“How come Fox doesn’t make a 29er fork?”

This might be one of the most common questions heard on the mtbr 29er forum. The dealers and the Fox reps got an earful too I’m sure. Well the requests have been heard and the fork is here.

It is the Fox F29 RLC. MSRP is $699 and it weighs 3.9 lbs uncut. It is an air fork with travel shipped at 100 mm convertible to 80 mm. Axle to crown is 500.8 mm and 480.8mm respectively for 100 mm mode and 80 mm mode. Fork offset is 44 mm. Trek bikes with this fork will have 51mm offset but aftermarket shocks for the rest of us will sport the 44 mm offset. Zzzzz… sorry, those specs are for the die-hard 29er crowd.

On original Equipment spec on bikes, this fork is available only with Trek and Gary Fisher Bikes. They helped fund the project and in return got a one-year exclusive for spec’ing them on their bikes. But the great news is any consumer can buy this fork. In the aftermarket, the fork will be available to anyone.

It is white and it comes with post brake mounts. I believe all 2008 Fox Forks use these brake mounts now. This fork is the RLC which stands for Rebound, Lockout and Compression adjustable. This is the same as what comes in their F100 and Talas forks and what Fox has earned their living at.

RLC and Lockout Blow-off Valve

Rebound - This is the red knob that controls how fast the shock comes back up. It goes from very fast to fairly slow. The basic logic is run it fast if you want the most supple ride on high-speed, rutted, washboard descents. Slow it down if you take drops and jumps and want to control the kickback of the shock after compression

Lockout - This a two position lever prevents the shock from compressing. This is used when riding on a smooth road or on a extended climb. Fox shocks are very active and supple. But that can translate to power loss as you crank down the pedals and some of your power goes into compressing the fork. Now here’s the Fox magic. At the bottom of the leg is a lockout blow-off valve. The lock-out is not a full fork lock-out by design. The fork will compress when met with a significant opposing force. How significant? Well this blow-off controls that and you can dial it in. If you’re a casual rider and you often forget to unlock your fork before a big descent, set the blow-off low and the fork will compress when taking those big hits. If you’re an XC racer and you want all your power going to the wheels when locked out, then set the blow-off valve high.

Compression - This is the blue outer knob with several clicks and it adjusts the low-speed compression of the fork. Low speed means compression forces that come at a fork slowly, like pedaling forces. This is the opposite of high-speed compression like rock hits or jumps. This is a great adjustment as it provides as stable pedaling platform and prevents brake dive. Crank in the knob if you want fork that doesn’t bob too much under pedaling. The beauty is you can still run low pressure and get maximum travel on all the trail hits. Of course, this will come at some cost of suppleness so dial out the compression knob if you want the smoothest fork possible.

The weight is 3.9 lbs with an uncut steer tube. The shock is shipped with a nice brake cable mount. Shock pump is included too. Travel at 100mm travel setting is legitimate as we measured a full 103 mm until it bottomed out.

So how does it ride? Well on the parking lot, it is as supple as any Fox Fork I’ve tried. Smooth out of the box is the Fox mantra. Stay tuned. First ride is this afternoon. This fork might look good with the white Syncros wheels. I feel a bike makeover coming on!

Ride Report!

Here’s the one line review. ‘It’s a Fox.’ If you own a Fox and you know what that line meant, then read no further. This Fork looks like a Fox. It adjusts like a Fox. It rides like a Fox.

And that’s a good thing. So out of the box, the shock is buttery smooth. It goes through the action with no stiction it soaks up bumps with no fuss. As the trail got interesting, the shock took all the drops and rocks with aplomb and there was no hint of bottoming out. There was no funny squishing, hissing or clunking sounds. The shock just did its job quietly. It also felt like it had a little more travel than 100mm.

It’s a Fox and the bonus is it’s connected to a big wheel. Yesterday I hit a log obstacle at speed with a 26er and Fox 160mm fork. Today I hit the same obstacle with the F29 at the same speed and I braced for a bigger impact. Blup-pup and I was over with less fuss. The big wheel did some of the work and the F29 did the rest. Very nice.

Steering was excellent. The front end felt stiff and the front end tracked just where you pointed it. There was little need for correction. Leaning the bike over was easy as well as there was hesitating or kicking back. The stiff Syncros wheels might have had something to do with that.

Finally, the adjustments were awesome! I dialed in some low-speed compression damping so the fork wouldn’t bob under power. Three clicks on the rebound adjustment and I had fairly fast rebound for the fast terrain. And I used the lockout on an extended climb. When I forgot to unlock the fork on a descent, The blow-off valve did it’s job on a big rut and let the shock compress. It also let out a loud ‘pffft’ to let me know the fork was locked but under diress.

