We just received some pictures of Redline’s 2009 mountain bikes and they are quite the looker. No worries, these aren’t all the mountain bikes that Redline is offering in 2009. All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Monocog Flight

D460

D660

I am particularly smitten with the blue/grey paint job on the D660. Redline’s website has not been updated with these pictures yet, so be patient. In the meantime, check out Redline for info on their 2008 bikes.

Popularity: 27% [?]

There’s been some recent discussion within our circle of riders about bike weights. How important is a low bike weight to you? When does a bike become too light and the parts too weight weenie that reliability is compromised? What tricks would you consider implementing and which would you stay away from?

Extralite’s 17.26 lbs hardtail RC1 Custom

Coming from the 29er side, I start thinking compromises to reliability are being made for weight loss when I see a hardtail under 23ish lbs for XC/trail riding or a full suspension under 25 lbs. I don’t know what those weights would translate to for 26″ bikes. (I don’t think reducing gears or riding without suspension is a compromise to reliability. Rather, I think of it as a legitimate way to reduce the weight of your bike.) Of course your opinion on what a minimum weight might be different from me, but in general the aforementioned 29er weights is where the line is drawn for me. I am, after all, a clydesdale so I need to know that my components will last when I exert my MASSIVE amounts of force my body is so accustomed to delivering to my components.

I, for one, have entertained running a 140mm rear rotor for my hydraulic brakes but I’m not quite ready to drop that weight for the loss in braking power. Or how about a common racer practice of screwing on only three rotor bolts per rotor instead of the 6 provided? Over two rotors on a bike, you actually end up going from 12 rotor bolts to just 6 or half of what you normally would run. But is this something you would do to reduce the weight of your bike? What about reliability?

3 bolts per rotor: too much weight weenie-ism or totally reliable?

Where do you draw your line when it comes to weight weenie-ism? Are there any particular components that you would absolutely not put on your bike because it reduces reliability (carbon handlebars, maybe?) or performance for the sake of weight? What about certain tricks that you would or would not do to go lighter on the bike?

Popularity: 18% [?]

Riding a unicycle on mountain biking trails.

Mountain Unicycling
Unicycling is great and all, but isn’t it just a little too easy? You can barely turn your head without seeing someone who scoffs at bicycles in favor of going everywhere on a single wheel. Such would seem to be the logic behind mountain unicycling. The name is in no way misleading; it’s a sport in which riders climb and descend hilly trails on their unicycles.

Click here for the link and a pretty interesting video.

I wonder if they’ve tried using 29er wheels yet?

Popularity: 15% [?]

Both Saturday and Sunday, I had a chance to ride the Sette Reken 69er conversion bike. Here’s a few thoughts.

Riding the Sette Reken as a 69er was definitely a great experience. This frame has proven it self to be versatile and reliable. The frame has been my single speed rig for about 6 months and now it has been converted over to a 69er. As I’ve mentioned before, the fork was graciously lent to me by Moe who had previously had it on his KHS Solo One. I then took a 700c wheel and wrapped it with a Maxxis Ignitor 29er tire.

On paper this 69er convert would make people think that it would ride like a chopper. Well sorry to disappoint the naysayers, but the bike handled just fine. It didn’t feel like it was going to tip over every time I turned the handle bars. Speaking of naysayers, I’m one of them when it comes to 29ers. Jeremy and I go back and forth about why I think they are not that special and he can go on about why they are the best thing in the world. Well with my skeptical attitude, I figured my experience on the 69er would be an objective one.

The first thing that most 29er people would say is that the bigger wheels have an ability to “roll over” things better. Ok fine…I’ll give you that. I did notice that trail contours such as brake bumps was handled better with the 29er wheel. The reason why I say this, is simple. When I rolled over a bump or divot on the trail, the 29er front wheel felt better than it did when my rear 26″ wheel rolled over it. I know this isn’t a scientific way of measuring 29er benefits. But I did feel it. Another benefit to this 69er set up was pumping.

