Component Reviews Archives - Bikerumor

FUNN’s new Python Pedals are Thin, Light, Grippy, and Supportive

Steve Fisher — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000

I first saw FUNN’s products when I worked in a bike shop in the early 2000s, and with slick new products like the second-generation Python pedals, it’s clear the brand has progressed with the sport. The updated Python pedals are competitively lightweight and boast a sleek design.

The new Python pedals offer a healthy amount of grip in stock form, and FUNN sells optional longer pins for those who want more. To sum it up, I’d say the Python pedals are (in the best way) everything they need to be and nothing more.

FUNN Python Pedals – Construction:

The new Python pedals feature a 6061-T6 aluminum body which is forged, then trimmed down on a CNC machine. At 100x110x10.5mm, FUNN has provided a good-sized platform that should feel plenty supportive to anyone without huge feet, while keeping things pretty trim and lightweight.

The Pythons’ thin bodies help minimize pedal strikes, and FUNN has even machined down the outer ends of the pedals to a slimmer profile than the rest of the body.

FUNN says the Python pedals’ optimized profile maximizes pedal-to-shoe contact and pedaling efficiency. At first glance, they seem pretty flat, but there is a very slight concave to the Python pedal bodies. The front and rear ends are a tad thicker than the midsection of the pedal, so the middle pins sit slightly lower. Also, there is a tiny hump over the spindle (which looks bigger in the above photo than it really is) but I never felt it at all while riding. Those who enjoy a more concave pedal can always use the longer pins to achieve this… as I did. More on that below…

Note the full set of short pins in this photo, vs. the longer pins on either end in the profile pic above

Funn specs the Pythons with a full set of short pins, but they offer an optional set of longer pins that are compatible with FUNN’s Python, Funndamental, Mamba, Mamba S, and Ripper pedals. The long pins are longer and thinner, and they definitely add more grip to the pedal vs. the short pins. Instead of a full-length spindle, the Python pedals utilize a stubby cartridge axle system for easy maintenance.

I was impressed to see the Pythons weighed in at 373g for the pair, just beating FUNN’s claim of 375g.

Ride Impressions:

As soon as I started riding the Pythons, I was impressed with how supportive the pedal bodies felt. These pedals don’t look huge, yet no matter where I put weight on my foot it always felt like there was plenty of pedal underneath. I think FUNN hit on a great shape that reaches out to all corners while still looking sleek.

The Pythons’ bodies are almost flat, and with the shorter set of stock pins, the pedals have a fairly flat feel. The grip is already pretty good with the short pins, offering a secure hold on your foot that still allows for easy re-positioning. I should note I rode the Pythons with my grippiest pair of shoes (FiveTen Freeriders).

FUNN set me up with a set of the longer pins, so I did what I think a lot of riders would – I put them in the front and rear parts of the pedal and left the shorter pins in the middle. Immediately I preferred this setup; the longer pins offered noticeably more grip, and the pedals felt more concave (which I like). At this point adjusting a foot took a bit of intention, so I was happy with the level of grip and never installed the full set of longer pins. If you did you’d have one very grippy pedal, just with a less concave feel.

To be honest with our readers, I didn’t really get to beat the crap out of the Python pedals as most of my time spent with them were ‘rehab rides’ after an injury this spring. I’ve put some decent distance on them, but they haven’t been subjected to much on-trail abuse. My Pythons aren’t showing any concerning signs of wear, play, or damage, but they have had it pretty easy. If any serious issues occur this season, I will update this article accordingly!

FUNN’s new Python pedals retail for $115, and they will be available by the end of June. Color options are Black, Grey, Orange, Green, Red, and Blue.

funnmtb.com

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First Ride: Vittoria Mazza Enduro Race Mountain Bike Tire

Jessie-May Morgan — Thu, 25 May 2023 13:00:00 +0000

The Vittoria Mazza, Mota, and Martello mountain bike tires are now available in a premium Enduro Race model, with a tread pattern made up of a softer, single-compound rubber, and a more supple 1 x 60 TPI casing construction. They each bear the same respective tread patterns, but with an all-new super soft, low rebound rubber that combines Graphene and Silica to produce what is said to result in maximal grip and damping at every lean angle.

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

photo credit: David Cheskin

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

Top – Vittoria Trail Casing 1-ply 120 TPI; Middle – Vittoria Enduro Race Casing 1-ply 60 TPI; Bottom – Vittoria Enduro Casing 2-ply 120 TPI

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.

Testing the Vittoria Mazza Enduro back in 2020 – review here. Credit: David Cheskin.

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.

The Enduro Race tires get a red hot patch, first rolled out on the Vittoria Syerra Downcountry tire

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 Mazza, Mota and Martello Tire Size	Casing	Construction	£ GBP	€ Italy	$ USD
27.5″ x 2.4″	Enduro Race	Multi-Layer 60 TPI Protection	£64.99	72.95 €	$89.99
27.5″ x 2.6″	Enduro Race	Multi-Layer 60 TPI Protection	£64.99	72.95 €	$89.99
29″ x 2.4″	Enduro Race	Multi-Layer 60 TPI Protection	£64.99	72.95 €	$89.99
29″ x 2.6″	Enduro Race	Multi-Layer 60 TPI Protection	£64.99	72.95 €	$89.99

Vittoria.com

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All-New Challenge Getaway XP Gravel Tire Offers Tubular Comfort with Extra Protection

Jordan Villella — Tue, 23 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Unbound gravel is coming up, and the new Challenge Getaway XP tire might be the combo that everyone is looking for. Challenges’ all-new XP (Extra Protection) series claims to offer the ride feedback of a tubular with the protection of beefed-up nylon casing vulcanized tire.

Photos: Jordan Villella

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

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Teravail Telegraph 30mm Road Tires are Fast Rolling and Dependable

Jordan Villella — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 13:57:06 +0000

When you think of Terevail tires, you probably think gravel, or gnarly MTB tires, certainly not road. That’s about to change; the tire manufacturer is not only entering the road market but coming in hot with a performance-driven compound and daily all-around design — Meet the Teravail Telegraph.

Details — Teravail Telegraph Tire

The Teravail Telegraph tire is a 30mm performance-designed road tire, combining Teravail’s high-speed grip compound and a voluminous casing. The casing of the new Telegraph is a 120 TPI tubeless-ready casing with single compound rubber, chosen by Teravail for its compliance and grip. For added setup ease, the Terevail casing has a hidden internal liner for a clean and efficient tubeless setup.

The tread (or lack of it) is a slightly textured mix, similar to the Michelin line of tires. The sides have a staggered siping pattern that should clear water and aid in grip.

Currently, the Teravail Telegraph is only available in size 700X30mm but comes in two casing offerings; Light and Supple (tan sidewall) or Durable (black sidewall).

Pricing and Availability — Teravail Telegraph

Light and Supple Casing: 700c x 30 mm,
Sidewall Color: Tan or Black Sidewall
Weight:
Price: $70

Durable Casing: 700c x 30 mm,
Sidewall Color: Black
Weight:
Price: $75

Ride Impressions — Teravail Telegraph

When the Teravail Telegraph came across my desk, I was finishing a performance tire review. Seeing a road tire from a company I mainly think of as gravel and hefty mountain focus was interesting. I like the Teravail tires I’ve ridden in the past, but I wouldn’t label them as uber performance, especially compared to the exceptional gravel options. I decided to do all my training and racing on the Telegraph for the next couple of weeks and was delighted with the results.

Mounting and inflation are simple; the light/supple and durable tires are inflated with a floor pump without removing the valve cores. I mounted each tire on hookless and hooked rims with similarly easy installation.

Teravail Telegraph Durable casing

Teravail Telegraph Light/Supple casing

Weight-wise, there is a slight uptick for the durable casing compared to the light/supple, but the tan side walls look faster, so I went with those for my first rides. The Telegraph tires measured 30.74mm on the new Specialized Terra CXL wheels with 25mm inter-rim width and a hooked rim.

Coming from a performance tire nearly the same size as the Telegraphs, I expected a drop in efficiency and some harshness out of the gate. On the contrary, the Telegraphs felt on par with the much more expensive tires.

Dependable and Trustworthy

The design is dependable, classic, and trustworthy. The casing on the light and supple exhibits those ride qualities and gets better with lower pressures. Depending on the ride and conditions, I found my sweet spot was around 50 to 57 psi. Grip-wise and performance-wise, the Telegraphs are very predictable. I didn’t have a slip in the corners or feel “over-tired” in the weeknight training crit. Plus — I’ve yet to have a flat over many miles (and questionable gravel roads).

Riding the Teravail Telegraph in the Durable casing, I had a similar ride impression. Yes, the durable casing is slightly heavier, and with that, the ride is not as crisp as the Light/Supple casing, but the overall performance is excellent.

Comparing the two casing options, the durable casing feels muted when ridden directly compared to the light and supple. The corning feels the same, and so does the overall ride quality. The thicker casing affects the tire’s pressure sensitivity while running 55psi in the light and supple; I chose to run lower pressure to get a similar feel from the Durable casing option.

Teravail Telegraph Tires — Final thoughts

Terevail has a winner in the new Telegraph tire. It’s dependable, solid price-wise, and rolls well on various terrain. Did they make the fastest tire out there? No, but they did create a quick, predictable tire that can put up with many bad roads and debris.

Rumor is that Terevail plans to offer the Telegraph in more sizes, and I would love to see that, especially in a 32mm for all road riding and a 28mm for road racing.

For more information and purchase, check out: Teravail.com

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PRO MSN Enduro & MSU eMTB Off-Road Saddles Reclassify Performance – First Rides

Cory Benson — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:26:07 +0000

A couple of all-new off-road PRO Bike Gear MSN & MSU saddles add two more supportive short-fit MTB shapes for aggressive enduro and performance-oriented ebikers. They also reveal a new descriptive saddle naming convention that Pro has been working on to make it easier for consumers and bike shops to help pick the right saddle for each rider, fit, riding discipline, and budget…

PRO MSN enduro & MSU all-mountain ebike saddles

c. Shimano, photo by Dan Milner

These two new relatively lightweight & affordable saddles expand on Pro’s modern MTB line-up, adding a couple more short-fit options to the Stealth Offroad adapted from the road. Ideal for riders looking for wide comfort & supportive performance in a saddle that won’t hook a pair of baggy shorts, and with taller, padded sides to the nose that allow you to comfortably control the bike when you get out of the saddle.

Pick the MSN for all-around all-mountain riding, or the MSU with a bit more rear support for eMTB rides.

Tech details

First off, Pro’s new MSN & MSU saddles are meant to usher in a new 3-letter naming convention that adds more descriptive clarity vs. their old school names like Stealth Offroad, Volture, Griffon & Turnix for example. (Do you remember what’s unique about each of those?)

The first letter M means mountain bike specific. The second letter S means short length. And the third letter is the rider position. N is neutral for all-around riding where you aren’t leaned over too forward and can still comfortably pedal uphill while seated, albeit maybe slid forward a bit more – intended for enduro, all-mountain, and technical trail riding. U is for upright riding with a higher bar:saddle position, more appropriate for ebikes where the rider will spend more time seated in the same position while pedaling uphill, on the flats, and over rolling terrain. Pro suggests there may also be a future A for aggressive positions on the bike or F for more forward-leaning bike fits.

On top of that is a 2-number classification that will describe the saddle’s base, rail & padding construction. That first 1 seems to signal a lightweight carbon-reinforced nylon shell. And the second 3 seems to be for the mid-spec tubular stainless steel rails and conventional polyurethane padding. We’ll have to wait for more saddles to adopt the new naming convention for more clarification.

“All PRO Saddles feature a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee and like all PRO products the new PRO saddles carry a limited lifetime warranty; based on a 10-year expected lifetime.“

PRO MSN 1.3 enduro mountain bike saddle

PRO MSN 1.3

The technical mountain biking MSN is available now in this one 1.3 level spec for $150 / 120€, with tubular steel rails, a carbon-reinforced base, and a durable black-on-black polyurethane cover. It comes in two widths – 142mm at a claimed 255g or 152mm at 275g. It features a full-length pressure relief channel, plus a central cutout with a plastic insert designed to allow mud & water to drain through.

PRO MSU 1.3 eMTB saddle

PRO MSU 1.3

The eMTB-specific MSU also comes in the same 1.3 level spec, for the same $150 / 120€ pricetag. It shares identical tubular steel rails, carbon-reinforced shell construction, and tough polyurethane cover. It also comes in two widths – 142mm at a claimed 272g or 152mm at 285g.

It features a pressure-relief channel that is carried from the tip of its nose to the mid-section cutout, again with a plastic insert designed to allow water to drain. It has thicker padding at the rear and a slightly higher tail to push against as ebikers tend to spend more time seated and spinning to get the most out of their pedal assist.

First Rides Review

photo by Dan Milner

Previewed at the end of last month on parent Shimano’s latest and truly innovative AutoShift & FreeShift equipped e-mountainbikes, I spent a couple of long days comfortably perched on top of the new PRO MSU eMTB saddle, not needing to shift myself – either shifting the bike or shifting around on the saddle.

At first look, the PRO graphics across the top of its cover are more low-key than the studio photos suggested, and once I got muddy at all they almost completely blended in. Cleaning & drying the saddle and the graphics did subtly peek back out again, though.

And while the drainage port seemed to do well keeping water from pooling in the cutout (an actual issue with my closed Stealth Offroad), it was no match for my riding in the mud and needed a proper clean out.

photo by Dan Milner

Riding over a lot of really rough, rocky terrain, the MSU 1.3 did a good job of being just soft enough to be comfortable, while never feeling squishy. At a claimed 272g for my 142mm wide saddle, it’s almost 1/3 heavier than my Stealth Offroad – which I ride on gravel, light trail bikes, and a cargo ebike. But the thicker rear padding of the MSU offers a much more comfortable tail to push against for seated ebike climbing, and just longer periods of time staying seated.

The Pro MSU 1.3 is a pretty unassuming saddle with generous-looking, but firm padding. And its best trait as an ebike saddle is that it disappeared under me as I rode. I’ve only spent a few days riding it on eMTBs, but I plan now to swap one in for a more comfortable ride on my e-cargo setup back at home.

photo by Dan Milner

PRO-BikeGear.com

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Shimano eMTB AutoShift & FreeShift Stuns, Powered by LinkGlide & XT Di2: Review

Cory Benson — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Let’s start off by saying that nothing in this Shimano eMTB EP8, LinkGlide & XT Di2 review is really new, not even the AutoShift itself. This is all tech that we’ve already covered over the last two years, or so. On their own, each of these updates had its own merit, but didn’t seem all that important in our eyes (and likely to many others in the cycling industry. Yet combined together, they truly have the possibility to be transformative in how a few different types of riders use ebikes. The sum is actually greater than its parts.

But wait, do any of us actually want an automatically-shifting e-mountainbike in the first place?

Shimano eMTB AutoShift & FreeShift – What & Why?

c. Shimano, all riding photos by Dan Milner

Starting with a simple conclusion from my second day riding this tech: “I completed a very technical – rocky, wet & greasy – 42km / 1000m of climbing / 4-hour elapsed / 2.5-hour moving mountain bike ride on a Santa Cruz Bullit CC eMTB equipped with Shimano AutoShift and did not shift manually one single time. And I never felt like I was missing out by not shifting manually. Just pedal, and enjoy the ride.” – me

With that out of the way, I can dial back to my starting point…

No, I didn’t think I wanted an auto-shifting ebike. Just like how in theory I want a manual transmission in my car, why would I ever think of giving up manual control of my bike/ebike’s shifting? But I wasn’t so against the idea, to not give it a try. And after spending two technical days riding it, I’m a lot more intrigued by the concept. And on a side note, my old van is still a manual, but my newer family car is an automatic, and I enjoy driving both.

FreeShift is a no-brainer. Every time you slow down approaching a turn or navigating a technical section, the bike automatically downshifts to an ideal gear that you can pre-set, so when you exit the techy spot you are already in the perfect gear to pedal out again.

AutoShift is a harder concept to accept. The bike constantly monitors your rolling speed, your cadence, and the power you put into the pedals, and shifts itself whenever it determines that you are not in an optimal gear. You can manually shift yourself – overriding the AutoShift at any time – or simply turn off the automatic system if you don’t want it to be in control. But you really can just ride without thinking about what gear you are in, and the ebike brain keeps you going.

Ebike tech concepts

photo by Dan Milner

What you have is: an updated ebike powertrain system that has more power & versatility than ever, a drivetrain that prioritizes increased durability and the ability to truly shift under load instead of incremental shift speed gains, and an electronic shifting system that will automatically downshift your bike as you coast down into a difficult section or turn AND give you the option to fully automate every shift based on a few keys sensor inputs.

Only an ebike can bring these systems together. And only a new ebike can combine them all to work. No normal / analog / acoustic bikes can Auto or Free Shift. And no existing ebikes can be retrofitted if this setup was not already installed by the manufacturer. That really limits the application of this tech for the time being. But we suspect as more people (and OEM bike brands) accept that this style of riding can be beneficial, it will become much more mainstream in the eMTB and likely eGravel ebike markets.

Step 1: Shimano EP8 – EP-801 drive units

You need the latest EP-801 generation of Shimano’s top EP8 ebike motor to make any of this work. It has higher torque than the first E8000 generation – now 85Nm – and more complex & customizable rider power-matching curves. It adds more ports to connect powered accessories, smarter battery management, and a new fine-tune support control mode. And it improves communication capabilities to collect & share data and to control that new Di2 derailleur. The update essentially soft-launched last summer around Eurobike 2022.

Step 2: LinkGlide drivetrain

LinkGlide promised 3x cassette lifespan durability when it debuted 2 years ago by putting 11 thicker cogs in the space of 12 modern HyperGlide+ cogs. What they didn’t really talk much about was shifting under load.

To get the full automatic shifting feature, you need a cassette that truly can shift under full load. Lots of drivetrains claim you can shift under full load, but because of the need to mesh gears or chain+cog, most that just means shifts under greater load. This one really shifts whenever it wants, which often happens to be when you are pedaling hard AND when that EP-801 motor is also helping you pedal hard. It’s not quiet. The clunky sound of the shift seems sketchy at first – it’s not so different that the bad-new chunky sound of a thing cog shifting under load and being damaged. But Shimano engineers assure that LinkGlide is happy to clunk, and its performance does not degrade over time like a lighter setup would.

photo by Irmo Keizer

LinkGlide also now forms the basis for the recently described, lower-cost 9-, 10- & 11-speed CUES drivetrains.

Step 3: XT Di2

The last piece of the puzzle is an electronic ebike-only XT Di2 rear derailleur that can be activated by more than one type of signal input, and a Di2 shifter for when you as the rider want to exert control on your shifts.

photo by Dan Milner

Shimano says their evolution of MTB Di2 had essentially been chasing even faster shifts from the racing/performance mountain bike side. But the improvements weren’t really that significant over the top-tier mechanical XTR anyway since you were still relying on the same cassette shift ramps to convert derailleur movement into a real gear shift – and not really justifiable for the additional cost to create something like XTR Di2. But…

When combined with an ebike drive system though, there were two new possible shift modes that were outside of the traditional shifting paradigm. And you could more easily share similar hardware in the same overall spacing for both lightweight 12-speed systems or more robust 11-speed systems.

The Result: Automated shifting control

Together, EP-801 plus LinkGlide 11sp or HyperGlide+ 12sp plus XT Di2 allows for FreeShift, the ability of your drivetrain to automatically downshift as you are freewheeling or you to manually shift while coasting.

Or combined, EP-801 plus LinkGlide 11sp only plus XT Di2 allow for AutoShift, the ability of your drivetrain to automatically upshift AND downshift while you are pedaling to always be in a correct gear, based on its smart algorithm (more than just a preset cadence:speed ratio). Plus, you still get FreeShift when you slow down while coasting.

Important note: Both of these automated shifting modes are completely up to the end-user on ebikes equipped with them. It’s easy to turn them off if you don’t want automated control. You can also easily disable one, while keeping the other. And both allow for setting customization via Shimano’s eTube mobile phone app, so you can quickly pick (or change) the gear that FreeShift returns to when you coast, or you can pick what is your optimal cadence (Shift Timing) of optimal rider torque input (Climb Response) for AutoShifting

Review: The verdict… are Shimano AutoShift & FreeShift better?

It’s undeniably weird to let the ebike shift for you, after something like 3 decades of me always being in charge of shifting while I ride. At first I was thinking too much about it, and even my thumb accidentally manually shifting out of habit.

So I reprogrammed the right-side Di2 shift buttons via the eTube app to control the ebike power assist mode (just like the left-side EP8 remote) so I wouldn’t accidentally override the automation, and never looked back.

I rode the automatically shifting bike up winding doubletrack, steep rocky climbs & long gravel road ascents, across deep creek crossings, through slow slippery rock gardens & deep sucking gravel sections, over wet roots, and down singletrack littered with small drops and the occasional kicker jump. Never did I miss shifting, and the bike never really missed a shift. Some of the steep techy climbs came with louder chunkier shifts, but it shifted without my input.

I only ever moved from Eco to Trail to Boost modes to select how aggressively I wanted the motor to support my pedal input, depending on terrain and slope.

On one steep greasy muddy ramp and on one really rocky technical climb, I didn’t quite make it up on my first attempt. So, I went back, spun my cadence a bit differently to instigate the ebike to shift when I wanted in anticipation of a steep climb that it could not have predicted, and I cleaned both of these very touch sections on their second attempt. Both were also sections that I likely could not have cleaned on a non-ebike, at least not with the challenging conditions I faced because of the weather.

Do you need Shimano AutoShift? And how can you even get it?

photo by Dan Milner

First off – No, you don’t need Shimano AutoShift or FreeShift. But why wouldn’t you want to have it as an option?

AutoShift really let me ignore what gear I was in and just ride. It was oddly freeing, and my brain quickly forgot that I normally should be shifting as I ride. (I also had no problem transitioning back to regular manual-shift non-e normal bikes the very next day.) And FreeShift is just cool – slow down or stop, and the ebike is just magically in the perfect gear to start riding again. All bikes would benefit from this, were it possible.

So where do you get it, is a harder question, as it is only an OEM thing and it can’t be retrofitted. Our test fleet of Canyon, Orbea, Santa Cruz & Yeti mountain ebikes is a good hint of where you might find the correct EP-801+LinkGlide+Di2 combo soon. But that list is not exhaustive, and real global availability is still up in the air – often dependent on Shimano’s own component supply to these and more brands. Bike rumors have it that some e-gravel options may even be available with automatic shifting sooner in North America than the eMTBs.

The point of this review is less to tell you to go buy this Shimano AutoShift tech now – you probably would have trouble to do so anyway – and more to say that it’s worth thinking about. I’m a technical mountain biker, and I went into this very skeptical. But I came away a few days later open to the idea of automated shifting on ebikes.

Maybe we can just lean back and enjoy the ride.

Shimano.com

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Garmin Edge 540 and 840 Series Update Features and Introduces Solar Options

Jordan Villella — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Garmin introduces new additions to its Edge series; the all-new Edge 540 and Edge 840 Series. The new units are an updated compact design that allows for easy functionality and personalization, no matter what cycling discipline you’re after. The series combines performance-based training metrics, enhanced navigational support, connected features, and more.

