bikefix: mountain and road bike news and reviews

Showing posts with label gear news. Show all posts

Showing posts with label gear news. Show all posts

01 June 2008

2009 Shimano Dura Ace 7900

Well, at least the some of the rumors have proven true... Shimano today released official details on its 7900 generation 2009 Dura Ace group. As a relief for those of us who won't be headed to the shops for a complete kit, the 7800 and 7900 generation shifters and dérailleurs will be interchangeable. The new version will be slightly longer (thanks in part to a pimp carbon cage), but even better will be 28t compatible. This means that folks in hilly locations will be able to use wide-range 11-28t mountain cassettes- either when 10s mountain stuff comes out or with 7700 generation (9s) Dura Ace.

The coolest bit is with the cranks. The 7800 generation carbon cranks are still a ways off, but the big ring is now hollow. Shimano have invested heavily in forging, and this is a pretty unexpected application that should increase ring stiffness. You'll notice the clean look that a lack of chainring bolts gives, suggesting that the new rings won't be cross-compatible with other cranksets. A compact version will be available, but we're not sure what that means with a non-standard mounting.

Shift levers will get carbon cranks and along the bar routing for both cables, a la Campagnolo. Standalone hubs will be available as well- something that was missing in 7800 and will please traditionalists everywhere.

Aesthetically, the group borrows a bit from XTR, with anodizing followed by surface machining to create contrasting surfaces. We're not sure how well it works on the brakes, but it may well grow on us. Velonews looks to have had the scoop on this one, and you should head over there for more details and pictures...

www.velonews.com

25 May 2008

New Test Bike #1: Maverick Uber-Durance

It's spring, and here at bikefix, we have a couple of new test bikes in the pipeline. Here's the first: Charlie will be rollin' like a pimp on Maverick's new 140mm travel Durance. Look reviews on the 2009 Fox 32 TALAS (we've been assured that it's much improved), Fulcrum (Campagnolo) Red Metal Zero wheelset, Hope CNC'd stem, Formula The ONE brakes and Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires. Word is, the thing weighs 26lb- not bad for a bike with 5.5in travel at either end. Look for reviews over the next several months...

16 May 2008

Spot Buys Maverick

We haven't seen any press releases yet, but word at our local Spot/Maverick dealer is that the two Boulder-based bike companies are now (or will soon be) under the same ownership. Spot's recent ownership change seems to have pumped some much needed capital into the company and resulted in what looks like a very cool range for 2008 (including several belt drive single speeds). Maverick has been coming up with some very cool ideas and great-riding bikes since day one, but their recent business and complete bike spec choices certainly haven't helped them grow to their business. Here's hoping that the Spot folks can help get more folks on what we consider to be one of the best all-around mountain bikes on the market.

www.spotbikes.com
www.maverickbike.com

20 April 2008

3DV Comeback

Aww hell yeah. HBall and 3D Violet. Happy days are here again! Start calling SRAM.

www.singletrackworld.com
www.thebikelab.com

18 April 2008

Sea Oter Tidbits (from 1032 miles away)

It's like Singletrack say: you either get this bike or you don't. I'd like to say that I most certainly do. The Yeti paint job is part of it, but the OG Manitou decals are just plain hot. Note the rear STi lever and front BarCon. The stem looks a fair bit lower than JT would have used back in the day, but nothing's perfect. hame that Yeti builder Chris Herting will only be building 10 examples. No word on skinsuits or Disc Drive wheels, though.

