Thursday, October 01, 2009
I Feel a Little Numb
So I'm still all geeked about riding my "new" (actually 16 month old ) FS 29er. That is until I started looking at this years interbike reports, and even worse - I checked out the Specialized website.
Granted there are slight differences in the tubing, but basically the designs are the same. These are now marketed under the Stumpjumper FSR Expert 29 (left) and the EPIC Marathon 29 (right).
The "old" Stumpjumper design - with the vertical rear shock mounted near the BB - stays in place but is only available in the 26 inch version and is called FSRxc Pro
It seems Specialized has seen fit NOT to market 29ers as a separate line, but by integrating them into currently branded models. Just go to the Specialized website and try to find a 29er - it's a multiclick easter egg hunt.
Compare that to the slick marketing done by GaryF for his new (and hella sexy) FS29er :
Hmmm, the whole design looks familiar, ay?
Wonder who came up with it first ...
I'd say GaryFs approach to the whole 29er thing may be a bit more ... umm ...."specialized"... But I dunno, I'm just a consumer.
Irregardless, based on the 5-6 hours it's been ridden, I really love the bike I have. At around 28 lbs it's not gonna win any XC races (nor would any bike in my hands). But it IS an extremely comfortable and well behaved ride. Exactly what I was expecting.
A few years back I read an Interbike review of one of the first FS 29ers. I can't remember the make/model. The reviewer was commenting about the "trail feedback" (or lack thereof) that the FS29 platform offered, and he likened it to :
It seems that while I've been recovering and my sweet "new" bike has been collecting dust, the Stumperjumper 29 design has also become obsolete! Hah.
Specialized has seen fit to replace it with a new (?) FS29er design :
....
....
Granted there are slight differences in the tubing, but basically the designs are the same. These are now marketed under the Stumpjumper FSR Expert 29 (left) and the EPIC Marathon 29 (right).
The "old" Stumpjumper design - with the vertical rear shock mounted near the BB - stays in place but is only available in the 26 inch version and is called FSRxc Pro
It seems Specialized has seen fit NOT to market 29ers as a separate line, but by integrating them into currently branded models. Just go to the Specialized website and try to find a 29er - it's a multiclick easter egg hunt.
Compare that to the slick marketing done by GaryF for his new (and hella sexy) FS29er :
Hmmm, the whole design looks familiar, ay?
Wonder who came up with it first ...
I'd say GaryFs approach to the whole 29er thing may be a bit more ... umm ...."specialized"... But I dunno, I'm just a consumer.
Irregardless, based on the 5-6 hours it's been ridden, I really love the bike I have. At around 28 lbs it's not gonna win any XC races (nor would any bike in my hands). But it IS an extremely comfortable and well behaved ride. Exactly what I was expecting.
A few years back I read an Interbike review of one of the first FS 29ers. I can't remember the make/model. The reviewer was commenting about the "trail feedback" (or lack thereof) that the FS29 platform offered, and he likened it to :
"Having sex with 2 condoms on."
Well I haven't tried the 2 condom thing - But I'd imagine it would make it a whole lot easier to keep going all night.
Here's to gettin' a nice, long, smooth ............
RideOn
JB
