Mondraker has unveiled a prototype stem for the Fox40 dual crown downhill suspension fork.  Weighing in at 253g, the unified design combines the stem and crown into one piece and drops 115g off the stock Fox parts.

Besides creating a one-piece structure, the design eliminates four screws from the Fox set up, which should increase strength and stiffness.  The crown is completely flat and allows the rider to slide it up or down the stanchions 2cm, allowing for a lower position on courses where more weight needs to be on the front tire.  Testing should continue through the Summer, so look for it sometime late this year.

Another photo after the break…

(more…)

Some folks may argue that it’s ridiculous to get excited about something as mundane as a seat post collar, but we know better.  We all drool over beautiful little objects and fancy the little touches that make our bikes unique and pretty.  LH Thomson’s understated design essence has carried over to a new seat collar that’s immediately desireable.  Are you going to shave grams?  Probably not.  Go faster?  Unlikely.  Look good? Indubitably.

The collars use the same bolt and barrel nut as in their seatposts and, being the proud owner of three of their seatposts, you’re not likely to break one. This design allows the bolt to “float” on either side, eliminating side stresses that can arise as you tighten the bolts on fixed position designs. MSRP is $29.95, and they’re available in both Black and Silver.  34.9 and 31.8 are available now, and the 28.6 and 29.8 should start shipping next week.  Claimed weights range from 26g to 27g.

Quick release version is being considered for the future, but cycling marketing manager David Parrett says they’re looking at a ratchet mechanism similar to DT Swiss’ RWS skewers rather than a standard cam.  Standard cams can wear out over time, forcing you to tighten the bolt more and more, which isn’t necessarily good for the frame.

If rowdy, enthusiastic flag waving fans are what Olympic organizers want crowding an event, and colorful, entertaining and action-packed events make for good TV, cyclocross seems to be the perfect fit for a Winter Olympics sport.

That’s the idea behind ‘cross nut Mike Fee’s online petition to make Cyclocross an Olympic sport, one we fully support.  Sign the petition here and cross your fingers…sure beats short form ice skating, curling, etc.  As of this posting, there are 743 signatures.  It’ll take a lot more than that to impress the IOC, so hit one of those little share/facebook/retweet buttons below and tell your friends.

Heck, if Pole Dancers can get 150,000 signatures, surely we can get more than 743…

A quick one this, but Velonation is reporting breaking news that the 2012 Giro d’Italia will be starting in Washington, and I’m presuming that’s Washington DC, not Washington, Tyne and Wear, UK!

According to an Italian newspaper, it’ll be confirmed tomorrow, and if so, it’s massive news – the first time any Grand Tour has started outside Europe.

Practically speaking, it’ll be a huge logistical task, but will it be a worthwhile one? Will this be a big boost to cycling in the States, or simply a gimmick? And how will the riders feel about two trans-Atlantic flights at the start of a Grand Tour? The second is reportedly taking place after the prologue and with a rest day before stage 1 and the Giro proper.

We’d be interested to hear your views.

“new badge!” by signal cycles.

Signal Cycles, based in Portland, OR, will also be showing at the NAHBS this weekend.

Click ‘more’ to see one of these on the bike…gorgeous!

(more…)

Hayes Disc Brakes’ new Prime has been building hype for weeks now, and they’ve yet to unveil the full tech specs behind their Poppet Cam Lock.  However, we’ve managed to pull some test data out of them showing how they compare in in-house tests.  Hayes says they’ve used these tests during development to ensure that the new Prime is tuned to excel in all trail conditions at a wide range of speeds and temperatures…but a big focus has really been placed on brake feel and consistency.

On the chart above, the Hayes Prime is compared to three of the top brands’ hydraulic brakesets.  Their testing shows the Prime produces the same or more braking torque at 15 lb/feet of force, which they say is a fairly aggressive grab that would haul a bike down to a stop quickly on a paved surface.  Trail conditions and surfaces will of course alter how aggressively you grab it, but for purposes of comparison, they went with an aggressive stopping

Wheel Torque is how much friction force the brake pads are putting on the rotor based on the Mu of the pads and rotor material.

LEVER INPUT FORCE @ SAE basically means that the finger position was the same for all brakes tested so that leverage was the same.

“At this level, everybody’s brakes are really good,” says Joel Richardson, product manager for Hayes Brakes. “What we did with the Prime was focus on a very consistent feel.  Throughout the entire stroke, as you squeeze the lever harder and harder and harder, the torque and the lever feel are perfectly linear.”

(more…)

We were able to quickly design a custom fit BikeRumor.com road bike in about ten minutes.

While it may be a lifelong dream of many cyclists, building a custom bike can be a daunting task. More than just a frame and some wheels, custom bikes allow the rider to get the exact bike they want, which starts with the exact fit they need. Now, Bike Forest’s BikeCAD program allows you to design a custom bicycle from the ground up, controlling every aspect of the build in an easy to navigate free web app.