New solar charging models (similar to the Edge 1040S) supply more ride time between charges with up to 32 hours of battery life (in fully engaged modes) or up to 60 hours in battery-saver mode.

What is it — Garmin Edge 540 / 840

The new Edge 540 and 840 carry over the user interface from the Edge 1040 and supply a more pleasant user experience—the updated interface ties in seamlessly with Garmin Connect to provide cyclists with dynamic insights and analytics. Plus – riders can track all metrics and create a page to view them while on a ride, like; stamina, body battery, time to exhaustion, performance indicator, power goals, pedaling coach, and much (much) more.

Updated Design

All Edge 540 and 840 Series models have a 2.6-inch color display and feature button controls that work efficiently in any riding environment. The Edge 840 Series computers also include a responsive touchscreen similar to the Edge 1040. This sizing is a slight departure from the convention of the 800 series being slightly larger than the 500, though functionality and accuracy remain equal.

Improved Mapping, Navigation, and Exploring

Updated mapping brings more of a community feel, with improved ride type-specific maps that use Trendline Popularity Routing to highlight roads and trails. The maps include searchable points of interest, like coffee shops and other fun features.

Edge 540 and 840 Series users can access worldwide Trailforks trail content, allowing riders to view routes and trail details even while traveling. If you’re feeling like a detour (or just exploring), you can pause route guidance and off-course notifications to jaunt around the area and turn navigation back on at your convenience.

Messaging and Safety

The updated Edge 540 and Edge 840 come with LiveTrack, group messaging, and incident detection for all cycling activities–including mountain biking. Like all Garmin devices, Edge 540 and Edge 840 Series are compatible with the Varia line of cycling radars, headlights, and inReach devices with SOS capabilities and communication when off-the-grid.

New features — Edge 540 and 840

Riding ability and course demands: Identify strengths and weaknesses as a cyclist and prepare for the demands of a specific course by focusing training in the right areas
Targeted adaptive coaching: Whether cycling indoors or outdoors, riders can view daily suggested workouts and training prompts, plus receive personalized coaching that adapts based on training load, recovery, and the demands of upcoming events.
Real-time stamina: Monitor and track exertion levels in real-time during a ride to help influence training efforts or see how much further the current pace can be maintained
Power guide: Manage efforts with power targets throughout a course
ClimbPro ascent planner: View the remaining ascent and grade for each climb while riding
freely without course navigation or search for climbs directly on the Edge and in the Garmin ConnectTM smartphone app before heading out.
Multi-band GNSS: Cyclists can easily find their way with enhanced positioning accuracy via multi-band GNSS technology. Edge 540/840 operates well in challenging environments, such as dense tree cover or downtown urban environments.
Solar charging: Power GlassTM solar charging lens on solar models extends battery life to up to 60 hours in battery-saver mode, giving cyclists up to an extra 25 minutes per hour during daytime riding. *Only for Solar units.

Garmin Edge 540 Solar — First Impressions

I was excited to hear that Garmin was releasing Edge 540/840 models. I’m a fan of the Edge 1040S, but it’s a giant head unit best used on the road and touring.

The unit is compact, and the solar panel surrounding the 2.5″ screen doesn’t interfere with viewing. Like its other units, Garmin updated the charging to C-type and snuck in a replaceable mount for those rough on their head units (raises hand).

When the head unit arrived, I was running behind on a ride and was looking to set it up as quickly as possible. The updated Garmin Connect interface for setting up a new device was fantastic. I could adjust and customize my screens on the phone quickly.

On the road and in the woods, I was delighted with the performance of the Edge 540S. Though, when you begin to use all the auto features without checking (or unchecking), you might be in for a noisy ride.

For those that enjoy a beepless ride, you’ll need to uncheck the features during setup. I quickly discovered that all my favorite Strava segments were ready to conquer via the Garmin Connect auto-sync— same with Climb Pro and auto-lap every five miles. After lots of beeping every few minutes, I stopped to uncheck the segments, climb, and laps. It’s easy and something I should have done preride — lesson learned.

Changing from the larger touchscreen 1040S, I thought I would encounter some issues pivoting to a non-touchscreen unit. On the contrary, I liked it more, especially for off-road use. The size is ideal for mountain bike use, and the bright color screen is very easy to see in the forest. The lap and start/stop buttons are slightly smaller than the previous version but are easy enough to tap with gloves and during an effort.

As far as the buttons go (seven in total), all are easy to access while riding. The screen toggle button (bottom left) has a minor groove making it very pleasant to operate with the index finger, and it requires very little pressure.

The solar panels gather power just as smoothly as with the Edge 1040S and with the same screens urging you to place it in the sun.

Garmin updated the interface with intuitive features like holding the menu button for 3 seconds to access the whole menu and other smart updates. I thought navigating the unit without a touch screen could be cumbersome, but I was effortlessly flying around the interface after a few rides. Plus — it seems Garmin is rapidly updating the unit, and the interface is getting easier to operate.

Final Impressions

So far, I’ve been very pleased with the Edge 540S. I’ve used it in muddy races, and it’s been power washed and dropped a few times (sorry Garmin). Seeing such a resilient powerhouse of a head unit in a small package is fantastic — Check back for a full review shortly.

Garmin Edge 540 / Edge 840 Pricing and Availablity

The Garmin Edge 540 Solar and Edge 840 Solar are available now from your local bike shop and Garmin dealer.

Edge 840 Solar Price: $550
Edge 540 Solar Price: $450
Non-Solar Edge 840 Price: $450
Non-Solar Edge 540 Price: $350

For more information, check out: Garmin.com

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HUNT Race XC Wide Wheelset Review: Race Performance for under $500?

Jordan Villella — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:50:26 +0000

HUNT Race XC Wide mountain bike wheelset looks to strike a note with performance-driven and cost-conscious riders. The Race XC wheelset pairs 6069-T6 alloy rims, HUNT’s 5° RapidEngage hubs, and a killer price point of $466 to offer performance and valve to the XC racer. We put these wheels through the paces and crummy East Coast winter conditions, and the results are good, but can this wheelset face off against low-cost carbon competitors?

HUNT Race XC Wide Wheelset: Construction

The HUNT Race XC Wide wheels roll on a 28-hole, 24mm wide alloy hookless rim, designed around 2.1- to 2.3-inch tires. The rim construction is a 6069-T6 alloy that HUNT says offers superior strength compared to conventional alloy. The work-hardened shot-peened finish helps the rims deflect minor-use scratches and plays a big part in overall durability and life. The graphics and presentation are classic HUNT, slightly understated with fabulous pops of unique personality like the “The Chase Is On” sticker.

The Race XC Wide wheels lace two-cross front and rear using lightweight triple-butted straight-pull Pillar spokes.

The hubs are HUNT’s in-house MTB hub set, boasting a 5° RapidEngage driver (four-pawl, 36-tooth internals) and a H_CERAMIK coating to extend the spline and overall hub life.

HUNT’s in-house lockrings are impressively lightweight.

HUNT’s in-house valves weigh only 10 g with the pair, including nuts and caps.

The hub set employs asymmetric hub flanges on the drive and braking sides. The hub offers both center-lock and 6-bolt rotor options, so choose wisely. The bearings are large 6902s for the front/rear that are double-sealed, with enough room to accommodate all frame/axle sizes.

As for upgrading an old frame, HUNT states on its site: “We will fit the axles you need, just complete the simple form shown after checkout or add a comment in the notes section of the cart page.”

HUNT Race XC Wide Wheelset: Tech Details

Rims: 29″. 6069 T6 (+69% tensile strength vs. 6061-T6) sleeved construction, 24mm wide (internal), work-hardened shot-peened finish
Hubs: 5° RapidEngage and H_CERAMIK coating for increased durability and strength; large double-sealed cartridge bearings; Boost (110/148) fitment with RockShox Torque Caps and Boost QR adapters (110/141) available. (“We will fit the axles you need, complete the simple form shown after checkout or add a comment in the notes section of the cart page”). Hubs are available with a 6-bolt disc mount or center-lock option.
Spokes: 28 spoke count, straight pull PSR reinforced head Pillar spokes
Tires: Optimized for 2″ to 2.3″ tires set up tubeless, but also work very well with 2.2″ to 2.5″. Also great with standard tires and tubes.
Axles: Oversize 7075-T6 heat-treated aluminum alloy axles
Hand-built: All wheels are built and finished by hand, including a full quality-control inspection; ours were built by Victor.
Weight: 1,517 g (including tape, not valve cores)
Available drivers: Shimano HG, SRAM XD, Shimano Microspline
Price: $466 (as tested)

The Ride: Setup and Dial-In

I was eager to get these wheels on the trails, excited to see what a $460-ish hookless alloy wheelset would/could do. Most alloy wheelsets aim at the introductory rider, but the HUNT Race XC Wide Wheelset looks toward more experienced riders and those looking to update their old machines.

The wheels arrive taped and dialed in — with a build card (like all HUNT wheels) and basic usage instructions. The valve cores are HUNT’s in-house and looked to hold up to the standard in lightweight alloy tubeless valve fashion.

My initial test tires are another low-price ($45), high-performance item: the American Classic Mauka 2.4″ down-country tire. The rim, on closer inspection, is super quality with a 3mm thick hookless bead and a modest height. Admittedly gun shy, I inflated the combo gingerly on the first wheel, but after the easy seating, I went full tilt with the next wheel.

The Ride: On the Trails

When fully inflated to a healthy 20 psi (I ran around with 18 psi front and 19 psi rear for most of my riding) the tire came to a plump 2.5, and the 24mm internal rim could handle it for the most part. In the brief snowy conditions, this tire and wheel combo was excellent. The extra volume was well appreciated, and the wheels/hubs took a healthy amount of winter slush without a problem. The 2.4-inch tire felt slightly tugged on the narrow rim and squirmish on the hardpack surface on dry trails.

The American Classic Mauka 2.4″ measured much wider than advertised (more like 2.5 inches), and I wanted to roll something more in line with the wheels’ purpose. I mounted up some Vittoria Arrgo 2.35″ and they measured more at the 2.3 inches — right on the money for the 24mm rim. As the weather changed, I went from 2.4 inches to 2.35 inches.

I spent most of my riding on this setup, on my hardtail and full-suspension XC bike, and was very pleased with the outcome. The wheels mesh better with a 2.2- to 2.35-inch tire. The rim is narrow enough to keep the cornering knobs in place but wide enough to supply excellent contact. I could feel the wheels’ performance more with narrower tires and dry trails. The boxy rim soaked up most of the bumps and didn’t ride abrasively, as some overbuilt carbon wheels can.

In heavily bermed-out corners and pushing the limits of XC into freeride, the wheels don’t have the stiffness and pump speed you get from a super beefy carbon wheelset. This slight flex is not a drawback for my use and the intended use of this wheelset. It’s hard for an alloy wheel to be compliant and super stiff in the corners. The rim for the XC Wide version of this wheelset weighs in at 380 g per rim, and it gives the wheels an excellent pop-in acceleration. Suppose you’re looking for a mix of the two, with a leaning trail riding. I’m guessing these wheels’ wider and only slightly heavier “trail” version would easily bridge that gap.

These wheels replaced a set of heavier, budget-carbon wheels I used for training, and I was unsure how they would be fair in comparison. Besides knowing they are alloy and priced way less than the others, I expected the HUNT Race XC wheels to be on the same level. I didn’t expect to like them more. The climbing performance with the weight reduction is fantastic. The wheels spin up quickly and are responsive under effort. I bottomed out more than a few times and cut side walls, but the rim stayed the same. Rock gardens and root monsters are totally within the realm of this wheelset.

As far as performance longevity, these wheels went through an entire Pittsburgh winter, with many power washes and rainy training rides on gravel double track. The hubs spin just as freely as the day we received them, and the rim, though it took many dings, has yet to show them. I attribute this to the coating, lack of decoration, and a round profile.

Conclusion: HUNT Race XC Wide Wheelset

After many rides on the HUNT Race XC Wide wheels, I’m very impressed with the performance. The rim put up with lots of lousy line choices and questionable drops. HUNT offers a replacement rim for $100 from its website if and when the rim has had enough. These wheels would significantly upgrade many bikes and provide an excellent training wheelset for those who only use high-end carbon offerings.

I only had to true the wheelset once, mainly because I was switching tires and decided to give them a look over. The front wheel was as straight as when I received them and the rear needed a light true, but it has been fine since.

I recommend this wheelset for anyone looking for a low-cost performance upgrade for their cross-country bike, especially for those on heavy OEM wheels or for a lighter wheelset for race day. The price is superb for the product quality and top-notch customer service.

If you’re a dedicated trail boss and heavy rider, there is a 120kg weight limit on the HUNT Race XC Wide Wheelset. HUNT’s Trail Wide (1,860 g) or the Enduro Wide Wheelsets (2,065 g) are heavier but will offer a sturdier platform for huckin’ and shredding. Plus, replacement rims are the same $100 price!

HuntBikeWheels.com

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BikeYoke Revive 272 brings proven dropper seatpost to down-gravel & XC: Review

Cory Benson — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 12:58:45 +0000

With just 80mm of travel, BikeYoke has scaled back their most-popular, never-spongy Revive dropper seatpost to 27.2mm in the new Revive 272 – admitting that they have given in to the peer pressure of the gravel boom. Now, adventurous gravel and even hold-out cross-country riders with 27.2 posts and stealth internal routing can benefit from dropping their saddle when the going gets rough, without the worry of installing a dropper only to suffer the bouncy fate of a failed IFP with air inside.

We tested it out, and break down the ups & downs…

BikeYoke Revive 272, 80mm travel 27.2mm gravel dropper post

Apparently since day 1 with the original Revive dropper – a distant 6.5 years ago – customers have been pestering BikeYoke for a 27.2mm version, certainly predating the gravel explosion. But BikeYoke continued to resist, as it is just incredibly difficult to fit their complex, long-life hydraulics inside such a small space.

Well, modern XC bikes moved to 30.9 & 31.6mm posts, but a lot of gravel bikes stuck with the OG seatpost size – whether for traditional small diameter looks or the added comfort benefit of the better flex characteristics of a smaller diameter cylinder. And now crazy gravel cyclists are riding their gravel bikes like mountain bikes – obviously on MTB-friendly singletrack, but also underbiking or down-graveling even more technical trails.

So, BikeYoke sucked it up and spent the time and R&D effort into squeezing their Revive tech into a 27.2mm dropper.

Wait, what is so special about a Revive dropper again?

Let’s go back in time 6 years to remember: the key to a Revive dropper is the unique patented configuration of its internal hydraulics that allows it to be reset, or essentially re-bled, when air bubbles invariably sneak past the flexing internal seals as your weight flexes the post. This common cavitation of the sealed IFP that occurs in most hydraulic dropper posts makes the post squish, and requires a replacement internal piston in most/many cases.

The Revive is simply revived by turning that bolt at the top (with a 4mm hex or the included min-lever on newer posts), pushing down on the post to let the air up and the oil back down. Then, releasing and going back to perfect drops and no squish at the top of extension.

So, what’s actually new?

The diameter & drop are the real new bits on the outside. The Revive 272 dropper is 27.2mm in diameter, and features a short 80mm of travel. The diameter rationale is obvious, but the short travel essentially boils down to making it fit the most amount of bikes – you only need 125mm of exposed seatpost in your bike to fit the new BikeYoke Revive 272. That means even gravel bikes with nearly horizontal or barely sloping toptubes will probably still fit the new dropper. And like on their “Cape Epic winning Divine SL” dropper, BikeYoke hopes you don’t get so incredibly rad on your gravel bike that you would need 213mm of drop… leave that for their bigger diameter Revive Max.

The new Revive 272 also take the cut-to-length adjustability from their short-travel Divine SL dropper post too. That means that while the 400mm length the Revive 272 is delivered to you is comparable with a long 27.2 posts and suitable for sloping geo XC bikes, you can also cut up to 100mm off the lower end of the shaft for gravel applications. Cutting it down to 300mm long overall also has the benefit of saving an extra 45g for those gravel weight weenies still reading… after having not been scared off of the outrage of putting a heavy dropper on a dropbar bike.

Tech details

BikeYoke claims a real weight of 385g for the uncut post – mine was a bit lighter than that since it weighed just 2g more with the addition of the optional 5g mini Revive Quick Reset lever which I like to have on the post. There is a version with titanium bolts that sheds 10g vs. my standard steel bolts. And you can save more by cutting it to length, which I eventually will do when I go into gram-saving mode one rainy day.

As usual, the Revive 272 dropper is user-serviceable, and BikeYoke sells affordable service kits that are pretty easy to install without complicated tools or hydraulic bleeding techniques.

Riding Impressions of the BikeYoke Revive 272

I popped the dropper into a do-it-all steel cross-to-gravel travel bike a friend built for me and drilled for internal routing, to see how it fared. And I can only say good things about the Revive 272. Much like previous Revives it goes up and down on command just like it says it will, and likely will for a long time to come. And you can even adjust the internal air pressure if you want a more forceful pop back up.

After having suffered from IFP cavitation on budget droppers that lasted only a year or so, I really appreciate the value in paying more upfront for a Revive dropper that will last much longer. Admittedly, the Revive is not cheap. But I personally have an original generation 31.6 Revive on a personal XC bike since late 2017, and with a few resets along the way and a <20€ service kit, it still works great. It’s definitely the only dropper I have still in service for that long.

Remaining Limitation of Dropbar Droppers

Maybe the single biggest limitation to gravel dropper posts in my opinion is not the added weight – compared to my carbon PRO Discover seatpost this added 171g for the post alone plus another 125g in cable & remote – but rather that remote. BikeYoke does not yet offer their own dropbar dropper remote, because they aren’t yet happy with the ones they’ve been developing. And I can sympathize. I’ve ridden with a few different dropbar remotes and I’m not satisfied either.

The tight bends when routed inside a dropbar, or even just under the tape, combined with trying to wrap your bartape around the remote, all add up to annoying friction in the system. And let’s not forget the pain of installing the post. To get a dropper into your bike you usually need to slide around 10-15cm of housing through your frame’s internal routing to get it to stick out of your frame to attach the post. If you are using an uncut Revive 272, that adds an extra 10cm of housing. Now with a remote under your bar tape or next to your stem, that’s impossible without a giant cable loop out front. (On a MTB bar with the remote next to the grip, you can move the remote close to your cable port during install, but not really so with a drop bar setup.)

For now, I think the best solution is hanging a flat bar remote next to your stem, with a pretty sizable cable loop in the end. And I will anxiously await a BikeYoke Dropbar Triggy remote with a better routing solution…

BikeYoke Revive 272 – Pricing & availability

The new 27.2mm x 80mm travel BikeYoke Revive 272 sells for $370 / 370€ with standard steel hardware, or $395€ with titanium bolts. You can also add one of BikeYoke’s flat bar remotes for an extra 40-65€, but they don’t have a mount to fit around a 31.8mm clamping area next to your stem as far as I’m aware. The new Revive 272 is available now direct from BikeYoke.

BikeYoke.com

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Fizik’s Most Versatile Saddle is 3D-Printed Vento Argo Adaptive 00 with 7x9mm Upgrade

Cory Benson — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 20:22:12 +0000

Combining lightweight, maximum stiffness & the peak of tuned Adaptive ergonomics, the new top of Fizik’s Argo saddle family will even fit on more bikes than ever, thanks to a shift to more standard 7x9mm rails!

Fizik Vento Argo Adaptive 00 full carbon + 3D-printed saddle

The key point Fizik is stressing with the new Vento Argo Adaptive 00 saddle is the improved stiffness and additional weight savings that comes from the full carbon shell & one-piece Mobius carbon rails in the step up from the previous R1 level to this new top 00. But probably more important is the shift from the 7x10mm oval rails of previous R1 & 00 level carbon rails that limited what seatposts could actually fit Fizik’s top-tier carbon-railed saddles.

In fact, mounting any other recent carbon-railed Fizik saddle to this PRO Discover seatpost would not have been possible without the special set of 7×10.3mm clamps that PRO makes for fi’zi:k compatibility.

Tech details

From a tech perspective, Fizik’s long naming system is quite descriptive. fi’zi:k Vento Argo Adaptive 00. Vento means racing – road, gravel, cyclocross, or XC. Argo means short-fit. Adaptive means 3D-printed padding. 00 means light & stiff with full carbon shell & rails.

Technically, the 00 is the only part that’s new, as there already was a fi’zi:k Vento Argo Adaptive R1 model with a reinforced nylon shell and 7x10mm carbon rails.

But the upgrade to 7x9mm Mobius carbon rails is a big shift, and one I hope filters through the rest of the Fizik lineup. Many seatposts that clamp just the top & bottom of a saddle’s rails like the classic Thomson 2-bolt or Ritchey 1-bolt can work with either 7×9 or 7×10 oval carbon rails. But seat guts that clamp the entire side of the rail – like this 1-bolt PRO design or ENVE’s similar solution – need special adapters to fit Fizik’s non-standard oversized rails.

The Fizik Vento Argo Adaptive 00 saddle shares the same 265mm overall length with the other Argos, and comes in 140mm & 150mm widths. The 00 versions are also 2.5mm shorter in height, thanks to the thinner carbon construction.

First Impressions Installing & Riding

This Adaptive version uses the same Carbon Inc. Digital Light Synthesis 3D-printed TPU honeycomb patterned padding, that features vastly varying structural stiffness. Overall it feels quite soft in hand, but more firm & supportive while riding.

It gets a super supportive feel on the sides under your sit bones, only getting a bit softer at the nose. But the center rear panel is soft to the touch down to the carbon shell, while the same softness central pressure relief zone feels like there is minimal resistance as you can push through the cutout in the carbon shell.

Fizik calls the new Argo Adaptive 00 the “most stiff and lightweight option” in their short-nosed, Adaptive range… but that’s a pretty limited window.

In reality, the 140mm Argo Adaptive 00 claims a weight of 175g (ours was just 1g heavier), or 186g for the 150mm wide version. That’s just 15g/10g lighter than the Argo Adaptive R1, and actually a full 41g/47g heavier than the conventionally padded Argo 00.

Compare it to the Antares which first debuted the 3D-printed Adaptive padding, and the Argo Adaptive 00 is 7g/15g heavier than the longer & narrower Antares shape.

Review thoughts on durability

One of my biggest concerns with any 3D-printed saddle is how its open lattice structure will accumulate dirt & debris. The Argo Adaptive 00 certainly can pick up some mud and grime. And outside of the central cutout in the carbon shell, the dirt does collect in the open honeycomb.

I’ve been riding with Ass Savers’ latest Win Wing rear fender to keep heavy mud accumulation to a minimum. But I still have seen a few bit of dirt collecting in the open lattice of the padding. Interestingly enough (although maybe not really surprising), when I carefully turned my bike upside down after 3 or 4 mixed-surface rides, a lot more dry dirt fell out of the lattice than I could see when the bike was upright.

I’m not sure how that might impact long-term durability of the padding, as that capture dirt is sitting inside the lattice all the time, theoretically acting as an abrasive against the internal padding structure with every bump the saddle absorbs or every impact from my butt smashing down against the seat.

That said, the Fizik Vento Argo Adaptive 00 saddle is truly lightweight, and it really is comfortable, especially over mixed gravel & road riding. So, I guess I’m going to grind it to see what happens…

Fizik Vento Argo Adaptive 00 – Pricing, options & availability

It’s not cheap. Actually, it’s about as expensive as saddles get.