I’ve often talked about the importance of pumping the backside of rollers. This was easier with the rigid set up because as soon as I got over the crest of the roller and pumped, the bike would follow suit with the greatest of eas. I would imagine that a rigid 69er would be a great bike on a pump track.

Ok, so here’s a break down on the pros and cons of my 69er conversion:

Pro
-It’s cheap!
-No money was spent in this conversion.
-Great to experience a 69er.
-Great pumping power.
-Great climbing.
-No need to worry about lockout.
-Rolling over things…eh…I’m not that impressed but sure, we’ll give it over as Pro.
-Rigid riding makes you a stronger rider.
-Rigid riding makes you a better bike handler.
-Weight loss of 1lb on the bike.

Con
-It’s rigid.
-Rigid hurts like a mofo.

I know that my Con list is super small, but really, the only thing I didn’t like about the 69er thing was the fact I was riding a rigid. I think if I had it set up as a front suspension, then I’m sure I’d enjoy it more. But for me, the jarring effects of a rigid sucked.

So overall, would I recommend doing a 69er conversion? Sure why not. I’ve always wanted to try it and now that I have, I’m glad I did. The bike isn’t entirely a different experience, but its certainly going to add something unique to your rides. In all honesty, I only did this conversion just because it wasn’t going to cost me anything. As I’ve mentioned all the parts I used were available at my disposal. If you can find all the parts you need for very little money, then go for it. But I don’t think its worth spending some big money for a 29er fork, wheels and tires.

Popularity: 15% [?]

I just wanted to boast about how great it is to have massive amounts of discipline in my life. As some of you may know I have massive amounts of discipline in my life but I really don’t like to show it off. I may boast about it but to put it out there for everybody to see/read is disrespectful. Anyways, I exhibit this m.a.d. by making difficult tasks look easy.

For example: I always play the sweeper role on all group rides, a difficult task. I ably play this role because I have m.a.d. in my life. Some people think I ably play this role because I’m slow but this is not the case. It’s because I have m.a.d. If I didn’t have m.a.d. I would be the total jerk and leave everybody in the dust because I am actually super duper fast. Sometimes though, I don’t play sweeper but that’s because I am too impatient with everybody’s slow pace not because I lack in massive amounts of discipline in my life.

As a sweeper, this is my view. Thankfully I have m.a.d.

Another example of the m.a.d. in my life is how I never drink beer after rides, a very difficult task. Some people think I don’t drink beer because I hate the taste of beer but this is not true. I actually like the taste of beer as long as it comes in a tasteless, no calorie, no sugar, no hops, no barley, clear version – somewhat akin to water – if it looks like beer and tastes like beer, I don’t like it. Making difficult tasks look easy, the result of m.a.d. in my life.

Lastly, I never like boasting about how good a rider I am, a supremely difficult task indeed. When the time comes to clear some nasty technical portion of the trail I always get off the bike and walk it because I have m.a.d. and I don’t like showing people up. In reality I could totally clear that 17 foot drop on my rigid 29er but if you can’t do it on your 8� freeride bike, I exhibit m.a.d. in my life and I walk it… just like you. Most people incorrectly assume I do this because I have no skills, but this is not true. It’s because I have m.a.d.

My m.a.d. prevents me from one-upping Ryan Leech

In conclusion, I have massive amounts of discipline in my life. If you would like m.a.d. in your life too come ride with me and my m.a.d. might just rub off on you.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Last night I spent some time piecing together a 69er bike. I’ve always wanted to try one out but riding one in the parking lot of an LBS doesn’t really count. So for the longest time I’ve wanted to build a 69er project bike. I’m a big skeptic when it comes to the whole 29er thing, just not my cup of tea. So with a 69er, I figured it was right in between what I love, 26er and what I wasn’t sure of, 29er.

I took the Single Speed Sette Reken and used it as the test bed. Moe let me borrow his fork from his KHS Solo One, Jeremy let me use his old Maxxis Ignitor tire. I then used a 700c wheel I had in the garage, an Alex G600 wheel and since I didn’t have a 29er tube, I made a 26″ tube work.

