Deviate Downcountry Mountain Bike Prototype

Deviate Cycles’ downcountry prototype is part of a development series, the aim of which is to investigate the feasibility of bringing manufacture to the UK. Currently, the Claymore and Highlander bikes are constructed from an epoxy resin carbon fiber, and are manufactured in Asia – where exactly in Asia, we don’t know. But, Ben and Chris foresee a future in which their mountain bike frames are manufactured in Scotland out of 3D printed titanium lugs and recyclable nylon-based thermoplastic tubing… at a price competitive with the cost of manufacturing a full carbon frame in Asia.

How do they propose to do this?

With the use of a more affordable method of 3D printing titanium. Indeed, cold metal fusion of titanium, as implemented by Huhn Cycles, is cheaper than the laser-sintering method employed by the million pound Renishaw machine you’d see at Atherton Bikes HQ. Apparently, the equipment necessary for cold metal fusion of the lightweight material is vastly more affordable.

The result is a 3D printed lug that does have quite a different finish to that of the Atherton Bikes lugs. And, their production is said to require a lot less post-processing. Less post-processing means less manual labour, and thus, a reduced cost. Deviate hope to adopt this method of production while offering frames at a similar price to what they offer now. That is, around $3,200 USD for a Claymore frame and shock.

The pair admit they haven’t yet hit that point with the cost of manufacture, but they are pressing on with development because the plan is attractive for many other reasons, too; namely, the supply chain will be shortened to the point where they can make to order, and there’s the improved sustainability of it all with reduced shipping, and the end-of-life recycle-ability of most, if not all, of the frame components. Also, we are told the titanium powder used to form the lugs is carbon-neutral, too.

What about the linkage?

Deviate is continuing its use of a high single-pivot suspension platform that delivers a 100% rearward rear axle path, but here on the downcountry prototype it is packaged a little differently to the linkages we’ve seen from the Scottish brand previously.

Where the longer-travel Claymore and Highlander II bikes have a lower linkage positioned concentrically to the bottom bracket, this downcountry prototype keeps everything north of the BB. As the rear wheel is displaced, the lower linkage extends as the solid rear triangle moves back and upwards as it pivots about the main pivot positioned around half way up the seat tube. In this scenario, the shock is simultaneously driven from both ends as it is sandwiched by the lower rocker and the swingarm.

And, this being a high-pivot mountain bike, there is an idler pulley positioned near the main pivot to reduce the negative effects of chain growth.

We are told it could be many, many years before Deviate fully adopt this manufacturing method, and a lot will depend upon whether they can automate it to a point where the frames can be priced competitively against Asia-made carbon frames. It is currently undecided whether the Deviate downcountry bike will first materialize in titanium or complete carbon. We’ll do our best to stay tuned on this one!

deviatecycles.com

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The design takes inspiration from systems found inside hybrid cars – like the Toyota Prius, for example. Therein, planetary gears are utilized to mesh the input of the combustion engine with the input of an electric motor, to deliver power to the vehicle.

Driven are taking that concept and, instead of using flat, planetary gearing, their Orbit Drive relies upon a rotating ball-like mechanism that delivers a variable speed ‘bevel differential’. Though the layout is certainly not novel, its application in eBike technology, is.

We are told by Driven, “This is a game changer for the e-bike segment, bringing the highest level of efficiency (more battery range), a more pleasant riding experience, almost zero-maintenance, and a bolt-on solution for e-bike manufacturers”.

Here, Driven’s Head of Engineering, Ryan Norris, takes the time to explain the mechanism using a neat 3D printed model of the concept. And, he does so in terms that don’t require a PhD in mechanical engineering in order to comprehend.

Driven Orbit Drive All-in-one Gearbox eBike Motor

The Driven Orbit Drive is a little further along in its development process than the above 3D printed model might suggest. The company has a working prototype they say is significantly more efficient in its energy usage than any production eBike motor on the market today – upward of 85%, is the claim.

Not only that, but maintenance intervals are set to once every 10,000 miles, with only an oil change required at that point. Clearly, such a design boasts some serious advantages over commonly available eBikes that rely upon a motor and an entirely separate derailleur-operated drivetrain – the pitfalls of which many of us know all too well.

Driven tell us their system also offers a smoother ride experience, with an automatic mode offering step-less shifting with gearing automatically adjusting speed, with the assist motor complementing the rider’s input. Manual mode is also possible, allowing riders to shift through gears as they would on what Driven are calling a “legacy bike”, i.e. a regular bike.

In addition to the claimed higher efficiency over comparable systems, we are told the Orbit Drive also has a regenerative braking feature to compound that.

Driven plans to offer three variations on the Orbit Drive to its OEM customers:

1. Direct Drive – this configuration uses a shaft drive to deliver power from the Orbit Drive to the back wheel. This is the brand’s most efficient unit and it is fully enclosed
2. Chain Drive – the Orbit Drive with a chain, partially enclosed
3. Belt Drive – the Orbit Drive with a belt, partially enclosed

We asked Brian Baker, CEO of Driven, why has no one done this yet. His answer…

“One of our marketing pitches is – why hasn’t anyone done this? I’ve been the CEO for one year, and I do not have an answer for that. Everyone took what they are doing at Toyota, on the Prius, and at Stellantis for example – those are all flat planets and sun gears. All we did was take the planet and do that [make it that 3D orbit shape]. Now, it fits right in the middle of a q-factor, and we can get a 1:1 ratio out of the motor. We don’t have to downshift the motor, so we can use smaller motors, and so this whole thing works quite a bit better than a flat, planetary system”.

Driven has more technology packed into there, too. Unlike most eBike motors on the market today, this one lacks a torque sensor, at least in the traditional sense. Driven hold a key patent for a sensor-less torque sensor.

CEO, Brian Baker, explains…

“There’s an algorithm we’ve developed based on how much torque you’re putting into the system – and thus how much torque the motor sees – from that you can calculate the speed, so you don’t even need sensors at all“.

Ryan Norris continues…

“We’re using the electronics of each motor, and how they talk to each other. So, when they sense you pressing down on the pedal – they know it within about 40 ms, and we’re gonna get that down to about 20 ms, so that’s as fast as a regular torque sensor is. So, we don’t need the torque sensor. And torque sensors are actually pretty expensive, so we’re actually pretty excited that this algorithm works. It’s nothing new. It is used in industrial mechanical design all the time but no one has ever used this in the bike industry before”.

How much will the Driven Orbit Drive actually cost eBike manufacturers?

We are told that, in terms of the Ride Share market, the Orbit Drive will come in at a middling price point – more than the $800 USD that the cheapest offerings go for, but less than the $1,500 USD that higher-end options go for.

Brian goes on to tell us he is confident that gearbox eBike motors of this design, and similar, will become the most common design in the market over the next 10 years.

Indeed, with the launch of Pinion’s Mission ON:E eDrive earlier this week, the industry certainly seems to be pressing on with integrated solutions to shifting and assistance. Likely, we will see many more such offerings on display in the vast halls of Messe Frankfurt this week.

madebydriven.com

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Introduced on the first day of Eurobike 2023, the Bexey joins a substantial revamp of the Chariot child trailer, a new Paramount backpack pannier bag, and the new Epos rack which we saw a bit earlier in the year. All of these products still have substantial time until they hit the market, but we got some first looks at early samples from the show.

Part of a complete new category for dogs, the Bexey will be joined by dog crates (September 23) and harnesses to make it easier than ever to bring your pup out on your next adventure.

To create the Bexey trailer, Thule enlisted the help of dog experts to create a product that was not only easy for humans to use, but something canines would quickly become used to as well. That includes a 3D molded floor that can be made completely flat for training your dog to get comfortable with the idea of riding in a trailer. The Bexey will be available to consumers somewhere around this time next year.

New Thule Chariot

Over on the human child side of things, the Thule Chariot trailer has gotten a massive redesign with some very interesting features. The new design is said to be around 95% new, and is intended to make it easier to use, more comfortable for the child, and more visible (safe) for everyone involved.

Starting with the attachment of the trailer to the bike, the new quick release mount makes it easier than ever. The mounting plate stays on the bike, and the tower basically just snaps into place when you line the two up. To remove it, just press the grey button and slide upwards. There’s still a lock core so you can secure the trailer to the bike, and a new shock cord safety tether.

At the other end, the tow bar easily clicks into the trailer frame and there’s another lock core to again prevent theft of the trailer when parked. One of the big improvements to the design is how the stroller wheels are stowed – you no longer have to remove them to flip them over. Now simply open the quick release lever, spin them 180º, and fasten the QR. The design will make it a snap to go from stroller to trailer mode, and you are never without the stroller wheels.

Another huge improvement is the option to run just one or two seats in the same trailer. Previously, if you were only using the trailer for one child, the empty seat couldn’t be removed, so you ended up with a child sitting to one side making a bit cramped and unbalanced ride. Now, you can simply remove the second seat, and position the remaining seat in the center giving better weight distribution, and more elbow room for the child.

Finally, in the age of the distracted driver, every bit of increased visibility matters. The new design features an elegant integrated LED light that stretches across the entire back of the trailer.

Like the Bexey, you’ll have to wait for the new Chariot to arrive with Canada seeing them around March 2024, and the US getting them later in 2025.

Thule Paramount Pannier Backpack

On the bag side, the popular Thule Paramount backpack is getting a pannier upgrade. We’ve seen a few different pannier/backpack combinations, but the trick is always how to make it comfortable as a backpack, and yet still functional as a pannier. The Thule Paramount does that with a brilliantly designed removable backplate with backpack straps on one side, and a locking pannier mechanism on the other.

To swap back and forth, there is a single zipper that unzips the top half of the back plate, while the bottom slots into a socket on the bag. When it’s flipped to pannier mode, there is an additional buckle strap to anchor the bottom of the bag against the rack. The Paramount uses the same pannier hardware as the Thule Shield which includes a clamp that actually grips the bar on the rack to prevent any rattling, and is compatible with 8-16mm diameter bars.

The Paramount Pannier also includes a full size rain cover that is reflective to keep the contents dry, and yourself visible. Expect to see these in stores around August this year.

It’s already been a big year for Thule, and there’s more in the pipeline. Stay tuned.

thule.com

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Plus, BikeYoke’s Stefan Sack always has a lot of cool ideas bouncing around inside of his head, so he showed me some prototype mountain bike pedals and a new handlebar, too!

BikeYoke Revive Wireless electronic MTB dropper seatpost

The secret to BikeYoke’s new Revive Wireless dropper is that the only parts that are completely new are the electronic dropper actuator, the wireless remote, and each own’s rechargeable batteries. The technical hydraulic internals are the same proven Revive mechanical dropper technologies, down to the fact that the wireless post shares the same service parts as the regular Revives.

That’s kind of a huge deal, because this is going to be an expensive dropper, but you can be sure that the post will continue to go up and down smoothly for a long time, and any bounce you get from air sneaking past its internal seals is easily corrected with the little Revive reset lever.

Tech details

The Revive Wireless dropper communicates with its wireless remote via Bluetooth LE. That also means there is an opportunity for a bit of adjustability in the speed of return via a companion mobile app, but you won’t need an app to use or even set up the dropper. Both remote & dropper have 2 tiny LEDs (red & green) that will show the battery status of each other at a simple glance.

Both wireless dropper and remote have their own self-contained li-ion internal battery that is said to work for ‘several’ months of regular use, rechargeable with a standard USB-C port on each. That means removing the post from your bike to charge, which Stefan says is kind of a bonus feature to make sure mountain bike riders don’t leave their post in forever until it seizes in their frame.

BikeYoke says the new wireless dropper is actually even a bit lighter than the original versions. The electric actuator that opens and closes the valve to operate the post does add a bit of weight, but that is offset by the fact that the small self-contained wireless remote is considerably lighter than a mechanical remote with a long segment of continuous housing and wire cable inside.

The addition of the actuator does add about 13mm more overall post insertion length at the bottom of the dropper, but BikeYoke has also trimmed roughly 5mm of stack off the post’s head – resulting in the wireless dropper being about 10mm longer than a mechanical Revive.

First Drops

The standard remote is super tiny and made to take up minimal space on the bar – it will be an injection molded plastic part in final production, likely with a removable alloy clamp. It requires very little force to actuate, and felt as fast as any mechanical dropper I’ve used. There’s not a ton of tactile feedback pushing a tiny button in about 2-3mm to drop the post (compared to the long throw of a mechanical dropper remote). But it only took me about 3 pushes of the button to get a sense for the fast press-then-drop motion, and it was of course, a lot easier than any mechanical remote.

BikeYoke also showed us an even smaller remote that uses a small wired-in separate battery that can be mounted inside of a handlebar for bars with internal shift wire routing.

That will likely be an OEM-only option at least at first, but it reiterates the possibilities of how easily you can operate a wireless dropper with all sorts of remote. BikeYoke also makes their own lock-on multi-density Grippy grips, and has considered the possibility they could even integrate the remote button into one of their grips in the future.

Interesting possibilities, indeed.

BikeYoke Revive Wireless Dropper – Pricing, options & availability

Officially the new BikeYoke Revive Wireless is a MY24 (model year 2024) product meaning you will have to wait until the start of next year to get one – ideally they should be ready for consumers by the spring riding season. That’s still quite a ways off, and as BikeYoke finalize some of the production details in their remote, they still don’t have an official price yet. But on-the-record/off-the-record, they suggested that BikeYoke are targeting a retail price that’s a good bit cheaper than the SRAM AXS dropper or maybe half again more expensive than mechanical Revive posts – including the wireless remote.

As for sizes, it will essentially be offered in all the same options as the mechanically-actuated Revives since they share a lot of functional internals – so that means at least 30.9 & 31.6mm diameters, and travel options from 125mm up to 213mm. It might come in this silver anodized version if there is good response prior to production, otherwise they can always fall back on black.

Prototype modular platform pedal project

Another prototype project are these modular platform mountain bike pedals. The idea was to develop a solid, reliable alloy pedal body with a serviceable axle and rotating parts, then bolt on a replaceable composite body with the traction pins.

That modular design will allow BikeYoke to offer at least a couple of platform sizes, and also let them tweak materials and pin placement. These prototype pedals are machined from slippery Delrin engineered plastic with 7 long replaceable traction pins per side, and 4 bolts that hold the alloy & plastic bits together.

Now that BikeYoke have ironed out the materials and connection points, the next step will be optimizing the lower leading edge of the pedals’ outer platform to slide over trailside obstacles. We’ll keep tabs on the next stages of BikeYoke flat pedal development.

Prototype 35mm comfort mountain bike handlebars, too!

The new BikeYoke wireless dropper also happened to be mounted on top of some in-development carbon mountain bike bars that weren’t entirely round. With a flattened profile in the rise of the bars, BikeYoke is able to balance some real vertical comfort with the torsional stiffness of modern 35mm diameter bars. The bars also feature titanium mesh reinforcement in the brake/shifter/remote clamping area for extra security.

BikeYoke says the new carbon bars don’t have a set release date yet, as they are still working to optimize layup to get the best rider comfort, while still passing the most stringent strength, stress & impact-resistance testing on the market.

Don’t worry, I personally find just about every modern 35mm bar too stiff, so I’m be keeping a close eye on this project and will share more news whenever I know more.

And for sure, we’ve put our name on a short list to test the BikeYoke Revive Wireless dropper as soon as one is ready to review!

Bikeyoke.com

The post BikeYoke First Looks: Revive Wireless Dropper Post, plus New Pedals & Handlebar Prototypes appeared first on Bikerumor.

The task set out by Pierron and his team mates, Thibaut Daprela and Myriam Nicole, was actually a little more nuanced than that. They asked for a tire that was faster-rolling, with a more precise ride feel than the Magic Mary, without giving up braking performance along the way.

Schwalbe Tacky Chan

In the development of the Tacky Chan, Schwalbe took advantage of the large tread blocks of the Big Betty. No fewer than twelve cuts of its tread pattern were tested back-to-back by the team, in the hunt for a tire that exhibited that increased precision the riders were after.

The initial cut taken forward from the twelve options was similar, but not identical, to the tread pattern launched today. Ramps were added to the center-tread lugs to reduce rolling resistance, and the shoulder lugs were made 20% more stable than those seen on the Magic Mary to result in increased lateral support. Braking edges were increased marginally, and the distance between center lugs was increased by 10% in order to allow each to “nibble into the ground better” – as Jack Reading puts it.

An early prototype of the Tacky Chan was raced by Thibaut Daprela at the 2021 World Championships in Val di Sole. Despite riding well in his qualification run, Thibaut crashed twice in his finals run. Though it can be hard to say exactly what caused any crash, Schwalbe took a long hard look in the mirror and asked themselves if the tire was at fault.

The feedback from Thibaut himself was that the tire had potential, but it hadn’t reached the finish line in his eyes. Further refinements were needed – specifically, the large edge lugs were too stiff, too unyielding, and more cornering control was required.

From there, Schwalbe made the following key changes:

• Shoulder lugs were reduced in volume, but with the braking edge increasing by 1mm
• Extra siping was added to give more lateral flex to the shoulder knobs

Schwalbe Tacky Chan: First Impressions

At the launch event in Leogang, we were handed a Commencal Meta POWER TR. The 140mm eMTB delivers its rear wheel travel through the four-bar Contact System, and is damped by a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil. Its 29″ wheels were home to a set of the 2.4″ Schwalbe Tacky Chan tires in the Super Downhill casing with the Addix Ultra Soft compound making up the tread cap.

To get a feel for the tire, we were treated to a mixture of fast, ultra-flattering bike park descents and more natural, narrow sections of singletrack littered with roots. Trail conditions were very dry; most surfaces were hard-packed, with a small dose of loose-over-hard thrown in for good measure.

To be clear; this is not a review. To comment on how the Tacky Chan compares to any other tires of this genre would be disingenuous. I don’t often ride such flattering bike park conditions, nor do I often ride coil-sprung eBikes. A set of Tacky Chan tires are making their way home with me, for the purposes of back-to-back testing in the Tweed Valley.

With that in mind, here are my initial thoughts.

With 17 PSI in the front tire and 20 PSI in the rear, I set off down the Steinberg Line by Fox, a mellow track with smooth, fast berms and the occasional opportunity to double some rollers. I had a great time, and was super impressed with how easily manageable, and even playful, the Commencal Meta Power TR was. But, you’re not here to hear about eBikes.

The Schwalbe Tacky Chan wasn’t developed with eBikes in mind – though it is E50 approved – but my initial thought is that it is certainly not a bad option. It didn’t take too many corners to get up to a good speed, and the tires felt consistent throughout a long descent of the bike park.

