By Kurt Gensheimer

Uppers:

Descends faster than the balance of your 401K
Magnesium frame = light, durable and shock absorbent
Handmade in Boulder, Colorado
Custom built down to the last chainring bolt
Gates belt drive is dead silent and bulletproof

Downers:

Low hanging bottom bracket = rock magnet
Hard to maneuver in tight, technical singletrack
Even though it’s light, still feels sluggish on climbs
Spendy
What, no seat tube water bottle mount?

Ruling: Regardless of the terrain you ride, Paketa offers fully custom, USA-made magnesium bikes with more build configurations than the dollars in our national debt.

There’s this dog in my neighborhood; a golden retriever. He’s psychotic. Every time I roll up the street on my way home from a ride, he hears me coming, leaps from his porch stoop, and sprints towards the fence. He either hears my fat knobby tires humming down the road, or more likely hears my under-lubricated chain and friction-ridded singlespeed chain tensioner.

At first he’s quiet, the only audible evidence of his presence is the jingle jangle of his collar, as he follows me along the fence line hidden by a thicket of oleanders. Then, just as the oleanders give way to exposed fence, he’s in full visible sight, and unleashes his ferocious barker. It’s not so much a bark as it is a frantic, high-pitched yelping which grates on your nerves so much that you want to reach through the fence and strangle him.

If the psychotic barking isn’t bad enough by itself, his snarling sonata grabs the attention of every other fenced-in dog in the neighborhood, setting off a cascade of angry barking which escorts me all the way home.

What does any of this have to do with a bicycle review? Well, the day I rode Paketa’s new belt-driven singlespeed magnesium 29er called the Wac Corporal, for the first time ever, my psychotic canine adversary never came to the fence; he didn’t hear me. Thanks to the Gates belt drive system, I had a quiet, peaceful ride up my street.

The Merits of Magnesium

You’re probably wondering who is Paketa, but more importantly, you’re probably wondering what exactly is a Paketa. Is it like a cheetah or a leopard or something? Or perhaps it means something in Pakistani? Or maybe it’s just someone’s last name? Don’t ask me, I have no idea. Whatever the meaning, Paketa is a custom bike builder located in Boulder, Colorado, and they specialize in only one kind of material – magnesium. Now for those chemistry buffs or air-cooled VW gearheads, we all know that magnesium makes one magnificent light show when ignited. But magnesium’s attributes go far beyond a juvenile junkyard twilight pyromania session.

It turns out that magnesium also makes a damn fine material to build bicycle frames with. According to Paketa’s website, magnesium is currently the lightest structural material in the world; 34 percent lighter than aluminum and 50 percent lighter than titanium. The test bike weighed in at a svelte 24 lbs. In addition, it has the highest known damping capacity of any structural metal, as much as 10 times greater than steel, titanium or aluminum. In other words, it won’t rattle your brain stem loose.

The next natural question would be ‘well if magnesium is so great, why isn’t everyone building with it?’ Well for starters, magnesium isn’t cheap. Then you factor in the difficulty of extruding perfect tubes and welding them in a way which doesn’t compromise strength, it makes for what you would call a niche frame builder market. And Paketa is exactly that, considering you can count on one hand the number of reputable frame builders in the U.S. currently using magnesium.

Introduction:

Gary Fisher invited a handful of journalists to Park City Utah to try out their new offerings. Timing was a bit odd with the event happening less than two weeks before Interbike. “They must have a story to tell.” I thought.

And there is a story indeed. It is one of development and racing. The folks at Gary Fisher have been very busy refining their full supsension 29er line. Using technology they learned from the development of the 26er Roscoe bike and from Trek R&D, they sought out to continue the work Gary Fisher himself started back in 1999.

What they came out with are three new products, the Superfly 100, Rumblefish and the Superfly Singlespeed. The star of this trio is definitely the Superfly 100. It features a carbon full suspension frame that was designed to redefine cross country racing.

