2011 Cannondale Super X Cyclocross Bike- Frame Technology and Ride Review

First seen in our photos from Cannondale’s Press and Dealer Camp, their all-new SuperX cyclocross bike was developed by taking what everyone liked about the X-TJ CAAD9 cyclocross bike (geometry, BB height, handling) and borrowed the Flash’s frame design and the 2011 Jekyll’s BallisTec carbon fiber construction.

Like the Flash, the SuperX uses a continuous fiber design from the top tube through the seatstays, which enhances overall frame strength and stiffness. The BallisTec carbon, which is molded using the same methods as things (like hockey sticks) that are designed to be smacked and abused, adds tremendous impact and fatigue strength…and the entire SuperX frame is made of BallistTec material. From there, they added high modulus carbon in some areas like the head tube to add stiffness. The result is a frame and fork with a weight around 1,450g (with hardware) that you can take off road with confidence.

I had the chance to race Cross Vegas’ Wheelers and Dealers* race aboard the SuperX and walked away extremely impressed. Check out the ride review and more details after the break…

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Interbike 2010: Bianchi’s New Oltre Aero Road Bikes, Sempre Crit Racer and Cavaria Cyclocross Frame

Bianchi introduced two new road bike models at Interbike, the Oltre aero road bike and the Sempre crit racer.

Shown above, the Oltre uses aero shaping without looking out of place on a group ride, and it borrows a lot of the carbon fiber layup technology brought to market on their Infinito last year but sports a decidely firmer looking frame.

The new Sempre is designed with American crit racing in mind, reinforced and shortened for strong attacks and quick handling. They also had their recently redesigned Cavaria cyclocross bike on hand, so we snapped a few photos of it, too.

Check it all out behind the break…

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Slick, Lightweight Adjustable Headset Spacer from Trid Design

Morgan from SRAM introduced me to Tomo, the inventor of this (patented) little adjustable headset spacer that’s super cool. From then on, it seemed like half the people I talked to had seen or heard of it…Tomo was definitely making the rounds.

The Trid Design adjustable spacer uses a simple series of stepped notches to give you a range of 10mm / 11mm / 12mm / 13mm / 15mm spacer heights, all from one spacer. It weighs in at only 7g, and it holds it’s height thanks to small pegs and holes on each step.

More pics after the break…

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Interbike 2010: Corsa Superleggera LR – A very promising XC fork from Marzocchi

After a few years in the wilderness, Marzocchi are coming back strong in an attempt to reestablish themselves as the choice for riders who demand supple suspension and reliability without worrying too much about weight.  Last year’s 44 Micro Ti was an incredibly plush fork and revised dampers throughout the company’s range save both weight and cost over previous versions.  Most interesting to me, though, was the Corsa Supereggera LR.  Internally adjustable from 80-120mm travel, the Superleggera LR weighs in at a reasonable 3.6lb and is the cross country choice of the Marzocchi guys manning the booth.  At $400, it is also refreshingly within reach for many riders.  For anyone looking for a set and forget fork for a hardtail or shorter-travel cross country bike, the Corsa Superleggera looks like a very good place to start.

UPDATED (by Tyler):

  • Actual weights and photos of the Corsa Superleggera LR’s lighter still sibling
  • Marzocchi’s incredible hulking green ti-nitride dual crown DH forks

Click through to see updates…

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Interbike 2010: American Classic’s sub-1550g All Mountain wheelset

People have asked me a number of times what the most exciting thing we saw at Interbike this year.  After a few days’ reflection, American Classic’s forthcoming All Mountain wheelset has to be on the short list.  Though complete wheels weren’t available at the show, the finalized 390g tubeless-ready (with rim tape) rim was on hand.  The rims are a generous 28mm wide (about 25mm inside width).  Built up using American Classic’s excellent rear hub and 15QR/9mm compatible front hub, the set should come in at 1,546g (1,680g for the 29er version), making it promising not only for aggressive trail riders but heavier cross country racers too.  The best part?  A retail price of $850.  We should have a set on test as soon as they’re available.

