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As a caveat to this review, I’d like to mention that this bike is about a size too small for me. I normally ride a size Large, but this Alta Peak Large is better suited for a rider between 5’6″ – 5’9″ rather than my 6ft height. I would highly recommend giving Fezzari your measurements so that they can fit the bike exactly to your specs (and why wouldn’t you, it’s currently FREE).

The Alta Peak is Fezzari’s top of the line Full Suspension (FS) bike. It is outfitted with a Deore levers, Juicy 3 brakes, Rock Shox Tora 302 fork & Ario 2.2 shock. The cranksets is a Truvativ Blaze while the wheels are Mavic 117 shod with Maxxis Larsen TT 2.0. The front derailleur is a Deore while the rear is spec’d XT.

My first thought is “I really like riding full suspension.” As a FS newbie, I have very little experience on the FS so my reference point is a hardtail. That being said, I really enjoyed riding the Alta Peak because it allayed many of the worries I have about FS bikes.

As a hardtail rider, I was most worried about the extra weight of the FS. I believed the extra weight would weigh me down and I would not be able to finish the climbs I normally would. I was so worried about this that I actually packed extra fluids in case I ended up staying on the trail longer than originally anticipated.

But I found the extra weight of the Alta Peak although noticeable to be negligible. Yes there is extra weight, but no it was not enough to make me get off and hike-a-bike. In fact I was more than able to clean the climbs albeit at a slower than normal pace. But the downhills more than made up for the longer climbs.

Descents are the Alta Peak’s forte. The suspension gave me boldness I normally did not have while on a hardtail. As I rolled down the hills I began subconsciously choosing more and more difficult lines and looked to take jumps rather than avoid them. The full suspension ate up everything on the trail so that obstacles that would normally jar my rear ended up being almost gentle. As my friend (who swapped rides with me for an uphill climb and downhill descent) put it the Alta Peak makes you feel “very confident on the downhills”.

Another plus with the Alta Peak is the ability to lockout the fork & shock. With the lockouts off, there was pedal bob (another worry). Don’t get me wrong, but coming from a hardtail there was just enough bob for me to notice.

But with the lockouts on, the pedal bob was non-existent. The bike felt very efficient and I was able to climb and clean what I would normally climb & clean with my hardtail. In my first impressions of the Alta Peak I mentioned that the lockout on the shock, although small, was very easy to find and engage/disengage even when I wasn’t looking. This stayed true the whole ride and I gave that shock a workout, locking it and unlocking it numerous times.

Some other notable features included the juicy 3 hydraulic brakes. These brakes were not set up for me, but they performed extremely well. I always felt that there was enough power to stop me and at over 200 lbs., that’s saying a lot.

The XT rear derailleur shifted confidently each time and the Purple Extreme lube, applied by RL, made the bike’s drivetrain feel very smooth and efficient.

For my conditions (mostly dry/hardpacked), the Larsen wheels performed very well. There are only a couple of difficult spots on the trail and the tires gripped with confidence. When I rode through a sizable puddle then immediately climbed over a worn wooden beam the wheel did slip. But give the Larsens credit, the rear wheel engaged right away and I didn’t need to put my foot down.

Lastly, the beautiful white paint makes me smile every time I see it. I don’t know why I like white bikes so much, but the Alta Peak is a beauty!

Pros:
Weight (surprisingly not noticeable)
Love the lockout feature
Fork & Shock are confidence inspiring
Juicy 3′s have lots of power
White paint!

Cons:
Pedal bob (minor, but you can tell if you normally ride a hardtail)
Need to go a size up for most people
Larsens not for all conditions

Check out the Alta Peak here.

Update: I’m going to spend some time dialing the Alta Peak to my measurements. Hopefully this will solve some of the pedal bob I was experiencing as well as make me feel more comfortable on the bike. Check back to hear about the changes and the results.

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Just posted on the forums:

the back cover of the latest Dirt Rag features the Manitou Minute 29er. 80, 100, 120mm travel options. Standard QR or their Hex Lock 20mm dropouts. 2.5″ tire clearance.

More options are always good!

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A commentor on a popular 29er site says that Specialized will be coming out with a “full line” of 29er bikes in early summer as 2008 models. If this rumor turns out to be true, this is a great step for 29er bikes.

Who is going to reap the benefits of this? All mountain bikers in general, but potential 29er riders & 29er enthusiasts in particular.

Fox forks are considered by many to be the premiere mass produced fork manufacturer. Some potential 29er riders, though, have lamented the lack of fork choices in the 29er marketplace. If Fox is in the fold, 26er riders have one less barrier to hurdle and their own premiere fork to use on the 29er.