(more…)

This lugged sportif road bike from Chris King’s Cielo is just one of the many bikes we’ll be covering at the Shimano North American Handmade Bicycle Show this weekend.  Coverage starts mid-day Friday with quickie posts throughout the day and Blue Moon Hefeweizen fueled recaps at night.  Now, if only Chris King were bringing his grill to make steak sandwiches like he does at Outdoor Demo…

Check out the Cielo 29er and other bikes he showed off at Interbike here.

ROTOR Bikes has unveiled the latest evolution of it’s super-light SL XC mountain bike stem. While the previous SL weighed in at a scant 83 grams, the new SL2 promises massive gains in rigidity with a new conical stem body in exchange for a stem that is a few grams heavier.

Also new is a completely redesigned stress-reducing steerer tube clamp that cinches down with only one over sized Double Thread Technology bolt & insert, a proven ROTOR exclusive technology. This new single DTT bolt has a replaceable threaded aluminum insert on one side, that works as an intentional failure point to prevent damage to the stem in case of over tightening or a crash. The single DTT bolt spreads the clamping forces more evenly than two standard bolts, while reducing the need for additional reinforcement in the clamp.

The clamp is naturally a carbon-friendly design specifically made for use with lightweight carbon fiber steerer tubes. Even at 91 grams,  the new SL2 has earned and surpassed the highly prized EN14766 certification for stress and fatigue testing from the German EFBe Laboratory.

UPDATED: MSRP is $200.

Click through for more pictures and full specs!

(more…)

In only it’s second year, the multi-day stage race Breck Epic is already 80% full.  The event runs July 5 through 10 August 22-28, 2010, in Breckenridge, CO, and offers a truly unique stage race opportunity.

Unlike other events, the Breck Epic runs a “cloverleaf” pattern, starting and stopping at the same area each day, removing the need to pack and unpack your gear every morning and evening.  Plus, the start-finish and camping area is just minutes from downtown Breckenridge.  Subaru, an event sponsor, is even running free shuttles to and from town if you’re too tired (or sore) to pedal the half mile bike path to restaurants and shops.

As of last week, I’m signed up and I’ll be providing a daily recap (assuming proper Internet access) of the race and surrounding hoopla, and if you wanna come run me into the ground, sign up soon…founder Mike McCormack says it’ll probably fill up very soon.

Fairfax County Supervisor John Cook (R – Braddock District, Virginia) recently said the following during a transportation committee meeting:

“I don’t believe a bicycle is a transportation device. I think it’s a recreation device. The big problem is people don’t want to ride their bike in the rain or get sweaty before work.”

Perhaps Mr. Cook should have actually polled people prior to speaking, or just used common sense and not his personal opinion on the matter. According to the League of American Bicyclists, the share of all trips by bicycle is up 25% since 2001, and reports abound about increased bicycle commuting in most major cities.  Why would NYC bother to add more than 200 miles of bike lanes over the past three years if no one wanted to commute?

Or, perhaps Mr. Cook could’ve held his ridiculous comment until after one of the largest bicycle shows (NAHBS) brings all sorts of tourism dollars into the state this weekend.

Oli Pepper of Morvélo, an up-and-coming clothing company in Brighton, UK, tells Bikerumor.com about how the brand sprang from a love of all the different disciplines of cycling, about the Brighton Big Dog mountain bike race, which last year had Magnus Backstedt as a surprise entrant, and big plans for 2010.

How and why did you set the Morvélo up?

At the start of 2009 we just couldn’t get excited about any of the existing casual clothing brands aimed at cyclists. Or we could, but they were too limited to one area, like Fox for example. We still love the Fox stuff but it doesn’t speak to the road, track and cyclocross side in us. Morvélo first and foremost is about all bikes and was set up to help try and create a certain unity between the different factions and all through the humble T-shirt. It’s tricky prospect as some disciplines don’t identify with others, even though they are still riding, in essence, the same thing. Two wheels good.

Morvélo – more bikes, right? How does the name reflect your philosophy?

Yeah, that’s pretty much it. We ride and race all sorts of bikes and felt that there was too much perceived segregation in the different disciplines of cycling, in terms of brands. Most people ride several different types of bike and go on to ride even more. I started out riding, like most people over the age of 30, on BMXs, then onto MTBs. I stuck with them for a decade or so until a friend lent one me a road bike. The speed was awesome and it suddenly opened my eyes to this whole other world of bikes. From there came cyclocross, more recently track and now thinking about getting back into BMX racing again.

It seems to us this progression and crossover is becoming more common, and we want Morvélo to be a symbol of this. We not just about freeride MTB, we’re not just about fixed, we not just about the cols of the Tour de France. We love all of it. The bicycle is such a wonderfully simple invention that can be used in such a diverse way, it deserves to be celebrated.

Click ‘more’ to read about the tees, the Lycra and Marcus Backstedt riding MTB and plans for a partnership with Kinesis… And more pics!

(more…)