I was very happy to see Santa Cruz Bikes launch the Superlight 29 – a 4” travel, single pivot, full suspension bike. This is a bike that fills a solid need in current 29er market; a value driven, high performance frame with the best technology. I realize that the above statement about filling a “need” seems like a bold statement from 29erOnline. After all, it is a 4 “ travel 29er. It’s not like we have never seen one of these before.

I have seen single pivot 29ers come and go over the last few years. What makes the Santa Cruz Superlight 29 special is that it is a competitively priced bike with enough versatility and technology that you won’t feel limited as you grow as a rider and want more from a bike. Nor does it have too many dedicated “standards“ that would make upgrading a pain. For example, tapered steer tube compatibility. While making for a stiffer frame and also fork interface, you are not forced to buy a tapered steer tube if you have existing parts you want to swap over. All it takes is a reducer crown race and a standard 1 ⅛ steer tube will work fine.The bottom bracket is a threaded aluminium 73mm shell. This is the easiest bottom bracket to find compatible units for and fairly common, inexpensive tools are all you need for installation. Again, if you are transferring parts, chances are you will be able to do so successfully. The Superlight uses a common size 30.9 seat tube that allows you to pick whatever dropper post you decide to use. In addition, it provides cable guides for dropper post use. So, as these couple of examples briefly show, upgrading this frame should be fairly simple because it comes with the right technology to boost performance. Where it is least needed, it skips it, and, therefore, comes in an affordable package.

The geometry was derived from the Santa Cruz TallBoy that many people speak highly of. We can’t speak to the bike from direct experience; Santa Cruz won’t send us a test bike because they think we are too small. We’re growing fast, so maybe soon they will reconsider. Not one to hold a grudge, we bought the Superlight. Like the TallBoy, the Superlight uses a 71 degree head angle, combined with a 73 degree seat tube angle. The 17.5” chainstays are the same length as are the superlight 29 and TallBoy stop tubes. The top tube remark is mostly correct. The measurement is the same from the medium size to the XL size. The Superlight comes in a size small with a 22.5 top tube where the TallBoy does not come in a small size, period. The second noteworthy difference, by numbers, is the bottom bracket height. The TallBoy has a low 12.8” bottom bracket height, while the Superlight 29 has a, still low, but more friendly, 13.1” bottom bracket. I guess you can say the geometry was inspired by the TallBoy. It is not a clone.

The Superlight suspension is a very simple single pivot design. As with most things in life, the simplest things are usually the hardest to get right. This uncluttered suspension has undergone years of fine tuning to get the design to ride correctly. Single pivots are easy to maintain and fairly straightforward to set up. However, they are not without flaws. A poorly designed single pivot bike pedals terribly, with an odd floating sensation and lots of bobbing. In addition, a poorly executed single pivot tends to stiffen during braking. At the extreme end, you can get pedal feedback and shifting issues. Worst case you can get catapulted while braking. Still, when done right, they are simple, easy, low fuss systems that work great.

Santa Cruz gets it right – all for a frame price of $950 dollars. This is half the frame price of most bikes that we test. Complete bikes can be bought for $1,850 (D XC kit ) or $2,350 for the R XC kit. In the high end 29er market, those prices are very competitive for a full suspension bike. In short, the Santa Cruz Superlight 29 fills a void because it is a simple design with high tech features and it comes in at a price that makes the price of entry within the sights of many enthusiast riders. It is bikes like this that can get a rider on a 29er with minimal sacrifices and plenty of room to grow.

So what about our test of the Superlight 29? Our Superlight 29 is a size small. It has a massive amount of standover and a short top tube. We have a couple of short, women riders that are part of the 29erOnline team and the Santa Cruz fits them like a glove. We will be getting their feedback on the pros and cons of the Superlight 29 from a short rider’s perspective along with a woman’s view. In addition Jamie will fit this bike as well, so we will have an enthusiast rider’s perspective with testing experience. I will be paying attention to their comments to see if they come up with any performance negatives along with my own set up observations but I will not be riding the bike as 6’2” and small frames do not a reveiw make.

If you are unfamiliar with the long story behind the history and evolution of this model, this is a great write up by NSMB.com.

In late August we received the Intense Spider 29 frame, and built it up with our 29erOnline build kit, a blend of SLX/X9, Thomson, Specialized tires and, new this year, Roval wheels, just in time to whisk it away to the Adirondacks in New York State. Little did I know, it would be hard for me to get more time on it as it would become the most universally loved bike we have tested at 29erOnline. Testers kept coming up with reasons to keep it longer and longer! When asked the mandatory “weaknesses” question of our interview, everyone, from trail riders to marathon cross country riders, men and women, seemed to fumble around and search pretty hard to come up with anything negative to say. Over the course of our review, we rode all types of terrain; long, loose rock gardens, fast, bermed out roller coaster trails, tight, slow-speed single track, long climbs, quick, steep climbs, rocky, rooty east coast single track and we rode in all types of conditions; from rain storms to sloppy muddy horse torn trails and rock gardens to dry hardpack. Through it all, the frame just kept ticking along.

As a reminder, this is a full suspension bike with travel that adjusts between 4 and 4.7 inches in the rear. We received it as a frame-only rather than complete bike.  Check here for our complete introduction to the bike. Now, let’s get to the truly important stuff – here is the break down of how it rides.

Handling: The Intense is nimble.  Compared to 29er race bikes, it is on par. The difference, however, is that it has more travel and offers more comfort. It felt very balanced at slow speed and reacted well to snapping the pedals to navigate tight terrain. This bike can be put where you want it with less effort then similar style bikes.

