So,i'll admit...I was a little late to the draw on reading that absurd Pinkbike article Cam posted about yesterday.I just navigated myself through that thing and felt like I got stupider.So,do yourself a favor and read it,then read this because here's a point counter point from the outside looking in.
Bigger contact patch-Yep.9er's do have this,and it does help.Espically since you just started "biking" 2 months ago and already got on "sponsored" and are,"on a team".
Wheel strength-Fuck you,Chris.How long have you worked in shops?Oh? never...ok.I don't know how many times I see out of true 9er wheels come through my doors.The second those wagon wheels loose the slightest bit of tension they're a ticking time bomb.I've ridden half a day at my local mountain with 4 broken spokes on an old 823 to Hadley set up and guess what,the wheel was arrow straight and stayed that way.Oh,and thanks for using Gravy as a referance.I'm pretty confident that my wheel builds are on par with that washed up fuck.Ohhhhh,you built wheels for Lopes when he was an up and comer,you don't need to have a chip on your shoulder about it.
Chainstay length-MY DICK you can get 29'' stays the same length as modern 26''.Espically if we're talking DH bikes.Here,Chris i'll believe you when you put right in front of my face exactly this.A working 8'' travel 29er that under full compression doesn't hit the seat tube,has roughly a 17.25'' chainstay with room for a 30+mm wide rim,2.5'' DH casing tire with good tread,and healthy mud and rock clearance.Also keep the geometry in the ball park of modern day race frames.I'll buy your hefty claim then,sir.
Will 29's take over?-Chris claims yes,and goes as far as saying he has "downhillers going faster on 29ers".I bet you gave your Twian catalog WFO to Brook McDonald and had him take it for a run down Shladming,right?Nope.what you did was give it to a local hero,sent him out on a fireroad and then claimed he was hella faster on it.
He then goes to claim that people that are nay-sayers haven't spent time on a 29'er before.Well,it may not have been a great deal of time but I have.Both full suspension and hardtail.My verdict?They were shit.They did roll fast that's for sure but the second I wanted to have any sort of fun I couldn't.Lay it into a corner?Nope,fucker wanted to highside due to wheel flop.Pre-load off of rocks,small bumps,and roots?Nope,wheel just plowed over them.The bike just felt dead.Think '04 first gen. V10 with a 5th Element dead.It wasn't alive,poppy,springy...it just didn't reract as well to rider input.Which is truly why I believe that 29er's do so well.The undertrained,undertalanted,rookie.Imagine slacking off all the angles of your standard 4'' travel 26'' trail bike,adding huge wheels and tires so bumps become non exsistant and voila...you have a crutch that makes beginners believe they can pedal like Julien Absolon and handle downhill duties like they're fucking Greg Minnar.
It's a farce,a sugar pill,a band-aid.I'm sorry that your company is based around lies,Chris.But it's the truth.When you finally do release your 29'' DH bike that you picked from a catalog in the far east how about you and all the stoned hippys that answer the phones at your company actaully answer the phones,handle the warrantys correctly,ship the product out on time,and make sure the product i'm recieving is the correct one.Cause you're gonna need it,hoss,cause that things gonna fail.Miserably.
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