This 3D-printed full-carbon Fizik Vento Argo Adaptive 00 is available now for $400 / 400€, through partner shops or direct from Fizik. That’s $100€ more than the ever so slightly heavier Argo Adaptive R1, or $100€ more than the significantly lighter Argo 00 with conventional padding. It is literally the most expensive saddle that fi’zi:k sells. Whether you can justify that pricetag for the balance of supreme ergonomic comfort and a bit of weight savings is up to you.

I’m curious how it will survive the dirty life of mixed road and gravel riding, so I’ll certainly keep riding it.

Fizik.com

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First Rides: SRAM Force AXS & XPLR Groups Get All the Right Refinements

Tyler Benedict — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:58:01 +0000

The new SRAM Force AXS group sits somewhere between evolutionary and revolutionary, delivering premium performance at an agreeable price point. By taking the best features of Red and Rival and giving it a polished (and sparkly!) finish, SRAM gave its second-tier group new life on road and gravel.

I rode both the standard 2x road group and the 1x Force AXS XPLR gravel group at the launch, then had more time at home on the road bike before writing this. Here are my first impressions based on a couple hundred miles, starting with a direct comparison to the prior Force group.

2023 Force AXS vs. Force eTap

Beyond the sparkly Unicorn Gray finish and shimmering decals, the most obvious upgrade to the new Force group is the one-piece chainring. Borrowed directly from the top-tier SRAM Red group, it’s the same piece, just with a less expensive finish. This piece alone is responsible for saving most of the group’s weight over the prior eTap group, and it’s stiffer too.

Available with or without an integrated Quarq power meter, it’s also a great way to replace your Red chainring set and save a couple hundred bucks.

New 2023 Force AXS shown on left and the prior generation Force eTap on right.

Ergonomically, the shifters and hoods are the biggest difference. The brake hoods are smaller with a slimmer diameter, making it easier to wrap my hands around it both on the flat part and curling a finger around the brake lever’s pivot.

Contrast this with the top, which is just a bit broader on the new Force AXS, giving me a bit more platform to rest on when I’m leaning way forward. While I like the micro-texture of the old version better, the new one’s grooves wrap further around the hood cover for more total grip.

The shift paddles get longer and taper at the bottom. The idea was to create a bigger contact patch when shifting, so it’s easier to find it no matter what your hand position or how rough the road is.

The angled lines are indented at an angle to create grip too — not just cosmetic.

The other goal was to create more finger clearance when pulling the brake lever deeper into its travel. Depending on your hand position, it sort of works, but the top of the paddle still gets pretty close and can trap my pinky in some situations, which means I can’t pull the lever all the way in.

The new shape is better in this regard, but only slightly. However, the increased contact patch is welcome and certainly doesn’t decrease finger clearance. Worth noting is that this problem of having fingers block full lever pull is not exclusive to SRAM.

And, considering the lever’s pivot point is a few millimeters closer to the bar, it’s now easier to reach the brakes from tops and drops and perform one-finger braking.

The new Force AXS loses the brake pad contact adjustment but keeps the lever reach adjustment (which is accessed from underneath, behind the brake lever).

Left to right: SRAM Red, Force, and Rival AXS wireless rear derailleurs.

Visually, the new Force AXS rear derailleur looks more polished and high-end, which has us wondering what a new Red group might look like.

2023 Force AXS Ride Review

General performance is on par with expectations. The rear shifts the same, which isn’t surprising since neither the derailleur nor cassette changed except for cosmetically. SRAM’s rear shifting remains solid and quick enough.

The noticeable improvements in performance come from the two things that did change: the levers and the chainrings. Shifts are just a bit easier to execute thanks to the increased paddle size, and the chain moves confidently between chainrings. Shifting under power, like on a climb or a sprint, is not just effortless but also satisfying.

I’ve been a fan of SRAM’s 13-tooth chainring jumps since they were introduced. While not dramatically different than most other 2x combos, the particular sizes it chose seem to work really well in conjunction with its cassette options to provide an adequate range on any given ride.

Technically, a smaller 10-tooth cog is less efficient, but I don’t spend a ton of time in it and haven’t noticed any undue wear on my long-term Red or Force Wide group. I have a new Force group coming in for long-term testing, but given the basically identical parts, I suspect it’ll hold up as well as the others I’ve been riding for the past few years.

I enjoyed the new, smaller brake hoods and closer pivot placement on the road. On group rides where I’m hovering a finger over the levers just in case, it makes it easier to comfortably maintain that position. And pulling the brake lever is easier, either with one finger or two.

The reach adjust is always appreciated too, as I like to bring my levers in a bit since I typically mount them toward the very top of the handlebar’s clamping area. This makes them easier to reach in general, but especially when riding in the drops, which is key on descents and rough gravel.

Despite being bigger (and, thus, having bigger hands), I’m enjoying the smaller grips, especially on gravel with the Force XPLR group. The “horns” at the very front are smaller now too, thanks to the missing pad contact adjustment, which makes them easier to rest my hands on top for a (very) short-term aero break.

I do like having the remote Blips. But I’m on the fence about being forced into using the fully wireless Blips where I can’t replace the batteries. Convenient? Yes. Eco-responsible? Not really. Fortunately, SRAM seems to be hearing this and, well, it’s “constantly evaluating rider’s needs and working on stuff.” That said, the little nub of a trigger is easier to feel and use than the round button of the wired version, but both have their place — at least until the next Red update, probably.

Overall, the new Force group is like a shinier, more affordable Red group with all the same technology and performance. You could buy this and upgrade to OS ceramic bearing pulleys and still come out ahead, or put the extra money into something like wheels or a carbon handlebar where you’ll notice more of a difference.

The beautiful and interesting thing about a launch like this that, at a glance, seems only incremental and cosmetic, is it shows just how good trickle-down tech is making second- and third-tier groups. And it makes me think SRAM is going to have to do something really special for the next Red group…

So, yes, the new Force group is great. And it looks great too.

Side Note: We Rode in Portugal

Photo c. brazodehierro for SRAM

If you’re looking for somewhere awesome to ride, eat, surf, and possibly even retire, then … Portugal. Watts and I did a full week of gravel riding with Thomson Bike Tours, and the place is simply amazing. Endless roads, most with nearly perfect pavement and little traffic offer ribbons of mountainous routes with gravel service roads shooting off in every direction.

SRAM hired Fiona, owner of Echappee Portugal, to lead our rides and she’s amazing. Great routes, friendly local knowledge, and a very strong, skilled rider. Check her, or Thomson, out if you’re planning a trip and leave the ride logistics to the experts.

SRAM.com

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Protect Your Back Side With PDW’s Full Metal Fenders

Ron Frazelle — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 16:59:02 +0000

I love a bike with a set of full fenders that boasts a tight fender line. And although I live in Southern California, where we don’t get a lot of rain (though it is raining right now), I run my current Randonneuring bike with full coverage fenders. So, when Portland Design Works (PDW) sent us its Full Metal Fenders for review, I was excited to try them out.

But, you’re probably asking, why me … why the editor who lives where the annual rainfall is less than 11 inches annually?

My Rando Bike with full-coverage, polished aluminum fenders.

Yes, the fact is, I don’t really need my bikes to have fenders, but I love the look of my Rando bike with full-coverage fenders … and take a gander at that fender line. Ooh, la, la!

Installing the PDW Full Metal Fenders

Back in November, I received a pair of Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders. I received the 700×55 size in anodized black aluminum. I unboxed them, tossed the packaging, and put them aside for a bit. I didn’t get to install them until later in the month.

When I finally got around to getting them installed on my bike, I’d forgotten that I received the 700c version and proceeded to install them on my Rando, 650b bike. It was my mistake, but they actually installed… fine. The only issue I had was that I received the version of the fenders without the “disc brake adaptor.”

Turns out there is only a disc brake adaptor option on the 650 Beast 55mm when ordering the fender kits. Which is a bit ironic as that is the size I should’ve received. On the other fender kit sizes, it looks like you have to add the Disc Brake Spacer Set separately. I actually assumed that all fender kits would have some sort of disc brake adaptor included with them nowadays. And, I still think that all fenders should.

The fender stay mounted high to clear the disc brake.

Besides having to make some snips to the stays, and a slight mod to the way the front fender attaches to the bike (using the mid-blade fork mount instead), the Full Metal Fenders were installed without any issues. Even with the wheel size difference.

The instructions were well listed out and explained the steps well. It came with all of the stainless steel hardware I needed (sans the disc brake adaptor).

Riding With the PDW Full Metal Fenders

Shortly after I installed the fenders, our rainy season was upon us. I got to use the fenders for what they were intended for this last month or so, as we’ve been getting a decent amount of rain (for my area) so it worked out perfectly.

I managed to get in a few rides right after 2-3 consecutive days of rain, plus got caught in a small storm on the tail end of another ride. As expected, the full-wrap Full Metal Fenders did their job really well, keeping the mud and water from flying up into my face, all over my shoes, or up my back end. The included extended-length mud flaps added to the fenders’ ability.

As a bonus, the fenders kept the water away from the raw (although treated) underside of the leather saddle.

I did notice that the PDW Full Metal Fenders, in the 55mm size measured true to size at 54.9. Which they say will fit a 47mm tire max. By comparison, my polished Velo Orange fenders measured out to 59.4, which fit a smooth tread 50mm tire without issue. In that case, you would want the PDW 650 Beast fenders which measure 65mm.

I really liked the way that the black fenders looked on the black bike and thought they looked pretty boss. But, I have to say, I do prefer the added 5mm width and rounded look of the polished fenders, at least for this bike — it keeps the classic Rando bike aesthetic.

I take my fully fendered Rando bike on a lot of mixed-surface rides from long, fast, fire roads to the very occasional steep, technical descents to fast buffed singletrack. And the Full Metal Fenders performed completely noise- and rattle-free (something my other fenders don’t do).

The fenders attach to the bike with safety tabs ensuring that if a rock or debris gets sucked into the fender line to get stuck between the tire and fender, the fender will break free.

The double rear stays that come on these fenders are like night and day when it comes to how much rattling and noise they made when riding off the beaten path. They were quiet, with the rear fender barely being able to be manipulated or moved by hand while the bike is standing still.

Conclusion

The Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders are a great addition for the rider who has to deal with the weather while riding, a commuter who wants to stay clean on the way to the office, or a cyclist who just thinks fenders look sick on bicycles.

The fender kit weighs in at 694 g for the model I received (700×55). These are a well-thought-out set of fenders that came with everything I needed to have a successful installation (just pick the right brake configuration). If you were having issues getting the perfect fit, PDW offers a Special Hardware Kit to help with that.

Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders come in a size to fit just about every frame’s clearance. I highly recommend them.

At $139, the fenders come with a lifetime PDW warranty.

Check out all of PDW’s products by clicking the link below.

RidePDW.com

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Hutchinson Gravel Goes Big with 50mm Overide, Touareg & Tundra gravel bike tires

Cory Benson — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 13:56:20 +0000

Hutchinson has given their gravel tire line-up a high-volume boost, ballooning their Overide, Touareg & Tundra up to 50mm. Developed to transform your modern gravel bike to take on ever-tougher terrain – the bigger treads mean more grip, more control, more comfort, the ability to run lower tire pressures, and ultimately… just more options.

Hutchinson Overide, Touareg & Tundra 50mm gravel bike tires

It’s a pretty minor update to add just one more width option to their already wide tubeless gravel bike tire range (the mostly-slick Overide already went down to 35mm and up to 45mm). But with more gravel bikes getting bigger tire clearance, more gravel riders heading further off-road, and a boom in bikepacking & adventure riding – a 50mm option with scaled-up treads for these three tires is a welcome update, especially for unpredictable winter conditions.

In Hutchinson’s own words:

“Whether reaching for the Tundra for slick, rocky, technical trails, calling on the ever-reliable Touareg workhorse, or rolling on tarmac and trail alike with the Overide – all bases are covered with this new offering. There’s even room for MTB-inspired mix and matching for dialed performance. Hutchinson champion the grippy Tundra front and all-rounder Touareg rear pairing, or a Touareg front and Overide rear combination for a surefooted front end and fast-rolling speed at the rear.”

Actual widths & weights

Hutchinson calls all three a 50mm tire, so we popped the knobbiest Tundras onto a 24mm internal gravel wheelset to see how they measured up. Comparing all three widths on the same rim – at the outside of the lugs, the new 50 clocked in at 53.2, the 45 at 46.5mm, and the 40 measured 42mm. That’s a pleasantly broad range from fast-gravel to mountain bike territory.

Weighing in those same three Tundra tires gave an equally wide range on the scale – 707g for the 50mm, 575g for the 45mm & 510g for the 40mm.

I also happened to have the three different widths of the less-aggressive Touareg too, but in three different sidewall variations. The 40mm Touareg in the rarer & lighter no-label Gridskin edition weighed 456g. Our pre-production 45mm all-black Hardskin Touareg weighed 624g. And the new 5omm tanwall Hardskin Touareg weighs 647g.

Riding Impressions

These tires now really blur the lines of what is a mountain bike tire – 700c x 50mm after all is effectively a 29″ x1.97″ tire. And even on my 24mm internal wide-for-gravel but narrow-for-MTB Fulcrum Rapid Red 3 alloy wheels, the Tundra 50s measure out more than 53mm wide, or 2.1″ for the fellow mountain bikes among us. Sure, most of even Hutchinson’s XC mountain bike tires have gone wider to 2.25″ or 2.3″ and beyond… But these 50mm+ Tundras feel essentially like a mountain bike tire at this point.

Of course, I already was quite happy with the original & versatile Touareg. And the Tundra even earned my praises in our Editor’s Choice Awards earlier this winter for its ability to transform a modern gravel bike for more aggressive terrain.

But, I think the real benefit of these three gravel tire treads now gaining a 50mm versions, is that you can mix or match to boost comfort, grip & control. A lot of modern gravel bikes top out at 45mm clearance, but maybe their fork has room for a 50mm front tire. Or even, older cross & gravel bikes that may be limited to 40mm in the back, but can run a 45mm up front. All three of the Overide, Touareg & Tundra treads are solid depending on your riding conditions, and likely a lot of gravel riders could benefit from fitting the biggest tire combo that will fit their individual bike setup.

Hutchinson Gravel 50mm – Pricing, options & availability

Hutchinson Overide, Touareg & Tundra (l-r) 50mm gravel tires

The new 700c x 50mm gravel bike tires are all exclusively available in Hutchinson’s top tubeless-ready 127tpi construction with Hardskin puncture protection & dual-compound rubber, and only with natural tanwalls. The 50mm gravel tires are made-in-France and sell for 50€ for the smoother Overide, or 53€ for the more knobby Touareg & Tundra.

photo by The Service Course, c. Hutchinson

They are all available now, and can be mixed-and-matched amongst themselves as 50mm setups for a balance of fast-rolling & grip – like an Overide rear with a Touareg front for dry conditions, or a Touareg rear with Tundra front tire for more mud. Or you can find these three reads also in matching 40mm, 45mm & 50mm versions (+35 & 38mm for the Override) to squeeze the most volume you can fit into your gravel frame & fork.

cycling.Hutchinson.com

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First Rides: Galfer Shark lightweight 160mm XC rotor can save grams without losing power

Cory Benson — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 10:24:53 +0000

New 160mm XC Galfer Shark disc brake rotors bring gravity-inspired brake performance down to shorter travel bikes, too. With the same design featuring heat-dissipating fins, the new smaller-diameter (and thinner) Shark rotors promise more consistent brake performance for cross-country, marathon, and downcountry bikes now, as well as potential weight savings. We’ve dropped a few grams off one of our light trail bikes this winter, without any loss of braking performance…

Galfer Shark 160mm, lightweight 1.8mm disc brake rotors

Last year, Spanish brake maker Galfer introduced their Shark disc brake rotors to reduce brake temperature and reduce brake fade for DH & Enduro racers – in 180, 203 & 223mm diameters x 2.0mm thick. But now a lighter, smaller diameter 160mm version brings that performance boost to XC & Downcountry riders, too.

Tech details

The XC rotors feature the exact same layout, with small round perforations in the braking surface to add more area for heat dissipation, big cutouts in the braking surface & an outer wave shape to clear debris, and the inward-facing Shark fins for even more heat dissipation. The rotors are cut from high-carbon stainless steel in Spain, just now in the thinner 1.8mm thickness appropriate for lightweight mountain bike brake calipers.

They are also still only available as 6-bolt, a bit of an obstacle as many lighter XC & downcountry bikes have moved to the lighter centerlock hub standard. But Galfer does also sell alloy centerlock adapters.

Galfer claims a weight of just 104g per rotor, although our test rotors both weighed in a tad heavier at 106g a piece.

Braking Performance: Downsize without sacrificing braking

Galfer in-house perf ormance testing

Galfer sold us on the idea of the new 160mm rotors, as offering better performance compared to other 160mm rotors. Together with their brake pads, Galfer says their Shark rotors deliver higher friction for 5-10% more brake power, an 8% reduction in pressure required at the brake lever to get max power, and a 30% reduction in rotor temperature (vs. all but one competitor… wonder which one?). Curiously, all of those performance upgrades are comparing a 1.8mm thick 180mm Shark rotor against other 1.8x180mm rotors – but for now the 1.8mm Shark rotor is only available in 160mm. Current 180mm Shark rotors are 2mm thick for heavier, longer-travel brakes.

In any case, Galfer convinced me to swap the Shimano XT 180/160mm rotor combination out on my Canyon Lux Trail, for a lighter 160/160mm Shark rotor setup.

How much weight did I save?

On moving to 160mm rotors alone – a 126g 180mm XT front & 114g 160mm XT rear – I saved 28g. Interestingly, swapping in the 10g (f) & 19g (r) Shimano pads I realized that my bike had an aluminum-backed set of pads in the post-mount front brake and steel-backed pads in the flat-mount rear brake – both 2-piston XT.

Shimano (silver) vs. Galfer (red) brake pads

So switching to red steel-backed Galfer pads (19g f/15g r) actually added 8g to my setup. I did lose a 12g 160-180mm adapter on the fork, and dropped another 7g with shorter bolts that were needed. So in the end, I had a net reduction of 39g. That’s not nothing, but not a huge savings.

The downside here would probably be if you only have centerlock wheels. My lightest wheelset for the Lux Trail is centerlock, and putting these rotors on them would mean adding an extra 32g per wheel, obviously erasing all the savings and more. Curiously, the weight differences between XT rotors I have for 6-bolt & centerlock are negligible. Instead, I put the Galfer Shark rotors on a set of alloy Hunt Trail Wide wheels I ride on the bike with meatier tread for looser conditions.

So was it worth it?

First Impressions – Riding Galfer Shark XC 160mm rotors

After a proper bed-in of the brakes on dry pavement with hillclimb internals, I headed out to hit the trail to test out the new brake setup. With a break in winter conditions, I did at least get to test the new Shark rotors out on dirt (mud?) peeking out of the snow – proper Leatt Mono Suit conditions. But I can’t really say much about heat build-up just yet.

Brake bite and power definitely feel good, though. The new rotors delivered confident braking performance, and with Galfer pads predictable modulation, over a mix of damp to wet conditions. No noticeable reduction in power, even with the downsized front rotor. The feel of the brakes at the lever also does feel good, although I can’t quantify if it is indeed less than my stock XT brakes. The front brake especially is squealing a bit under hard braking, but pretty much every setup does that when I ride it through muddy bogs covered with ice & snow.

Do the smaller, lighter Galfer Shark XC rotors brake better than the Shimano XT setup?

I honestly can’t really tell the difference so far. And that’s a pretty good thing. I had no complaints with the XT rotors & pads, and so far the lighter Galfer setup seems to work just as well.

Galfer Shark XC – Pricing, availability & options

The new smaller, thinner Galfer Shark XC rotors are currently available in only one size, targeted at XC & Marathon bikes, or even Downcountry & lightweight Trail builds – 160mm diameter x 1.8mm thick. The rotors are made in Europe and retail for 90€, including VAT.

Presumably, a future 1.8mm thick version in 180mm diameter might be available. But for now, you either need to downsize to 160mm front & rear, or check to see if the thicker gravity-oriented 2mm rotor will fit in your front brake caliper.

I had initially thought I would swap in one of the thicker 180mm rotors on this light trail bike. But for now with no noticeable reduction in braking power, I’ll keep the smaller Shark rotors on the Lux Trail and see how they handle heat and more sustained braking once the trails dry and the weather warms up.

Galfer.eu/bike

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5DEV Factory Tour + CNC Machined Gravel & MTB Crankset Review!

Ron Frazelle — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Last year, I made a trip down to San Diego to visit the manufacturing facility for 5DEV. Because I’m local to them, they reached out to invite me to their facility to try a prototype of their new gravel cranks… and they said that they were going to cut them on the CNC machine while I waited.

Um… yeah, thanks!

5DEV is the younger bike division of a larger, and more established machining company called 5th Axis. 5th Axis is a leader in the manufacturing of complex components for the aerospace and medical industries.

The co-founders of 5th Axis/5DEV are cyclists that have been mountain biking for over 30 years. With the shortage of parts during the pandemic causing huge wait times to receive new components for their bikes, they decided to start building their own stuff.

All of the products 5DEV offers are designed and manufactured in-house out of aerospace-grade billet aluminum using a patented tooling system using efficient processes while managing the design and construction from the start to the finish.

When I got down to the San Diego area, I met Will Talbot at their facility, and we started the tour.

Chainring blanks

The 5DEV Factory Tour

The facility, although neat, clean, and quite organized, initially looked like a typical, albeit, high-end machine shop. As I walked through the 5DEV office area where I got to meet some of the behind-the-scene 5DEV crew, I started seeing bits and parts that I actually recognized… in other words, bike stuff. This was going to be fun.

We walked out of the 5DEV office area, and back into the shop. We wound our way through a maze of (what seemed like) countless CNC machines to get to the one that would be cutting the new cranks.

My Gravel Crank arms are not entirely done.

5DEV did most of the machining on the pair of crank arms that I was to take home prior to my arrival. Once I got there, they put them back in the machine and let me watch them finish the process.

The crank arms went into their 5th Axis proprietary tooling and they queued up the machine. It was fun watching the CNC machine do what it does, putting the finishing touches on the cranks.

The machine effortlessly cut the final shape of the arms while smoothing all of the edges, and threading the spots for the chainrings and pedals. It really didn’t take long at all.

I got the arms right off of the machine and will be using them on the bike as they are, with the raw aluminum and no finish. They are as pretty as they look in person.

5DEV Cranks On the Bike

Out with the old…

In with the new…

Shiney.

The prototype Gravel Cranks us the SRAM 8 bolt pattern to attach the chainring, They didn’t have any chainrings for these cranks when I got the arms, so they sent me home with a set of their Trail/Enduro cranks and their 12% oval chainring for my Surly Krampus (that I brought with me).

But there are two chainrings available on the website now, called Road Gravel Classic Chainrings in 40t and 42t.

Actual Weight

Both the prototype Gravel Cranks and their Trail/Enduro Cranks are made of 7075-7651 billet aluminum. They are built to be both light and strong. The Trail/Enduro cranks weigh in at the claimed weight of 525g (w/ 30mm spindle) with the Gravel Cranks weighing in at 491g with a 29mm spindle.