Intense uses the VPP suspension licensed from Santa Cruz Bikes. For this particular bike Intense seems to have tuned the VPP linkage in conjunction with the rear Fox RPL shock to pedal very efficiently and level small bumps well at the price of mid sized hits. The Spider 29 seems to absorb mid sized hits but you can still feel what you hit. Our testers loved this connection with the terrain. If you are looking for a gooshy travel, trail leveling bike, Intense’s Tracer 29 is the better choice.

Climbing: There were no complaints about climbing. Every tester (4 men and 3 women total) that climbed on the bike commented on how well the Intense pedaled. It did not matter if the bike was in 4 inch mode or 4.7 inch (120mm) travel mode, the Intense kept its wheels planted, and digging into roots and rocks without sagging into its travel. It walks the fine line between plush and crisp perfectly. The Intense does not have a steep head tube angle, but it never felt slack either. Its geometry seems to have nailed the balance between twitchy and loose. If you look at the numbers on paper, you could easily see the mid travel (for a 29er) 6 pound, 15 oz frame, and tall – by today’s standards – bottom bracket, and assume it would not stay glued down on climbs. Get that out of your head, it climbs with the best of them.

Descending: It is a solid descender. I wouldn’t say descending is its strongest suit but at the same time, it never gave me reason to dislike it. It is easy enough to stay in control of and it seems stable. Admittedly, the bike isn’t my style for descending, as I prefer a slacker front end with a very plush, active rear end. I was the only one out of 7 people who rode the bike that felt anything negative about its ability to descend. The testers were very happy with its agility overall, and that applies to descending as well. The bike is easy to control with enough cushion to absorb mistakes, or to allow you to pick the fastest lines, rather than the smoothest. My impressions are based on the the bike set in 4.7 inch mode front and rear (120 mm). I spent very little time with it in 4 inch mode. For more on 4 inch mode, see Video 1, Jamie’s interview, where he covers this set-up a bit.  I felt it pedaled so well in the longer travel mode, I never saw the need for the 4 inch mode. To me, the 4 inch mode felt a little harsher than I like.

Strengths: The Intense doesn’t do anything badly. I believe it has the ability to transform itself to fit the needs of the bulk of trail user types. With the right set up, it could be a rugged trail bike. With a light weight kit, it could easily be a marathon racing bike. Or, pick a happy medium, and have a bike that can do it all. I believe its real strength is its ability to ride nearly any terrain comfortably.

Weaknesses. For the marathon racers, it is a little bit heavy. I would say around 1/2 a pound too heavy in the frame. The Intense is a happy medium bike. The price of this middle of the road approach is that it doesn’t do any one thing perfectly. It is a little heavy to be a true racer, and a little light and tight to be a true, as the industry calls it, All Mountain bike. Is that really a weakness? Not according to the test crew. I would say that the biggest real problem we had was chain suck issues. However, Jamie and I were the only ones who had this problem. The bike still pedaled, but the chain would rub the chain stay yoke as a product of is weaving it’s way between the chain rings and the top of the yoke. I would say that on a 2×10 set up it wouldn’t be a problem. The other thing would be to keep your drive train clean. This is a luxury we really don’t have in the southeast during the winter time.

Another point that I didn’t like, but, again, the testers didn’t care about, is that the lever on the RPL shock would occasionally bounce out of position and end up in the lock-out mode. The Fox RP23 would be a much better choice. The RPL has a rebound control, a lock-out actuated by a lever on the shock, and a platform actuated by the same lever as the lockout. In truth even the most finicky pedal bob zealots didn’t ever touch the Propedal option. This bike is a set it and forget it bike that really seems to cater to the rider who wants the best machine possible. As such, deserves a high end Kashima coated shock, not a finicky shock like the Fox RPL.

Things of note: We were asked about rear tire clearance, specifically, if a 2.4 inch tire would work. The answer; it fits but, I wouldn’t do it. There is very little room between the yoke and the tire tread. For reference, the tire we used for this test was a Specialized Purgatory 2.4. With clearance this tight, any amount of mud would be a problem. Why isn’t this listed as a weakness? For our purpose, we find a 2.25 to be enough. However, it would be nice if there was more clearance for the guys that want to run a 140mm fork, use it as a all-mountain bike and have tires best suited to that purpose.

So, if you want comfort and efficiency but you also want to have a sports car type suspension, the Spider 29 is the bike for you. Add in great handling, and a do it all personality and you get a bike so appealing that I may have to break into some body’s garage so that I can return it to Intense!

The Spider 29er is a handcrafted beauty that any bike geek will drool over. Beyond the looks is a frame designed to perform. Lucky for us, Intense Cycles sent us a redesigned Spider 29 frame as a test frame. One of the last frames manufactured in the United States, it is designed from the ground up in California and obviously lovingly welded in-house. American made love does not come cheap, the frame and shock list for $2,149.To give some perspective many overseas frames cost more then the Intense does. I say this so you know that I am not whining of abnormal cost. This is a pretty average price for a high end frame

The first noticeable feature is the striking, red paint job. I am not usually a fan of red bikes. However, when I saw Intense’s pre-production photos posted online, I secretly started becoming a fan. The “works red” allows a subtle raw aluminium to show through. The paint is immaculate. As usual, I am also more inclined to purchase a bike that has anodizing or is raw, as these finishes are typically more durable and, as an added bonus, weigh less. Speaking of the weight, our medium test frame with paint weighed 6 pounds 15 oz (3.16 kg). This weight puts it a little heavy for a cross country race bike and a little light for a trail bike when compared to competing models in these disciplines.

The Intense Spider 29 is designed to span a wide variety of riding styles and can grow with you as you add new skills and terrains to your riding. I’ll add, it can change between functions on the fly with a well thought out kit. Intense designed the Spider 29 to be run with 100-120 mm (3.9”-4.7”) travel forks. They have frames built heavy with 140mm forks as well. So, we can see the diversity this frame can provide. We will be focusing on this bike run with 100-120 mm travel forks, but will spend some time with this frame running a 140mm fork as well.

