Trek 69er Prototype Pics
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"Brown says he really likes the handling characteristics of mountain bikes with 700C (aka 29in) wheels, as well as the superior ability of the bigger wheels to roll over obstacles. But he prefers 26in wheels for their light weight and quicker acceleration. To get the best of both worlds, then, here's the 69er, with a 26in rear wheel and a 29in up front.
The new machine also boasts some innovative sliding dropouts, avoiding the need for an eccentric bottom bracket to provide chain tension adjustment.
Brown says the 69er will likely be a 2007 model year item in the Trek range, with Maverick fork and a standard rear hub with special cog guard/spacers"
The new machine also boasts some innovative sliding dropouts, avoiding the need for an eccentric bottom bracket to provide chain tension adjustment.
Brown says the 69er will likely be a 2007 model year item in the Trek range, with Maverick fork and a standard rear hub with special cog guard/spacers"
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Hmmm...
That thing looks like it's chock full of stuff I don't really think is necessary. Why not just go whole hog and ride a real 29er, Brown? If it works better for the front, then why not the rear too. As for excelleration, one could argue he has a point but why not just manipulate gearing and use light weight set-ups to get that snappy feel. I happen to believe that feel is all that is really at issue with the infamously slow 29er excelleration. I am not going to post about how great I can get the wheels spinning or how I leave my friends and their 26" bikes in my dust. Maybe for a racer guy like Travis Brown the feel of his cool Pink 96er (or whatever one wants to call it) is more important than the advantages he himself touts when talking about his front wheel. Tires might be another story all together, but I have not had any trouble finding relatively light and diverse offerings from half a dozen manufacturers. I guess TB might have some special, calndestine list of cool tires from which to choose to suit any and every particular course; hey, he's a racer, right? He needs the right tire. Why, then, can he ignore the great cornucopia of rubber he has used for years--fine tuned for every conceivable situation--and limit himself to a relatively miniscule population of tires for his front wheel? A tire choice which I would argue is the more crucial as far as braking and overall traction is concerned. Don't even get me started on a double crown fork on a cross country SS. I know, TB, stress out over which 26" rear tire to use for optimum ecelleration, and now slap a fork on that thing that significantly increases your turning radius. Good plan. Moreover, I wonder why he needs those cool-guy, ti chain guides if his innovative (unless one recalls that Paragon Machine Works already makes the things) sliding dropouts work so well. I think this bike is a monstrosity. It's not even cool. I don't want to offend anyone with a pink bike, but come on, TB, you missed the whole "pink is the cool color for single speeds" thing by a few years there. Poo poo, I say.
That thing looks like it's chock full of stuff I don't really think is necessary. Why not just go whole hog and ride a real 29er, Brown? If it works better for the front, then why not the rear too. As for excelleration, one could argue he has a point but why not just manipulate gearing and use light weight set-ups to get that snappy feel. I happen to believe that feel is all that is really at issue with the infamously slow 29er excelleration. I am not going to post about how great I can get the wheels spinning or how I leave my friends and their 26" bikes in my dust. Maybe for a racer guy like Travis Brown the feel of his cool Pink 96er (or whatever one wants to call it) is more important than the advantages he himself touts when talking about his front wheel. Tires might be another story all together, but I have not had any trouble finding relatively light and diverse offerings from half a dozen manufacturers. I guess TB might have some special, calndestine list of cool tires from which to choose to suit any and every particular course; hey, he's a racer, right? He needs the right tire. Why, then, can he ignore the great cornucopia of rubber he has used for years--fine tuned for every conceivable situation--and limit himself to a relatively miniscule population of tires for his front wheel? A tire choice which I would argue is the more crucial as far as braking and overall traction is concerned. Don't even get me started on a double crown fork on a cross country SS. I know, TB, stress out over which 26" rear tire to use for optimum ecelleration, and now slap a fork on that thing that significantly increases your turning radius. Good plan. Moreover, I wonder why he needs those cool-guy, ti chain guides if his innovative (unless one recalls that Paragon Machine Works already makes the things) sliding dropouts work so well. I think this bike is a monstrosity. It's not even cool. I don't want to offend anyone with a pink bike, but come on, TB, you missed the whole "pink is the cool color for single speeds" thing by a few years there. Poo poo, I say.
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uuggghhhh
What's going on here? Sliding drop outs... mostly (it seems anyway) single speeds... 96ers(?)... no more kevlar tires... only 3 FS bikes (please don't mention the Astrix Monk)... Fisher NORBA pros (non endurance guys) don't race the bikes, let alone anyone else... two suspension forks... availability problems...no wonder no one takes the 29er seriously
What's going on here? Sliding drop outs... mostly (it seems anyway) single speeds... 96ers(?)... no more kevlar tires... only 3 FS bikes (please don't mention the Astrix Monk)... Fisher NORBA pros (non endurance guys) don't race the bikes, let alone anyone else... two suspension forks... availability problems...no wonder no one takes the 29er seriously
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One fast rolling sub-55-g rear tire on the 29" market, and that bike is useless. Right now, I can see how it could roll faster than a 29"er.
It's a solution for a temporal problem, someone at some point will make a 29" tire with knobs on it that rolls like a 29" wheel should.
One day we'll say "69ers are SO 2005".
It's a solution for a temporal problem, someone at some point will make a 29" tire with knobs on it that rolls like a 29" wheel should.
One day we'll say "69ers are SO 2005".
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I dont think a 69er will ever go out of date.Cloxxki said:
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I don't like this idea.
