random thoughts on my new bike

I hadn't ridden a 26" wheeled bike in over two years, so naturally I was a bit curious as to how I would perceive the "little wheels" since Rotwild does not make a 29er frame. Now that I have three rides under my belt, I feel like I can give a pretty fair assessment.

1) Climbing: This bike weighs less than any of my HT 29ers (even my singlespeed). It climbs faster, I think. Granted, I do have 2.2 Conti Mountain Kings on the F and R and I was running a 2.4 F and 2.2 R Mountain King on the 29er.

2) Obstacles: I haven't ridden a ton of techy stuff yet, but I've purposefully taken "bad" lines on the trails I have ridden to see what the wheels will do. I'm not sure if I was just expecting to come to a halt at an obstacle because of the "little wheels" or what, but...oh HEY...the bike does just fine. I will say that the rollover is different, not really sure what the word is to describe it, but certainly a 29" wheel is smoother rolling over an obstacle. BUT, I (so far) have not had any harder or easier time getting through anything technical.

I guess the other side of this would be, this particular bike is WAY easier to manuever through obstacles and twisty/tech terrain. This is probably just because the bike is lighter, the wheels are smaller (and have less rotating weight), the 26er is just more flickable. I'm not sure that's a word but I've heard others use it. I can't wait to ride it in Florida! That is one place I always wished I had "little wheels".

3) Descending: I still cannot believe I'm riding a carbon hardtail. Seriously. The bike floats and the fork and frame just suck it up. The Magura Durin Race MD100R fork is the best fork I have ever owned. And, I've owned a Fox before. I'm really impressed.

My bike weighs about 20lb. now and that is with old XT brakes and a heavy crankset. The new Shimano drivetrains and Magura Marta SL brakes should drop even more weight from this fast little machine!

I will say, that if Rotwild ever makes a carbon HT 29er Singlespeed frame, I'm all over it!!!! :-)

I won't get any more rides on it until I get to Colorado on Monday. It needs to get packed and shipped tomorrow!