The Racing Story:

In July, Matt Pachocha of Velonews boldly proclaimed the death of the 26-inch hardtail in XC racing (http://velonews.com/article/95579). It’s certainly a controversial claim and Matt is still impressed at the volume of hate mail he continues to receive. But there to relate their experiences to us were 2009 National Champions, Jeremy Horgan-Kobleski and Heather Irminger. Willow Koerber who placed 3rd in the 2009 Worlds had a 29er story to share as well. All of them started using the Superfly 100 in mid-season and achieved stellar results.

So it is always difficult to to get an honest evaluation of a bike from a sponsored racer. By definition, sponsored racers do not say anything negative about a bike. So in this case, we’ll let the statistics and results do the talking.

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Height: 6′1″)
2009 XC Nationals - 1st place - 6:47 ahead of second place
2009 Marathon XC Nationals - 1st place – 12:26 ahead of second place

Heather Irminger- Height:5′4″
2009 XC Nationals - 1st place
2009 Marathon XC Nationals - 1st place

Willow Koerber - Height 5′1″
2009 XC Nationals – 2nd place
2009 Worlds - 3rd place

Kobelski Interview on CyclingDirt at Marathon National Championship
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235299-2009-usa-marathon-national-championships/191901-jeremy-horgan-kobelski-wins-marathon-championship

Heather Irminger Interview
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235299-2009-usa-marathon-national-championships/191906-heather-irmiger

And one thing interesting about these results is these racers are not youngsters and they are having the best results of their careers. Something is clicking and the Superfly 100 seems to be part of that formula. The other curious note is the height of these racers does not fit the ‘tall rider only’ stereotype of the 29er full suspension rider.

The bike:
So I only got to ride the Superfly 100 for three solid days in the trails of Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. These are first impressions only and I hope to ride it a lot more on my local trails in Santa Cruz, CA.

As I mentioned in the video, the highlights of the bike are:
Frame - 2200 grams or 4.85 lbs in size medium with the rear shock and all the hardware.

Short Chainstays - chainstay length is 451 mm or 17.75 inches. This is the hallowed ground of full suspension 29ers as short stays deliver quick handling and better rear traction. The seatstay had to be pushed forward in front of the bottom bracket to achieve this. This also resulted in a short wheelbase of 1114 mm.

Repositioned pivot point - The pivot point was repositioned lower to the rear axle to deliver better rigidity. The suspension was tuned as well to have better small bump sensitivity and ramp up later in the 110 mm of travel.

ABP and E2 technology - These Gary Fisher and Trek technologies were incorporated to give better suspension action during braking. E2 enables a beefier head tube design to deliver greater steering accuracy without adding much weight.

G2 Geometry - And finally, the bike is finished off with the proprietary 51 mm fork offset to deliver quick steering without a steep head angle.

The ride:
The ride was natural and telepathic. That’s what you want to hear on a fairly short test ride session right? It was very easy to get used to as the position seemed natural and not to high off the ground. Acceleration was awesome and traction seemed like it was always there.

Descending on the bike seemed really easy as it carved through the singletrack of Park City with ease. I never locked out the platform suspension yet the steep pitches that surprised me were never an issue. The only real problem was my lungs not quite ready for the 9000 foot elevation!

It was easy to forget that this was a 29er since it rode very similar to a 26er. But when the going got real rough on rocky fire roads, the trails did seem smoother than they looked. And at the Wasatch Crest trail, as my guide Photo-John coasted in front of me on his 26er, I had to grab a handful of brake to avoid ramming into him as I was coasting too.

Like I said, these are just first impressions and I hope to ride it more. But color me impressed so far.

Photos:

Gary Fisher Superfly 100 Specifications:

