April 27, 2009
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By Zack Vestal

2009 Sea Otter Tech: The downtube and BB junction are oversized for stiffness on the new Stumpjumper 29er.

Photo: Zack Vestal

Rocky Mountain and Specialized both exhibited new hardtail and full-suspension 29ers during the April 16-19 Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Raceway, while Niner frosted its extensive big-wheel cake with an array of sweet-looking rigid carbon forks.

Specialized: Straight to the podium

Specialized hit the trail running with the carbon fiber Stumpjumper S-Works 29er hardtail and a fully suspended aluminum Epic, thanks in part to team rider Todd Wells, who gave the product launch a boost by winning the short track aboard the new hardtail.

2009 Sea Otter Tech: The new Specialized Stumpjumper 29er carbon hardtail, introduced at Sea Otter.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The Stumpjumper uses many technologies from the S-Works line, plus a few new ones. Like other S-Works bikes, the frame uses Specialized FACT carbon fiber construction; the proprietary S-Works bottom bracket and carbon crankset; an oversized down tube and bottom bracket junction for stiffness; and a tapered 1-1/8th-to-1.5-inch head tube.

Standard internals and lower legs from a RockShox Reba 29er are built into the suspension fork using a custom carbon crown and tapered steerer from Specialized. The fork is built for 90mm of travel and reportedly weighs 100 grams less than a standard Reba 29er. Roval wheels boast oversized hub axle ends for more contact with fork dropouts, intended to reduce front wheel deflection.

Helping to trim weight while improving ride quality are a new carbon bar, with a 25.4 mm clamp size, and less material in the seatstays. Projected bike weight is 20.5 pounds.

The new Stumpjumper carbon 29er will be available as complete bikes in four sizes and in a limited run of singlespeeds with horizontal dropouts, sold as a frame/fork only.

The aluminum Epic uses FSR frame design, FlowControl rear shock, and remote Brain reservoir. However, geometry is tweaked to accommodate the larger wheels and maintain agile handling. The rear suspension accommodates 90mm of wheel travel, and the 90mm tapered steerer fork is the same as that used on the hardtail Stumpjumper. Bottom bracket height remains unchanged from the 26er Epic.

2009 Sea Otter Tech: Also from Specialized, the new Epic 29er.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The new Epic 29er is available only in aluminum for now, in five sizes and three spec levels, with an in-store date planned for October.

Rocky Mountain: Happy trails

Rocky Mountain Bicycles also showed both full-suspension and hardtail 29ers — the Altitude 29 and the Vertex 29.

The full-suspension Altitude 29 is more of a trail bike, with 120mm of wheel travel and clearance for big (up to 29×2.3-inch) tires. Hydroformed and manipulated 7005 aluminum tubing is custom drawn for low weight with high stiffness and strength. The new tube shapes permitted some revisions to Rocky’s patented Energy Transfer System suspension design, which the company calls SmoothLink. Suspension was tuned to flatten the spring curve and give a more bottomless feel.

2009 Sea Otter Tech: The Rocky Mountain Altitude 29, a new full suspension 29er with 120mm of wheel travel.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The top tube and head tube are both mitered at the head tube junction, then welded to create a large boxed-in head tube with no extra material. A tapered steerer is used to both build front-end stiffness and add head tube weld area.

A unique feature of the Altitude 29er geometry is a 76-degree effective seat tube angle. Under correct suspension sag, it slackens to 74.5 degrees. The goal is more effective rider position over the cranks for both power and maneuverability. Use of a direct mount front derailleur permitted some flexibility in seat tube angle and shape near the bottom bracket junction.

The Vertex 29 hardtail is built to handle with a little more pep, but has features for the all-day rider. For extra stiffness, the seat tube flares dramatically at the bottom bracket, and Shimano BB92 press-fit bearings are used in a wide BB shell. To accommodate the flared seat tube, a Shimano direct mount front derailleur bolts directly to a mount on the frame.

2009 Sea Otter Tech: Also from Rocky Mountain, the 29 inch wheeled Vertex 29 hardtail.

Photo: Zack Vestal

Like the Altitude, a boxed and tapered head tube keeps the front end in line, and it’s sized for a Zero Stack headset to keep the front end low. In a nod to the epic mountain bike rides this bike might see, the frame is fitted for three water bottle cages as well as rear rack mounts.

Niner: Updated RIP 9 and new forks

As befits a 29er specialist, Niner Bikes displayed a range of bikes with 29-inch wheels — but a row of rigid carbon forks also adorned the booth, possibly to lure weight weenies.

The RIP 9 frame platform is updated for 2009. Shown at Interbike, the bike is now available. The bike gets 4.5 inches of travel on Niner’s CVA suspension design. Updates to the frame include a one-piece rocker link, larger pivot bearings, hydroformed and shaped tubing, and a tapered steerer tube. Also, the rear dropouts are modular to permit swapping from 5mm quick releases to 10mm or 12mm thru axles.

2009 Sea Otter Tech: Niner’s new rigid carbon fork in an array of colors.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The rigid carbon forks are not for everyone, but are unique in that they employ all-carbon construction from the dropouts up to the steerer. The dropouts have aluminum faces to prevent damage from quick releases, and the brake post mounts have an aluminum spine for strength and precise brake mounting, but the rest is carbon. The unicrown-style fork blades help distribute stresses along the entire length of the fork, eliminating stress risers and permitting the use of less material.