Splatters of tire sealant on the sidewalls suggest the front and rear tires were burping a little air in turns, but I can’t say I actually felt those moments while riding the track. It’s possible the tires may have benefited from a little more air. Precision of the tire felt good when pushing for grip to initiate cornering, though I wasn’t yet in a place where I wanted to trust the setup with riskier maneuvers on the loose-over-hard patches of track.

More trust in the bike and tires came on the second day of riding the same tracks, and I did on a handful of occasions end up at higher lean angles that induced a considerable amount of excitement and concern in equal measure. Nevertheless, the Schwalbe Tacky Chan held the line without drama, suggesting I was still a way off finding the edge of its grip.

On the more natural trails that featured more loose, less well-supported corners, I did feel a little vagueness on the front tire in situations where I was perhaps not weighting the front wheel quite as much as I should have been. The front wheel never washed entirely, but warning shots were fired, reminding me to load up the front tire more to ensure it could demand grip from the terrain.

Jack Reading, a World Cup Downhill athlete supported by Schwalbe, did say that the Schwalbe Tacky Chan performs at its best when it is ridden hard, and my experience is certainly consistent with that.

In terms of wear, the rear tire had begun to lose its braking edges after less than a day’s worth of riding in the bike park – the above photo is of the rear tire ridden by a fellow journalist who is somewhat more aggressive and, he wont mind me saying, heavier than I am.

To be fair, you’re in for a very expensive season at the bike park if you’re wanting to run Addix Ultra Soft on the rear for the duration. In the interest of durability, you’d probably want to go with the faster-rolling Addix Soft compound option – but that is only available in 27.5″ x 2.4″ in the Super Gravity casing. Indeed, the Tacky Chan launches with just six options, details on which can be found in the table below.

Back-to-back testing of the Magic Mary versus the Tacky Chan is booked in for next month. A more thorough, insightful review will be provided thereafter.

Pricing & Availability

schwalbe.com

The post Schwalbe Announce Tacky Chan DH Tire as Ordered by Daprela & Pierron appeared first on Bikerumor.

Buckle up, there’s a lot of new bike tech on the horizon…

Eurobike 2023 tech teasers from Frankfurt

The cycling industry still feels like it’s in a transition out of a few years of unpredictability, so we’re not sure exactly what to expect. And again, the show is in a slightly different time of year – pushed a few weeks earlier this time, maybe better aligned with bike companies’ purchasing schedules for next year?

What we do know is that a lot of gear has been in the development pipeline for a while, and it’s itching to hit the market. But rumor has it that many bike companies have a lot of extra products still waiting to be sold, so there’ll likely be a number of products we had seen hints of before that are actually finally available to buy now.

We’ve received a bunch of embargoed news in the past week or so that is scheduled to go live on Wednesday. And there’s already been plenty of early pre-Eurobike launches – like Bosch’s new lightweight SX ebike motor, Pinion’s potentially revolutionary ON.E ebike motor and gearbox combined into one, last week’s debut of SRAM affordable 12-speed Apex XPLR/Eagle/AXS.

So what’s new? What’s coming soon?

Frantically pulling bike boxes out of moving vans, UPS & DHL deliveries coming down to the wire, furiously building bikes and expo stands… most brands aren’t quite ready. But we spotted some goodies…

Like this new ultra-aerodynamic carbon track bike from Aero Design Swiss. We’ve been following this small company since they debuted a wildly adjustable aero cockpit setup six years ago. And it looks like their track bike concept has become real, now that UCI frame and fork regulations have relaxed in recent years.

Will this be ready for the Paris Olympics? We’ll find out this week.

More and more braking systems have evolved in recent years to improve rider safety. This latest one for cargo bikes is Magura’s new CBS combined braking system, where both brake levers activate both front & rear brakes in an optimized ratio designed for maximum stopping power and maximum safety.

OK, I’m a sucker for a no photos sign – it is after all why journalists are allowed to enter the tradeshow. But even better than the no pictures please pictogram under this Moustache bikes integrated mid-drive gravel ebike prototype… the handwritten sign asking the event cleaning crew to please DO NOT CLEAN their dusty display bike.

Here’s a sneaky sneak peek. Notice anything special about this new 3T Exploro Ultra gravel bikepacking and adventure bike? 3 important bits:

1. It is actually labeled as an Exploro Extrema Italia, which means a new model name AND that it is made-in-Italy with 3T’s unique automated fiber winding construction.
2. It has no visible cables. So far, only the 3T Strada road bike has gotten a fully-internal routing option thanks to wireless-only drivetrains needing just to route the brake lines inside.
3. That’s also a new 3T stem that cleanly routes those brake lines into the frame. The smooth shaping suggests it might be carbon, and a tiny Italian tricolore flag on top suggests it is also made in-house by 3T.

What does Re-cycling mean for Igus, makers of a lot of the bushings that go into your bikes?

Igus has been working with other cycling industry producers to create more bike components that are made of recyclable and recycled plastics in an effort to lower the carbon footprint of the bikes we all ride. We’re curious to see how they are getting along.

A premium Riese & Müller commuter ebike or cargo bike is expensive. So the German brand is introducing a subscription service – where for around 100€ a month you essentially lease the ebike you need including a service program – all without having to buy what are often 6-10,000€ setups. Then, you can always swap out to a new version when your needs change.

I’m also a sucker for new tools. Unior has more than a dozen bits labeled as ‘NEW’ on the wall of their workshop. It looks like 2 out of 4 of these are for opening beers while working on bikes. I don’t disagree with that as a worthwhile function.

But I’ll check out what other functional bike tools are new too, since I’m pretty sure I can already open a beer with either those pliers, zip-tie nips, or even that BB wrench.

What do two of the most successful recent road racers to retire do when they hang up their cleats?

For Marcel Kittel & Tony Martin, it’s developing bikes to make sure their kids and yours stay safer when they ride. Their new li:on brand of kids’ bikes feature integrated high-visibility lighting, retroreflective paint, and tech meant to communicate with active collision avoidance systems in modern cars. Plus, the bike is made of recycled AND recyclable carbon composites, and they are built tough to survive the abuse that kids put their bikes through.

OK, we all need an ebike to pull our Airstream trailer, right? If so, Benno bikes has got you covered. Remember, aluminum Airstreams are light.

How about some new mountain bike drivetrain tech?

We first covered the complete TRP EVO 7-speed & 12-speed MTB groupsets back in March. Now it looks like they are finding a bit more traction, and we’ll see what bikes spec the all-new shiny gold drivetrain for the coming year.

Gas Gas may be a moto brand for many, but as part of the Pierer group that also includes Husqvarna, KTM motorcycles (but not bikes or ebikes), and also Felt… they’ve now got some well-developed eMTBs too.

OK, let’s leave it at that. There are still plenty of empty spots to get filled out in the next few hours. The show officially kicks off Wednesday.

There will be a lot of new tech to delve deeper into in the coming days and weeks ahead.

Stay tuned. Maybe even follow our Eurobike tag for the latest hits as they drop.

Eurobike.com

The post Eurobike 2023 Sneak Peek: Get Ready for a Flood of New Bike & eBike Prototype Tech! appeared first on Bikerumor.

Pinion Mission ON.E combined ebike motor & gearbox

Pinion’s ON.E drive is truly the first mainstream self-contained ebike powertrain – electric pedal-assist motor & electronically shifing transmission in one. Pinion calls it a MGU solution: motor + gearbox unit. A development project 12 years in the making, now all ebike drive components – motor, shifting system, sensors, and control tech – have been developed from the ground up as a single system, designed to work seamlessly together.

Connected as one, the MGU of the Pinion ON.E eDrive system always knows what gear the rider is in, what cadence & pedal-power the rider is inputting, and can adjust the speed & motor power support accordingly for perfect internal shifts & smooth power output to the rear wheel. The ON.E means an ebike that “knows when to shift, shifts precisely, reliably, instantaneously and – depending on the setting – can even shift for you“. Pinion says the result is an ebike with “unmatched reliability and performance in a package of similar size and weight as other current mid-motor e-bike drive systems with external shifting components“.

This is what the e‑bike world has been waiting for for years! Drive and gearbox in one housing. The benefits are so obvious that it was clear that sooner or later this product had to come. The fact that Pinion, a German medium-sized company, is outsmarting the global corporations and being the first to come onto the market with a motor-gear unit is not just a nice underdog story, but also proof of its innovative strength.

– Arne Bischoff, Pressedienst-Fahrrad

Tech details

The new made-in Germany Pinion ON.E integrated both a ‘wear-free’ brushless motor and transmission into a single lightweight die-cast magnesium housing that protects both sealed systems from outside weather and trail contamination.

At just around 4kg complete, it also is one of the lightest ebike systems available, factoring in both motor and gearing combined in one.

Pinion rates their new powertrain as outputting a max virtual 85Nm of torque to compare it to other systems (based on a 1:1 gearing ratio.) Since their system actually combines motor and gearbox in one, its real torque varies by what gear you are in – it tops out at a real 160Nm at the rear wheel. But that also means that you don’t lose nearly as much energy/torque/power in the drivetrain itself. It’s also the same reason why comparing ebike hub motor and mid-drive motor torque is difficult, so we’ll assume Pinion’s 85Nm figure is comparable to standard mid-drive motors.

And of course, one of the most important features of even a standard Pinion gearbox is its combined low maintenance and longevity. For the new Pinion ON.E eDrive system, all you have to do is change the oil inside every 10,000km.

Pinion offers the new ON.E system in their typical 9-speed (568% gearing range) or 12-speed (600% overall gear range) options to suit wide applications from city ebikes to aggressive eMTB, too. Each model is also available in both the standard 25km/h speed-limited version with 600W peak power output, and the higher speed S-series with 800W short-term maximum power for S-Pedelecs. The ON.E system is rated not only for high-speed, but also pretty heavy ebikes – with max allowable system weight up to 180kg/400lb!

Pinion ON.E eDrive availability

Of course, either a motor or a gearbox needs an ebike/bike to make it work, so you can’t just go out and buy a new Pinion ON.E eDrive system on its own.

It doesn’t just bolt into the same holes as other mid-drive ebike motors – and uses a new larger bracket relative to existing pedal-power-only Pinion-ready bikes.

As of today, several new ebikes from city commuters to mixed-surface trekking & touring ebikes to high-performance trail eMTBs can be found from well-known ebike producers including Bulls, Flyer, Pegasus, Rotwild, Simplon, Tout Terrain, and several others.

Pricing is generally expected to be at the mid- to high-end of ebikes, just as you would see with Pinion gearbox box bikes. We’ll dig into a few new Pinion ON.E eDrive powered ebikes in the coming days and weeks for more detail.

To me the combined ON.E powertrain seems like one of the first genuinely innovative solutions in the ebike sphere in a long time, and I’m curious to ride it, and see how the ebike market adapts to more integrated drive solutions.

Pinion.eu

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In a state-of-the-art pyrolysis process that takes place in Germany, Schwalbe is taking discarded tires – be they bicycle or automotive – and breaking them down into their constituent components ready to be reformed into new Green Marathon tires.

The recovered materials are then shipped to Vietnam and Indonesia where they are used to produce the Green Marathon. Even with this extra step of shipping, the overall carbon footprint is reduced as compared to that of the outgoing Marathon.

The Green Marathon is currently the only Schwalbe tire produced in this way. However, it being the brand’s best-selling tire of all time, it seems a great place to start in reducing impact on the environment.

And, they’re not stopping at the Marathon; Schwalbe plans to roll out this more socially and environmentally responsible approach to tire production to more of its bicycle tires in future. For now, let’s take a closer look at the Green Marathon, and the steps required to produce this first-of-its-kind recycled tire.

Schwalbe Green Marathon

Schwalbe Marathon fans will note that the switch to this greener manufacturing process comes with a significant tread pattern update. While the outgoing Marathon saw a slick center tread cap, the Green Marathon is more textured in this region, offering up more edges to bite into softer terrain. Despite this, we are told the Green Marathon is in fact slightly faster rolling than its predecessor.

The Schwalbe Green Marathon is intended for a wide variety of bicycles, from touring bikes to urban commuters and eBikes. With its launch, new sizes are added to the line-up, including higher volume options that are better suited to eBikes.

So, what is it made of?

Seventy-percent (by weight) of the Schwalbe Green Marathon is produced from recycled and renewable materials. But, what does that really mean?

Let’s break it down.

We first got wind of Schwalbe’s intention to produce a recycled tire back in March, when they announced receipt of a supply of recycled carbon black (rCB) from their recycling partner, Pyrum Innovations AG. Carbon black is used as a pigment and reinforcing phase in tire manufacturing, but its manufacture is environmentally damaging – it comes from the incomplete combustion of coal and coal tar. So, isolating this essential component from old tires is preferable, from an environmental standpoint, to continuing its production from fossil fuels.

The Green Marathon’s new Addix ECO rubber compound is the first production tire from Schwalbe to contain the rCB from Pyrum Innovations AG – 100% of its carbon black is rCB.

The rubber itself consists of a combination of natural virgin rubber, as well as recycled rubber, while the silica – an important filler necessary for grip in wet conditions – comes from rice husk ash. That latter aspect does not compete with food production. We are told the rubber is 98% pollutant-free – what that 2% is, we are yet to learn.

One third of the Green Marathon’s puncture protection belt, GreenGuard, is made from recycled latex products, while the the other two thirds are Fair Rubber. Finally, the bead core wire is made of recycled steel.

Despite use of such a large proportion of non-virgin rubber, the Schwalbe Green Marathon is said to be equal in performance and durability to the not-so-green Marathon that it replaces.

“The Green Marathon combines innovation and environmental friendliness on a new level. It is the result of years of research work that we have carried out together with our production partner Hung-A. We at Schwalbe are immensely proud to be able to present a model on the 40th anniversary of the popular Marathon that represents a milestone in terms of ecological responsibility. And most importantly, the Green Marathon doesn’t compromise on performance in any way and continues to lead the way in puncture protection and mileage”.

Frank Bohle, CEO of Ralf Bohle GmbH, the company behind Schwalbe

What about the remaining 30%?

The remaining 30% of the Schwalbe Green Marathon tire is virgin material, i.e. new rubber that does not come from a recycled source. To source this in a socially responsible manner, Schwalbe work with fairrubber.org, an organization that ensures the South East Asian communities working to harvest the raw material – latex – from the rubber trees, get more money for their work.

Money that comes from Schwalbe – an extra 0.50 € per kilo of natural rubber – is paid to the farming communities responsible for harvesting the raw material from rubber trees at the very beginning of the supply chain. The money doesn’t go directly into the pockets of individuals – rather, it goes to community cooperatives that appropriate the funds as they see fit – the building of new schools, for example.

“Taking responsibility is a natural part of our business. We are a family-owned company. We are operating within the cycling industry and, as most of us know, the bicycle promotes an efficient, healthy and emission-free mobility. So, we think it is our job, our duty, to make the bicycle as socially and environmentally responsible as possible. Some of these initiatives include the well-being of our employees and their families, the higher fair working standards in our supply chain. And of course, part of the reason why we are here today; products that are circular and as eco-friendly as possible”.

Felix, head of the Corporate Social Responsibility Team at Schwalbe

Clearly, there is a huge amount of information to be unpacked here, particularly around the details of the recycling process and the logistics of production. Overall, this appears to be a good step in the right direction toward more sustainable tire production, and we hope other tire brands and manufacturers will take note.

As we head into EuroBike week, time is short. We hope to bring you a more detailed explanation of the process, with a background to Schwalbe’s decision-making around this new eco-friendly approach, in due course. For now, we leave you with a quick Q&A session that was held following the press conference.

Bikerumor: Can the Schwalbe Green Marathon be recycled at the end of its life?

Schwalbe: Yes.

Bikerumor: What is the limit in terms of the quality of the rubber that you can produce from the recycling process, in terms of performance?

Schwalbe: Honestly speaking, the limit right now is unknown. We are in the middle of research and development, and what we are presenting today is a tire that lasts just as long as the old Marathon, which is known to last for thousands and thousands of kilometers. In the background we are also testing tires for other segments as well. Hopefully we will be able to show you more in the future.

Bikerumor: How are you controlling the consistency of the final product, when there must be such a large variation in the batches of recycled tires that you receive to begin the process?

Schwalbe: That is the great challenge when you use recycled materials. With virgin materials, you have one input and one consistent output. With recycled materials, we have many different varying inputs, which can lead to different outputs. So, we have quality controls on our side. We have to say, our recycling partner, Pyrum Innovations, have done a lot of investment and development in showing that we have one continuous constant output, so that we don’t have any changes in quality in our output.

Bikerumor: Is there much waste along the way? Do you have to discard a certain proportion of the tires you are given to recycle because they don’t meet a certain quality, or does everything go in?

Schwalbe: Some tires – like some spike tires, we currently can’t recycle. But this is also something that we are working on right now so that all tires can be recycled.

Bikerumor: Is the final rubber compound slightly different in its properties to the compound on the outgoing Schwalbe Marathon?

Schwalbe: It is nearly the same. There is a slight difference in rolling resistance, but it is only slightly better. The durability is the same. So we tested – this is quite interesting – more than any other product we have launched yet. We tested it in practice of course, we tested it in our laboratory too.

We also made so-called segment tires, where we had the tread pattern of the Green Marathon tire, with the compound of the old Marathon on one half and the compound of the Green Marathon on the other half. Then we tested it on daily commuters for 40,000-50,000 kilometers – then we analysed the tire. So we can say performance wise, and the durability of the tires, is quite the same as the old one.

Pricing & Availability

Price of the Green Marathon tire is equivalent to that of the outgoing model; there is no financial penatly associated with the switch to a more environmentally conscious manufacturing method – at least not one that is passed onto the consumer.

• EUR: 30,90 €
• UK: £30.99 GBP
• US: $32.00 USD

schwalbe.com

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As compared to the Bosch Performance Line CX and Performance Line CX Race motors that deliver a maximum torque of 85 Nm, the Bosch SX motor offers a less aggressive 55 Nm. That’s not to say it wont in future find a home on more aggressive eMTBs; only that it has a more conservative approach to power consumption, complementing the efforts of the rider in a more gentle rider effort:assist ratio.

Bosch Performance Line SX eBike Motor

Indeed, Bosch says the Performance Line SX motor delivers “a more natural riding sensation” than its more powerful 85 Nm sibling. That said, it has a massive peak power output of 600 Watts. Meanwhile, the TQ-HPR50 – of Trek Fuel EXe fame – boasts a peak power of just 300 Watts. However, the two are equivalent in terms of their rated continuous power output, which comes in at 250 Watts.

