Haro Mary to Niner One9 swap...

[BiknBen]

Some of you have noticed that I got a new bike recently. Thanks to all the props. I'm quite stoked about it too.

Between PMs and threads, I'm getting more questions than I can keep up with. I figured I'd make a new thread and let you guys fire away.

Here's some of my background info for the record. I bought a Mary in the Fall of '06 after I purged all my bike belongings. Among the outgoing stuff was a GT i-drive that I had raced on in the past but was collecting dust. The purge was intended to finance a new Road bike purchase (I know, Sacrilege!!!). The thought of not having a MTB did not sit well. I had money left over and wanted Something. I got the Mary because it was cheap and trailworthy. I had no passion for riding 29er, rigid, or SS. I wanted cheap.

Fast forward a year or so and I'm back on the start line at Blue Mtn for the Chain-Stretcher. The MTB race bug had bitten and the Mary was not up to the task. Two more races confirmed it. Too sluggish and heavy. Very trail-worthy but not race-worthy, IMO.

I decided to swap what I could while getting the most bang for the buck. I'd use whatever I needed from the Mary. I ended up with a Niner One9 frame and a Pace RC29 fork. I decided to splurge and grabbed some Mavic 29er wheels.

I'll post more comments shortly as I try to avoid loosing my job.
Since thread is useless without photos:

 

[BiknBen]

Ben, are you noticing any flex in the fork?

After building the bike. I stood over it, grabbed the front brake, and rocked it forward and back. I was actually checking the HS tightness. I noticed the fork legs flexing and laughed out loud. You can see the deflection of the legs between the crown and the dropout.

While riding, I notice no flex in steering input. I also can't attribute the carbon legs to any dampening. IMO, it's just lighter. The Niner has a steep head tube angle. That is making the handling very responsive. Some may say twitchy but I want point and shoot handling.