Bikerumor Pic Of The Day: Calm Before The Storm

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2010 Series opener for the Ohio Valley Cyclocross at Kingswood, “Calm before the storm” submitted by Michael Frey.

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

GoPro Unleashes New HD Hero 960 Today

Most action sports fans are familiar at this point with the GoPro line of wearable camcorders due to their huge performance from such a small package. With the introduction of the HD Hero, GoPro gained world wide attention form the likes of Gizmodo, the New York Times, and Lucasfilm for creating such a  usable and high quality filming experience with no wires.

However, not everyone has 300 bones to drop on a camera, hence the introduction of the HD Hero 960.

Basically, take all the specs of the full HD Hero, but omit the full 1080p and 60 FPS 720p filming modes and you get the 960. You also lose the Hero Bus expansion port for the upcoming battery extension and LCD screen add-ons that will be coming in the near future. However, the price drops to a very tasty $179 and included nearly everything you need to get started short of an SD card.

Full camera specs after the break!

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A’ME Bringing the Heat Again with Heated Road Tape

A road bike fully outfitted with the A'ME heated road grips.

Earlier this year at Sea Otter, Tyler scoped out the new heated Ergo Tri and 1.3 Tri grips that A’ME had on display. While drastically more expensive than your average set of grippers, the special ability to keep your mitts warm will surely rank high among seasoned cold weather riders coming in a close second only to a good pair of winter riding boots.

While at Interbike, A’ME had their heated mountain bike grips on display but also were quietly pushing their newest innovation: heated road tape! I say tape, because it’s not really a grip but keep in mind the actual cork tape isn’t the heating element. The actual heating element wasn’t shown due to A’ME wanting to secure patents before showing it to the public. However, it was described as a long and flat heating element that is flexible and thin enough to hide under bar tape or hoods. The tape is long enough to wrap under a hood and back to the curve in the bar, or wrap the entire top of a road handlebar.

More details to come after the break!

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Interbike 2010: Lots of goodies from Formula

Could that be a new suspension fork?  Why yes it could!  The guys and girls at Formula have been busy over the past year or so, further developing their suspension fork and wheel lines- as well as some hop-ups to keep brake owners happily fiddling until those are released.  Hit the jump for more pictures and details…
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Interbike 2010: New Aero and Disc Brakes from TRP

Fresh on the heels of their successful lightweight road calipers, TRP were showing a desirable line of mountain discs as well as a slick aero brake concept at Interbike last week.  First, the TTV:  mounted on a mock-up road frame, the TTV is a linear brake that is tailored to work with road brakes’ cable pull.  While slightly heavier than the company’s calipers, the TTV is designed to be tucked behind time trial bikes’ forks and stays, minimizing frontal area and increasing the fork’s effective cross sectional aspect without running afoul of UCI regulations.  Because they’ll require dedicated frame bosses, TTV are only available as OEM for the time being.  More pictures and some 320g disc brakes after the jump…

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Interbike 2010: Morewood Debuts First Ever Eccentric Pivot DH Mountain Bike

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Morewood Bikes from South Africa had what we believe to be the industry’s first-ever mountain bike with an eccentric main pivot.

The Izimu’s totally new designfor 2011 uses a totally unique eccentric main pivot that’s adjustable with an allen wrench, providing a range of adjustments to the wheelbase/chainstay length, head angle and bottom bracket height. By simply turning the wrench, you  can run it lower, longer and slacker or shorter, taller and steeper, or anywhere in between and still keep the full 200mm of travel. It provides about 10mm difference in effective chainstay length and about 10-12mm difference in BB height. It changes the head angle by a range of 1.5 degrees, and you can set it in the slackest or steepest angle in either chain stay length.

Video of the pivot in action, pricing and more frame details behind the jump…

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Bikerumor Pic Of The Day: Summer Memories

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Spotted at the Carolina Cup, the owner raced in the new Fixie/Single Speed category sponsored by Chrome.
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.