Ever since the release of the Surly Krampus Luke has been drooling over 29+ bikes. His first Krampus tipped the scales at close to 26lbs but more importantly then that it carried the shop team to a 4th place finish at the Spokane 24 hour "Round the Clock" race, and provided one of the most enjoyable rides that any of us had ever experienced. Between the massive roll over and un-dampened "suspension" of the 29+ tires the bike provided a lively and almost goofy ride quality that quickly put a smile on your face.
Since then it has been a waiting game to see who could offer a system that would be able to improve upon the greatest bike that no one asked for. When RockShox released the RS1 it was game on, the inverted 29er fork offered the closest thing that could possibly work on a 29+ wheel, and knowing that RockShox had modified one to fit on a 29+ Borealis, there was no reason to think it couldn't be done in house with a little bit of ingenuity.
The issue at hand that needed dealing with is that at full compression that fork crown over laps the tire by 1/4" , just enough to send someone fully OTB and into a world of hurt. The solution that was come up with was to use a bottom out bumper out of a Pike damper and bore it out to fit that of a RS1, reducing the travel by "just enough" (Thats a scientific measurement by the way) to allow the fork to clear over the tire and eliminate the overlap.
Coming in at a whopping 27.4 lbs with pedals this could be one of the coolest bikes to ever leave the store.
Since then it has been a waiting game to see who could offer a system that would be able to improve upon the greatest bike that no one asked for. When RockShox released the RS1 it was game on, the inverted 29er fork offered the closest thing that could possibly work on a 29+ wheel, and knowing that RockShox had modified one to fit on a 29+ Borealis, there was no reason to think it couldn't be done in house with a little bit of ingenuity.
The issue at hand that needed dealing with is that at full compression that fork crown over laps the tire by 1/4" , just enough to send someone fully OTB and into a world of hurt. The solution that was come up with was to use a bottom out bumper out of a Pike damper and bore it out to fit that of a RS1, reducing the travel by "just enough" (Thats a scientific measurement by the way) to allow the fork to clear over the tire and eliminate the overlap.
Coming in at a whopping 27.4 lbs with pedals this could be one of the coolest bikes to ever leave the store.
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