Description:Until they sell get-up-and-go in a can, get your recommended daily allowance from our Buzz Bomb HT. In fact, acceleration could be its middle name. Along with agile, graceful, lightweight, stable, responsive. Plus, this is that rare breed known as a 29-er. And it’s versatile too. The dropouts are Rohloff-ready. You can remove the derailleur hanger and set it up as a single speed. And of course, it’s race ready. Whatever you do to it, it’s built for speed.
Frame: Reinforced Competition 7005 triple butted w/ EBB
Fork: Marzocchi MX Comp 29" or White Brothers Magic 29"
Head Set: Cane Creek ZS2
Submitted by
Masta Shake
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego Date Reviewed: February 24, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Noble Canyon
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
EP
Strengths:
Frame stiffness with relatively light weight, ability to run gears, SS, or Rohloff hub. Great EBB with four bolts.
Weaknesses:
Poor attention to detail with welds and fiinishing. Factory rigid fork.
Similar Products Used:
Karate Monkey
Bike Setup:
Singlespeed! Surly hubs, sun Rhyno Lyte rims, XTR crankset, Salsa post and stem, Easton carbon bar, Hayes El Camino brakes, Reba Race 29e fork
Bottom Line:
I love riding this bike. I love it more now that I put the Reba on. The Van Dessel rigid fork is the stiffest fork I have ever used. It's a cool looking 5 piece setup but is so rigid I couldn't keep the front wheel on the dirt on descents.
The rear brake tab had problems and I called Van Dessel. They said they had to do some tweaking and will release a newer version of the frame later this year. It is on the chainstay and this caused issues with some brakes. The El Caminos had to be fitted to the bike.
The welds, especially on the brake tab are too big and need to be ground down, maybe a cost saving measure?
All in all, the bike is a great value and is set up well. There are guides for shift cables and brakes on the top tube, as well as guides for Rohloff and brake hoses. It rides well and is really stable. Give it a shot if you're thinking 29er. The owner of Van Dessel answers the phone most of the time, so you can be sure your requests are getting to the right person.
$ 749.00
Overall Rating:
