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.
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.
Well the registration for 08 Kayuh Lasak has closed and for those who missed it, dont worry, this event is held every year so make sure you dont miss the fun next year. Names of those who are registered are posted here
Hmm, it appears last year as a hyped product, so what happened? Well the Equilink hasnt dead yet and Felt are expanding its range for 2008. Sadly, their first Equilink equipped bike doesnt get as much attention as it should. You rarely will find a online owner owning it. Partly is cause they are better bikes out there, if you compare it with the price range of Felt Virtue bikes.
So anyway, lasts year biggest complaint is that the price of the Virtue is very expansive and Felt answer that the price is kinda pricey is cause of the seatstay carbon and that isnt a good answer. So for 2008, Felt decides to make the whole Virtue rear triangle to carbon, and it does look very stunning indeed. Felt engineers also claimed that the new design increases stiffness. So how bout the price? Sadly, Felt hasnt announce the price of the 08 Virtue or its component, lets hope they make it cheaper.
2008 Felt Virtue rear triangle
Some of you might notice that there in MTBR bike review page that the Felt Redemption is listed in the site but you cant really find any info bout it from Felt's website. Well the Redemption has presented itself in this year Eurobike and it features 165mm of rear travel, that makes it into light freeride MTB range. Anyway pics! and damn the Redemption has one sweet paint theme.
2008 Felt Redemption
Lastly, Felt is releasing their all-mountain bike to complete the lineup, with a rear travel of 145mm, introducing Compulsion!. The bike looks like a Redemption little brother rather then the Virtue. It comes with a full aluminium frame, top to bottom. So here are the pics!!!!
Felt's All-Mountain platform bike, the Compulsion
So thats all the updates that Felt is offering for 2008, lets hope next year they will have better media attention and lowered their bike prices. The weight of their 08 bikes hasnt been confirmed yet, I will update as soon as I found out. Thats all for now
Hmm, so after a couple of days of not posting new stuffs, I decided to find something to talk about and after browsing through some of Eurobike 08 stuffs, I got my self interested into carbon flex.
Most riders buy carbon frame because of the stiffness offered by carbon is uncomparable to aluminium frame. Even Specialized states on their site that thier 08 stumpy carbon frame is stiffer then their alu frame (07 alu frame is stiffer then 08 according to spesh site). Anyway if a carbon frame were to flex, most riders wont like it and that will be their biggest disappointment of the bike. So why am I writing about carbon flex?
Well if you guys notice, they are a few 08 bikes that design their carbon chainstay to flex. A company that has been developing flex carbon stays for quite a while now is Cannondale, most riders doesnt notice this cause Cannondale doesnt really promote about it, but their XC bike, Scalpel stays depends of flex. If you read over MTBR, some riders actually commented the flex as a bad part of the product. Anyway the Scalpel got redesigned and lighter by 200-300g compared to last year model and its travel has been increased by 100mm and the shock is now located below the top tube instead of behind the seatpost like lasts year model. Below is a pic of the 08 Scalpel frame, without shock.
2008 Cannondale Scalpel Frame
Anyway besides Cannondale, another company decide to make the chainstay carbon to flex. The Italian company is called Carraro and for 08 its releasing a full suspension bike called the Rampant.
So, knowing that they are other company that has decided to use Cannondale flex stay concept, I decided to do some research on carbon flexing/bending and surprisingly I found out that some carbon can be bent at 90degrees. Click here for more info about it.
So what else I found out? Because of nano-tech, its possible to design a super stiff and strong seatpost like Easton or to design a bendable carbon nano tube. Click here for the pdf page (only accessable by AdobeReader or formerly known as AcrobatReader, click here to go to the download site), its pretty impressive how they manage to flex the carbon nanotube.
So far thats the usefull sources that I can find about carbon flex. I will try and find out more in time :D. And below are the pics of Cannondale 08 Scalpel chain stay, Cannondale earlier version of chain stay and Carraro Rampant.
