Likey the black 🙂 Quick pre-website photos 🙂

Quick mockup

worth selling a Felt for? 😉

Ideal number of bikes = n+1 😉

Apparently there is a Pro version with a carbon seat stay wishbone on the way so I am told 🙂

Looks alright, not a fan of the random block of paint on one side of the headtube. Also have quite a bulbous aesthetic, especially the carbon fork. Nice colours though.

When are they going to be available?

Love the frame, but that fork looks a bit out of place.

Alejandro – Member
Looks alright, not a fan of the random block of paint on one side of the headtube

Agree on that headtube logo as well.

Think mine would have to be Green though the Grey/Blue is V nice too. Black is fine and wouldn’t be unhappy with one in that scheme, but much happier with a green one.

Front wheel’s on the wrong way round 🙂

Steerer tube on that fork is a little excessive, I though the Swift fork came with a silly long steerer but that is nuts!

Not sure about availability – soon, sounds like sometime this month for first batch maybe April.

Horrible downtube makes them far form the prettiest 29ers out there. Just me being a fussy arty type I know, but the swoopy down tube, for me, just seems to be a one way ticket to ugly town, especially on a hardtail.
The fork is, also, hardly pretty it’s such a ridiculous looking shape.

I usually quite like Kinesis bikes, and quite like the rest of the bike but the fork and especially the downtube kill it for me.

Each to their own Cows – your entitled to your opinion 🙂

is that carbon or ally?
how much?

Yes, just my opinion! Take no notice if you love them!

Although still don’t understand why, other than making the cut for the down tube/BB junction easier, would a hardtail frame have a swoopy downtube, it just seems like a way to add weight by using a longer tube (and for me turn what could be a nice looking bike into a less than nice looking bike)? Still hoping someone can tell me why they do this.

Still hoping someone can tell me why they do this.

I think Dom (who designs them) said it was to give maximum contact area between all the tubes at the front – where the short head tubes make it difficult to build strength in. If you have a straight tube welded like the one here then you lose fork crown/tyre clearance on the downtube and can’t weld the top and downtubes together as easily.

Form following function.

Good memory WW 🙂

Thanks, but maybe I am wrong but I thought fork crown clearance was something left behind in 2003/4ish?
Also that sort of explains the bend at the top, which I don’t mind so much, but why the swoop for out for the BB? In my eyes it just make them look like cheapy super market specials that are trying to look like full sus bikes, or just be different for different’s sake.
It’s just layout that I find it hard to get my head around why anyone would choose to make. Also I know very slight OT, but why does the On one lurcher have a swoopy down tube? It’s carbon, surely less of an issue? The dirty harry seems to be fine, looking like a normal frame. Also on the headtube stiffness point, on these frames there seems to be an inch-ish of headtube above the top tube, surely the top tube could just be welded slightly higher up, (a bit more sloped) and then a more normal down tube and a nicer looking frame? Although can see that this would add a little to stand over height.

I know it doesn’t really matter, I am never going to buy a bike with a swoopy down tube and it is just me being a fussy arty type that want’s bike to have some aesthetic appeal (and also realise that for some, the swoopy tubes look lovely), it’s just still something I don’t understand. I am not trying to poo poo the bikes and if people love them great, it’s just I don’t really understand the reason for it.

Thanks for the explanation, it just doesn’t really satisfy me!

cows_in_cars – Member
Thanks, but maybe I am wrong but I thought fork crown clearance was something left behind in 2003/4ish?

You are wrong.

Ok!
Explains the curve at the top of the tube, which, really looks ok to me and can see the reasoning for it, but it’s the swoop to the BB which I don’t get (and in my eyes looks horrible), it just seems to be mirroring a full sus say like a giant, but that at least needs the space for the shock.

why the swoop for out for the BB?

I’m guessing that if you welded a tube that big to the BB area at an angle it would extend well up the seat tube as the roughly circular tube elongates to a oval as you angle it?