Then this morning I got up extra early to see how this thing would ride. I admit I was only on the trail for a bit, total of 3 miles…what…I had to get ready for work!

I did weigh the bike after I converted it, the bike is only 1lb lighter. The handling wasn’t affected much since I was running a 100mm Marzzochi fork to begin with. The rigid KHS fork made for great climbing, no bob.

I’m looking forward in taking the bike through some berms and switch backs since everyone seems to think 29ers can corner well. The bike is quick, thanks to the 26er in the rear, but the Kenda Smallblock eight tires are also a big reason why I was rolling like gangsta’.

I’ll be testing this “theory” out and see if its even legit or worth buying a better fork and an actual 29er wheel, but for now, my garage-built 69er should be fine.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Who:
From www.CarbonCycles.cc:

In 1994 we developed an innovative military aerospace shock absorber system melding carbon fiber with aluminum to take advantage of the distinctive advantage of each material.

After developing this complex and innovative technology, we quickly realized the potential for our love of mountain biking. So using aerospace theory & high technology we started to design & produce bike components for our own enjoyment. Other riders soon wanted to know more…

Today, CarbonCycles make the highest quality carbon fiber bicycle components. Our design and manufacturing processes are truly innovative & our components perfectly balance light weight & strength.

Product Tested:
eXotic Carbon 29er Fork

eXotic 29er fork mounted to Redline Mono 9

Website’s MSRP:
$ 366.78

Specs:

- Stunning flagship carbon mountain bike fork with 7075 Aluminium steerer, carbon fibre tube stanchions and forged 6061 Aluminium dropouts.
- This fork is disc brake specific.
- Weight: 680 gm
- 1 1/8 inch threadless ahead steerer
- Uncut steerer length: 265mm
- Diameter of carbon tubes: 34mm
- Rigorously tested to DIN standards.
- FoamX3 technology increases the impact strength of carbon fibre by up to three times by inserting low density foam during the manufacturing process.
- XBar Utilises XBar (pronounced cross-bar) technology to increase lateral strength by 30%.
- Rider weight limit: 95kg (210lbs)

About Me:
6’1�? 215lbs, 28 year old male. I’m a mountain biking enthusiast who enjoys rocking the big 29er wheels. I’m mainly a XC/trail rider.

Full bike setup: fully rigid, with 2.35 inch tire Panaracer Rampage up front

Testing Grounds:
San Juan Trail, Fullerton Loop, Chino Hills State Park, Sea Otter, El Morro and various other southern California trails as well on the streets of Placentia and nearby cities.

First Impressions:
I’m a big fan of carbon, especially for the way it looks. Adding a component with carbon weave has to be one of the best looking things you can add to a bike. But being a husband and father of two has limited the addition of carbon bits to my bike. The carbon weave eXotic fork is truly gorgeous.

Carbon weave is so pretty.

When you hop on the bike you immediately notice that the carbon fork lightens the bike up a lot. I originally started out with a steel fork then moved to an 80mm suspended fork. Now going back to rigid, I immediately noticed the weight difference. I believe it was a drop of about 1.5 lbs.

Strengths:
As a poor Clydesdale I have always stayed away from carbon products. I feared the weakness that many carbon products are “known�? for. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I took on the eXotic Carbon Fork, especially since the website clearly states that the weight limit is 210 lbs and I am 210 lbs when I first get out of bed, fully relieve myself and stand in my birthday suit on the scale (yes, a pretty picture… I know). But, as always, I’m willing to take one for the team.

I was skeptical about the whole “Xbar�? technology that claimed a 30% increase in lateral strength and “FoamX3�? which increases impact strength by inserting foam during the manufacturing process. But after riding this fork hard over the past few months I have to admit that I’m surprised at how well it has held up. I have not held back on the eXotic fork. I’ve take my normal jumps and drops. I’ve run it through rocky sections of the trail. I even put on a 7 inch rotor up front to test how well it does when stressed by a bigger rotor. About the only thing I won’t do is ride through a section that I know I’ll fall on (got to protect the clearcoat). After all of this riding, a check of the fork this morning shows absolutely no problems. The crown looks great. The stanchions look super nice, almost brand new. The clearcoat is still clear and the dropouts show wear from the quick release but that’s normal. I am definitely impressed.

