Merida 0.Nine, 95% finished, with Di2, AX wheelset ++

[Rich_W]

I'm super-impressed by the unique nature of this build... but scared at the same time.

Can the saddle/post setup take the pounding of hard Cross County riding... heavy roots, rocks, etc. The other concern is the battery placement. Will it stay put?

One thing for sure, its gotta be a monster for climbing...

[Powerful Pete]

Wow. Impressive. Wonder about reliability, but heck, this is WW.

What does it weigh?

[BmanX]

The only issue that I see would be the RD which I think normally takes a beating where I ride but if this is strictly a XC and Marathon bike it might work out nicely.

I really like the bars and think the Profile Stoker 26 would have been perfect for this build in the widest available size. I have a 42cm currently that I had the same set up for on a MTB single speed a while back and thought that it would have been better just a bit wider.

[LAN]

Thanks for the comments.

Regarding the seatpost/seat, I don't have much time on the post, but I have 5 different Ax seats, from the first model with metal around the rails, and all the saddles are still undamaged, and I have ridden everything from marathon to really technical xc courses with them. Including Transalp. (I remember alot of people laughed at the start of stage 1, regarding my saddle choice for this 8-stages races across the alps, but no problem with durability or comfort) Padded saddles only last a year at most before they have wore through the padding because of the bad weather in Norway, so the Ax saddles are the most durable saddles I have tried.

I love the setup on easy terrain, feels like a roadbike, but on technical terrain, a flatbar is better, but I still don't loose positions in races, so I will keep it for marathon races. For xc circuts, I have a flatbar setup in the works with custom Di2 shifters.

It will be expensive to destroy the RD, but if you check your derailleur hanger regulary, to see if it's bent, and replace it in time, you don't destroy your RD unless you really crash hard. (that can happen in roadraces aswell)

The weight as pictured in the newest pictures is 6270g, trying to get under 6kg, but not this year. But that is with real 2,2 tires with knobs. Stem/bar and cassette/chain will drop some weight in the future. Battery mods will also drop some weight.

[Dennis]

I agree that the look of these bars is weird, but I can understand that this position must be very comfortable. I have a timetrial bike and the handposition as on this bike feels very naturel. What width is this bar? I would choose the widest you could find, at least 46cm.

One of the coolest projects I have seen on this forum. I wish I had the balls, skills and money for a project like this.

[LAN]

the bar is 46cm

[deltasierra]

It's cool, but the point of it is lost on me entirely.

[LAN]

the point is really simple, to ride faster, and win races

[deltasierra]

What racing class is a rigid 26" with road pedals and cages that won't hold bottles on rough terrain, but with all mountain tires?

It's such a cool build, I'm only asking to pick your brain a little. I would have built a WW CX bike for this application.

[Kross King]

I like the look and concept but really i think this is a cyclo cross bike with silly bars and small wheels........I think that trying to ride over anything remotely rocky or very techy on this would be futile and unless your top 20 in the world you won't be able to control it massively on decents.
How ever if you only do flat races in holland with only mud and grass it will probably be ok.
But road pedals and those cages just wont work at all .

[jmilliron]

I think some of you are really over stating the challenge of riding a rigid mountain bike on rough terrain. I've raced a ti 29er with carbon fork over some extremely nasty terrain and it's not that bad with appropriate tire pressure.

The hand position would take some getting used to, but it's really not that different then the bar ends that some people swear by.

[KH1]

You know how you think your looking at something then it turns out to be something else altogether?
This thread is just like that for me. Completely unique build.

[jonolau]

Very interesting build, got more intriguing as I went through the posts.

Love it!

[Raxel]

Truly unique build. Wonder how much the wheelset weighs.
Are V-brakes really extinct?

[krzysiekmz]

Any updates on this?

How is Di2 holding up in MTB application?

Chris.