MSRP: $5600
Frame: OCLV Co-molded carbon main frame and rear swingarm, G2 Geometry, E2 headtube, ABP, topswing carbon link
Fork: Fox F100 FIT RLC 29, 100mm travel, custom G2 Geometry 51mm offset crown, E2 steerer, lockout force adjustment, FIT cartridge damper
Brakeset: Avid Elixir CR hydraulic disc, 160mm rotors front and rear
Wheels: Bontrager Race X Lite Scandium 29 Disc, tubeless ready
Tires: Bontrager XR1 Team Issue 29×1.9, 120 TPI, aramid bead
Headset: Cane Creek Frustrum E2 1-1/8″-1-1/2″, semi-integrated, cartridge bearings
Crank Set: Truvativ Noir Redwin Carbon, 44/32/22
Front Derailleur: Shimano XT Direct Mount
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X.O Redwin
Shifters: SRAM X.O Redwin
Cassette: SRAM PG990 11-34 9spd
Handlebar: Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep, 640mm width, 12d backsweep, 31.8mm
Stem: Bontrager Race X Lite OS, 7d rise, 31.8mm
Saddle: Bontrager Race Lite, superlight hollow cromoly rails
Seatpost: Bontrager Race XXX Lite Carbon OCLV, Carbon Shaft, infinite adjust Carbon Bontrager head
Color: Carbon Smoke / Gloss White
Sizes: SM (15.5″) | MD (17.5″) | LG (19″) | XL (21″) | XXL (23″)

www.fisherbikes.com

Talk about it on the MTBR 29er forum

Talk about it on the MTBR Gary Fisher forum

Canfield isn’t the first name you think of when it comes to 29ers or cross country bikes. Bikes for chucking off red cliffs, maybe - but 29ers? They’ve been talking about it for a while and those who had heard the rumors have been waiting. But this will be a surprise to most mountain bikers. Well, the bike was in my studio today and I’ve got proof. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the Canfield Brothers Nimble 9 29er.

Read the rest of this entry �

Tallboy on the Horizon

from Santa Cruz Bicycles: “We’ve been hinting about a 29″ bike on our blog for a while, and now that we’re getting the thing closer to finalized, we’re ready to show a little more skin. So to speak. We have photos that are absolutely how the bike will look in final trim, and we’ve got geometry charts, and we’ve got some final prototype mules that we’ve been kicking around. The basic nuts and bolts of the Tallboy have been getting massaged into place for over a year now, and the big wheel beast has taken shape into something we’re really happy with:”

Carbon fiber frame - This’ll be our third carbon fiber bike, and the more time we spend working with the material, the more we are able to push into new definitions of stiffness and strength. Following in line with what we were able to achieve with the carbon Blur XC and LT models, we’re kicking around Tallboy frames that weigh right about 5 pounds (with shock) and are so insanely flex-free and fun handling that they blow all our earlier assumptions about big wheels and chassis flex right out of the water. Tapered head tubes, massive but super light chainstays and rear triangles, absolutely rock solid frames, and they’re still around 2 pounds lighter than most of the similarly targeted competition. Super stiff, super strong, super snappy.

VPP suspension - The Tallboy will have 100mm of travel. The lower link features the same 15mm aluminum pivot axles, titanium hardware, angular contact bearings, grease ports, durability and ease of maintenance as found on our Blur LT. There’s also a carbon fiber upper link, with the same trick hardware and angular contact bearings on the big axle. Clean, neutral pedaling without bob or feedback, and plush bump eating suspension performance across the board.

Read the rest of this entry �

New Singlespeed 29er carries Pro Athlete to Victory

NOVATO, Calif.–May 27, 2008. Marin Bikes, manufacturer of performance bicycles, Pro athlete Yuri Hauswald was singlespeed champion at last weekend’s Friends of Tamarancho NORBA sanctioned Invitational Mountainbike race in Fairfax, California.

With a good turn out amongst Bay Area Pro and Expert riders Yuri Hauswald was to have his work cut out for him. Yuri is in a minority of Pro level racers in that he holds down a full time job in addition to training and competing nationally at 24-Hour endurance events. Yuri is both a schoolteacher and Mountainbike coach for racers in the Nor-Cal High School League. He devotes much of his spare time to inspiring young riders to reach their full potential both on the race circuit and in the classroom.

Yuri completed the three lap, 18 mile, race aboard a stock Marin Pine Mountain 29er. Twenty Nine Inch wheels are new to the Marin Bikes line up for 2008. The entry level Alpine Trail 29er attracting much praise in Mountain Bike Actions July edition. Yuri’s time on the trail was enough to place him 9th overall amongst the Pro men’s field. He was, however, the first rider across the line aboard a singlespeed bike, earning him the top step of the podium.

