In addition to the new white color for their Apex road group, SRAM unveiled a new X0 Classic Silver option. It’s a new highly polished silver finish on all exterior alloy parts, and it’s available on all current configurations of X0. Existing color options are also still available.

Next up, making a change from their well-hyped 3:2 gear ratios introduced with XX and carried across their 2×10 groups, there will be new gear options at X0, X9 and X7 levels. Two new ratios for front chainrings, 24/38 and 22/36, will be available stock with revised spiders to accommodate the new gearing. They’ll also be available aftermarket as ring and spider sets that can be put on existing crank arms. Product manager Chris Hilton says they wanted to focus on both shift performance (3:2) and having the right gear range for a wider range of bikes, particularly 29ers. From our experience, this is a good move to offer a lower gearing for climbing but larger big ring to keep it from getting maxed out too easily on the downhills.

Lastly, they’ll offer a new front derailleur with shorter cage for long travel bikes and 29ers that need extra frame clearance. Clamp stays in the same place, just the cage changes shape. More pics of the Classic Silver X0 components after the break…

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After dorkin’ around for way too long trying to get EDGE/ENVE to put the originally spec’d custom carbon rims into production, Industry Nine had to look elsewhere. They’re not knocking ENVE, but eventually the time and cost of developing a custom rim there combined with ENVE’s booked production capacity to just fill their own orders, I9 decided to switch to stock Reynolds rims.

The resulting new wheels are the i35, i45 and i65, with the numbers corresponding to the rim depth. All three are available in both clincher and tubular, weights are:

i35 – 1000g tubular / 1250g clincher
i45 – 1120g / 1350g
i65 – 1300g / 1550g (estimated)

Tubulars are all $2,500 and clinchers are $2,650. Available now.

But wait, there’s more! They’ve got a new superlight road tubeless wheelset, blacked out hubs and spokes and a white rim option on the i30 alloy road wheels! Click ‘more’ to see it all…

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We’ve definitely had no shortage of cool and interesting bike racks on the site lately, but let’s be honest. There are a lot of cyclists who need to store their bikes inside their house or apartment, and if they have to have their bike in the living room, the standard issue garage worthy racks just may not do.

Instead, many cyclists may be interested in a storage rack as unique as their bike, and just as beautiful to boot. Which is precisely why Jeff Mayer, who runs 718 Made In Brooklyn, created the “Bedford Ave Bike Rack.” The Bedford is custom built to fit your bike, and is constructed out of Birch ply with a Veneer. Not only is the rack custom fit, it is also offered in custom colors and veneers, which means that with the rack being this custom, there is no standard price so Contact Jeff for pricing .

For more info on the Bedford Ave Rack, and to see the entire product line and learn more about Jeff, including his past history as a pro BMX rider, hop on over to 718.

Thanks to Scott for the tip!

I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of Lycra. Not really because I’m self conscious or think it looks dorky, rather it’s just not that durable when it comes to mountain biking. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to road riding, you’ll find me fully kitted out (sometimes even in bibs, *gasp*). To me, wearing Lycra on the road makes sense, the aero benefit is palpable, it breathes better, and it feels pretty good. However, on the mountain side of things, I have seen far too many $80+ jerseys and shorts ruined by one inopportune crash, snag from a close encounter with a bush or tree, or abraded to the point of failure by slick rock and the like. If I was an XC  racer when seconds mattered, and kit was provided for me, I wouldn’t have an issue. But I’m not, and I need my gear to last, so I choose baggy.

The design and construction of a good pair of baggy shorts is actually a lot harder to pull off than most would think. In order to be durable, fabrics need to be tough, which usually means they aren’t that light, or breathable. To make breathable, light fabrics on the other hand, usually concessions are made so that the end product ends up having weak points. Manufacturers go about creating a compromise in a few different ways, some use Lycra, mesh, or lightweight inserts in key areas to improve breath ability, while others tend to build with one material and choose to incorporate vents, which may or may not be zippered. Add in the fact that the shorts have to be comfortable to pedal in, yet feel completely at home in the brew pub after the ride, and you start to see that a good pair of mountain bike shorts isn’t as simple to create as it may seem.

While jerseys don’t have nearly as many design requirements, they too still pose some interesting questions. Should a jersey be really loose, semi form fit, or completely fitted? Pockets? 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, full zip, or no zip? Sleeves? With so many different sub categories of mountain biking with even more genres of riders, creating universally loved clothing is no small feat.