There aren’t a lot of cosmetic differences between the two different cranks. But, upon closer inspection, you can see the subtle differences between the Trail/Enduro and Gravel cranks.

The Gravel Cranks have slightly more refined corners and extra chamfering on the edge of the arm going further up the arm from the pedal to towards the extraction bolt. Plus a little less material around the base of the arm (at the extraction bolt) on the Gravel Cranks. These few areas of eliminated material are the source of the 34g lighter weight difference on the Gravel Cranks.

They both use Chromoly steel crank bolts with self-extracting hardware. The Trail/Enduro as well as these Gravel cranks come with a 5-year warranty.

5DEV Trail/Enduro Cranks

The Trail/Enduro cranks that I installed on my Krampus were installed without a hitch. I am still using the Race Face bottom bracket that was on my bike already, and with a single 2.5mm spacer on the non-drive side, and the chain line was perfect. I’m running the 175mm crank arm length and their small 12% oval, 28t chainring (old knees and occasional bikepacking loads) with a Shimano XT 11-46 cassette.

Since I’ve installed the Trail/Enduro cranks on the Krampus I’ve put roughly 500 miles on it in the last 6 months. In that time, I’ve not had a single issue. The alloy bearing pre-loader that comes with the cranks, hasn’t loosened up over time, like others that I’ve used in the past.

The cranks don’t feel like they have any lateral or “noodly” movement. They feel stiff, while delivering the power on really hard efforts, and feel light when spinning. And they look amazing.

The aesthetics remind me of the aftermarket “blingy” crankset offerings that were in abundance “back in the day”, like the Kookas, Hersheys, and Cook Brothers, except that 5DEV gets it right. Like really, really right.

5DEV Gravel Cranks (prototype)

The Gravel Cranks I received to test, were brought home to use on my gravel bike Dream Build. They turned out to be the perfect cranks for the Masi Incanto Ti. They really popped on the build, being a highlight on the finished product.

These cranks have a 170mm arm length with an 8-bolt chainring mounting interface which will be on the production cranks. The Trail/Enduro cranks have the more common 3-bolt interface.

At the moment, I am using a Wolf Tooth Powertrac Elliptical 38t chainring with it.

The build was completed back in early December 2022, and so far I have about 300 miles on these cranks. They’ve really been flawless. The finish on the raw aluminum I received has remained un-scathed even with a 25-mile mud-fest I’ve done under their belt. So far, they seem to be holding up really well.

Retail Price

Trail/Enduro Crank retail: $499 ($349 for 135mm and 140mm)

Trail/Enduro sizes: 135mm, 145mm. 155mm, 160mm, 165mm, 170mm, 175mm

Gravel Cranks: $499

Gravel Crank sizes: Both 170mm, and 172.5mm will be available first, with 167.5mm, and 175mm to follow. More sizes coming Summer of ’23.

Chainrings: $99 (round, 6% oval, 12% oval)

Colors available: Clear Raw Anno, Black

Spindle sizes: 30mm boost or 29mm “DUB” boost

In Conclusion

With my having the unique opportunity to ride both cranks in the associated disciplines, I can safely say that I would absolutely recommend either one of these cranks. The 5DEV cranks offer not only great performance but so far, seem to be reliable while adding a wild aesthetic to your current steed, taking the bling level up a notch.

5DEV Cranks is offering made-in-USA, boutique products that appear to be worth the money. The cranks not only offer the look of a boutique handmade product, but deliver on the performance side as well. That’s really what you want in a crank – light, good power transfer, a fit that stays tight, and a kick-ass look that adds to your bike’s swagger. The 5DEV cranks do that in spades.

Check out the other goods that 5DEV has to offer by hitting the link below.

5DEV.com

The post 5DEV Factory Tour + CNC Machined Gravel & MTB Crankset Review! appeared first on Bikerumor.

Review: SRAM XPLR Gravel Group, from Fork to Wheels to Drivetrain

Tyler Benedict — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 19:33:16 +0000

If we’re being honest, SRAM’s foray into gravel bike drivetrains has been a bit confusing. Starting with a hydraulic “clutch” on all of their eTap AXS road bike derailleurs, introducing “Force Wide” to accommodate gravel’s larger tires, and an assortment of derailleurs that almost required a diagram to find compatible cassettes, it was enough to make you look away.

Then, finally, they introduced a complete XPLR group that includes Zipp wheels and a Rockshox Rudy fork. If the product has XPLR on it, it works together. Which, when it comes to drivetrains, only really refers to the rear derailleur and 10-44 cassette. It’s only compatible with 1x drivetrains, but you can use any crankset and 12-speed 1x chainring.

So, while everything can still be mixed and matched, running an Eagle 12-speed mountain bike derailleur and cassette, paddle or drop bar shifters, etc., the XPLR “group” optimizes cage length and gear ratios and gear steps for the vast majority of gravel situations.

And now that I type that out, perhaps it doesn’t really simplify it, but it follows in SRAM’s apparent logic of “let’s optimize each component for a specific, relatively narrow gear range so that it performs as crisply as possible.” And with that in mind, here’s my review…

SRAM XPLR drivetrain review

The SRAM XPLR groups offer two cassettes, the top-level 1271 with alloy backing plate shown here, and a 1251 with fully pinned construction. Both are 10-44 and use their XDR freehub body.

The range really is the sweet spot for gravel. From flat to rolling hills, it offers the right spread, with the ability to easily swap their direct-mount chainrings from 38 up to 46 teeth to accommodate the course du jour. If you’re routinely riding big mountains and need more range, just go for the Eagle AXS setup with a 10-50 instead.

For comparison, the Shimano GRX groups (for now) are designed to work with 11-speed road and mountain bike cassettes, with the latter using MTB derailleurs rather than the GRX derailleur, same as SRAM does. The Campagnolo Ekar 13-speed group has 9-36, 9-42, and 10-44, which all add an additional cog for smoother gear steps at the small end of the cassette, but the same gear range on the largest cassette.

So, even though SRAM XPLR has a single cassette, the reality is you can mix and match across parts for almost every brand, or for Campy, choose from a variety of cassettes and chainrings to get it where you need it. Apples to apples, just maybe Pink Lady to Red Delicious to Honeycrisp.

Oh, and the XPLR derailleurs are also compatible with SRAM’s 10-36 cassettes, too, but those aren’t branded XPLR.

Got it? Good.

The beauties of the SRAM system are the additional trim levels and the derailleur’s hydraulic Orbit damper that’s not a clutch.

XPLR derailleurs are offered in Rival ($269), Force ($369) and RED ($749). Combined with the two cassette options, there’s something for most budgets.

Like the road bike derailleurs, the Orbit is a fluid damper that simply slows the cage’s movement to prevent wild chain movement over harsh terrain. Unlike a spring-loaded clutch, it’s not adding tension to the system (although, like all derailleurs, the cage is still spring loaded to maintain appropriate chain tension).

So, technically, it’s not fighting the motor (because all trim levels are AXS, no mechanical options offered), but it is ridiculously good at taming chain slap.

No matter if it’s root gardens, chunky gravel, drops, or big bunny hops, the chain stays quiet and on track.

The group is also really good at executing shifts under power, even when riding through rough stuff. Smooth delivery, easy shifts, and reliable performance are the highlights.

The larger, textured shift paddles make things easy, even with full finger and winter gloves, and braking ergonomics are pretty good.

Out of the box, the levers are very far forward, so I recommend taking the time to adjust the reach for maximum safety and the best ergonomics. Once I had it dialed in, one-finger braking is enough for casual stopping, and getting two fingers into position is easy enough and provides more than enough leverage for most situations.

I still prefer getting in the drops on fast, aggressive, and steep descents, and having the levers in easy reach (see above recommendation) is key here, too. Fortunately, SRAM’s drop bar levers have plenty of adjustment range.

Overall, XPLR is a reliable, well-performing group with a cornucopia of options to fit any style of bike or riding.

Rockshox Rudy XPLR & Reverb AXS review

With almost every suspension brand offering a gravel fork now, the Rockshox Rudy XPLR (particularly in the gloss black) has the sleekest looks. It looks slim and petite by comparison, with curves and lines at the dropouts and arch that help it disappear on the bike. This is a good thing.

My testing thus far has been on the 30mm travel version, which helps highlight the Zipp wheels (keep reading), but in all honestly, just get the 40mm travel version. Unless you absolutely need to keep the lowest possible front end, there’s no reason not to have a bit more travel.

Clearance for 700x50mm tires provides all the room anyone would need before just using a mountain bike. Tool-free cable management looks clean and means no stress over losing a part or stripping out a tiny screw.

Controls are simple, just turn the knob to adjust the Race Day damper’s compression damping from open to closed. Full range rebound adjustment is on the bottom with a removable knob.

Fender mounts behind the arch work with a custom Rockshox fender, but there are also hidden mounts underneath the dropout for attaching a full coverage fender from other brands.

Flat mount brakes come from their road bikes, no XPLR specific brakesets are offered. The Rudy places the calipers in position for 160mm rotors with no adapters; they’re compatible with 180mm rotors with an adapter.

Riding the Rudy felt controlled, and its 30mm travel worked well with the Zipp Moto wheel’s ability to mold to the terrain (keep reading). The best word I could think of is “supportive” while still opening up the bike (and me) to more aggressive terrain.

I ride this drop-in a lot on all my gravel bikes, but the control provided with this setup let me go faster with more confidence. Instead of picking carefully around each root, I could just roll through them, focusing more on the exit.

With such a small amount of travel, I didn’t miss any extra compression damping controls and just left it open all the time. There’s minimal movement under spirited standing efforts because, well, there’s minimal travel, and Rockshox’s latest damper designs and air springs do a great job of providing mid-stroke support. And it all feels like “mid stroke” on such a short travel fork.

Rebound adjustments are adequate, and a nice feature. The air spring can be tuned with volume spacers, which is definitely worth fiddling with even here.

What about the Reverb AXS XPLR?

The Reverb AXS is probably the best thing to happen to dropper posts…for mountain bikes. The effortless activation is the best use for wireless, and it’s probably tripled my dropper usage.

For gravel, I like the idea of it better than the execution, for two reasons. First, it’s more cumbersome than it seems to press both left and right shift paddles simultaneously, which is how the XPLR model is actuated. It requires just enough fingers-off-the-brakes to make it feel uncomfortable at best and unsafe at worst.

I found myself having to either anticipate usage well in advance, or slow excessively before using it while on a descent. Traditional, mechanical dropper levers placed mid-bend on the handlebar feel more intuitive and comfortable for me in this use case, and that they can be used one-handed is even better. I feel like SRAM can solve this, and I hope they do, because the function of the Reverb itself is fantastic.

Second, though, the “suspension” feature is hard to use. It requires the post to be dropped into its travel, even as little as 1mm, in order to offer some cushioning. Seems brilliant, but getting it to drop just a couple millimeters such that it doesn’t alter your seated position too much is all but impossible during normal riding. Again, I feel like this is something SRAM can find a better solution for, hopefully with a firmware update, but as is, the feature is just really hard to use successfully.

ZIPP 101 XPLR gravel wheels review

The Zipp 101 XPLR gravel wheels are a narrower version of their 3 Zero MOTO mountain bike wheels, which are amazing. They have the same ground-taming benefit, and the same weight detriment, making them a wheelset that’s devastatingly effective…with a fairly narrow use case.

Like the MTB wheels, they use a single-wall design with “ankle flex”, essentially letting them twist along the spoke bed’s plane to adapt to the ground underneath. The effect isn’t as dramatic as the MTB wheels because they aren’t as wide (so, less leverage from the ground), but it’s there.

Combined with the fork, there was a certain something about riding this bike that was hard to put a finger on, but it was just uncannily able to track the ground. Roots? Rocks? Crunchy corners? No problem. Traction, even with the fairly low-profile Zipp tires, was next level. It gave the bike a new personality that made the same old trails and roads more interesting, and let me push a bit harder.

The caveat is, they’re heavier than any other high-end gravel wheel, so I’d only pull these out for the right races. Think Grinduro, where it’s almost more mountain bike race than gravel. Gnarly terrain is where they shine, and where they’re worth the extra grams.

Final thoughts?

Any one of these parts, save (and I’m pained to say this) for the Reverb AXS XPLR, are great on their own. Put them all together (especially the Rudy and 101 Motos) and the sum is greater than the parts. The versatility of their drivetrain parts to be mixed and matched is greater than either of their competitors’ collections, even if they do sometimes take a little extra research to sort out.

I’ve been riding all of these on and off (I have a lot of bikes) for a bit over a year, in wet, dry, cold, and hot conditions and they’ve held up admirably. Generally I’ve had no undue durability issues with any of the SRAM stuff I’ve tested and suspect these will continue to ride strong for years to come.

SRAM.com

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Review: Wolf Tooth Morse Cage Ti bottle cages

Tyler Benedict — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 18:22:20 +0000

When it comes to bottle cages, I have my favorites. And I have a bin full of extras, so it’s a rare occasion when I actively look for anything new. It took a very specific use case, but I found that the Wolf Tooth Morse Cage’s multiple mounting holes could solve a problem for me. And, likely, you.

When I got my new Pursuit All Road (which I love and mentioned in my Editor’s Choice list), I found that my knee would brush the top of the bottle on the seat tube because it sat very high on the frame.

The Pursuit’s bottle bosses sit quite high, as do many road bikes, likely so that any bottle cage will clear a front derailleur’s band clamp and/or body and/or cage.

Whether this bike’s bosses are abnormally high, or the cage I had on there had its bolt holes positioned to exaggerate that, didn’t matter. What mattered is that it brushed my knee and was annoying.

Wolf Tooth’s Morse Cage Ti (because, why wouldn’t I want the titanium version?) bottle cages have four positions for each bolt, with the two sliding positions giving the holes a morse code pattern (hence the product name… )

LEFT: The other bottle cage I had, note the position of bottle shelf on bottom in relation to the front derailleur clamp. RIGHT: The Morse Cage dropped the bottle by more than 1″.

This let me mount the bottle cage much lower, eliminating the problem entirely.

But maybe you don’t have that problem. But maybe you want to just keep the water weight lower on your bike. Or make room for a small frame bag. Or move the bottle up on the seat tube and slide the one on the downtube lower to it nests underneath it slightly.

Closeup at admittedly different angles that doesn’t truly express the magnitude of improvement in bottle position.

Whatever it is you’re trying to make room for, these (along with their excellent B-RAD adapters and mounting bases) give you more options and flexibility to add stuff to your bike. Or maybe just make the things you have easier to reach, more aerodynamic, or just less annoying.

Oh, and yes, they hold bottles very securely. Not too tight, but definitely snug enough to prevent wiggle or unwanted ejection. That said I’ve only ridden them on my road bike, which sees light gravel on many rides, but I’d feel comfortable putting them on a proper gravel bike, too. (I use side-entry bottles on pretty much every mountain bike, and WTC doesn’t offer one of those.

If you like the idea but want more color, rest easy, Wolf Tooth is constantly adding new colors, some only as limited editions (that seem perpetually available). The Ti cages are $69.95 (33g claimed, 33g on my scale), which is maybe the only reason why you’d opt for the $29.95 (58g) stainless steel ones. The color-Cerakoted cages are all Ti and run $84.95.

WolfToothComponents.com

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Dream Build: Masi Incanto Ti Allroad/Gravel

Ron Frazelle — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:54:44 +0000

Well, here we are, the Masi Bicycles Incanto Ti dream build is finished and ready to ride. Not sure if you remember, but back in late September, I had an idea to start a dream-build project. As a Brand Ambassador for Masi Bicycles, I reached out and requested the new Incanto Ti frameset to use as the platform for this build.

The Incanto Ti is Masi’s titanium gravel/allroad offering. The bike comes complete with a full Campy Ekar groupset, or as a frameset with a carbon Brunello gravel fork, headset, seat collar, and titanium seat post. The frameset proved to be the perfect canvas to “paint” my masterpiece of a “dream build”. And lucky you, you get to read about it here on Bikerumor.

Masi Incanto Ti

The idea for the dream build was to use some componentry that might not be considered by most when doing a build like this…like, say mechanical brakes and a mullet drive train. And then ride it and review the parts in this application.

For the last couple o’ months, I reached out to brands to participate in the build and accumulated some awesome parts from some great brands. I think it turned out amazing!

The build has been done for a few days, and I’ve already squeaked out roughly 55+ miles on it so far… it rides great!

Masi Incanto Ti Dream Build.

Masi Incanto Ti

The Plan

I had a plan. And some criteria I wanted to meet. I wanted to:

Try to keep the complete bike (with pedals) under 20 lbs.
Be able to use my favorite mechanical disc brakes.
Build using zero carbon fiber parts (other than the fork).
Use 700c wheels.
Be comfortable for long days in the saddle.
Build a gravel bike with a mullet drive train (drop bar shifters = business up front, and mountain bike gearing = party in the rear).
Run (at least) a front dynamo light.

Well, I nailed number one! I weighed it… with pedals, the empty top tube bag, and the computer mount and it weighed in at 19.2 pounds. I was really pleased with that, considering it’s a 58cm frame, but I then realized that I left the tool roll on the bike when I weighed it, so now I’m really stoked!

The tool roll had a CO2 cartridge, the Spurcycle Ti tool kit, A DynaPlug, and Wolf Tooth Pack Pliers. I haven’t weighed the bike again, but I am sure without the tool roll mounted, it’ll drop slightly below the 19 pounds mark, I couldn’t ask for more as the finished weight exceeds any/all of my expectations.

Let’s go over the parts list.

The Parts

I decided that I am just going to be touching on the parts used for the build here, showing you how they look on the finished product. I will be doing a deep dive into all of these components as I ride and review them all.

OK, let’s get started!

The Cockpit

In this case, the cockpit consists of the stem, bars and tape, and headset.
- Stem: Paul Components, polished Boxcar Stem in 90mm x 15-degree rise
- Bars: Curve Cycling, Walmer Bar, 500mm in width
- Bar tape: Curve Cycling Walmer Bar Tape in black XL size (comes with the bars)
- Headset: Masi Bicycles house branded Token sealed bearing (comes with Incanto frameset)

The Fork

Rodeo Labs Spork 3.0

The Masi Incanto Frameset comes with the Masi Brunello gravel fork, and there were zero issues with that fork. But I opted to run the new Rodeo Labs Spork 3.0 in its stead. The reasons for the swap? That, I will dive into during the review of the new Spork 3.0.

The Shift/brake levers

The Sensah SRX Pro 1×11 shift/brake levers.

Velo Orange sent over the Sensah SRX Pro 1×11 shift/brake levers. They meet the required criteria that I set… they work with mechanical disc brakes and pull cable for 11-speed Shimano mountain bike rear derailleurs. In the words of the late, great Stan Lee, ‘Nuff said.

The Wheelset

Custom Wheelset built by Sugar Wheel Works.

USA-made, Velocity Blunt SS Rims, polished, 26.6mm internal width.

The wheels for this build were custom-built by Sugar Wheel Works out of Portland, Oregon.

The build spec:

Front hub: SON 28 Dynamo Disc Hub
Rear hub: Velo Orange Disc Rear Hub
Rims: Velocity Blunt SS, Polished
Spokes: Sapim CX-Ray
Nipples: Sapim

The Crankset

5DEV Prototype gravel crank and spindle.

Located in San Diego, 5DEV was only an hour or so away from where I am located. So, after talking to Will Talbott we decided it would be cool to drive down and watch these prototype Gravel Cranks get cut on the CNC machine for me while I waited. These cranks use the SRAM 8-bolt mounting and weigh in at 20-30 grams lighter than their Trail/Enduro cranks.

Pedals

Shimano XTR PD9000 pedals.

I chose the Shimano XTR pedals because, in my opinion, they are the best pedals out there. I still use the Shimano PD747 on my mountain bike and they are 20 years old with zero sign of quitting. The new XTR pedals have good mud clearance, are lightweight and look to be just as bombproof as they’ve always been.

To me, there was only one pedal choice for this build.

The Bottom Bracket

BBInfinate BB86-Press Fit-RD

BBInfinite Master Tool Set.

Installed

The BBInfinite BB86-PF-RD bottom bracket is a one-piece aluminum-bodied bottom bracket. I had never installed a press fit BB86 bottom bracket before. Press fitting the aluminum into a titanium shell was a bit daunting, but they sent along their Master Tool Set. That, with great instructions, made it pretty easy. And the cranks spin like buttah!

The Chainring

The Wolf Tooth round 38t Drop-Stop chainring.

The Wolf Tooth 38t chainring (pictured above) is the round version. I just swapped it for the same size but with their Power Trac Elliptical 10% ovalized chainring, pictured in the first and last photo in this article.

The Rear Cassette

Shimano XT 11-46t cassette.

In keeping in line with goal number 6 of this build, I chose to run full mountain bike gearing for this build, and in my experience (I’ve been running these on my mountain bikes for a few years), there is no beating the good ol’ Shimano 11-46 XT M8000 cassette.

I will say, that for some reason, I am not liking the 9-tooth jump from the 37t to the 46t. It’s a non-issue on my mountain bike. But, it might be too much for this bike. I might switch to an equivalent cassette that has a more even step to the bailout gear. I might even just run the 11-42 XT M8000 cassette, and call it a day.

The Rear Derailleur

11-speed Shimano XTR rear derailleur.

Still staying with goal number 6, I chose the iconic Shimano XTR M9000, medium cage, rear derailleur. The Sensah SRX Pro shifters move it up and down the cassette without issue. I won’t be racing the bike, but keeping in line with goal number 1, I was pinching grams, and at 222 grams, the XTR fits the bill and was notably feathery in my hand.

The Brake rotors

Hope Technology floating rotor, blue, 160 mm (front and rear).

Hope Technology floating rear rotor, mounted.

Adding an additional splash of blue highlights down at the hub area, I chose to use the Hope Technology Road 6-Bolt floating rotors. 160mm on both front and rear. I was a little worried as I had heard clearance on the Klampers might be an issue with the rivets contacting the brake’s body. But, Travis at Paul said that may’ve been an issue with super early iterations of the Paul Klampers, but they have remedied that a while back.

They look great!

The Dynamo Light

The Sinewave Cycles Beacon 2 front dynamo light.

To align with goal number 7, I chose the Sinewave Cycles Beacon 2 for the dynamo light. The Beacon 2 has quite a few refinements from the very popular prior-generation Beacon. I will be touching on that in my review of this little powerhouse of light.

The Tool Roll

The Tool Saddle Roll was provided by Road Runner Bags out of Los Angeles. I will be covering what’s going into this tool roll in the review. I’m working out some titles for the review:

“What’s in my Roll?”
“Let’s put this Tool in my Roll!”
“Rollio, Pollio”
“This is How I Roll”
“Roll, Roll, Roll your Roll”

The Computer Mount

The K-Edge Wahoo Aero ROAM Mount

K-Edge products are CNC’d, American-made (by them), well-designed products that add a little bling to your steed where you didn’t know you needed it. So, naturally, they were the company I chose to hold my Wahoo Elemnt ROAM on this dream build. So simple, strong, classy, and elegant. I love good bike parts!

The K-Edge Wahoo Aero ROAM Mount is the perfect piece of kit that puts the Incanto’s cockpit at the next level.

The Bell

Spurcycle Original Bell in Raw.