Tackling a short downhill section on the eXotic fork

The eXotic carbon fork is SUPER comfortable. Compared to a steel fork, there is really no comparison. The feel of a steel fork is nice, but not comfortable. A steel fork dampens some trail chatter but it’s still steel. To think it would do more than that is dreaming. I think of a steel fork as just beginning to mute out trail chatter.

The eXotic carbon fork, on the other hand, takes a significant step up in muting trail chatter. The chatter doesn’t quite vanish as it would if I was running a nice suspension fork, but the carbon fork does make riding easier on the hands and arms. On one particular local trail there is a section of about 4 miles that is fast, rolling fireroad. On the downhills I can easily reach speeds of over 30 mph on the rigid. This fireroad, though, is typical So. Cal fireroad. It’s hardpacked, has washboard stutter bumps and is rutted in many places. When I previously rode this section of trail with the steel fork my hands would be exhausted and sometimes even stinging from the trail. But with the eXotic carbon fork my hands still feel strong afterwards.

Comfortable on the dirt covered rock

The carbon fork lightens up the bike but particularly the front end. I feel this a lot when climbing a trail that has lots of roots or rocks. Lofting the front wheel is so much easier when it is 1.5 lbs lighter than a suspended fork. I especially noticed this when I was switching back and forth between a full suspension bike that weighs nearly the same as the bike with the carbon fork. Raising the lighter front end to clear roots and rocks, especially when I’m tired, requires less effort saving my strength for turning the cranks.

Weakness:
As with all carbon products, the clearcoat covering the carbon needs to stay in pristine condition. Once you scratch up the clearcoat, you’ve got to be extra careful about the component. Because of this, I took extra caution with my brake housing. I did not take extra caution while riding around on the trails. I decided to install a Sette Clear Frame Patch Protectors on the spot where the hose would rub the fork.

Other than this precaution, I had no issues with this fork.

Sette Frame Patch Protectors to protect the carbon’s clear coat finish from the dreaded brake hose

Summary:
The eXotic Carbon 29er fork has performed extremely well over the review period. It has been comfortable, strong, light and very easy on the eyes. I would highly recommend this fork for those looking to ride their mountain bike rigid.

Click here for more information about the eXotic Carbon 29er fork.

The fork is dirty, but ready to roll

Popularity: 38% [?]

This review is from one of our riding partners, Tim “Scissor Hands” Shears. Scissor Hands has an inquiring mind matched to a good wit. His thoughts on Crank Brother’s Cobalt cranks and his experience with Crank Brothers are helpful for those considering a new set of nice cranks for their rig.

I know what you’re thinking: a crank set review, what is there to review? Well, let me tell you there is definitely something to talk about here. Some time ago I scored a sweet deal on a new Crank Brothers Cobalt Chromoly crankset on Ebay. It was destined for a 29er build project I was planning. Isolating this review on the crankset only, without considering the bike as a whole, was a bit of a challenge but after many sleepless nights and a whole lot of caffeine I came up with a few thoughts that I’d like to share.

First of all I am a xc rider, amateur racer (two races under my belt now!) and die hard weekend warrior. I weigh about 170 geared up and stand about 5’10�. I always try to shift at the most opportune time by always trying to keep my eyes up and preparing ahead of time for hills and descents or whatever is coming up on the trail. In my experience this is the smoothest way to ride not to mention the easiest on the drivetrain. Needless to say I always tried to ride my rigs as efficiently as possible without any purposeful abuse.

