One forum-hunting reader (thanks Erik!) sent over this image of an apparently updated Santa Cruz Nomad with a new 142×12 rear thru axle. Word is it’ll also get the revised grease port angles on the lower pivot to move them out of harms way, like on the current Tallboy LT and such.

Looks like they’re sticking with the IS mount rear brake tabs rather than post mount, something SC has made clear they like because of the simplicity in replacing an adapter versus ripping out threads.

UPDATE: Yep, it’s official, and the new frames are shipping now. It’s a rolling change made largely to satisfy consumer demand. Santa Cruz marketing man Mike Ferrentino told us it’s not so much a performance enhancement as it is something people wanted and, given the prevalence of wheels with that axle standard now available, there seemed no harm in giving the people what they wanted. But wait, there’s more…

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As we learned at Sea Otter, Magura has revised their naming scheme for the suspension to match up with the brakes. Forks are no longer Thor, Durin, etc. They’re now TS (Team Suspension) with TS6 and TS8 levels. They also introduced their first 29er fork, which is an entirely new casting, and a 650B compatible series. Both use their dual arch design and are only available with the thru axle and post mounts for a minimum 180mm rotor. You can use a larger 203mm rotor, too, with an adapter.

Bounce past the break for more info…

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Details are pretty much nonexistent for this one, but Pinarello’s South African distributor, ASG Sports, has teased a foray into modern mountain bikes for the Italian brand.

Apparently dubbed the Pinarello Dogma XC 29er, we’re guessing it takes their asymmetric frame design and applies it to a carbon fiber hardtail race bike. The image above is found on ASG Sports’ Facebook page. Click the image to enlarge and you’ll see it’s coming September 2012. More as we get it.

After a peek at the new 29er at Sea Otter, we were invited to the launch of Commencal’s new range of bikes. Joining the Meta AM and SX are two new bikes, the Meta AM 29 and the Meta SL. We are going to be releasing lots more details on these bikes over the next few days, including ride reports. In the meantime here are a few details on the new Meta AM 29… (more…)

Reynolds showed us their new carbon 29er XC tubeless and 26″ XC and All Mountain wheels in late March with all the specs and layup details. Here’s a close up look IRL (In Real Life).

Quick details: The AM and 29er XC use a 21mm inside bead width. All three wheels use the same hub with different spoke counts. The AM wheels get 28 spokes, 29er XC gets 24 as does the regular 26 XC wheels, but the latter has a 17mm inner rim width. There’s also a tubular 26, but even they admit the market’s pretty small for it. All wheels include replaceable end caps to work with the major axle standards

Wheelset weights are claimed at 1426g (XC 26), 1571g (29er), 1588g (AM 26) and 1371g for the tubular.

They have a prototype 650B wheel that’s modeled after the 29er with the wider rim and 24 28 spoke count. Look for this one in late fall. Hubs are the same as the others.

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While a few cracked ribs sidelined me from the reportedly great riding out in Sedona, AZ, for the launch of the new Santa Cruz Tallboy LT 29er, we were able to get one in for some local testing a week or so later. Santa Cruz’s mountain bikes tend to work well for us, the kind of bikes we can hop on and immediately feel right at home. The new Tallboy LT is no different.

We took it up to Carven’s Cove in VA for a little rocky, rough descending (and leg melting climbs!) and flogged it around our local tight, twisty and rooty singletrack here in Greensboro, NC. Between the two locations, we got in quite a few miles on some gnarly terrain to test the travel…of which the Tallboy LT has plenty, particularly for a 29er. And it used it with surprising grace and agility.

More surprising, though, is how well the bike handled itself on our flat, very XC trails. It absolutely hammers!

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Spot Brand’s new Rocker Ti SS has an oversized 3/2 titanium frame that’s made specifically for Gates’ belt drive.

Uses an updated Kobe dropout with dual tension screws to fix belt/chain tension and prevent pull back from braking forces (shown below). Dropout has a shaped, snap-in cutout that pops the wheel into place, giving a tactile feel letting you know the wheel’s all the way in. It also let’s the belt tension hold the wheel in place while you tighten the skewer or axle bolt. It’s a little touch, but something that’s sure to be appreciated when fixing a flat trailside.

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Do you know what all the un-coordinated kids have been dreaming about as they longingly gaze at their friends hooning their clapped out department store bikes? A four wheeled, American made, 40 lb monster, with 8″ of travel!

The video says it almost all. Fast forward a minute to watch the beast in action. By beast, I mean the rider, he throws a little bar tweak and triples that first set of rollers like he could do it all day on a 20″ rigid two wheeled contraption.

Sure, haters will poke fun at the concept (myself included), but it may find a niche for those interested in taking their bungling buddies off the beaten track.

No word on whether they’re considering 650B wheels as a standard option, but you can order one configured for a gamut of disciplines including BMX, Downhill, or XC. Check past the break for the geometry, weight, and options.

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If you developed a bit of a crush on the Foes Ultra Shaver we highlighted a few weeks back, but larger diameter wheels have taken your fancy, then you should be seriously considering this new Shaver 29r as your next trail bike.

The frame retains the same 2.3:1 single-pivot leverage ratio as the 26″, but will have a trail demeanor all of its own. The 29r, mated to a 140 mm fork, has a steeper head tube angle at 68°, inch longer chainstays (18″), and a bottom bracket which stands 0.4″ taller than its sibling. Due to the steeper head tube the overall wheelbase remains virtually the same.

Travel is decreased slightly to an adjustable 5-5.25″ rather than the 26″ versions 5.25-5.75.

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Wickwerks is offering new 42/28 2×10 chainrings. They also have some new 3×10 chainrings, and all of them will work with both 9-speed and 10-speed chains from any manufacturer.

Wickwerx rings are made in the USA, use continuous bridge ramps to speed upshifting and are raced by Katie M-Fin’ Compton.

Click through for lots more goodies and a ridiculously expensive single-speed belt drive commuter bike…

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Redline’s Conquest Disc is a disc brake specific 6061 alloy framed version of the Conquest and is new for 2013. Price is $1,600 and includes a mix of FSA and Shimano Tiagra 10-speed with compact gearing, a lower BB than last year -it’s now the same as their carbon race bikes- and it gets the more conventional 135mm rear spacing. It has a carbon fork with alloy steerer and is really designed as more of an adventure commuter bike. It uses the new Alex CDX26 rims that are designed specifically for disc cyclocross bikes.

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Fuji’s prototype Altamira CX takes the same geometry as their regular cyclocross version except that it’s disc only.

Frame is Di2 compatible thanks to some nice bolt on cable covers for the internal routing ports. They’re looking for a fall release, though it might be a bit late for this ‘cross season. Pricing and build spec TBD.

Click through for detail photos of this and their carbon racing 29er hardtail…

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