I Could Take The Rest Of The Year Off Now, But...

There is always the "but", no? Well, yes, there always is that, and in my case, I am not stopping here. So what in the world is the title about?

My personal blogging "PR" for a year has now officially been smashed. Previous record for a year was 372 posts, (for those keeping track at home).

Well, now with that out of the way, here are some bits to chew on for your Sunday.....

Kingdom Bike Project Savant 140

Long Travel 29"ers: While some may scoff at the need for a really long travel 29"er, that doesn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm of others to make such products available. Here we see a rendering for a carbon fiber frame from "Kingdom Bikes Project" called the Savant.

(Note: They didn't call it an "Idiot Savant", which I find mre appealing, but that's just me.)

So, a carbon frame with carbon swing link that is convertible to a 120mm travel. The planned design has really slack angles too. Crazy slack in the 140mm mode for a 29"er at 67* head/69.5* seat angles.

Not sure how that'll work, but hey! Pre-order is available, so you can jump in and find out, presumably, next spring. With these numbers it seems that you could set the bike up with a 100mm travel and get reasonable angles and bottom bracket heights. Hmm......

Origin 8 Scout 29 V4

Origin 8 Scout 29 Updated: This is a spy shot of the Scout 29 from Origin 8 that is due for an update in the coming year. This will mark the fourth update of this model that I am aware of.

This time, Origin 8 is promising lighter steel tubing. That should make for a livelier ride quality, and obviously shed some grams.

The last generation or two of this bike was pretty porky, but handled really well with a 470mm axle to crown fork on tight single track. No word on any major changes to the design beyond the tubing change.

If that geometry stays intact, the Scout 29 with a lighter frame may just jump up the ladder as an excellent choice for a budget single track screamer.

Yes: That's really "that guys" grave site!

Ibis Ripley 29: You're looking at the only Ibis Ripley 29"er that is rideable in existence right now. It is being "real world" tested to sus out any flaws in the design, but I suspect this will be close to final production, in terms of the silhouette.

The Ripley is a much anticipated release, and with no surprise, since its 26"er sibling is a very desirable and much lauded bike. This Ripley has a lot to live up to.

The Ripley is using a similar idea to the Yeti SB 95 in that the short link pivots are so close together they were integrated into an eccentric. Whether or not this plays out to be a good idea, that has yet to be determined from a longevity/maintenance perspective. However; the indications are that it should be a really good design.

Chances are this will end up becoming Ibis' best selling bike in short order, judging from all the hoopla it generated at Eurobike when it was unveiled. Prices will be steep, but I don't think that will deter the bikes success in any way. Ibis' other high end offerings have a good track record of sales as well.

Okay, that's all for today. I'm going back to sip on my Christmas coffee and chill out for a while as I celebrate the season!