Crankbrothers Cobalt SL w/ti bottom bracket

Out of the box, you notice right away that this is no ordinary crankset. It is gorgeous and well thought out. A lot of planning went into the design and appearance of these parts. Maybe it’s due to the design, but I find that my heels never seem to rub on the arms of this crankset. I know you’ve seen those used cranks on Ebay with all the scrapes and scratches that seriously diminish that appearance. On the Cobalt, my feet seem to ride pretty parallel so no scratches for me. The BB is so nicely designed that I wouldn’t mind putting it on the wall, throw a frame around and pointing it out as cousin “BBâ€?. Why don’t we have transparent BB shells? Someone seriously has to invent this.

So the installation was pretty straightforward, make sure everything is clean, greased and torqued to the proper specs. This setup is an ISIS only design. I had previously read some pretty negative comments about ISIS drive setups but decided to take my chance anyway. Crank Brothers has a ridiculous 5 year warranty on the Crankset and BB. I actually got to take advantage of this offer as for some reason I could never get the crank bolts to stay tight. It got to the point that not even blue Loctite could keep the non-drive side to stay torqued. One e-mail to Crank Brothers and off went my set up via USPS. A few days later I had a brand new setup on my porch with a surprising upgrade, a titanium BB. From the quick response and the upgrade, I can confidently say that Cranks Brothers does know how to take care of its customers.

Installed on the On-One

Riding these cranks presented no problems with stiffness or flex. I’m not a big guy so maybe those with a little more girth would beg to differ. I’ve read that Crank Brothers came up with the idea for these cranks by playing with a shoe box and what they noticed about the stiffness of the overall structure dramatically increasing when the lid was on compared to when it was off; don’t quote me on this but either way I had no issues in this department.

One thing I noticed was that my feet, while riding, were now a little closer together than when I rode my other bike set up with a Race Face Evolve Crankset. Apparently this is known as the Q-Factor. Where the “Q� came from I don’t know, but what I found out was that I actually preferred my feet in this new found position. It’s probably a personal thing that everyone has to discover for themselves, but I found it to be more comfortable on longer rides.

Overall this Crankset and BB were a great addition to my build. After some initial adjustments and a quick e-mail to Crank Brothers I am a happy camper and feel as though I made the right decision with my hard earned money. Quality shifting was always present (with proper front derailleur adjustment of course) and after the BB bearings were broken in this crankset would spin very freely. I paired this Crankset with an xt cassette and a KMC 10 speed chain (the weight weenie in me made me do it) and it never missed a beat. I never got around to actually weighing the parts on a proper scale to see if they weigh as much as advertised but the good ol’ hand hold test revealed that they were definitely light enough for me. My build ended up being 22.3lbs which made me very happy.

If you want a great crankset backed by a company with excellent customer service and a warranty no one else is offering, than this is the one for you.

Click here for Crank Brothers website.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Tyte Rack sent over their universal roof top bike rack to us for testing. Here is what Tyte Rack says about their rack:

Tyte Rack roof racks incorporate a unique design, that make them the best rack today to carry bicycles on a vehicle roof. In addition, this rack is very versatile and adapts to your other recreational and sporting activities, including but not limited to, skiing, kayaking, surfing to name a few.

(1) Can easily attach to factory racks and will attach to the car without factory racks click here to learn how it will fit both of your cars.
(2) Universal bike attachment, click here to learn why this bicycle attachment is more stable.
(3) Bike frame security without the wheel removal and without the optional wheel holder.
(4) Reduced reach requirements for bike loading and unloading (approximately 12″ ).

Tyte Rack mounted with Redline Mono 9

Impressions:
I’ve actually been driving around with just the rack on my car for a little over a week. I wanted to make sure that I could confidently carry my 29er on there without fear of having the rack fall off the roof of my car. After a week of driving it around Southern California including hitting the freeways and going umm… fast, the Tyte rack has shown to be stable. The hooks and straps have not budged and although there is some noise, the rack has proven secure.

Side view

On the first night, I spent about 30 minutes trying to understand the directions before I gave up. A day or two later I jumped on the website and saw some pictures and finally understood what to do. I always feel that a picture is worth a thousand words so we recommended Tyte Rack to provide more pictures on their instruction manual and their website. They took this suggestion and added a TON of pictures. I found this instruction page to be especially helpful, more so than the actual Instruction page. This page and the links on the left makes it much easier to understand how to mount the rack and bike.

