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29ERS - LEGALIZATION IN GERMAN RACES MEANS BIG CHANGES!
Due in part to the efforts of Konstantin Henshen, Niner's distributor in Germany, the efforts to legalize 29er bikes for German National League bike races was successful this year. Similar to Gary Fisher's petition he addressed the topic at the "Bund Deutscher Radfahrer" (like the USA NORBA) and received the confirmation that the restrictions for 29er will be lifted.
The ramifications of this decision have affected racing all over Europe - athletes who need to compete in German races as well as in other countries perviously had no choice but to dedicate their racing stable to 26" wheels, but now they are free to have a 29er as their only race bike. We are glad that 29er bikes can be used in every mountain bike race in Europe, and that there is no
reason to ride slow any more! :)
In celebration, we would like to share the stories of 3 athletes racing Niners in Europe:
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all photos above, www.sportograf.de
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LORENZA MENAPACE - OUR GALADRIEL IN ITALY
Like the legendary Mithril armor in Lord of the Rings, Lorenza is strong and light. Few people know that her first 24 hour solo race was an accident - her team had too many people, so it was suggested that as the strongest of the bunch, she race the entire event solo - wildly, she accepted and ended up with 3rd place. Now fully dedicated to endurance racing, she fits training around a full-time job in finance, a challenge she happily accepts.
We at Niner are stoked to have Lorenza representing our company - from her ready smile to her crushing fitness, she is the connsumate professional and competitor. Her weapon of choice is the Niner Air 9, whose Scandium tubeset provides both the comfort and the power transfer Lorenza needs for her lengthy races.
Recently, Lorenza completed a new Air 9 build and sent us a spyshot - check out the beautiful Italian flag wheels!
LORENZA'S 2010 RESULTS (so far):
1st place at the 3h marathon in the snow during the night
1st place at the 24h of Cremona, 4th place overall solo rider
1st place at the winter triathlon in Villa Bassa, solo rider
1st place at the winter triathlon in Malls
2nd place at the Rally of Romania (4 days 12000 meters 400 km)
1st place at the Ozolbike (maraton 40 km 1200 meters)
5th place at the 24h of Finale (with a crash!) solo rider
1st place at the Naturaid Trentino 400km 15000 meters... an international MTB
competition of , in a unique one stage race, with no help from outside
(self-supporting) and with a cut-off time of maximum 60h.
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IVONNE KRAFT - CHANGING THE RULES
Our second featured athlete is Ivonne Kraft of Germany. We beileve that not only is Ivonne the first woman to race 29ers in Germany, but that she is the first German athlete to adopt the 29" wheel size after the legalization of the standard for German racing events.
Above you see Ivonne's bike from the Cape Epic - she raced on Niner's E.M.D. 9 frame and had a 2nd place finish overall! The E.M.D. 9 has all the same geometry features of our scandium hardtails, but at a more affordable price. We love that Ivonne has proven its racing pedigree. Great work, Ivonne!
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SKYLER TRUJILLO - AMERICAN RACING DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE
Finally, we want to mention the exploits of our youngest Niner-Ergon team member.
The up-and-coming team rider spent a little time in Europe racing and experiencing life on the
road. His jet-set lifestyle seemed
to consist of long flights, lots of riding, mud, gummy bears, ancient
cathedrals and more riding - in other words, a great time! His short but
exciting exploits can be found at his blog. Check back to see what he is up to, leave some comments and watch his race career grow. Most recently, Skyler won the National Championship for 17-18 Juniors, which qualifies him for the USA's world championship team! We are proud to be Skyler's first bike sponsor, and to have him out there on our Air 9 and Air 9 Carbon frames.
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We have updated the event schedule on our Niner Facebook page. Check it out for complete details, find an event near you or better yet, find a demo in a place you have always wanted to vacation! Ride great trails and try out a Niner!