What can I say about The Spurcycle Original Bell? It’s pretty much a simple, superbly engineered, beautiful, and functional piece of art for your bicycle. It is an essential part of your cockpit, especially if you ride multi-user trails. It’s better than yelling “LEFT” at everyone. It’s not obnoxious, but instead, pleasant to the ears and loud enough to penetrate most headphones. I don’t ride my bike without one, I have one on every single one of my bikes.

It’s made in the USA and has a guarantee for life.

The Handle Bar Bag

Road Runner Bags Burrito Supreme Handlebar Bag.

The handlebar bag is the Burrito Supreme Handlebar Bag by Road Runner Bags. I have yet to use it, but it sure looks nice on the bike, plus it is matchy-matchy with the Tool Saddle Roll.

The Tires

Ultradynamico Rosé Race 700×42??

Rene Herse Hurricane Ridge 700×42 Endurance casing

I will be reviewing and comparing two sets of tires on this bike. The Ultradynamico Rosé Race in the 700×42?? will be the first one up and mounted. So far it rides pretty well. The second is the Rene Herse Hurricane Ridge Endurance casing in 700×42. I will be swapping these in after putting a few hundy on the Ultras.

The Bottle Cages

King Cage Titanium water bottle cages.

When it came time to pick what cages I wanted to use, I chose the King Cage Titanium Cages. I requested three cages, as I will be using two mounted in the front triangle and one mounted under the down tube. These are hand-bent and welded in Durango, Colorado by Ron Anderson in his basement shop, with USA-sourced titanium tubing. They weigh in at a scant 25 grams each.

The Saddle

Brooks B17 Special Titanium, black, with titanium rails and frame.

The Brooks B17 has been in production since 1866. It’s the only saddle I use… on all of my bikes. The B17 Special has the same leather construction as the regular B17, but comes with hand-hammered copper rivets, a distinctive side stamp, and hand-skived lower flaps. I chose the B17 Special Titanium version which has all of the other features as the B17 Special but comes with titanium rails and frame assembly… perfect for a dream build.

The Detail Bits and Finishing Touches

Wolf Tooth Seat Clamp in blue anodized with their titanium bolt upgrade in gold.

Wolf Tooth Aluminum bar end plug in blue anodized

Wolf Tooth Titanium bottle cage bolts in Oil Slick color

Both Wolf Tooth and Velo Orange, along with their bigger contributions, sent me some great little parts to handle the details and finishing touches of the build. Wolf Tooth sent over their Titanium Bottle Cage Bolts in the oil slick color, Seatpost Clamp in blue, with the upgraded gold Titanium Bolt Upgrade. They also sent their Alloy Bar End Plugs in blue anodized.

Velo Orange supplied the Cable Cherries by Forager Cycles

And for the finishing touch, Velo Orange sent me some of the Cable Cherries by Forrager Cycles, some really cool Brass Housing End Caps for both brake housing, and shift housing.

The Dream Incanto, on the way up Blackstar Canyon.

Well, I am stoked that the build is finished, and I’ve achieved all of my goals on this build. Thank you to Masi Bicycles and all of the brands that participated in this build.

Remember it’s OK to ride what you want, how you want. That’s it.

I’ve already started putting some miles on the bike and I am looking forward to getting back here and writing my reviews. Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: Ron is a Brand Ambassador for Masi Bicycles, which provided the frameset for Ron’s Dream Build Project.

MasiBicycles.com

The post Dream Build: Masi Incanto Ti Allroad/Gravel appeared first on Bikerumor.

Bikerumor Editor’s Choice 2022 – Cory’s Best Bike & Gear Awards

Cory Benson — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:54:00 +0000

OK, another wild year in the books. 2022 started with remnants of two years of chaos, then gradually edged back towards ‘before-times’ normal. What that means for us all here, is that once again I rode more new bikes, more new gear, and in more varied locations than in recent years. So my first-hand Editor’s Choice Picks come from a deeper pool of great contenders this year again. Hurrah!

But I’ve still got some Honorable Mentions for a few promising new things that I just haven’t had a chance to spend quality time with, yet.

About Cory

As always a quick refresher on me and my proclivities: I’m a mountain biker, a technical one, not afraid to get sketchy on pretty much any ride. Sure, I’ll ride anything with two wheels, from almost any cycling discipline, and even the occasional motor. But it’s all gonna end up off-road at some point. Probably gonna get pretty muddy too.

I’ve been lucky this year to spend more time on fat, knobby tires – both at home and abroad. More secret enduro tracks, more chunky gravel roads, and again more days in bikeparks. All that trail riding even helped motivate me to ditch the city I lived in for 15 years, and move up into the mountainous borderlands where proper trails start just across the field from my yard.

Oh yeah! #afterworkrides

Experience

Editor’s Choice: Blinduro

A bunch of amateurs racing brand-new, purpose-built trails, all sight-unseen. So fun! Also humbling. Fronted by 3x World Champion Michal Prokop, the Blinduro mountain bike race series is a blast. Two days of blindly racing enduro trails no one has ever ridden before, in whatever weather comes your way, it’s both incredibly exciting and a reminder that you probably aren’t quite as strong a rider as you thought.

At least that’s my takeaway every time I show up to race.

But with a super welcoming atmosphere for riders of all levels and truly top-notch super technical trail building, Blinduro creates a great vibe where you can hang out with friends on the transfers between timed stages, pin it between the tape until you can see your heartrate, then meet new friends hanging out in between the two days of racing back at base camp…

All while trying to best your riding buddies on the enduro stage timing. My wife is more likely to end up on the podium again than me, but I’ll still be back for more for my third year in a row in 2023!

Or if racing isn’t your vibe…

Honorable Mention: S24O

Bikepacking seems like it takes a lot of commitment, a lot of gear, and a lot of time, right? But it doesn’t have to be. I didn’t get out on as many Sub 24-hour Overnighter bikepacking trips this year as in 2021. That’s a bit of a shame. Probably because I spent more days traveling abroad, testing new gear.

But the short overnight escape is always within reach. Pack up enough gear to make it through the night, some snacks for dinner & a quick breakfast, and pedal out of town to a secluded spot for some leave-no-trace wild camping. Get up early the next morning, and pedal back home before the time you left the day before… <24 hours out and back.

So, I think I have a New Year’s resolution to work on… back into the woods!

Mountain Bikes

Editor’s Choice: Canyon Spectral 125

A year ago, I definitely did not think that short-travel enduro was a thing. But Canyon’s excellent Spectral 125 proved me wrong. The regular 150mm/160mm Spectral 29er was already a solid do-it-all all-mountain bike. Then Canyon dropped a bike with 25mm less rear wheel travel, 20mm less front wheel travel, but the exact same geometry.

Would it ride like the bigger all-mountain bike?

Instead, it was even more fun, clearly the most fun bike I rode in 2022. The shorter travel makes the bike feel more progressive, yet the handling is confident through steep & rough trails. It’s an aggressive-feeling trail bike when you hit local singletrack, boosting off every trail obstacle. Then, you can still take it on steeper all-mountain & enduro trails, where the geo is forgiving when you get in over your head, you’ll just feel worked over at the end of a long enduro day.

This is already the fourth photo of me riding the bike across all 4 seasons, in an article not just about this bike (another below, too). It probably got the most saddle time of any one bike this year.

I feel like it’s the perfect bike for extra technical mountain bikers who group ride with people on longer all-mountain & enduro bikes. Or for riders who feel like they might want a modern enduro bike, but end up doing 90% of their riding on singletrack and more tame trails. It requires more work on steeper, rougher trails, but at the same time, you never feel like you have too much bike for more chill rides.

Gravel & Cross Bikes

c. Bike Connection Agency, photo by Rupert Fowler

Editor’s Choice: Ridley Kanzo ADV

Ridley completely revamped their gravel bike line-up over the last couple years, adding the more off-road-focused Kanzo ADVenture this spring. Along my idea of riding every new bike like a mountain bike, this thing actually almost is a modern rigid carbon mountain bike. It gets a bit slacker than normal gravel geometry, long frame reach, wide 1x Eagle gearing, and room for 29er by 2.1″ MTB tires… or faster rolling 45-47mm gravel tires, if you want.

But where it really excels, is as a versatile, adventure & bikepacking-ready gravel bike.

c. Bike Connection Agency, photo by Mirror Media

Prospective adventure riders can of course mount anything they can imagine to the 18 bolt-on points for cages, plus additional full fender tabs. But it’s maybe the ability to deeply customize your setup straight from Ridley that has me sold. Pick your fav tires, swap in your preferred bar & stem sizes, maybe even opt for a gravel suspension fork, or just have it custom-painted so you end up with a one-of-a-kind bike.

They’ll even build an adventure setup for you with a dynamo front hub powering front & rear LED lighting, and route all the internal wiring so you don’t have to mess with it!

It’s limitless possibilities that make this a great gravel bike, and you feel that out on the gravel roads or even singletrack. It all feels dialed on the Kanzo Adventure, making for a bike that’s fun to ride on any terrain.

(All) Road Bikes

Honorable Mention: Festka Rover

I’m kinda still over road bikes. Skinny tires just seem so limiting… I want to explore and wander aimlessly. And my local roads are all pretty rough & broken up.

But All-Road certainly has its appeal to me. Some of the bikes in this category are marketed as ‘light gravel’ or ‘fast gravel’. But I’m pretty content dubbing anything fitting bigger than 32mm & smaller than 40mm tires an ‘all-road’ bike.

My carbon all-road Festka isn’t ultra new – it actually came even before the name Rover, as Festka built the bike for me during their all-road/gravel prototyping & development stage. But the more I ride bikes with proper quick road handling but room for massive tires, the more I think this is what most people’s road bikes should be. Just 30mm road tires often aren’t quite enough, but 35s will take you anywhere you can imagine.

e-Bikes

Editor’s Choice: A TQ-equipped gravel bike

Update: Keep reading down, now that this ebike just dropped!

Here’s the thing… my favorite new ebike this year is a gravel bike, ~~AND it doesn’t come out until January~~. But with TQ’s awesome HPR50 motor & light battery, it is enough of an improvement to what’s out there, that if I were going to buy a new e-bike (and if I had money to burn), I would just wait and get that one. (No more waiting required.)

BMC recently debuted a new version of their Roadmachine AMP X with the TQ motor, but its smaller tires limit it to all-road rather than gravel. And I also rode a TQ-equipped Scott Lumen eRide trail mountain ebike, which was really impressive – quiet, smooth, and super light. But I’m still torn about whether I would want to personally own an e-mountain bike or even e-road bike…

But with all the time spent above the 25km/hr pedal-assist limit on a gravel ebike, it feels a lot less like cheating and only really helps you on the significant climbs. And the TQ system is super smooth, surprisingly customizable, and a TQ carbon gravel ebike can be built up as light as many steel bikepacking bikes anyways, even before you strap on gear.

The wait is over.

Christmas came early for Scott and an early shipment of their new gravel ebike showed up sooner than expected. So what was thought to wait until January, is in Scott bike shops before the end of this year. The new 2023 Scott Solace Gravel eRIDE is almost as light as a normal gravel bike. Its TQ motor is virtually silent, powerful-enough, offers just-right range that’s also extendable, and has the most-natural riding feel I have experienced. There are 50mm gravel tire & 38mm road race tire versions to suit any kind of gravel or all-roading you want. If only we all had the budget for that top-spec model!

Honorable Mention: Hagen Flagship e-Cargo bike

This is a bit of a cheat, as this is essentially the same KP Nighthawk that I singled out last year. But KP changed their name, changed up their offerings a bit, and I decided to actually bike this workhorse. My cargo ebike is a grocery getter, a flatbed shuttling gear for testing back and forth from home to office, a wheelbarrow to transport anything from a kid to bags of recyclables. It’s made entirely in Europe, is gravel-ready, a bit of an activist, and it’s already gone through a second iteration to long-term test another alternate drivetrain. Stay tuned!

Hauling cargo is really where powerful e-bikes shine.

Wheels & Tires

Editor’s Choice – Gravel wheels: Hunt 40 CGR

These new Hunt 40 CGR, Carbon Gravel Race wheels weigh just 1400g, with a 40mm deep aero section 25mm hookless tubeless internal & 30mm outside and an affordable carbon pricetag of $1160/1200€. Hunt rates them for fast gravel racing on tires up to 65mm wide, but you can also fit tubeless-ready tires as narrow as 28mm for a fast all-road ride.

I’ve got them set with some knobby 40mm CX-inspired Tufo Swampero gravel tires (that earned their Editor’s Choice last winter) that keep the wheels feeling super quick, but with tons of grip when gravel devolves into muddy dirt roads, wet field crossings, or snow-covered singletrack. It’s a super versatile setup that makes any gravel bike feel fast.

c. Bike Connection Agency, photo by Rupert Fowler

Editor’s Choice – Gravel tires: Hutchinson Tundra

These Hutchinson Tundra gravel tires are essentially scaled-down, lightweight mountain bike treads and offer much of the performance you’d come to expect from a narrow XC race tire. It really rides a lot like the old Hutchinson Black Mamba XC tire, but with taller knobs that actually offer more cornering grip, even in this relatively narrow 700c x 40mm width. There are also 45mm & 50mm wide versions for even rougher riding, with the high tpi tanwall versions made in France.

Components & Gadgets

Editor’s Choice – Drivetrain: AXS Blips, remote buttons

My favorite drivetrain component this year is probably the set of unobtrusive SRAM Blip remote shift buttons that I stuck under my adventure bike’s bar tape this year. You can barely see the bulges just next to my stem. Mine are the older wired versions, but SRAM added Wireless Blips this summer to make setup even easier. You can argue about the disposable nature of those, if you want.

But after riding a bunch of other SRAM AXS test bikes this year, every time I got on one I was mad that they didn’t have a set of Blips in the same place as my bike back home.

Modern electronic shifts are so quick & precise, making it seamless to always match gearing to your ideal cadence. I shift maybe 1/3 more on an electro-shift bike than a mechanical setup. So, it’s super nice to have those little buttons just under my fingertips where my hands naturally rest while chilling with my hands on the tops. But that just makes me annoyed on all the other AXS bikes that are missing out on this opportunity!

Honorable Mention – Drivetrain: Shimano 105 Di2

Somehow I didn’t actually ride the new Shimano 105 Di2 R7100 groupset that I wrote about this year. Weird. Anyway, it’s less than half the cost of Dura-Ace Di2, yet still promises all the same semi-wireless and perfect electronic shift benefits for a few hundred grams more. Unfortunately, it’s still not cheap.

Therein lies the only real downside I see… that it’s a crying shame that the much more affordable mechanical 105 R7000 group (~2/3 the cost of 105 Di2) didn’t get the same 12-speed upgrade. Oh well, progress marches on and waits for no one.

Editor’s Choice – Saddle: BikeYoke Sagma Carbon

This one came out just a few weeks ago, but BikeYoke’s unique floating, semi-suspension Sagma saddle now gets a lighter carbon-railed version that is just 210g, yet just as comfy as ever with the same supportively stiff memory foam padding.

Picking the softer elastomers lets the saddle move under you on the mountain or gravel bike to help eat up vibration and simply move more smoothly under your butt & between your legs when riding through the rough stuff. Or, I’ve swapped in a stiffer rear elastomer for a more stable platform for more hard surface & road pedaling, limiting my hips from rocking while still getting damping from the soft elastomer in the nose.

And for those who just want conventional rails, Sagma Lite has added those not too, with the same comfy top.

Honorable Mention – Saddle: Posedla custom 3D-printed Joyseat

The promise of 3D-printing saddles from the start was actual individual customization for each rider, but that never really materialized, until Posedla and their Joyseat. I’m really excited about their customization process, and how it will turn out.

It only gets an honorable mention because I don’t have it yet. But this fully custom 3D-printed carbon saddle is in the works and I’ve been documenting the process. I’ve provided all the rider questionnaire data. I’ve completed the home butt-scanning process (don’t worry it’s a scan of a butt imprint, not my bare backside). And the full-custom price is effectively the same as the stock, off-the-shelf cost of 3D-printed saddles from Specialized & Fizik.

Honorable Mention – Electronics: Wahoo Elmnt Roam 2.0

I don’t have this one yet either. But I still prefer the OG Roam for its big, easy-to-read screen and the ability to so quickly & intuitively, make changes on the go via their Elemnt app. Oh, and those useful custom alerts. The new Roam has a more colorful screen, increased contrast, more memory, improved GPS tracking, and USB-C… what’s not to love with a great product getting better.

Tools

Editor’s Choice: SQlab SQ-Tool Nine Key Card

I’m an unrepentant Bike Tool Nerd, and this new SQlab SQ-Tool Nine Key Card scratches that itch. This 50€ mini tool kit is just a set of premium Wera hexes, Torx bits & a Phillips screwdriver that clip onto a credit card-sized plastic carrier with a rubber strap around it. On the back side is a recess to carry your ID, a card & a little cash.

Does it have every tool you will ever need on the bike? Of course not. But you won’t find a better quality set of tools this compact anywhere.

Editor’s Choice: Silca Gravelero Pump

Yes, Silca also got on the gravel-specific bandwagon with their new Gravelero pump. Sharing much of the same proven performance tech as was in their Tattico, the newer $75/90€ Gravelero mini-pump gets a slightly larger barrel that airs up larger-volume gravel & mountain bike tires much faster. The smooth external isn’t as nicely grippy as the Tattico, but it doesn’t fill up with mud on every ride. And both pump & hose are just a tiny bit longer. Still mini-ish so it will fit in a jersey pocket, bikepacking bag, or tuck out of the way under a water bottle cage… but it inflates tires faster & easier now.

Honorable Mention: Syncros iS Tubeless Handlebar Tool

The new $35€ Syncros iS Tubeless Handlebar Tool is another simple way to tuck tire repair into the end of your bars tool-free à la Sahmarai Swords – a plug needle, 10 classic plugs in two thicknesses & a knife to trim it clean. It only gets an honorable mention for two reasons: One, I only had the Syncros tool on ~3 rides, although I did get the chance to plug one flat tire with it successfully. And two, the iS suggests an integrated System since its end tab fits best with Syncros’ grips that feature a special corresponding recess to easily get the tool in & out. The Syncros grips aren’t bad, but they’re not my favorites. And while this tool works with other open-ended grips, it will be harder to pull out when you need it.

Accessories

Editor’s Choice: Ass Savers Win Wing

My first thought was why did Ass Savers make a more complicated clip-on fender. Then, riding with the new Win Wing for a couple of months I realized that it delivers so much better protection – better ass saving – yet it also works better off-road than any full-coverage rear fender I’ve tried. Sure it is still rear wheel-only, but it fits everything from road to XC, rigid & suspension bikes, tires up to 2.35″ wide. And now, Ass Savers keep my taillight clean and my dropper post protected from wheel spray. All for just 25€.

c. Robert Krügel

Editor’s Choice: Beer CanClaw

With the simple note of “hold my beer” my friend Robert introduced me to what may be my most useful bikepacking accessory of the next year. Put all of those extra mounts on your adventure bike to good use with the CanClaw Dosenbierhalter (German for Can of Beer Holder).

For 15-19€, Team Dosenbier will 3D-print you a super-secure CanClaw carrier for 33cl, 44cl, or 0.5l cans in many different color options. It holds so tight, you can even take a beer mountain biking with you. Just watch which way you aim it as you crack open a cold one after an especially rocky ride… So, next time you ride past a gas station on the last leg to camp, you can clip-on a beer (or few) for a little post-ride celebration. It’s called a recovery drink, look it up.

Helmets

Editor’s Choice – All-mountain/Enduro: Dainese Linea 01 full-face

At a real 667g for my XL full-face helmet that’s DH certified and vents so well you’ll pedal up hills with it. The Dainese Linea 01 is a bit of a safety revelation. With MIPS inside & a twICEme NFC chip, it’s probably the world’s lightest full-face helmet. It’s so light on your head and so open with all the vents, that it certainly doesn’t feel like you are wearing a full-face helmet.

I especially like it for chill summer bikepark riding, when a bigger hardshell helmet will make me sweat too much and I don’t plan on trying any new backflips (eds note: Cory has thankfully never tried a backflip or he would break himself, good helmet or not). Or it’s perfect for really difficult enduro trail riding, where it just makes you feel more secure to have the extra face protection.

At 275€ it’s a bit more than most ultralight full-faces, and isn’t super adjustable so you have to get the fit right from the start. But this is the only full-face I will readily wear when I know I’ll be pedaling up big hills.

Editor’s Choice – DH/Bikepark: POC Otocon Race MIPS full-face

Yep, two awesome light full-face helmets in one year! A nod back to my techy riding this year. The POC Otocon Race MIPS has some similar tech to the Linea (MIPS & twICEme NFC), plus a RECCO reflector and a dial-retention that securely wraps around the back of your head. But this slightly more closed and a bit higher volume full-face has a much more burly feel.

At a real 861g for my Large purple, this is the helmet I wear to feel most protected in the bikepark. But at the same time, it is well enough vented for pedaling on cooler days too. I rode it today on a snowy fat bike ride.

But what really makes this helmet shine is the way the dial retention comfortably tightens the helmet securely all around my head, while allowing the integrated MIPS Integra liner to still move to deflect an impact. It’s strange to have a full-face helmet that feels so comfortable on my head, yet be cinched so securely in place. It instills a lot of confidence in me that it will deliver the best protection when I need it the most.

Clothing

Editor’s Choice – MTB jersey: RVMBLE long sleeve

I don’t often write about clothing from RVMBLE because the tiny German company typically only sells limited-edition designs on a pre-order basis. But these Ltd. DBM (Dynamic Body Movement) long-sleeve shirts are the best 3-season mountain biking tees I’ve worn in years. They are made in Europe from a lightweight & fast-drying, recycled Ocean Balance polyester – taking 500g of plastic waste out of the ocean to make each tee.

They are simple, keep me cool in the summer, yet don’t get too wet from sweat, and they are cheap for MTB jerseys – just 45€.

Above is a past Hide & Seek camo version, below is their Zack Bvmm pattern in white & pink (also in the first Experience photo, at top), and there’s also a NightTrip green colorway of the Zack Bvmm (in the first Blinduro photo & last Spectral 125 photo, above). The trick is, now there are still some brown versions of this zig-zaggy Zack Bvmm pattern still available today. Otherwise, get on the Rvmble newsletter to get on the next pre-sale.

Editor’s Choice – MTB pants: Rapha Trailwear Trail Pants

I have one pair of Rapha Trailwear Pants, but they are in 6 different ride photos in this article. Zach was pretty sure that the shorts were some of the best clothing Rapha ever made, and I think these pants are just as good.

The Trail Pants have a perfect tapered-leg close cut that never gets in the way & never bunches, while comfortably fitting most kneepads underneath. They have four useful main pockets, zippered mesh side vents, and a secure waist belt that’s easy to adjust but never comes undone. They also come with Trailwear repair kit, but I’ve crashed in them a number of times, and they still look unscathed and their DWR treatment still sheds light rain.

On & Off The Bike

Editor’s Choice: Chimpanzee Salty bars

Chimpanzee is a Czech-made, all-natural sports nutrition company that makes great bars, gummies, drink mixes & more to keep you fueled for your ride. The signature had been a real food taste to on-the-go nutrition. But with 3 all-new Salty bars, they’ve kinda turned things on their head. These three bars will make you rethink what you eat on the bike.