29er enthusiasts are excited because without competition the Reba fork was/is dominating the 29er market. And although the Rock Shox Reba is a great fork, there is always room for competition to give the consumer more choices.

29er consumers win again because another major manufacturer has also decided that 29ers are not a fad, but an actual trend in the mountain biking marketplace. This commentor mentioned that Specialized was not coming out with just one 29er (a la Cannondale), but a full line of them.

Does that mean singlespeeds, geared hardtails, full suspensions, steel? We don’t know. But whatever “full line” turns out to be, it shows that Specialized has a lot of money invested in the 29er market! This can also turn out to be a wake up call for Trek, Giant & others to start producing 29ers which will in turn encourage more components makers to support this growing market.

As a 29er enthusiast I am very hopeful that this rumor comes true.

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A small group of us went mountain biking on the Fullerton Loop this past Saturday. We came up with an easy route because one of the guys was a newbie who has never ridden mountain before and I had a minor injury.

Luckily, the Fullerton Loop is conducive to creating new routes because it’s in the middle of a city. The advantage is that you can jump off the loop at certain points to miss harder parts (ie. climbs) ride on paved roads and catch up with the loop at other points. We were able to do this a couple of times to make most of our route flat, with a couple of small uphills.

For those of you who know the loop, we started from the courthouse and rode San Juanita Cooke (SJC) trail to Hiltscher Trail. We rode down Hiltscher until we hit Euclid Street. We then turned around and rode back up Hiltscher trail to SJC trail. We took SJC, using Morella Avenue, to ride to Laguna Lake. After a quick lap around the lake, we took SJC trail to the railroad tracks. We finished off the ride by riding the golf course area into the dam area and then using Harbor Blvd to get back to the courthouse.

Am I the only one crazy enough to “easify” my favorite local trail just so I can ride with a minor injury? And if you’ve done the same, which one have you “easified” so that I can ride?

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Yeah, sure there are some.

Wheel Weight
Probably the biggest disadvantage the 29 inch wheels have over their 26 inch brethren is that a larger wheel equates to more wheel weight. A 29er wheel made from the same material as a 26 inch wheel will always weigh more. Therefore, the lightest 29er wheels will weigh more than the lightest 26er wheels. Photo below courtesy of Wikipedia.

Major Manufacturers
Major manufacturers of 29ers are limited. Cannondale, last year, came out with a geared hardtail 29er called Caffeine and there are rumors that Specialized may have a 29er in the works (although oddly enough they have a high volume 29er tire, the Resolution, with no in-house bike to wear it!). But Giant is still not on board and Trek decided to go half way with a singlespeed 69er (a 29 inch tire on the front and a 26 inch tire on the rear). Kudos to Gary Fisher for getting on the 29ers early and establishing itself as the largest manufacturer of 29ers along with the most complete lineup to date (singlespeed, aluminum hardtail, steel hardtail, full suspension).

Fork options are limited as well. White Brothers, Rock Shox, Pace, and Maverick compose the current manufacturers (that I know of) of 29er suspension forks. But some of the big boys haven’t come out to play yet, Fox? Marzochi? Manitou?

Currently Rock Shox probably makes the standard for 29er forks with their excellent Rebas. These air forks are light weight, plush, infinitely tuneable and sold at a great price. But there is more room for fork growth. The 29er is almost begging for a longer travel fork (Rebas limited to 100mm) because of it’s natural advantages in rollover ability and grip for the freeride and all mountain riders.

Rock Shox Reba SL 29 mounted on Gary Fisher X-Cal.

Tire options are also limited, but thankfully growing. The number of tires out there can not begin to compete with the selection of 26 inch tires currently available. But, there are choices which could not be said without a smirk last January.

Short Riders
Lastly, 29ers do not fit shorter riders as well as they do taller riders. Most people suggest that the 29er rider needs to be at least 5’6″ to ride a 29er. If not there are serious geometry issues for the shorter rider including toe overlap and (very important!) stand over height. But custom builders have been known to build 29ers for the shorter rider.

Should these hold you back from riding a 29er? In my humble opinion, no. The wheel weight disadvantage will always be there but unless you are racing professionally, where grams can determine podium placement, wheel weight will not take away from your enjoyment of riding a 29er.

The fact that the major manufacturers are not producing 29ers is really their loss. Some of our partners who are 29er advocates do have 29ers available:

Ibex Section 29.

KHS Tucson.

Raleigh XXIX+G

Ahren’s Revolver

And as I mentioned before, for the shorter riders custom is always available. Personally I think the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages and that’s why I own and enjoy riding the 29er.

What do you think? Are the disadvantages too much?

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