08 Cannondale Scalpel chainstay
Earlier versions of Cannondale EPO
08 Carraro Rampant chainstay
My say: I cant confirm the durability of flex chainstay as in jumping or standing up while mashing the pedal cause I myself havent manage to test this kind of design for a period of time, I only ridden a Cannondale full suspension bike a couple of time only and I think its a old model, heard of Sobe? and I used to wonder why the chainstay is oddly shaped and now I found its purpose. If the durability of flex chainstay is getting better year by year, I belive in the future, you can see more company doing flex chainstay and it will appear from XC to Trail bike range. Imagine the possibility of making carbon flexing to absorb small bumps and the shock will only be used once your bike hit bigger obstacles. I remember reading it from a mountain bike magazine where a teenager managed to design a full suspension bike without the shock, just by flexing the carbon. How cool is that, you just dropped 200g from the bike. Anyway thats all for today and toodles. :D
For most riders who have been Moutain Biking for a few years would know Look, while some of us new Mountain Bikers will wonder what's look. To make it fast and simple, Look is bike company that is originated from French and is popular among Roadies, they used to make Mountain Bike stuffs but has stop making em for quite a while. Their MTB like is not gone, just unnoticed because their 4X4 pedals are actually EggBeaters (Look licensed their 4X4 clipless pedals to CrankBros - if im not mistaken, someone please confirm this info), so anyway for 2008, Look has 2 new products for us Mountain Bikers (some of you might known this already).
To warm things up, Look decided to bring us new clipless pedals, the 4 sided entry pedals is one of the best mud-shedding design and is the lightest MTB clipless design out there, weight weenies usually dont buy a SPD design pedal because of average mud shedding and its kinda heavy (300-400grm). So what happen when you make a SPD design pedal at the weight of a 4 sided entry pedal, you get a Quartz.
The Quartz
So this pedals is as light as a EggBeater, so anything else? Well this thing amazes me cause this pedal is coil springless, you heard me correct, this pedal has no coil spring, so I wonder how are you going to be able to clip in. (This is a few reason why is it so light). By being coil springless it would mean that the float angle is going to be fix (Provided by bicycling.com, 3 degrees of float, 1.5mm of lateral movement, and a 15 degree release angle). In designing this pedals, Look said they has taken 3 criteria which is mud shedding, pedal platform and weight.
So how much is it going to be? Is it going to be expensive?
Look is offering 3 models for Quartz which are as follow:
Quartz Carbon Ti (Price: $399)(Weight: 246g w/ cleats)
Just now was just the appetizer and now is the main course, Hardtail has slowly stop evolving and its getting less eye catching, many bike manufacturer stick with previous year designs and made no attempt it making it better, but Look havent give up in the hardtail market yet cause for 2008 they are also releasing their hardtail.
Look 986 Hardtail
As you can see from the pic, Look decided to go with integrated seatpost, which is very similar to what Scott has done with Spark LTD. The reason for this design is just the same as Scott for designing a integrated seatpost for Spark LTD, which is reduced weight. The frame weights at 1.2kg/2.65lbs (claimed). It is offered in Small, Medium and Large size and is priced at $2,499.
The bike is also offered as a complete:
986 X0 Pro Team
Rock Shox Reba Team w/ 85mm travel and remote lockout
Mavic CrossMax SLR
SRAM X0 trigger shifters and rear derailleur
Avid Juicy Ultimate disc brakes
FSA K-Force Light cranket
FSA stem and handle bars
Fizik Gobi saddle
Look Quartz carbon clipless pedals
weight: 9.5kg/21lbs w/ pedals
MSRP: $5,499
986 X9
Components list no available yet, will update soon
MSRP: $4,499
The bikes will be available in late September - October
Well this time I decided to write something that new Mountain Bikers will usually get confused. The names of Suspension linkages and what are their common difference. So here goes:
They are about 6 suspension designs (more coming),
Single Pivot
This is the earliest full suspension linkage (before 4 bar and etc) it only has a single pivot, it moves in an arc when the suspension compresses which caused a few problems such as pedal kickback and etc. Famous Single Pivot designers: Cannondale and a few more which I forgotten.
