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EWR Bikes 29er Project

Kenn Bendajo

Chimp
Nov 12, 2007
22
0
Philadelphia, PA
As many of you heard, EWR Bikes is about to unveil specs on our 29" frame. Thanks to everyone who has been checking our site, we'll have the drawing up shortly.

Guys like sikocycles, greenchris, and mmcg asking about XL 29" frames so Jay, Don and I had a long conversation about it last night. So here's your chance to speak up and voice your opinion directly to us.

From Jay:
Greetings everyone. EWR Bikes is proud to announce that we are in the process of prototyping a 29er, based off of our popular and proven Original Woods Bike frame platform. We are currently working on a medium- and large-sized prototype mules, and we are courting response for an XXL sized frame.

We will have engineering drawings up on our website within a week or so, and a photo documentation of the prototype process as we develop them.

Please check out www.ewrbikes.com for more information in the coming days. We would love to get some feedback on this project from you all, especially regarding interest in XXL sized frames. Again, look for our drawings and updates within a week both on our website and here. Thanks for reading.

Jay de Jesus/EWR Bikes
www.ewrbikes.com
Email: jay@ewrbikes.com, info@ewrbikes.com
 

greenchris

Turbo Monkey
Jun 24, 2005
1,381
0
DA BEARS.
kenn-
if the xxl size has a toptube in the 25" range that is what I consider the xl. I'd def be interested. Both my bikes have a ett of 25.5 and a 21" seat tube. (steel gf ferrous and turner sultan).
 

Kenn Bendajo

Chimp
Nov 12, 2007
22
0
Philadelphia, PA
I am not sure where the XXL came from. But it kind of makes sense since our sizes are a bit longer than the norm and are meant to be run with shorter stems.

I wanted to call the sizes Big, Bigger, Really Big and Biggest for the 29's. I got out voted. Probably a wise choice....

MMcG - didn't forget about you. I am only 5'10" and barely have a 30" inseam, so I am with you. It was this reason it took so long to get the 29" out. We were going back and forth between 29" and 650b. 650b is not dead and is still on the design table though.
 

greenchris

Turbo Monkey
Jun 24, 2005
1,381
0
DA BEARS.
29ers are here to stay... especially with the new reba and all the supposed new rubber coming out soon...
I'm looking forward to the designs y'all have for the 'biggest' ewr 29er.
 

greenchris

Turbo Monkey
Jun 24, 2005
1,381
0
DA BEARS.
Personally, the wolfhound would be my dream bike but at least double the cost than the ewr/tw...
JNC- I know your not affiliated w/fred but anychance you know how long his wait time is?
 

amishmatt

Turbo Monkey
Sep 21, 2005
1,263
396
Lancaster, PA
Reading is FUN-damental :busted: :lighten:
OK, if I need to clarify, I will.

Eastern Woods Research, the original company, made trials bikes and 26" mtb's. These were designed to, in Jay's own words, ride like big bmx bikes.

EWR Bikes, the new company, is making 26" and now 29" mtbs. 29ers are even farther from a bmx bike than 26" bikes, and look like a significant departure from the philosophy of the original Eastern Woods Bikes.

No doubt it's cool to see a company respond to cusomer input, but I'm just personally disapointed to see the shift away from the original design philosophy.

I was excited to see the company back, now I'm not so sure. What's next, an EWR fixie?
 

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
OK, if I need to clarify, I will.

Eastern Woods Research, the original company, made trials bikes and 26" mtb's. These were designed to, in Jay's own words, ride like big bmx bikes.

EWR Bikes, the new company, is making 26" and now 29" mtbs. 29ers are even farther from a bmx bike than 26" bikes, and look like a significant departure from the philosophy of the original Eastern Woods Bikes.

No doubt it's cool to see a company respond to cusomer input, but I'm just personally disapointed to see the shift away from the original design philosophy.

I was excited to see the company back, now I'm not so sure. What's next, an EWR fixie?
I guess I don't understand your gripe? They've already made available and will continue to sell 26" wheeled Original Woods Bikes - what's wrong with them branching out a bit?

I think they are exploring all their options - and rightly so. Good on them for bringing back the OWB with refinements to take advantage of modern fork design and good on them for exploring all different types of wheel sizes and designs. :thumb:
 

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,155
355
Roanoke, VA
OK, if I need to clarify, I will.

Eastern Woods Research, the original company, made trials bikes and 26" mtb's. These were designed to, in Jay's own words, ride like big bmx bikes.

