New IP-N019 fatty

[cmh]

Surprised no mention, it just mysteriously showed up on the XMIPlay site one day with the 010 and 018 fatties:

http://www.xmiplay.com/ProductDetails1693

Looks pretty good. Available in either 190mm QR or 197mm TA (not that that should be a hard decision, I'd think) and with a front fork with the new 150mm hub width used by the RockShox Bluto. The only thing is the chart doesn't show the axle-to-crown of the FK-019 fork. The other two fatties have fork lengths of 470 and 485mm - which is shorter than the shortest Bluto, with 491mm at 80mm of travel. I'd really rather see it be around the 511mm of the Bluto at 100mm. So, I'm curious if the N019 has a longer rigid fork - and since the fork is listed as 770g vs. 550g for the other two frames, I'd think it might just be - but questions to Peter we either not understood or just ignored. 

I've got a fatbike on order that is coming with the Bluto, so this frame looks particularly interesting as I could potentially swap out the frame for a nice upgrade from the stock aluminum frame. Of course, wheels would be upgraded first, but then going with the frame might result in a pretty nice drop in weight. We'll see, I plan on doing a tear-down and weigh-in for all the parts before I build it up to ride.

Looks like my plans for an 057 might be indefinitely postponed.

[Joelk]

That looks like a great frame!

It fixes all of the issues I had with the previous Chinese fat frames.

Now allwe need is a picture with it fitting a Surly Lou tire in the back to make sure.

[ALshooter]

Would it work to use one of these fatbike frames to build a 27.5+?  I'm not interested in the huge tires, but 3" is very appealing.

[cmh]

Would it work to use one of these fatbike frames to build a 27.5+?  I'm not interested in the huge tires, but 3" is very appealing.

It'd work, but you'd have tire clearance on the order of inches - when you put a 3" tire on a frame/fork designed for 5" tires. Also - you would be building 650b rims onto fat bike hubs - a 150mm front and a 197mm rear - and would have to run a very wide crankset to get a proper chainline on those.

So, yes, sure, you could do 27.5+, but it would be far from optimal.

[rvc]

Any idea on pricing yet on the N019 frame?

I emailed Bert at XMI with no reply...

[PeterXu]

Any idea on pricing yet on the N019 frame?

I emailed Bert at XMI with no reply...

We are on Chinese National Day holiday now, won'e be back to work until Oct 8th

http://www.xmcarbonspeed.com/Productinfo.asp?f=1274

[Sitar_Ned]

We need to make a sticky thread listing the dates of all of the Chinese holidays or something

[rvc]

Just to add this for the record--I have been in contact with Peter at XM Carbon Speed, and despite the Chinese Holiday the communication has been super professional and rapid! Very happy so far. I am about to place an order and build one of these N019's.