for endurance stuff I'd got with an asylum 29er from speedgoat it's a great enduro bike
Down to Two
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If the OP has a thing for Niner, and he wants an endurance bike, maybe he should wait for the JET9....[Damn it, now you got me doing the same thing... choosing outside the given options.playpunk said:
] I do agree with your geometry statements regarding the Intense, and I think that RIP9 is not the lightest FS 29er frame either as you stated, at around 6.5 lbs. The Lenz is around 5.3bs depending on size (I read that in a Mikesee post a bit ago).
GeoKrpan said:I read recently in a MTB magazine that 1 inch of fork length equates to roughly one degree of HTA.
If true, a 73 degree HTA with a 100mm travel fork would only be slightly steeper than a 72 degree HTA with a 80mm fork.
IQUOTE]
Huh??? you are right it is one degree steeper.
My point was that if you were to lower your sag amount and the rode around for just a bit you could tell what a 73 degree head angle felt like. It was not that running more sage is better. The fork would not feel right with more sag, but you could tell a little bit better how a 73 degree head angle felt and that it feels different. That was all I was trying to get across.
In the interests of full disclosure I'll start by saying that I'm the New Zealand Distributor for Niner Bikes and that I've had very little or no saddle time on any of the other bikes mentioned in this thread, but that said...playpunk said:
The R.I.P. 9 is increasingly being defined as an "all mountain" type bike and personally I think that this can be a bit misleading. I feel it's quite happy at the XC end of the all mountain spectrum, for example if it was to be compared to a Specialized 26er it's more of a Stumpjumper equivalent than an Enduro. The critical issues that define the bikes intended purpose are the fork choice and build details. With the White Brothers Fluid 29 135 up front and a burly build kit and wheelset the R.I.P. 9 can be all-mountain-ish, but equally with a Reba up front and a lightweight wheelset and parts it makes an excellent XC bike. The frame itself is relatively light, and perhaps more importantly it pedals well and "rides light". I've got a demo bike (pictured) built up with a Maverick DUC and a reasonably burly parts kit (Race Face Atlas cranks, Monkeylite DH bar, etc) and wheelset (I9 with DT TK7.1d rims) and it certainly doesn't feel like a heavy bike (I'll post an actual weight when I can track down a decent scale). I'm building another R.I.P. up with the Pace fork pictured, a I9/Stans Arch wheelset and a XTR groupset which I'm predicting will be a pretty light bike and a very nice endurance racer.
My point is that the R.I.P. 9 is a surprisingly versatile platform and with the appropriate build is not just a burly trailbike. :thumbsup:
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OK, now I see what you meant.Law said:Huh??? you are right it is one degree steeper.
My point was that if you were to lower your sag amount and the rode around for just a bit you could tell what a 73 degree head angle felt like. It was not that running more sage is better. The fork would not feel right with more sag, but you could tell a little bit better how a 73 degree head angle felt and that it feels different. That was all I was trying to get across.
Are you saying that the 73/100 combo is steeper than the 72/80 combo?
They are essentially the same in terms of steepness.
The longer fork essentially negates the steeper head angle.
I think that is what Intense would argue as well. I am skeptical that this is true after spending the mid to late 90's on various DH bikes. Even with a long travel fork those bikes are still choppered out. But again they are only going down.GeoKrpan said:
Whatever, in the end to each his own. I prefer the feel of 29er with the more laid back feel Even 72 was too steep for me on a 29er. I don't claim to be normal though
Jet9
The Spider is race bike with aggressive geo. The RIP is quite different. IMO the JET will be closer to the Spider.
Good luck on your choice!
Correct it is not out yet. However it sounds like you are interested in the RIP because you can get it now.RSW42 said:
The Spider is race bike with aggressive geo. The RIP is quite different. IMO the JET will be closer to the Spider.
Good luck on your choice!
I'd second this...
I experienced a similar effect on my '05 5 Spot when I put a 140mm Fox Vanilla on it. The awesome handling that I loved the bike (with a 130mm Vanilla) disappeared everywhere except on the downhills. Fortunately, PUSH came out with the longer travel rockers and everything is once again right.
For an endurance race bike the last thing I personally would want is a fast handling bike that requires lots of attention. At the end of a 100 mile race, I want a stable bike that goes where I point it even when I am tired and not at my best. In this respect, I think that 29ers in general are great - I wouldn't hesitate to use mine for a 100 mile race. And maybe the Spider isn't super twitchy - I wouldn't know, I have never ridden one. However, I wouldn't buy it with the intent of making it slacker by running a longer fork on it, especially if there are other bikes out there that already have a geometry more in keeping with what you are trying to achieve.
Going a little off-topic here, but I'm not a big fan of trying to correct for steep headtube angles by running longer forks. I had a 2001 Ellsworth Truth that had a 71.5 degree headtube angle. Way too steep for my personal preference - it was an endo machine in my not-so-competent hands. For a while I used a Fox TALAS with the frame in an attempt to make the bike a little less twitchy. At 100 mm travel, the bike was marginally less twitchy, but as the travel was set longer the bike's handling got all messed up.Law said:I think that is what Intense would argue as well. I am skeptical that this is true after spending the mid to late 90's on various DH bikes. Even with a long travel fork those bikes are still choppered out. But again they are only going down.
Whatever, in the end to each his own. I prefer the feel of 29er with the more laid back feel Even 72 was too steep for me on a 29er. I don't claim to be normal though
I experienced a similar effect on my '05 5 Spot when I put a 140mm Fox Vanilla on it. The awesome handling that I loved the bike (with a 130mm Vanilla) disappeared everywhere except on the downhills. Fortunately, PUSH came out with the longer travel rockers and everything is once again right.
For an endurance race bike the last thing I personally would want is a fast handling bike that requires lots of attention. At the end of a 100 mile race, I want a stable bike that goes where I point it even when I am tired and not at my best. In this respect, I think that 29ers in general are great - I wouldn't hesitate to use mine for a 100 mile race. And maybe the Spider isn't super twitchy - I wouldn't know, I have never ridden one. However, I wouldn't buy it with the intent of making it slacker by running a longer fork on it, especially if there are other bikes out there that already have a geometry more in keeping with what you are trying to achieve.
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