EWR Bikes, the new company, is making 26" and now 29" mtbs. 29ers are even farther from a bmx bike than 26" bikes, and look like a significant departure from the philosophy of the original Eastern Woods Bikes.

No doubt it's cool to see a company respond to cusomer input, but I'm just personally disapointed to see the shift away from the original design philosophy.

I was excited to see the company back, now I'm not so sure. What's next, an EWR fixie?
It's a sad but true fact that everyone who makes stock bikes today is an idiot if we don't do something with the new wheelsizes. Big wheels (IMO) stink for technical riding compared to smaller ones but;
the EWR space-frame design is the perfect solution to the downtube clearance and chainstay length issues that plague the big wheels. And, from what I've learned from talking to buyers at shops throughout PA, it's pretty damn hard to sell anything except 29er hardtails down there at the moment. People are using the big wheel bikes for technical trail riding, and yeah, the way they ride the bikes, by definition, isn't very BMXy, but lots of people are doing it. The 29er adherent's I talk to about riding "in" the bike rather than on top of it. It's not personally my bag, but then again, I sure like a hell of a lot of things other folks don't too...
When such a simple solution to that problem is right in front of their faces, do you really expect them not to respond?
 

jncarpenter

Monkey
Apr 1, 2002
662
0
lynchburg, VA
Big wheels (IMO) stink for technical riding compared to smaller ones...
Well THAT opinion is sure in a minority????? Have you even spent a significant amount of time on them?

I mean...I'm no "zealot"...I actually bought a cheap 29er just so I could say "I told you so" to the 29er masses & it converted me. I raced DH for years & ride lots of urban/ FR stuff. I live in central VA where we have a TON of technical trails & the 29er flat out owns the smaller wheels in everything except full on DH runs. Period.

I can't help but think you haven't invested the time (nor open mind) to "see the light" yet. :)
 

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,155
355
Roanoke, VA
Well THAT opinion is sure in a minority????? Have you even spent a significant amount of time on them?

I mean...I'm no "zealot"...I actually bought a cheap 29er just so I could say "I told you so" to the 29er masses & it converted me. I raced DH for years & ride lots of urban/ FR stuff. I live in central VA where we have a TON of technical trails & the 29er flat out owns the smaller wheels in everything except full on DH runs. Period.

I can't help but think you haven't invested the time (nor open mind) to "see the light" yet. :)
I think you may have missed my point entirely...

I don't argue that they work well (IE faster and/or more efficient) in some circumstances and for some people, but it is a legitimate and appropriate claim that you can't ride a bike with big wheels in the same way you can ride a bike with smaller wheels.. They just don't have the ride or fit qualities I am personally looking for, and at 5'10" and a 32" inseam I am on the small side for one to work for me effectively. I have spent time on multiple big wheeled bikes, and I'm pretty settled on the fact that I prefer the lighter weight of smaller wheels from a sheer responsiveness and accleraton/climbing standpoint. If you don't need the added traction benefits of the large contact patch, you are carrying more weight than you need climbing. The large wheels get more traction, and when I am either racing or XC or just riding XC for fun, I tend to do everything I can to be on the edge of traction, as it's more fun. I ride semislicks front and rear to save weight, reduce rolling resistance and decrease the amount of time I have traction... Because that's whats the most fun to me.

We have multiple 29er projects going on in the shop right now, of both the XC race and "trail" ilk that are in various states of being finished. If I were going to design a 29er out of steel for technical trail riding, it would no doubt look like a WoodsBike...

Some people like bikes that are smaller and more unstable. And that's ok:poster_oops: The previous posters assertion that somehow an EWR 29er isn't a legitimate product is what I am taking issue with. I'm sure you can agree with me on that, right?


 

jncarpenter

Monkey
Apr 1, 2002
662
0
lynchburg, VA
Well, I'm no giant at 6' w/ a 30" pants inseam. I'm also no lightweight @ 215lbs...but my 28lb Sultan just feels like it flat out rips to me. I've never really had a trail bike that weighed less than 28lbs because at my weight & riding style, I tend to prefer the stiffness/ durability a little extra "smart" weight offers. I sold my last Turner RFX because I just felt slow everytime I jumped on it after riding the sultan for a bit. Frankly....it didn't seem to really have any more capability than the bigger wheeled brother. Now DH, that's another story. I still prefer (at this point) the security of the stronger wheels.

