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Ride Report: San Juan

Posted by Jeremy Yang On June - 8 - 2009

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AV Dan hitting the turn at San Juan

Got out for a lollipop ride this weekend at San Juan. It’s a lollipop because that’s what the trail map would look like: 6 mile climb, loop at the top, back down the same way you came up. –O.

San Juan is definitely becoming one of my favorite trails. This past Saturday’s weather was excellent. Little cool to start which worked well with those infamous switchbacks, then warmed up just a tad, but never got hot. In fact the sun was blocked off by the clouds for the most part which made for a great, comfortable ride. On the way down, there was some slight drizzle which cooled us off even more but didn’t even last long enough to warrant wiping the sunglasses.


A brief respite before heading down some more singletrack

This marked a couple of firsts for me on the San Juan trail. The first time I did the loop after Cocktail rock, the first time I rode SJ while not sick and the first time I rode SJ without eating it. San Juan is really not an extremely techy trail. It’s just that after riding for a few hours, I usually get extremely tired and lose focus/concentration on the 40+ minute downhill ride back to the car. When I lose my focus is usually when body meets dirt.


Me on the Jet9. I’ve got to learn to stop staring at my front tire!

The riding group consisted of me, Tim Scissors, Marky Mark and AV Dan. We all brought our full suspension bikes to the party including my Niner Jet9 which did not disappoint. It definitely contributed to not eating it on this ride. San Juan was a blast and that back loop section had some great short techy climbs and rutted descents that are definitely calling us to come back and do it again.


Dan’s one-finger braking always cracks me up

Popularity: 3% [?]

I thought Kermit was for kids

Posted by Jeremy Yang On June - 4 - 2009

Kermit is not only for kids, my friends. It’s also for mountain bikers too. Meet my Kermit Green Niner Jet9.


Waiting to rock!

I’m in New Bike Euphoria (NBE), so I can’t really give you any detailed comments on the Jet right now unless you want to hear me gush. Oh, you do? Well then… why didn’t you say so?

The Niner Jet 9 is the best pedaling FS 29er bike I have ridden and I have ridden quite a few. OK, a bit of an overstatement as some of those DW Link bikes I rode were really good, but they were not set up quite right or the trail I rode was just blah, so I can’t compare it. Not to take anything away from the rest of them… although I will take something away from the Gary Fisher HiFi (WAY TOO FLEXY)… but the Jet9, on my home course and nearly dialed in, was extremely efficient both in seated and standing climbs. The rear feels planted even when I’m out of the saddle. Very little wheel slippage on standing climbs which can be momentum killers.


Posing

To top it off, I never flicked the propedal on. I was extremely surprised by this. Wait, nix that. I doubled back to get to a steeper, short climb and had to ride uphill on the road a bit. I turned on the propedal for that road section. But other then that the propedal stayed off. This is a very nice change because in most other FS bikes if you don’t engage the propedal, you’re feeling Mr. Bob all the way up the climb.


Rear seat stays easily clears a 2.2″ Captain

The bike is nimble. You won’t see many Jet9′s built up with bigger tires (2.35″ front/2.2″ rear), like I did, because the Jet’s purpose is definitely: race/XC/trail in that order. I’m not a racer, although I will on occasion, so I built mine to be more trail and less race oriented. You won’t see any carbon bits, chopped flat bars or skinny tires on my Jet. But even with non-racy parts, the Jet is quite nimble. It handles well on the descents and carves up singletrack very well. It is definitely not G2 nervous, but it’s not slow handling as was the case with some previous 29ers.

OK, so all this was based on a first ride, and more of a shakedown (is everything working properly) type of ride. Also NBE was definitely at work here so please take everything written above with a huge grain of salt.

By the way, I’m still thinking of a name for the green machine.

And of course, every Niner comes with a subtle reminder:

In the meantime, my personal build, for those of you interested:
Large Niner Jet 9 in Kermit Green
Rock Shox Reba 29 Race with pushloc at 100mm
28 hole Bontrager Rhythm Elite wheels with DT Swiss 370 hubs
Shimano XT cranks
Shimano XT brakes
X9 shifters
X9 r. derailleur
XT f. derailleur
Alligator ilink derailleur cables
F: Panaracer Rampage 2.35 setup tubeless (a non-tubeless tire)
R: Specialized Captain Control 2.2 2bliss
Thomson Elite
Sette clamp
Chirs King headset
Truvativ Stem
Truvativ Handlebar
ODI lockon grips
Crank Brothers Candy SL
Lezyne L. Caddy (awesome bag, by the way)
Purple carabiner
Generic Black Cowbell

Popularity: 6% [?]

Santa Cruz Has Realized their Shame…

Posted by Jeremy Yang On May - 14 - 2009

… and will be offering a VPP 29er.

No worries. We forgive yah. Now, some clarification is in order with regards to this line:

It’ll weigh a whole lot less than some other bikes of similar configuration.

Should I be holding out hope for a carbon VPP 29er? Santa Cruz already has a beautiful carbon Blur XC & LT and there is word out a carbon Nomad is in the works. Could a carbon 29er be coming to the party as well? Do that and Santa Cruz will go from no entries into 29er land to starting a new category of 29ers, the Full Suspension Carbon 29er. Now that’d be a huge splash.

Click here to read the announcement from Santa Cruz. Props to Wey for the link.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Sea Otter 2009: Foe’s 29″ Trail

Posted by Jeremy Yang On April - 18 - 2009

Foe’s Racing has come out with a really cool 29″ full suspension prototype. Meet the Foe’s 29″ Trail bike.