The Bosch Performance Line SX system has a claimed weight of 4 kg. The motor itself weighs around 2 kg, and is thus ~750g lighter than the full power Performance Line CX Race offering. The 400 Wh CompactTube battery weighs 2 kg, bringing the system weight up to a claimed 4 kg – that includes the Mini Remote and the System Controller. Despite its lightweight magnesium casing, the motor itself is not quite as light as the TQ-HPR50 which comes in at 1.85 kg.

A new PowerMore 250 Wh battery brings range extension in a package the size of a water bottle. This weighs a claimed 1.6 kg, bringing the weight of the Bosch Performance Line SX system at its maximum 650 Wh capacity to around 5.6 kg.

Of course, as is the law here in Europe, the Bosch Performance Line SX motor stops providing assistance at speeds over 25 km/h. However, key to the claim of its ability to provide a natural riding sensation, this motor offers around 50% less pedaling resistance (or drag) as compared to the Performance Line CX motors.

Likely adding to the more natural ride feel is a narrower Q-Factor. While the full-power Performance Line CX motor offers a wider stance of 175mm, the “new sealing concept” and narrow cranks bring the Q-Factor of the Performance Line SX motor down to 160mm.

While this lighter SX motor was designed with a range of eBikes in mind, from Gravel eBikes, to lightweight eMTBs, as well as Urban eBikes, Bosch has placed a lot of emphasis on what the new system can offer to the drop-bar contingent.

For example, they have designed a new Mini Remote Dropbar Controller with a 31.8mm clamp diameter meant to be operated from the tops only.

Also notable for Gravel eBikes is the addition of a “Sprint” mode, in addition to the tuneable Tour+ and eMTB modes that riders of any Bosch-powered eMTB will be familiar with. This is said to “help eGravel bikers to quickly reach and maintain a high speed. On high-cadence sections the new riding mode supports them disproportionately to their own power: the faster the eBiker pedals, the higher the level of support”.

“Now that most types of bicycle have been electrified, the individual categories are becoming even more diverse. With the new Performance Line SX, we are primarily targeting sporty riders, for whom a low total weight is important for riding fast and experiencing a natural flow. Our goal was to maintain the typical Bosch quality, riding performance and reliability and transfer these to light, agile bikes. With the Performance Line SX, state-of-the-art eBike designs and maximum riding fun can be optimally combined.”

Claus Fleischer, CEO of Bosch eBike Systems.

The first models with the Performance Line SX are expected to be available on the market from Autumn 2023.

bosch-ebike.com

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Always one for an adventure, bottles were filled, pedals installed, and we were off for a mostly pavement loop in the hills inland from Monterey, California.

Quick background: Alchemy’s first gravel bike, the Ronin, is more of a race bike, with geometry closer to a road bike and a short headtube that allows aggressive body positioning. The Lycos is their sophomore effort, aimed at riders who like to mix mountain bike trails into their rides, with slacker geometry and much larger tire clearance (which we were maxing out with 700×50 Maxxis Ramblers).

Both bikes feature top tube bag mounts and three bottle mounts, one being under the downtube near the BB shell. The key difference is the geometry and layups.

Once we rolled out, any concerns about the Lycos’ road manners quickly dissipated. Starting in a paceline full of strong riders, it held a line and behaved well riding two abreast once we reached low-traffic country roads.

The real fun began once we hit dirt, with a long, gradual climb through the hills before a ripping fast descent that had its share of stutter bumps, loose pebbly ground cover, and winding curves.

Handling was stable and predictable, allowing me to look around and enjoy the scenery a bit.

The Lycos’ fork has three mounts for extra storage, plus fender mounts for foul-weather riding. It’s not pitched as an “adventure” or bikepacking bike and lacks the extra frame mounts to support racks or fixed bags, but there’s no reason you couldn’t strap a variety of frame bags to it and head out for multi-day excursions.

The thin seatstays are set low, and the bottom half of the seat tube thins and flattens, adding compliance and comfort over rough roads. I’ve found that the Ronin is surprisingly comfortable for having a racy attitude, with seatstays that go straight to the top, but the Lycos improves upon this while maintaining spirited performance when you need to beat your buddies to the county line.

Alchemy offers stock colorways with your choice of stealth or standard logos, plus custom paint from their in-house studio.

I rode the GRX Di2 build ($6,499), which even with a 1x drivetrain was fine on the road sections and gravel…which is good, because the frame has no accommodation for front derailleurs. Just change the front chainring size to suit your needs, or swap to a MTB cassette and derailleur for more range.

Complete bikes start at just $4,999, and other than the GRX build all others are SRAM with your choice of XPLR gravel or Eagle MTB cassettes and derailleurs out back. All frames use a UDH rear derailleur.

It’s something I could see riding long miles, on road or off. If you’re looking for a single drop-bar bike to pull double duty, it’s worth a look. I certainly wouldn’t mind one of these in my own stable.

AlchemyBikes.com

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As a junior in 2019, Daprela took the win here in Leogang, but his more recent results in the Elite Men’s field have been a mixed bag. In 2020 we saw him place 11th at his first World Championship, and in 2021 he bettered that by a significant margin, missing out on the top step by just over a second to winner, Troy Brosnan. Last year, a crash in finals put Thibaut back in 59th. Fingers crossed this year he will stay on his bike; clearly the young french man has unfinished business here in the Austrian Alps.

After deep dusty conditions for practice, high winds and heavy rain put a halt on proceedings right in the middle of the Junior Men’s Finals. By the time the Elite Men’s qualies rolled around, the moisture had taken its toll on some sections of the track leaving riders with some unpredictable surface conditions to manage. Despite such adversity, Thibaut produced a strong run, qualifying 19th for today’s semi-finals, in which he placed 8th – see full results here.

Ahead of the big day, we grabbed Thibaut’s bike to learn more about his preferred settings from Commencal Muc Off head mechanic, Maxime Auguin.

Thibaut Daprela’s Commencal Supreme DH V5

At 177 cm (5ft 8.5″) tall, Thibaut Daprela is riding the large Commencal Supreme DH V5 in the shortest possible reach position of 484mm, with the 200mm Fox 40 Factory fork at a head angle of 63.5°. The air spring is pressurized to 85-90 PSI with 2 or 3 tokens dependent on the track.

The bike is a dedicated mullet with rear-center length adjustable through 12mm via a three-position flip-chip at the dropout. In Leogang this weekend, Thibaut is running the bike in the middle setting.

There are more adjustments available elsewhere, making the Supreme DH V5 versatile enough for the full spectrum of World Cup Downhill Tracks. A four-position flip-chip at the lower shock mount allows for two possible progression settings, and two possible bottom bracket heights. In Lenzerheide last weekend, Thibaut ran the higher of the two BB positions, but has switched to the lower setting here in Leogang.

With an air shock in the form of the Fox Float X2, Thibaut prefers the bike configured in the more linear of the two possible settings. Its air can is home to 255-260 PSI and 3 volume spacers. Like the rest of the Commencal Muc Off team, Thibaut likes to run rebound fully open for a super fast return.

This weekend, the team is running the 6-bar linkage seen on the production Supreme DH V5, but mechanic Maxime Auguin tells us they do have some not-so-stock links waiting in the wings, ready to be switched onto the bike if the track and conditions demand it. Not shown (apologies) is a seat stay brace, of which there are three options. Thibaut runs the “medium” brace that delivers… medium rear-end stiffness.

This being a high pivot design, an idler pulley routes the chain close to the main pivot position to manage the effects of chain growth on the behavior of the suspension. There are three possible mounting positions for the idler; Thibaut prefers the setting that reduces pedal kickback but doesn’t eliminate it entirely.

Thibaut’s bike is rolling on 30mm internal width carbon rims from Enve that are still under development. We are told they strike a good balance between stiffness and compliance. These are laced to Chris King hubs via 28 spokes – front and rear. The rim of the front wheel has a weight secured to it, a hack that is said to improve the bike’s handling in the air.

Seated onto those carbon rims is a “First Ride” tire from Schwalbe with an all-new tread pattern. Thibaut runs the Super Downhill casing front and rear, with a Tubolight EVO DH insert in the rear for even more protection. Populating the rear tire is around 1.7- 1.8 bar (24-26 PSI), with 1.5 bar (~22 PSI in the front).

In the cockpit, Thibaut runs a 780mm wide Enve M9 carbon bar (with ODI grips). It has a 30mm rise. The Commencal Muc Off team bikes are equipped with a prototype saddle from Fizik, with a short rear end and a ribbed design topped with a tacky rubber to reduce slippage between rider and saddle. Mechanic, Maxime, tells us this saddle really helps the riders have a good awareness of their positioning on the bike.

TRP DH-R EVO Brakes take care of speed management, with prototype 220mm rotors front and rear.

Good luck to Thibaut in today’s finals run. Unfortunately, Thibaut is the only rider from Commencal Muc Off on track today with Myriam Nicole still sidelined with concussion symptoms, and the 2022 World Cup DH Overall Winner, Amaury Pierron, out with a fractured C5 sustained in Lenzerheide last weekend – as revealed by team manager Thibaut Ruffin in an interview with FullAttack.

We wish both Myriam and Amaury full and speedy recoveries.

commencal.com

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It’s now 1×12 only, dropping the front derailleur and adding a cog, making it SRAM’s first 12-speed DoubleTap mechanical road group (finally!). And there’s a wireless AXS group, too, letting you use batteries, or not, and choose between 11-44 XPLR gravel gearing or 11-50 Eagle mountain bike gearing.

Apex 1×12 Gearing

SRAM’s XPLR gravel groups have a cassette that sits between road and mountain bike range, with 10-44 cassettes, giving groadies the closer gear steps they like for drop bar bikes, but with the necessary range for off-road exploration.

Eagle riders, however, want all the range and might want to pack more stuff and need the easiest gear they can for bigger, bolder adventures. For them, the 10-50 and 10-52 cassettes work.

For the new Apex groups, the only key difference is the cassette fits on a standard HG freehub body, using an 11-tooth small cog for both XPLR (11-44) and Eagle (11-50) cassettes:

• XPLR 11-44: 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-38-44
• EAGLE 11-50: 11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-42-50

Shared Parts & Differences

The beauty of the new groups are that almost every part is interchangeable with their other groups. Any XPLR cassette, crank, or (AXS) derailleur can be subbed in for other XPLR parts.

Basically, anything from the new Apex XPLR group is compatible with any of their XPLR parts. The Apex XPLR AXS derailleurs will shift the 10-44, 11-44, and the smaller 10-36 road cassette, but the Apex Mechanical will only shift the 10/11-44 cassettes.

And any of the Apex Eagle parts are compatible with other Eagle parts (except T-Type), and both AXS & mechanical versions work with the larger 10-52 cassettes, too. So, you could upgrade the crankset or cassette (or both) and still have a 1×12 mechanical group, only lighter.

All of the Apex derailleurs have Cage Lock and a spring-loaded clutch (not the hydraulic Orbit damper from the road groups), and AXS derailleurs get their Overload Clutch that decouples the shifting motor in the event of an impact, then resets automatically.

The Apex Crankset is essentially the same as Rival, but with new graphics and finish, including the aftermarket direct mount alloy chainring. For OE, you may find a new steel chainring, too. There’s even a spindle-based power meter option, same as the Rival group.

It comes only with the longer spindle to fit both road and MTB bottom bracket standards. It’s designed around a 47.5mm chainline, which offers more tire clearance than the narrower 45mm chainline available on higher performance road groups.

New Apex FlatTop chain is the same as the others, but without the Nickel-Chrome finish.

The brakes are all Flat Mount now, too, and they’re basically a Flat Mount version of their Level MTB brakes. It uses the same pads as their other road brakes, but doesn’t get the Bleeding Edge bleed ports like the higher-end stuff.

There’s also an Apex flat bar brake lever, which can pair with any of their Eagle 12-speed mountain bike shifters, mechanical or AXS depending on which derailleur you choose.

The new brake levers are broad, with a flatter radius providing a bigger area for your finger to pull on.

Compared to Rival, the Apex brake lever is stamped, not forged, the derailleur pulleys have bushings rather bearings, and the cassettes start at 11 rather than 10. And Apex isn’t as shiny.

Apex AXS Wireless Details

The XPLR derailleur uses the same spring clutch chain management as the Rival derailleur for both AXS and mechanical versions, similar to their mountain bike derailleurs, but with no Cage Lock. These will use the standard road Flattop chain.

If you wanted to do a “mullet” drivetrain with a mountain bike cassette and derailleur, there’s a new X1 Eagle rear derailleur that’s similar to GX but with different materials, and it’ll be an OE-only option. If you wanted to build your own, you’ll need to get a GX AXS derailleur and a standard Eagle chain (not the new T-Type MTB Flattop chain).

Put another way, if you buy a complete bike with an Apex Eagle AXS build, you’ll get this X1 derailleur. If you’re buying an aftermarket “Apex Eagle” group to add to your existing bike, you’ll get a GX AXS derailleur.

Shifters have the same ergonomics as the latest Force and Rival groups, with a smaller hood circumference and easier-to-reach levers.

Apex Mechanical Details

Why did it take so long for them to make a 12-speed mechanical road group? Because they wanted to get the gearing and the details right, and make sure it was properly positioned in the market.

When their first 1×11 groups came out and started getting used for the nascent gravel scene, people were pairing road shifters with mountain bike cassettes and cobbling stuff together. Now, with SRAM’s XPLR groups having dialed in their gearing and concepts, they’ve got two new derailleurs and an all-new shifter to give you the options you want.

The shifters are paired with the same hydraulic brake levers as the AXS group, but they click through 12 cable-actuated gears. The hood and body are shaped the same as the latest Rival and Force groups, designed for riding more on the hoods.

They use an EAGLE 12-speed gear actuation inside, which means it works with their remaining 12-speed mountain bike derailleurs (more on that compatibility in a minute). The DoubleTap mechanism is pushed up higher into the “pommel” (that part at the front that sticks up), which they say gives you plenty of leverage for easy shift actuation.

To make this work, they modified their GX mechanical derailleurs by adding a barrel adjuster on the derailleur’s B-knuckle…because SRAM’s mechanical mountain bike groups put the barrel adjuster on the shifter, not the derailleur. And they made two versions of it, one for Eagle cassettes and one for XPLR cassettes.

For Eagle, it’s essentially a GX mechanical MTB derailleur, but with the barrel adjuster. This means that the new Apex mechanical shifters are compatible with GX, XO & XX1 mechanical derailleurs, too, as long as you add an inline barrel adjuster in the cable housing.

For XPLR, there’s a different pulley position and fin to adjust its cable pull ratio, because the cog spacing and position on the 11-44 road/gravel cassette is different than the 11-50 Eagle Cassette.

Which means you can’t just swap cassettes, you’ll need to swap derailleurs, too, if you want to go between XPLR and Eagle. And probably chains to get the proper length.

Pricing & Availability

Apex AXS is available June 2023, expect it to show up on bikes ranging from $2,500 to $2800 with Apex AXS.

Crank lengths offered are 160/165/170/172.5/175mm. Chainrings come in 38-46 tooth counts, and OE parts have a new steel chainring option, aftermarket will get alloy chainrings.

Apex Mechanical follows in September. Expect it to show up on bikes ranging from $1,850 to $2,000 with Apex Mechanical.

Complete group prices are (include VAT for £/€):

• Apex AXS XPLR – $1,195 / £1262 / €1411
• Apex AXS Eagle – $1,294 / £1303 / €1460
• Apex AXS Flat Bar XPLR – $1,063 / £1099 / €1225
• Apex AXS Eagle Flat Bar – $1,162 / £1140 / €1274
• Apex mechanical XPLR – $987 / £1060 / €1176
• Apex mechanical Eagle – $971 / £1035 / €1149
• Apex mechanical XPLR Flat Bar – $696 / £730 / €811
• Apex mechanical Eagle Flat Bar – $680 / £705 / €784

Complete group claimed weights are:

• Apex AXS XPLR – 2,890g
• Apex AXS Eagle – 3,181g
• Apex mechanical XPLR – 2,872g
• Apex mechanical Eagle – 3,062

Individual parts weights have not been announced, but we have groups on the way for long term testing.

SRAM.com

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Some of you may recall that Danny’s season was forced into a late start after he had to abandon the Lourdes test event in order to treat a gnarly skin infection on his leg (view here with caution). We are pleased to report that Danny is fully recovered, and was able to lay down a very respectable race run in Lenzerheide. He was actually second fastest through the speed trap with a speed of 57.14 km/h – bettered only by race winner Jordan Williams’ 57.96 km/h.

Danny went well on the new frame, placing 12th in finals with a time of 02:44.234 – just over 5 seconds back from Jordan. It’s likely the 2011 and 2016 Downhill World Champion was hoping for more last weekend, but it’s undeniably a solid start to the season. Here are the details on the Yorkshireman’s race bike.

Danny Hart’s Cube TWO15 Prototype

At 178 cm tall (5ft 10″) Danny Hart is on a 469mm reach Cube TWO15 prototype, with a dedicated mullet wheel size configuration. As compared to the current TWO15 HPC 29 that Danny raced in 2021, the new bike still runs a Horst-Link (four-bar) suspension platform, but the location of the main pivot is a little higher, necessitating use of an idler pulley to minimize the negative effects of chain growth.

The idler pulley is mounted directly to the frame’s front triangle, and so it’s position does not change as the rear wheel is pushed through its travel. That’s in contrast to some high(er) pivot designs wherein the idler is mounted to a lower link or the chainstay – as is the case with i-track designs – and thus idler position relative to the BB changes throughout the travel.

Danny actually prefers the feel of a coil shock, but the clock says that he goes faster on an air spring. Indeed, he has run a coil shock for most of his career, but the team’s timed testing in San Remolo revealed that the air shock saves him around two seconds on a two minute track. That’s too big a margin to ignore, and so in Lenzerheide last weekend, Danny’s bike was home to the Fox Float X2, bolted to the frame in the less progressive of two possible positions.

In that air can, Danny is running 202 PSI with 3 volume spacers. In the Fox 40 Factory Fork, we have 84 PSI with 6 volume spacers. Danny’s mechanic tells us he likes quite a light compression tune, with rebound damping on the faster side.

New for this season is the addition of a floating brake arm. Instead of mounting the rear brake caliper to the stay, Cube have mounted it to a secondary structure that is mounted to the front triangle. Thus, all forces associated with rear braking are transmitted into that over-sized bottom bracket region, instead of into the frame linkage where they might negatively impact the suspension’s ability to keep the rear wheel tracking true – this property exhibited by suspension linkages is generally referred to as anti-rise.

Dependent on the linkage design in question, a yank on the rear brake when the bike is rolling at speed can cause the suspension to extend, or it can cause it to compress. Arguably, neither of these outcomes are ideal, and so many suspension manufacturers work to keep anti-rise figures close to 100% around the sag point, wherein the suspension remains neutral under braking. The latest Actofive P-Train 165 is a good example of that.

