I think the engine makes sense if you do a track day.

Last great Honda IMO.

I would love one.

I would give up. They’re shite.

Off to bed soon(ish) for a 3am start and 230 mile drive before a days work in knee deep mud.

Sod that.

I might not go. I’m self employed.

One of these.

There’s no way a 29 can be made to feel like a 26, just like a 65 deg HA can’t be made to feel like a 70 deg HA.

What 29″ have you ridden that were made to feel (handle?) like 26″? Give a 29″ a 380mm BB height and it’ll start to handle a lot like a 26″ as long as wheelbase and angles are comparable. Say 2 degrees slacker HA on the 26″.

Of course the 29″ will still have lower rolling resistance but that’s another story.

Ha ha… Quality rant but in reality all of this is a bit of a non issue, eh?
Only seems to affect that certain type of rider who believes all of a sudden for some inexplicable reason we’d need discs fitted to our roadbikes or a completely new mountain bike to ride the latest discipline (#Enduro anyone?) on exactly the same hills their old pikey mate’s been happily riding a wee 8spd, 1&1/8 steerer, 25.4 bar, 100mm hardtail with bald tyres up and down for the last 20 years unphased

No what it means is somebody who just purchased a new bike has lost a big chunk of its resale value.

Yep it’s psychological.

Nah – I reckon (based on exactly the same information being available) that we was an illegal immigrant paedophile drug carrier with a dead body in the boot. His tyre treads were probably below the legal limit too.

Are they known for being hungover/drunk on NYD more than most then? 12% increase in DUI’s on NYD on this side of the pond.

Well done for not throwing your bike through his windscreen OP. That would have been me. Fact that he didn’t stop probably telling regarding being hungover/pissed.

A good check for whether what you’re saying makes sense it to take it to extremes. Stick a big handful of stem spacers on an uncut steerer, add a high rise stem and bar and try climbing anything even moderately steep. The front end will wander all over the place if you can keep it down at all – with the bars high you’ve just can’t weight the front properly. If you only ride downhill or on the flat you can compensate with body position but not going OTB on steep downs if far more about dropping your heels and keeping your weight low (not back) than it is about bar height.

My current 29″ has a 40mm higher bar position to BB ratio than my old 26″. The front wheel never lifts on climbs and I’ve been over the bars only once the entire season.

Sure there is the BB Drop factor going on but if anything that just proves how little bar height has an effect compared to other factors.

You’re going to sound like a ‘flat-earther’ if you honestly believe that body position on the bike doesnt affect the grip available…next time you go for a ride drop your saddle and ride around hanging off the back with your arse skimming the rear tyre, see how that works for you…good luck climbing and when things get fast and you come across some fun turns enjoy the feeling of having no weight over the front and (probably) crashing.

I’m not saying body position isn’t important. BB location and seat position is hugely important. Bar position? hardly at all.

Only thats not what has been said is it?….20mm lower bars can move your weight forward putting more weight on the front….is actually whats being said.

Got any data to back that up or is it just a ‘feeling’?

20mm lower bar height gives more front wheel grip.

First joke of 2015 for me.

Religion?

Triprongs have massive skills though.

Get something as light as possible for when you take it down the landfill in a year or so.

Go FS and lock the suspension out. Best of both worlds.

There’s such things as to much grip, when it either becomes a hindrance due to rolling resistance or weight.

Too much grip? Don’t you just go faster?

We’re talking 10mm off a 2.3″ 29″ diameter tyre so there will probably be an improvement in rolling resistance over a 650b 2.3.

Again, Nashers Enduro 29″ in this thread was only slightly heavier than standard. That’s the kind of bike people are saying are rapid.

Who says you need 2 ply on a trail/AM bike?

What if 650b+ with 28mm inner width rims and single ply 2.7″ have a lot more grip than 2.3 1.5 plys and 650b wheels?

I don’t know but I suspect that is the case.

As far as I can tell the only guy who’s ridden a 650b+ on a proper bike and not some rigid beard machine is Nasher.

The old argument that 2.7″ tyres are too heavy etc is forgetting that tyre technology has improved a little these days, plus we have tubeless, lighter wheels, wider rims, better suspension.

Some mnufacturers are already saying this is the future and 650b is gone on the upper end within two to three years.

Can you run an offset bush mount on the Camber’s integrated-y looking lower mounting

No but you could try the front but I think you would get seat tube contact issues.

The bike doesn’t need it though, the BB is so low.

Camber Evo review.

I doubt you’ll see B+ winning high level Enduros

From what I’ve been told lately it’ll be the exact opposite.

Nasher,

Can I get a shot of the chainstay clearance on that Enduro.

And maybe a profile shot of the bike too?

Yay! Factory farmed animals more intelligent than dogs from one of the worlds most unethical corporations.

Go humans!

Seen some good 29er full suss. but if you are trading off on full suss. against weight, you probably don’t want heavier wheels too.

The lower rolling resistance destroys the extra weight argument.

Does he need the travel of the Reign? I would look for a slightly newer Trance X4 if possible.

It’s just another aspect of the UK copying North America. We have rain fall warnings weekly here.

Yes. Hope to god its right!

Come in bolt upright with your legs locked, tilt your head inside, unclip outside foot and load the front brake at apex.

A highly accurate clinometer to screen on the KTM website measures the HA at 67.6.

If that was my dog those **** would be drinking through a straw and I’d be laughing all the way to prison.

I had a look at these at Interbike. They look nicely made but the geo of that one looks ridiculous. Is it?

Jcl i work in a very busy lbs workshop and have to say that I am constantly amazed that no one looks at how a spesh is put together and questions the quality of the build.
The bearings are a tiny spec non angular contact , soft hard ware that the customer has usually already stripped, whole bike has to be stripped to get to the main pivot , double blind bearings in the stays , conical washers to hold everything together I could go on.
Bronson : two Allen keys to service the very high quality angular contact bearings.
Just sayin.

Yep I hear you. Santa Cruz frames are nicely built, better than the Mondrakers etc that come out of that factory. Still not as good as Giant carbon construction though. Specialized (Merida’s) manufacturing is pretty average, look down the seat tube on my E29 and its a mess! However, the fundamentals, geo and suspension are better than most and that’s what matters to me.

That said, I helped out at the LBS with a seized bearing on a TB LTC last year. It was a nightmare to be honest. Bolt rounded, ended up having to cut. A slot through the bolt face and drill through the other side, trashing the upper link in the process. At least with sealed bearings and aluminium pivot bolts they can always be tapped out. The mechanics said it happens with the angular contacts from time to time.

I agree with Hora and the Honda response is a joke. The Subaru system is far superior.

Sounds like jcl can’t afford a bronson so he will just slag it off instead…

It’s actually one of the few bikes I can get a really good deal on but I choose to pay more for bikes without marketing suspension.

13mm lower BB and 20mm longer rear centre on the Camber but shorter front centre.

The rider is very centred between the axles on the Camber, more rear biased on the T-129. I prefer the former but you might not.

Perfect bike for obese beginners. Leverage rate is the opposite of what’s required by an air spring.

Buy a Trance/Reign or if you want to go fast with less effort buy a SJ Evo 29.

I think the top guys, even Absalon, have worked out that they’re faster on every course. If they’re riding them in that Nove Mesto round, which is hardly technical, I wouldn’t even consider a hardtail for beer league level racing.