“Yuri is a valuable asset to Marin’s racing program. As a school teacher by profession Yuri’s personable demeanor and communication skills make him an excellent ambassador for Marin Bikes.” Stated Marin Bikes Marketing Manager, Mark Vanek. “He’s a real world athlete holding down a regular job and competing at the highest levels of the sport.”

Marin Bikes, a designer and manufacturer of performance bicycles and bicycle accessories, is located in Marin County, the birthplace of mountain biking. Marin, founded in 1986 by Robert Buckley, who remains it principal owner, and the company’s employee/owners are as committed to high quality service and customer support as they are to the lifestyle of cycling. Distributed in approximately 40 countries with international offices in Canada, Taiwan and Switzerland, Marin continues to pursue its original mission of providing quality performance and product innovation.

www.marinbikes.com

source: Mark Vanek

Back in 2001 Gary Fisher had a crazy notion. He and a couple other non-traditionalists were messing with 29” wheeled mountain bikes. It was a fringe concept at the time. Fast forward seven years and 29ers are the hottest thing going in the mountain bike world. With Fisher’s legacy in 29ers and race team sponsorship, it made perfect sense for Gary Fisher Bikes to sponsor a team exclusively of 29er riders to prove the dominance of the bigger wheel.

The Gary Fisher 29er Crew is a non-traditional team. It’s a grassroots and diverse collective of racers banded together under the Fisher flag and by their passion for racing on 29ers. For 2008, the team is 43 riders strong. Racers range in age from 17 to 50. They hail from the wooded Northeast of Vermont, the Southwestern deserts of California, the shores of the United Kingdom, and everywhere in between. They’re men and women racing cross-country, endurance, and XTerra. They ride rigid singlespeeds and full-suspension 29ers. About the only common denominator between teammates is the size of the wheels they roll on.

The 40-plus person team includes notable individuals such as recent 24-Hour National Champion, Cameron Chambers; current National Cyclocross Single Speed Champion, Marko LaLonde; current Chequamegon 40 Champ, Jesse LaLonde (yes, they’re brothers); longtime Fisher regional racer and brain tumor survivor, Michael Patrick; Subaru-Gary Fisher team mechanic, Matt Opperman; ’07 US National Championship top-ten finisher, Sam Koerber; and, of course, the man, Gary Fisher.

The 29er Crew website and blog. www.29ercrew.com will host the great stories of all the riders. There each rider will be posting blog entries, race recaps, and news from their lives. It’s an opportunity to showcase the different voices and perspectives of this diverse team. It’s fitting for a group of 29er riders. The groundswell popularity of 29ers was due to the passionate base of its believers. On the 29er Crew blog, the riders will continue to help foster the individuality and passion of 29er culture. Aside from the Fisher frames and big wheels, you’ll be able to recognize 29er Crew racers by their distinct jersey. The Champion System jersey is only available to team members.

The 29er Crew couldn’t exist without the support of several people. Gary Fisher supplies the big-wheeled bikes (www.fisherbikes.com). Bontrager (www.bontrager.com) was the first choice as partner for 29er specific wheels, tires, and components. Riders can take advantage of the Bontrager Tubeless Ready Race X Lite 29 and Rhythm 29 wheelsets, a full set of condition-specific Tubeless Ready 29” tires, and components designed for 29ers such as the Race Lite Big Sweep handlebars. Champion Systems (www.champ-sys.com) is providing the great looking performance apparel in lickety-split fashion.