More testing will come but first impressions are: It’s a Fox!

Ergon green. That color stands for unique design and functional mountain bike products. They look a little different and the promise is that they work better for your body. Let’s put three of their products to the test.

The first product is the the Ergon GR2 grip. Now, I sought out this product out of necessity. About a month ago, I lost feeling in my left ring finger. This was then followed by pulsing pain down my forearm. After an x-ray and an EMG nerve test, it was determined that I pinched my ulnar nerve near my wrist. There was no accident but I suspect riding a rigid fork for over a year has a lot to do with this injury. The shock of the rigid fork traveled through my grips and compressed my ulnar nerve. It turns out this is a fairly common bike injury and is often called ‘handlebar palsy’.

So with that information, I figured out how to avoid the stress on my hands. Of course I put on a suspension fork on my 29er singlespeed bike. But I also found out about at Ergon Grip and glove system. The grips are made of soft rubber and flare out on the outside to distribute the load across a wider surface of the palm. Also, the GR2 model offers bar ends. Just when I thought the bar end was dead, it has resurfaced in a much leaner and more integrated form. The bar end on the Ergon grips seem perfectly shape with a curve on the outside following the curvature of the hand. Also the tips of the bar ends flatten out and make it natural to rest the thumb on it. Finally, at the bottom of the bar end are nice indentations where the tips of my fingers can rest and get a grip.

Ergonomic indeed but how does it ride? The first few rides are key since it is critical to get the angle of the grips right. These grips will force you to ride at the angle of the grips so you want them positioned at the natural angle of your hand. Once positioned, my hands felt very comfortable and I didn’t feel (or have the choice to roll my wrist up or down).

Riding on level terrain was a dream. My hands felt natural as the shock of the trail was muted as more of my palm was in contact with the bar. When climbing, it felt good as well. The bonus of the bar end was it gave me a couple of new positions. First was at the ends of the handlebars and then holding the bar ends themselves shifted my weight forward and gave me extra climbing leverage. In the singlespeeding world, it is often said that having bar ends is like having an extra gear. This is actually true as the extra reach allows you to pull on the bars a little easier and turn the pedals. In addition, just having different positions available allows you to distribute the load to different parts of your hand and prevent injury.

But how was it descending? Well here’s the compromise. Ergon grips don’t descend as well as normal grips. The biggest issue is you can’t wrap your hands around the whole grip. Thus, you get the feeling that your grip is not as secure. There is a bit of a learning curve as well and you should allow yourself a couple descents to get used to the new grip position. The bar ends actually help since they provided me more area to rest the ends of my hands and ensure I had a good grip on the handlebar. I think most XC riders will not have a problem descending with these grips at all. But downhillers and dirt jumpers will probably stick with standard grips.

So midway through my ulnar nerve recovery (4 weeks) I just had to attend a mountain bike trip to Oregon. This trip promised shuttle runs and 10 mile long descents. The great news is I never had an issue with my hands. In fact, it was interesting to see folks all around me wincing as they massaged their hands after long descents. The Ergon grips saved my hands and I felt safe and secure on the descents as well.

Ergon also had me try their gloves which are ‘optimized’ for their grips. It’s a very nice glove and fairly interesting with a full-finger glove and 3/4 finger on the rest. The glove also featured minimal padding, right at the ulnar area. The gloves mated quite well with the grips and I had a pretty secure feeling on it. However, it’s not required as my other thin gloves mated with grips quite well too.

4.75 out of 5 stars

(5 stars if you have an ulnar injury but not ideal if you’re a downhiller)

Ergon BD1 Backpack

This backpack is big and it’s meant to carry big loads. That is its strength and weakness. If you like to carry a 10 lb backpack with water, food and tools to rebuild a bottom bracket on the trail, then look no further. The biggest problem with big packs is they tire your shoulders and they interfere with your nimbleness and maneuverability.

Ergon tries to solve this in two ways. First, the BD1 takes the load off your shoulders and onto your hips. Second is they’ve integrated a pivot-ball shoulder mount so the pack stays straight even as your upper body goes through all kinds of singletrack-induced contortions. Fitment is critical so the pivot-ball can be adjusted up or down to ensure that the shoulder-straps are in the ideal position in relation to the waist straps.

The pack itself weighs 2.33 lbs when empty. It has a nylon frame and has an assortment of straps. There is stretchable sleeve inside that can take differerent sized water bladders. Also, there is a helmet retention cover on the outside that can be removed when not in use. It’s a nice feature but can get in the way of accessing the inside of the pack.