There are photos of a Pivot 29er floating around as well... 100mm of travel and a handful of tweaks (longer stays, steeper head tube). There are new Saint photos floating around too- it's more interchangeable with other Shimano groups and is sporting a black/gold color scheme last seen on a special edition of the LX group (where it looked good but sold poorly).

www.singletrackworld.com
www.twentynineinches.com
www.cyclingnews.com

30 March 2008

Crank Brothers 2008, Giro Eyewear

It's spring 'round these parts... Warmer weather, yard work, blossoming trees and dry trails. Of course, it also means new and shiny bits at the shop. Danny got the racing bug yesterday, so Richaround and I got to spend some quality time with the other Dan, ogling his goodies. Ever since Interbike, we've been looking forward to Crank Brothers' new for 2008 wheels, external BB cranks and Directset headsets. The cranks have apparently been shelved, and the wheels are a month or so out, but the extremely clever headsets are available. The Crank Brothers Directset is essentially a cartridge integrated headset bearing with a skirt hanging off of it so that it can be pressed directly into standard (non-integrated) frames. Obvious in sort of a why didn't I think of that kind of way, but they clearly beat me to it. The result is a 65g (plus 25g preload assembly) headset. There is some nice laser etching on the cups and top cap and 28 balls at each end. Price at Bikeworks (for the XC/stainless or Cobalt SL version) was under $110, and everyone was wishing that they had a build to stick one on.

The Dans also finally have the full line of Giro eyewear in. While the range-topping Havik are Italian made with Zeiss Certified lenses, the more reasonably-priced Semi, Instigator and Convert are made in the far east but still have beautiful lenses. While the half-frame Semi unfortunately don't sit right in my lumpy nose, the Convert hold my medium-sized head and nice enough to wear off the bike. All of Giro's glasses have shortened arms (so as not to interfere with their helmet retention systems). Several lenses start at $90, while those with arguably nicer Rose Silver and Clear Silver lenses run a full $30 (25%!) more. Interestingly, the Grey Green are said to increase contrast in bright conditions, which might be nice on the road or for the desert. Expect a review from Charlie and/or myself before too long. Here, Rich is shown sporting his new Instigators, which fit his decidedly man-sized noggin very well.

www.crankbrothers.com
www.giro.com

26 March 2008

More 2009 Dura Ace (7900) roumors...

Media Embargo be damned! Cyclingnews' James Huang came out today with an article summarizing a number of the 09 Dura Ace-related rumors that've been floating around for a while. Surprises? Not many. Stiffer, lighter, and carbonier. The biggie, for me, is that it looks as though 7900 shifters/dérailleurs will not be compatible with 7800 parts. This is the result of a SRAM-like increase in cable pull relative to dérailleur movement. Would I be buying a 7800-equipped bike at full price right now? Heck no. Savvy shops will be reducing their 7800 generation prices as they year goes on and especially once 7900 availability is announced. This sucks, as the '08 selling season hasn't even started in most places and customers will be in a bit of a limbo for a while over whether or how long to put off Dura Ace bike purchases. Because the current generation 10s customer base is so large, though, parts will certainly be in production and available for the foreseeable future.

www.cyclingnews.com
www.bikeradar.com

21 March 2008

2009 Shimano Dura Ace (7900) rumors (and how you might find them)

It's hard to be in product development. You've got all kinds of competing demands (customers vs managament, form vs function, cost vs performance), and on top of it all, you're trying to keep things under wraps until development is done, the product is ready, and previous versions are (hopefully) sold out. Keeping things under wraps is even more difficult when you make use of a large base of sponsored riders to vet the product before it reaches customers.

There have been rumors floating around for a while about both new electric and cable-actuated versions of Shimano's top road group (Dura Ace or 7900) on the horizon. Eagle-eyed race photo students note that shift cables are run under bar tape. You can expect smoother shifting, a sprinkling of composites (see XT and XTR), lighter weight and higher prices (thanks in part to a the weakest dollar in recent history). None of these would be surprises coming from Shimano. Today, VeloNews' Matt Pacocha goes into some detail in describing the case of a certain retailer who published some 2009 Dura Ace information on their website- and the fallout that resulted.

Now, as we all know, Google has some neat and powerful tools- many hidden in plain sight. Say a web page has been taken down. If it's been indexed by Google, it's also been cached by Google. Be careful what you put on your Facebook pages, kids. Of course, the info may also have been posted on other blogs in the meantime. Shimano does a good job, for the most part, not releasing products until they are ready.