Here are some important measurements and details if you are considering a build with this frame. The headset is an external 1.5” lower bearing and a 44mm direct set upper. This is one of the variety of tapered head tube configurations available. The direct sets allow the front end to stay nice and low (stack height). While tapered steer tubes are becoming the 29er norm, the headset will more then likely have to be ordered from your shop, unless your shop happens to be very well equipped. The extra stiffness added to the fork and the extra surface area to weld the front end makes for a frame that does not twist under load, and is very strong.

The bottom bracket width is 73mm. Mostly, this does not cause bottom bracket compatibility issues any more, but check with your bottom bracket maker to see any details about installation. Spacers will be included with your bottom bracket(out board bearing models)

Again, Intense gives its customers the ultimate in versatility by offering the rear axle spacing appropriate to both a cross country and a trail bike. 142x 12 (my favorite) 135×12 or the open drop outs most readers are used to. If you are building from scratch, I strongly recommend using the 142x 12 set up. It is very easy to use and adds a substantial level of stiffness, especially in the wheel. The Spider 29, when run with the open drop out set up, does have compatibility issues when installing the rear wheel due to the quick release skewers female end. This is true of the Easton rear skewer we are running on this bike. You may or may not have problems with the rear skewer you are running. Just be aware, or better yet run a 142×12 rear drop out configuration, and skip this last statement completely.

It is not our style to draw lots of conclusions about how a bike will ride due to its geometry. The Intense is a sum of all parts. Until we ride it, we won’t speculate on geometry or suspension performance. I will say that Intense utilizes the patented VPP (Virtual Pivot Point ) suspension type. Intense licenses this technology from Santa Cruz Bicycles who bought it from a company called Outland. After Santa Cruz bought the technology, the first VPP bike I saw was from Intense. They have over a decade of experience with the VPP design, spanning from cross country bikes to down hill bikes. It is also notable that they were the first company to put out a VPP 29er. Added to this, they are one of the first companies to put out a full suspension 29er period (Intense Spider 29er, first generation). All in all, sounds promising.

The stock shock that was sent on the Spider 29er is a model that I am unfamiliar with called the Fox RPL. It is a large volume air can and has an open setting, a pro-pedal setting and a lock-out. There is a blue lever on the shock longer then a RP23 pro-pedal lever. It really matters where this is. The lock-out is performed when this lever pushed straight out towards the front of the bike. For some reason it kept inadvertently going into this lock-out position. It may take time to get used to this. If this shock isn’t your bag, Intense will ship the frame with a different rear shock, like the Fox RP23.(Edit It seems as though the RPL is the only shock Intense is equipping this bike. Later this year we should see a Cane creek Double Barrel Air that will work on this. Sorry for the confusion )

Beyond what is outlined already are small details like a 31.6 seat post diameter, International Standard rear disc mount, direct mount front derailleur. This type of derailleur mount allows for shorter chain-stays and twist-less/ stiffer interface and, I will add, a pain to set up. It’s not that bad, but a little annoying.

Build Notes:

Grumbling about the front derailleur aside, the Intense built up smoothly. Intense graciously rushed this bike to us as I was leaving for Lake Placid, NY so I could get a jump start testing, especially since I would have an opportunity to try it in a different region than where we usually ride.

The seat tube is reamed perfectly. The head tube didn’t have paint where the headset cups interface (good) and the disc brake mount was clean and straight. The pivots are tight and tolerances are tight. The first ride on the bike clearly shows how stiff and clean this bike is manufactured. The welds are as perfect as I have seen. There is obviously a lot of pride put into the construction of this bike. There is pure quality from the shape of every tube to the hardware and there is a reason for everything. All that, and it still manages to look awesome.

Negatives:

Again, keep in mind the rush to get us this frame. I am pretty sure they didn’t have much time to prep this frame because of my time constraints. That said, the bottom bracket threads were tight; tighter then I am used to. There were tools involved from thread one and a bit more resistance then I would like to see.

The rear tire clearance is appropriate for a cross country bike or a dry condition trail bike. Our Specialized Purgatory 2.25 rear tire has some tight clearance.

Third and last thing is, while building, I ripped a nail and cut myself on the shoulder bolts. There are some sharp edges on those bolts. Big deal? No, but it’s worth mentioning as Intense is a premier builder and the frames cost enough to justify high expectations.

Over the next couple of months we will be testing the Spider 29. It will be set up and tested as a cross country bike and adjusted and tested as a trail bike. We will be really focused on the versatility of the Intense Spider 29. If you have any specific questions that are holding you back from purchasing the Spider, please ask through the comments section. We will do our best to answer them as quickly as possible. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

Intense Cycles is shipping their new Intense Spider 29. Click on the link to read Intense Cycles description of their new bike.The Spider 29 is a 100 to 120mm travel bike. It is a bike designed to cover a wide range of riding styles. Of course as all Intense bikes, it is designed around the VPP(virtual Pivot Point) suspension design.

29eronline likes Intense bikes because they are hand built in a small intimate shop in Southern California. Another cool thing about Intense Cycles is they are very accessible. I noticed this when I went to Sea Otter a couple of seasons ago. I went to the Intense booth and met Jeff Steber himself, who took time to talk and explain his bikes to me. This is so rare to be able to talk to the owner of a company in a busy setting. Not only that but he never seemed rushed and was very down to earth. Add to this the pride in craftsmanship and the willingness to push design and this is a company I like to support. Check out these pictures of the Intense Spider 29er being built taken from Intense Cycles website


Still it is really how the bike rides that counts the most. Many of you will have already heard or seen this bike and followed it’s development after its announcement at Interbike last September. So why are we talking about it now ? We will be receiving an Intense Spider 29 for review at 29eronline. when it gets here we will do a thorough write up and video of its options and features followed by our video reviews. Keep watching here at 29eronline.

