[KonaSS]

I know, it is the rider and all, but still another step forward for the 29 inch platform and an endorsement for the new Epic.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-mountain-bike-national-championships-cn-1/elite-men-cross-country/photos/131531

 

[Deuce9er]

Rider & All

Here's a comment:
"It was a weird race. It was so bumpy and hard," said Trebon. "The back section was so frustrating for me as both the guys in front were riding full suspension 29ers, and I was bouncing around (on a 29er hardtail). It was hard to get smooth pedal strokes, but I felt good."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us...ionships-cn-1/elite-men-cross-country/results

Wells beat out some good competition. You could say, "I know, it's the rider and all" with a bunch of those guys. JHK (2nd), Carl Dekker (DNF), and others choose to ride 29ers. Craig should ride a 29er...everyone should ride a 29er (FS) IMO...YMMV.

 

[Menzo]

The release of the Specialized 2011 lineup was the hammer now here is a big nail in the Superfly 100 coffin... For a year the Superfly 100 has been the "ultimate" 29er race bike, the benchmark. Not anymore according to me. Because of no more lifetime warranty, carbon problems, delivery problems. Specialized couldn't dream of a better ad for their new bikes and they will likely get many pre-orders in their books soon.

Moreover, this victory and the comments of Ryan Trebon are great arguments to pump the 29er wave (especially for FS 29er).

 

[GreenLightGo]

Several of the top women were aboard 29ers too.

 

[BiknBob]

Ned Too!

And Ned Overend won the SS World Champs aboard a Rockhopper 29er!

 

[CB2]

And Ned Overend won the SS World Champs aboard a Rockhopper 29er!

It was the National Championship, and I'm pretty sure it was a Pro/Cat1 open race.

I think Wells winning the National title on a 29'er would be a bigger deal if JHK and Irmiger didn't do it last year.

 

[B-RAY]

It was the first 29er duailie to take it, so i think it's kinda different it beat hardtails for the first time. Thats just my take on it yours might be different.

 

[EBasil]

I don't care if someone has won the nationals before; he did it this time and that's a big deal, no matter what. That he's not the first on freakishly-large wheels only cements the fact that these abominations work well enough that racers at the peak of competition will select and win with them.

 

[The Avenger]

Psyched for Todd. The bikes seem to be working very well for him this year. Up until the start, though, he was still waffling between the FS 29r and a FS 26r.

I remember a couple of years ago, when he was on GT and solely 26 inch wheels, him joking with my friends about their "wagon wheels". I'll bet he's not joking anymore.

 

[the mayor]

It is great for Todd and his sponsors

Lack of comments show that not many on this forum race.

Lack of entries at Natz showed not many people race...or want to race at that elevation.

 

[leverick]

Pics of the bike and some comments from Todd on his blog.

http://yotwells.typepad.com/todd_wells/

 

[The_Boy]

Looks like he was riding on Purgatory tires too, not the super light Renegades.

 

[Hand/of/Midas]

29er Epic will be my next Bike to my stable.

 

[briscoelab]

Yea, the venue for natz just put it out of reach for a lot of people. Fairly remote location and that extreme altitude isn't conducive for getting the numbers up. There were a lot more people at the Subaru Cup a few weeks back. (but that has a lot to do with the great WORS series and the fan up in WI)

 

[the mayor]

Agreed.
It will be interesting to see who gets Natz for the next 2 years....and if there will be a pick up in participation.

 

[CDB]

Looks like he was riding on Purgatory tires too, not the super light Renegades.

I'm guessing that is a podium bike, not the one he raced on. His blog showed his low profile clipped down renegades. I don't really know for sure though.

 

[whybotherme]

Looks like he was riding on Purgatory tires too, not the super light Renegades.

no he was running the yet to be released 29er renegades.

 

[whybotherme]

Up until the start, though, he was still waffling between the FS 29r and a FS 26r.

On friday there was a mechanic doing fork travel changes for him trying to get his FS dialed in.

Specialized had a pretty good weekend with Todd winning both XC and ST, Tad Elliot winning U23 XC.

Allison was the highest placing pro female on a Sworks (8th) in XC and she was on the SuperD podium (3rd). Would love to have her on the new Sworks Epic 29er next year but we will see...

 

[whybotherme]

I'm guessing that is a podium bike, not the one he raced on. His blog showed his low profile clipped down renegades. I don't really know for sure though.

same bike. his mechanic switched tires right before the podium though.

 

[whybotherme]

Agreed.
It will be interesting to see who gets Natz for the next 2 years....and if there will be a pick up in participation.

sponsorship dollars are going away. cost of racing is huge and when pros have to pay out of pocket for racing/travel, on top of license/parts/etc it just stops making much sense.

there is no pro payout for nationals.

altitude does play a role. top 10's were dominated by altitude acclimatized racers. my wife didn't start to come around at altitude till after 9 days. for most lowlanders that is just too expensive of a trip (including us!!!!!). also recovery lag was horrible for my wife at 8500ft. by sunday afternoon for Short Track she was absolutely dead.

having the venue in an easier to get to location would help (Granby is middle of nowhere).

my prediction is that without some significant changes the participation will continue to falter (at least for pro women). the two teams (Subaru/Trek and Luna) could be all that is left in a few years.