All the materials are solid yet light weight. The bars going across the car’s roof are small and round but coated with a durable finish. The tapered seatpost attachment fits perfectly into my 27.2mm seatpost while the straps for the handlebar are strong. The only part that I had any problem with is the rubber boot on the bottom of the towers which had a tendency to fall off when it was not mounted onto the car. Just watch out for these and you’ll be ok.

Tapered seatpost installed into seatpost socket & frame of bike

Once I understood how the whole system worked, the Tyte Rack setup/tear down became VERY quick and was easy. Mount the rack, secure the straps and hooks, mount the bike and secure the handlebar and you’re all set. It takes probably about 10 minutes. Tear down was even faster.

It does seem to be universal. I mounted the rack to my Honda Accord and after fiddling with it a while, I can understand why Tyte Rack claims to be a universal rack. It has minor adjustments that can be made on the bar and the straps can be lengthened or shortened to fit many if not all cars.

Tower, rubber boot, hook and straps all secure

Since I’m still laid up (I think I’ll be riding again next week!!) I only got to drive the Tyte rack around the block a few times but I did choose to go over some speed bumps and I raised my speed all the way up to 40+mph, legally. I had my windows rolled down the whole time listening for any signs that the rack might be shifting but I heard none. Interestingly I didn’t hear any of the noise I had previously heard with just the rack on my car. I hope this bodes well for future trips.

This short first impressions could not be complete without mentioning the price. Tyte rack has aggressively priced their racks starting at $89. For a limited time though the standard rack has a $10 discount which makes it a very good value for any type of roof mount bike rack.

Handlebar straps. Two of them

We’ll be taking this rack out to the trail & back over the next couple of months to give it a good workout. Come back to check out the review.

For more information about the Tyte Rack, click here.

An “RL” shot: reflection of the Tyte rack on my Accord

Popularity: 24% [?]

Frame: Vassago Bandersnatch Large (Grey) ‘07

Weight: 28 pounds(cheesy bathroom scale). The frame could easily be built in the low 20s but this was a budget build

Rider: 5′10″, 150 lbs. Enjoy long walks on the beach and back rubs

The wonderful people at Vassago gave us this frame to build. How do I know they’re wonderful? They have Stone Brewing listed as their favorite brewery! Instant credibility, as far as I’m concerned. The frame itself is long and primed for cruising the countryside at speed. Coming from a Santa Cruz Heckler, the wheelbase feels quite long. Almost more of large-scale XC rig …lengthy and fast.

Downer Stuff: Lets get this out of the way first. This frame is an ‘07 Large. The only thing I’d change about the frame would be to tack on a replaceable derailleur hanger. This is a steel frame so I imagine the existing one would be very tough to bend. Still, this isn’t really a valid complaint as Vassago already remedied the situation, slapping a replaceable hanger on the ‘08 model. Problem solved!

Another might be the weight but again, part selection would help lighten the load. Still, I never felt hindered despite the almost 30 pound weight.

Lugs on a mountain bike? Sweet!

One of the obvious downsides, you would think, would be the lack of suspension. Yes and No. Picking your line on a downhill becomes more of a necessity than an option. Full rigid becomes a teacher much like the caretaker in Happy Gilmore, with the philosophy: “You will go to sleep or I will put you to sleep”. The Bandersnatch will gladly allow you to flow with the trails or it will make you flow them. If you find yourself lazily descending a technical section prepare to be bitch-slapped back into understanding that YOU are all the suspension this bike needs.

Still, I cringe to list this as a downside. On the contrary, I’ve noticed my handling skills have progressed rapidly with the lack of any squish.

Good Vibes: The steel frame has been a trusty friend on my road bike, but this was the first steel mountain bike I’ve owned. Vassago uses 4130 Chromoly tubing dubbed “R-Tech” . This and the large 29 inch wheels help to serve as a minimalist’s sort of suspension. It really is surprising how much the frame deadens any bad vibrations and will even encourage you on small drops. Drops on a 29er? It can and will be done when you’re on the Bandersnatch.