Single Pivot Linkages AKA Faux Bar
This bike has more linkages then single pivot but the rear wheel travel still moves in an arc, I believe its slightly better then a single pivot linkage because they could reduce the arc travel compared to single pivot but some riders disagree. Anyway single pivot linkage bike has a pivot on the seat stay and not on the chain stay. They are a lot of famous Faux Bar bikes. Famous SPL designers : Turner, Kona, Trek, Rocky Mountain and a few others which I forgot again.
Horst Link AKA 4 bars/true 4 bars
Horst Link is owned by Specialized and they have licensed it to some companies like Nicolai, Titus etc, Horst Link is one of the best linkage in MTB industry, it has eliminated most of the problems of a single pivot or single pivot linkage bike and its rear wheel movement doesnt move in a arc. Another famous 4 bar is Ellsworth ICT, orginally created by Dave Turner (Turner bikes) but was patented by Tony Ellsworth, ICT is very similar to horst link but after a few slight tweaking, they manage to make ICT into their own patent, if Im not mistaken the difference between ICT and HL is HL uses a strut style shock linkage while ICT uses rocker style shock linkage. HL and ICT has a pivot on the chain stay. Another noticable true 4 bar is Rocky Mountain ETSX, really interesting concept and I suggest you to check on their website for more info bout their 4 bar, RM ETSX. Famous 4 bar's: Ellsworth, Titus, Specialized, Nicolai, Rocky Mountain and others.
Virtual Pivot Bikes
Virtual Pivot is Mountain bike latest suspension linkage design, the advantage of this is the manufacturer doesnt need to pay Specialized or Ellsworth for their linkage and Virtual pivot linkage could be designed to have a different wheel path for each wheel travel progression, eg: from sensative to firm as the travel increases. VPP bikes is mostly recognizable by having a bar on the front portion of the bike rear triangle. Famous VPP tech is DW-Link, Santa Cruz's VPP, Giant's Maestro, BMC VPS. Famous company that uses VPP : Ibis, Santa Cruz, Iron Horse, Giant, Felt, BMC and etc.
Those 4 is the most commonly and available on the market now, below is a summarize of older linkage that are not commonly used anymore (dont get me wrong by thinking that this design are obselete, its just that its no more the rage in bicycle design because they are better and efficient design nowadays):
Soft Tails
This bike doesnt have a pivot near the bottom bracket area, instead they replace it with a elastomer or some sort to make it bump absorbtion, the linkage mostly are used for XC bikes because XC doesn need too much travel, this linkage style died out because the travel is limited. Cannondale still make soft tails.
Monolink
They are still a few companies that uses monolink, the reason why people dont really like monolink is because as the suspension absorbs bumps, the BB will move with the swingarm (monolink rear triangle is attached to the BB which connects to the crankset) making your leg bend more. If Im not mistaken, Mongoose, GT and Maverick uses monolink.
Well basically that is all the suspension linkage that are available in the market nowadays, they might be more but I cant remember any and I might make some mistakes so feel free to correct me and due to the advancement of Mountain Biking suspension likages, I will update the writeout as I find out more stuffs bout it and I will update this list again with ABP and some others ASAP.
Well, there is Giant which is like a Dell in Mountain Biking bike manufacturing, Specialized is like Sony Viao, Trek which is something like HP because recently they have been aggresive and we have Scott which is the Apple in Mountain Biking.
Why is Scott considered as Apple in Mountain Biking?
Apple Computer are famous in producing cool products, its not cheap but its just so cool to own it and they usually are the company which releases products that are out of the world. So Scott definately fits into this criteria, Scott releases new models only when their current product is dated and that is like a couple of years. So if you are a person who like to own the latest product in technology and want it to be the latest for a couple of years, Scott bikes should be in your list.