We haven’t spoken to the Cube engineers specifically on this, but it is likely their use of the floating brake arm is improving the bike’s ride feel specifically in heavy braking scenarios. Danny Hart himself tells us he prefers the bike with this brake arm, having raced the current prototype without it throughout last season. And, timed testing reveals the brake arm makes the bike faster, too.

On this prototype, an over-sized headtube accommodates reversible headset cups that allow for head angle adjustment of +/- 0.6°. Danny opts for the steeper of the two positions.

In the cockpit, a 20mm rise Race Face Atlas bar is cut down to 780mm and clamped to a 50mm custom stem. Danny prefers to roll the bar back further than most.

His mechanic tells us that the team riders have two Schwalbe tire casings available to them at a race weekend – “a downhill casing and downhill casing with a reinforced sidewall”. We deduce this to refer to the Schwalbe Super Downhill and Super Gravity casings, respectively. Danny prefers the former, it being the lighter of the two options, because it helps him pedal faster out of corners and out of the start gate.

Thus, when the track isn’t too littered with sharp rocks and roots, he will run the lighter tire in the rear without use of a tire insert. If he starts to puncture or dent rims, he’ll add a CushCore, or just switch to the heavier, more reinforced tire without the CushCore. On the front, Danny always opts for the lighter tire without an insert.

Last weekend, Danny was running the front wheel of the recently-released DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic wheelset, home to 28 spokes and a DT Swiss 541 rim. On the rear, we saw a DT Swiss EX 511 rim laced to a Ratchet EXP hub with the 36t ratchet. Both rims were home to a new “First Ride” tire from Schwalbe featuring an all-new tread pattern; the name of this one was blanked out.

Good luck to Danny and the rest of the Cube Factory Race Team this weekend in Leogang. Tomorrow could bring in some rain, so we may not get the super dusty, dry conditions seen in Lenzerheide!

cube.eu

The post Pro Bike Check: Danny Hart’s Prototype Cube TWO15 DH Bike appeared first on Bikerumor.

This was Atherton’s first race since Lenzerheide in June 2022, where she placed 6th. Before that, we hadn’t seen Rachel at a start gate since 2019 when she snapped her Achilles tendon in Les Gets. And of course, her time away from racing was further prolonged with the birth of her little girl, Arna, in 2021.

We’re over the moon to see Rachel back doing what she loves, and back to her winning ways! After the dust settled, we caught up with the DH superstar to find out how she felt throughout the weekend, hear her reflections on her race run, and to learn whether or not she’ll be defending that leader’s jersey in Leogang next weekend!

We also grabbed Rachel’s AM200 M to check out her preferred settings for race day.

Interview: Rachel Atherton

Bikerumor: I think I may have just witnessed one of the greatest returns to racing in the history of the sport. Congratulations! How does it feel to win the first round of the season?

Rachel Atherton: It feels totally surreal, 100% hasn’t sunk in yet. I honestly had no idea whether i’d even qualify – I was so nervous! It’s easy and comfortable for me training at home at Dyfi Bike Park on tracks that I know well, but a World Cup is something else entirely – all through practice I really struggled. There were definitely points that I almost didn’t race, I just had no idea if I was riding well or not and the other women looked so good!

Bikerumor: How much opportunity have you had through winter and spring to try different setups on your race bike?

Rachel Atherton: Well I ride a lot at home – Dyfi Bike Park – I ride downhill pretty much every Friday and Saturday and it’s a mix of fun laps with friends and fast gnarly laps! The last couple of months I’ve been trying to take it more seriously and starting to try full runs as I’ve thought more about racing.

It’s such a process though. After I had Arna, I just wanted to ride for fun. It was so refreshing for me as a racer, to not put that pressure on myself and just ride for fun and enjoy the laps and not to stress about what line I’m on, is it fastest, to not care if the group of friends stops a lot to chat etc. It’s been amazing not to be pushing myself to be fast all the time but instead to just ride and I feel like as a bike rider I’ve gotten better because of that.

I have had a lot of bike time which certainly counts for something!

When training full time, I never really had loads of bike time because I’d be so exhausted from the gym etc. I’d just turn up, do 5 full runs, then go home, so this new pace of shredding all day with mates, having a laugh, trying things like stupid lines, big jumps, doing massive trains etc., etc… I feel like it’s really added to my bike handling skills and that feels so good!

Since I started thinking about doing a few races this season, the last couple months I’ve definitely started to work on my setup more, but naturally as I’ve gotten faster since having Arna baby, your bike setup gets better as you ride better.

But world cups are just so different so it was awesome to be back in the Fox pits with Jordi, Jules and the gang getting their advice!

Bikerumor: When did you decide you were going to race in Lenzerheide and what factors played their part in that?

Rachel Atherton: I guess I have always known that I wanted to do something this year. I raced Lenzerheide in 2022 and was 6th, and that was literally with no training at all, just chilled riding at Dyfi Bike Park. And, as I said, living at the Bike Park has given me so much.

Other pros come up and we ride together – I ride loads with Brendan Fairclough when he comes up, Bernard Kerr has just moved to our local town to shred more, Peaty and Laurie, Jordan Williams, even Nina. Other racers come to train at Dyfi a lot and that gives me such a good opportunity to ride with them and when I can sort of keep up with the men it gets me buzzing and fired up and it would always make me question, “should I race again” it’s always there in my mind when I ride fast because I love racing, it’s in my blood, I can’t escape that need to go fast!

So, I knew I wanted to race but I also don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want to be stupid, I have a baby, i have a lot of injuries, I know I need to train like **** to race world cups. There’s a reason everyone trains so hard, but I didn’t have the energy to train hard because Arna didn’t sleep very well, so I waited until she started to sleep better and I felt like I came back alive when I got some more sleep, so then I wanted to train.

I started training whilst she napped and honestly I’ve been training for about 2 months. It’s helped my mental health so much and then as I started to get a bit stronger I thought… Well, the “shortest and easiest” track is Lenzerheide! So, here we are!

Bikerumor: What were your expectations coming into Lenzerheide?

Rachel Atherton: Literally, I had no expectations! The women’s field is so fast now… watching on track the first day, I was honestly like “wow” they’re going for it!

Vero Widmann did this high line hopping over a rock into the off camber and I was on my first practice run. I could barely see a line and she was flat out already. I was like, oh s**t!

Rachel Atherton

I wasn’t even sure that I’d qualify. I just had no idea, but I kept saying to myself, “this is just for fun”. I chose to be here. I talked to Dan and Gee a lot and we all said, I’m not here to win, I’m just here because I love it and I just want to race and be with the team and promote Atherton Bikes!

Bikerumor: You put in a seriously competitive qualification run. Did you have the win in your sights at that point?

Rachel Atherton: That was such a huge shock to qualify in 2nd and then 2nd in semi finals too. I was so surprised! Then I thought “don’t be stupid Rach, remember the goal, I’m not here to win, I’m here to race and put down a solid, safe run that I’m proud of”.

I 100% wasn’t trying to win, I just kept telling myself to be strong, breathe deeply, and be f***ing safe!

Rachel Atherton

With the new schedule it’s a lot harder physically doing two race runs back to back in one day. It’s savage on the body, so I was nervous as hell. But, it did give me more confidence that I must be riding my bike well and I must actually be stronger than I think I am!

Bikerumor: Tell us more about your race run – did you know it was going well for you?

Rachel Atherton: By race day the bike felt amazing. The AM200 M is a seriously good bike, and that makes you feel confident straight away. I wanted to just do the same as semi finals. If I could get 2nd or 3rd, I would’ve been so, so stoked.

My lines were clever and safe and that made me feel confident. I knew I wasn’t taking any risks, and once you start that race day, it’s a snowball effect. The whole day is building and leading up to the the final run – the whole team get you to that start gate.

My run was awesome, my practice runs we’re really good so I knew I could do the same again, even though I felt really flat at the top before my run. Because we’d already raced semi finals, it was hard to get fired up to race again, and I was worried that I felt tired, but I looked over at Vali in the start gate and I thought “we will all feel the same, we’ll all be tired” so that helped!

My run was pretty rad. I fucking love racing because that’s the only time I ride like that – super committed to the gnarly sections and ready to lean into the turns a tiny bit more, and brake a little bit later… the track here is pretty gnarly and some sections the faster you hit them the easier they are, like the off camber roots, and some like the steeps. I need to be slow to be fast.

It was a pretty perfect run as far as I’m concerned, no big risks, not super sketchy, just solid and fast.

Rachel Atherton

Bikerumor: At the risk of stating the obvious, you do now have a leader’s jersey to defend. Will we be seeing you in Leogang next weekend?

Rachel Atherton: It’s been a day of deciding that!!

We were planning to stay here in Lenzerheide for two days holiday then fly home. So, we’ve been talking all day about the pros and cons of me racing Leogang.

Originally, I said no, because I don’t want to be stupid, racing back to back is hard enough when you’re fully fit, but I haven’t trained enough and I don’t want to get hurt so I thought I’d go home, but the temptation is too much so we’ve decided I will go and race!

Rachel Atherton

I’m not racing a full season so it’s not like I’m chasing the overall title, but it just feels so cool to be doing this again and if I went home I’d probably get really down, so I’m prolonging the inevitable!

Bikerumor: Not a question: just want to thank you for being the incredible role model you are, and congratulations on your 40th World Cup DH win.

Rachel Atherton: Aww thanks, Jessie-May.

Pro Bike Check: Atherton AM200 M Downhill Bike

Rachel rides the Atherton AM200 M downhill bike; a dedicated mullet with 200mm of rear wheel travel driven by Dave Weagle’s DW6 linkage. At 5ft 7″ (170 cm), she’s on a 460mm reach with a 50mm stem and a 450mm chainstay length.

Mechanic, Chris Kenward, tells us that Rachel prefers to run her suspension on the stiffer side. The Fox 40 Factory Fork’s air spring is populated with 5 volume spacers and 83 PSI. The Fox DHX2 Coil Shock is set up with a 475 lb/in spring. Neither damper is the current stock damper.

Rachel’s drivetrain is set up with 165mm cranks from FSA, with the OChain Active Spider in the 9° position. At the rear, we see an 11-speed FSA cassette with the top two cogs removed to make it a 9-speed cassette. Chris tells us that, at home, the Athertons limit the bottom end of the cassette (remove the hardest two gears) as they like to pedal the bikes around Dyfi Bike Park. FSA don’t yet produce a 9-speed derailleur, so a SRAM derailleur takes care of shifting.

Rachel’s bike rolls on Stan’s EX3 rims (that MK4 sticker is incorrect) that are home to 2.4″ Continental Kryptotal Fr tires, both of the DH casing SuperSoft Compound flavor. Without tire inserts, Rachel runs 24 PSI in the rear and 23 PSI in the front.

In the cockpit, we have an aluminum FSA bar with a 40mm rise, cut down to 780mm wide. Finally, purple Hayes Dominion A4 brakes clamp 200mm Galfer Disc Shark rotors, front and rear.

Rachel Atherton’s Wining Run POV at Lenzerheide

Here’s a GoPro POV of Rachel Atherton carrying race winning pace down the Lenzerheide World Cup DH Track last weekend. Enjoy!

Good luck to Rachel and the rest of the Continental Atherton race team this coming weekend in Leogang. Will she hold onto the leader’s jersey? Let us know your predictions in the comments!

P.S. If Rachel wins this weekend, she will equal Ann Caroline Chausson’s record 41 World Cup DH victories.

athertonbikes.com

The post Rachel Atherton to Race Leogang – Interview, Bike Check & POV of Lenzerheide Finals appeared first on Bikerumor.

Our lap was rewarded with glimpses of new tires from Vittoria, Specialized, and Schwalbe, new suspension from Manitou, RockShox, and Ohlins, and some prototype brakes from TRP. Here’s what’s to come from the world of XC tech.

New XC Suspension at UCI Lenzerheide MTB World Cup

A dive into the RockRider Racing pit revealed the latest iteration of their XC race machine; a bike that will, eventually, be available to buy in Decathlon stores – at least in the UK. The bikes being raced here in Lenzerheide by the likes of Joshua Dubau and Savilia Blunk are a little different to the one we saw under the latter rider at Sea Otter earlier this year. Here, they are updated with a heavily-machined link and shock yoke which actually look to be a bit thicker and presumably stiffer than their respective predecessors.

Bolted to that yoke is a prototype shock from Manitou, damping the bike’s 120mm of rear wheel travel. Likely an update on the Mara shock, this one sees a subtly different air can architecture and a revision to the compression damping adjustment knobs that appears to prioritize the remote lockout feature.

The Manitou fork is a prototype, too, likely to be the next iteration of the R7 fork. On the RockRider, it is set up to run 120mm travel, just like the rear wheel travel.

Cut-outs at the dropouts and arch show the brand are, to no one’s surprise, looking to shave weight wherever they can.

We reckon the new R7 will boast 34mm stanchions, as opposed to the production model’s 32mm stanchions, but will offset some of that weight gain with ever more machining.

The fork still looks to run Manitou’s Incremental Volume Adjust air spring. On the damper side, we see the external adjustments rigged up to a remote lockout operated by Orbea’s Squid Lock remote.

Elsewhere in the pits, we caught a glimpse of some new electronic suspension from RockShox. Nino Schurter‘s Scott Spark is fronted with a longer-travel Blackbox prototype RockShox SID SL XL(?) Flight Attendant Fork.

Curiously, Nino wasn’t racing an electronically-controlled version of this prototype suspension at the first round Nove Mesto XCO World Cup. But maybe having to watch Tom Pidcock win on prototype SR Suntour TACT auto suspension made Nino reconsider?

Forgive me for the entirely awful brightness/contrast, here. We were not permitted to take Nino’s bike outside for photos, so this will have to suffice for now! Given that Flight Attendant components work as a team, the chances are the shock is also home to the electronic damping-adjusting module, though we can’t see it as it lives inside the front triangle of the Scott Spark.

Elsewhere, that prototype longer 120mm(?) travel RockShox SID SL XL fork was seen throughout the team pits without the Flight Attendant module. Extra machining at the fork crown gives it away as a new model that is likely even lighter than the production 35mm stanchion SID currently in production – maybe as light as the 32mm stanchion SID SL, which is currently limited to just 100mm of travel, too little for most modern technical XC racers.

It was invariably paired with what also looks to be a new lightweight air shock – what is likely the next-gen RockShox SIDLuxe.

Over at BMC, Jordan Sarrou‘s Fourstroke was rocking the recently-released XC suspension components from Ohlins; the RXC34 Fork and the TXC Air Shock.

And of course, it is also benefiting from BMC’s proprietary Autodrop seat post that is integrated with the frame. Complete bikes come with the black version, but folk purchasing the frameset can get this nickel-coated version that the team riders have.

Prototype XC Brakes from TRP

Joshua Dubau‘s RockRider was home to more prototypes, too; a new 2-piston brake caliper from TRP, clamping new 6-bolt 160mm rotors, also from TRP. The brand don’t really have a dedicated, lightweight 2-piston brake for XC in production yet; it looks like this one will fill that gap in their lineup.

Prototype XC Tires from Vittoria, Schwalbe and Specialized

There was much new rubber to be ogled at this weekend. We spotted a new DH tire from Schwalbe on Danny Hart’s Cube, but judging by the “First Ride” logo and unrecognizable tread pattern we saw on the front of someone’s Cannondale Scalpel XC Bike, it seems they also have a new XC tire in the works.

In comparison with Schwalbe’s current offering, I’d say its tread pattern looks most similar to that of the Wicked Will, but with smaller, much lower profile blocks and raised mid-tread ridges toward the outboard edge. We gave the prototype XC tire a more in-depth look at the Nove Mesto World Cup, too.

A look at Henrique Avancini‘s Caloi Elite Carbon FS revealed some prototype XC tires from Vittoria; these were fitted to his 1,150g Dyneema rope-spoke carbon wheelset. The all-black tire with red flash hot patch looks to be a 2.4″ variation on the Mezcal.

Vittoria tend to use this red hot patch to denote their Race series tires – like we see on the Mazza Enduro Race, for example. Those tires run a single compound, as compared to Vittoria’s 4C Graphene compound, that is optimized for racing rather than season-long riding. It’s possible this new XC tire could also offer a similar, albeit likely faster-rolling, single-compound approach.

Finally, Specialized look to be reintroducing the Captain XC Tire. With the hot patch announcing its use of Specialized’s T5 and T7 compounds, this one looks to be very close to production.

For more downhill-focused tech from the UCI Lenzerheide World Cup, check out our earlier round up.

The post New XC Suspension, Tires & Brakes Spotted at Lenzerheide World Cup appeared first on Bikerumor.

Gamux Engineer, Pascal Tinner, gave us a run down of what’s to come in 2024.

Prototype Gamux All-Mtn Bike

Designed around a 150mm travel rear-end, the Gamux Trail/All-Mtn Bike will take a 150mm or a 160mm fork. A carbon front triangle is paired with cnc-machined chainstays, seatstays, link and shock yoke.

Pascal tells us that Gamux really enjoy working with aluminum, especially as the cnc machining they can do is a really accurate production method. It allows them to fine-tune flex characteristics through varying the architecture of the stays.

To increase or decrease stiffness of the rear-end in any way is not simply a matter of adding or removing material; it would actually require a different geometry in the structure of the stays.

The initial prototype saw a C-shape pattern in the stays, but this produced a rear-end that was too stiff laterally, and so Gamux reworked the design to produce the triangulated structures seen on the current prototype. This one is said to deliver more grip in cornering scenarios.

Pascal tells us Gamux is tuning the all-mountain bike to provide comfort for day-long pedalling missions on relatively mellow trails, as opposed to Bike Park, with a geometry that is capable enough to tackle steeper, more committing descents if required. He does say, however, that if you’re keen on hammering down enduro race stages, probably more travel and a slacker geometry would be beneficial.

With that in mind, this prototype has a 78° seat tube angle and a 65° head tube angle with a 150mm fork.

The bike will be available as a complete 29er, or as a mullet. Here on the prototype there is a flip-chip at the seat-stay. In 29er mode, the bike has two geometry settings available, but the mullet will have a single geometry, with the flip-chip simply correcting the geometry changes resulting from use of a smaller rear wheel.

Gamux will produce two sizes of the all-mountain bike, initially. Reach options will include 470 mm and 485 mm, with target customers in the 172 cm to 185 cm height range. Chainstay length will be frame size specific; around 445mm on the smaller frame, and longer for the larger size.