I’ll admit, it does take a couple rides to get used to the shear size of the tires and wheels. Normally I’m a habitual bunny-hopper but a long frame can make you feel skill-less in a hurry. Even so, by my fourth ride I was hopping tall curbs with confidence and speed. This is where the Bandersnatch sheds it’s cocoon and shows you it’s wings. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re pedaling some nambi pambi cross country rig whose sole purpose is to avoid fun, keeping you riding fireroads all day. OH NO, the Bandersnatch welcomes all terrain and is ready to rip all but the hairiest sections. I imagine a suspension fork with a small but firm amount of travel would make this ride and absolute dream.

Speedin’ through the jungle

Whoever said 29ers are big and unresponsive didn’t tell Vassago. I’d read reviews of the Bandersnatch listing its prime weakness as tight switchbacks. I’ll gladly disagree. As long as there’s room for the wheels to roll, the bike will follow you through the tightest of turns.

The elusive Bandersnatch stalks it’s unsuspecting prey

The foundation for the Bandersnatch’s greatness is obviously the 29 inch wheels. The first ride characteristic that sticks out he most was the ability to maintain rolling speed. Yes, this bike rips up trails and singletrack but its ever present forte is the ability to keep that average speed up. Those fellas at Vassago named this ride quite appropriately after the mythical Bandersnatch that travels the land at incredible speed.

Bandersnatch in its stomping grounds

The ODIS fork (Oh Damn It’s Smooth) is an excellent three piece fork. There’s almost no flex at all. Also steel, it dulls the edge of the small bumps and keeps all your pedal energy efficient. High speed downhills are an absolute thrill, provided there are no jarring washerboard sections. The sacrifice of no suspension can and will get you into trouble on high speed descents. I was on a fireroad downhill when the road turned rough in a hurry. Instantly my hands were struggling to keep a grip making it difficult to find the brake levers. A swap to suspension fork would be a good solution but I think working with the rigid has been highly challenging and highly rewarding.

Verdict:

Don’t be deceived by it’s no suspension, no frills looks. The Bandersnatch excels in all areas. I did notice I’ve been climbing in lower gears. Possibly a result of the larger wheel radius. However it still climbs confidently and quickly. In the tightest of turns you’ll notice the big wheels turn a little slower but as long as you have decent balance it’s manageable.

Rolling, winding singletrack and high speed downhills will be eaten alive by the Bandersnatch. Again, the only thing keeping you from achieving light speed may be the rigid fork. With a short-travel suspension fork the Bandi would be unstoppable.

The Bandersnatch has all the speedy traits of a road bike but is more than ready to take punishment and even dish out a little of its own along the way.

Recommended? Oh, hell yes. I was skeptical that 29ers were a gimmick. Not so. The big wheels definitely have advantages. I’ll not say 29 inch wheels are superior to 26, or vice versa. It’s simply a different style of ride…albeit an excellent one.

Despite my Bandersnatch’s hefty 28 pounds I found it an all-out thrillride and have opted to ride it over my Heckler. Like a slutty female trainer, it’ll whip your ass into shape but reward for your efforts. A highly capable machine, it could easily double as an XC race rig or a full bore all-mountain shredding beast. Don’t have a Bandersnatch? Get one!

Final Spec:

Fork: Vassago ODIS

Wheels: Bontranger Superstock

Tires: WTB Exiwolf 2.3 (F&R)

Brakes: Hayes Mags, 7″ front & 6″ rear

Drivetrain: SRAM X7 (shifters, F&R derailleurs)

Seatpost: Sette Ryde ST-850 dropper

Cranks: Truvativ Firex

Cockpit: Cane Creek S3 headset, Spank Lounge Bar, Spank Not 1.5 Timer stem, OURI grips

Pedals: Xpedo

Popularity: 23% [?]