Niner Bikes JET9 is a three inch travel 29er cross country bike. We have been riding it for some months now. Camye here gives her first impressions. We will be having more information as testers complete various stages of their testing.

29eronline recently wrapped up testing on the 2010 model Rocky Mountain Altitude 29er. We  felt the 2010 version had an identity crises and that the bike was lost between the XC style bikes and All-Mountain bikes. We just couldn’t find it’s strengths.

However, after some thought on the type of suspension it had, I was not satisfied that this bike was living up to its full potential. I felt that the woes the testers and I were feeling were rear shock valving issues and not a matter of linkage’s design or larger failures on the bike’s part – something we noted in our review.

With all this in mind, shortly after the Altitude 29er review was finished, I started making plans to retest this bike. As I have mentioned before, I am generally a fan of Rocky Mountain Bikes,  feel it is a well run company, and deserving of support. Evidently we are not big enough to receive a test frame from Rocky Mountain Bikes, but fortunately, I was able to purchase one for this test through Rocky Mountain.

The Ride

What I am finding with this new test bike is that the majority of the problems we were having, were, in fact, valving issues. It is amazing the difference shock tuning can make on a bike’s performance! The 2011 valving is either much more refined than the valving on the 2010 shock, or we had a bad shock on our 2010 model. In stark contrast to the previous tester, the rear end reacts very well to bumps. Its feel is not super plush; you feel the terrain under you but it is seriously damped. The Altitude’s rear end reacts quickly to multiple impacts but it does not load up and spring violently when compressed rapidly like a FSR link bike. This allows you to pedal aggressively over rough terrain without the rear end bucking around. All this while still feeling the ground under you. The suspension reacts best at mid to high speed. At slower speeds it is not as plush and it tends be firm when hitting  obstacles at low speeds.

Traction is excellent. Every pedal stroke digs into the ground. When you come up to a step up, you can load the suspension a little and get the rear of the bike into the air to get over it. It does not seem to get too deep into its travel when doing moves like this. In my opinion, this is why you want the slow speed valving on the firm side. The 29er wheels can handle small roots and rocks easily; the addition of a little suspension really adds to this ability. When a bike blows through its travel in moves like this, it feels sloppy and makes log crossings and step ups much more difficult. The Altitude gets high marks for it’s technical climbing ability as it is impacted by suspension.

I have taken the Rocky Mountain off many two to two and a half foot drops with less then perfect landings without a problem. The Altitude gets high marks for this. It is plush enough to cushion the landing but it bottoms out very lightly. If it was not for the O-ring on the shock’s shaft, I would have never known I bottomed out. I have used every scrap of the Altitudes travel on almost every ride I have been on. I set the Altitude up to 20% sag and run the rebound about halfway through its adjustment.

This brings us to what is, in my opinion, the bike’s weakness. The rear suspension is very active. You need to slow down the rebound. I have found that, with this bike, this is best done on the trail. I can usually get this setting correct in the parking lot. However, after adjusting the Altitude on the trail, it ended up being slowed down a good amount more than my initial parking lot adjustment. The reason for dialing it back is due to pedaling efficiency.

The Altitude bobs around quite a bit. The bob seems to be limited to the first 1/2 inch of travel and it does not matter how much pro-pedal was put on. I found the best cure for this is to not look down at the shock while you are riding. I realize that that sounds like a cop out, but, when I was not staring at the shock, I don’t notice a problem at all. The Altitude is a true trail bike. It does not accelerate like a race bike. Its shock tune and fully active suspension are tuned to offer comfort at a small sacrifice in efficiency. If you buy the Rocky Mountain Altitude you will get a well mannered bike that allows you to power over and through obstacles in comfort. This bob really is isolated to the initial stroke of the shock. The suspension engineers may be able to enlighten me, but it seems the only way to lessen this characteristic is to change the leverage on the shock by tuning the walking beam to put less leverage on the shock.

I actually am not bothered at all by this year’s active rear end. I really welcome it. The industry trend to stiffen up suspension to create the perception of a more efficient rear suspension is complicating frames and creating rides that feel harsh. The Rocky Mountain Altitude is efficient enough, and rewards you with all day comfort. To me, this year’s rear shock, as applied to the Smooth Link suspension, is a winner for real trail riders looking for a reliable, low maintenance bike to take into the back country.

A Note, Or A Bunch of Notes On The Geometry

To give you perspective on the following comments, our test bike is using a 1.5 inch tapered steer tube. This requires us to use an external lower headset bearing. The lower bearing adds about a half an inch to the axle to crown measure effectively slackening the head angle. I prefer this to the stock set up, except when I have to climb the steepest of hills. The stock set up keeps the front end pinned down to the ground and the steering more precise. The opposite applies when descending. I prefer the slacker, taller front end for almost all other trail conditions. If you are buying a stock bike read our previous review on handling notes.

Despite it’s travel range, this bike handles more on the cross country side of trail riding. After testing this bike, it will go on a diet and become my cross country bike. The more I ride 4″ travel front ends on bikes, the more I appreciate a 120mm fork like the one on the Rocky Mountain Altitude.  I strongly recommend that, for the rider who is out to have fun and ride without over thinking everything on their bike, 120mm front ends teamed with between 100mm and 120mm rear ends are the most versatile bikes out there. The Altitude 29er fits this perfectly. This geometry and suspension tune will really benefit riders looking for a bike to ride for long periods of time over rough terrain.