We are told the carbon front triangle weighs around 1 kg, with the frameset without shock will weigh around 2.6 kg. This is still to be confirmed, as Gamux is still working on tuning the carbon layup of the front triangle to achieve the desired flex characteristics.

Gamux Downcountry

The Gamux downcountry bike will swap out the Horst pivot for a flex-pivot, wherein engineered seat stay flex will make up for the lack of a pivot on the chainstay. With reduced hardware requirements, this is a much lighter way to deliver an efficient suspension platform, and for this reason it is used almost ubiquitously on modern day cross-country race bikes.

Pascal says the downcountry bike will have a more direct pedalling feel than the all-mountain bike. It will be designed around 130mm travel, with a 130/140mm fork, but it will be possible to run it with a shorter stroke shock for more of a XC setup.

Two frame options are planned for this one; the standard frame option will weigh in around the 2 kg mark, while a super-light version will weigh a bit less – how much exactly is still to be confirmed.

Gamux plan a pre-production run of frames this summer, with production bikes available to customers in early 2024. Pricing will come in at around the 5,000 CHF mark.

gamuxbikes.com

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Canyon Grail CFR prototype gravel race bike

Just to be clear, I don’t actually know the name of this new carbon Canyon gravel bike, and when I asked Canyon for more info, they told me I would have to wait to find out any details beyond what I happened to see out on the Finnish gravel roads or spotted around the event venue. I suspect I will know more soon, but for now this will truly all be a lot of assumptions.

But with Tiffany Cromwell’s race bike leaned up outside of the Canyon pit area while she was giving interviews to the racing press, a couple more pro prototypes spotted leaning against the legs of various other riders, and riding around a version that appears to belong to one of Canyon’s product development team… I can glean a lot of fun details.

For lack of a better name, I’m going to call it a Grail CFR – based on the fact that Grail is Canyon’s gravel race bike, and CFR because that’s their top-tier race-ready carbon layups, and also because CFR is printed on the toptube.

What’s New? Tech details

First thing of note to cyclists who know the Grail is that this new Canyon CFR gravel prototype does NOT have the wild double-decker Hover bar. But it still has an interesting integrated cockpit solution, just a more conventional one. Also, the fork looks much deeper (more aero?) and bulkier much like the Grizl‘s fork without extra mounts. But there’s also some wild boxy up top, truncated airfoil down low downtube shaping hidden under some effective camo graphics.

A glove box in the downtube?

There’s also a D-shaped semi-aero seatpost that looks borrowed from Canyon road bikes like the new Ultimate. And a direct mount mini chain guide that appears to also mean this is 2x compatible since there is a little routing port for the Di2 wire of your electronic front derailleur.

And what’s that?

A door in the top of the downtube big enough to stuff a spare tube, mini-tools, and other gravel roadside repair essentials inside so you don’t need a saddle bag or to fill up your jersey & bib shorts cargo pockets.

A new integrated 1-piece gravel cockpit?

There’s also a modern one-piece carbon integrated bar+stem cockpit, and internal cable routing through the upper headset cover.

The bar on Cromwell’s bike looks especially well-suited to gravel racing, with a gently curving backswept top and a medium level of flare to the drops.

As for that cable routing, it is not completely internal through the bar, instead tucking under the virtual stem and entering a very large upper headset cover. It’s big enough that I can’t quite tell if it directs the cables inside of or outside of the upper headset bearing. I’ve got my fingers crossed for outside for the easier maintenance potential. The cockpit also has a molded-in recess to attach a new style of out-front GPS mount. Cromwell’s bike was sporting a 3D-printed mount for her cycling computer, but the product development guy’s bike looked to have a more finished solution that fit his device.

And even though there are not anything cage mounts on the fork, there are still tons of attachment points to play with. Start with direct toptube bag mounts, then Cromwell’s smaller bike gets a frame bag (?) mount above the snap-in glove box door, plus 2 standard sets of bottle cage mounts inside the main triangle, and a cage mount under the downtube.

The bikes also feature bosses under the seatstays where in the past Canyon has bolted on a removable stay to support full coverage fenders. And the back of the fork crown has two side-by-side mounts suggesting a more moto-style self-supporting front fender.

Aero bikepacking bags for gravel racing?

Another one of the slickest details is this super integrated partial frame bag from the R& D team bike, with a very-aero snug fit against the boxier shaping at the front of the main triangle. It looks a lot like the Aero Pack System that Apidura developed with Ridley last summer for their optimized Kanzo Fast gravel racing setup.

Canyon worked with Apidura for a customized set of Racing Series bikepacking bags to fit the Grizl two years back, so this looks like a next evolution of that project – literally down to the same orange and black zipper pulls.

On this larger-sized frame there is space under the aerodynamic partial frame bag for the glove box door to peek out, but it’s not clear if you could easily access both at the same time.

I also happened to get the lucky chance to spot a less-painted version of the new Canyon Grail CFR gravel prototype stripped down as the team mechanics were building up a new bike for one of their athletes racing a Shimano Di2 2x drivetrain.

That gives a bit more of a raw look at the opening for the glove box port in the down tube, and a clearer view of the transition from boxy to aero downtube shaping, without camo tape hiding it. It also shows the removable front derailleur braze-on tab vs. the filler plate or chain guide solution on the other bikes.

Canyon Grail CFR gravel timeline and expected availability?

Here’s some more speculation, and something I am less sure of…

Depending on which bike you look at, a lot about these Canyon CFR gravel prototypes look very well finished and close to production-ready. The pro bikes with shape-obscuring graphics look so close to finished, that I wouldn’t be surprised to see this new bike launch in the next month or two. That aero racing bag looks pretty dial-in as well.

But…

The fact that Cromwell is racing with a 3D-printed GPS mount suggests that part may still be in development. And I doubt Canyon will release a bike that you can’t confidently attach any major cycling computer to it with a proper mount. And the general finish on the frame, and specifically the little glove box door of this development team member’s bike suggest some more refinements remain.

I’d guess ‘end of summer’ for a launch, and since Canyon tend to launch once the bike is actually available, you likely could be racing around your local gravel roads in autumn 2023.

Stay tuned, a new Canyon CFR gravel bike is coming soon!

Canyon.com

The post Is This a Prototype Canyon Grail CFR? New Carbon Canyon Gravel Race Bike Spy Shots appeared first on Bikerumor.

Here’s what we’ve seen so far.

New DH Tech at UCI Lenzerheide World Cup

Deviate Cycles has produced a 190mm travel variation on the Claymore, especially for Lachlan Blair who will pilot the bike this weekend. While the brand’s enduro bike runs 165mm of rear wheel travel, this downhill rig boasts a new link to boost travel by 25mm.

The front triangle and swingarm are not identical to those seen on the Claymore, though we are told they used portions of the Claymore molds to produce them, only with more carbon around the BB region to increase strength at this key location.

For the moment, the brand has no plan to bring a DH bike to market, but we are told if the demand arises, it is something they would consider.

Danny Hart‘s prototype Cube 215 is running a massive floating brake arm for the first time. The new high pivot design was raced by the team last season without such a contraption. It is designed to isolate rear wheel braking forces from the action of the rear suspension. The bike’s BB cluster s overbuilt to ensure it can deal with the added stresses from braking. Coming up, we have a complete Pro Bike Check with Danny himself.

Indeed, Danny’s bike is home to what looks to be an all-new downhill tire from Schwalbe. Alas, the hot patch has been sharpied-out. Of course, it must run the Addix Super Soft rubber compound as revealed by the purple stripe; other than that, you can infer what want from the tread pattern.

Loic Bruni‘s prototype Specialized Demo is seemingly unchanged to that we saw in Fort William last month. If anything, the cover is ever so slightly more revealing this time; we can see what looks to be a large main pivot positioned directly behind the chainring.

Given the shear size of the chainstay in this area, there has to be another link pivoting about it lower down to drive the rear shock. Is it possible that Specialized is hiding a new linkage design that allows for a majority rearward axle path? I guess, we have to wait until they are ready to uncover this one more fully.

While Finn Isles’ iteration of this prototype bore a cloth to hide its linkage and shock area, Loic’s has this rather more robust-looking 3D printed shell. We infer that the two riders are running different shock types – coil versus air – and that one of these covers allows for more airflow, which is of course necessary for cooling purposes.

As ever, Loic is running a remote on his handlebar that likely allows for electronic lockout of the Ohlins suspension. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is the first time we have seen more than two buttons in this location, suggesting Loic may have access to a third set of predetermined damper settings on-the-fly.

Over at the SRAM tech tent, we saw a bunch of forks waiting their turn for a service. There on the left is likely a new RockShox Boxxer, the stanchion size of which certainly seems to have grown from the 35mm rocked by the production fork. We have seen a number of race teams running the new downhill fork this weekend, including Trek Factory Racing.

Smack bang in the middle of the above “Wanted” lineup is what looks to be a new single-crown fork from RockShox. The heavily machined crown gives it away. If indeed that is the fork at full extension, we hypothesize this could be a lightweight version of the RockShox Pike trail fork. Or that longer-travel SID SL prototype we saw Nino racing at Nove Mesto?

BYB has created a smaller, lighter telemetry system especially for the Madison Saracen race team. Matt Walker’s mechanic, Ewan Collier, showed us how the system is fitted to their prototype Saracen Myst; here, it is neatly tucked away behind the number board. Cables run internally through the frame to the shock.

Giant Factory Off-Road’s Remi Meier-Smith will be piloting the recently-released 2023 Giant Glory this weekend. Sadly, Luke Meier-Smith has broken his collarbone and won’t be racing this weekend.

Troy Brosnan‘s Canyon Sender is sporting a variation on the KIS (Keep It Stable) Steering Stabilization contraption that Canyon has rolled out on some of its shorter travel bikes like the Spectral.

Intense has brought an all-new prototype to Lenzerheide; this one is to be raced by Joe Breeden. In terms of its linkage design, it is radically different to Intense Factory Racing’s bike of 2022. While that bike bore a four-bar layout, this one gets a six-link design. Aaron Gwin’s mechanic, John Hall, tells us that, as compared to the previous version, the new layout allows the engineers to reduce the number of compromises made around the overall kinematic.

The new bike has two progression settings as determined by the lower shock mount position on the driving link. Joe Breeden runs the bike in the progressive setting with a coil shock. Dakotah Norton also runs a coil shock, but with the linkage configured in the more linear setting.

We are told the new Intense will make it to production by 2024. It is highly likely to retain the 6-link layout raced here in Lenzerheide, but will see some slightly different tube shapes. John Hall also tells us that the production bike will retain the two-position shock mount to allow customers the freedom to fettle as per their preference. The bike also has a 56/56mm head tube to allow plenty of adjustment in both reach and head angle.

Sadly, Joe’s and Dakotah’s team mate, Aaron Gwin, broke his arm/elbow in a crash yesterday, and will therefore not be racing this weekend – see his statement on Instagram.

Over at the Santa Cruz Syndicate pit, Greg Minnaar‘s mechanic was working away on the 8th iteration of the V10 Downhill Bike. Details on this one are extremely thin on the ground. in other Syndicate team news, Nina Hoffmann did not complete her Qualification run today after injuring her knee in a crash. It is unclear whether or not she will line up for semi-finals tomorrow. Fingers crossed she will be OK to race!

Of course, we did not forget to swing by the Pivot and Mondraker pits, both of which had all-new prototype frames in wildly differing states of undress. More on the Mondraker here, and more on the lugged carbon Pivot here.

The post New Tech Round Up from UCI Lenzerheide World Cup DH Pits appeared first on Bikerumor.

Sadly, the production frame will materialize in a more traditional carbon frame format and, realistically, no paint job is going to match how bling this thing is.

Moving on to arguably more important aspects… Bernard’s ride sees an all-new Dave Weagle linkage design that leaves the twin-link configuration found on the production Phoenix well behind.

The prototype gets a familiar-looking top rocker that drives the shock but, lower down, things are far more intricate.

From what we can see, two links connect the chainstay to the front triangle in a layout reminiscent of the DW6 platform. The chainstay’s lug actually has two pivots, one connecting to the higher link that pivots about the seat stay, and another that connects to an even shorter link that again, pivots about the seat stay.

I can’t quite do the mental gymnastics necessary to see exactly how these links will articulate, but it’s clear from the high main pivot location that this bike will deliver a rearward axle path.

As with any high-pivot design, this one necessitates an idler pulley to route the chain in a kinematic-friendly manner. Clearly, Pivot has taken a less conventional approach to this with a Jackshaft style twin-chain solution, wherein both chains are on the same side.

The chainring drives a very short chain, that in turn drives a pulley wheel that is pivotally connected to a secondary chainring that drives the main chain… which drives the 10 speed cassette. The drivetrain solution, also patented by Dave Weagle, was previously covered in detail by PinkBike’s Seb Stott.

Ultimately, this drivetrain layout allows the team to spec a much smaller chainring than usual (26T or 28T, maybe) to give the bike more ground clearance. It also has next-level chain wrap everywhere, reducing the chances of a dropped chain to nigh-on zero.

We have reached out to Pivot for more information. In the meantime, all the best to Bernard Kerr, Jenna Hastings and the rest of the Pivot Factory Race Team!

pivotcycles.com

The post Spotted: Bernard Kerr’s Prototype Carbon Lugged Pivot with Two Chains appeared first on Bikerumor.

Distributing load over a larger surface area increases the rim’s impact resistance, too. You don’t need me to tell you why that’s hugely important to downhill racers like Matt Walker, whom we saw running this very wheelset on a prototype Saracen Myst earlier his season.

DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic Wheelset

The DT Swiss FR 541 rim was released in September of last year as a lighter, more impact resistant alternative to the long-standing FR 560 rim. Those looking for an off-the-shelf solution can now invest in a complete wheelset benefiting from the improved rim profile.

The DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic has a front wheel laced with 28 spokes, and a rear laced with 32 spokes; that compares to the FR 1950 Wheelset where each wheel runs 32 spokes a piece. Professional downhill racer Jamie Edmondson, formerly of the Rockshox Trek Race Team says, “I definitely benefited from the front wheel having a couple less spokes – a little bit more traction and helping you take lines you maybe couldn’t get before”.

The J-Bend DT Competition spokes are connected the rim with DT ProLock Squorx Pro Head aluminum nipples. The FR 1500 Classic wheelset brings with it no updates for the hubset; the brand’s premiere aluminum wheelset for gravity riders still runs on 240 hubs with 36T Ratchet EXP internals. The brake interface is 6-bolt only.

Claimed weight for the DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic is 1,928 grams for the 27.5″ wheelset with XD Driver.

Pricing & Availability

Pricing for the DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic wheelset starts at $1,152.80 USD / 899.80 € / 946.80 CHF.

dtswiss.com

The post New DT Swiss FR 1500 Classic Wheelset Gets FR 541 Rims for Improved Impact Resistance appeared first on Bikerumor.

Mondraker are tight-lipped on this one, but Brook’s mechanic, Jake Ireland, was able to share a few key details.

Prototype Mondraker DH Bike

First up; it’s aluminum, and we are told it will likely stay that way for production. Secondly, the swingarm still lacks any pivot separating the chainstay and seat stay, and while it looks as though the shock is mounted at a slightly different angle to that seen on the current Summum, it doesn’t look as though the linkage will be dramatically different.

In addition to being Brook MacDonald’s mechanic, Jake Ireland was part of the development team that designed this new bike. He wasn’t able to divulge much, but he could tell us that underneath the wrap lies some cnc-machined parts, the exact layout of which is still being finalized with key patents filings going on in the background.

What we do know? What is sure to be the new Summum will have adjustable flex in the rear triangle thanks to the availability of two seat stay bridges that can be switched out to tune the ride feel.

Also, the BB shell is bolted onto the underside of the front triangle!

The team is able to experiment with different BB positions thanks to this bolt-on shell, the position of which can be moved up, down, fore and aft. Such changes in BB position will undoubtedly affect the bike’s kinematic.

With that in mind, it’s not impossible that the cnc-machined link(s) under the wrap also have multiple mounting positions to accomodate changes in BB position.

Other than that, little can be inferred. The frame still has rear-center length adjustment thanks to a flip-chip at the dropout, and the head tube looks chunky enough to accomodate an angle/reach adjust headset.

The team riders have spent no more than 10 days riding this new bike. We look forward to seeing how Brook MacDonald and his team mate, David Trummer, get on this weekend.

Eleonora Farina is out with a collarbone injury at the moment, but her Instagram story tells us she is working very hard to be back on the bike very soon.

mondraker.com

The post Spotted: Prototype Mondraker DH Bike with Multi-Position BB appeared first on Bikerumor.

Let’s take a closer look and see what we can deduce…

Prototype 120mm RockShox SID SL Ultimate XC fork

I got a first sneak peek at the presumed prototype RockShox SID cross-country fork when Nino was warming in Nové Město na Moravě. Outside of the non-standard decals and a QR tracking code on the back of the right leg, the lowers look like the same as when the benchmark lightweight XC fork got its last complete overhaul back in 2019 – down to the same cast ribs in the back of its arch.

The classic old-school RockShox logos are a telltale sign of a BlackBox prototype, replacing the standard SID graphics this fork would usually be finished with.

It’s not a big surprise to see Nino Schurter racing on prototype kit for his sponsors. An undeniably talented and unique athlete – Nino is known to be heavily invested in R&D with his sponsors, routinely testing, racing, and winning on next-gen tech. He also seems to have fully adopted the more aggressive geometry, wider tires & longer travel of modern XC bikes. And he’s a weight-weenie at heart, so always looking to shed some grams.

That last bit is important, because when RockShox released their ultralight 32mm stanchion SID SL Ultimate fork for the 2021 season it was limited to just 100mm max travel. They revamped the internals on the regular SIDs, but Nino was already racing 120mm forks as he helped dial in the geometry for the forthcoming 2022 Spark, and there was no going back.

So, Nino won 2019 Worlds on a 115mm SID, then 2021 & 2022 Worlds on the newer 120mm SID. So, RockShox apparently decided it was time to lighten him up once more for the 2023 season. Is this then a 2024 RockShox SID SL Ultimate fork with 35mm stanchions and 120mm of travel?

It’s up top at the relieved crown that we really notice something new on this prototype RockShox SID fork. At first, it looked like the standard forged alloy crown had been simply machined out to reduce weight.

But a closer look reveals that it is likely the opposite.

A smooth finish on the wider shoulder sections and a matte mottled finish in between, suggests an all-new more complex alloy cast crown that is then machined down externally for those crisp edges and weight savings.

We weren’t allowed to get a closer look, but it appears that the prototype fork also has a new remote lockout for whatever new Charger damper iteration is in right fork leg. The new lockout appears to be pulled counterclockwise (the opposite direction of the current Charger 2 & Charger Race Day dampers), which makes for more direct routing to Nino’s TwinLoc remote.