Does it work? Oh, yes. I’ve ridden with it and there was hardly any tension on my shoulder straps. When properly adjusted, the weight is really carried by the hips. And riding through twisty descents, the pack was not a bother at all. It just felt centered back there with none of the usual weight shifts and flopping around of a heavy pack. I was liberating. Another bonus seemed to be that the pack was lifted off my back a little bit by the pivot-ball mechanism. This allowed more ventilation on those hot days.

And who’s it not for? If you don’t carry a lot of stuff and prefer a 5 lb water carrier, then look elsewhere. Also, this can get rather pricey at $140 and that’s without a water reservoir. If you are bothered by a big waist strap, there is a possibility you might not like this pack. So load it up and test-ride it first to see how you like it.

Bottom line, if you carry a big pack, there’s no question  you need to start saving up now for this one.

5 out of 5 stars

Resources

Handlebar Palsy - http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_15_3_2.htm

Ergon - http://ergon-bike.com/

Destination: Oakridge, Oregon.

Where? Oakridge is a small valley town, east of Eugene. Where? It’s 9 hours north of Norcal. We’ll figure it out. There’s a small outfit called Mountain Bike Oregon that promises 3 days of riding bliss and free beer for less than $300. Last year, a few of my friends left me on injured reserve and took the trip to Oakridge. They said the riding was incredible and the event was very enjoyable. Tom Tran described it as: “You know our favorite part in Downieville… Third Divide? It’s like that but hundreds of miles long.” I said “Wow, let’s roll!”

What bike to bring?

Nomad, 29er FS, Rigid, Singlespeed? Since I was just hitching a ride, I could only bring one bike. All the rides are shuttle rides, I hear. So let’s bring the Nomad. Tom however convinces me to ride the Salsa Mamasita 29er singlespeed. “That’ll be perfect” he said. Nice cushy front and light enough to be fast. I had my doubts as I wasn’t too interested in racing XC up the trails. Although Tom took a Niner singlespeed rigid fork last year and had a blast. He said all the descents are fairly smooth and the climbs are not too steep. Ok, Mamasita it is.

Arrival

So I’ve never been to Oregon. Well it’s very green, hilly and scenic. The roads are smoother and the folks drive slower. But don’t you dare pump your own gas since you might get arrested. We roll into Oakridge and it’s a beautiful valley town surrounded 360 degrees by these tall green mountains. Right by the main road is a park/campground next to the Willamette river. We arrive on Thursday afternoon and the camping area has several dozen tents next to the river. We set up camp with about a dozen mtbr tents and signed up for the upcoming rides. There’s a beer garden area with a stage, a feeding area, a lunch box set up area and a shuttle staging area on one end of the park. Bathroooms are handled by several dozen portables. Showers are at a high school a half mile away with shuttles constantly running in the afternoons. Heck, we even had cell phone service.

The rides

There are many options for the three days of shuttle riding. Each route is described in a guidebook and it makes recommendations depending on rider skill level. Our ala carte schedule looked like this:

Friday- Lawler and Hardesty

Saturday - Middle Fork Trail ($35 extra)

Sunday - Alpine Trail

That’s the consensus of the locals for advanced riders. Middle Fork Trail costs an extra $35 since it’s way out there. The shuttle ride to the drop-off point takes about an hour and a half. There’s lunch midway through the ride and there’s ice-cold beer at the end of the ride.

In addition, our group decided to do a couple of self-supported shuttle rides since we drove all the way from another state and all. These were:

Thurs - Larison Rock

Monday - Mackenzie River Trail

So why are all the rides shuttle rides?? Are they such extreme downhill runs? Isn’t shuttling uncool? It turns out the descents are very XC style and 40 lb. bikes are not needed. In fact, the locals rarely shuttle these same rides. But the climbs are huge at 4000-6000 feet of elevation gain. Shuttles are done basically so we can ride every day and not feel cooked. The remarkable thing is all these trails are shuttle friendly. There’s usually a road that drops you off at the top of the trailhead. And even with the shuttle up the hill, there’s usually some climbing involved throughout the day. Another point is riders of varying abilities can try these wonderful descents. Not everybody can climb 5000 feet but most folks can descend that. Of course that’s a double-edged sword that can put riders in over their heads on top of a mountain.