Now here comes the part if you are looking at the Rocky Mountain as a possibility for your next trail bike that most people are most concerned about. Strait Up Geometry

Straight Up Geometry, Is It For You?

I am always interested in hearing other opinions of the straight up geometry. Straight Up Geometry is, put simply, a steeper seat tube then most other 29er mountain bikes. The thought behind this is based on the traditional fitting technique that puts a rider’s knee over the pedal’s spindle (simplified explanation). The goal is to put the rider in a efficient pedaling position to lay the power down.

Does it work? Well, it is actually a lot more subtle then you are led onto believe. If you run a straight seat post, then it is really noticeable. The Rocky Mountain Altitude is spec’ed with a set back seat post which effectively negates the straight up geometry.

If you are riding a 29er with a more relaxed seat tube angle, have a setback seat post and are running your saddle as far back on the rails as you can get it, then yes you will definitely notice “Straight Up Geometry” If you are riding a bike with more traditional geometry and have a strait seat post and a neutral saddle alignment, then, more then likely, you can mimic your set up even with the steeper seat tube angle. What you will not be able to do is get a more traditional seat tube angle as forward as Straight Up Geometry. So, in short, besides the extreme slammed back position mentioned in the beginning of this section, you can mimic most positions with the added advantage of being able to set your position up more forward on the Rocky Mountain with Straight Up Geometry.

On most bikes I am running a straight post with my saddle set far back. With Straight Up Geometry, I am running a 1 inch set back and the saddle rails centered.  Straight up geometry works for me. I do actually notice it on steep climbs, and have ridden it with a straight seat post and my saddle in the neutral position. It is noticeable, for my anatomy, that I am able to put more power to the pedals than with more traditional geometry. I like it. Will you? It is adaptable enough for most. Look at it as more fit options.

Conclusion

I would recommend this bike for most riders looking for a little more confidence and comfort than what is provided by the industry’s “ideal” 4 inch travel bike currently in fashion/ being stuffed down our throats. The Altitude can easily handle an endurance race with the right build kit or an epic ride in rugged terrain. It has solid handling and does everything well. On the opposite end, it can be built up heavier and tackle steep technical down hills and rougher terrain. It is my opinion that this is not the ideal All Mountain bike. However, it can be a good All Mountain bike, if set up properly. The  Rocky Mountain Altitude 29er is truly a trail bike that the majority of riders will enjoy and be able to ride for years to come.

The Canfield Brothers Yelli Screamy is a unique hardtail in today’s industry cookie cutter hardtail segment. The 29eronline testers have been pleading to get their hands on a 29er hardtail for months now. The Yelli Screamy did not disappoint.

We need to make a couple of notes on geometry. The Yelli Screamy is Canfield Brothers’ take on an All Mountain hardtail. Our take on “All Mountain Bikes” needs to be defined. All Mountain, to us, means the bike is able to climb, but is really focused on technical riding ability, searching out new lines, and is designed with better descending manners than climbing. For us, All Mountain is based on having fun, not overall speed.

With a hardtail, efficiency is kind of redundant. It pedals “like a hardtail”, right? It, evidently, is not that simple. Charlie Storm, our resident XC professional makes some interesting comments, if you listen to his video clip in our tester video. Not all hardtails are ideal for efficiency and they are definitely noticeably different handlers. The Canfield is all about fun. I am sure you could race it but it is really about playing in the woods not so much about all business, efficiency.

The Yelli Screamy handles quickly. It is the tester’s unanimous opinion that the Yelli Screamy gets rid of the negative traits that many people associate with 29ers compared to 26ers. The Yelli Screamy is excellent in slow speed, technical terrain, and hopping moves. It is very easy to lift the front end of this bike. My first experience getting the bike on it’s rear wheel had me grabbing a handful of rear brake to prevent my butt from meeting the trail. It is the easiest 29er to get the front wheel airborne 29eronline’s crew has tested to date.

The test crew, myself included, settled in on the fork at 120 mm travel. At this setting, the bike seems to climb with not much incidence of a light front end, as well as offering our preferred bottom bracket height and playful handling. No problems on switchbacks – either climbing or descending; the Yelli Screamy’s wheel base and balance where great.

Speaking of climbing, this is probably the most asked question we get as regards the Yelli Screamy. It probably arises due to the bike’s short chain stays combined with it’s slack head angle. On a 26 inch wheel bike, this combination is usually a handful in climbing situations. On a 29er it is not as much of an issue. Unless you love a completely glued down front end, the Yelli Screamy climbs well. I would say its strength is on technical climbs littered with rocks and step ups or climbs that have a lot of switchbacks.

I am not sure why, but for some reason people thought the Yelli Screamy got up to speed better then other 29ers we have ridden. Add it’s ability to respond quickly, and the Yelly Screamy scales step-ups and obstacles with authority.

While descending at high speed, the rear end skips and skitters like all other hard tails. However, the short wheel base never exaggerated this, and is easy to keep under you and in control. This ease of control combined with the slack head angle make it very manageable at speed. While I would not say high speed descents are its strength, there is nothing holding the Yelli Screamy back in this area. Confidence is quickly gained, probably due to it’s responsiveness to rider input. I never felt out of control. At some point, most other hardtail 29ers send me off into the woods while I am learning their handling limits. The Canfield, happily, kept me on the trail and out of the brush.

Slow speed tech is where the Yelli Screamy really shines. It is well balanced and responds quickly to any pedaling or weight changes. This responsiveness surpasses any other 29er I have ridden to date. If you want to challenge your skills at technical riding, or rock crawling, the Yelli Screamy is your bike.

