[MMcG]

Love the Mary Bars - need to get say a 75 to 80mm stem for the bike and I'll be golden. First ride was with a 100mm stem and steering was a tad off. Second ride was with about a 65/70mm stem and the bike handled so much better. The Mary Bars are comfy and I can loft the front end of the bike just fine with them.

The EMD fits me better than the Surly it replaces - it is also lighter and more fun to ride.

Although designed for a 100mm fork - it rides great with my Reba SL set at 80mm

I need a new rear derailleur though - my old SRAM is shot methinks. So I've had some shifting issues - but nothing too major.

My new rear wheel is wobbly after two rides - kind of a bummer since it is new and hand built. Hopefully some spoke tensioning will get her back into true or I'll be pissed.

Anyone got a SRAM X7 or X9 rear deraileur they wanna unload??

Oh yeah and I also need to ditch my big ring in favor of a bashguard. However with that said - the bb height on the Niner is MUCH MUCH better than that of the Surly.

I think I'm gonna have a great deal of fun on this bike.

 

[McGRP01]

Nice Mark! Looks good! I'd like to try some Mary bars sometime.

 

[douglas]

cool ride!

 

[MMcG]

Tigg - you can try the bars at Ashford.

 

[Guitar Ted]

Nice! After you get the shifting issue and the wheel concerns taken care of you'll be off on your adventures.

There's always something to tweak right after a bike build. Don't fret too much about that!

 

[MMcG]

Yep.

mert is helping me out with a great price on an X.7 rear derailleur and an 80mm stem!

 

[tozovr]

Come ride with Dan and I on Sunday....so I can ride it!

But seriously, come ride!

 

[MMcG]

I think I'll be riding in Ashford, CT on Sunday - pre-ride for the 24 Hour Churn and Burn race the following weekend.

 

[DNA]

You really like the Mary bars?

They came stock on my On-One 456. While they seem like a good idea, they didn't offer any "grip security" on a sketchy descent or when jumping stuff. Maybe they are fine if you only ride XC on them, but the 456 is my all-round bike.

In Mary's defense, my wife really digs them on her commuter bike.

 

[MMcG]

Grip Security? Explain? They felt fine on steep descents and going off small drops that I do. I don't go big - I'm not good enough, so that's not a big issue. They put my hands in a comfortable position and I felt like I could steer the bike more effectively with them.

 

[DNA]

Grip security = I felt like my hands were going to slide off the bars.

It may not have been totally rational, but I didn't like the thought of it.

 

[MMcG]

Grip security = I felt like my hands were going to slide off the bars.

It may not have been totally rational, but I didn't like the thought of it.

like they were going to slide back and off the bars?

Did you mess around with tilt and angle and whatnot?

 

[DNA]

like they were going to slide back and off the bars?

Did you mess around with tilt and angle and whatnot?

Not the grips off the bars, but my hands off of the grips.

I never messed with the angle or anything, 'cause the bars were comfy. They just weren't the right thing for trying to jump things.

 

[Guitar Ted]

DNA: You may want to take a look at Ergon's newest grip. It's not at all like their first generation grips, so if you've seen those, you can forget about that! These are more of a traditional round shape, but ergonomic. The thing that might interest you is the "flange" at the outer edge which was designed to keep your hands on the grip and not "slide off" as you seem to be concerned about.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention those. You really need to see them to understand what I'm describing, because I think that they would be a great choice for Mary bars and the like.

 

[MMcG]

Pics of these Ergon grips??

 

[DNA]

It's no big deal ... the bars came stock on the bike ... I swapped them for the bars off my wife's bike ... she's happy with the Marys. It all worked out.

 

[MMcG]

Cool - How do you like that 456??

 

[Guitar Ted]

Try this PDF link
http://www.ergon-bike.com/download/ergon_katalog.pdf

Ergon is a German company, so please be aware that they have all the info in that language. The model is called the Joystik here in the States and should be available through any shop that can order through QBP.

 

[DNA]

Cool - How do you like that 456??

Now that I have some more miles on it, I can give a more complete review ...

- While listed as their freeride hardtail, it feels more like a burly XC bike. It is a great XC bike with an 80mm stem and the Rock Shox Revelation spun down to 100mm of travel.

- My biggest complaint was that it felt "dead" in sketchy situations ... DH and jumping stuff. I have limited skills to begin with the bike just wasn't helping. My first fix for that was to change the 80mm On-One stem to a 40mm Planet-X. That helped some but the biggest change was a 24" rear wheel (with a 2.5 tire). WOW! The little wheel slacked out the head angle just enough that the front end comes up naturally now. I don't know if I'd want to ride it XC now but it is way better for street, DH and DS.

-Overall, I am pretty happy with the bike. It really can DO it all, although it can't do it all WELL. I'll probably try to hold onto it for another year, unless the urge for a a real big bike gets too strong ... must fight urge to buy an Iron Horse ... must fight urge ...

 

[Drevil]

... The thing that might interest you is the "flange" at the outer edge which was designed to keep your hands on the grip and not "slide off" as you seem to be concerned about.

One of the things I really like about the traditional (non Lock-on) Oury grips. I depend on that outer flange to know where my hand is and to prevent slipping when things get hairy while riding with my Jones H-bars.

 

[MMcG]

Now that I have some more miles on it, I can give a more complete review ...

- While listed as their freeride hardtail, it feels more like a burly XC bike. It is a great XC bike with an 80mm stem and the Rock Shox Revelation spun down to 100mm of travel.

- My biggest complaint was that it felt "dead" in sketchy situations ... DH and jumping stuff. I have limited skills to begin with the bike just wasn't helping. My first fix for that was to change the 80mm On-One stem to a 40mm Planet-X. That helped some but the biggest change was a 24" rear wheel (with a 2.5 tire). WOW! The little wheel slacked out the head angle just enough that the front end comes up naturally now. I don't know if I'd want to ride it XC now but it is way better for street, DH and DS.

-Overall, I am pretty happy with the bike. It really can DO it all, although it can't do it all WELL. I'll probably try to hold onto it for another year, unless the urge for a a real big bike gets too strong ... must fight urge to buy an Iron Horse ... must fight urge ...

I don't think the 456 was ever labled a freeride hardtail. It has always been considered HT designed around the longer travel "all mountain" type forks these days.

So perhaps you bought it for purposes it really wasn't intended for. If you were looking for a bike for Street, DH and DS, you chose the wrong frame in my opinion.

Maybe a Planet X or On One Gimp frame woulda fit the bill better for jumping and whatnot.

 

[DNA]

Check it yo ...

http://www.on-one.co.uk/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=3&MMN_position=3:3

 

[MMcG]

I stand corrected. Well then, in my opinion OnOne is inaccurately labeling that frame. I consider it a long travel All Mountain frame.

 

[DNA]

I stand corrected. Well then, in my opinion OnOne is inaccurately labeling that frame. I consider it a long travel All Mountain frame.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about it. It's not a bad bike by any means. In fact, it's pretty, freakin' good. It just needed some tweakin' to make it truly freeride-friendly.

Edit: If you are thinking about getting one, shoot me an offer. Everything is always kinda, sorta for sale :biggrin: .