Thursday - Larison Rock

This one is right behind the camping area across the river. We drove up a windy road for about 20 minutes and voila, we were at the trailhead. It’s about a 4-mile, 2000-foot descent. The minute we hit the trail, I knew this place was special. There were a hundred shades of green as vegetation covered every square inch outside the narrow singletrack. The trail snaked down the mountain, sometimes very narrow with some exposure on one side. Leaves lashed at my half-covered fingers as I swooped down the hill. The soil condition was A+ with zero dust and plenty of grip. We ended on a flatter trail that led us all the way to the campground. Wow, our beloved Norcal trails just got schooled and this was just a prelude to the trail orgy to follow.

Friday- Lawler and Hardesty trails

This one is actually two shuttle rides. The bus waits for us at the bottom of Lawler and takes us to the top of Hardesty. This ride was a gem! There was a little out and back bonus trail in the beginning. Then the Lawler descent ensued with uninterrupted descending down the middle of a very big, dark forest. The twisty descent just flowed through soft, loamy trails inside the tree canopy. Then came Hardesty trail. Hardesty was easier yet better. It had such good flow and speed that everyone came out of the canopy just smiling. But wait there’s more! at the bottom, people were just laughing.

Saturday - Middle Fork trail

An hour and a half away and $35 extra? Is it worth it? In a word, hellya! You have to be an advanced rider to survive the roots at the top and endure the 30 mile trek. But pay that price and you will be rewarded with the most interesting trail of the weekend. The trail is peppered with turns, roots, sights, hikes and flowy descents. The first half of the trail is an exciting and technical descent through some very twisty and very rooty singletrack. The views are dramatic with all the water flowing but there’s no time to look. It’s about a five-hour ride and the guides leave a personalized box lunch halfway through the trail. Let me just say that PB&J sandwiches never tasted so good. We even took a little hike across the highway and saw a natural spring pop out of the ground and start a creek before our very eyes. After the lunch break is an exciting but grueling section of creek crossings and hike-a-bikes. It then opens up to the flowy, buff singletrack the area is famous for. At the end of the 30 miles, the muscles, back and neck were sore. We then jumped into the river and injected life back into our bodies. Grab a beer at the shuttle and we can go ahead and anoint this as the ‘best ride evar’.

Sunday - Alpine trail

At around 2 am, the skies opened up. August downpours are rare even here in Oakridge and it took everyone by surprise. Half the attendees packed up while most of the Norcal crew donned shower caps and braved the elements. Remarkably, the trail was in great condition as the showers lightened up at around 11am. I did not make the Alpine ride said this one rivaled the Middle Fork ride. They said the flow was incredible and the vistas were epic.

Monday - self shuttle at Mackenzie River Trail (non-MBO)

The great thing about Oakridge is we are within striking distance of some of the other great Oregon trails. We took about an hour and a half drive to Mackenzie river and stayed at Harbick’s Inn. The next morning, we braved the morning drizzle that unfortunately turned into a downpour. We shuttled to the top and did a loop around the lake. This trail was again so interesting and flowy. Did you know that lava and big fir and redwood trees can thrive together? Well, here it does. There is about a one-mile section of lava that was so technical and interesting. The good news about lava trails is there is almost perfect traction even in the rain. The bad is the price for failure is very steep as that lava will exhibit it’s friction properties on your skin. On the trail, we are treated to a symphony of twisty singletrack, lava obstacles, bridges, water crossings, waterfalls, pools and a million shades of green.

The Carnage

At the July venue, it was reported that there were 5 broken bones(mostly collarbones). In this August MBO, we were spared that but one of our Norcal contingent went down very hard. Sarah is a beginner/intermediate rider and was having a blast at Lawler trail. But as the trail opened up to a fire road, she picked up a bit of speed and did not see a dirt mound for blocking vehicle access. Not having ever jumped before, she launched off the dirt and landed on her head and her back. Now for the scary part, she was incoherent for about two minutes. Then she came to but had no memory whatsoever of the last week’s events. Over the next hour, she regained all her memory and complained of a sore back while laying down. She declined the ambulance ride to the dismay of all the rescuers and ride organizers. She then got checked out at a nearby hospital and got a clean bill of health. She is a trooper and managed to have fun the rest of the days despite being quite sore. The other injury of note was Noah’s tattoo. Noah crashed on the trail and the the bike was still clipped in on one foot and landed on his shoulder. Noah is about 300 lbs and can put some heat on those disc brakes. He thought, ‘what’s that little stinger on my shoulder’? It was his brake rotor burning his skin!!! Wow. Rumor is Noah is going to mark that spot with a real rotor tattoo that says ‘MBO’.