Who should own the Yelly Screamy? If you want the reliability of a hardtail, and your focus is on playing in the woods not on breaking speed records or shattering ride times at your local loop, the Canfield Yelli Screamy will work well for you. This is a great bike for exploring new trails and for pushing your riding skills to the next level. The Yelli Screamy did everything we wanted it to do very well and on some things it went above and beyond any expectations we had. This is a great candidate for a one bike rider that doesn’t want to deal with dual suspension.

Getting to know the Canfield Yelli Screamy

I had never heard of Canfield Brothers or the Yelli Screamy until I learned about both from Fat Bob when he received the frame. How can you not love a bike with that name? It just made me happy. I began to plot immediately how I might obtain one. After casually mentioning how fun the name was several times to my wife somehow she got sucked into the idea that I should have a bike with such a cool name. Mission accomplished.

Several months later, I am running a size large frame with Easton Haven handlebars paired with an 80mm Easton stem. Seatpost is a Specialized Command Post. Long story short, at a hair over 6 feet tall, I like the fit. The positioning is upright, without being overly so. On the move, the first thing I noticed about the geometry is how happy the bike is to do a wheelie; so much so, that you need to take care on the first jump or two so that you don’t pull up too much – unless you want to show off your bmx freestyle moves. Second thing I’ve noticed is that it seems to spin up pretty quickly when you start pedalling – you can feel the back wheels digging in and moving you forward.

Other bits and pieces: Shimano SLX cranks and brakes. It is set up as a 1×9 with MRP rings and MRP chain guide. The tolerance with the 32 tooth chainring is really tight – after the initial round of testing, the metal is scarred from throwing the chain between the frame and rings. This happened pre MRP 1x and is a strong case for buying the MRP 1x. Shifting is SRAM X9 levers and X9 derailleur. Grips are Specialized Body Geometry. I love these grips. After I tried them on this bike, I bought another pair for my FSR. I was going to buy Ergon’s version but these were cheaper – so far I’m thrilled, and saved money.

1×9 gearing totally works in Texas – I have yet to even ponder needing more or different. Riding eastern Tennessee and Northern Georgia, where there is real elevation change, I wished for Granny occasionally, but for reasons different than what I would have thought – granny is for wusses etc. Instead, going up some long, steepish climbs, I needed a lower gear more for traction than lack of power. I made it up every hill alternatively standing and sitting. The problem came when standing to pedal moved too much weight forward causing the back end to lose traction and break loose. Sure, more powerful legs, would have solved the problem with sitting, but if I was strong enough to skip gears, I’d ride a single speed.

Alternately, a few times, closer to home in Texas, on short steep climbs the front end would get unweighted (running the Fox TALAS fork at 120mm). All in all, this should be taken more as an observation rather than criticism. Heading down these same short, steep climbs is where I really appreciate the geometry because, on more XC oriented bikes, I have lived in fear of going over the handlebars. Not the case with the Yelli. My threshold  for fear (admittedly rather low) on drop offs and steep descents probably doubled with this bike compared to an XC oriented bike.

The Yelli also really liked to descend the longer stuff in Tennesse and Georgia. These were a mix of fast and flowy downhills and some screaming fast rougher descents. The Fox TALAS soaked up enough of the rough stuff that I went down the mountain faster than was probably prudent – but it sure was fun. Mostly rained out one day, we did a shuttle run to the top of the Chilhowee Trail System in far eastern Tennessee. It took roughly 18 minutes to drive down to the bottom and about 22 minutes to make the descent on the bike. Big disc brakes were a good thing. My son took great pleasure noting the place where you hear a scream on the POV camera – the bike is called Yelli Screamy after all!

On tighter twisty stuff, I feel like the Yelli is very responsive – it goes where you point it it without any thought. Winding through trees on smooth single track is lots of fun.

So, while I’m still in the getting-to-know-you phase with then Yelli Screamy, the fun of riding the bike has totally lived up to the fun promised by the name. I really like it and look forward to spending much more quality time on the bike and reporting back on the results.

Chilhowee from Writer Bob on Vimeo.

29er Review: Intense Tracer 29er

Where do we even start on this bike? The Intense Tracer 29er is one of a handful of long travel 29ers on the market, at this time. As with all boundary-pushers, the Tracer can be misunderstood, at least a little bit. So, as usual, in addition to finding out how well the bike performs, we will try to match this bike up to the correct rider. The bike is labeled as an All Mountain bike. The All Mountain genre is geared towards riders who climb, but are more focused on descending with authority. To be fair to Intense, we are not as qualified as the Tracer is in this category. In other words, we did not exceed it’s limits.

The Intense T29 has 5.5 inches of travel front and rear. It has adjustable rear dropouts called G2. The G2 dropouts lengthen the chain stays and, from what I perceived, lower the bottom bracket and slacken the head angle. In addition, the rear travel can be adjusted between 5” or 5.5”. The T29 can be ridden with a 120mm or 140mm fork but it is designed around a 140mm fork. We have ridden it in most configurations.

Most of our time was spent with the bike in 5.5 inch mode. The bike in 5” mode is much more of a Trail bike. It is not as plush and it has a more progressive shock rate. In my opinion, it does not do as well at small bump duties; the spring rate feels significantly firmer at a normal amount of sag (20-30%). If you ride trails, and are more concerned about climbing, this firmer ride quality will suit you well. My preference and is a plusher bike so I abandoned this travel setting after a couple of rides. If I have 5.5 inches of travel available, I want to use it. I even preferred the 5.5 inches when using the 120mm fork. That said, having the 5 inch travel setting is still a good option if most of what you ride is bigger mountain riding, but sometimes go for regular trail rides where a firmer ride desirable, and don’t want a bike for every discipline. In this case, you will get use out of this mode. Cool to have, but I would use it only occasionally.