Be sure to check out your local 29er Crew rider and follow along on the team’s exploits on the 29er Crew site: www.29ercrew.com

source: Travis Ott, Gary Fisher & LeMond Brand Manager

MARCH 2008 UPDATE In this issue: IMBA Limited Edition Frame Recent Test from MBA on m.c.r. 9 JET 9 Production Update 2008 R.I.P. 9s in Stock NOW Website Changes Rigid Forks Niner Bikes is Hiring! From the Founders

IMBA Limited Edition m.c.r. 9 frame and Niner Rigid fork

Congrats to Chris Weber of Vermont!Here is his explanation of the paint scheme:The Panels with the squiggly lines have a story behind them that I am sure IMBA would appreciate. The Down Tube Panel with Niner written on it would be a trail map of the Kingdom Trails (an awesome VT trail system IMBA worked on). The top tube would have a trail map of a trail IMBA worked on in the Rockies (Ive never been there so I have no idea what trail it would be). Seat Tube Panel would be a California trail that IMBA worked on (youre seeing a pattern I trust…). The Panels on the fork could be a trail in Canada and another in the South (Pisgah???). The Red line illustrates the actual trail on these maps. Now the idea is to show that IMBA HAS had a HUGE impact on ALL our trails no matter where we are, and why not celebrate the fact that you could be a Hermit singletrack hound in VT, a Hucker in BC, or a BIG mountain rider out west, IMBA looks out for ALL of us and we should in turn support them! Chris Weber ===================================We will be making some slight modifications to the layout. We are going to have the IMBA logo moved to a more prominent position and the Pedal Damn It will be changed to Join Damn It. Now to be fair more than one person sent in an entry like this but Chris’ was first and also captures the essence of what we were looking for. So he will be seeing his paint job riding around at the IMBA booth at Sea Otter and will be receiving a free frame and fork for his efforts. Our thanks to all who entered the contest. We had many cool paint jobs to choose from and entries from all over the world. These 25 special edition custom painted m.c.r. 9 frames & forks will be available in June. Pricing will be $1,078.00 for the frame and fork. Again thanks to all of you for helping us support a great organization like IMBA. Thanks, Chris & Steve Back to top

Recent test from MBA on m.c.r. 9

MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION: Converting Non-believers (March 2008) Were the wrecking crews nonbelievers converted by the Niner M.C.R. 9? Absolutely. When it comes to hardtails, the M.C.R. 9 takes the trail-riding experience to a whole new level. Read the full MBR review now >> Back to top

JET 9 Production Update

Okay, so were not going to beat around the bush on this one. The JET 9’s will be delayed again. It’s always something, right?Well, the frames are almost finished, actually, the frames ARE finished and ready to go. Now its a delay in the linkage thats clogging the works. We are really putting everything we have into making the JET 9 not only the best functioning bike we can design, but also the best looking rig that were capable of. In that effort, we were really pushing for a mirror polish finish on the linkage and we were unhappy with the level of mirror we were achieving with standard polishing and clear ano. So, months ago, before production, we started testing chrome plating. This is not the chrome plating from your 1981 Mongoose BMX bike that just flaked off after a month, this chrome plating has been refined and is amazingly thin (about .01mm thickness). It also doesnt come off. We literally dragged the test linkage through the streets to see the effect on the chrome plating, and although it did scratch, it never flaked, no matter how much abuse we hammered into it. We dented, bent, banged and otherwise destroyed the chrome plated test linkage, and it just grinned and kept shinning. It seems that the worst thing you can do to it is touch it, and put your finger prints all over it.That being said, we decided to go with this chrome plating for production, and wanted you to get your frames and be totally blown away with and surprised by the mirror finish on the Jet 9 linkage. Well, some things dont go as planned. The plating process is taking longer and becoming more difficult to achieve than we had first expected. We are getting them all done it is just taking time to do it right. We know youre probably pretty eager to get your hands on the new frames, and were just as miffed about it as you are. Were doing everything in our power to rectify the problem and deliver the Jet 9s with the beautiful linkage we set out to deliver. Again, we know, another delay. We apologize sincerely, we expect to have frames to your local Niner Dealers around April 28th. This is the final stretch, we’re almost there, please hang in there with us. If the delay is an issue please contact Ryan ryan@ninerbikes.com. We have had a lot of calls about the compatibility of the FOX F29 and the Jet 9. We did extensive testing of early prototypes of the FOX F29 in both the 80mm and 100mm versions while we were in development. (Thanks FOX!!) We can happily say the F29 will work brilliantly with the Jet 9. We do recommend you use the consumer version with the 44mm offset verses the Gary Fisher OEM version at 51mm. Rock Shox Reba and all other current 80mm-100mm travel 29er forks will work as well. Back to top