7/10/2010 Rock N Road Cyclery, Laguna Niguel CA 8-4:00 949.360.8045
7/11/2010 The
Hub Express, 9:30am
to 5:30PM 916.771.4821
7/14/2010 Just the Right Gear, Carvin's Cove, Richmond VA, 540-384-7800, 4:00 to 7:00 7/15/2010 Dark Horse Cycles, Montgomery NY, 4:00 - 6:30
7/16/2010 MTB Oregon, Oakridge
OR
7/17-7/18 Vermont Mountain Bike Festival
7/20/2010 Providence Bicycle, Providence RI, 4:00 - 6:00
7/21/2010 Halter's Bicycles, Six Mile Run, Monmouth Junction NJ, 4:00 - 6:30
Also, don't forget that our dealer and demo locator
has been updated for all countries! Find your
closest Niner dealer
and check to see if they are a demo shop. If they are, check their list of in-stock demo bikes by clicking on the pin.
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A few years ago, you didn't have many choices when looking at 29er hardtails, unlike now, when there are a lot of options on the market. With the wider selection comes the challenge of differentiating between companies.
One of the biggest benefits to our commitment to 29ers only is that we have had the opportunity to develop and tweak our approach to geometry with model we develop and with our Niner steel and carbon forks. This has lead the the development of the signature Niner ride-quality.
We like to think of our geometry as a fine baked good. A
cake is a great example. Finding the exact right recipe and properly blending all of the best ingredients is imperative if you are going to have a great dessert. Niner geometry is no different. Long before the first
Niner rolled into shops, we had already completed a lot of development, riding and testing prototype after prototype.
Our geometries are determined by what we have tested and found to be the best, not by perceived trends in the market. Niner's approach addresses the combination of top-tube length, chain stay length and head angle all together, leading to a solution that is right rather than one that just seems right based on popular perception.
Additionally, we like to hold ourselves to higher standards when it comes to the basics - a good example is that we do not tolerate toe overlap, not even on the small sizes. Chris, our
co-founder rides a Niner size small frame. Neither he nor any Niner
rider wants poor cornering and switchback performance
in order to get a bike that fits.
The Niner Bikes Recipe for a great frame:
1. Considered head tube angles that harness the awesome stability
inherent in the big wheels yet still keep the handling light and quick.
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2. Head tube length specific to frame size that helps you
position your body for comfort and handling.
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3. Top tube positioning that finds the correct angle to
maximize standover and the perfect length for "in the bike" body positioning
and comfort.
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4. Seat tube angles that help position you over the cranks for
the most efficient pedaling.
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5. Bottom bracket drop that keeps your center of gravity low
to enhance cornering.
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6. Chainstay lengths that help keep the frame compact and
maneuverable for ease of handling and control in technical terrain.
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7. Careful consideration of tubing diameters and butting profiles.
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8. Thoughtful selection of specific materials per application.
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9. Manufacturing techniques that take advantage of each material's inherent attributes, to make the best riding bike possible.
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The Niner Signature Ride
When mixing these geometry ingredients, you get
one hell of a delicious off-road cake that will satisfy for miles. It kind of
makes you hungry just thinking about it.
Try Niner's geometry for yourself at any of our demo shops or at a traveling demo event. If you are new to 29ers, we suggest trying both a hardtail and a full suspension bike, so that you can experience all the subtleties of our geometry.
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We at Niner feel strongly about trailwork and we support it with our money and our time. As summer progresses, we hope that you stop to think about your favorite grade-reversal booter or wooden trail feature and the hours of work that someone put into it. Folks in the USA, Canada and now Europe, can join IMBA, (basic membership is only $30), use IMBA's resources to find your local trail project and get involved!
Five reasons you should be working on your local trails, ASAP:
1. No trails, no mountain biking. Seems simple enough.
2. Trails need maintenance every season. Keeping a trail rideable takes a lot of volunteer hours.
3. People who work on trails influence trail design. Build features you love with your local trail group!
4. Big trail crews impress city officials and garner support for more trails.
5. Have a sense of accomplishment every time you and your friends ride something you built!
4.
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We have a great crew of people who work to bring Niner Bikes to the world, and as a part of expanding the Niner community, we thought we would start making some introductions:
Introducing George Parry.
Our Engineering and Production Manager is responsible for all the little details that go into our frames. His years of experience in the bike industry will help us to make your bike great.
George takes full advantage of the Niner demo fleet, depending upon where he is riding. Currently his favorite rides are the Air 9 Carbon and the R.I.P. 9, both of which he loves to ride at Horsetooth Mountain Park.
