Hi chaps,

Was reading BR’s review of one of Focus’ new short travel full sus 29ers. The spec is just bizarre…

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain/full-suspension/product/review-focus-super-bud-29r-10-13-46962

Narrow flat bar, long stem, 100mm fork, long stays. Right then, its an xc race bike.

Nope. 142×12 axle, slack HA, dropper post, tapered steerer. Right… So…. Trail bike?

Anyone knows a 29er is commonly regarded as best with a short stem and wide bar, to quicken up and stablize the front end.

How can manufacturers get things so wrong?

Sorry, you just aren’t “Pro” enough.

FOCUS works with former and current professional cyclists to directly involve them in the development of our bicycles. That’s what we mean by »By Pros for Pros«. The best athletes know how to use technology to their advantage, and that notion is built into the DNA of FOCUS.

That is just bizzare?, borderline ridiculous, and a smidge under 3k.
Compare this offering with Canyons stunning range of 29rs.

RagTi – Member
That is just bizzare?, borderline ridiculous, and a smidge under 3k.
Compare this offering with Canyons stunning range of 29rs.

My Canyon 29er XC bike had a tapered head tube, 142 rear, 15mm front, 100m fork and 690 mm bars. So pretty similar. P

Anyone knows a 29er is commonly regarded as best with a short stem and wide bar, to quicken up and stablize the front endall bikes are different and what works on one may not work on others, and knows better than to make sweeping genralisations.

FIFY

142 Back end, probably the next standard.

Narrow flat bar, long stem, 100mm fork, long stays. Right then, its an xc race bike.

Nope. 142×12 axle, slack HA, dropper post, tapered steerer. Right… So…. Trail bike?

Maybe it’s a short travel trail bike and they ran out of wider bars. Dropper posts will increase the perceived value of the bike, everyone I hear about only buys bikes if the head angle is right an tapered steerer is becoming the norm, heaps of short travel Fox forks on taper going cheap cheap.

However in most cases the bike is specced by accountants.

Narrow flat bar, long stem, 100mm fork, long stays

This is how all mainland european bikes are

142 rear isn’t exclusively trailbikey- it’s fairly weight neutral (wheel should be lighter, axle is a little heavier, frame might be able to be lighter if it’s designed for it). No more than tapered steerer is.

Kronolog, LOLZ.

Anyone knows a 29er is commonly regarded as best with a short stem and wide bar, to quicken up and stablize the front end.

Mine handles loads better with its 700mm bars and 120mm stem.

Not every bikes suits 800mm wide gold spank bars and a 50mm renthal stem like MBUK recommend.

Specialized’s Epic has a spec thats very similar. I’d be surprised if many 100mm 29ers aren’t.

Just because it has a dropper doesn’t mean its a trail bike, its there to sell bikes.

Germans like narrow bars and long stems, good for pedaling up long fireroads.

FWIW Droppers can be good on anything bar full on race bikes. I usually fit my gravity dropper to my rigid xc bike when I use it, riding without suspension is fun but riding without the dropper feels crap now.

They have a place on XC race bikes, just depends if you want to take the weight penalty or not.

Focus

All you need to know.

njee20 – Member

They have a place on XC race bikes, just depends if you want to take the weight penalty or not.

True dat… Still haven’t seen anyone using them at the top end mind. I use one but then I’m a crap XC racer 😉

670mm bars are NOT narrow!

TheDoctor – Member
670mm bars are NOT narrow!

They are now. Anything under 700mm is narrow to me, and lots of other people now.

Nope. 142×12 axle, slack HA, dropper post, tapered steerer. Right… So…. Trail bike?

Well – dropper post – is it harder to get over the back on that bike? Slack HA – does something else about the geometry make it easier to tip you over the front? I’ve had both problems on short travel XC hardtails.