I am planning to add to my collection and trying to decide among a handful of contenders.  This helped narrow down my selection.  It is definitely worth reading if you’re a parts nerd, or just tend to obsessively research before making a purchase (like me).

Name aside this is one sweet looking ride……and to top it off it rides like a champ. I had a chance to ride a Trek Demo over a recent weekend in the mountains of WV. Took her out for a long gravel road climb, and a screaming double track descent that left my hands cramping. What’s differant with this one…it’s a 69′er or a 96′er….depending on the company puttin’ em out. Carver Bikes is the only other major builder producting this set-up…with a 29er front wheel and a rear 26″ wheel. The selling point..the rollover improvement with the big front wheel while still maintaining the cornering and acceleration of the smaller rear wheel. A relatively new concept, which Trek has jumped in feet first with and they have put together a nice package. To top things off, it is the only bike to feature the new Fox 100mm front fork, that’s it folks..not available on any other builds or on the open market…only on the Trek 69′er. This bike created quite a stir when Trek rider Chris Eatough took a prototype ride to several 24 HR wins and some NORBA Marathon top finishes as well.

What generated my interest was that I had started riding a 96er set-up on a Surly 1X1 singlespeed…as a experiment. Due to the rigid front fork…the 29er front wheel fit and had enough clearance to run the set-up, I rode this same bike to a 3rd place SS finish at a local 4 hour enduro and really liked the performance. At the time the drawback was a lack of options with no serious full suspension 96′er bikes on the market and Carver was the only option. With that in mind, I backburnered the idea…at least until I saw a pic of Eatough riding the prototype I was then able to score a Demo recently from the Trek store in Raleigh to try it out.

The bike performed well on the climb with both front and rear suspension locked out..and was solid on the descent with the Avid Juicy 5 hydra brakes…the rear suspension was smooth but was hard for me to compare to my usual rig….Specialized Epic Marathon with smart brain, the smart brain works great but is considered relatively harsh in comparison with regular rear shock set-ups. With that being said, I had been moving toward cushier rear suspension to relieve the back and prolong my riding time. This bike comes equipped with bontranger wheels, stem, post, bar and seat, LX cranks and SRAM shifting set-up…..which I did like but had a hard time getting used to the thumb only shifting system……If you read the recent Trailblazer AR post…alot of adventure racers are moving quickly into the 29er market….if you’re doing AR and still dabbling in Mountain Bike races this might be the best of both worlds for you……………

“LL BEAN”:http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=46107&shop_method=qs&feat=qs&catalog_id=PP

In addition to adventure racing, I keep one on my keychain and one attached to my cell phone!

– Sean

The burn time with the two CR123A batteries is just one hour, but I typically use it in “flash” mode. You can either turn the light so it is always on, or just use the button on the back. In Flash mode, I was able to use just one set of batteries all night the US National Rogaine Championship. But in a trek in the Florida Coast to Coast, I had to use the light more steadily, and did need to change batteries in a 4 hour period.

– Sean

It’s great to have two different intensity lights, and to be able to focus the halogen. The LEDs give great burn times (100 + hours with lithium batteries), while the halogen will give 6-10 hours or so. Much better than the < 3 hrs and < 12 hours I used to get with the incandescent bulb and alkalines!

There are two draw backs to this light. First, it is not really water proof, just water resistant, and my batter contacts have corroded a bit. Second, you have to wear it over your helmet when biking, while some petzl lights can fit under the helmet as they have a front mounted battery pack.

-- Sean

I’ve used both the 3-LED and 8-LED modules. The 3-LED module produces sufficient light for hiking and biking on easy fireroads, but you’ll need something else if the biking gets fast or slightly technical. The 8-LED module is very nice and has 3 different power levels. The highest LED setting can almost compete with a halogen bulb for area lighting. The halogen was only needed when trying to spot distant objects.

I’m not sure of the run time in LED mode, but in constant halogen mode I only get about 5 hours using lithium batteries. In normal race conditions, one set of lithiums will usually last the entire night.

Despite its shortcomings, this is still a good light for AR. I would probably consider the newer Myo 5 if was going to buy a new light, though.

– Charlie

Highly recommended.

They are light weight, dry fast, and are incredibly tough. After everything they’ve been through, I only have a few minor snags on them. They are a bit covered in paint now, though. The paint looks like dried blood, so I do get some interesting stares! I highly recommend these to anyone that needs protection from the sun, bugs, and bushwhacking.

Note: I have a small frame — 5’8″ and 140 lbs. I typically wear a size 29 waist / 30 inseam. I had to get the woman’s small for these to f it comfortably.