FWIW....my SS weighs in at 22 lbs even (steel), has a 16.3" chainstay & absolutley kills the local tech :D

PS. Your stuff is looking very nice (reminds me of my Evil Sovereign)....I will likely have to try your "sauce" at some point ;)





OK...I bought another one...just becuz! ;)
 

jbogner

Monkey
May 8, 2006
315
0
Fort Collins, CO
EWR Bikes, the new company, is making 26" and now 29" mtbs. 29ers are even farther from a bmx bike than 26" bikes, and look like a significant departure from the philosophy of the original Eastern Woods Bikes.
Departure from? Aren't they still making 26'ers in the original design? I think you could say they're "expanding" their design parameters to address additional demands from potential customers, but you can't say they're leaving their past behind if they're still making 26ers in their original design.

Besides, who's to say they can't take the great traits of their 26er woods bikes and make great 29ers relevant to east coast riders? Is the philosophy "big bmx bikes" or "great woods bikes for east coast riding?" I'm fairly certain their philosophy at founding was driven in part by market demand, and not a revelation written on stone tablets delivered by a higher power. Why slavishly adhere to a narrow philosophy when you can have fun, grow the business and make more riders happy by expanding it a bit?
 

jncarpenter

Monkey
Apr 1, 2002
662
0
lynchburg, VA
Departure from? Aren't they still making 26'ers in the original design? I think you could say they're "expanding" their design parameters to address additional demands from potential customers, but you can't say they're leaving their past behind if they're still making 26ers in their original design.

Besides, who's to say they can't take the great traits of their 26er woods bikes and make great 29ers relevant to east coast riders? Is the philosophy "big bmx bikes" or "great woods bikes for east coast riding?" I'm fairly certain their philosophy at founding was driven in part by market demand, and not a revelation written on stone tablets delivered by a higher power. Why slavishly adhere to a narrow philosophy when you can have fun, grow the business and make more riders happy by expanding it a bit?
:lighten::clapping::rockout:

Now be careful....too much common sense may cause the intraweb to implode ;)
 

ByStickel

Chimp
Nov 8, 2007
38
0
WNC (via nj,ca,tx,in,&va)
I think I've written this before, somewhere, but...

Back in the day we had a different definition of technical riding. Suspension was non-existant to primitive, so speeds were slower. With speeds slower, there was less focus on downhill. Even rock gardens on flat ground (ever been to central PA or north Jersey?) can be extremely difficult, especially when rigid. People took more pride in riding through and up onto things. Those slower speeds meant that steep angles were desirable and managable. Now that the bikes are 'better', people are going faster, the bikes are less pleasant to pedal against gravity, and it seems to be all about the 'payoff' that comes while descending. High speeds require slacker head angles.

I think the EWR boys are being smart by updating the numbers on the frames. They'll still climb well with the short stays and they'll be a lot more fun while descending. And if you want a truly old-school woods bike, ask them if they'll do one, or check with other builders.

Here, enjoy this pic:

Hey JN, Are your stays 16.3 all the way forward?
 

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ottoreni

Chimp
Feb 24, 2008
9
0
THey posted an update on their site on 3/10.....something to the effect that they are working out the details on the frame. I really hope one of those details is chainstays in the 17" realm.

This is one of the frames, of three I am looking at, that is a serious contender for my next build. The deal breaker could be the chainstay length.
 

Drevil

Chimp
Apr 11, 2004
58
0
We are getting close. The OWB 29er Protos will be here in about 2 weeks for us to build up and test ride. We'll get you more information as it becomes available. But don't forget to check www.ewrbikes.com for updates as well.
Kenn,

Can you give the ETT length for the medium 29er? I'm looking seriously at one of 'em. Any chance y'all will be at 24 Hours of Big Bear (WV) this weekend? Cheers,

rickyd
 

Kenn Bendajo

Chimp
Nov 12, 2007
22
0
Philadelphia, PA
We put up a photo of one of the protos in the jig getting ready to be welded today. As usual, www.ewrbikes.com.

No big bear for us, sorry. This is the weekend the Pros on skinny tires come to Philly. It's a huge event for us in the Philadelphia cycling scene. Most of the roads in and around Manayunk are closed to traffic and we get to ride around on bikes all weekend long. Plus the open container rule is unofficially cancelled. If you are in the area, I'll be pedaling around an orange OWB with a baby trailer doubling as a rolling beer cooler. Stop me and say hello. This has all the makings of a great day!
 
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