Almost every energy bar has a sweet flavor. That seems to come down mostly to athletes looking for quick energy from sugars to fuel their efforts. But Chimpanzee recognized there are only so many chocolate & berry flavored bars you can eat in a row before getting an upset stomach, so they went salty.

Chimpanzee picked Olive – the most chill of the bunch with cashews inside; Pizza – with some Oregano flavoring on top of cashews & tomato; and Spicy – packed with real smoked peppers & peanuts. All three are Vegan, gluten-free, and sell for around 2.5€ per bar or 46€ for a box of 20.

Do yourself a favor and try all three to see which you’ll like best after you’re sick of sugary bars.

Editor’s Choice: Lupine Piko headlamp

Ostensibly, the Lupine Piko is a super-bright 2100-lumen LED helmet light for mountain bike night riding. But get the whole All-in-One kit and it comes with a headlamp strap to make the brightest light you’ve ever strapped onto your bare noggin, plus a Bluetooth remote, and several stick-on & strap-on mounts for various helmet setups. The whole German setup is very well-made, and easy to swap around the latest generation Fastclick battery mounts & Frontclick lamp mounts (just be careful not to force the Frontclick).

The Piko isn’t Lupine’s brightest (leave that to the ungodly bright 8100-lumen Alpha), but it puts out plenty of light for most normal speed on or off-road night riding. And it feels like your best value in lumens per €.

Editor’s Choice: Kolektor Liquishot 25.1 pressure washer

The Liquishot is a really nice stand-alone cordless, high-pressure washer that looks like a cordless drill. That’s because the Slovenian company behind this premium cleaning tool decided to blend the proven ergonomics, power & battery of a Bosch Professional 18V handheld cordless drill and use it to pump out high-pressure water to clean anything that needs cleaning.

What you get is an easy-to-operate, light & compact washing setup (<1500g) that can pressurize water up to 350psi, and pump water out up to 3l/min. It doesn’t need external power, and doesn’t need a pressurized water supply. You can feed it out of a bucket of water, even hot or with detergent already mixed in.

It’s perfect for cleaning bikes away from a water source, but… the catch is, it’s not cheap. The core setup to get you washing is around 490€. Even cheaper if you already have a Bosch drill as it does share the same battery. But you can also get the Pro Kit with all the accessories too for a bit less at 450€ through the holiday shopping season.

Editor’s Choice: Austere Cam Straps

Straps do so much for a cyclist. Hook a spare tube under your saddle rails. Lash down gear onto a bikepacking setup. Strap down boxes on a cargo bike. Secure bikes in the back of a pick-up or adventure van. And for all that precious cargo, you need a strap you can trust. Austere’s Cam Straps with their precision-machined allow clamps and customizable strap lengths keep my stuff in place. Long straps tie down our whole family’s bikes when we go bikeparking, and short straps get all the small gear to stay where it belongs.

Parting thoughts

OK, that’s a wrap.

I could wax poetically without end ’til the cows come home about all the gear I’ve ridden in 2022. Instead, I’ll look back to starting the season in the sun with gravel friends in southern Spain.

And then, to the local mountain bike skills center, hitting frost-covered step-down drops with my wife after we dropped the kids off at school one day last week…

There may still be supply shortages as not every bike industry company managed to correctly predict what the world would look like after two years of pandemic followed by a year of war on the edge of Europe and a looming energy crisis. But there will always be new bikes, new tech, and new stories that need to be told. Sometimes that is easy, sometimes it is more complicated.

But I’m ready for another year of new bike gear, and I’ll do my best to show you the best of what’s to come.

Until then, a happy holidays to all of you beautiful nerds. I hope you can get out and ride your bikes between now and the new year. Or that you can appreciate your time off the bike. We’re all looking forward to more great rides, and more great riding with friends in 2023!

Full disclosure: Each of these products has been chosen purely on their performance and/or technological merits for the reasons described above. Many more great products have passed through my hands this year. Under no circumstances were any of our selections paid for by their producers. Nor was any preference or favor given to brand or advertiser. My selections are mostly (but not exclusively) limited to products I’ve actually spent time riding/testing in person. So a brand’s willingness to invite Bikerumor to join a launch event, or to provide product samples can make it more likely that we will have considered their products, if only because we can share our real, firsthand experiences.

The post Bikerumor Editor’s Choice 2022 – Cory’s Best Bike & Gear Awards appeared first on Bikerumor.

Review: Silca titanium cleats for Crank Brothers pedals clip tight, go hard

Tyler Benedict — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:29:32 +0000

At three times the price of Crank Brothers’ standard brass cleats, the Silca Titanium cleats have to do something spectacular to justify the price, right?

Well, sort of, yes, but also they claim to last 4x longer. So, in theory it’s a slight win in durability. But they do two more things better than the stock brass cleats that make them worth the upfront expense.

Crank Brothers’ brass cleats on left, Silca titanium cleats on right.

First, they’re lighter. Silca founder Josh Poertner loves the “marginal gains” concept, and indeed that’s the case here. Silca’s ti cleat, with the included ti bolts and washer plate is 9g lighter than the standard cleat and hardware per shoe – 18g lighter per pair.

But the real benefit is the cleat’s engagement with the pedals – it’s firmer and feels more secure.

I’ve ridden these with both Eggbeater and Candy pedals and the retention is improved on both. The click upon engagement is audibly more satisfying, but more importantly, it feels a lot more solid, too.

For years I’ve wanted Crank Brothers to make a “pro” cleat that has better retention, and Silca’s version delivers the improved feel I’ve been seeking.

Stock brass Crank Brothers cleat on left, Silca ti cleat on right.

“Yes, they’re shaped differently,” Poertner told me. “They’re a little more boxy. I’ve always thought the stock cleats felt a little vague. So I made the edges a little harder, which gives them a less greasy, floaty feel when you’re riding.”

FWIW, Crank Brothers has not tested these cleats, nor do they approve them. I’ve reached out about whether they’d void any pedal warranty and will update this review with any reply.

UPDATE: Crank Brothers told me that, in their own testing, Silca’s cleats could cause more wear on the pedal’s wings than the stock cleat, so any warranty claim that arose from premature wear would not be honored if it was due to using these cleats.

Silca says the 6/4 titanium used is still a softer material than the steel used on the pedal’s retention mechanisms, so it shouldn’t wear out your pedals any more quickly than the softer brass cleats used by Crank Brothers. I haven’t noticed any undue wear on the pedals, but to be fair, I rotate through about 5 different pair of Eggbeater and Candy pedals on different bikes, so I’m not putting the same miles on the pedals as I am the cleats.

The Silca cleats definitely appear to be lasting longer than the brass ones, and both engagement and retention continue to feel solid six months after I started riding them.

I like that they include T25 bolts rather than standard hex bolts. I feel like I can tighten them more securely without fear of stripping them. And, despite concerns that dirt would fill the little Torx grooves and make them harder to remove, so far that hasn’t been an issue at all. And, also, nothing an old toothbrush or toothpick couldn’t resolve.

If you’re looking for an improved feel and retention from your Crank Brothers pedals and don’t mind amortizing a higher upfront cost for longer-lasting cleats, the Silca Titanium cleats are definitely worth trying.

Since I received my test pair, Poertner says they’ve improved their heat treatment process that makes them even tougher, using a process designed for high-wear airplane engine parts, so they’ll maintain their out-of-the-box feeling even longer, and they’ll be a bit smoother when new, too.

MSRP is $85.00, available direct.

Silca.cc

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OneUp Components’ Carbon Handlebar Offers Subtle Compliance at a Competitive Weight | Review

Steve Fisher — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 14:11:39 +0000

When I first heard about carbon fiber bike parts, I thought the main benefit of this material was weight savings. While that’s certainly true, I’ve since learned how tunable carbon fiber can be. When MTB components like rims and handlebars went to carbon, we started seeing carbon parts that were touted for their stiffness, compliance, or strategic combinations of both. Conveniently, they still often wind up being pretty light too.

OneUp Components’ Carbon Handlebar maximizes the benefits of carbon’s compliance and strength, yet they come in at a comparable weight to other brands’ carbon bars. While the bars were designed to reduce arm fatigue, they have a super-thick clamp area to resist crushing and are OK for any rider, with no specified weight limit.

During Crankworx Whistler I met up with Quinn from OneUp Components for some bike park laps. We swapped my personal bike’s aluminum bar with the carbon handlebar for some back-to-back testing on the park’s rough and fast trails. I got to keep the handlebar for a while after Crankworx, so I spent the next few weeks riding trails with it.

OneUp Carbon Handlebar – Construction:

The Carbon Handlebar is obviously made from carbon fiber, and it boasts a unique (and patented) shape that provides vertical compliance, but not horizontal compliance. This design keeps the bar from flexing when you’re pulling back on it, but allows it to help absorb bumps and vibrations from the trail. The goal of the Carbon Handlebar is to reduce arm pump and fatigue rather than provide a noticeably softer ride, so they’re designed to flex just enough to accomplish that task.

Looking at the handlebar from above you can see flat spots where the bar tapers and sweeps back from the clamp area to the grip area. If you look from behind the handlebar, you can also see how the bottom is flattened out in the same areas. You may also notice OneUp kept the 35mm clamp area quite narrow to encourage a little flex. None of this is very obvious without a close look, so the bars don’t look unusual on a bike. OneUp claims this bar offers 21% more vertical compliance than competitors, yet maintains 28% better steering stiffness.

One interesting thing to know about this bar is that it’s intended to be set up matching your bike’s head tube angle – apparently it feels odd if the bar isn’t flexing at the same angle as your fork is compressing. Thankfully OneUP has made this easy (somewhat…), with markings on the clamp area so you can align the bar with whatever angle matches your bike.

However, there are two reasons it’s ‘somewhat’ easy… number one is the markings are tiny and not easy to read unless light hits them just right! The aesthetic subtlety is nice, but I wouldn’t blame OneUp for making them a bit easier to see. Number two is that the bar markings are designed to align with OneUp’s stem clamp opening (as seen in my photos). If you don’t happen to run OneUp’s stem with the bar, there’s no reference point to line up the degree markings with, so it’s probably best to use a tool to check the angle.

The bar also has markings for cutting down the width (from 800mm to 750mm), and a slight texture under the grip/lever areas. This pattern can help with positioning your clamps and likely provides a bit of grip for your levers to grab onto.

The wall thickness in the carbon handlebars’ clamp area is super thick; while OneUp lists a torque spec of 6Nm for stem bolts, Quinn assured me they will not be easily crushed. One thing to note is this handlebar is not compatible with bar ends or grips that have a single outer clamp.

As for shape, OneUp gave the carbon handlebar a 5° upsweep and an 8° backsweep. I was riding a 20mm rise bar, but there is also a 35mm rise version. Both come at 800mms wide with a 35mm clamp diameter.

OneUp also makes an eMTB version of this bar, which offers a little more vertical compliance than the regular bar and has grooves and holes for routing drive system wires cleanly (designed for Shimano systems). The eMTB bar offers a softer feel because e-bikers often spend more time in the saddle than non-assisted riders, and could suffer more arm pump throughout a lengthy ride.

OneUp lists the weight of the 20mm rise bar at 220g (and 225g for 35mm rise). My scale showed the 20mm rise version at 233g with decals. Despite their unique shape, thick clamp area and horizontal stiffness, these bars match the weight of several carbon competitors.

Ride Impressions:

During Crankworx, Quinn and I rode three long laps in the Whistler Bike Park – The first and last were ridden with my personal bike’s aluminum handlebar (a Spank Oozy bar, not one of Spank’s Vibracore models), and the middle lap was done with the OneUp bar for comparison.

I was told the bar shouldn’t feel super soft, and I might not notice too much flex during our short test. I would agree that most of the time there wasn’t a huge difference in feel, but thanks to the roughness of the well-ridden bike park, I did notice a bit of compliance when speeding over chattery brake bumps. Those sections felt quite harsh with my aluminum Spank handlebar, and while it wasn’t a massive difference, the OneUp carbon handlebar did take a slight edge off those chatter bumps. Aside from the fastest, roughest sections the OneUp bar didn’t feel much different from any other handlebar. I did not notice any front-to-back flex at all.

Aside from its lower rise, the geometry of the Carbon Handlebar matches my bike’s stock bar, so I was perfectly comfortable with the 800mm width, 5° rise and 8° backsweep.

I rode the Carbon Handlebar on my local trails for a while, and I can’t say I felt any obvious degree of flex on these rides… which lines up with what Quinn said in the beginning. The bars weren’t supposed to feel soft or flexy, but rather offer their vertical compliance in a subtle manner (I should also point out I’m not a heavy rider at 145lbs). Only the roughness of the bike park made the bars’ slight flex evident, but I still agree a handlebar with some compliance definitely helps reduce arm pump and fatigue after a good trail ride.

The OneUp Carbon Handlebar (and eMTB version) retails for $149.50. The bars are all black, but OneUp offers decal kits in many different colors.

oneupcomponents.com

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New Race Face Era Carbon Cranks Add Stainless Heel Guard + Lifetime Warranty (Crashes Included)

Zach Overholt — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 16:00:40 +0000

What are all of the reasons for not running carbon cranks on a mountain bike? Heel scuffs? Damage from crashing? Broken pedal inserts? Race Face is tackling all of those concerns head-on with their new Era carbon crankset.

Stainless Steel Heel Guard

One of the most visible changes to the new Era crankset is the addition of a stainless steel heel scuff protection plate. Heel scuffs on crank arms have been a fact of life for many cyclists – even on aluminum crank arms. Some try to preempt the damage with protective stickers on the crank arms, but Race Face is taking the protective concept to the extreme.

Like you’d see on many carbon frames, the carbon Era crank arms have integrated stainless steel plates to protect the carbon – no additional stickers required. These plates should arguably be more durable than most crank materials, and the plates wrap around the sides of the crank arms for comprehensive protection.

Stronger Pedal Inserts

Heel scuffs are one thing, but breaking the pedal insert out of a carbon crank is another story entirely. In an effort to make the Era their “strongest, stiffest, and most durable carbon crank ever,” Race FAce claims to have redesigned the pedal insert and bonded them directly to the carbon layup.

Additional protection is then offered through a new pedal boot which slips onto the end of the crankarm.

The pedal boots are available in 8 colors while the crank arms themselves are offered in 7 different color options to mix and match to suit your build.

Crank arms are offered in 165, 170, and 175mm lengths and a 176mm Q-factor when used with a 136mm spindle.

The preload adjuster has been slightly redesigned.

CINCH Versatility

One of the best features of Race Face cranks has always been the built-in versatility of the CINCH system. Choose your crank arm, your spindle, and your chainring. Then still have the option of switching things up in the future. With the same crank arm and chainring interface as prior CINCH cranks, the new ERA crank arms should be backwards compatible.

CINCH cranks use a threaded lockring to clamp down on the chainring, making for quick swaps.

Like previous CINCH cranksets, the spindle is 30mm in diameter and made from aluminum.

When it comes to chainline, Race Face gives two options – 52mm with a DM chainring, or 55mm with a DMW chainring.

Chainline	52mm – 136 Spindle + DM Ring / 55mm – 136 Spindle + DMW Ring
Q-Factor	176mm including Pedal Washers
Includes	Pedal Boots, Washers + Spindle Spacers (Chain Rings + Bottom Brackets sold separately)
Axle Material	7050 Aluminum
Crank Arm Material	Carbon + Stainless Steel Wear plate
Spindle Diameter	30mm
Weight	483g complete crankset
Weight Conditions	170mm Arms + 136 Spindle + 32t Chainring + Washers + Spacers

Race Face Era Actual Weights

As shown above, the 170mm arms and a 136mm spindle weigh in at 415g. A 32t Shimano 12-speed chainring adds 79g, and the crank boots check in at 19g. Without the bottom bracket you’re looking at 513g total. The standard 68/73mm BSA threaded bottom bracket with all the spacers above weighs in at 91g.

That makes the Era a bit heavier than the Next SL G5 cranks, but it’s really more appropriate to compare these to the Rally R cranks which these seem to replace. The Era is built for burlier riding in mind, but is still light enough for XC builds for riders who prize absolute durability over the lightest weight possible.

Lifetime Warranty (Crashes Included)

Some of the biggest news here might be the new Lifetime Warranty policy that includes crashing. You have to be actually riding your bike while crashing for it to count though – the warranty will not cover crashing your bike into your garage while on top of your vehicle. But the new Lifetime Warranty will cover most of their hard goods including Wheels, Pedals, Handlebars, Stems, Cranks, Chainrings and Static (non-actuated) seat posts.

For more details on the warranty or to start a claim, check out this link.

Pricing & Availability

Sold as crankarms and a spindle only, the Era crank is priced at $499. The cranks are currently available in all three crank lengths, but only in black with the other colors available in the future. Chainrings, colored pedal boots, and bottom brackets are all sold separately, but the cranks do include black crank boots and stainless pedal washers in the box.

raceface.com

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The Masi Incanto Puts Their Titanium Spin on Gravel & All-road Frame Construction

Ron Frazelle — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 13:45:51 +0000

Vista, California’s Masi Bicycles probably isn’t the first brand that comes to mind when you think of titanium. But last year, they somewhat quietly released a new titanium all-road/gravel bike called the Incanto. Masi has a few other gravel bikes available in their lineup, but the Incanto is their first run at doing an all-road/gravel bike with a titanium frame. The Incanto has slowly been released throughout 2022 and sits alongside their other titanium offering and pure road machine, the Masi Titanio frameset.

The Incanto was actually set to launch back in 2020, but because of pandemic complications, the launch had numerous delays. Like other bicycle brands, Masi has done away with releasing bikes under designated “model years”, but the official launch year for the Incanto is 2022.

The Frameset

Masi Incanto ti in 58cm

For full disclosure, I’m a brand ambassador for Masi Bicycles. So when I needed a starting point for my upcoming dream build project, I requested the Incanto frameset in 58cm. The frameset retails for $3299 and comes with Masi’s Brunello full carbon fork, a Masi branded Token cartridge bearing headset, a seat collar, and a house-branded Brev M titanium seat post. The complete Incanto Ti sells for $6499 with full Campy EKAR and Fulcrum Rapid Red DB 300 wheels.

Frame weight

Brunello carbon fork weight.

The frame weighs in at 1842.7g (4lbs), without the fork, seat collar, water bottle bolts, or headset. The fork weighs 445g (15.7oz).

Frame Details

The Incanto Ti allroad, gravel frame is constructed from tig-welded butted 3al 2.5v titanium. It has a 41mm semi-integrated headtube. It uses a BB86 bottom bracket shell, a flat mount rear disc brake, a replaceable rear derailleur hanger, and is internal dropper post compatible. The rear is spaced at 12×142 using the included thru-axle.

The frame comes with subtle branding that Masi says is laser etched. The fork comes with low-key branding as well.

Low key Blue Laser down tube logo… looks bright in this photo, but’s a lot more subtle in person.

All of the frame’s laser-etched logos were a color called Blue Laser, making them look almost anodized.

Signature of Faliero Masi.

The fork’s branding is also subtle. Masi’s Brunello Carbon gravel fork has flat black fork legs with gloss-black logos.

The Brunello carbon fork has internal brake routing, fender mounts, it uses flat disc brake mounts, and a 100 x 12mm included thru-axle.

Full carbon steerer.

The Brunello fork also has a full carbon 1.125-1.5″ tapered steer tube.

The seat post is the Masi house-branded Brev M. It’s titanium and measures 31.6 x 350mm long. Masi offers this post in two different offsets. For bike sizes 47cm to 51cm it comes in a 0mm offset. For bike sizes 54cm to 60cm it comes in a 10mm offset. This frame is 58cm, so the post shown is the 10mm offset.

Frame Geo Chart

Masi Incanto Frame Geo chart

Masi Incanto rear brake flat mount bosses

Masi Incanto rear dropout and replaceable derailleur hanger

The subtle arch of the seat stays.

Dropper post ready.

Dropped drive-side chainstay

On the Masi Bicycles website, it states that the Incanto frame has “semi-internal cable routing with custom configurations for 1x, 2x, or dropper post routing. The complete Campy EKAR group that is spec’d on the complete bike runs a single 40t front chainring. But it is equipped to run a front double if needed. Masi says that the frame is intended to run a 46t/30t, with the max being 50t/30t.

Tire clearance and fender mount.

The CNC’d yoke and the housing stop (on the bottom bracket shell) for the front derailleur if that’s your jam. Both the fender mount and the cable stop add to the versatility of the Incanto frame.

The complete Incanto comes with 40mm tires, and according to the website, the Incanto frame can fit a 700c x 45mm tire max. It looked like it could fit a bigger tire, so I spoke with the Product Manager for the Incanto, and he said there is actually room for a bigger tire… he didn’t say how much bigger, he just said “room for more”. How much tire and mud clearance will likely vary based on tire construction and inner rim width.

The downtube/bottom bracket junction provides the exit point for the semi-internal routing

Top tube bag or water bottle cage mounts

The Incanto frame comes with bottle bosses on both the down tube and the seat tube with additional bosses under the down tube and on the top tube as shown in the above photo.

The Incanto detailed head badge.

Disclaimer: Ron is a Brand Ambassador for Masi Bicycles, which provided the frameset for Ron’s upcoming Dream Build Project.

MasiBicycles.com

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Wolf Tooth Resolve Seatpost Review: Self-Bleeding Dropper delivers trouble-free performance & more travel

Zach Overholt — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 16:44:17 +0000

You may have just seen the news, but Wolf Tooth Components now has their own dropper post called the Resolve. Representing one of the brand’s biggest launches in recent years, WTC gave us behind-the-scenes access to the development including the ability to fully test not one, but two samples ahead of the launch.

Thanks to plenty of testing, and even some crash testing (oops), it seems that the Resolve lives up to its claims – even if it can get squishy.

Starting Small(er)

When WTC offered up a Resolve seat post for review, I figured I’d throw it on my Ibis Ripley v4. It was the height of the summer, and I figured that this bike would get the most use. Given that I previously maxed out other brands’ posts at around 170mm travel for my saddle height on this bike, I opted for the 160mm travel Resolve.

Had I used the WTC Dropper Post Calculator, I would have realized that was a mistake.

Thanks to the incredibly short 32mm stack height of the Resolve, the 160mm post left me with a substantial amount of room below the collar – more than enough room to run a full 200mm travel version.

What? A 200mm travel dropper post on a medium XC/Trail bike for a 5’8″ rider? It’s kind of insane. But welcomed.

A while later, I had lined up this Ibis Ripmo V2 for a Moab trip (which sadly didn’t happen), but it provided another chance to check out a different Resolve post, as it is the same bike that WTC used for some of their photography for the new post.

As it turns out, the Ripmo actually has a slightly longer seat tube than the Ripley, so I was only able to run a 200mm post travel adjusted down to 190mm here. Realistically, there’s actually room for at least 195mm of travel though. And as a short rider, the ability to run even a 190mm dropper post on a long travel 29er is incredible.

Photo c. WTC

What Size Dropper Will Fit My bike?

While WTC offers the ability to purchase a dropper post with the travel reducing spacers already installed, my experience suggest that riders may find that they can run more travel than they initially expect. As mentioned, check out the Dropper Post Calculator Tool to start.

Because of that, I’d recommend buying a longer travel version if you’re right on the edge. In the case of the Ripley, I went with the 160mm version because it’s all I thought I could fit. But in reality, I could run the 200mm version. While the 200mm post could be adjusted down to 160mm of travel with 8 spacers, you can’t add any height to the smaller travel posts.

