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The Carver 96er
November 9th, 2005 by Tim GrahlBlue Collar just picked up a green Carver 96er frame.
96er means the front wheel is 29 inches and the rear wheel is 26 inches. The idea is to have the easy rolling over stuff part in the front and the faster acceleration in the rear.
From their site:
The Carver Bikes 96′er is built around a 29″ front wheel, a 26″ rear wheel and an eccentric bottom bracket. The first production bike of its kind to offer the rolling benefits of a 29″ front wheel with the strength, geometry, handling and acceleration of a 26″ rear wheel. The 96′er features a triple butted aluminum front triangle with taper guage seat and chain stays. The eccentric bottom bracket allows for the use of a geared or single-speed drivetrain. Suspension corrected for 80-100mm forks, the frames are also disc and linear-pull brake compatible. Frames are available in sizes Mini, XS, SM, MD, LG, XL, XXL and come with EBB as well as two drive-side dropouts (one with a derailleur hanger and one without). Full Suspension frames are coming soon!
I love the pics… the last one is great!
Tim, you might want to curb the imaginary riding pics. Just a suggestion!
I’ll be interested to get your opinion on that, once you get it built up. I’ll say right up front that I’m not a big believer in this concept.
Is that an integrated headset bike? Hope not, or a suspension fork might smack the downtube when turned sharply. Good luck, and I love that color, by the way!
Dude, your beard is getting out of control! You should cut the Carver logo into it.
Yeah I’m def interested in see how this thing rides. I’m a big fan of 29ers (plug TwentyNineInches.com) and I wonder how this will perform.
It is funny to hear your skeptism though as I’ve heard other people that are also “in the know” say they think it’s a great concept.
Either way you’ll get the straight from us.
And I actually haven’t trimmed the beard since Interbike! I have been thinking of carving a ‘BC’ in it though…
Dude that beard’s rockin’. I wonder if my boss would care if I grew one like that?
You gotta love the neck beard. Hair on your face, anyone can pull that off, but a neck beard that is truely awesome.
It’s a standard headset frame, not integrated.
Hope to see a report soon.
Are you letting the beard go until the next Interbike?
So, what’s the verdict on the 96er? Now that the Vicious is bent, I’m looking for a new ride and came across the 96er. Sounds like a cool concept, but I wonder about the whole Roll, Rip, Punch thing…especially the Rip part. How sturdy is the EBB design? Is there any play in it? If you’re not putting it together, why don’t you send that frame up to the Go Clipless boys and let us give it a thorough working over. We’ll send it back….if we don’t like it.
I have a Carver 96er, rigid w/Black Ops, and it’s set up as a SS. Only had 26″ FS bikes before, XC and AM versions. The Carver is rougher even with carbon bars and seatpost (duh-no suspension vs. 5″), but I’m finding I’m riding faster overall than before. Mine weighs under 22 # w/pedals. Everything but downhill blasts feels better on the 96er: acceleration, braking (rim vs. disc), cornering, climbing (well, the legs don’t feel better), hopping logs. I’m going to add a double chainring to give me easier hills and faster flats, and may someday try a Reba fork. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy the simplicity and connectedness of a 29″ front and a 26″ rear.