As many of you know, I’ve been riding a Redline d660 29er for about three years now and I love it. The frame is lightweight, the geometry fits me well, and the 1×9 drivetrain scratches me right where I itch. Redline recently updated both the d660 and the d680 and at Outdoor Demo I got a chance to give the d680 a shakedown.

At first glance the d680 doesn’t look anything like my d660. The updated frame features hydroformed aluminum tubing with a tapered head tube, which I’m told saves a bit of weight over the older models. The geometry is still exactly the same, though after my test ride I wasn’t so sure. Then again I’m running more of an all-mountain fork on my bike at the moment so perhaps that’s the difference.

Speaking of forks, the d680 is spec’d with a 100mm Fox FIT RLC fork with 15mm thru-axle which is a great upgrade in my opinion. The new bikes are also shipping with SRAM 2×10 X9/X0 components though sadly the 1×9 option isn’t offered anymore (I’m told because of the inability to find an OEM supplier offering a suitable chain retention device).

The d680 will be offered at around $2,900 MSRP while the d660, with the same frame but lower end components, will come in around $1,000 less. I can still recommend my d660 after riding it for 3 years now and the new frames look to be even lighter and sexier!

Some cool notes that don’t warrant a full post:

The most expensive hardtail I’ve ever seen. The Lapierre Prorace 900 retails for a cool $6,999 (at least it’s under 7 grand) and I imagine almost half that cost goes toward the SRAM XX components. See that guy standing behind the bike? I’m pretty sure he just threw up in his mouth a little when he saw the price tag

IMBA is stronger than ever. The annual IMBA breakfast this morning was standing room only and not just because of the free food and coffee. IMBA Ride Centers are in various stages of development all over the country and we got to see a preview of a documentary about mountain bike trail advocacy in Oregon (the name of which escapes me at the moment). Very exciting times for trail building.

Ok, so maybe I’m the only one who is interested in this but the Redline d660 got a pretty sweet new paint job for 2010. Don’t worry, the d660 still rocks the 1×9 drivetrain and 29er wheels.

Cool pics below, from first to last: element22 burning up the trail at Bootleg Canyon on a Yeti ASR 5, the Outdoor Demo DH shuttle, and the sweet snakeskin-like paint job on the carbon Ellsworth Enlightenment 29er.

Regular readers know I bought a new mountain bike earlier this year and while I’ve been sharing bits and pieces about my new ride it’s time I wrote a summary review. The Redline d660 is a sleek, race-ready mountain bike that proves 29ers (and Redline!) are here to stay.

You may be familiar with BMX bikes from Redline but the company has recently made a big commitment to 29ers and now offers them exclusively in their MTB line. I first rode the d660 at the Interbike Outdoor Demo last year and it was easily my favorite 29er hardtail. While 29ers from other brands have issues with toe rub and high bottom brackets (which raise the rider’s center of gravity and reduce stability), the d660 felt completely comfortable and natural. Having trained and raced on this bike I’d say the geometry strikes a nice balance between comfort and aggressiveness – it won’t leave you sore after 50 miles of riding but it’s also nicely responsive when you mash the pedals.

The Redline d660 comes with an attractive component mix from SRAM. The standard build is geared 1×9 with a Stylo 32T crankset which means there’s no front derailleur (mounts are included if you want to add one later). Ditching the front derailleur saves on weight and maintenance costs and so far I’ve only missed the extra gears on the steepest climbs. The d660 comes with a Rock Shox Reba SL that sports 100mm of travel which is more than enough bounce for aggressive XC riders, especially on 29-inch wheels. Brakes are dependable Avid BB-7s and the shifter/rear derailleur is SRAM X.9.

The stock wheels on the Redline d660 are built up using Redline sealed bearing hubs and WTB Laser disc trail rims with 32 stainless steel spokes. Now admittedly I’m a bit of a weight weenie and I was initially disappointed with how heavy the bigger wheels felt, especially coming from a 26er. But after a spoke-bending crash at mile 40 of a 62-mile race I found how just how durable these wheels really are. A few whacks to the pavement and my rear wheel was almost as true as new! I recently upgraded to Easton XC One wheels and while they’re much lighter than the stock wheels I have yet to test the limits of their durability…

While components are interesting to talk about, the thing that makes a bike a bike is its frame. The d660 is constructed from R6 double butted aluminum alloy tubing which makes this a super lightweight bike, regardless of the component mix. I recently took the bike in for some work at the local bike shop and the mechanic remarked that it was the lightest 29er he’d ever worked on – not a bad endorsement for sure. The paint and graphics are sharply understated and all the welds are crisp and professional. Components went on smoothly (I did some of the installation myself) and the frame includes a replaceable derailleur hanger to save your derailleur and your frame (I’ve already replaced mine once).