And of course, that suggests something also new is happening inside.

Not only Nino was on the new fork. In what may be the most tricked-out team pit bike of all time, team director and ex-World Champ himself, Thomas Frischknecht’s bike was equipped with lightened-up, long-travel SID.

Frischi’s bike gives a bit better look at that new Charger remote cap with a new blue ring, here routed to a GripShift-style TwistLoc remote shock lockout.

Not just a team manager though, Frischi also happened to have raced this bike with the BlackBox fork alongside Urs Gerig at this year’s Cape Epic in the “Grand Masters” category under the team name Scott-SRAM Old Dudes.

But Nino & Frischi aren’t the only ones on a new fork…

At first, I thought it was actually a bit strange that SRAM who’s a title sponsor of Nino’s Scott-SRAM Racing Team didn’t just stick with the regular RockShox SID decals to keep this under wraps, suggesting they may actually be trying to subtly call attention to something new being hidden here.

But it also turns out that this new longer, lightweight prototype RockShox SID fork is all over the World Cup XC scene at the moment. I shot this photo above of Schurter chasing Luca Schwarzbauer of the Canyon CLLCTV team in the short-track race. And I also saw that Luca Braidot of Santa Cruz RockShox Pro Team also was racing the BlackBox prototype forks.

But couldn’t RockShox have just kept the old SID graphics and stayed under the radar?

In fact, we got these concrete park garage studio PR images from Scott-SRAM MTB Racing back in April to showcase the custom finishing they did for Nino this season, and what appears to be this same BlackBox prototype fork does get the standard chrome SID Ultimate decals.

Pro Bike Check: Nino’s 10x World Champ Scott Spark RC

Nino Schurter’s race bikes are certainly the most common to get a Pro Bike Check, even if we ignore all the prototypes revealed on whatever he rides. But now that we’ve speculated about that BlackBox fork – hidden here under standard SID decals – let’s admire the customized bike Scott put together to celebrate the 10x World Champion & Olympic Champion.

Each of the 10 World Championship titles are special for me and all of them together on such a beautiful bike make me extremely proud. But the World Cup title at home in Lenzerheide in 2018 still outshines all the others. I can hardly wait to chase the bike over the World Cup tracks.

– Nino Schurter

What really makes a custom build like this is the attention to details.

Sure, these are a nice set of the latest SRAM Level Ultimate Stealth brakes controlling 4-piston calipers, with carbon levers and a reshaped design to angle the brake lines closer to the bar for a clean cockpit and improved compatibility with internal cable routing through the headset.

But it’s that custom AXS Blip wired into a cutout in the grip to actuate the wireless RockShox Reverb AXS dropper post without an extra bulky remote cluttering the cockpit. It’s a nifty trick we first spotted on Kate Courtney’s bikes, thanks to her mechanic Brad Copeland.

And what is cooler, more custom than a SRAM XX SL Eagle Transmission Flattop chain with your name and dates of all 10 of your World Championship titles laser-etched into the hollowed-out side plates?

Nothing. Nothing is more custom than that.

Nino Schurter’s customized Scott Spark RC HMX SL carbon bike is built up with the latest direct mount SRAM XX SL Transmission (which he gave us plenty of sneak peeks at before it was released). It’s SRAM’s latest 12-speed MTB drivetrain with a 38T chainring on a Quarq power meter with 170mm long XX SL crankarms connected to a 10-52T cassette out back.

Rounding out his build kit are the following:

Rear Shock: RockShox DeLuxe Nude
Remote: Scott TwinLoc 2 with 3-modes
Handlebar: Syncros Fraser iC SL WC -40° x 80mm long x just 700mm wide
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb AXS 100mm wireless dropper upgraded with titanium bolts
Saddle: Syncros Tofino SL with channel
Grip: Syncros Silicon
Pedals: HT Components M2 Titanium
Wheels: Syncros Silverton SL 30mm internal
Tires: tubeless Maxxis Aspen 29×2.4″ WT 170tpi EXO (front) & Aspen ST 29×2.4″ WT 170tpi EXO (rear)
Bottle Cage: Topeak Feza carbon cage
Computer: Garmin Edge 840
Tire-Sealant: OKO Magic Milk High Fibre inside

SRAM.com & Scott-Sports.com

The post Spy Shot: A Next-gen Prototype RockShox SID SL Ultimate XC MTB Fork for Nino Schurter? appeared first on Bikerumor.

While not fully comprehensive, the brand does offer a good range of bicycle helmets across road, urban and mountain biking sectors, with helmets for children and toddlers in there, too. While some of ABUS’ high-end road helmets are made in Italy – like the AirBreaker and GameChanger – all of their off-road models including the lid reviewed herein are manufactured in Asia.

Here’s our take on the brand’s top-level offering for trail riders; the ABUS CliffHanger MIPS.

ABUS CliffHanger MIPS

In terms of its coverage, the CliffHanger is ABUS’ most comprehensive open-face helmet. It is aimed at trail and enduro riders who can’t bring themselves to wear a full face helmet, for whatever reason. It has a multi-shell in-mold construction; meaning, its three outer shells are bonded directly to the EPS liner, the latter being the shock absorbing element. Additional structural reinforcement can be seen bracing across the vents at the front.

Externally, the CliffHanger’s outer shell wraps the EPS entirely giving it a premium look and feel. Adding to that is a three-position peak, a retention cradle with plenty of vertical height adjustment, a magnetic Fidlock buckle, and the so-called TriVider webbing spreader; ABUS’ fancy name for the dividers that bring together the two arms of the chin strap just underneath the wearer’s ear lobe.

The CliffHanger conforms to EN1078:2012+A1:2012 requirements: the European standard set for bicycle helmet safety. It has not yet been submitted to Virginia Tech for independent testing, nor have any of the brand’s helmets, for that matter. There are two models to choose from: a standard model retails at £159.99, while the MIPS-equipped model retails at £179.99. We review the latter here.

A growing number of helmet manufacturers offer an integrated crash detection device that can be configured via an App to notify friends and family if the helmet suffers a blow while you’re out on a ride. ABUS is one such manufacturer, offering the QUIN Sensor for this purpose. Not only does it notify your chosen emergency contact of a potential crash, it also sends them your GPS coordinates, a cool feature which could prove to be life-saving.

The CliffHanger MIPS is sold at £179.99 without QUIN; a recess at the back of the shell can accommodate the sensor should you wish to part with a further £56.99 for the added peace of mind on solo rides. For a review of the QUIN Sensor’s functionality, check out Steve Fisher’s review of the QUIN-equipped MoDrop helmet.

Our Impressions of the ABUS CliffHanger MIPS

The ABUS CliffHanger MIPS is available in three sizes; S (51cm-55cm), M (54cm – 58cm) and L (57cm – 61cm). With a head circumference of 54cm, I opted for the size small. On my Park Tool scale, it weighs in at 333 grams – a lot lighter than the advertised 390 grams.

Putting the helmet on, it feels plenty deep enough to provide good coverage. My head being on the larger end of the spectrum for the size small, it does feel quite narrow, though not so much as to be uncomfortable. Those with a broader temple region may want to consider up-sizing. That said, if you can, it’s always best to try before you buy.

The CliffHanger’s chin strap can be adjusted both in terms of its length, and its lateral positioning. The TriVider allows the wearer to feed some of the strap through from either side to get it to sit exactly underneath the ear lobes, where it is intended to be. It’s a little tedious to adjust, but it gets the job done. This design, in my opinion, is better than those dividers that clamp the straps into position – in the past, I have found these to accidentally pop open while riding.

The peak has three indexed positions, and a decent amount of force is required to move it between them. So, the peak doesn’t shift positions under the g-force experienced while riding. Visibility is great no matter the peak position; the lower-most position isn’t so low that it occludes any view of the trail ahead, even on the steepest fall line trails.

In its top-most position, there is plenty of room to place googles or sunglasses underneath. A ridge at the rear of the helmet does a good job of preventing a goggle strap from wandering up. Recesses underneath the peak allow sunglasses to be stowed securely.

The CliffHanger helmet works really well with my Smith Squad goggles; vents at the forehead region encourage airflow in this area prone to sweat accumulation.

The retention system’s cradle cinches down nicely, tightening from the rear. Despite being near the top end of the size scale for this one, I do need to cinch the cradle down to its absolute tightest position in order to feel secure in it.

The cradle’s position can be adjusted vertically, too, over a 4.5 cm range. This is a ratchet-style adjustment, wherein a tab slides through a notched mechanism to determine the distance the cradle sits from the base of the helmet body.

I have to say, this style of vertical adjustment isn’t the best, in my opinion. While it often allows for a wider range of adjustment, and is quicker and easier to dial in fit, it isn’t as secure as more traditional mechanisms of vertical adjustment, such as that seen on the Fox Speedframe Pro, for example.

On the CliffHanger, I find the ratcheting-style mechanism offers up too little resistance. It is too easy to accidentally push it away from my preferred position, especially when fitting, adjusting or removing googles, or even just carrying the helmet about.

On more recent rides, I have actually noticed that it has clicked away from its original position over the course of a fast, rough descent – but only by one or two clicks, which I deduce equates to less than half a centimeter of change at the forehead – not enough for me to consider it a safety concern, as such. I simply find myself readjusting it before I drop into the next trail.

While riding, the ABUS CliffHanger is largely unnoticeable in that it provides plentiful comfort and great ventilation, with six vents at the front, two on each side, three on the top and four at the rear. Inside the helmet, I can see that the three front-most events actually extend all the way to the exhaust vents at the rear, allowing for a continuous flow of air from front to rear – something riders with a lot less hair than I will be best-placed to appreciate.

I will say, the MIPS liner is a little creaky so you can hear it rubbing against the EPS as it moves during riding. This is not unique to the ABUS CliffHanger; I have found most MIPS-equipped helmets exhibit this property.

Pros

• Good coverage
• Fantastically well-ventilated
• Retention system is ponytail-compatible
• Great compatibility with goggles and sunglasses
• Lightweight

Cons

• Over-priced
• Vertical adjustment of cradle could offer more secure indexed positions

The ABUS Cliffhanger MIPS is an impressively lightweight helmet given how good the coverage is. It is also well-ventilated offering plentiful comfort for long days in the saddle. Personally, I also think it has a pleasing aesthetic. However, it is a little let down by its retention system adjustment.

Overall, I feel it is a bit over-priced, especially when you consider the fact that comparable helmets such as the Fox Speedframe Pro, Bluegrass Rogue Core MIPS and Scott Stego Plus are all a fair bit cheaper.

abus.com

The post Review: The $200 ABUS CliffHanger MIPS MTB Helmet appeared first on Bikerumor.

A whole lot has changed besides the very obvious lack of wires. Let’s dig into the details…

Campagnolo Super Record Wireless electronic 2 x 12-speed

For decades Campagnolo has been first to market among the big drivetrain behemoths at many road groupset milestones – like 1st 10sp, 11sp & 12sp groupsets… plus 1st 13-speed if we want to include gravel and ignore Rotor. They even went back and forth with Shimano, then Campy, then SRAM for electrifying 10, 11 & 12sp. But like their delayed adoption of road disc brakes, wireless has been a long-time coming.

Interestingly enough, we pretty much had a drawing of this new Super Record Wireless derailleur on our homepage more than a year ago, as Campagnolo was hyped on Ekar success and the wireless next-gen of their road racing groupset was a hot topic in the rumor mill. We’ve been speculating about this gruppo for three years now, based on our patent patrol finds.

Now, we’ve got our fingers crossed that it will be as solid a performance as that late disc braking!

What’s New?

First off, it’s completely wireless. Replaceable batteries in each shifter, different rechargeable batteries in each derailleur that can be charged on or off the bike.

There are also all-new 2-button fingertip shift controls, wider grip ergonomics, smaller compact crankset gearing that takes advantage of smaller cogs on their N3W freehub, new smaller 12-speed cassettes with 10T smallest cogs, a power meter-ready carbon crankset option, and even some upgraded brake pads.

Plus, there’s plenty of known and trusted Campy tech – modern angular aesthetics mixing Super Record and even Ekar heritage, tons of carbon, plenty of titanium, machined aluminum & steel, ceramic bearings, the same 12-speed spacing you already have (even if Campy doesn’t suggest any mixing-and-matching), and some of the best-performing disc brakes on the road.

Tech details: New Ergopower levers

Let’s start with the Ergopower brake levers & shifters (claimed 745g , pair). Gone is the long-running thumb downshift lever and the ‘One Lever, One Action‘ ethos (and Campy’s technologies page that explained why that was more intuitive to use). Instead, you get 2 shift buttons behind the brake lever that look a bit like Di2-style, but with some extra spacing in between them and a different tactile finish on each to make it harder to accidentally hit the wrong lever.

The new levers are said to be easy to adapt to, shifting the upper button with the tip of your index finger, and shifting the lower button with your middle finger. Campagnolo says they moved away from their classic inner thumb-shifter design to appeal to a broader pool of cyclists, some who had trouble operating the inner shift lever, especially those with smaller hands.

Looking both from the side profile and head-on, it’s clear that these new Ergopower hoods are both wider and larger volume than previous generations of Record & Super Record.

Presumably, that was a conscious decision to create a more comfortable place to rest your hands based on Campy’s first comments to us, since we’d expect electronics to take up less space inside than mechanical shift internals. But, compared to the EPS system – now Campagnolo Super Record Wireless levers have to pack processing power, Bluetooth communications hardware, and the replaceable CR2032 battery into the same where there was just a switch before.

And it’s really more than just a few simple switches too…

On the back sides of the new carbon brake levers, Campagnolo hides a lot more tactile tech.

More than just a button under your fingertip though, the paddle with a hole in it (backed by the closed black pod that has the shift switch in it) all pivots along a metal lever that extends back up the brake lever blade for a more natural motion following the sing of your finger. The motion (from right to left, above) moves several mechanical springs, levers & other elements in the shift so that you get a real positive feedback as you change gears.

Back to the extra controls on the insides of the new Ergopower levers…

Up top is a Mode button that is designed to be used during setup and diagnostics. Below is the Power or Wake-Up button that again has a mostly setup & adjust function. But Campagnolo has mentioned that it is possible to customize at least one of these buttons on each shifter to control a connected Garmin GPS device.

We asked if it could be configured as a shift button to replicate classic Campy shift dynamics, but Campagnolo managed to not give a definitive answer.

The other dot there is a LED indicator that will flash red warning of low battery when there is <15% charge remaining. Campagnolo says that in regular use, riders should get 1.5-2 years of battery life out of the non-rechargeable button-cell battery in each shifter.

MyCampy in-app shift customization

Of course, one of the biggest benefits to electronic – and even more so, wireless – shifting is the ability to customize its controls. Campy didn’t share much about the new functionality of the updated MyCampy app other than to say that you can customize shift dynamics.

Standard factory settings do use the idea of the right lever controlling the rear derailleur, the left lever controlling the front derailleur, top buttons to a harder gear, bottom buttons to an easier gear. But it is up to you.

A couple of screengrabs from Campagnolo’s Super Record Wireless presentation suggest some curious combinations. That one on the right looks like it might recreate the One Lever, One Action concept with the right levers making gears easier, and left levers harder? And the image on the left looks like it might be Goblin Mode, just push shifters and hope for the best.

New battery-powered wireless derailleurs

OK, so new wireless Ergopowers are key, but they have to control something, right? Now they talk directly and independently to two new battery-powered wireless derailleurs.

Which also happen to light up the little winged Campagnolo logo on top of each derailleur with every shift!

The Super Record Wireless rear derailleur (claimed 295g) is mostly carbon as we’ve seen before from the Super Record level, with its electronic motor and removable battery tucked underneath the parallelogram – just no more wired connection.

It also features an unlocking mechanism, so it can be moved back-and-forth manually.

The new derailleurs are waterproofed to the high IP69K standard, because Campagnolo knows someone will be cleaning it off with a pressure washer – pro team mechanics, we are looking at you.

The rear derailleur gets a shapely new cage – steel on the inside, carbon on the outside, and spins the two 12T pulleys on ceramic bearings. There’s just one cage length for all cassettes, and while Campy officially says it’s for the biggest new cassettes (29T), they suggested that there’s enough cage length to go a couple of teeth bigger too.

The front derailleur (claimed 160g) is much the same with a similar electronic motor up top and a removable battery on its front – no more wires.

An important note here is that both use different batteries, and both have a different mechanism to secure the battery in place. This was apparently a direct workaround SRAM AXS patents.

The big innovation here though, is that Campagnolo includes charging contacts for a magnetic USB-powered charger so you can either charge the batteries on the bike, or quickly pull them off and charge them on your desktop. And each battery includes LEDs clearly indicating the power remaining.

Quoted battery life for the derailleurs is >750km for a race-level user, or more than 1000km for a regular cyclist. Recharge time is said to be super fast too, so something like a 75% recharge from flat in 30 mins.

New compact crankset sizes

The new Super Record Wireless crankset (claimed 585g, 172.5×45/29T with bearings) doesn’t look super new, but there’s plenty of new bits tucked inside what is essentially a cosmetic reshaping that combines the big ring reinforcement of the previous Super Record with a slightly flatter, more angular aesthetic inherited from Ekar.

The big shift though is to small rings.

The cranks now are available with 50/34T new road, 48/32T new semi-compact, and 45/29T new compact gear ratios. That of course coordinates with the new 10T cog giving you the same top speed that you could have reached only with a pro-only 55T big chainring.

Campagnolo says they measure the additional friction loss due to the smaller cogs (comparing 55×11 to 50×10) to be just 0.1W energy loss in the lab with a +/-0.4W margin of error. So their feeling is that the gains from improved shifting and cadence will outweigh any extra drivetrain drag. Campy did suggest this is why Super Record Wireless didn’t go to the smaller 9T like Campy Ekar. And it was the improved small gear steps that convinced them to stick with 2×12 on the road vs. 1×13 on gravel.

Of course, new small chainrings means a new bolt circle diameter. #groan. This one is now an all-new asymmetric 121/88mm BCD meaning only Campagnolo chainrings for the time being. The Ultra-Torque cranksets with titanium spindles are available in 165, 170, 172.5 & 175mm arm lengths with 147.5mm Q-factor.

Also of note even though we don’t have any official details or confirmation here… there’s a new flat spot on the back of each arm of this hollow carbon crankset. Campagnolo confirmed that there is not a powermeter in this crankset, and power is not a current option. But Campy are working on a power meter, and we’re pretty sure that’s where it is going to go, likely in 2024.