2008 R.I.P. 9s in stock NOW

Here is a current picture of the 08 frame with the new cable routing. We are sold out of small and XL but plan to have more in stock around May. Read more about the R.I.P 9 >> Back to top

Website Changes

We are integrating a new software package to help us streamline orders and shipping on April 1st (no joke). It will be integrated into our website “Ordering” tab. You will see the changes when you go to place orders after April 1st. Back to top

RIGID Forks

Our most current production batch of forks are suffering from quality issues. We are running random tests on each batch and we have not gotten consistent results. We will keep you updated on when we will have more in stock. May - June is the best date we can give you when new forks will be in stock. Back to top

Niner Bikes is Hiring!

If you are interested in working with us. We are looking for good people who are passionate about bikes (29er’s even better). The best work in the world is to be doing something you are excited about. Send cover letter expressing what your dream job would be and your resume and salary history to chris@ninerbikes.com.Sorry please do not call.We have an immediate position available for Customer Service and we are accepting resumes for future positions. Back to top

From the Founders

2008 is turning into a great year for Niner Bikes and 29ers in general. We think you will see more and more 29ers on the trails and at the races. We are in constant development of new products and working closely with a number of manufactures of 29er related parts to see The Big Revolution to the next level.Chris & Steve Niner Bikes Back to top

source: Niner Bikes

Andes, NY- Greenfish Adventure Sports is proud to announce they are now the exclusive online dealer for Slingshot Bikes, a company at the forefront of advanced suspension technology for the past twenty six years. Greenfish Sports, an online dealer of bicycle parts, accessories as well as motocross gear, is recognized for their quality custom builds, exceptional customer service, and prompt shipping. Partnered with Slingshot Bikes, Greenfish now offers an expanded line of custom builds and a variety of kits including those built around the Slingshot Farmboy 29er, the Ripper XC frame, and the Fold-tech, a foldable travel frame.

Slingshot frames are known for their innovative Sling-Power technology which incorporates a 3-part suspension design composed of the Dogbone Flexboard, a Coil spring, and Stainless steel cable which replaces the traditional downtube. With this technology, every part of the rotation in a pedal stroke and bump in the trail is converted from stored to forward propelling energy.

Highly acclaimed by industry rags, Slingshot bikes have been ridden to the podium in various races including the Iceman Cometh Challenge and NORBA Nationals. Their online partnership with Greenfish Sports now offers riders a way to get their hands on a unique Slingshot frame or carefully spec’d custom build kit.

Check out the Slingshot frames and buildkits online at greenfishsports.com. Call 1.888.226.2211. email info@greenfishsports.com. Address: 294 Depot St. Andes, NY 13731.

Visit Slingshot Bikes at www.slingshotbikes.com.

source: Dylan Tucker, Greenfish Adventure Sports

Reviewed by Brian Mullin aka Gram and MTBR.com Pastajet

I don’t think it was inconsequential that the first bike I saw and rode at the 2007 Interbike Outdoor Demo was the Moots Mooto-XZ. The titanium 29er with 4 inches of suspension caught my eye and pretty much drew me in like a magnet, “Test me please! Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” It was a standout ride at the Interbike Demo days and it won my ‘Best Ride of the Show’ award. I decided that I needed to do an in-depth review of the bike to truly do this beauty some justice. I contacted Moots about doing a long term test and they agreed to send me a demo bike. After a couple of months the Mooto-XZ showed up on my doorstep, just in time for my winter vacation to California, sort of an early Christmas present. Thanks to Cathy at Moots for giving me the opportunity to test out their bike. I was really looking forward to spending some quality time on this bike and getting a feel for its potential, assets, deficits and its idiosyncrasies. In my case that could be called idioTsyncrasies but I digress. This was of course going to be a brutal and honest review no matter how much I liked the bike. I wanted to show warts and all, even if they were titanium warts. “It’s not a tumor.” Read the rest of this entry �