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Trek 69'er

DRB

unemployed bum
Oct 24, 2002
15,242
0
Watchin' you. Writing it all down.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2005/news/08-29

Its pink (which is the new black) and has two different size wheels.



Brown says he really likes the handling characteristics of mountain bikes with 700C (aka 29in) wheels, as well as the superior ability of the bigger wheels to roll over obstacles. But he prefers 26in wheels for their light weight and quicker acceleration. To get the best of both worlds, then, here's the 69er, with a 26in rear wheel and a 29in up front.

The new machine also boasts some innovative sliding dropouts, avoiding the need for an eccentric bottom bracket to provide chain tension adjustment.

Brown says the 69er will likely be a 2007 model year item in the Trek range, with Maverick fork and a standard rear hub with special cog guard/spacers.
And yes you are welcome you freakin' wacko singlespeeders.
 

ridetoofast

scarred, broken and drunk
Mar 31, 2002
2,095
5
crashing at a trail near you...
there is just no way in hell i am riding a pink bike...it just aint gonna happen.

it does look interesting though, i wonder what the 2 different wheel sizes is supposed to accomplish.

my lbs is a trek dealer and they just went to some big trek thing up in wisc., i'll have to ask them wtf is up with that. (edit) didnt see the blurb under the pic

thanks for the pic :thumb:
 

Dirty

i said change it damn it....Janet...Slut!!
Aug 3, 2003
522
0
thru axle?
looks like QR to me...at least it is on the pink one...
 

peter6061

Turbo Monkey
Nov 19, 2001
1,575
0
Kenmore, WA
Well, that's an entirely different dropout system, but I assume if they weren't using it on there, it's not on the production model either. Oh well.
 

Dirty

i said change it damn it....Janet...Slut!!
Aug 3, 2003
522
0
youre right, i didnt notice it was a new system, but its still QR anyway...found some more pics
That rootbeer pic above must be a computer generated model, cause look at the HT/TT/DT junction, it isn't all fused like in the pic above...





 

peter6061

Turbo Monkey
Nov 19, 2001
1,575
0
Kenmore, WA
Yeah, no doubt. I was looking at the front chainring which didn't appear to be there under the chainwheel cover, and the chain which also vanishes as it goes behind.

Thanks for the 'real' pics. The bike looks sweet.
 

Dirty

i said change it damn it....Janet...Slut!!
Aug 3, 2003
522
0
so....would one have to carry a 26" and a 29" tube if riding this bike? or is it possible to stretch a 26" tube to fit a 29" wheel...i dont think itd work well to stuff a 29" tube in the 26" wheel...
 

DamienC

Turbo Monkey
Jun 6, 2002
1,165
0
DC
Dirty said:
so....would one have to carry a 26" and a 29" tube if riding this bike? or is it possible to stretch a 26" tube to fit a 29" wheel...i dont think itd work well to stuff a 29" tube in the 26" wheel...
Here's one situation where it makes sense to run a tubeless setup which would mitigate against that mild annoyance.
 

Mudpuppy

Monkey
Oct 20, 2001
448
0
Port Orchard/Not WSU
Dirty said:
so....would one have to carry a 26" and a 29" tube if riding this bike? or is it possible to stretch a 26" tube to fit a 29" wheel...i dont think itd work well to stuff a 29" tube in the 26" wheel...
You'd just carry a 26" tube and make it fit. I recently used a 20" tube in a 24" wheel because it was all I had left that held air. It was hard to get to stay in the tire while I was seating the bead but worked fine after that.:)
 

Guitar Ted

Monkey
Aug 21, 2006
305
0
Waterloo, IA
Trek has "niched" itself into a corner on this one. A small wheel/ big wheeled front bike has been done several times in the past and usually the results are the same. I won't get into that, but as you know, there weren't many examples readily at hand to point to before this.

Trek has a list of $1650.00 on this, if my co-worker is correct. ( She is the buyer at the shop I work at) That's some tall coin for a bike that you might not be sure about, and cannot be anything other than it is: a single speed with two different sized wheels.

Trek might have re-thought this and allowed for the installation of a separate drop out for gears and also provided room to make it a full on 29"er if you desired to. Then the sales of this bike would make more sense to me.

Oh well, we'll see how it goes, but I'm not holding my breath for an '08 version like this!
 

tozovr

Monkey
Jan 16, 2006
409
0
the 96ers/69ers keep showing up at the SS comps....guys keep riding them...

C'mon Specialized won't build a 29er, but Trek will build this? Kudos.
 

capt.crispy

Monkey
Apr 18, 2006
291
0
Farmington,New Mexico
Anyone ever check out Carver.They have been making 26/29 combo bike for a while now.Pretty cool.A mech at my lbs has one and swears by it.I think bikeman.com carries them.Check it out.
 

tozovr

Monkey
Jan 16, 2006
409
0
I'm actually hoping to build a 96 soon...insprired by the carver of course!

A surly 1x1 just may be my platform of choice.
 

Biscuit

Turbo Monkey
Feb 12, 2003
1,768
1
Pleasant Hill, CA
I think a 69'er type setup takes most of the negatives out of a regular 29'er while still keeping some of the benefits.

- bigger front wheel = bigger contact patch = more traction
- bigger front wheel = rolls over rough stuff easier
- small back wheel = no ultra-long chainstay issues
- small back wheel = stronger rear wheel
 

Quo Fan

don't make me kick your ass
At Pedrosfest a few weeks ago, I rode a Carver 96'er rigid SS, just because I could, and I really liked the way the 96'er accellerated and cornered. The 29" rigid front gave the feeling of maybe 2" of travel and with the larger contact patch and larger rolling diamater made rolling up and over things easier. I wasn't impressed with the tires, I think it was Exiwolfs, but it was also pouring down rain when I rode the bike.

All in all, I liked the 29 front and 26 rear. I'll have to ride a full 29'er to check out the difference, but for now, I am impressed with the 96'er.