While the shorter travel posts will be a little lighter (there is a 50g difference between the 31.6mm 160mm and 200mm posts), if your aim is maximum travel, that extra weight is probably worth it.

On the flip side, if you want the lightest post and don’t need much travel, go with the 125mm dropper and shim it down if you need to.

Testing the Resolve

Remember when I mentioned in the Ibis Oso post how a crash took me out from riding the new eBike? That was on my Ripley while testing the Resolve. The crash was a result of a freak occurrence where a loose rock popped up from my front wheel, and then wedged into my chainring and frame, with the other end sticking in the ground, all at a high rate of speed. The resulting impact was strong enough to smash the XTR chain in two, and fold over the XTR chainring, while leaving a chainring ‘bite’ in the rock itself.

It also catapulted me over the bars, leaving a 20′ skid mark on the rock hard trail surface. In the process, the bike tomahawked behind me, eventually chasing me down and leaving a tire impression bruised into my back.

Needless to say, it was a violent crash.

After pushing the bike back to the car, I hung it up for a few weeks without doing anything as I tried to heal up. Eventually I healed up enough to replace the broken components, but it wasn’t until about a month later that I grabbed the bike without thinking about the fact that I hadn’t test ridden it yet since the crash.

Fast forward to me showing up to Hassmer Fest in Indiana, and finding out just as we’re about to go ride that the self-bleeding Resolve was squishy after all.

After consulting with WTC, they agreed that I had probably frothed the oil inside the post as a result of the jarring crash. Then I was instructed to drop the post fully, let it sit for 20-30 seconds, and then raise the post fully.

After doing this a few times, it was like magic – the post was 100% back to normal, as if nothing had happened. The team from WTC mentioned that under normal circumstance, you would never even notice a post getting to this point since it self-bleeds every time it drops. But in this rare case where the bike tumbled, rested upside down for a bit, and was then hung up without use, it needed a bit more time to fully bleed itself clear.

TL;DR? The Resolve technology works.

Custom Saddle Clamp

We touched on it in the tech post, but WTC managed to get the stack height down to just 32mm with the design of a new saddle clamp head. The design uses a captured lower clamp surface, which means that you have to completely remove the upper clamp surface to install or remove a saddle. It’s not a big deal, but does make the process of swapping saddles or adding/removing air a bit more time consuming.

However, the clamp is expertly designed, and easily adjustable – seemingly even easier than other twin bolt clamps.

One Complaint

I love everything about the Resolve, with one exception: the air cap. As mentioned above, the extremely low profile design of the saddle clamp means that the air cap itself has to be a low profile design. Meaning, there isn’t much to grasp with your fingers if you need to remove it. On one post, I tried to remove it (for the first time) to add air to the post in the field, and I simply couldn’t get it to budge.

In hindsight, I figured out that Park MLP-1 master link pliers, or even the WTC 8-Bit master link pliers work fairly well for grasping the cap and getting it to turn. Had I known that, I probably would have been able to air up the post.

Still, my recommendation would be to remove it at home before using the post, and reinstalling it very gently. Ideally, maybe the cap could be redesigned with more of a ‘wing’ tab to provide some more grip to turn it with your fingers. Overall, it’s a small complaint on an otherwise excellent post.

Positive Clunks

When it comes to fully up, or fully down, there’s no mistaking the end of the Resolve’s travel. That’s because there is an audible clunk at either end, which is there for a reason. When you’re riding at the limit, it’s nice to know that your post is fully extended or compressed. The Resolve offers a reassuring little ‘clunk’ that lets you know it’s at full extension and you can let go of the lever. It’s hard to explain, but it just feels better when you hit the lever and the post clunks into place.

ReMote Lever

The WTC ReMote dropper levers were already one of the best on the market. The large bearing and long lever of the Light Action gives it silky smooth operation, and the adjustments allow me to put it right where I want it. Now, those levers have an equal partner in the Resolve dropper.

Actual Weight

We touched on this in the tech post, but the actual weight of the 160mm travel, 31.6mm diameter post came in at 512g, or 1g less than claimed.

Overall Review

I’ll be honest… I expected this dropper post to be good because it has the WTC logo. Those expectations can often lead to disappointment though as something is overhyped in my head.

Not here. The WTC Resolve dropper post is just as good as I had imagined. Better, really.

With the one exception of the air cap design, it performs as advertised and checks all the boxes of a high end dropper post. More than anything, I am still amazed that it allows me to run longer travel droppers on my bikes. And at the end of the season, I have quite a few miles (and crashes) on the Ripley while the Resolve seems no worse for wear.

Knowing that WTC offers multiple video tutorials on maintenance and full rebuilds, along with plans to offer the full range of replacement parts makes this dropper post an easy recommendation. And with the posts starting at $349.95, it’s a well-priced recommendation at that.

For more tech details, check out our first post here.

wolftoothcomponents.com

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The American Classic Kimberlite review: a budget gravel tire with an upscale ride!

Ron Frazelle — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 19:59:10 +0000

American Classic is not new to producing cycling products as they’ve been doing so since 1982. They went away for a while, but now they’re back and making tires. Tires that can sometimes be as little as half of what competitor’s tires cost.

What do they cost, you ask? Just $45.

You have four to choose from in that price range, the Wentworth, the Udden, the Aggregate and the Kimberlite. They are now offering MTB tires as well. In fact, our UK Tech Editor, Jessie-May covered those MTB tires a little while ago, check it out.

So, are these tires any good for such a low price point? I currently have a set of their Wentworth gravel tires that I mounted on my Masi all-road bike in the 650bx47, brown wall flavor to find out.

The Wentworth on the Masi

At this point, I have more than 500 miles on the Wentworth. So far, they have been everything I expect from a tire like this.

But on to the tire I chose to review. It is the least aggressive of their gravel collection, the Kimberlite. The Kimberlite comes in four sizes, 700c x 35mm, 700c x 40mm, 700c x 50mm, and 650b x 47mm. I chose to get the tire in the 700c x 50mm size so I can review it on my Rivendell Clem Smith Jr.

I use the Clem on a daily basis, so why not, right?

American Classic Kimberlite on my Clem Smith Jr.

Clem Smith Jr

Yeah, I know what you’re thinkin’ “you don’t race on that bike!” And “you don’t really “need” a gravel tire on that thing”. You would be right on both points. But, addressing the second point (because the first point, is obvious), I put a gravel tire on the Clem just to simply add to the superb versatility that already exists on this bike.

For those of you that don’t know, the Clem is a great “all-arounder” of a bike. I’ve ridden regular roads, fire roads, bombed some downhill trails, single track, and more obviously, run my daily errands on this bike.

So it benefits greatly from having a tire that has a fast-rolling center ridge and mildly aggressive side knobs for true “mixed-surface” goodness, like the Kimberlite. An ATB tire if you will.

Mounting

Kimberliite tire weight.

The Kimberlites are 120tpi and weighed in at 621gr, which is pretty good but still a bit hefty. Not a Rene Herse tire weight for sure, but also not a $90+ tire either. The WTB Venture would be a more suitable comparison. The Venture, in the 700x50c size, 120tpi (light/fast rolling) comes in at 617gr and costs $76. So there is a tiny, bit of difference in weight between these two tires. My impression is that you are basically trading weight for durability and puncture resistance with the Kimberlites.

Plus, is the 4-gram difference worth the $31 (per tire) difference? No, it’s not… not to me, at least.

The new American Classics seem to have a more supple sidewall making for an easier mounting tire. The Kimberlites set up fast and easy on the Velocity Cliffhangers that are on my Clem. The internal width of these rims is 25mm and once the tires were installed and inflated to 32psi, they measured true to size at 49.9mm.

American Classic Kimberlite tread closeup

This might be a good time to mention that if you bought the $35 version of the American Classic tires when they first launched, last year (as I did), you may have been underwhelmed with both the claimed size to actual size issue or a serious casing wobble….or both, like me.

First ($35) Version of the Wentworth

In my experience, the new version of the tires fixed both of these issues. The beads set flawlessly, the tires (both the Kimberlite and the Wentworth) measured true to size, and the casings while rolling, were wobble/distortion free.

New and Improved

700x50c Kimberlite in the handsome new brown wall.

The newer version of the American Classic Gravel tires yields an extra $10 over last year’s model (now $45 total per tire). They also offer a very handsome “brown wall” sidewall that was added to both the existing black and tan wall options. this applies to all of their gravel tire line.

For the Kimberlite, an extra size (35c) was added to the line. The extra $10 per tire results in a better-built tire with “more attention to quality control at the plant”, American Classic says.

Stage 5S Armor

Photo c. American Classic

Stage 5S Armor is the tire construction that creates the puncture resistance of their gravel-specific tire. On the American Classic website, it states that they combine “120tpi casing fabrics, Rubberforce G thread compounds, a tubeless-ready coating as well as a Nylon 105 bead-to-bead fabric.” They say that these steps make for a tire that is lighter, faster, and more cut, tear, and abrasion resistant than their original Stage 5S Flat Protection.

Rubberforce G

Rubberforce G is what American Classic calls its tread compound. Stating that it is designed specifically for their gravel and off-road tires. The website states that the “high structure and high specific surface area (SSA) of the carbon black provide excellent abrasion resistance, high tensile strength, and good tear and cut resistance for off-road adventures.” According to American Classic, the final compounds used, are specific to the riding discipline of the tire that it’s used for.

How do they Ride?

So far, I’ve only put roughly 300-350 miles on the tires, mostly paved riding, but there are hardly any signs of wear. The Kimberlites have been a great choice for the Clem, giving me the safety of a large tire-to-ground contact patch, with excellent puncture resistance, as well as the versatility to use the bike on mixed terrain.

Kimberlite and Clem

So far, it’s exactly the tire I wanted it to be for this bike.

Tread pattern

The Kimberlite seems to roll as fast as my WTB Horizons, a tire that has a smooth center as well but with a smoother herringbone tread pattern on the shoulder.

Cornering is good on the Kimberlite, both on paved and hardpack trail riding. Taking corners on one of my favorite paved winding, downhill descents resulted in many ear-to-ear smiles as the speeds were climbing with zero hesitation while fully trusting the tire’s cornering abilities.

Plus the Clem is just so damn fun to descend on.

Still looks new

The tires are really fast on hardpacked dirt trails, while only faltering and losing traction on soft, rutted climbs and the occasional slide while cornering on loose-over-hard surfaces.

I’ve also taken the Kimberlites on the shoulders of some paved trails around my neck of the woods, to hit some fine gravel and see how they handle the occasional “goat-head” thorns that are abundant in my area. I rode the gravel shoulder for about 40+ miles or so and had no instances of goat-head punctures.

The American Classic Kimberlite

Conclusion

I am thoroughly enjoying the performance of this tire. The value-to-performance ratio is outstanding. While riding the tire, I never once found myself excusing bad behavior by thinking “well, it’s a $45 tire Ron, what did you expect?”

It doesn’t ride like a $45 tire. The puncture resistance, aesthetics, and tubeless compatibility are on par with its competitors. Sure, it’s a bit hefty, but is it really? Compared to other tires, it is very competitive in the weight category.

But still, I know how important “rolling mass” is to performance, and if tire weight is your biggest concern when picking a tire, then you may want to look elsewhere. But keep in mind, gravel is not forgiving, so if you do seek a lighter option, you may not get the casing durability of the Kimberlite. Just saying.

All in all, I absolutely would recommend this tire to the masses. It has been a great tire, period. Not just a “great tire for the money”… no, it’s just a great tire. The low cost is the icing on the cake!

Check out all of the American Classic tires available by clicking the link below.

AmClassic.com

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Wolf Tooth Echo Lock-On grips use softer rubber for happy hands

Zach Overholt — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:11:41 +0000

If you’re a fan of silicone grips, Wolf Tooth Components has you covered. They offer silicone foam grips in four sizes, two shapes, and 10 colors including the Fat Paw Grips, Karv Cam Grips, Razer Grips, and Mega Fat Paw Grips, which are the thickest foam grips on the market.

Starting today, they also have you covered if you prefer lock-on mountain bike grips made from rubber. Specifically, softer rubber that provides a level of vibration damping to keep your hands happy on rough trails.

Wolf Tooth Components says that during prototyping for the Echo Lock-On Grip, they started with three different rubber compounds. It ended up being the softest 20A durometer rubber that ended up as their pick since the rubber was easily compressed and absorbed vibrations. Yet they claim the rubber is still durable in the long term.

The grips feature an alternating diagonal pattern with angled ribs meant to help keep your hands in place. Of course, ‘WOLF’ and “TOOTH’ are molded in to the left and right grip respectively for a bit of flair.

Measuring 132mm long and 32mm in diameter, these grips are on the thicker side – but not to the extreme. And the rubber has a nice ‘squish’ to it making them feel a bitt narrower than the width would imply.

Even though these have a single lock-on collar with a 3mm Allen, there is still a full length plastic sleeve on the inside of the grip. That single lock-on collar makes them compatible with any bar end plug including the WTC Anodized Plug, but more importantly, you can use them with the Wolf Tooth EnCase System Multi-Tools.

The grips are also safe to use on any handlebar with a 22m diameter. As you would expect, the metal bits are all made in the USA in-house by Wolf Tooth Components. The plastic/rubber grip assembly has been sourced from Taiwan.

WTC Echo Lock-On Grip Actual Weight

We got an early sample to check out, and they checked in at 107g for the pair of grips, and 18g for the anodized bar end plugs.

First Impressions

As soon as you wrap your hands around the Echos, your first thought is that “these feel nice…” Thanks to grips like the Ergon GA2 and GE1, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a traditional round grip. Wolf Tooth has created a grip design that should work for a lot of hands provided you like your grips on the thicker side.

The rubber is wonderfully cushy under your hands, and the ribbed texture provides a lot of grip even in incredibly humid conditions. I haven’t had them long enough to comment on their durability, but it seems like they should last a while. Add in the ability to use their EnCase system, and the Echo grips should be a hit.

Echo Lock-On Pricing, Colors, Availability

Available in the same eight colors as their Anodized Bar End Plugs, pricing starts at $29.95 for a set with plastic bar plugs. Anodized Bar End Plugs can be added for $19.95 per set, and you can also add the entire EnCase System Bar Kit One to your order for another $119.95.

Available now, with all of the individual pieces eventually available as replacement parts – no need to throw away the whole grip set if you snag one side on some rocks.

wolftoothcomponents.com

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PRO Compact Carbon Clip-On Review: mini aero bar offers more flexibility, more speed!

Cory Benson — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 22:19:22 +0000

PRO’s all-new Compact Carbon Clip-On puts a new shape on the smallest of miniature clip-on aero bar extensions, with integrated computer & accessory mounts. As a long-time bar of alt bars – and of simply stretching out over my bars to give my hands a break on long-distance rides – I’m always game to try out a new bar. And while a full-size set of clip-on aero bars feel a bit out of place on anything but a time trial rig, these mini Compact Clip-Ons deliver many of the same aero & comfort benefits in something that’s not much bigger than some out-front GPS mounts….

Review: PRO Compact Clip-On mini aero bar

c. Bike Connection Agency, all photos by Mirror Media

The first question you have to ask yourself when you are about to bolt an aero bar onto a gravel bike is why? Because your riding buddies are going to ask you too, so you might as well be prepared with a good answer to stave off any ridicule. Let’s be honest, aero bars are funny on any bike that’s not a time trial or triathlon bike.

But with the rise of ultra-endurance all-road races, ultra-distance gravel bike races, or even just multi-day bikepacking rides – a clip on aero bar does double duty. One, it helps you get into a more aero riding position for long, straight stretches into the winds. And two, it gives your hands a much-needed break from having to support your upper body weight for long sustained periods.

Into the details

PRO Bike Components just debuted their all-new PRO Compact Carbon Clip-On mini aerobar extension last Friday, alongside their lightest ever Vibe SL road bar.

It’s an incredibly simple product. A pair of 2-piece 31.8mm alloy clamps on either side of your stem, secure a ~10cm long carbon loop in front of your bar giving you a more narrow and more forward place to rest your hands without sacrificing steering control.

It doesn’t extend further as PRO wanted to be sure this could be used in mass-start evens that prohibit any protrusion beyond the front of your regular brake/shift hoods/levers.

The whole thing weighs just 135g (claimed), including a built-in GPS cycling computer mount on top, and a 2-bolt accessory mount underneath that can support a GoPro, light, or a further out-front GPS mount if you prefer. The UD T700 carbon loop sells for $180 / 160€, and is compatible with most (but not all) round top road & gravel dropbars.

How does it work? And what’s so special?

Remember, it’s a simple, small setup – and a further refinement of a product we seen around since 2018. In fact, it is very similar to the Farr Carbon Aero Bolt-On that we reviewed last autumn. From the front, it’s rather unobtrusive.

What really sets it apart from Farr’s original Aero Bolt-On is the PRO’s more angular shape and integrated accessory mounts.

Additionally, the PRO Compact Carbon Clip-On has a short flat section right at the bar, then ramps up with a more prominent ~4cm of rise. That higher angle makes more space for your hands and reduces the need to over-rotate your wrists to maintain a good grip on the front loop. In fact, Farr already reshaped their newest, longer Carbon Aero Bolt-On Large with similar ramping.

That upward angled shape means you don’t get quite as low, but it is ergonomically more comfortable, so I was able to maintain this tucked position longer and over more varied road surfaces.

Improved aero hand positions

The smooth, wide hexagonal shape created inside the PRO Compact Carbon Clip-On extension loop offered a surprisingly flexible spot to place my hands. Subtly grippy printed-on texture let me hold my hands comfortably either all the way forward with my thumbs pressed up against the front of the loop (above) or slid back with my last fingers hooked over the widest part of the mini aero bar (below).

At just about 10cm center-center in front of the main handlebar though, I really wasn’t able to get super low or super aero. In fact, my wrist essentially ended up sitting on the tops of the bar, and I couldn’t tuck my elbows in, lest I hot them with my knees while pedaling.

This is essentially the same limitation I had last year testing the original Farr carbon loop. And while the fit of my hands inside this PRO clip-on is much more comfortable – this still isn’t a true replacement for proper aerobar extensions.

I did really like the neat integrated computer mounting – which even worked well with my large Wahoo Roam GPS without it getting in the way of my hands. And for long-distance gravel adventures, I’m confident that I could mount a small bar bag under the loop and still use an out-front mount from the bottom bolts to mount a headlight in front of the bag. That’s a surprisingly common dilemma to solve (bikepacking bar bag + bike-mounted headlight), so it’s nice to see more than one accessory mount here.

The other thing is that, even though the PRO Compact Carbon Clip-On isn’t long-enough for a full aero tuck, I’m already used to just resting my forearms on the tops of my padded bars with nothing to hold onto. (Obviously, that’s not super safe, and is why the UCI has banned the imaginary aerobar tuck).

But now I can do my imaginary tuck and actually have something to lean and leverage against for improved safety & a modicum of control (see my full imaginary aerobar tuck in the image at the top of this review).

But does it make you faster?

Of course, it makes me faster. See that smaller frontal area and deeper aero tuck when I’m sprinting head-to-head against my gravel buddies (above)!

OK, maybe the Compact Carbon Clip-On doesn’t make me magically, quantifiably faster. But I really appreciate the extra hand positions, especially when I’m grinding out a few days of mixed-surface riding in a row. Plus, the weight penalty is pretty minor, and the two built-in accessory mounts are a big plus. Would I prefer it to be about 5cm longer… yes.

But there are certainly merits to this compact size, as well.

PRO-bikegear.com

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Is the Paul Klamper mechanical disc brake worth the hype? How does the Growtac Equal compare?

Ron Frazelle — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:00:06 +0000

A little over a month ago, I reviewed the Growtac Equal cable-actuated brakes. It wasn’t long after it was published, that the comment section lit up with brake-type allegiance. Readers seemed to be either in favor of, or very much against the cable-actuated disc brake as a whole – with little to no gray area. Ok.

I appreciate that kind of engagement and thank those of you for reading the review and taking the time to comment… it was colorful and entertaining, to say the least.

In that Growtac review, I promised I’d review and compare another high-end, cable-actuated disc brake, the Klamper, by Paul Components.

I’m here to deliver on that promise.

Paul Klamper close-up.

Cable-actuated disc brakes… well, geez, it seems some cyclists get pretty riled up about ’em. I get it, to an extent. Look, I’ve ridden both types of brakes, hydraulic and cable-actuated, off and on for over two decades. There have been horrible and stellar versions of both.

For the most part, I think that the bicycle hydraulic brake system adds unnecessary complications to a fairly simple procedure, which is to simply press brake pads against a rotor.

But I digress…

The Klamper by Paul Components

The Klamper is made in the US of A in Chico, California. It is completely rebuildable and serviceable –and it is a machined thing of beauty.

Paul Klamper rear

I tested the flat mount, short pull version of the Klampers and mounted them on my Masi Speciale Randonneur Elite. After taking the slim and small Growtac Equals off and mounting the Klampers, admittedly they looked a little “bulky” at first…

I quickly got used to the look of the caliper, however, because I actually really like the bulky look of the brake. To me, it looks strong, utilitarian, and purpose-built. I Dig it.

The Masi and Klampers in Oregon… the purple “poppin’ through the spokes.”

Remember, this is the same bike that I used for the Growtac Equal review. I am using the same exact rotors and cables as well. Trying hard to keep it “apples to apples”.

Photo c. D. Woolley. Klampers, on the go!

Paul Klamper Brake Set-up

Upon removing the Equals from the Masi, I decided to use the same compressionless housing that was used when running the Equal brakes. There was no need for any adjustment in length between the two, so that was sweet.

Paul at Paul Components actually recommends using regular brake housing with the Klampers, but, as mentioned earlier, I wanted the comparison to the Equal brakes to be as close to “apples to apples” as possible.

Let me just say that right out of the gate, the versatility of being able to effortlessly swap out the brakes on my Masi (or any bike for that matter) is an incredibly strong argument FOR the cable-actuated disc brake. Swapping the brakes was super convenient, no cutting hydraulic hosing, no olives, no pounding barbs, no mineral oil, no filling or bleeding, no dumb syringes and bleed cups, no mess, and zero “clean-up”.

Paul Klamper’s interchangeable actuating arms. the machined “SP” stands for “short pull”. It will have “LP” on the “long pull” version.

The actuating arm on the Klampers are interchangeable and can be swapped out. So, changing your brakes from a long pull version, that works with modern MTB brake levers, to a short pull version, working with standard drop bar levers/brifters or cantilever brake levers adds to the total versatility of the Paul Klamper.

Detailed instructions from the folks at Paul Components

Included with the Klampers are the pads and the mounting hardware as well as concise instructions and an exploded view of the brakes with labels for what all the parts are called.

After installing the pads in the caliper, I then mounted the calipers to the frame, but only finger-tight. After that, I turned the inside and outside pad adjustment wheels to where they just barely touched the rotor, and then tightened the caliper to the frame.

Paul Klamper Flat mount version.

After running the new cable and getting the brakes set up, the front operated perfectly and had a great lever feel. The rear, however, felt sluggish at the beginning of the actuator throw when initially pulling the rear lever. It felt like a little dead spot, that held slightly, and would eventually “let go” as you squeezed the lever more. It sounds bad how I’m describing it, it wasn’t all that bad and was very, very subtle… but still didn’t feel great and, for me, needed to be addressed prior to using the brakes.