New smaller 12sp cassettes with 10T cog

With new small chainrings comes new smaller gears – with optimized gearing steps, and revised tooth shaping for quicker, smoother gear changes around the new, more compact chainlines.

Campagnolo will offer three new 12-speed cassette options with the new Super Record Wireless gruppo, all featuring a 10T cog made possible by Campy’s latest N3W freehub body innovation. The smallest 10-25T (claimed 210g) will be for flat landers and road purists, 10-27T will be an in-betweener, and 10-29T will offer the widest range.

That 10-29T is wider than previous 11-32T cassettes, and with one 12-speed derailleur designed to work well with all three variants, we think the 10-29T will be the most popular.

Like the current 12-speed cassettes (which share the same 12sp spacing but not the new tooth profiles, so are not technically compatible), these new Super Record Wireless cassettes are all machined from steel in a multi-gear cluster for the biggest cogs, then a few loose cogs in the middle, topped off by a monoblock of 3 smallest cogs shared by all cassette sizes and designed to mount over the trimmed down N3W body.

Carry-over chain & brakes

One thing completely unchanged in the new group is the R12 (that’s Record 12sp) chain that debuted with the mechanical Record & Super Record launch a few years back (claimed 228g, 114 links). New Super Record Wireless does add the more recent one-time-use quick-link though for improved usability.

The new group also carries over the same Pro-Tech extra sealed bottom bracket tech from Ekar.

Hydraulic disc brakes are unchanged too. The single universal master cylinder inside the new Super Record Wireless Ergopower levers and these new brake calipers (claimed 118g, 140mm caliper) are actually the subtle rolling update that debuted with Ekar, and will carry on to other groups. This is the latest evolution of Campagnolo’s excellent hydraulic disc brakes are now entirely developed in-house (separate from the original Magura cooperation), and made by Campy.

One new bit here though – peeking out of the calipers above – Super Record Wireless debuts a new Campagnolo crake pad with a lighter aluminum backing plate that Campy says dissipates heat even better than before. The 30% lighter alloy-backed pads are compatible with all Campy brakes and can be retrofitted to any other groupset when you need to replace your pads.

The heat-dissipating, semi-floating disc brake rotors are also unchanged – available in 140mm & 160mm diameters with stainless steel braking surface and aluminum centerlock (AFS) carriers.

Claimed weight – lightweight or ultralight?

In the end, Campagnolo Super Record Wireless claims to effectively weigh the same as the outgoing wired Super Record EPS at 2520g for the complete setup. Campy has not yet clarified to us what that includes. It is lightweight, but essentially the same as the top Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 or SRAM Red AXS groups which have all coalesced around that same real 2.5kg weight target in their latest iterations.

Are you ready to rethink Campy shifting? Wireless electronic shifting is only available at the Super Record level for now (this year?), but Campy effectively confirmed that they are working on bringing wireless electronic shifting to other groupsets, as well – an important shift from the previous generation of EPS that abandoned electronic shifting at Record & Chorus levels.

Fingers crossed that Ekar Wireless will be next!

2023 Campagnolo Super Record Wireless – Pricing & Availability

Officially the new 2023 Campagnolo Super Record Wireless gruppo goes on sale today for $5400 / 5200€ for a complete 2×12 wireless-shift, hydraulic sic brake groupset with your choice of gearing. Campagnolo assures us that the new Super Record Wireless group is actually available starting today, and there will likely be a number of complete bike from brands including Canyon, Pinarello, Specialized, Wilier, and more that are available to order starting today.

But beyond the high pricetag of the new group which will likely limit the number of people who can afford a new Super Record Wireless setup, Campy says the new groupset will be available in relatively limited numbers as production ramps up fully to meet demand.

Campagnolo.com

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Vittoria position the new tires as their most performance-oriented tire for gravity riders.

The Mazza is the Italian brand’s most popular tire for trail and enduro usage. We test it here in the new Enduro Race casing.

Vittoria Mazza Mountain Bike Tires: An Overview

Before we divulge our first ride impressions, it is pertinent to understand the range in a bit more detail. The Vittoria Mazza line-up (and Mota and Martello, for that matter) now comprises the following three tires:

• Mazza Trail: 1-ply 120 TPI construction with an anti-puncture breaker belt underneath the tread, and sidewall reinforcement provided by a layer of nylon and an anti pinch-flat insert
• Mazza Enduro: 2-ply 120 TPI construction with an anti pinch-flat insert in the sidewalls
• Mazza Race Enduro: 1-ply 60 TPI with an anti-puncture layer underneath the center tread and a shorter anti pinch-flat insert at the sidewalls

This is much better understood by looking closely at the cutaway profile of each of the casings; differences between the three are most clearly seen at the sidewall.

While the Trail and Enduro Casing tires have a tread pattern made up of Vittoria’s 4C Graphene rubber, comprising four rubbers of varying durometer (or hardness), in a bid to balance grip with durability and rolling speed, the new Enduro Race is formed with a rubber of a single durometer.

Unlike some tire manufacturers, Vittoria does not divulge the actual Shore Hardness of their rubber compounds, but we are told that the single soft compound on the Enduro Race tire is softer than any of the four compounds that go into the 4C Graphene layup.

The Vittoria Mazza is not a new tire to me. I have previously tested it in the 2-ply 120 TPI Enduro option – review here. To summarize, I got on really well with the tread pattern, finding it predictable in corners with good mud clearance in sloppy conditions. I particularly liked how it performed as a rear tire; the 4C rubber is relatively fast-rolling, and the stepped leading edge center-tread seemed to provide excellent grip on steep, wet, technical climbs.

I do, however, recall some “pinging” sensations when riding the tire at 18psi, an undesirable characteristic that I put down to the very stiff sidewalls. When dropping pressure to as low as 15psi, the tire burped air and sealant to the point where it wasn’t really a viable option.

The final comments in my review of the Mazza Enduro are: “While Vittoria’s 4C Compound is a quality fast-rolling hard-wearing rubber compound, it is the only compound they offer. A softer, tackier, lower rebound compound would be a welcome addition to their line-up, allowing the brand to really take on the big names in mountain bike tires”.

I asked, and Vittoria has produced.

First Impressions: Vittoria Mazza Enduro Race

In my hands, the tread blocks of the Enduro Race tire feel a bit softer and, most notably, rebound to the original shape much more slowly than the tread blocks of the 4C Compound Enduro tire.

Handling the cut-down carcass of the two casings, the difference in stiffness at the side walls is significant. The sidewall of the Mazza Enduro is barely foldable thanks the much thicker anti pinch-flat insert, whereas the sidewall of the Mazza Enduro Race is far more supple, without being quite so flexible as the Mazza Trail casing.

I tested the Mazza Enduro Race as a front tire only, in 27.5″ x 2.6. On our Park Tool DS-2 scale, it weighed in at 1,336 grams, which is a not-insignificant 121 grams heavier than the claimed weight. The 29″ x 2.6″ weighs 1,393 grams, slightly lighter than its 1,400g claimed weight. Still, it’s a good bit heavier than a 29″ x 2.5″ Maxxis Assegai in the DoubleDown MaxxGrip variety (1,313 grams).

The Mazza Enduro Race measured up much narrower than its advertised 2.6″ width on the 33mm internal width aluminum rim of the Hunt Enduro Wide V2 Wheelset; our Park Tool calipers measured the width at 2.45″. The tire was easily wrangled onto the rim. I seated it tubeless with use of a compressor, purely because I was in a hurry.

Terrain-wise, the Mazza is a bit of an all-rounder, but Vittoria suggest it performs best in mixed, loose, and damp-to-wet conditions. The two banked rides I have on this tire cover that spectrum nicely. My local trails of the Tweed Valley, specifically those known affectionately as the Golfy, have everything from fast, shale-like loose-over-hard tracks, to soft loam of the fresh cut variety.

My first ride impressions are good. Very good, actually.

Trail conditions are intermediate right now, though drying out rapidly. Long stretches of reliable tackiness give way to small patches of moist, greasiness, but these are few and far between. The Vittoria Mazza Enduro Race has been flattering at every turn.

Just as I remembered, the Mazza corners with good to excellent predictability, with no feelings of vagueness as the bike is leaned over into turns. I’m in no danger of bar dragging, but I found the tire to deliver consistent grip at reasonably high lean angles in flatter corners.

Under braking, the tire is very responsive. It’s not abrupt by any means, but it does seem to bite a little more firmly into the dirt than the Continental Kryptotal Front it replaced.

At 16psi, the tire was providing plentiful stability on rockier, loose terrain, and was holding its shape nicely in corners with more compression at the apex. Happy with that, I built the confidence to drop the pressure to 15psi, and have since experienced no ill effects of doing so. I have no tire burp incidents to report, no loss of traction, nothing remotely negative, in fact! I reckon I could probably go lower.

The tire has held some nice root-ridden, off-camber lines through the loam. It’s not defying the laws of physics or anything; I have felt some sliding sensations on the odd shiny root, but really I can’t complain. The tire is sufficiently supple to deform to most features encountered, and provides a consistent level of traction that is, so far, as good as a Continental Kryptotal, and Maxxis Assegai of the MaxxGrip flavor.

Having only ridden the tire on two occasions, it is of course very early days. But, so far, I’m really stoked on the levels of grip and comfort provided by the softer compound and more supple casing of the Vittoria Mazza Enduro Race. I have no desire to switch it out for any of the aforementioned; I believe this one has many a happy lap ahead of it.

Pricing & Availability

In my view, Vittoria’s tires offer really good value in terms of their performance, particularly when compared to Maxxis pricing. The Mazza Enduro Race tested here, as well as the Mota and Martello equivalents, retails at $89.99 / £64.99 / 72.95 € in Italy.

Vittoria.com

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Specialized’s latest aluminum Allez road bike continues to make us rethink how much performance you can get out of an affordable entry-level bike.

The high-performance metal Specialized Allez road bike first hit the tarmac nearly four decades ago, having first debuted in 1981 as the top-tier steel race bike from Specialized.

And many years later, 42 to be exact, it’s still going strong – now as an entry-level alloy road bike.

The performance, however, is beyond entry-level.

Specialized Allez aluminum road bike redefines performance

The Allez has been an affordable staple in the Specialized lineup for years and is a mainstay at dealers around the globe. It’s an excellent way for riders to experience the Specialized brand offerings without committing to S-Works level pricing.

In a world of ubiquitous carbon road bikes, the Allez has even carved a niche out for itself for roadies looking for high-end stiffness, handling & light weight from a metal bike.

The ethos of the new Specialized Allez is ‘Confidence, Versatility, and Performance’. The Allez has since grown from a race-only ride to a do-it-all/gateway bike. A road bike that will help you decide your cycling future. The new Allez leans hard into its new identity, offering a premium alloy frame with new contemporary design features.

Plus, wider tire clearance, rack capabilities, and much more…

Specialized Allez Frame Tech Details

The new Allez frame begins with Specialized butted and double-butted E5 alloy aluminum tubing to create a respectable light frameset. Adding a full carbon fork reduces weight even more (no hidden alloy steerer tube), while helping smooth out your ride. The bare Allez frame tips the scales at just 1,375 grams, which is honestly just one water bottle heavier that their carbon road frames.

FEA (Finite Element Analysis)

Designed in computer simulations, Finite Element Analysis isn’t just for high-end carbon frames. This new Specialized Allez underwent extensive FEA to ensure it would provide a light and lively ride. The result is a highly stiff frame, and the best-performing alloy Allez to-date.

Roubaix-inspired Geometry

Specialized borrowed from its legendary Roubaix bike’s endurance geometry for the new Allez. Why? The Roubaix geometry delivers unrivaled comfort for long miles and stable handling – yet it’s still race-ready. Perfect for the seasoned rider or the new roadie looking to finish their first century.

That all-day endurance race geo starts with a taller head tube and a more relaxed head tube angle. The Roubaix-inspired geometry on the Allez takes the weight off the rider’s hands while supporting sit bones to give a balanced, stable ride.

The new Specialized Allez is available in seven sizes, from 44cm to 61cm. Whether you’re 4’8″ or 6’5″, chances are, there’s an Allez your size.

Two Stock Builds, But Infinitely Upgradable

The new Allez is versatile; we’ve covered that. But how versatile?

The tire clearance is a beefy 35mm (32mm with Fenders). The spec for both models includes wide-range gearing more focused on the easier-side for steep hills and comfortable spinning. Plus — rack mount for those seeking extra commuter style with a road flare.

Specialized Allez Build: Details, Pricing & Availability

2023 Specialized Allez Sport

• Groupset: Shimano Tiagra 2x 10-speed
• Wheels: Axis Sport Disc
• Crankset: Praxis
• Price: $1750
• Weight: unlisted

2023 Specialized Allez

• Groupset: Shimano Claris 2x 8-speed
• Wheels: Axis Sport Disc
• Crankset: Shimano Square tapped
• Price: $1200
• Weight: 22 lbs 12oz. actual (size 54) with Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals & bottle cages

The all-new Specialized Allez and Allez Sport are available now from your local Specialized dealer or online at Specialized.com.

First Ride Impressions on the new Specialized Allez

It’s been a while since I’ve checked out a Specialized Allez myself. I know the bike well from working in bike shops, and I’ve always thought it was a great design. Now, this newest iteration is the most eye-catching and impressive (IMO).

The aluminum frame really looks great (especially the seat stays), and could easily pass for a race bike with a different component build kit.

The stock build is entry-level, but still, the performance is solid and reliable. Eight-speed is enough to climb anything, as long as you have a suitable gearing spread, and the new Allez does. The designers & product managers thought out the spec well on the base model. They keep the price just above $1k but pack enough value for the long haul.

My time on the Allez has mainly been on short road rides and the rail to trail. The frame is responsive, and the ride quality is solid, not what I expected from something with an “entry-level” attached.

On the climbs, the wheels are the only thing that holds this Allez build back. They are pretty heavy, but I’m being very picky here since I ride a lot of nice light carbon wheels. The base build weighs in at a real 22.12lb (10.0kg) with Shimano 105 SPD-SL pedals (~265g)and two bottle cages. Not outrageously heavy, but more than I thought with the super light frameset.

I wanted to see how the bike would perform with a lighter set of wheels, so I opted for the Roval Alpinist SLX Disc launched earlier this year. Swapping in those Roval Alpinist SLX Discs and some lighter rotors that were already on the wheels, the Allez lost nearly 2 lbs (down to 21lb even).

With lighter carbon wheels, climbing vastly improved – next-level get up and go for the bike.

We still have many miles to go on this updated Allez that just dropped into our test fleet recently.

But all signs point to this bike being an excellent option for anyone looking for a new road bike. The frame is versatile, and the 35mm tire clearance means it can double as your gravel bike.

Stay tuned for a long-term review down the road.

Specialized.com

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It drops almost a pound off the frame, has two travel options, each with two travel adjustments, with 95-103mm travel on World Cup builds, and 106-115mm travel on the others.

It adds more storage options, and it’s also a bit longer and slacker. All together, it makes it a more versatile race bike than ever, working for everything from short track to XCO to marathon to multi-day epics.

“How much weight can we save?”

Pivot’s goal was to “Challenge the threshold” with this bike. Taken two ways, it’s a bike that lets you push your own limits, but it also pushed their engineering team to design it.

Two main goals were “How much weight could we save out of this frame?” and “How can we make the suspension more playful without giving up efficiency?”. After all, it still needs to ride like a Pivot.

Founder Chris Cocalis said that while other brands had saving weight as a top priority on the newest bikes, Pivot’s focus was on suspension performance. So while other bikes dropped travel to 90mm or even as low as 60mm, and/or moved to a pivot-free rear dropout area by using a flexible seatstay, Pivot stuck with their DW-link design and looked at ways to refine it and the frame to improve performance.

Their rear triangle, by the way, does not have a pivot near the rear axle, but does use a lower rocker arm connecting the one-piece rear triangle to the frame, and the top of the triangle pushes a rocker arm forward, which pushes the vertically-positioned shock downward.

Fun fact, the prior Mach 4SL was the first of their modern bikes to have a vertical shock layout, which allowed for a lower top tube and standover, lower center of gravity, and still allow for a water bottle inside the front triangle. This new bike keeps that design.

And, yes, shave a few grams.

Actually, more than a few. The new Mach 4SL is 300-417g (0.65-0.9lb) lighter than before, depending on frame size.

Linkages were one area where they saved a lot. They’re forged 7000-series aluminum that’s then machined, making it a lot leaner than before.

They skipped any internal sleeves for cables and hoses, which can add ~30g per line, and they limit the ability to run the brakes moto style. All all bikes ship with Jagwire foam sleeves over the hoses inside to keep things quiet, and the cable port covers lock things down to prevent looseness and rattles.

They even selected a paint that only adds about 25g, which is really light for a full coat of paint.

Claimed frame weight for the Size Small is just 1,660g (3.65lb) w/o shock, and 1,930g (4.25lb) w/ Fox DPS shock.

Complete bike weight is under 23lbs for the SRAM XX SL World Cup build, dropper seatpost, 29×2.4 tires and 30mm wide carbon rims.

Improving suspension & travel options

As great as weight savings are, the most interesting feature of the new Mach 4SL is the way it changes its personality and travel.

Some recent bikes have shortened rear wheel travel to maximize efficiency. Pivot wanted to make it more capable, so shortening travel was definitely not a way to do that.

So they (mostly) went longer. By swapping rear shocks, you can get 95-103mm of rear travel with a 40mm stroke shock, or 106-115mm with a 45mm stroke shock. Both shocks use the same eye-to-eye length, so geometry doesn’t change when changing the shock, nor when changing modes (the Forks do, though, as the shorter stroke bikes get 100mm Fox 32 SC forks, the longer stroke ones get Fox 34 SC forks and will be slacker).

The prior model had a fixed 100mm rear travel, a new flip chip at the upper shock mount lets you switch between two different travel settings for a given shock. But it changes more than just travel, it completely changes the bike’s personality.

With the shock in the rearward position, it has more travel and the rocker has more leverage over it, making for a plusher, more playful bike.

Move to the forward position and there’s less leverage, so it’s firmer and more efficient.

The switch only moves the upper shock mount by 5.2mm, but it feels like a world of difference. The bike goes from squishy and fun to firm and fast (but still pretty fun).

As for the kinematics, the suspension has a rising rate until the rocker hits 90º to the shock, and then it’s a falling rate, which helps it push through the last bit of travel as the shock ramps up. The combination gives them a constant progression, preventing you from blowing through the travel but still letting you use all of it.

For the longer-travel builds, which Pivot anticipates being 97% of their sales, the specific (average throughout the travel) numbers are:

• 106mm mode – 2.35:1 leverage ratio
• 115mm mode – 2.55:1 leverage ratio

The longer travel setup is designed specifically around the air spring curve of the new Float rear shock. Despite the extra travel, Pivot says the longer travel version pedals even better than the prior Mach 4SL, which was already a really good, fast bike.