His fave trails include: Wathen, Mill Creek and Loggers. He doesn't have an iPod, in fact, he swears he still has a cassette Walkman! Maybe flipping the tape over gives everyone else a chance to catch up on the trail...
When we asked him what the coolest thing was that he has ever done on a bike, he said "In 2008 I spent two weeks
in Lavigno Italy riding endless miles of beautiful single track. I'd love to go
back to Italy/Switzerland and spend a few weeks touring on a mountain bike, with
my Niner credit card." Good luck on that George!
George's best tech tip: When seating
tires on Stans rims, don't inflate tires above 80 psi... they will explode.
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>> REVOLUTION SPORTS, DISTRIBUTOR FOR GERMANY, SWITZERLAND
Revolution Sports was founded in 2007 by Konstantin Henschen (above center). Konstantin is a great part of the Niner family, with a lot of great business savvy and a passion for 29ers! His early career includes time at Daimler and Fat City Cycles, his racing achievements include winning the Berlin Brandenburg Cup in 2000, mountain bike expert class and Berlin state championships in 2007 and 2008 in the masters class. Konstantin helped to get 29ers legalized in Germany for racing and is a great advocate for the big wheel.
The Revolution Sports story:
Our mission: Provide bike shops with revolutionary products that improve every rider's bike experience. The smile on our customer's faces is our goal. We mean our dealers and the end consumers of course.
Success: Within the last six months we have received five top reviews by Bike Magazine Germany. Niner Bikes have received two "very good" ratings for the Air 9 and Air 9 Carbon as well as 9 out of 10 points for the RIP 9 in a long term test. The other German publications that have tested NINER bikes are convinced of the benefits and support the idea as well - we expect to see results from these tests over the coming season.
Revolution participates in many events and demos:
At Lake Garda, Italy, or Willingen, Germany, more than 15,000 bike enthusiasts celebrate three days of mountain bike racing and other group events. The marathon race usually has 2,500 competitors who ride the scenic courses in Italy and Central Germany. Revolution Sports uses the opportunity to offer NINER demo rides to support the 29er movement in Europe and Germany especially. In Italy, Lake Garda, Raceware, the Italian distributor has joined us and brought more test bikes for every one.
Our top athlete is Ivonne Kraft. She had won the Cape Epic stage race two years ago and rode on her EMD 9 to the second place finish this year. We sponsor athletes of different levels. They receive premium equipment for special conditions and really appreciate the opportunities we give them.
In exchange they represent Revolution Sports and win all kinds of races while doing this. We have several national champions, state champions, cross-country and marathon champions in our rows. They are between the age of seven and 75 and every one enjoys our revolutionary products.
Get more Revolution Sports info here.
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>> RACEWARE, DISTRIBUTOR FOR ITALY
When we think of Italy, our thoughts wander to the beautiful trails near Ravenna, and to our great friends, Mauro Bertolotto and Raceware, our distributors in this beautiful area.
Mauro has been a 29er advocate from the very start. It was on his request that the Niner Ergon team first traveled to the 24 Hours of Finale - it was Mauro's hope that our racers could show what the 29er wheels could do in a local event. The first year Niner Ergon took 2nd, and the second year, the Niner Ergon team won, due in large part to his support! Locally, Mauro has many great racers, including Lorenza Menapace, whom we profile above.
Raceware appears at many events in Italy, including the Gardasee festival described above, bringing the 29er word to new riders all year-round. They bring a full complement of Niner bikes for test riding.
You can contact Raceware and locate one of Raceware's great dealers here.
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Looking for
a little something new in your ride? Change things up. Pick up a supple high
quality Niner steel fork now for 15% off retail when you enter the code "simplify" at checkout. Then when things feel a little
stagnant you can swap out your suspension fork and feel the trail again for the
first time. It will help your riding to break out of that routine by giving you a new perspective on your favorite trails.
Coupon code is good for 15% off retail in the Niner store, for a limited time, while supplies last.
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Niner Bikes will always be dedicated to building hardcore 29 inch mountain bikes. We thank our loyal customers and dealers that make this passion a reality.
Chris & Steve
Niner Bikes
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