SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – I walked over to the Norco booth with the Gates PR guy to check out the new Judan, a steel hardtail singlespeed that uses the Gates Carbon Belt Drive (background bike), and it’s nice, but what really caught my eye was the bike with “Prototype” emblazoned across the top tube.

Some people have gaydar, some have a sixth sense.  I haven’t come up with a good term for it yet (suggestions are welcome), but if there’s something that that says Prototype, Black Box, Skunk Works or similar, it’s like catnip and all else around becomes secondary.

Named Shinobi, it’s Norco’s answer to long-travel, freeride oriented 29ers, which is a segment that’s growing.  The Shinobi gets hydroformed downtubes,  shaped toptube and a barrel-like tapered headtube and 140mm of travel via a new linkage design.  Specs, pricing and more after the break, along with a couple pics of the Judan…

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“Pork and Fruit Bar: next generation performance food? Or: for once the strangest thing in that aisle of Nijiya WASN’T dried squid snacks…” by Slonie. Check out his cycling blog here.

To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.

SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – Unveiled prior to the Otter, this was the first hands-on we’ve had with TRP’s relatively new Dash hydraulic disc brakes, and we got a first look at their new miniature v-brakes intended for cyclocross bikes that are designed to work with road levers.

The Dash mountain bike brakes come in two trim levels, the Dash and the Dash Carbon, the latter getting not just a carbon lever blade and composite pistons, but the Power Adjust barrel that lets you change the leverage point for the plunger.  The effect is about a 20% swing from more power to more modulation, and it’s a rather clever way to do it.  Both models have the tool-free reach adjust, which is the flatter knob with the rubber grip ring.

Make the jump for more specs, pricing and the ‘cross v-brakes…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – A-Class debuted their new superlight VXD-1 mountain bike wheelset that features Scandium rims for a 1360g weight.

By going with the lightweight material for the rim, they kept the spoke count fairly high for a lightweight set with 28 front and 32 rear, and not a radial lace in sight.  Even the hub flanges are tall, which should put these hoops on the stiffer side of the lightweight racing wheel spectrum.

Add to that the four Japanese cartridge bearings on the inside, and A-Class may just have a durable race winner on its hands.  The icing on the cake?  They use easily serviceable/replaceable DT Aerolite spokes, so you’re less likely to get stranded with a broken wheel when you’re away from home.

More pics and specs after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – Industry Nine had some prototype versions of their new carbon-rimmed mountain bike wheels that use a proprietary Edge Composites rim.

Presented here by Jeff Baucom who says “if I didn’t look like some sort of dirt bag in your photos, Tyler, it just wouldn’t be a good Bikerumor picture,” they’ll be available in both 26″ and 29er models, with rims for AM, XC and tubulars.

So what’s different about them?  I9 worked with Edge Composites to develop a proprietary drilling shape for the spokes.  Shown after the break, their normal spokes, which are all machined in-house in Asheville, NC, typically have a rounded head to work with standard rims from Stan’s NoTubes and Edge.  The new version uses a flatter head on the spoke to reduce stress risers in the rim, and the rim was molded specifically to accommodate I9′s thicker spokes.

As Jeff put it, the new wheelsets combine “the stiffest hub and spoke system with the stiffest rim for a wheel built with parts that are entirely made in the USA.”

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32,000 cyclists.  In the streets of New York.  Insane, right?  Well, that’s where we’ll be this weekend, riding the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour in some borrowed bikes from Zigo with the little Bikerumor heirs in the front.  Pictures and tweets will be forthcoming as the ride starts on Sunday at 8am.  In the meantime, start making plans now, because all 32,000 spots sold out this year…and from what we’ve heard, you don’t want to miss this chance to roll through NYC’s five boros with no vehicles to bother you.

TD BANK FIVE BORO BIKE TOUR—the largest mass cycling event in North America, will start with 32,000 cyclists on Church Street at Franklin Street.

The Tour began thirty-three years ago with just 250 participants and has become one of the nation’s highly anticipated springtime traditions. Tens of thousands of cyclists, including fitness enthusiasts, families and friends from around the globe, will join together in lower Manhattan to kick off their 42-mile car-free tour through New York’s five boroughs.

The Tour starts out in lower Manhattan riding north through the streets of the city through Central Park, historic Harlem, the Bronx, along the East River, and onto the FDR Drive before crossing into Queens.  Brooklyn is the next stop, riding over the Gowanus Expressway and the Verrazano-Narrows to Staten Island.  A Tour-ending festival greets thousands of riders with entertainment, exhibits and food concessions.  A free ride on the Staten Island Ferry back to Manhattan completes the ultimate of New York experiences.

My racing partner Mario Correa and I raced the 24 hr Nationals in Moab last October.