A few reasons why people buy Scott bikes is because they are a company where their selling point is their carbon bikes, as you can see, most cyclist who own a Scott bike ride their carbon version. Scott has a history of carbon, similar to Trek. Trek is known for its OCLV carbon, while Scott is their CR1 carbon technology.
So why do I write bout this?
As usual, Interbike is just right around the corner and 2008 is in a couple of months so its obvious that I found a few stuffs bout 08 Scott.
For 2008, Scott will release a new bike which is both categorized as Downhill and Freeride bike, as you see this two category is very different. The most obvious is the geometry difference. Anyway since Im not a Downhill or Freeride person, my knowledge about this kind of stuff is limited so here is a link for more info bout the difference between Downhill and Freeride and more info bout the new bike. Oh yeah and the new bike is called Gambler, below are the pic and the url. Enjoy...
Scott lightweight XC Marathon full suspension, Spark also receive a minor update, a redesign Nude Shock and the bike has been slightly lighter. A few things that I have confirmed is the fork for 08 Spark LTD will be supplied by DT Swiss (Pace) so the bike weight is now 9.5kg. SwissPowerTeam will be using DT Swiss fork in the future. No pics is available yet, but I will try and get is ASAP. I havent check for any new info about the rest of 08 Scott's range.
Some of you might heard of Dave Weagle, some might not, but Im sure that most cyclist heard of the DW-Link, well DW stands for Dave Weagle for your info. Anyway its been quite a while since Dave release his world renowned DW Link. So what have Dave been up to?, you might ask. Well he has release a new design called the Split Pivot. It was released around the same time as Trek announced their ABP technology, surprisingly, both design is pretty much familiar and we are not sure if there is some imitating of ideas or its just a mere coincidence, only time will tell.
So what is this Split Pivot all about? Well basically it does mostly the same stuff as Trek's ABP does. But dont think that this system is more superior then the DW Link. According to DaveWeagle, the DW Link is still superior then the Split Pivot, Split Pivot is designed to give the bike designer's more flexibility in designing their bikes, which mean that can make the bike lighter due to the simplicity to Split Pivot
There is no news about which manufacturer will be using SplitPivot for 2008, but rest assured, MTBN_Network will keep you folks updated ASAP. Meanwhile you can head over SplitPivot.com for more info about Dave's latest MTB suspension inovation
Honestly speaking, sometimes you just feel so lazy to lower your seatpost when you reach a sketchy downhill or its already too late to change your seatpost height.......or it breaks your flow. Well some riders have notice this problem and decided to make their own seatpost and I must say that if you are a All-Mountain rider, this kind of seatpost would really benefit you.
Adjustable seatpost isnt a new thing. Im sure most of you guys know Gravity Dropper and some may even heard of Maverick Speedball seatpost. So why do you think Im posting about adjustable seatpost?
Although this product didn get much attention, but it has found its way to a few riders and have slowly gain its reputation. Introducing to you the All Mountain Post Its weight is the second lightest among its competitors, although the weight is only negligible.
The weight of the post is 471 gram/16.61 ounce, thats 11gram lighter then Maverick Speedball R (494 gram/17.43 ounce) and 27gram lighter then Gravity Dropper (498 gram/17.56 ounce). Its heavier then Maverick Speedball (non remote) which weights 454 gram/ 16.01 ounce.
Meanwhile, the price of the seatpost is not stated, I have emailed them and will post about the price ASAP.
*Updates :They replied my email and the price is $249.95
Anyway the prices of the seatposts are Maverick Speedball ($220), Maverick Speedball R ($250), Gravity Dropper ($239.98 - Pricepoint.com pricing), Descender Post (To be updated).