At this point you’re probably wondering how the d660 handles on the trail. XC riders like to talk about flow on the trail and honestly I’ve never ridden a bike that flows as well as the d660. On swoopy trails the bike hugs the contours almost like a full-suspension ride while remaining stable and responsive through moderate twists and turns. The big wheels roll over roots and rocks with ease and can soak up mid-size whoops and drops thanks to their bulk. The light weight of this bike adds to its responsiveness and makes it a joy to climb (seriously). Because of the over-sized wheels the d660 can be a bit awkward in really sharp turns; fortunately, Redline compensates with extra wide handlebars (I eventually ended up narrowing mine a bit).

Not surprisingly the d660 gets noticed wherever I go. At the barber shop it was “where’d you get that bike? how much did it cost?” At a stoplight in town a homeless-looking man on the street asked me if those were 29-inch wheels. Some of our old riding buddies in North Carolina had never seen a 29er (or a 1×9 set-up for that matter) and were quickly sold after I smoked them on the trails If you want a high performance bike that gets you noticed in town and on the trail, the d660 is the bike for you.

The Redline d660 is a solid choice for anyone making the switch to 29ers since it addresses many common problems associated with larger wheels (toe rub, weight, stability, etc.) while maximizing 29er advantages (low rolling resistance, smooth handling, etc.). Take a test ride at your local Redline dealer and you’ll see the difference!

Some of you may have heard by now that I finally got a new mountain bike after riding the same Trek 7000 hardtail for the past 10 years. The Trek is still operational and it’s a little bittersweet looking back on all the trails I’ve ridden on that bike (more than 150 from Utah to Vermont) but I’m super stoked about my new wheels: the 2009 Redline d660.

I got a chance to demo the Redline d660 at Interbike back in September and it was by far the best 29er I had ever ridden. I had been looking for a new bike for several months and I went back and forth on the idea of getting a dual suspension XC bike or another hard tail. I also had this crazy idea that I might want to go single speed to keep things super simple and low maintenance but in the end I realized a single speed is a bit too limited for my primary rig.

Anyway, it turns out the d660 is sorta the best of both worlds since it’s a 29er and rides like a cross between a hardtail 26er and a FS 26er (though obviously closer to the hardtail than the FS). Also the gearing on the d660 is 1×9 which is basically a single speed crank with a full 9-speed cassette. The front derailleur on my old bike actually stopped working about a year ago so I was already used to staying in a 9-gear range

I’ve only been riding the Redline for about a month now but I can already tell this is just the start of a long and beautiful relationship. Since the bike came only partially assembled I got the chance to install the derailleur and brakes myself and now I baby it every time I get back from a ride (I’ll let you know how long that lasts). Yesterday I had one of my best rides yet at Yellow River where the flow on the bike felt amazing and super responsive.

Yep, 2009er is the year of the nines – 9-speeds, 29-inch wheels, and 9-lives on the trail. I can’t wait for more!

At the Interbike Outdoor demo in Bootleg Canyon I got the chance to ride a couple 29er hardtail bikes on the trails and I wanted to share my impressions. The Outdoor demo was a great chance to get the feel for the bikes as they handle on the trail and riding them back-to-back is really the best way to compare and contrast.

If you’re considering a hardtail mountain bike, chances are that weight is a factor in your decision and along this dimension the Redline d660 has a slight edge. The Redline comes built up as a 1×9 meaning you’ll save a little extra weight by losing the front derailleur and shifter. If you’re not into the whole 1×9 torture scene you can always retrofit the bike with a front derailleur (mounting points are built in to the frame).

In terms of geometry the Redline seems to have an advantage here as well. The Rocky Mountain bike felt a little compressed front to back and I rubbed my toes on the front wheel a couple times before clipping in. This is an issue 29er designers have had to consider from the beginning as the larger wheels have a wider sweep across the down tube. The Hammer is Rocky Mountain’s first (and only) 29er mountain bike as far as I can tell and I imagine they’re still working out some of the kinks. Redline, by contrast, has almost completely devoted their efforts to making 29ers and today they only have a single 26er in the lineup.

In terms of components, the two bikes are matched pretty evenly and both performed very well on the dusty, twisty trails. The 1×9 configuration on the Redline made me a little nervous and I found myself maxing out the gear ratios on moderately steep sections. Although I kept the Hammer 29 in the middle ring the whole ride I felt assured that if I needed more gears they were at least available. For those who have ridden 29ers you know they can take a little more leg power than 26ers from a stop and having extra gears could certainly come in handy.

Finally, in terms of price these two bikes are about even. Both retail in the $1,300 range which seems like a great value to me, especially given the quality of the builds. If I had to choose one bike for myself I’d get the Redline d660 and would be comfortable riding it on all but the most technical trails (after a minor adjustment to the gearing).
One more note: At the outdoor demo it seemed like at least half the bikes being ridden were 29ers, so much so that regular mountain bikes started looking weird to me. Could this be a trend or was it simply a matter of people being curious about trying the bigger bikes? We’ll try to get more info once the floor show opens up later today.
Up next: dual-suspension XC bike comparison…