Fortunately for you, there are a lot of apparel manufacturers up to the task. Which of course brings me to Sugoi, which has been putting out riding apparel for almost as long as I have been alive. Being very well known in the road/tri world, Sugoi is starting to get more and more into the trail/all mountain/ freeride market, but how does it stack up when compared to the competition?

Find out after the break!

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Bon voyage!

The Duffbag Stealth bike bag is designed by the UK-based company to be small, light and discreet. We took a look at their range a while back, after spotting them at the London Bike Show. The bigger bags are primarily targeted at convenient, mud-free storage and transportation of mountain bikes – for example in the car after a trail ride. But the Stealth, which can be used for muck-free car storage, is also intended to be a light, hassle-free way of transporting any bike on buses or trains. And, if you use it as it’s intended, it succeeds really well…

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Like the completely revised Black Flag wheels (we reviewed them here), Sun-Ringle’s new A.D.D. tubeless downhill wheels license Stan’s NoTubes rim technology for quick, easy tubeless tire seating.

While the license limits them to using the rim tech on complete wheels only, Sun-Ringle took the overall rim design a step further by adding eyelets at the spoke nipple holes to allow them to run higher tension and build up a stronger, more durable rim and wheel.

Full specs and photos after the break…

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When we first laid eyes on Volagi’s disc brake equipped road bikes, we drooled and totally wanted a size run in the office…everyone here wants to ride one. (and now we have one on the way!)

The Volagi Liscio, which means “smooth” in Italian, is now fully in production in all sizes and will be ready to ship May 23. They had several builds on display at Sea Otter, but all revolve around Avid’s mechanical disc brakes coming standard. While that’s certainly the initial “whoa” factor, the frame itself is worthy of attention. So, jump past the break and check this thing out…

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Photo submitted by Hani Morsi, “Riding at sunset in the trail network of Wadi Degla, near Cairo, Egypt. Photo by Neal Afifi.” Check out MTB Egypt for information about riding in Egypt!

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

Know that Ellsworth prototype freeride bike we leaked a couple weeks ago? Turns out it needs a name and came to Sea Otter hoping to find one. In fact, it’s offering its first born if you can give it the best name.

Yep, name it and claim it…enter your submission here for a chance to win one of the first frames built. Now, about the bike, it’s the first Ellsworth bike ever with an interrupted seat tube and 30.9 seat tube…meaning it’s their first bike that’ll accept the majority of dropper posts. A good thing since it’s coming ready to rip with 180mm of travel.

Click ‘more’ for tons of pics and info…

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Tucked away in their booth at Sea Otter, Jamis hid a couple of prototypes that we missed. Fortunately, their account rep Marc Urbanski phoned in the news and some pics.

Shown at left is a prototype 29er full suspension rig with 100mm of travel, tapered headtube, asymmetrical chainstays and what looks like one heck of a leverage ratio imposed by the high shock placement on the rocker arm. Keeping those with the trend, the bike will have a 12mm rear thru-axle, something we saw on quite a few bikes of both wheel sizes.

Rumor is, while these are in alloy, the final product may come in both metal and carbon fiber iterations.  We’re working on getting some bigger photos. In the meantime, check out more after the break, along with news on their prototype 150mm trail bike that was hiding out with the 29er…

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In addition to all the new and revised components and soft goods, Crank Brothers has revamped their wheel line to drop price points and, in the case of the new carbon-rimmed Cobalt 11 wheels above, raise them, too.

Weighing in as light as 1380g (claimed) for the tubeless wheels, they use the 24 same stainless steel twin pull spokes as their alloy counterparts. All of the wheels, including these carbon 11′s, will be able to run either 9mm QR or 15mm thru axle on the front and standard 135 QR or 12×142 in the rear. That’s right, ALL of their wheels will have the 12×142 option in the rear for 2012 models!

Lots more after the break…

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Crank Brothers showed off new products and changes that touched virtually every component group they offered, and they introduced a few new ones, too. In fact, they said there’s only one product within the line that’s been there in its current form for more than a year.

Shown above, the handlebars grow wider for Cobalt, Iodine, Opium and Sage, with tweaks to their backsweep on the wider bars to make them more ergonomic. They now stretch out as far as 780mm, and anything at 720mm or wider gets a 9º sweep. Iodine gets out to 720mm, and Cobalt goes out to 780mm in carbon and alloy with 29er riders in mind. Opium gets a 780mm in 15mm and 30mm rises, and Sage 2 freeride bar gets the same changes as Opium.

There’s also a new Level 1 (entry level) cockpit group in both Cobalt (XC) and Iodine (Trail), which are black color matched for a cohesive look.

Jump past the break for all sorts of updates and new goodies…

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