Unveiled at DealerCamp, Pivot’s new Mach 5.7 Carbon is about a 1/2 pound lighter than the alloy model, and there’s only a $400 price difference between it and the alloy models. It’ll retail for $2,599 as a frameset (frame/Fox Kashima shock/seat clamp/rear axle) and have all their usual build kits as options.

Color options include this pink and some other hues shown after the break, along with lots of detail photos, a new DJ bike and upgrades aplenty across the range…

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K-Edge’s Ki2 Electronic Shifting kit combines a collection of their CNC’d pieces with the Shimano Di2 drivetrain parts. It’s available as either the full group with the battery, derailleurs and shifters and XTR cranks and brakes. Or, you can get just the electronic Di2 bits or send in your own Di2 parts and they retrofit it as necessary. Prices are posted after the break along with detail pix and more info…

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The Baron is a slimmer 2.3 version of their Dirt Baron 2.5, which was at one point the Rubber Queen mud tire. Now, it’s a super tacky all conditions freeride/downhill tire for those that wan something a little quicker rolling than their more aggressive Kaiser. Should be available mid-August.

Fizik’s new Kurve saddles use a very lightly padded cover over a “thermoplastic composite” carbon textile base on their Mobius alloy rail.

The shell flexes to provide virtual padding, so the initial appearance is that they’re more rounded than the matching non-Kurve version.

They also have a replaceable clip at the front that attaches the railing to the base. Swap between Soft or Firm chips to further adjust the feel. They offer Snake, Chameleon and Bull shapes, which pretty much match up with their Arione, Antares and Aliante shapes respectively, all shown after the break.

MSRP is $270 and they should be available late this year, possibly early next.

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Contour has a new mounting option coming next week called the Flex Strap. It’ll mount pretty much anywhere, and the camera slot rotates 360 degrees and locks into place wherever you aim it. Besides mounting to the frame or fork, you could put it on your wrist or pretty much anything else you want. MSRP TBD. Another pic after the break…

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Most of us use our cars to get to and from the trailhead, races, charity rides, group rides, grocery stores, the Post Office and work. And, if you’re like me, most of us feel a slight bit of guilt for not riding our bikes on more of these trips.

Toyota’s looking at the other side of it with their 100 Cars for Good campaign. They’ve found 500 nonprofits that feel a little bit of guilt for not having enough cars to help them get their charitable work done.

Every day through August 16, Toyota is highlighting five nonprofit groups and giving away one vehicle to the group that gets the most votes. None of them are particularly cycling oriented, but many of them do good things like help children or pets, go after pernicious diseases like cancer and myriad other helpful things. I’m guessing there’s at least one that affects you. Check out the 100 Cars for Good Facebook page and pick your favorite nonprofit group for the day and help them win a free car to do their good deeds. Even better, winners can choose a hybrid (among others) and each vehicle comes with an extended warranty so they can focus on the task at hand, whether that’s saving puppies or helping transport abused children to school.

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Along with the Velvet suspension fork reviewed last month, X-Fusion (house brand of Taiwanese shock builder to the stars APro Tech) recently sent out a couple of versions of their trail-oriented O2 RCX shocks for us to review.

Like most riders, I haven’t felt the need to monkey much with my rear shocks. Sure there are the usual air pressure and damping adjustments, but given the high cost of custom tunes and replacement units it’s often easiest to find a bike that works well and stick with the suspension designers choices. Nonetheless, I’ve been spending time with both the high- and low-volume versions of X-Fusion’s O2 RCX on my Commencal Meta 5.5 Carbon- and it’s been an eye-opening experience.

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Photo submitted by Rus Bockin, “RAGBRAI 2011 Day 1. Actual photo of the double tandem with stoker.”

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

We got a quasi-first look at these along with their new 35mm handlebar/stem combo recently, but here’s official word and specs.

Total wheelset weight for this new set is just 1,870g, which Easton says makes it the lightest 12x150mm wheelset on the market while providing UST compatibility and a 23mm internal (28mm external) rim width.

Price is $1,000 (w/ 20mm front thru axle) for the set or $550 for just the rear. It’s compatible with 157mm spaced frames through the use of modular endcaps. And yep, that gray model we spotted on Steve Smith’s Devinci was indeed the other color option for this wheelset, which pictured all shiny and new right after the break…

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Every year, Scott Sports brings a group of journalists out for Scottweek and lets us ride their latest and greatest mountain bikes. This year, of course, we were handed the grips to the new 2012 Spark dual-travel full suspension XC mountain bikes. Here’s the story…

A TALE OF TWO BIKES

I rode both the 29er and 26″ Scott Spark over four days of epic singletrack in Sun Valley, ID. Three days on big wheels and one on the 26″ was enough to tell the bikes are quite different. Despite virtually identical looking frames and spec (model for model), the ride characteristics provide two distinct experiences.

Both models have separate two-position settings for both travel and BB height/head angle adjustment. The travel changes by way of increased damping rather than an actual drop in suspension height. The long travel mode is wide open, and the mid-travel “Traction” mode firms things up for better performance under power and on the climbs. Travel changes equally front and rear simultaneously, and a third position locks things out completely. If you’re looking for basic specs, check out intro post here, and complete bike weights are here. Dive past the break for details and a full ride review…

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Prior to showing off the new models, which are the Valence endurance road bike (above) and Threshold carbon cyclocross bike – plus some updates to their CRR race bike – Norco gave us an overview of their carbon technology. Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version:

Norco owns all of the molds and uses only their designs, no open molds, and design is done with 3D modeling to pre-test designs before building a mold. The mold is carved out of metal, and the prepreg carbon ranges from 24T to 40T depending on model. A carbon bike uses between 200 and 250 individual pieces of carbon fiber. They use a HTR (High Toughness Resin) in all of their carbon frames, which improves impact resistance and gives their bikes a longer lifespan. On the inside, the higher end bikes use EPS (Ethyle Poly-Styrene) mandrels to keep the insides of the tubes smooth. Any ridges on the inside can become stress risers, and the mandrels prevent that. They also use a thermoplastic mesh wrapped around the EPS mandrel that gets embedded into the frames. This prevents cracks from spreading – like Rip Stop – helping keep the frame intact in the event of damage.

From the myriad BB standards, they chose BB30 because they say it’s easy to use and very stiff. In their tests, the cranks have a larger impact on overall system stiffness than the frame, so choosing the right BB system is critical to the bike’s performance.

OK, on to the bikes…

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Above are a few of the top road bike clothing pieces from Sugoi, and after the break check new pieces for mountain biking and triathlon. In particular, the new white Gustav shorts look hot, and the BOA dial should be a major improvement over the little velcro tabs. In my experience, the road stuff runs tight, so it you’re on the edge, go with a slightly larger size.

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