The longer chain stay, slacker head angle setting of the G2 takes stability to a whole different level. If you are into top speed and your down hills are wide open, steep and loose, this setting is for you. We found, for our area, that the shorter chain stay and higher bottom bracket worked best for our slower, twisty terrain. Still, this bike is very stable and confidence inspiring. Even in the higher bottom bracket setting, it steers very well on steep down hills. It has an ability to steam roll through rock gardens that other bikes would be a handful in.

I took the Intense down small drops. Even at drops of three feet, the travel is used up completely. If you are planning on doing drops, get a different shock then the Fox RP23. Look into a shock with the ability to tune the bottom out. This brings up a good point. The Intense can be bought and ridden with many different shocks. You can build with a shock that suits your purposes. If you are looking for a long legged Trail bike, the Fox RP23 that we rode the bike with will be a good shock for you. It tends to have a hollow feeling, and is not a super plush shock teamed with the VPP suspension. If you are looking for the ultimate in plush, look into a coil shock or a non-platform, air shock like the Rock Shox Vivid. The happy medium for this bike is a Rock Shox Monarch plus or Fox DHX air.  It is nice to have options. We rode this bike as a Trail bike, so the RP23 was a good choice for us.

At some point, you will have to climb this bike, so we need to talk about this. As you can hear from the video, we got mixed feedback. The Cross Country guys, of course, thought it climbed with a feel that was heavy and lethargic. The Trail guys admitted it was heavy, and that the front end was tall but they felt it pedaled well. Here is the real deal. Take the time to set it up correctly and it will pedal really well for what it is – a heavy, long travel bike with slack geometry. Really, are we seriously buying one of the longest travel 29er bikes on the market and expecting it to climb like a Cross Country bike?

Stikman at Intense Cycles put it well. This bike is ahead of it’s time and many riders will not understand its purpose. The Intense Tracer is a big bike. It is meant to be ridden hard and it is geared towards hitting nasty terrain. It will get you to the top, but is not designed to excel at climbing. It is almost the opposite of a Cross Country race bike, which is designed to pedal well, but sacrifices hugely on a descent. Unfortunately, as far as feedback goes, the testers at 29eronline are leaning towards the Cross Country side and that bias comes out in their comments. So, what is the verdict on this bike? Who should buy this bike?

There are two types of riders who will really like Intense Tracer 29er. First is the type of rider who looks for the hardest descending lines to hit, and will ride into the back country to look for interesting terrain to conquer. Second, is the guy who will stick his head down, spin in the granny gear to get to the top, and then bomb the down hill with reckless abandon. The Intense is a bike that is reliable and capable. The wild card rider is the guy who rides trails that are rocky and rooty, or generally rough terrain. He is a bit heavier or stronger then the average rider, and is looking for confidence and comfort.

Overall, the Intense is a bike that illustrates what a 29er is capable of becoming. While it may be ahead of its time, it fills an important niche in the 29er world. I am glad we have companies like Intense around to put a bike out like the Intense Tracer 29er and challenge the industry to follow.

Disclosure: Our test T29 had a couple of pivots come loose. One Shoulder bolt after getting loose had a very small amount of play in it for the rest of the test. Out test frame never got this resolved. A local rider who also has a T29 had the same issue happen and Intense took very good care of him. I would say it is safe that they will take care of you, the buying customer.

Lastly this is the only bike we had to do pivot maintenance on . This is a very simple process. Insert a grease gun with a provided fitting onto the grease  port and purge the pivots.  As long as you are willing to keep up with this your pivots should be in stay working smoothly.

FatBob

Additional comments By TallBob:

Bike Ridden
2011 INTENSE 29er

Other Bikes Ridden
2011 Gary Fisher Rumblefish, 2011 Pivot 429, 2011 Stumpy FSR Expert, 2011 Niner Jet, 2010 Niner RIP, 2010 Gary Fisher HiFi

Initial Fit and Look
Normally, I ride an XL, but, amazingly, I was able to fit reasonably well on the Intense Medium. It was slightly cramped, but not too much, and definitely fun to ride. Needless to say, it is a big bike. The initial silver appearance and welds, along with 140mm fork hint to the rider, before he even swings his foot over the saddle, that this is a very solidly built All Mountain bike. Some tuning was needed for better small bump compliance, but, luckily, FatBob is an expert in negative compression settings for Reba Forks and he dialed it in nicely.

Climbing
The solid feel immediately shows on the climbs; this is a heavy bike. It is a bit slow on the climbs and it requires some effort to get moving. However, the pedaling platform is very solid with little bob, even with the shock in the open position. You feel the pedaling platform solidly and your energy directly propelling you, just a bit slower and with more effort than lighter bikes. Personally, I didn’t mind this, as I tend to power up climbs anyway. Even for me though, it would be challenging on an EPIC ride and you’re not going to be bunny hopping this bike easily.

Descending
The Intense descends well, and is very stable. The bike stays on it’s intended line and the front shock absorbs rocky punches and prevents you from getting knocking you off your intended line. The rear shock inspires confidence for you to be more aggressive in your descent.

High/Slow Speed Cornering/Switchbacks
The bike is easy to corner with no noticeable advantages or disadvantages here, even at speed.
Of course, coming from an XL, I was biased as to the cornering, smaller bikes would handle better then a bike with a longer wheel base and bulkier frame but I did not sense any pushing or difficulty holding the traction.

Braking
The braking is solid. I did not feel any significant fork diving on braking, nor any significant cornering traction loss if I didn’t brake before a corner, and had to brake after entering it.

Technical Sections
The bike absorbed and ate up the baby head rock gardens. The front fork easily handled as well as rear shock. This is a bike that is meant to go faster through these sections and worked better at higher speed than when trying to pick lines more deliberately. The plush travel gives the rider lots of leeway in line choice for technical sections. The bike felt stable.