To conclude my post, below are the pics of the products and its features (provided by their own site)
AMP Seatpost
Hard Anodized surface resists corrosion and abrasion
Neoprene boot protects the post from the foreign substances
Multiple drop height - 1",3"/1",4" (custom available)
Seat post length: 350mm (3" model only), 390mm (3" and 4" models)
Seatpost diameter: 27.2 (shims available for other sizes)
Updated #2 : CrankBrothers has now officially posted the Jolpin seatpost (formerly known as Maverick Speedball). Below is the link to Jolpin official website : CrankBrothers Jolpin
Well, so far the most hyped product by Trek is their new Fuel EX (even I got excited) and they managed to make XC/Marathon riders happy with the new Fuel EX line. So some riders were asking, how about us All-Mountaineers? How bout the Remedy? Does it stick with the current design or get itself a near rear linkage? Well for your info, Trek doesnt forget about non-XC riders cause for 2008, they are also redesigning the Remedy, thats right folks, the Remedy is getting a rear makeover and new paint job.
2008 Trek Fuel Remedy
Personally, the new Remedy paint job looks the same to me comparing to the 08 Fuel EX (not that I mind), and it seems the Remedy get some curved tubes. And whats up with manufacturers these day making a curved downtube (as you can see, the Remedy has a slight curved downtube) I wonder whats the science about this style of design or its just a trend.
08 Remedy Headtube
A few things that bothers me bout the new Remedy is, what the h*** is E2?, its sticked onto the fork axle crown and also the frame head tube (see the black shaped U's/V's/boomerang's?). Guess we have to wait for Trek's answer. Other then the mysterious E2, nothing much changed, there is the ABP and the EVO Link and the floating shock mount on the Remedy, just the same as its trail brother, the Fuel EX.
*Updates: Well I search around for Trek E2 and found out that this technology appears on the new Madone, its very similar to Specialized new buddy system, Trek's 08 Madone uses an oversize 1.5" lower steer tube (this explains why Remedy head tube has a different shape then conventional head tube). So Im guessing that the Fox that come with the new Remedy is custom made for Trek. So speaking by performance wise, the fork should feel the same as other Fox forks although I wonder if Fox even make the fork custom tuned for Trek. Anyway we must still wait for Trek official announcement though :(. Me info bout the new Madone E2 tech can be found here
Well a few reasons why you dont really hear bout the Remedy is likely cuz they dont want it to steal their Fuel EX spotlight, expect Trek announcing/promoting the new Remedy in a few months to come.
*Updates#2: According to bicycling.com, the new Remedy will feature a tapered, 1 1/8- 1 ½-inch steerer tube (this explains the weird headtube design and E2), which is the same to what Specialized had done on their new 08 Stumpy line, but unlike Spesh which decide to incorporate their Total Suspension Integration project into making their own Brain-ified fork, Trek use a safer and more riders friendly way, they asked Fox and Rock Shox to make a special version of E2 forks for them.
Anyway the fork that will come with the bike is as follows, price listed in USD and taken from Bicycling.com: Remedy 9 - Fox 36 ($4,300) Remedy 8 - RockShox Lyrik ($3,700) Remedy 7 - RockShox Lyrik Solo Air ($2,700)
Its amazing that Trek manage to offer a RS Lyrik at USD2.7k considering the fact that a lyrik fork is not cheap, this shows the advantage of buying a mass production bike. It is expected that most riders will own a Remedy 7 or 8, and with the $700-$1000 price difference, its hard for riders to choose which Remedy to get. Trek have rock the MTB world for 2008.....simply amazing.
*Not to forget to thank MTB Omaha for providing pics of the new 08 Remedy, thanks guys.
Well news are just in that Chris Cocalis are going to release 4" and 5.4" DW Linkage bikes during Interbike on September, so stay tuned.
So far the only info that I managed to get about the new bikes are:
1. It will have a composite Resin XTR bottom bracket which doesnt require threads in the shell. You will be able to fit both RaceFace or Shimano cranks into it and the design will be lighter and stiffer then normal external Bottom Bracket's. No news if you can fit non-Shimano or RF cranks yet though.
2. Since the bike uses DW Link, you can expect the bike to have a good rear suspension platform.
Its true, well the the details on the 08 Sid hasnt really spread over the internet yet and many riders doesnt know there is a 08 Sid, but believe it, that for next year, RockShox will release a new Sid. SRAM BlackBox racers are seen riding the new Sid.