Getting folks prematurely excited about vaporware means that they may be bored with a product by the time it's actually available and may give competitors a leg up. Still, it's hard not to look...

www.velonews.com

18 March 2008

Fondriest is returns to US market

Maybe it's because they were the first proper European (Italian) road bike I ever spent real time on. Maybe it's because their Deda steel and carbon fiber Status Carb combined stiffness, classic thin tubes, and a comfortable ride that was just right for long spring rides on Massachusetts' frost-ravaged back roads. Maybe it was the rubber paint that stayed intact even in the worst of accidents. Whatever the reason, Fondriest have long made some of my favorite road bikes. For the past several years, though, they have been unavailable in the US.

According to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, that is set to change. Pennsylvania's Velo Europa Imports is announcing that it will be the exclusive US distributor for the brand. It looks like the Status Carb is gone, but I wish them luck nonetheless. Hopefully they can build a reasonable dealer network and support the brand so that new buyers (and old owners) aren't left with an unrideable frame for want of a dérailleur hanger...

veloeuropa.com
fondriestbici.com

26 February 2008

LondonFixieBike's Iso-Cog hub

We saw this on roadcyclinguk.com earlier and think that it's a pretty cool idea. Shimano's XT-level disc hubs are bombproof, with serviceable cup-and-cone bearings, high flanges, and plenty of metal. While a splined system might be stronger and easier, we like the idea of 6-bolt track cogs. No special tools are required and you're much likelier to have an Allen or Torx key along than a lockring spanner in the case that something does go wrong. It's not a new idea- we've seen re-spaced American Classic hubs for a silly-light setup, but the XTs should run almost forever. The company is selling front XT disc hubs built up with longer solid axles and custom spacers (to take them from 100mm to 120mm spacing) for a very reasonable (particularly if you're in England) £35.95 or $74.

www.londonfixiebike.co.uk

22 February 2008

If bigger is better...

...then this thing must kick ass. We didn't get to talk to the owner of this monsterous 'yarder' at 24HitOP, but it was pretty impressive just sitting there. Note the 26in wheeled mountain bike in the background. There were some serious accomodations being made for the wheels, including a Maverick-like offset/layback seatpost, a seriously dropped bottom bracket (relative to the ales), and extra-wide dual-disc thru-axle hubs to give the spokes at least a little bit of triangulation.

Dual massive (203mm?) discs were pulled by a single front lever, and the seatstays were clean and pretty.

The fork had no offset that we could see, which should help steering somewhat, and we understand that the rims & tires are monster unicycle specials with some tread cut into them. The contact patch has to be very long & skinny- it must carve like crazy. Of course, without riding one, we have no idea if it rides well at all. Kudos to whoever owns this monster, though, for taking a 'what if' moment through to reality.

The devil, as they say, is often in the details, and this monster seemed pretty well sorted.

19 February 2008

bikefix Quickie: Siren Song 29er softtail

This really isn't much of a review- Brendan from Siren was kind enough to let me borrow a beautiful new Song for a few minutes last weekend- just enough to whet my appetite. Siren's a small, year-old builder out of Idyllwild, California who are making some quite nice-looking aluminum frames. It's nice to see a builder (you know, who actually builds frames) out at the races. While not as pornographically sexy as the Hand Built Bicycle Show stuff we've been seeing, I'd feel much better hammering one of these regularly.

24 hour races are a great place to be selling comfortable, fast bikes.

After 130 miles on a single speed hardtail, I'm thinking about softtails again. Moots' YBB is beautiful, but at $3k plus, a bit excessive. The Song is running about $1900 (custom geometry) and 4.5lb (medium), for whatever wheels or gears you'd like (within reason). While the bike I rode was freakishly large (with freakishly wide handlebars), if felt good right off the bat. Unlike Salsa's softtail, the Song's frame actually acts as a negative spring, pre-loading the Cane Creek air shock (which I didn't know was still being made).

