
I really don't care. If that's what companies want to do that's what's going to happen. I just want to see racing based on racing, not undeveloped equipment. Trek has pretty much been the only one really going after this the last few years. Everyone else seems like they're just jumping in with regards to dh bikes.
I'm not so sure about the brief flat tire epidemic at the start of 2014 being the result of 275 wheels. Recall the first two rounds...
I'm not so sure about the brief flat tire epidemic at the start of 2014 being the result of 275 wheels. Recall the first two rounds were South Africa and Cairns where riders where often opting for lighter casing tires and then quite a few flats early on from one particular tire brand that always seems to be up to some new compound, sidewall, first ride experiment. I'd chalk it up to a particular batch of development tires either not being up to the job or being slightly out of spec (my first pair of 275 tires by that same company wouldn't even seal on some pre-production rims I was testing at the time).
I guess that's a long way of saying that in 2014 the 275 wheel was still new in all disciplines and may have had some production challenges to be worked out between tire and rim manufacturers trying to meet demand across their product line. For 29 inch wheels in 2017 that work has already been sorted and some DH spec 29er tires have been available going on 5 years or so now. Certainly I think the needs of EWS teams help accelerate this as well.
Thank goodness a new 29er tire didn't have any bearing on the outcome this year. :D
It was also right around the time Intense did the 2951 and the other guy told me he had personally spoken with Jeff Steber and told him to name his price for the 2951 frame but Jeff said it wasn't for sale.
I sold all of my DH stuff and bikes right before the 27.5 changeover and jokingly told my buddy that I would get back into DH when they started making 29er DH bikes... Looks like I need to start saving.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTVvE7qF9fv/
Edit: make that the whole Syndicate
https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/news/syndicate-29-inch-v10
There definitely seems to be a noticeable change to to some tracks over the course of several seasons (long before 27.5 was even a thing) but that's more the result of the venues' choices and limitations than anything else. Like wanting the 'World Cup' track to be on their existing public trail network partially out of cost/convenience and so every weekend warrior can ride the same track as Aaron Gwin.
Remember a few years ago when 27.5 was going to ruin, flatten, straighten, pave, kill DH racing too? And instead we got a show from Ratboy winning the overall and one of the most dramatic World Champs to date?
"It's still early days for 29-inch wheels in downhill and there will always be 'horses for courses.' At the end of the day, we want to win races. So if any of our riders feel more comfortable in particular conditions or on certain courses with 27.5" wheels that's what they'll ride. Greg, Luca, and Loris are riding the new bike in Lourdes on April 30th because that's what they feel most confident on."
https://youtu.be/d2ai_a1uERk
Personally I resisted 29ers until I fell in love riding one. A well designed long travel wagon wheeler can actually be loose in technical terrain and incredibly fun to ride. + Any experienced rider will be able to whip it, scrub & enjoy quality airtime once the learning curve is conquered.
The Santa Cruz crew assumes its leadership position again with this piece of work. Their innovative attitude and the ability to go from experimental to refined bikes is impressive as always.
Props to them for pushing the limits of our sport as they have done in the past with creations like the Tallboy LTC a few years ago and the Nomad in 2005.
But here is where the new 29" thing will shine... for those cat2 races where the course is a little smoother than the cat 1/pro think of all the guys that have bikes like a wreckoning or slash 29r. get a DH wheelset and a 49r from fox and you have a cat 2 race bike that will be badass! great fun park bike and won't require an entire new bike to go ride DH....
This could actually open up the sport to more people as a way into DH and then down the road they get the dedicated bike....
r they for real??
http://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/The-Hub,2/Should-There-Be-a-29er-DH-Clas…
Take that General Lee.
No one ever flatted on 26.....FACT.
This will now be a thing thanks to 29ers.
http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/RESULTS-Qualifying-2017-Lourdes-World…
Kinda wild. The new V10/29 might be available as quickly as 9 months according to Rob Roskopp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivWl_9NfWnE
Greg Minnaar was the fastest of the top 10 in Qualis, not sure if conditions were that much worse for him vs Loris and Loic.
Top 10 qualifiers as follows:
59: Greg Minnaar
62: Bernard Kerr
63: Brook MacDonald
68: Troy Brosnan
69: Remi Thirion
71: Loic Bruni
72: Loris Vergier
75: Luca Shaw
76: Danny Hart
DQ: Aaron Gwin
Perhaps somebody could edit this post with their times. I'm on my phone.
Also, HUGE props to Connor Fearon for scoring 5th place in shitty conditions. Not as shitty as the top qualifiers but still an amazing effort.
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