Vital Stats
Country of Origin: U.S.A.
Price: $1395 (frame and seat post clamp)
Weight: 5.65lbs. (frame, medium)
Sizes available: M (tested), L (S and XL coming soon)
Contact: www.ewrbikes.com
During its first incarnation from 1991 to 1998, Eastern Woods Research cranked out nimble bikes that were a radical and lively departure from the NORBA-standard geometry bikes that ruled the day. Armed with shorter chainstays, taller bottom brackets and quicker angles, EWR bikes introduced the term "flickability" into the collective mountain bike vocabulary. Now, after a ten-year hiatus, EWR Bikes progenitor Jay de Jesus is back at the drawing board, translating his bike-handling philosophy into designs that mesh with an era where all-around hardtails sport four-inch travel forks. With the introduction of the EWR OWB29er, Jay brings his Original Woods Bike design to the realm of 29ers.
Sporting the trademark styling of the first-generation Original Woods Bike, the OWB29er cuts a visually stunning silhouette. The unique-looking front end is made from True Temper Supertherm heat-treated and double-butted tubing, and the rear end is made from Dedacciai A.B.T. double-butted stays. For frame production EWR handed the torch to Bilenky Cycle Works, who have been hand-building bikes in Philadelphia since 1983. I'm not a certified weld inspector, but Bilenky's handiwork looks spic and span to me. And the stock "hot lime" paint job is so sweet that I find myself reaching for the Pedro's Bike Lust after most every ride. The frame retails for $1395 (including Salsa Lip Lock seatpost clamp), and comes with a 5-year warranty. My test bike arrived built-up and ready to ride, but the folks at EWR Bikes tell me the medium frame weighs in at 5.65lbs. As I type, the OWB29er is available in medium and large sizes, with small and XL frames on the drawing board for planned spring 2009 availability.
The first-generation EWR designs involved steep head angles, which resulted in twitchy handling, at times. Jay recognized this quirk, and gave the OWB29er a relatively-slack 70.75° head tube angle. (This and the rest of the geometry measurements are designed around a 100mm suspension fork, and the quoted angles are "sagged" geometry numbers, with rider on the bike and the suspension properly sagged). Jay feels that this head tube angle, combined with a 46mm-offset 100mm-travel fork, produces an optimal balance of low- and high-speed handling with 29" wheels. With the 46mm offset RockShox Reba, the bike feels responsive, but not twitchy, at the handlebars. The OWB29er provides a sense of stability while ripping downhills, yet it responds with predictability whenever a high-speed course correction is required. The OWB29er also steers predictably through low-speed technical sections. The slack front end helps the bike resist the tendency for the front wheel to "tuck under" during sharp turns, a negative trait that I've experienced on 29ers with steeper front ends. I'd have say that EWR did a fine job of optimizing the front-end geometry.
With the provided 100mm-travel fork and Kenda Karma 29"×2.2" L3R Pro tires, I measured a wheelbase of 43.25" and a bottom bracket height of 12.25". The OWB29er's 17.43" chainstay length is on the shorter end of the spectrum, as far as 29ers go. The short rear end makes it a snap to get my weight over the rear axle, which really helps when I'm wheelie-dropping off a ledge and/or hopping over a log that sits taller than the bottom bracket. It's easy to un-weight the front-end and flick the front wheel through tight, technical singletrack. That's a technique that I personally find quite handy in certain situations. Another benefit of the OWB29er's short rear end is the ease with which I'm able to "ride the rear wheel," and float the front wheel though loose-packed turns. The bike's ability to claw up steep, slippery slopes has also impressed me on more that one occasion.
Jay continued with his original EWR compact front-end design because it provides generous standover and knee clearance for applying body English. That sort of thinking is evidence of Jay's BMX and trialsin background showing through. He also told me that the design lessens the angle at the down tube/head tube junction, which produces a stronger junction. This frame has an effective top tube length of 23.7". One ramification of the OWB29er's compact front-end is that the frame has one water bottle mount located under the down tube and the other atop the top tube. Some may consider that a legitimate nit to pick, but the top mount is working fine for me. I have not bothered with the lower mount position. Also note that the frame has guides for running full-length cable housing from the shifter to the rear derailleur (it does not have conventional cable stops for running split-housing routing). Having to run full-length housing to the rear derailleur could be a negative for some folks, but shifting has been spot-on, courtesy of the installed Jagwire derailleur cable, and SRAM X9 rear derailleur and trigger shifter.
The OWB29er "ride feel" is classic chromoly hardtail. By that I mean that the frame has just the right amount of springy compliance. I was not able to actually measure frame deflection, but I'd say that the frame flex feels on par with other chromoly hardtails that I've ridden. Those who prefer ultra-rigid frames may not share my love for the chromoly feel. To each his own. While I'm on the frame topic, my eyeball test says that the chain/seat stays have ample tire clearance. In seasonal muddy and snowy slop, I put that clearance to the test and my rear wheel kept on rolling, confirming that my eyeballs are indeed properly calibrated.
Compared to the other 29ers that I've ridden, the EWR has a decidedly sporty nature. The OWB29er's handling is well-mannered, yet there's a playful streak that's available when you choose to tap into it. When I'm feeling frisky, the bike seems to say "Bring it on." I envision the OWB29er making a fine racing hardtail, though I never had the chance to test that theory, as the bike came to me after racing season. However, I did enjoy my share of "fun rides" atop the OWB29er. Over the entire test period, there was one constant: the smile on my face at the end of each ride.
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