Looks 100% better than the prototype! Any idea on price?

“Anyway…all things being well, the FF29 will be in the UK Feb/March 2012. Pricing will be under the £500 mark.

Carbon fork will be an option and looks much better without the White painted part! It’s light and performs very well if you like that sort of thing. If you don’t, geometry is set for a 100>120mm susp fork.

Carbon wishbone version is p.type for an ‘XC Race’ version. It will have different d.tube and geometry to this trail version and will be available late 2012 after we have tested various p.types. “

From the Horses Mouth a few months ago 🙂

Hmmmmm, tempting, it’s got to be either that, a large Swift or the Canyon. Much as I like my Swift I’m missing not having a proper XC bike.

Reasons for the swoopy downtube to bottom bracket junction.

Stolen from the bottom of this page from Brant.

http://www.shedfire.com/tag/mmmbop/

Looking forward to seeing one of these built up in smallish sizes with suspension forks.

If 29ers do genuinely turn out to be quicker on my riding (I plan a few demos to check that out), then an FF29 would be a lovely replacement for my XCPro3 in a few years time.

If my Scandal 29er doesn’t work out…..

i’d have never spotted those cracks with out the arrows:-)

that FF29 does look rather nice thou.

Crown clearance is more of an issue with 29er frames. The fork is long and it’s important to keep the bars low and wheelbase as short as poss, this means you need to kink the DT to clear the crown, especially if you are using larger section tubes. At the BB, I wanted the tube to go straight in and avoid a large weld overlap with the seat tube.
Graphics: I wanted it to look purposeful and I like asymmetric. You either go generic and try and please lots of people or make it look different and appeal to the people that want something that is individual. It’s good when people have a strong reaction to the look, much better than a “hmmm it looks alright” or “that looks just like the XXXX…” response.

Makes sense Dom – you can’t please all the people all the time 🙂

Speshpaul – Member
i’d have never spotted those cracks with out the arrows:-)

😀

I guess that could be a reason, to make the BB join more simple and less likely for that to happen, although almost every aluminium frame is made like that an not as if everyone goes like that, but then I guess no reason why you shouldn’t try and avoid the possibility. And without the designer coming along, see that as a pretty reasonable explanation.

And I really don’t mean to poo poo the frame, if swoopy tubes do it for you, excellent, they are not for me, I just was wondering why they did it.

EDIT: DAMN you dyslexia, forcing me to check pretty much every single word to stop me form looking like an idiot, then being so slow that my response makes me look like an idiot, as the designer has come along and explained, DOH!.

No worries cows_in_cars. Opinions are good. Everyone should have one.

AndrewJ – do it 🙂 That’d be an ace race bike for you with those comfy XR3 tyres.

I was told these wouldn’t be available until May when I enquired. Shame as they look really good!

I am no fan of 29ers generally but these look nice. I still wasn’t sure about the looks of the Proto but those graphics make it work.

What 29er tyres do you recommend for south coast mince-core urban uplifts Dom? 😉

Shandy: They are on the way and should be with us 3rd wk April if the boat has a tailwind.

Thanks leggyblonde, glad you like.

Tyres: Freedom Thickslick.

They are on the way and should be with us 3rd wk April if the boat has a tailwind.

Actualy true or just turn of phrase?

Thanks for clearing that up Dom. I was sorely tempted but I couldn’t wait. Is the carbon-rear frame in production as well?

He did say a few months ago the carbon ended version will be available late 2012 after they have tested various prototypes.

I really like the carbon forks, look nice compared to all the boring ones out at the minute, only ones that can compare are the niner they look great.

Shandy: Carbon stay version is at final p.type stage and will be called RR29, it looks like it will be a 2013 product. It will be shorter, lighter, lower.

robdowns: Thanks. Not my design [except for gfx] but made to my spec for crown height [490mm] and rake. 590g and rides really nicely. http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/products/forks/mtb/ix