This meant good small-bump action and a more progressive spring curve (which will prevent you from blowing through the 1.5in of travel). The shock felt properly damped- active but not bouncy- and didn't bob noticeably under power. There's also a surprising amount of room for big tires (see picture), which are becoming increasingly available for 29ers. The option may also exist for different rear ends, which can help to justify the expense (one geared, one SS, for example), and the fact that the frame is bolted together at the rear shock and water cut titanium flex plate could make for easy (and inexpensive) airline travel. All in all, a very appealing ride.

www.sirenbicycles.com

18 February 2008

Welcome to Sunny Tucson

We're back from this year's 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo just North of Tucson, AZ. 1,600 or so teams and over 3,000 people set up in 24 Hour Town, about 10 miles off the road and into the desert. 24HitOP is a well-run, friendly and reasonably-priced event. We come from all over the Southwest for some good weather, good singletrack and friendly competition.

Despite some unexpected snow on Thursday into Friday, the clouds cleared by the opening shotgun blast and the course was largely dry by nightfall. A couple of era miles of singletrack compared to last year meant longer lap times and less recovery. We got a chance to chat with and ride gear from several manufacturers, including Ay Up, Siren Cycles, Uvex, Swobo, Ergon, Specialized and Spot- look for reviews over the next couple of weeks.

Team bikefix? We did well- a respectable 14 laps for 14th place despite a possible lack of training and some GI problems. We caught up with old friends, ate lot and enjoyed the the sunshine when it did come. All in all, a great way to spend the holiday weekend.

14 February 2008

New kit from Shimano

It looks like Shimano's burly-ish Hone group is being replaced.

The company is breaking up the rarely-seen LX group into a trekking/commuting -oriented LX and an aggressive-XC oriented SLX group. The SLX will take some cues from Saint and look to be more than just black-painted Deore parts. Most interesting are a 2-ring specific front dérailleur and a 15mm through-axle front hub. Another standard? Yup, but Shimano's unilateral standard introductions tend to be met with a fair bit of resistance, so we'll see. The 'E-Thru' standard is similar to a standard QR and is said to improve stiffness to near the level provided by 20mm through-axles. There are a handful of other introductions floating around as well, but introducing '09 stuff before the '08 is widely available can't be great for stocking dealers...

2/19/08: Looks like Fox is on board as well. They're showing product which looks to be well on its way. It may work out be a good thing for lengthy 29er and 5in+ forks if enough makers get behind it. Maybe they can change over to post-mount brakes while they're at it...

bikemagic.com
cyclingnews.com
singletrackworld.com

13 February 2008

We haven't forgotten!

Sorry guys & gals- we've been running around like mad lately, trying to get ready for Saturday's 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, where we fully expect to be destroyed- both physically and mentally. It's all for you, though: we have several new products in from Uvex, Specialized, and the promise of a go on Ay-Up's sweet-looking LED lights. Of course, we'll have plenty of time on stuff we're alreday riding, so look for several reviews next week- and maybe a quickie tonight. Stay tuned, and if you see the Scandal out there, come on up and say hi!

10 February 2008

Chris King and Integrated Headsets

So, the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show is currently on in Portland, Oregon. We're not there, but would encourage you to indulge in some very fine bike porn on sites such as Mountian Flyer, Velo News, mtbr and Cycling News. While we respect Chris King's bombproof products, environmental responsibility and employee support, we've been frustrated by his dogged refusal to embrace integrated headsets. His insistence that "all bicycle frames that use integrated headsets will ultimately have performance and reliability problems due to inherent flaws in this design" simply has not proven true. His claim that the only advantages are aesthetic should be embarrassing for any engineer- layman or otherwise. Our experience with Maverick frames, which are anodized and would immediately show wear suggest otherwise. Greater weld area, larger diameter (which are some combination of stronger/stiffer/lighter), and a longer useful head tube are all advantages. The standardization which has largely occurred puts to rest another of his arguments. And of course, press-in headsets are far from problem-free. In the six years since his diatribe was published, the end of the world has most certainly not come, despite integrated headsets' continued use.