For the shorter travel World Cup bikes, however, the existing Fox DPS shock worked well but begs the question, why not spec the new Float SL for the lightest bikes?

Cocalis says the DPS weighs about the same as the Float SL, there’s still a lot of inventory of the DPS while the Float SL isn’t really available yet, and they did all the testing with the DPS since this bike was in development 2.5 years ago.

So, the Float SL will likely sub in after they’ve done all of the tuning and testing with it. But also, only about 3% of their sales will be the short travel model, so…NBD?

Speaking of tuning, they spec lighter shock valving for XS/Small frames.

Lastly, you won’t find Live Valve suspension on it, only manual lockouts. Which, for a brand like Pivot that’s been a big fan of Live Valve since its inception, may seem odd. But, let’s be real, Live Valve has been out for a while, and if patent filings are viewed as reading the future, chances are something new is coming soon enough that it didn’t make sense to build all of the extra mounts and wire ports into this bike if they’d be outdated soon.

Read into that what you will, but Pivot added that putting those holes and ports and mounts into the frame didn’t fit well with their stiffness and weight goals for this frame either.

They also added that the they designed this bike to perform extremely efficiently under pedaling, minimizing the difference between the old bikes with Live Valve and these bikes without them. Speaking of holes in the frame…

Mach 4SL frame design & features

Two things that you won’t find here are stealth cable routing and threaded bottom brackets.

For the cables and hoses, they do run internally, but you won’t find Pivot running them through a headset cap anytime soon on their mountain bikes.

Why? “We feel it really complicates the angles of the cables, and they aren’t optimized at those angles,” says Cocalis. “It’s also not optimum for the headset, and it creates entry points for water, etc. We’re just not there yet.”

For the PF92 bottom bracket, they do their own machining and facing of the carbon shell to a much higher standard than you’ll find in most places, which has led to them not having any issues with creaking.

And, for Race Face cranks, they use a custom-designed Enduro bearing with double-row bearings that makes it bombproof.

Bottles & storage

All frames have size specific layups and tube shapes and diameters. Combine that with the varied shock tuning and you get bikes that should feel and perform similarly for all rider sizes.

Gone are the five mounting points on the downtube that allowed XL riders to fit two short bottles there. Now, Medium and larger frames can fit two water bottles using the accessory mounts under the top tube, but all sizes will fit a large water bottle on the downtube. And there’s an extra mount under the downtube, too.

Why not internal storage? Because it adds weight.

You can use the top tube mounts for an extra bottle cage or tool and wrap mounts, and there’s an additional flip-flop panel under the BB that can be used to mount some Topeak Ninja tool kits (it’s where the Di2 battery went on the prior models to power the Live Valve system).

Cockpit

Interestingly, they pay quite a bit of attention to their cockpit parts, too. Their MTB flat handlebar is 35mm x 760mm, and is designed by them, with a layup specifically designed for compliance where it counts, measuring to be as “comfortable” as some other very popular handlebars on the market. Which basically means two things: It’s not just some generic carbon bar they slapped a label on, and it’s not something you’ll need to upgrade anytime soon.

All bikes come with a rear lockout using the Rockshox TwistLoc remote, and World Cup models add another line coming out of that to simultaneously lock out the fork, too.

Chainline, gearing & brakes

The 4SL uses normal Boost axle spacing because they wanted to fit the narrowest Q-factor cranks from Shimano, even though they spec Race Face cranks on all of the Shimano builds (because they generally better availability and cost less).

That let them use 52mm chainline chainrings for the SRAM XX SL and Shimano+Race Face builds, which is better for an XC bike than the “do it all” 55mm chainline that’s coming on a lot of cranks nowadays, including the new XO T-Type cranks.

The chainstays clear up to a 38t chainring, and the bikes fit 29×2.4 tires, with the caveat that they mean rounded-profiled 2.4 tires like a Rekon Race, not an aggressively knobbed DHR.

Brake mount is designed for a 160mm rotor, but it’ll fit any 180mm rotor with an adapter except Hope.

Pivot Mach 4SL Geometry

Reach and wheelbase are longer and the head angle is slacker… 0.5º slacker with a 100mm fork, and 0.9º slacker with a 120mm fork.

Whereas the prior model’s geometry was designed around the 120mm fork, this one was actually designed around the shorter travel WC models first, even though they expect those shorter travel builds to be only about 3% of sales.

Once that was dialed, they put the 120mm fork on it and made minor adjustments, dropping the BB and steepening the seat angle a bit more so that it hits the right spot for both builds. Technically the BB height is about 0.4mm higher than before, but all bikes now come with 2.4″ tires rather than 2.2″, which raises things up. The new geo puts the WC bikes in a slightly more aggressive position than before.

Pivot Mach 4SL pricing, builds & actual weights

All models come in light blue or green in sizes XS to XL, with Shimano and SRAM drivetrain choices at each spec level. Key differences between the World Cup and other models is the use of the Transfer SL dropper post versus standard Transfer posts.

The Ride and Pro models come with DT Swiss alloy wheels, all others get wider Reynolds Black Label carbon wheels with Industry Nine Hydra hubs, and Pro has the option to upgrade to carbon. Click any image to enlarge.

World Cup XTR & World Cup XX SL

Team XTR and Team XX SL

Pro XT/XTR and Pro XO AXS

Ride SLX/XT and Ride GX/XO1

Bikes are available now. Stay tuned for first impressions and ride review.

PivotCycles.com

The post Pivot Mach 4SL gets faster, lighter & adds dual travel modes appeared first on Bikerumor.

The Italian tire manufacturer primarily creates road, cyclocross, and gravel tires — mainly focusing on supple handmade tubular and open tubular construction — even with the mountain bike tires they offer, too.

The Getaway tread has been around for a few years now — we were some of the first to ride the fast gravel tread — and it’s now Challenge’s top, most-popular gravel offering. It’s a dry-ish focused, fast do-it-all design with many dedicated gravel followers. The tread has a tightly packed, fast-rolling center for straight-line tread for speed and open transition knobs for sandy or wet courses.

Challenge Getaway XP reinforced gravel racing tire

The only piece missing from the Getaway was a beefed-up version to take the abuse of an ultra-long day out in sharp rocks and logging roads. Challenge has been quietly adapting their reinforced tubeless tubular tech into a more durable tubeless tire over the past year, working on just that — the Challenge Getaway XP (Extra Protection) for endurance rides on rougher terrains.

The tire is part of Challenge’s new reinforced Gravel XP Series, which focuses on all those looking for an overall robust and durable tire, without compromising comfort and handling.

To arm the new XP Series of tires, Challenge opted for a bead-to-bead makeover of protection and compound to enhance its new endurance tires.

All-new Corazza Armor Gold protection tech

The resulting Corazza Armor Gold is a specific extra layer of tightly woven material on the inside of the tire that helps reinforce it against aggressive conditions. The new Getaway XP is the first Challenge tire to have the Corazza Armor Gold, but all tires in the XP Series will share this technology moving forward.

Challenge SmartPlus Compound

The Challenge Getaway XP has a special higher durometer natural rubber than others in the Challenge line called SmartPlus Compound. While providing reduced wear and enhanced durability, the SmartPlus rubber compound retains all the natural rubber properties — offering grip, shock absorption, control, and reduced rolling resistance.

Chafer Aramid Bead Protection Strip

The new Getaway XP includes a bead protection strip to aid in tire life by reducing the effects of rubbing against the rim’s carbon bead hooks — especially helpful on any rim with sharp edges. The black chafer band also acts as a precise line around the rim to confirm the tire is seated properly when inflating.

Challenge Getaway XP – Pricing and Availability

The all-new Challenge Getaway XP will be available in 40mm and 45mm in a Handmade Tubeless Ready casing and is hookless compatible.

• Price: $94.00
• Sizes: 40mm and 45mm
• Weight: 632g – 45mm
• Available: June 3rd, 2023

Challenge Getaway — First Impressions

This new Challenge Getaway XP is a handmade open tubular, so it’s different than most traditionally vulcanized gravel tires on the market. The XP casing creates a thick, more robust tire, keeping the handmade nylon tubular (cotton-like) feel.

The casing is very supple to the touch but notably thicker than all other Challenge tires I’ve ridden. The tread sits high on the tire’s carcass but comes down enough to offer legit cornering knobs. The shoulder knobs are enough for digging into the mud when sunk in, but not as large as the Chicane, as to feel overwhelming.

Getaway — Install & Setup

Setting up open-tubular tires tubeless can be tricky, especially when they are wide, like the Challenge Getaway XP 45mm tires. They are essentially flat before use, unlike the pre-curved shape you get from conventional tires. You have to have a plan of attack, and with unreleased tires, usually, that plan has yet to be discovered.

For me, the plan was to get the full tire over the rim and then push the bead on from over the top. Since the tire is flatter than most, this tactic seemed the best. After wrestling with it for a minute, the first side went on, and I knew I was dialed. The second side popped into place, and I was good to inflate — no compressor needed.

I installed the Challenge Getaway XPs on: Roval Terra CLX II, CADEX 36 (hookless), and Bontrager RSL 36 wheels. The tires were easy enough to install on all the aforementioned, especially on the hookless wheels.

The tires inflated to a nice 46mm wide at 30psi on the Roval Terra CLX II. And they are just enough volume to max out (but still with mud wiggle room) the clearance in my 2022 Specialized Crux.

Riding Impressions

I’ve had little time on the Getaway XPs so far, but I am fairly stoked from my brief time on them. The ride feels much like a tubular tire, with a muted yet supple quality. The open tubular feel differs quite a lot from the gravel-style tires I’ve ridden over the past year.

On the open road, the Getaway is a fast tire; the tightly spaced center line keeps a fast roll, and the overall tread is minimal. The knobs offer a round tire with predictable corning on the road, compared to some “flat top” style gravel treads that are all or nothing.

The volume was a bit much for me on my initial road-ish rides, but the Getaway hit its stride when I hit the gravel and dirt. The volume aids in traction and comfort, noticeably. The open tubular casing is very active and sensitive over bumps and terrain. The thickness of the XP casing takes away a bit of the suppleness (compared to the original Getaway casing), but it’s hardly noticeable with such a wide 45mm of this tire.

I can’t 100% speak to the puncture protectiveness of the Getaway XP tire and new Corazza Armor. Though I have ridden this tire in some sketchy places, the sidewalls are still very much intact, and I’ve yet to flat. I’ll have a full report and updated complete review shortly.

In the meantime, Challange has a new contender of a tire for the likes of Unbound and epic endurance gravel races. We’re eager to get more rides on them.

To find yours, check out ChallengeTires.com or swing by the Challenge tire booth at Unbound Gravel on June 3, 2023.

ChallengeTires.com

The post All-New Challenge Getaway XP Gravel Tire Offers Tubular Comfort with Extra Protection appeared first on Bikerumor.

And this commuter full-face has already smashed through its funding goal in its first day of crowdfunding… literally in the first hour!

The Beam Virgo MIPS, a safer full-face helmet for commuter ebiking

The Beam is calling the new full-face Virgo helmet project “the safest cycling helmet for e-bikes”, and it’s hard to argue with their logic. With low coverage in the back, an integrated chin-bar up front, built-in visors, hi-viz lighting, and MIPS protection & dial-retention inside… the idea of a full-featured full-face helmet for urban ebike commuting simply makes a lot of sense.

The only real downside to the extra protection lent by a full-face helmet even off-road used to only really be that they were too hot and too heavy. But modern helmets -full-faces especially- are now so much lighter and better ventilated that those aren’t as good excuses any more. And if you are getting ebike pedal assist, you might as well get the extra protection if you are less likely to be fully working up a sweat.

OK, so who are The Beam & Virgo Move again?

The Beam is a young French commuter cycling product start-up with established manufacturing ties in South Korea for a few years. We’ve already covered their simple bar end plug Corky flip-out rearview mirror that they partnered with CloseTheGap to get out to a bigger audience. And there was also their lightweight Corky X, a modern update to the classic randonnerdy yet functional clip-on mirror for your glasses.

Remember the Ventoux road full-face concept a few years back from Studio-Accent? Yeah, that is the designer behind the new Virgo Move project, too. He just now is working together with The Beam to step things up a notch with the Virgo.

Why an ebike full-face helmet?

No beating around the bush, ebikes mean more people riding on two wheels, often many that aren’t necessarily experienced cyclists. More people on bikes is great, but statistically, it means more people getting in bike accidents, too. Plus, while regulated ebikes don’t really make you a lot faster, they are heavier, a bit more difficult to manage, and do make it easier for inexperienced riders to go faster than they would pedal otherwise. And we all know there are plenty of ebikers riding around town in the gray areas with their pedal-assist speed limiters bypassed.

So let’s make them, and ourselves, safer.

Tech details

So, the new Virgo full-face ebike helmet offers as much protection as you could ask for. The Beam calls it the “ultimate balance of protection and comfort combining lightness, optimal airflow, and complete protection of head and face“. That’s clear, right?

The Virgo full-face helmet features classic in-mold construction with an ABS plastic shell over a light EPS foam core. Then, a more flexible structure of the thin reinforced chin bar is also in-molded between the ABS & EPS, for a smoothly unified design offering added protection to the rider’s face without obstructing airflow or being anywhere near as bulky as an off-road full-face.

Inside, an optional MIPS Evolve Core liner under the helmet’s pads helps absorb non-linear impacts, but also integrates a rear dial-retention system for a secure fit.

The commuter full-face helmet is described as well-ventilated with 5 forward-facing openings connected through internal air channels to 4 rear exhaust ports, plus large openings at your ears to help dissipate heat away from the rider’s head.

And it also comes with three different magnetically attached visors to protect your eyes while riding in all conditions – mirrored, smoke shaded & clear lenses. The Virgo also has a magnetic attachment at the back to snap on or off a removable, USB-C rechargeable taillight with an accelerometer brake light function for added visibility day & night.

The end result is a safer full-face helmet that “offers multi-impact protection zones in the areas most likely to be hit in a fall in case of a frontal crash” with claimed weights from 600-650g for the two sizes XS/S & M/L. The Virgo helmet is designed to meet the higher-speed pedelec (45kph/28mph) requirements of European regulation NTA-8776, and also complies with standard EN 1078 / CPSC bike certification.

The Beam x Virgo full-face – Crowdfunding pricing, options & expected availability

The Virgo ebike full-face helmet is available to back now on Kickstarter, through the end of June. The Beam x Virgo helmet is available either without the extra anti-rotational protection from 99€ with super-early-bird pricing, or in what looks like the best deal, with an integrated MIPS Evolve Core liner from just 129€.

The helmet includes the removable visor & light, and is available in four matte colors – black, white, midnight blue, and warm sand tan – in sizes XS/S or M/L. The Kickstarter campaign anticipates first deliveries as early as August 2023, although The Beam suggests more conservatively that they will have full production stock available in the middle of autumn.

TheBeam-Europe.com & VirgoMove.com

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Standert Kettensäge aluminum gravel race bike

Modern race bikes don’t all have to be made only out of carbon. Standert has seen racing performance success on the road with their made-in-Italy scandium alloy Kreissäge RS road race bike – named the circular saw in German for how it can cut through the peloton.

Now they are back with a Kettensäge – or chainsaw – for cutting through rougher packs of all-terrain gravel racers. The same trouble-free metal bike benefits are there with the known alloy stiffness and surprising comfort that Dedacciai’s top-tier modern aluminum tubing can now deliver. Plus, it’s a thoroughly up-to-date gravel race bike, with all the modern integrated features and mounts you need, plus race-ready gravel tire clearance.

Tech details

The Kettensäge goes neatly and fully integrated with a straight 1.5″ headtube routing all the cables through the headset into the frame’s internal routing. But of course, no one wants to have to deal with re-cabling a bike when your ‘ridden-hard’ and ‘put-away-wet’ gravel bike’s headset starts to stick.

So, inside the CNC-machined alloy Standert integrated headset cups are CeramicSpeed SLT bearings that come with a lifetime warranty thanks to their ‘permanent’ self-lubricating & corrosion-resistant oil-encapsulated solid plastic polymer carrier for the stainless steel balls inside.

Standert knows that most fast-gravel racing these days happens on 40mm tires – and those are what come on complete Kettensäge bike builds.

But sometimes rough conditions call for bigger rubber, so this gravel bike still has plenty of room for up to 700x45c tires, too. If you need more than that, their recently-updated stainless steel Erdgeschoss adventure gravel bike might be a better fit for you.

This alloy gravel race bike gets a wider MTB-width 73mm threaded T47 bottom bracket optimized for modern 1x gravel bike drivetrains (but is compatible with mechanical or electronic 2x setups, too), plus flat mount disc brakes, 12mm thru-axles with light SRAM Maxles, and future-proof UDH mounting for that rear mech.

Meant to be a racer, it doesn’t go for full bikepacking mounts, but sticks with 2 standard bottle cage bosses in the main triangle plus direct bolt-on toptube bag mounts. The fork does have full coverage fender mounts, but the frame does not.

The aluminum Standert Kettensäge gravel race bike is welded by hand from lightweight custom double-butted Dedacciai Aegis aluminum tubing, and handpainted in northern Italy – with claimed alloy frame (54cm) weight of 1590g, carbon fork at 400g, and complete bikes around 9.4kg.

Size-specific Gravel Race Geometry

The Kettensäge gets very similar quick gravel geometry angles to their more adventurous Erdgeschoss, but this race-ready bike does get slightly longer Reach and lower Slack for a more aggressive position on the bike. It still comes in Standert’s broad signature Project Compact seven stock size range from 48-60cm, to fit gravel racers tall and small.

2023 Standert Kettensäge – Pricing, Options & Availability

The all-new aluminum frame & carbon fork comes in three finishes – Team edition dark green with pink graphics, Give ’em Hell Caramel tan & Yolo Barolo red with orange logos.

For 2000€ you can pick any color of the made-in-Italy Kettensäge aluminum gravel race bike frameset, with the bottom bracket compatibility of your choice (or upgrade to a CeramicSpeed ceramic BB for quite a bit more).

Complete Standert Kettensäge aluminum gravel race bikes start at 4700€ with a Shimano GRX 2×11 build with alloy wheels, or step up to SRAM Rival/Force XPLR AXS wireless 1x from 5000€. There’s also plenty of more possible upgrades including a couple DT Swiss carbon wheelsets, even some 3D-printed Fizik saddles.

The new gravel race bikes are available now to ship anywhere in most color & size combinations, with delivery times of 3-9 weeks depending on how much you want to customize your setup.

Standert.de

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