I didn’t envy Hannah Barnes doing the Transvesubienne on 29lbs of Gyro.
Did hers really weight that? Mine’s 29lb (real and verified) with a Hans Dampf/Nobby Nic combo and a dropper (1×10 admittedly). Racier wheels and tyres and it’s 27lb…
I did the Wales Coast to Coast non-stop on 28.5lb of Superfly and the bike weight was the last thing on my mind…
Regarding a shorter travel 26er Orange – as mentioned, the ST4 was exactly that. It was brilliant and much like the Commencal Meta 4. Problem is, it was barely any lighter and most people didn’t get it.
It seem to have worked in 29″ guise as there’s a decent weight diff and enough of a geo difference between the Five29 and the Gyro (Five29 is a good 2-3lb heavier)
Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Gyro go the way of the ST4 as everyone buys Five29s regardless of whether they’d have more fun on a Gyro…