Could the guy be softening in his old age? Maybe: he's showing a bike at NAHBS this weekend, brazed by the man himself. Cycling News' James Huang writes "Most of the frame is fairly standard stuff but the front end of the Reynolds 953-tubed frame bears a very unique construction: King lops the skirts off of his own Steelset headset and brazes the bare cups to the ends of a 1" head tube, thus allowing the use of a 1 1/8" steerer in a decidedly trim-looking housing." Sounds decidedly integrated, doesn't it? Of course, it doesn't have the advantages of a larger diameter head tube or greater weld area- it is "decidedly trim-looking" though. Shame on Chris for introducing another standard, something he'd no doubt decry- were it someone else's idea. Never say never, eh?

chrisking.com
cyclingnews.com

02 February 2008

We really want to get our hands on one...

We mentioned a while back that Rotor's new stem looked pretty damn sexy. The use of their proprietary dual-pitch headless bolts meant very minimal face plates and apparently serve to reinforce the material, a'la rebar. Well, cyclingnews seem to agree. Despite weighing in at 112g for their 12omm sample, "its oversized dimensions also impart a notably more rigid feel than most other comparably lightweight stems we've tested in recent memory"- rather unlike the Deda Mag00 we've got on test... There's also, apparently, a mountain-oriented SX model in the wings, though Rotor's website only shows a CAD image... Its good to see when a cool idea actually works...

rotorbike.com
cyclingnews.com
cyclingnews.com (SX Model)

30 January 2008

Crank Brothers Sold

Despite their first product being some somewhat silly tire levers, we're big Crank Brothers fans. Their Eggbeater pedals are some of the most elegant bike parts on the market. Their cranks and tools sexy, and 2008 promises some well thought-out headsets and hot looking wheels. The company has just announced its merger into Selle Royal, who also own the fi'zi:k and Brooks brands. As they have done with Brooks, Selle Royal intend to leave the company's staff and facilities largely intact, which, given what we've seen coming out of Laguna Beach. should be a good thing...

bicycleretailer.com
bike-eu.com

28 January 2008

Belt Drive Standard Chosen!

There has been a fair amount of hubbub about the coming belt drive revolution- among single speeders, at least. The idea is simple: a single-piece toothed composite is covered in rubber and slung over a matching beltring and cog. Theoretically, very low maintenance, with a nearly infinite life, there have been a couple of issues. Word on the trail is that cog/ring durability has been leaving a bit to be desired, and of course they can't shift. Of course, you'll need to order the right length belt for your frame/gearing combination (they can't be shortened), and there hasn't been an industry standard size until now.

Belt drive and bike manufacturers recently got together to hammer out a standard at Gates' UK headquarters. Gates makes OEM belts for Audi and BMW, among others. The group settled on a 10mm pitch and 11mm depth. So there.

The feel of a belt-drive bike has been compared to that of a track bike with a tightly-tensioned chain, with no give at all. Efficiency approaches that of traditional chains (98%), but the belt is far lighter. Maintenance is roumoured to be minimal, which is nice. You'll need a split chainstay (at some point to get one one, which sort of sucks. Can't say if I like the idea or not... Anything less than 95% efficiency will probably kill it. Spot will be at 24HitOP next month, so maybe we'll get a play. Of course, our local Spot dealer may well have one before long too- their Longboard looks plain hot.

bikebiz.com
carbondrivesystems.com
spotbikes.com
mtbr.com

18 January 2008

Tomac bikes back in shops

After an awful start under American Bicycle Group (owner of Litespeed, Merlin and Quintana Roo), in which the name was hurt by extensive Eli frame failures, bitter dealers and poor after-sale support, Tomac re-emerged last year with new ownership and all new designs. Unfortunately for most, Johnny T's name was only available through mail order and a handful of related shops. Now, Tomac is reaching out to IBDs. Even if not a dealer, any IBD can now order Tomac bikes and an order of three bikes can make them an authorized dealer. We're glad that Tomac's realized that it will take dealers on the ground to help the name back to its feet.

bicycleretailer.com
tomac.com

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