Overall observations
Although the bike felt nicely solid, I did notice some extra transmission of vibration to my hands. It could have been the smaller handlebar grips but I have felt similar sensations with the stiff Pivot 429, and believe it is due to the overall stiffness of the frame from these extra-solidly built designs. It’s a matter of preference if you like this or not. Personally, I would like a little more absorption, as it could get tiresome on longer rides. Overall, the bike was fun to ride, and if you can handle the heaviness on climbs, you are rewarded well on technical descents and rock gardens.

Optimal Rider
I would say the optimal rider is a powerful masher who likes a solid All Mountain bike. This rider has the most fun blasting fast downhill and through technical sections confidently without fear of frame breakage. This rider does not do longer epic or cross county rides and has never cared about who makes it to the top first on any climb or speed on flat trail sections.

At Sea Otter 2010, I got  chance to meet a couple of the Titus guys and saw the Titus RockStar on display at the Titus team trailer. Like the name or not, the RockStar is a great looking bike that 29eronline really wanted to test. Arrangements were made and we received a size medium Titus RockStar. For a build report and initial thoughts follow this link. Unfortunately, with the Titus brand somewhat in limbo after being foreclosed on and sold to the British company On-One Bikes, the future of the Rockstar is up in the air. Click here for more details;Titus Ti USA

Don’t feel like reading – check out our video review at the bottom of this article.

In addition, to our normal group of testers, Donn O. spent a considerable amount of time on the Rockstar, so his impressions were given special weight in the review.

What is it for?

The RockStar, while having a race background stemming from the Titus Racer X, is really designed to be a everyday trail bike. If you want to do some endurance races, it is designed to work well, but the angles are relaxed enough and there is enough suspension travel to be an all day, daily rider for most enthusiast riders. This was the intention of Titus when designing the RockStar – keep reading see how well we think they did.

Geometry
The geometry struck us as very user friendly. Donn O seemed almost disappointed that he didn’t get to test the durability of the carbon rear triangle with an endo at his favorite rock garden; “The fact I cleaned two runs thru the rocks on a strange bike says a lot about the handling / steering / geometry of this bike – it is spot on.”

This appreciation for the geometry did not extend to the bottom bracket. On many log crossing (and climbing, cornering pedaling on the flat sections of trail etc….) the testers and I ran into problems with bottom bracket clearance. It felt exceptionally low. None of us at 29eronline understand why companies are insisting on spec’ing bikes with really low bottom brackets. I have never had a test rider that did not complain to me about low bottom brackets. I have, conversely, never had a tester comment negatively about a bottom bracket being too high. The Titus was no exception and worse in this aspect than many. All the testers ended up settling on the longer fork travel (we installed the TALAS fork that is adjustable to either 100mm or 120mm), which raises the bottom bracket. Even then, we all wished for a slightly higher bottom bracket

Climbing

Just pedal, and, with minor weight changes, the Titus is a very well mannered climber. The relaxed head angle and average length chainstays made keeping the front end down a mindless task. This was true even with the fork set at 120mm.

The Titus pedals very firmly. Donn O and Camye , who are both light, felt that it bobbed, so they turned the pro-pedal on. That said, I and most of the other testers felt it pedaled firmly and the bobbing was not very noticeable, if at all.

A complaint that came up frequently was that the climbing traction, especially for a 4 inch travel bike, was not very good. The suspension did not seem to facilitate digging in while climbing, except when you could hit a bump hard enough to get the rear wheel to break into it’s travel. Overall, it felt like a hardtail as far as traction.

Descending

The geometry is hard to find fault with while going downhill – the bike is a very capable descender, and very stable.  We did, however, find fault with the suspension when it came to descending. It needed to be tuned plusher as it felt like far less then 4 inches of travel. Donn O: “I was feeling back pain just 6 miles into a ride”. Not what a suspension engineer wants to hear!
This is definitely not my favorite bike for getting airborne. On the plus side, bottoming out was nearly impossible to do on this bike

Overall
The Titus felt like it wanted to be a race bike, but the geometry told a completely different story. On the flip side, the geometry was leaning towards a trail bike, but the suspension was too race tuned to make it a day in and day out rider. Our hard tail fans were fine with the stiffness of the suspension, but our trail riders were left confused as to its purpose. I would recommend tuning the shock a bit plusher for small bump sensitivity with a more linear mid-stroke that would allow it to use its suspension more effectively. For the guys that want a stiffer ride, there is always pro-pedal. However, it just can’t live up to it’s full potential as a trail bike tuned so firmly. The stiffness of the suspension tuning also caused climbing traction to be sacrificed, which is one of the largest performance gains of running a full suspension bike.

We all really liked the geometry, except the low bottom bracket. The slack angles worked really well. If the bottom bracket was higher, we would have had no problem with a 4 inch fork. However, the low bottom bracket kept us constantly aware of every move we made. We do not feel there was any advantage to the low bottom bracket for our trails.

The Titus stayed in good working order overall. All the pivots did loosen up, but after snugging up the bolts, there were no more problems. The frame was adequately stiff for its intended use and the front end was actually as stiff as anything on the market. The carbon rear end added a nice muffled ride quality that could be appreciated. Coupled with the 4 inches of travel it could really be a great combination if it had a properly tuned rear suspension.

The Titus is a solid bike for the right rider. Who is the right rider? A hardtail convert that is looking for the edge to be taken off of trail chatter. One who wants a bit of cushion on hard hits but will maintain good riding form and not rely on suspension to pull them through difficult trails. Someone who wants to stay connected to the trail but needs a bit more comfort combined with bomb-proof handling.

Buy A Titus RockStar