So I loosened the cable at the caliper and started again. I opened the pistons all the way with the adjustment wheels, loosened the caliper, and slid it slightly outboard, making the rotor a smidge off-center. Now, with the rotor biased slightly inboard in the caliper, almost touching the stationary pad, I tightened the caliper back to the frame again.

I found that this was an easy way to “dial out” that feeling of a “dead spot”. Also, doing this is a great way to maximize the amount of power you can get from the brake.

The issue was addressed, the rear lever now felt as snappy as the front. Let’s ride!

How’d they Klamp?

Klampers in Oregon…it was drizzling before the skies opened up.

I installed them and did the initial 2 rides (30 miles total) right before I left for an event in Oregon. They weren’t stopping really great and were a bit noisy. I wasn’t really concerned about this, as there is always a pad break-in period for all disc brakes, plus the instructions from Paul Components mentioned 3-4 rides before the pads “bed in”. OK, let’s wait and see.

Photo c. J. Cobbs. In Oregon, Before the skies opened up…

The second ride of the Oregon trip (the fourth ride for the Klampers) found us finishing the last 13 miles of the ride in a total Pacific Northwest downpour. When the brakes were dry, they were just a little noisy but when applying the brakes after they were soaked with water, the amount and volume of the Klamper’s brake noise was insane… but, I wasn’t alone in the noise. I was on the ride with 5-6 other cyclists and everyone’s brakes were howlin’ really bad …we sounded like a pack of wolves when slowing down for the corners. It went on like that until we got back to the house.

Photo c. J. Cobbs. Some singletrack in Oregon…still dry for a bit longer.

Remember, this wet ride was only the fourth ride for the brakes. And never once in Oregon did the brakes feel like they weren’t going to stop me… even during the downpour.

Paul Klampers at the beach… no rain here. 🙂

After I got home and went out for a ride, I expected the braking noise that I got on the Oregon trip, but noticed that the Klampers were totally quiet. Not only were they quiet, but they felt amazing. They had remained quiet for that entire 60-ish mile ride. I mean, wow! At this point, with only 4 rides (90-ish miles or so), with some rain, the pads seemed to be bedded leaving the brakes feeling absolutely amazing.

Klampers on the Fence shot.

It was time to just start putting miles on the brakes. I took the bike to all of the spots and rides that I rode the Growtac Equals. I did a lot more trail riding and underbiking with the Klampers. They just felt so strong and powerful.

Photo c. D. Woolley. Paul Klampers So. Cal singletrack

The Klampers feel so good that I can safely state that I feel they are on par with hydraulic brakes.

I know that’s bold, and I can hear all of the typing already. But, it’s how I feel. The hydro’s brake lever feel is a bit more effortless when pulling it, but just barely. I do feel a little finger/hand fatigue, as well as a little forearm pump on longer, more technical dirt trail descents. But in the Klamper’s defense, I was squeezing them tighter and more often than I would if I wasn’t reviewing brakes.

The power of these brakes is pretty incredible and is on tap, whenever you need it. If there is any difference in the power of hydro vs the Klamper, it is minuscule and, to me, not worth the added hassle, the limited versatility, and the inability for trailside repairs or caliper serviceability of the hydro system.

Now, let’s talk about modulation… the one disc brake feature we all hang our hats on. I noticed that the modulation of the brakes while off-road, was really impressive. Hands-down the best of any cable-actuated brake I’ve ever ridden.

That sounds dramatic, I know. But I stand by it. The modulation is there with the Paul Klampers. Period.

While going into the off-camber corners and slowly crawling down steep rutted trail descents, I was able to accurately control the amount of pressure applied directly to the rotor. I felt that the amount of lever pulled was duplicated exactly to the amount of pressure put on the rotor, allowing me to properly “feather the brakes”.

Which, I believe is the actual definition of brake modulation. Eh?

Road descents felt equally confidence-inspiring. The Klampers suffered no fading or glazing on the descents I did. The power and ability to slow me down from high speeds was, again confidence-inspiring, allowing me to feel comfortable going even faster if I needed to.

Remember kids, a great brake can actually help you go faster.

Photo c. D. Woolley. More So. Cal singletrack on the Klampers..poppin’ purple bling.

In Conclusion

I have approximately 500+ miles on the Klampers, and they have proven themselves to be pretty damn remarkable!

It is this cyclist’s opinion, that after riding hydraulic and mechanical disc brakes, in one form or another for the better part of two decades, I believe that Paul Components’ Klamper mechanical disc brakes are better than hydraulic disc brakes. And, I think they are hands down the best mechanical disc brake I’ve ever tried.

The initial set-up of the brakes took a bit of effort, but once the pads were bedded, it’s been smooth sailing. Or, should I say awesome stopping? The instructions said to take 3-4 good rides to bed the pads, and it took just that. Maintenance has been easy with the occasional turn of the outboard pad adjustment wheel… no big whoop.

I would recommend this brake to everyone.

It’s the best cable-actuated brake I have ever ridden.

Sure, it’s pricey. But are you comparing the price to other small, USA-made component companies? Usually not. These brakes are hand-made and are not mass-produced. And also keep in mind, that with these cable-actuated brakes, you won’t need to spend money on all of the extra doodads you need to maintain a hydraulic brake system or keep buying mineral oil.

Plus when buying the Paul Components Klampers, you are supporting small, independent American manufacturing, and you have to put a value on that. Right? Right.

Photo c. J. Cobbs. Oregon, coffee run.

Earlier in this review, I mentioned that all of my personal bikes are pulling cable to stop, and two out of the three are using Paul Klampers, that’s how much I like these brakes. As a matter of fact, look for the review on the pair that’s on my mountain bike coming soon. For that review, I am running them in a configuration that is a little different. So stay tuned!

Paul Klamper Brakes vs. Growtac Equal Brakes

Ok, here we go. I am going to keep this simple, non-scientific, and very understandable.

The following is a reflection of my experiences with these two high-end cable-actuated brake systems.

First, let me start by saying that I did end up putting more “real-life” miles on the Klampers and more “intentional” miles on the Equals. That wasn’t purposeful, it just happened that way.

Aesthetics

At the end of the day, I do like the robust aesthetics of the Klampers over the Equals. I did like the size of the Equal caliper body and the placement of the actuator arm (on the top as opposed to the side) is very attractive. Its smaller size allowed the Equal caliper to “tuck” into the chainstay. Again, personal preference.

The actual fit and finish are very good on both brakes. The visible “machine-marks” of the Equal caliper aren’t my jam, but for others, it may be. I prefer the smooth “finished” look of the Klamper caliper.

How They Performed

The performance of the Equal and the Klampers are very similar. They’re both incredibly strong brakes, the strongest I’ve ever ridden. But, the Equals strength-to-lever feel always felt either on or off. The Equal’s lever feel, although really snappy, had a very “soul-less” feel to them… almost robotic. You could squeeze the lever and actuate the brakes, but couldn’t “feel” the brakes if that makes sense.

The Klampers felt stronger than the Equals, with a more “usable” strength. When it came to strength-to-lever feel, the Klamper felt as snappy but had more of an organic feel when squeezing the lever, allowing you to “feel” the brake when braking. I liked the way this felt, a lot more than the Equals.

This leads me to modulation. The Klampers were hands down the winners in this arena as well. The Equal brake, as mentioned above, felt very on or off during my use. The Klampers were close to, or as good as hydraulic brake modulation. I have never felt a cable-actuated brake modulate as well as the Klamper.

What they Weigh

The Equal brake caliper weighs in at 137grams with the pads installed. The Klamper weighs in at 211grams with the pads installed. So you’re looking at 148g more for the pair of Klampers.

The Klamper’s little extra weight could be coming in the form of needle bearings for the thrust bearing, and a heat-treated steel actuator arm piston, and pad piston as well as two “tool-free” pad adjustment wheels.

Set-Up

The Equal brakes were a little easier to set up, there were a lot more steps to the set-up, but it was painless and came with really good instructions. It resulted in great braking results immediately after installation with a short (2-ride) pad bedding.

The Klampers needed a bit more attention and finesse in their setup, with a longer pad bedding time. But, again the results I got from the Klampers were worth the extra work and time put in, resulting in better overall performance than the Equal brakes.

The Klamper wins in the “on-the-fly” pad adjustment category by offering inboard and outboard, easy-to-turn brake pad adjustment wheels. You need a tool to adjust the Equal’s pads.

Where They’re Made

The Growtac Equals are designed and manufactured in Japan. The Paul Component Klampers are designed and manufactured in Chico, California.

Versatility

Both the Klampers and Equals come in flat mount or post mount/IS. The Klampers however, come in short pull, long pull, and Campy pull versions. This is done with the interchangeable actuating arm. The Equals, as of this writing, come in short pull only.

The Equal brakes firmly state that for best results, use compressionless housing, whereas the Klampers suggest regular housing but can work very well with either type of housing. Also, the pads that the Klampers come with are the most common type of brake pad and are available everywhere.

What’s the Cost and What’s Included

The Equals retail for $350. That price buys you everything you need to set up your brakes on your bike minus rotors:

Two calipers
2x road and MTB cables
A flat mount adaptor
2x compressionless housing
2x non-compressionless housing
Mounting hardware

The Klampers retail for $245 ($315 for the high polished finish) and are sold per wheel. So, that price buys you:

one caliper
Kool stop Avid Elixer pads
mounting hardware
USA Made

Comparison Final Thoughts

This is a little tougher than I thought. I like both of these brakes, a lot. But if we are using the feel and strength of the hydraulic disc brake system as the benchmark for both power and modulation, which we are, then the Paul Components Klamper is the hands-down winner of the comparison, matching the hydro system in both strength and modulation.

With the Growtac Equal brakes, you get a very strong brake with a lighter caliper. They are at a lower initial cost and come with everything you need to set your bike up with a very capable disc brake set. And they are made in Japan.

With the Paul Klamper brakes, you get a category leader in both braking strength, modulation, serviceability, and finish. The USA-made brakes, in my opinion, on par with or better than hydraulic disc brakes and, by far worth the money.

That’s it.

Check out all of the hand-made goodness from Chico, California by clicking on the link below.

PaulComp.com

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Goodyear Newton MTF & MTR Enduro Tires offer great grip, but could be more supple

Jessie-May Morgan — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 15:58:39 +0000

Back in May, Goodyear announced the released their very first models of tires that were designed and manufactured in-house; the Newton MTF and Newton MTR. By bringing every step of development under their own roof, the hope was to develop casings, tread patterns and rubber compounds with a performance comparable to that of some of the most popular models from big name tire manufacturers.

Goodyear Newton MTF (left) and MTR (right). Credit: Rupert Fowler.

We got a First Ride on these front- and rear-specific mountain bike tires at the Winter Bike Connection event in Italy. That was way back in February, when the beautifully maintained Trail Brothers’ singletrack of Massa Marittima was in that super grippy almost-dry stage, offering rather flattering trail conditions. At the launch, we published our initial thoughts on the Newton MTF & MTR, but after only a handful of laps, our insight was limited. Now, after a very dry summer (the driest in 40 years), we feel we have more to share with you.

Review: Goodyear Newton MTF & MTR Enduro Tires

The Goodyear Newton MTF & MTR tires are offered in Trail, Enduro and Downhill casings. Credit: Rupert Fowler.

I’ll start by saying that, overall, my impression of the Goodyear tires is quite, well, good. But, thanks to my erroneous receipt of pre-production tires, it has taken a long while to reach that conclusion. Things got off to a poor start when I noticed the poor braking performance of the Newton MTF around six rides into the test. Upon inspection of the tread blocks, I noted a very regular pattern of knob splitting; this was present on pretty much every pair of the wider-spaced center tread knobs, and also on the non-drive side edge knobs of the Newton MTR.

A pre-production set of tires suffered from tread block splitting early on in the test; we’re happy to report the latest production tires we tested do not have this issue

Having discussed the issue with Goodyear, it seems they did indeed send me a set of pre-production tires in error. The rubber extrusion method had apparently not yet been finalized, hence its poor quality. I am happy to report that, having since tested a confirmed set of production tires, the issue of knob splitting is nowhere to be seen, and the tires’ braking performance is much improved in comparison.

These latest tires tested on a 2022 Vitus Sommet 297 are the 29″ x 2.5″ Newton MTF and the 27.5″ x 2.4″ MTR, both in the Enduro casing. At 30 PSI on 30mm internal width rims, both came up a little narrower than advertised; the MTF measured by at 2.45″ wide and the MTR at 2.35″ wide.

Credit: Rupert Fowler

To the touch, they aren’t super tacky tires. Though the MTF’s rubber durometer is a low 40a at the side knobs, and a slightly harder 42a center tread, they actually feel much more firm than other brands’ 40a rubber compounds, and they rebound faster, too. Clearly there’s a lot more to a rubber’s behavior than its Shore Hardness reading alone.

Regardless, out on the trail the Newton MTF and MTR have delivered very good grip. Due to the stiffness of the Enduro casing tires, it did take me a good while to settle on the most appropriate pressures (more on that later), but since then I have developed a high level of trust in the tire’s ability to maintain grip through bermed and flat corners alike.

The Goodyear Newton MTF & MTR tires feel faster rolling than comparable Maxx Grip tires from Maxxis. Credit: Blair Kemp

The vast majority of the testing has been carried out on dry, hard pack trails that have been baked in the sun. A marble-like debris sits atop the cracked surface. The Goodyear Newton MTF and MTR tires have been nothing short of excellent in those conditions. I keep expecting to wash out in these loose turns literred with rubble, but rubber side down I have remained. Even with the occasional panic-pulling of the front brake in said turns, the tires have miraculously maintained grip.

The Goodyear Newton MTF has really well modulated braking characteristics. Credit: Blair Kemp

A touch of rain has produced some short-lived damp conditions in the woods, and the Goodyear Newton MTF and MTR have performed well here, too. The front tire’s edge knobs are tall enough to bite through the soft surface layer to firmer terrain underneath. The rear tire, on the other hand, has been locking up very easily under braking in these greasy conditions,. That’s mostly not really a bad thing however, especially when you need a helping hand around a very tight turn.

About the casing…

The Goodyear website has a tire pressure calculator to give riders a ball-park starting point. It considers data like rider weight, riding style, wheel size, rim width and type, as well as ground conditions, to estimate the appropriate pressure for each tire model. For my 60kg weight, the calculator recommends 21 PSI for the 29″ x 2.5″ Newton MTF and 26.5 PSI for the 27.5″ x 2.4″ Newton MTR.

My experience is that those pressures are way, way too high. They may have made sense in Alpine bike parks, where the high speed trails are literred with braking bumps, holes and often huge expanses of roots, but for my local Tweed Valley trails, that was overkill.

The highest pressures I ran were 20 PSI up front, and 22 PSI in the rear. Here, the tires felt harsh, giving the bike a wooden ride feel. The casing simply felt too stiff at those pressures, making the bike pinball through rougher sections of trail with the carcass seemingly unable to deform sufficiently. I was a little surprised by this given the 2 x 120 TPI carcass construction, but the relatively tall butyl inserts at the side walls likely account for that harshness I felt.

I gradually dropped the pressure, going as low as 15 PSI on the front with 17 PSI in the rear. Here, the tires had a more supple ride feel, but the front tire was squirming in corners, and felt rather unpredictable, resulting in multiple panic dabs. With 17 PSI in the front and 19 PSI in the rear, I felt I had found the sweet spot. Still, the front tire especially still felt a bit harsh.

Credit: Blair Kemp

It’s likely that I would have had a much better experience with the 1 x 60 TPI Trail Casing Newton MTF that lacks that tall butyl insert. Worth noting here, however, is that the Trail Casing tread is made up of a harder durometer rubber. So, the improved comfort may have come at the expense of grip.

The other side of the coin is that I have remained puncture free for the duration of the test. That’s fairly impressive, given that I dropped the rear tire pressure as far as 17 PSI for a flat-out run of one of the faster, rock strewn trails of the Tweed Valley. There were more than a handful of bottom-out events, after which I listened carefully for a hissing sound of air escaping the tire that, happily, never came.

Credit: Blair Kemp

Goodyear Newton MTF & MTR Enduro Tires in Summary

Pros:

Excellent grip in loose over hardpack conditions
Good puncture protection
Good rolling resistance

Cons:

Not the most supple and can feel quite harsh

Pricing & Availability

Goodyear Tire	Tire Size	GBP (RRP)	EUR (RRP)
Newton MTR Trail	27.5″ x 2.4″	£59.40	€ 53.90
Newton MTR Enduro	27.5″ x 2.4″	£66.08	€ 60.48
Newton MTR Downhill	27.5″ x 2.4″	£71.50	€ 64.90
Newton MTR Trail	27.5″ x 2.6″	£59.40	€ 53.90
Newton MTR Enduro	27.5″ x 2.6″	£66.08	€ 60.48
Newton MTR Downhill	27.5″ x 2.6″	£71.50	€ 64.90
Newton MTR Trail	29″ x 2.4″	£59.40	€ 53.90
Newton MTR Enduro	29″ x 2.4″	£66.08	€ 60.48
Newton MTR Downhill	29″ x 2.4″	£71.50	€ 64.90
Newton MTF Trail	27.5″ x 2.5″	£59.40	€ 53.90
Newton MTF Enduro	27.5″ x 2.5″	£66.08	€ 60.48
Newton MTF Downhill	27.5″ x 2.5″	£71.50	€ 64.90
Newton MTF Trail	29″ x 2.5″	£59.40	€ 53.90
Newton MTF Enduro	29″ x 2.5″	£66.08	€ 60.48
Newton MTF Downhill	29″ x 2.5″	£71.50	€ 64.90

The Newton MTF is 40g lighter than claimed, while the Newton MTR is 70g heavier than claimed

Jessie-May Morgan is the UK & Ireland Tech Editor of Bikerumor. She has been writing about Mountain Bike Riding and Racing, and all the technology that comes along with it for 3 years. Prior to that, she was an Intern at the Mountain Bike Center of Scotland, and a Mountain Bike Coach and Leader in the Tweed Valley, and prior to that, a Biological Research Scientist at the University of Edinburgh. Based in Innerleithen, Scotland, Jessie-May can regularly be seen riding the Tweed Valley’s Enduro and Downhill Tracks, often with a race plate tied to the handlebar.

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Review: Hunt Aerodynamicist 44 aero road bike wheels

Tyler Benedict — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 13:56:03 +0000

In terms of bang for your buck aero wheels, the Hunt Aerodynamicist line is hard to beat. They’re light, fast, perform well, and the 44mm deep wheelset tested here retails for just $919.

If that doesn’t capture your attention, no worries. But if a sub-thousand dollar wheelset that comes in at a claimed 1,466g is interesting to you, here’s everything you need to know about these carbon disc brake aero road bike wheels…

The Hunt Aerodynamicist wheels come in two flavors – ones with carbon spokes that cost about $500 more and are about 110g lighter per wheelset, and these standard models with straight pull, aero butted Pillar spokes.

Both versions are offered in 44mm (tested), and 54mm deep options, and you can order as a 44/54 combo, too. The carbon spoke models also offer a very light 32mm deep rim option. Triathletes can go even deeper with 87/88 combos.

Optimized for 25-28mm tires, the rim’s aero shaping is a bit wider just below the edge, curving inward to meet the tire. Hunt shares all of their wind tunnel data on their website.

The wheels get their Sprint hubs, available with all the axle options, including quick-release skewers if you’re putting these on an older bike.

Rear hubs have a quick-enough 7.5º engagement from three pawls (each with three teeth) ratcheting on a 48-tooth ring. Choose from HG, XDR, Campagnolo, or Campy N3W (for Ekar) freehub bodies.

For a road wheelset, 7.5º is on the quick side, and I appreciate this. There’s less lag when resuming pedaling from a coast, and it gives the wheels a higher-end feel…more polished. But, these particular hubs are loud during coasting. Like, very loud. There’s nothing stealth about coasting with these wheels.

A straight-pull spoke design and external nipples makes truing and repairs easy.

They stick with a hooked bead to maximize tire compatibility. Hunt says they’re compatible with 23mm up to 50mm tires, but are best suited for 25-28mm tubeless-ready tires, with a max tire pressure of 100psi for 25-28mm tires, lower for wider tires. The recommended upper weight limit is 240lbs for rider+gear+bike.

Hunt 44 Aerodynamicist actual weights & measurements

Actual weights with tubeless rim tape installed AND rotor lock ring are 675g (front) and 844g (rear), or 1,519g for the set. Valve stems are 9g for the pair.

That Hunt includes the rotor lock rings is a nice touch. Brake rotors don’t come with them, and many wheelsets do not include those. So it’s nice to be able to pull them out of the box, mount your rotors, and hit the road without having to make a quick run to your local bike shop for stuff you weren’t expecting to buy.

Claimed interior width is 20mm, and ours measured just a hair over that. External width at the bead was 26.71mm, and further down at the widest point was 29.16mm.

The wheels come with extra spokes, valve stems, and stickers.

Before we get into the full review, here’s my only complaint from my time reviewing them: They captured some water on a (very) rainy ride and held onto it for weeks afterward.

It wasn’t until I was swapping tires and had them off the bike that I noticed the sloshing sound both of the wheels. Fortunately, it didn’t get into the tires, it stayed in the rims, and removing the valve stem (once the tire was off) let me pour it out easily.

It’s worth mentioning two things:

This issue isn’t exclusive to Hunt’s wheels, it could happen to others.
Hunt does have a drain hole on their rims, so I’d recommend leaning the bike against a wall with that hole facing straight down after any ride in the rain or if you’ve rolled through deep water.

OK, on to the good stuff…

Hunt 44 Aerodynamicist wheels review

This was my first set of Hunt wheels, and I’m impressed. While 1,466g is respectable, they felt even lighter.

Spooling up in a sprint was quick, but the most noticeable characteristic was how light of a touch it took to move the bike side to side or initiate a turn. They moved even lighter than their weight or depth suggested, even compared to some other wheels I’ve ridden lately with similar specs.

They felt easy on climbs, without any hesitation to hustle if my legs had it in them. Coming back down the hills at higher speeds felt reassuringly stable.

They also felt smooth on a variety of surfaces. We occasionally head off the pavement (sometimes even onto singletrack), so I usually keep my tire pressure around 70-74psi (I’m about 190lb kitted out for a road ride, plus bike and bottle weight), and mostly ride 700×28 tires. Fortunately, these lower pressures were no problem on these rims, and combined to offer great ride quality.

They also seemed to slip through the wind with ease, barely affected by crosswinds or gusts. Personally, a 40-ish millimeter depth is my preference for an all-around wheelset in terms of aerodynamic performance-to-weight, and these are an excellent offering in that category.

They also look really good. The matte carbon finish and subtle, minimal graphics blended in perfectly with my matte Exept road bike, and they match an ENVE cockpit quite well, too.

It’s easy to say “they’re great for the price”, because they are. But the Hunt 44 Aerodynamicist wheels hold their own against more expensive offerings, too. And they look great doing it. Throw in a lifetime crash replacement program for the original owner, a three-year warranty against defects, and a 60-day Ride & Return trial program, and it’s kind of hard not to put them on your shortlist.

HuntBikeWheels.com

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