Rock Shox answer to Shimano/Fox new axle.

The makers of Maxle, Rock Shox has recently announced Maxle Light. By the name, its obvious that Maxle Light is a lighter version of the current Maxle, but what really is Maxle Light?

Maxle Light is a ongoing RockShox project for awhile and so far much info bout is enclosed behind closed door, expect more info sometime in April.

So far, what we know is:

Maxle Light is 50grams lighter then the current Maxle.

Maxle Light will come in 20mm which should mean that 20mm hubs will work on it

Most of the weight saving came from a thinner axle body and aluminium skewer

Maxle Light is marketed for Trail or Light AM use

What we are not sure is if RockShox has any plans in releasing a 15mm version of their Maxle Light, the possibility is quite high cause Shimano and Fox has a bigger market share then RockShox and Sram.

Anyway it looks like it will be a great year for trail bikers.

A New Standard for Trail Bikers!!!

Trail bikes or Light All-Mountain Bikes (as some call) riders usually end up in a dilemma when it comes to choosing their forks.

Most riders want a 20mm version without having to live wit h the weight penalty. Although some riders dont mind the extra weight, they are still a large group of riders who wants a stiffness of 20mm axle fork but with the weight of a normal axle fork.
Well, you can now throw away that dilemma because Shimano (aint they great at introducing new standards? although we might not like it, remember low-normal?) is introducing a new axle diameter standard, the 15mm. The good news is Fox already has a 15mm fork prototype model.

Image taken from BikeMagic.com.

Shimano is introducing 15mm versions of their hubs and wheels in their XTR and XT product line sometime middle to end of year.

It's uncertain when the rest of the fork manufacturers (RockShox, Marzocchi, Manitou and etc.) will introduce the new standard into their product line. (Lets hope we see some prototypes during InterBike 08). Anyway the new standard is certainly a good newss for us trail riders. Expect to see the new 15mm hubs from other companies later this year (maybe next year) and hopefully it will become a new trailbike standard for 2009 and beyond :cross fingers:.

*Update: So far I have recovered from pneumonia and I am happy cause I can continue adventuring into the woods, problem is....im not as fast as last time (poor me). Oh well guess more training and exercise for me.

Chaoz

CrankBrothers surprise.

Recently I went to cyclingnews.com and I found a very interesting article. It seems CrankBrothers has now join the ranks of fi'zi:k, Brooks, and Selle Royal because CrankBrothers has merged with Selle Royal. The good news is CrankBrothers will stay as the CrankBrothers we knew now. For more information, head to cyclingnews.com.

For those who didn visit CrankBrothers website yet, you will realise that it has been updated but to most of our surprise, it seems CrankBrothers Cobalt SL cranks and Wheelset is missing from the website. So far the products that are shown in its website is :

pedals | bottom brackets | directsets | seatposts | pumps | tools | accessories.

Its odd that they remove the crankset link and still show the ISIS bottom bracket. And the absence of the 2 products that are shown in last year interbike is a surprise. Guess we have to wait for this year interbike. I am hinting that CrankBrothers still has to sort out some problems with the new products.

Anyway Happy Chinese New Year!.

Happy New Year and surprised?

Hi, first of all I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year although it 28days has passed since the New Year. As you all might know, I announced that I wont be posting until March because I ended up in a government programme called National Service, unlucky for me (and good for you guys), I fell sick and ended up in hospital for a weak, turn out I got pneumonia.

Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung.[1] Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar (microscopic air-filled sacs of the lung responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere) inflammation and (abnormal) alveolar filling with fluid. Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic, that is unknown, when infectious causes have been excluded.

Quoted from WikiPedia

The doctor gave me a 1 month holiday and I wondered why until I started cycling 3 days ago.

Day 1 -
I decided to cycle in my neighbourhood and not to enter the woods, I realise I got tired while climbing the hill faster then before. I believe its a lack of stamina due to not cycling for a month.

Day 2 -
I went to the same place to practice and somehow I felt a bit better but my performance is still below expectation.

Day 3 -
Its Sunday which means its my MTB Group ride, today they decided to cycle in my neighbourhood (there is a few trails in my neighbourhood). I followed them but I got tired as soon as I reach the rubber tree plantation, sadly I turned back because I fear I might lose consciousness while cycling that small steep path. I returned home looking very exhausted.

Later on that day, I start experiencing chest pain and this feeling is unlike the previous chest pain, this time it really hurt and lasted for a few minutes.


So how long will I recover? Only time will tell. So meanwhile I am going to continue with my blog which will focus mainly on my road to recovery.