http://www.29eronline.com 29 Inch Mountain Bike Reviews Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:43:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.29eronline.com/gt-karakoram-1-0-introduction/ http://www.29eronline.com/gt-karakoram-1-0-introduction/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:30:15 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21515 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } The fourth bike in our $1,000 bike test is the GT Karakoram 1.0. Seemingly named after the mountain range bordering India, Pakistan and China, this mountain range is home of the highest concentration of the worlds tallest peaks, including the second tallest peak on Earth, K2. The Karakoram by GT Bicycles shows excellent promise as [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/gt-karakoram-1-0-introduction/feed/ 0 http://www.29eronline.com/niner-releases-air-9-rdo/ http://www.29eronline.com/niner-releases-air-9-rdo/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:30:29 +0000 writerbob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21451 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } Hot from the news room at 29erOnline – Niner Bikes has just released a new version of the Air 9 – the Air 9 RDO. Being Niner, RDO stands for something – Race Day Optimized. This is a carbon hard tail race bike for which the frame alone lists for $2,099. Not cheap, but at [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/niner-releases-air-9-rdo/feed/ 0 http://www.29eronline.com/intense-spider-29-final-review/ http://www.29eronline.com/intense-spider-29-final-review/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:02:28 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21443 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } 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 [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/intense-spider-29-final-review/feed/ 1 http://www.29eronline.com/xs-emd-9-frame-available-from-niner/ http://www.29eronline.com/xs-emd-9-frame-available-from-niner/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:46:04 +0000 writerbob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21382 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } 29erOnline has been saying for a while that 29ers are not just for big people. Niner Bikes apparently agrees – they are releasing a new XS frame size in the EMD 9 that fits people between 5′ and 5’5″ tall. Here are some bits from their press release, or check out Niner’s website for more [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/xs-emd-9-frame-available-from-niner/feed/ 0 http://www.29eronline.com/hard-tail-vs-full-suspension/ http://www.29eronline.com/hard-tail-vs-full-suspension/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:03:21 +0000 writerbob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21349 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } Can’t decide if you want a hard tail or full suspension? I have been rotating back and forth between my hard tail and full suspension bike lately. I enjoy riding both and have been pondering the phrase “pedals like a hard tail”. The inference and conventional wisdom is that hard tails pedal more efficiently than [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/hard-tail-vs-full-suspension/feed/ 0 http://www.29eronline.com/stans-ztr-crest-29er-stock-wheelset-review/ http://www.29eronline.com/stans-ztr-crest-29er-stock-wheelset-review/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:22:18 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21321 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } Light wheels can make a huge difference in performance – more so than any other component on your bike. With many companies making all sorts of claims as they clamour for their wheels to get a spot on your bike, the choices can be difficult. Add in cost and things can get overwhelming. Stan’s No [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/stans-ztr-crest-29er-stock-wheelset-review/feed/ 8 http://www.29eronline.com/marin-alpine-trail-29-what-under-a-1000-can-get-you/ http://www.29eronline.com/marin-alpine-trail-29-what-under-a-1000-can-get-you/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:07:11 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21291 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } The Marin Alpine Trail 29 is the third bike in our $1,000 bike test. It comes in below our $1,000 limit at $899. There isn’t a whole lot of marketing hype around this bike. No catchy phrases describing why the Alpine trail will change your life. Instead, Marin provides straight forward information about what the [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/marin-alpine-trail-29-what-under-a-1000-can-get-you/feed/ 3 http://www.29eronline.com/rocky-mountain-element-970-introduction/ http://www.29eronline.com/rocky-mountain-element-970-introduction/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:22:01 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21248 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } Rocky Mountain Bikes released the Element 970 as their second 29er, new for 2012. While the Element platform has been around since 1996, this is its first year offered as a 29er. Since its inception, it has been a XC (Cross Country) bike with its roots in racing. What is XC ? Typically, it refers [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/rocky-mountain-element-970-introduction/feed/ 7 http://www.29eronline.com/norco-revolver-2-overview/ http://www.29eronline.com/norco-revolver-2-overview/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:53:28 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21210 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } Just in time for our 29erOnline road trip to Georgia, Dustan Sept from Norco got us a 2012 Norco Revolver 2 bike to test. This is Norco’s very capable 4 inch front and rear travel cross country/trail bike. The Norco Revolver 2 is, as Norco puts it, an “un-race bike that can be raced.” It [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/norco-revolver-2-overview/feed/ 3 http://www.29eronline.com/1000-29er-test-specialized-rockhopper-29/ http://www.29eronline.com/1000-29er-test-specialized-rockhopper-29/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:05:51 +0000 FatBob http://www.29eronline.com/?p=21167 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } The Specialized RockHopper 29 is the second bike we would like to introduce as part of our $1,000 bike test. It comes in just under the limit with an MSRP of $960. According to Specialized, the RockHopper 29er is “a time tested xc hard tail built for cruising fire roads and slicing singletrack”. They add [...]]]> http://www.29eronline.com/1000-29er-test-specialized-rockhopper-29/feed/ 1