Foe’s unique 2:1 full suspension system

The low down:

- 29″ front and rear wheel design specific
- 4″ rear wheel travel
- 2:1 leverage ratio
- Exclusive Curnutt XTD AIR or Fox RP23 shock
- Single pivot design – Super stiff & low maintenance
- Full compliment pivot bearings
- Foe’s Signature Swinglink
- Handmade in the USA


Asymmetrical seat stays


2:1 Pro Lite, XTD Air Curnutt shock


Linkage

This bike is a looker, but since it is a prototype we’re not able to get it out on the trail yet. We’ll be in contact with Foe’s, a great Southern California company with all their bikes handmade in the USA, to get some cycling time on this bike.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Sette asks you to Compare

Posted by Jeremy Yang On January - 26 - 2009

Not many people know this but along with selling bike frames, which we have extensively tested (Reken) or are testing (Razzo), Sette also sells fully built up bikes. Many times fully built bikes are a good deal because of the manufacturer’s buying power. When a big manufacturer can buy 1,000 Mavic wheelsets, the vendor is going to give them a deal compared to when we purchase the exact same wheelset. When you think about all the components on the bike being purchased in this fashion it makes some sense to consider buying a complete bike versus building up bikes piece by piece.

Sette’s mountain bike lineup includes 4 full suspensions and one hardtail. The fs bikes include a XC oriented bike called the Sette Ace to a durable X-7, Monarch 3.1 all mountain bike with 6″ of travel aptly named the Sette Flite.


Sette Ace, XC full suspension for $1,399.98

Sette Ace Specs:
Frame Aluminum 7005
Size(s) Small (16.5″)/Medium (18.5″)/Large (20.5″)
Fork Rock Shox Tora 302 Air (4.72″/120mm)
Rear Shock Rock Shox Monarch 2.1 (4″/101mm)
Shifters SRAM X7, 9-Speed Trigger
Front Derailleur SRAM X7, Low Clamp, Blk, ø 30.9 Top Pull
Rear Derailleur SRAM X7 Black Long Cage
Shifter Cable/Housing Jagwire Slick
Brake Levers Avid Juicy 3
Front Brake Avid 160mm Rotor
Rear Brake Avid 160mm Rotor
Hoses Avid Hydraulic Hose
Crankset Truvativ Firex 3.3, 175mm, Black, 44/32/22t
Bottom Bracket Truvativ Giga Pipe XR, 68mm
Cassette SRAM PG-970, 11-34
Chain SRAM PC-971
Headset FSA 1-1/8″ Standard – Black
Handlebar Lightweight Alloy – Black
Grips Durable Ergo Grips – Black
Stem Lightweight Alloy – Black
Saddle High Performance Saddle – Black
Seatpost Lightweight 6061 Alloy – Black, 31.6 x 350mm
Rims Mavic XM719 32H Black, Presta Valve
Front Hub Shimano XT M756, 6-bolt Disc Brake, 32H black, QR
Rear Hub Shimano XT M756, 6-bolt Disc Brake, 32H black, QR
Spokes 14/15 Gauge Double-Butted, Stainless Steel, Black
Front Tire Kenda Krusher 26″ x 2.1, 60 TPI
Rear Tire Kenda Krusher 26″ x 2.1, 60 TPI
Color(s) White
Warranty 5 Years
Weight 29.8lbs/13.5kg (Medium w/Pedals)


Sette Flite, 6″ of travel at $1,599.98

Sette Flite Specs:
Frame Aluminum 6061
Size(s) Small (17″)/Medium(18″)/Large(19″
Fork Rock Shox Domain 318 Coil (4.5-6.3″/115-160mm)
Rear Shock Rock Shox Monarch 3.1 (6″/152.4mm)
Shifters SRAM X7, 9-Speed Trigger
Front Derailleur SRAM X7, Low Clamp, Blk, ø 34.9 Top Pull
Rear Derailleur SRAM X7
Shifter Cable/Housing Jagwire Slick
Brake Levers Avid Juicy 3
Front Brake Avid 185mm Rotor
Rear Brake Avid 185mm Rotor
Hoses Avid Hydraulic Hose
Crankset Truvativ Stylo 3.3, 175mm, Black, 44/32/22t
Bottom Bracket Truvativ Stylo 3.3, 68mm
Cassette SRAM PG-970, 11-34
Chain SRAM PC-971
Headset FSA 1-1/8″ Semi-Integrated Zero Stack – Black
Handlebar Lightweight Alloy – Black
Grips Durable Ergo Grips – Black
Stem Lightweight Alloy – Black
Saddle High Performance Saddle – Black
Seatpost Lightweight 6061 Alloy – Black, 31.6 x 350mm
Rims Mavic EX729 32H Black, Presta Valve
Front Hub Sette 20mm Thru Axle, 6-bolt Disc Brake, 32H black, heavy-duty cartridge sealed bearings
Rear Hub Shimano XT M756, 6-bolt Disc Brake, 32H black, QR
Spokes Straight 14 Gauge, Stainless Steel, Black
Front Tire Kenda Nevegal 26″ X 2.35, 60 TPI, DTC
Rear Tire Kenda Nevegal 26″ X 2.35, 60 TPI, DTC
Color(s) White
Warranty 5 Years
Weight 34.8 lbs/15.8kg (Medium w/Pedals)

For more info on Sette’s bikes, click here.

Popularity: 11% [?]

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