This one should be arriving any day now. Bilenky made a handful (Edit: only two of these frames exist) of these E-Motion 650B/29er ("B9er") frames for EWR after a customer requested a custom frame, but for whatever reason EWR decided not to do a full production run and never released them to the public. It's designed to run a 29" wheel in front and a 650b wheel in the back -- the 650B allows for shorter stays and provides greater acceleration over a 29" wheel.

Vive La Revolution!

When I was over New Hampshire way picking up a FAT from a FATCOGs Member, we had a long chat about 29ers and how popular they've become Stateside.. And I have to say.. I kinda liked the idea of them

Especially the idea of a Fully Rigid 29er.. But a 650 Rear Wheel? That is radical thinking.. So not a 96er? http://sheldonbrown.com/26.html

Anyways, thought I'd post rather than just click Watch this topic for replies

Matt,

The idea of running the 650b in the rear is to lessen the size difference between the 26" and 29" wheels on a typical 96er, while still taking advantage of the greater accelaration afforded by the slightly smaller rear wheel. 29ers have a very solid foothold here in the States, and the 650b bikes have a small following, too. Here's a good article from Bike Radar about the 29er revolution and even mentions the 650b wheel size: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/t ... ers-28684/.

The frame arrived yesterday, so I'll get some pics up soon!

The color is British Racing Green.

Just finished the build tonight. I'll get some better pics in the daylight.

Just beautiful - the nicest looking bike that I've seen in a long time.

+1

Love it! i don't like looking at it without compenents but built up it looks very awesome

Thanks for the great comments! Here are some better pics that I took today. I'll get a spec list up at some point, but it's pretty easy to see everything from the pictures.

That 29" wheel dwarfs the 26"

I'd be really interested in your impressions on the ride compared with a 26er.

The rear wheel is a 650b (27.5"), so it's not too far off from the front 29" wheel.

I took it for a short ride today and it handles great. It might've been in my head, but it really felt like I could roll over obstacles easier. It didn't take much effort to loft the front end, either. The biggest difference to me was that I felt like i was sitting higher off the ground. This is my first semi-29er bike, and my first bike with disc brakes and I gotta say I'm really loving it!

I meant compared with your other one; the 26" wheeled EWR



Sounds good, is there much weight penalty?

Right, I knew that.


I need to weigh it, but it doesn't feel too portly given its size.

Loving the side by side shot mfh

that bike really does look nice

It just gets even better and better looking now that it's out in its proper environment.
You can send a medium frame over here any time that you like - I have a good home waiting for it.


Anyway, you can tell how much I like it - it's rare for me to post on here any more............