The Guides

Each MBO ride is led by many guides. The guides are unpaid volunteers that belong to the Disciples of Dirt, the same group that maintains these trails. These guys were key to making this event so enjoyable. Their enthusiasm for sharing their trails was matched only by their riding ability. They excelled at climbing, descending, trials riding. Just by coincidence, the Norcal group was matched up with Boyd and Wes for four days of riding. We had fun at the expense of Boyd’s Kiwi accent. And we benefited from his guiding and riding expertise. Most important, Boyd and Wes’s upbeat spirit always lifted the group. I think they had fun too as they joined us on their own at the Mackenzie River Trail ride.

So there you have it. The perfect trip. The founders Randy and Porter of MBO have done good. The event has grown from 30 people in 2005, 250 in 2006 and 450 in 2007. Take note that MBO gives a money to a lot of local community groups. They care for the town and it shows as all the locals are very accomodating to cyclists. One caveat is each MBO event is capped at 300 riders. It will most likely sell out next year so register early when it opens before christmas.

Next year, get ready MBO, the Mtbr armada is coming!

Resources:

Photo Gallery: http://gallery.mtbr.com/showgallery.php/cat/1164

Discussion and rider reports: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=330452

Mountain Bike Oregon site: http://www.mtbikeoregon.com/

click here for MTBR Leviathan product review page

Price: $1725 with DT Swiss upgrade

Frame Weight: 5.1lbs

Bike weight (as tested): 25.8lbs

BB height (measured):

Wheelbase (measured):

Rear shock: DT Swiss HVR 200

Rear travel: 3″

(click on image to enlarge)

A Word From the Manufacturer

The Leviathan 3.0 is a 29″ bike design based off our 26″ XC race bike that I developed back in 1999. The design was refined and refined until I used the basic construction and adapted it to the Leviathan. The major difference is that I changed the concentric pivot of the swingarm. With the raised axle position of the 29″ wheel, the swingarm angle was too steep and caused the wheel to come too close to the seat tube causing clearance issues. The Revelation, and now the Leviathan 3.0, are bike frames that are designed to be as light as I could get it for the purpose of XC racing and all around XC riding. The short travel keeps the bike efficient and very responsive to power input, as well. Our method of construction on this frame has proven to be light, durable and stiff. Applying this design to the 29″ wheel format enabled us to have a full suspension 29″ wheel bike that doesn’t suffer such a big weight penalty that most people associate with big wheels.

The Leviathan 3.0 is best suited for XC and endurance racers or XC riders who want a bike that is really light and easy to climb and ride farther.

The Leviathan also is now available in a 4.0″ version which is still an XC bike but gives you a bit smoother ride. The 4.0 gains about 3 tenths of a pound over the 3.0 but the extra travel makes it a more all around bike for XC riders who aren’t as serious about racing.

Devin Lenz

(click on image to enlarge)

Reviews:

Francis Cebedo

Strengths:

• lightweight frame
• great climber
• responsive ride

Weaknesses:

• suspension travel gets harsh quickly
• seems to experience pedal bob
• Swingarm does not seem very robust. It seems thin and small and is held on by a long, small bolt.
• The rear DT Swiss shock clicks when in stable platform mode. Damping seems hard to control

Overall Impressions:

The Lenz Leviathan is a light weight yet stable bike. Climbing seems to be this bike’s forté. With its light weight and efficient drivetrain, it is easy to pedal the bike up long fire roads and technical singletrack. The steering is not too quick and is easy to control on the steepest ascents.

On very tight singletrack, this was not the most agile steering bike. In the smooth swoopy trails, the Lenz felt right at home. Steep descents and log piles were not a problem at all with this bike.

The 3 inches of travel was a little bit rough. It moved pretty nicely in the first inch of travel. But it quickly ramped up and was quite stiff after that. I wasn’t all that pleased with the DT HVR shock on the bike. Damping was not so easy to control. Also, when the stable platform was cranked up, compressing the shock had an obvious clicking sound.

This bike benefited from a Mike Curiak build treatment. It had incredibly light wheels, a nice 29-tooth middle ring and a Salsa 140 gram flat bar to name a few. These resulted in a bike that weighed in under 26 lbs.

During the first three rides, the bike creaked quite a bit. It turns out that the rear skewer needed to be tightened quite a bit to prevent the rear hub from rubbing against the anodized finish of the frame. It’s a simple fix but worth noting since we didn’t experience this same issue with any other frame.

If you need a race bike, whether short or endurance races, this might be the right bike for you. The Leviathan - complete - is built up to 25.5 lbs only. This 29er seems to climb with ease and it gets around singletrack very well.