It was a tough course, the first 6 miles served up some rocky terrain so it was ‘game on’ right away. Because we were going to do a lot of night laps I requested some lights from a company I really respect. One word, two syllables: Lupine.  We ran the Betty’s on the Bars and Tesla and Wilma on our helmets.

Betty Solo shown here

We specifically wanted these lights to avoid any problems that can easily happen during a 24 race.

1) Support gets batteries confused (All batteries are interchangeable with their various lighting systems)
2) Batteries run out of charge (These batteries can last quite some time depending on your power output, plus it has a reserve tank that can at least get you back to the pits)
3) Mounting systems fail or slide around (They have two sizes of rubber O-rings that curl around your bars. Bomber.)
4) Light output isn’t strong enough (These puppies put an LA movie set to shame. Think Friday Night Lights)

Have to say, Lupine across the board is a quality system.

After the race we discussed our likes and dislikes.  Hit ‘more’ to read the our thoughts…

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Coming to life May 15, Gripped Films presents Chasing Legends, documenting the 2009 Tour de France through the eyes of the Columbia HTC professional cycling team and the legends of the sport.  Judging by the trailer, it looks to show road racing’s penultimate event through a whole ‘nother lens.  Can’t wait.

The premiere is May 15 at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, CA.  General admission is $25, or you can preorder the DVD for $34.95 now if you aren’t in the Sac area.  DVD’s should ship July 1.

SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – Looking to up their game in the Freeride segment, Easton’s come out with a full line of tough new components that can also lighten up the cockpit on your all-mountain rig called Haven.

Easton’s marketing rep says only Easton could create aluminum components that are about as light as some competitors’ XC products but strong enough for freeride use.  Using their Taperwall technology, the handlebar, stem and seatpost really do weigh in at XC-like weights.  Although their testing makes the claims, time will tell if they hold up to that promise.  We’ve got a few pieces in to review, too, and first glances suggest they are indeed fairly burly.

In addition to the components shown above, Easton is really pumping their Haven wheelsets.  The alloy models have been out for a bit (read our review here), but it’s the all-carbon rimmed version that’s going to be the real head turner when it comes out this Summer.

Weights, pics and specs after the break…

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Lance Armstrong takes ownership in Honey Stinger, a company that makes honey-based gels, bars and chews.  So now, will Lance chew FRS or Stinger chews?  That’s what I call a sticky situation!

PRESS RELEASE: Honey Stinger, the manufacturer of honey-based nutritional foods, announces a partnership with professional cyclist Lance Armstrong. In addition to future product development and endorsement of Honey Stinger energy gels, bars and organic chews, Armstrong becomes part of the ownership team in the Steamboat Springs-based company.

“I first tried Honey Stinger products during a mountain bike race in Colorado,” says Armstrong. “I was impressed with the great taste and energy they provided. Honey Stinger works for me in training and racing because you want to eat them and they work. I like the whole team – they understand what athletes need and they’re great to work with.  I’m excited to be part of the Stinger team and work with them on expanding the products and business.

Armstrong first met Len Zanni, Honey Stinger’s marketing director, when they teamed up to race the 12 Hours of Snowmass mountain bike race outside Aspen in 2008. The foundation for a new business partnership was hatched over the course of long bike rides and get-togethers with company leaders.

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BIKERUMOR REVIEW: The Storck Absolutist debuted in 2009 as a “budget” frame from the German manufacturer known for its ultralightweight, high performance road bikes.

The Absolutist comes in two frame models, the 0.9 and the 1.0, which follow the Storck numberclature by referring to their claimed frame weights: 980 and 1050 grams respectively.  The Vanderkitten women’s professional cycling team races on the Absolutist 0.9, and the 1.0 is the same basic bike, it’s just a slightly different carbon layup.  The 1.0 we reviewed has a $2,250 MSRP for the frameset (frame, Storck’s Stiletto fork and tapered inset headset).  Our test bike was built up with full SRAM Rival, Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels, Michelin Pro tires and a Ritchey WCS bar, stem and seatpost with a Fizik saddle, which is a packaged offered through Hawley for $3,999.

We rode this bike for several months, logging more than a few hundred highly enjoyable miles on it and coming away very, very impressed.  Although several riders threw their legs over it, Daniel and I put most of the saddle time on the Storck, and like too many of the bikes we get to review here, neither of us wanted to send it back.  In fact, after pulling it out of the box and building it up, I rolled up to Blockbuster to grab a flick and ended up doing a 20 mile ride…it was just that nice.  Read on for the full review…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – Marzocchi unveiled a prototype carbon fiber version of their Micro Ti 44 suspension fork aimed at the All-Mountain crowd.

The fork will use the same internals as their 44 Micro Ti and come set at 150mm of travel, which can be reduced to 130mm via internal spacers. With a target weight of 1600g (about 3.5lbs) and the inherent stiffness that can be built into carbon fiber, this fork should have a lot of big hit riders drooling come early 2011.

Full specs and lots of photos after the break…

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