This idea smacks of compromise- not inovation. It's pretty funny, because I wrote my blog entry today on this very subject. Anywho, I think all this stuff about 29 inch wheels and accelleration has to be looked at as a matter of riding technique. Logically, wouldn't it make sense for everyone to use 24 inch wheels, if this "spinning up to speed" thing is that important? I would present that since 29 inch wheels hold their momentum better, and grip better, you won't need to brake as much, and therefore not need to regain as much speed.
Also, wouldn't it make more sense to have a better gripping 29 inch wheel on the back of a bike, especially a single speed? I guess I just do not grasp what is so much better about having a smaller wheel in the back. It seems to me the advantages of the 29 inch wheel far outweigh anything a 26 inch wheel can give you. I'll say it here: Trek, DO NOT MAKE THIS BIKE! It's a very bad idea!
This idea smacks of compromise- not inovation. It's pretty funny, because I wrote my blog entry today on this very subject. Anywho, I think all this stuff about 29 inch wheels and accelleration has to be looked at as a matter of riding technique. Logically, wouldn't it make sense for everyone to use 24 inch wheels, if this "spinning up to speed" thing is that important? I would present that since 29 inch wheels hold their momentum better, and grip better, you won't need to brake as much, and therefore not need to regain as much speed.
Also, wouldn't it make more sense to have a better gripping 29 inch wheel on the back of a bike, especially a single speed? I guess I just do not grasp what is so much better about having a smaller wheel in the back. It seems to me the advantages of the 29 inch wheel far outweigh anything a 26 inch wheel can give you. I'll say it here: Trek, DO NOT MAKE THIS BIKE! It's a very bad idea!
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At least with regard to folding tires and Bontrager, FisherGuy posted 5 hours before your post that it was not true - rumor only about folding tires from Bontrager being halted.toddre said:
Avoid the rumors and just get out there and ride.
BB
96 er
If I had to compromize it would be a 96er, since I feel the decrease in rolling resistance is made in the rear, where the weight is.
Again, if Thomas Frischknecht can have 26" 2.1 custom Dugast tubulars for Athens, anyone with a couple of hunderd $ can have the same in 29.
The cyclocross guys are legal to choose smaller than 700C, do you think they even consider this bcause of quicker acceleration? No way.
If I had to compromize it would be a 96er, since I feel the decrease in rolling resistance is made in the rear, where the weight is.
Again, if Thomas Frischknecht can have 26" 2.1 custom Dugast tubulars for Athens, anyone with a couple of hunderd $ can have the same in 29.
The cyclocross guys are legal to choose smaller than 700C, do you think they even consider this bcause of quicker acceleration? No way.
Guitar Ted said:
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1,508 Posts
That's it! If 26 is good, 24 is better!
Hey! How about mountain bikes with 20 inch wheels! Talk about snappy acceleration! And boy, are those babies stiff and light...
For every reason that someone might cite to argue that 26 inch wheels are better than 29- wouldn't make sense that 24 inch wheels would be even better than 26? Stiffer, less inertia, less rotating weight, less unsprung weight, more manueverable, blah blah blah- if it's true about a 26 compared to a 29, then it's true about a 24 compared to a 26.Guitar Ted said:
Hey! How about mountain bikes with 20 inch wheels! Talk about snappy acceleration! And boy, are those babies stiff and light...
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26 Posts
how about and open mind?
Ok if you have tried this and dislike it then fine, but otherwise WTF. I built one up out of Trek 9.8 frame and a rigid 700c hybrid frok that had a tight axle to crown but still fit a 2.0 tire. the bikes headangle is 71.5 and it rides awesome.
if it wasn't Trek and instead was a custom builder, would there be all this negativity? On this forum, I would normally expect a much more accepting point of view. the only negative i have is having to carry 2 diff size tubes. unless Trek makes a 27.5 x 2.2 tube(joke). Say what you want, but Travis is no dummy and loves this set-up. i was lucky enough to sit with him 2 weeks ago before the WSSC. he told me what he was going to race and why.
disclaimer-i work for Trek/GF and admit my bias, but i also believe what i have tried and know it is a good working set-up. my reg bike is an x-cal.
Ok if you have tried this and dislike it then fine, but otherwise WTF. I built one up out of Trek 9.8 frame and a rigid 700c hybrid frok that had a tight axle to crown but still fit a 2.0 tire. the bikes headangle is 71.5 and it rides awesome.
if it wasn't Trek and instead was a custom builder, would there be all this negativity? On this forum, I would normally expect a much more accepting point of view. the only negative i have is having to carry 2 diff size tubes. unless Trek makes a 27.5 x 2.2 tube(joke). Say what you want, but Travis is no dummy and loves this set-up. i was lucky enough to sit with him 2 weeks ago before the WSSC. he told me what he was going to race and why.
disclaimer-i work for Trek/GF and admit my bias, but i also believe what i have tried and know it is a good working set-up. my reg bike is an x-cal.
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Oh yeah, my mind is open.
Look, this idea is obviously valid for some people. They are certainly welcome to try and convince me otherwise. I just do not see the benefit of going with this set up over a full on 29" wheeled bike. I have put forth my stand, and anyone else can too. In fact, I'd love to hear Travis' reasons for why he believes in that bike. Perhaps I'd be enlightened to his reasoning. It just doesn't make sense to me, and I believe it would be a marketing nightmare to boot. I stand by my comments until convinced otherwise: bad idea!x-wing fighter said:
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