Catch up on all of our Project 1.2 posts here!

With out Project 1.2 singlespeed, we set out to take a look at the world of reasonably priced carbon fiber.  While the benefits of lighter and/or stronger components with improved vibration damping are clear, do those benefits erode as the magic plastic works its way from the ultra-high end to the plain old high end of the price spectrum?

Over the past few years, the mountain bike market has seen an explosion of carbon rim’d wheelsets- and with them a doubling or even tripling of prices at the high end.  Sitting comfortably between the $2,500 wunderwheel and $900 high-end aluminum wheelset, Specialized’s Roval wheel brand has had moderate success with solid and surprisingly light wheels like the $1,650 Control Trail SL.  But they knew that, in order to gain widespread acceptance, they would need to do better.

Enter the $1,200 Control Carbon 29 wheelset.  Built using a freehub borrowed from DT Swiss’ bombproof 350 model and DT Revolution spokes, it’s hard to argue with the Rovals’ foundation.  But the real news is the rim itself.  Realizing that tubeless and tubeless-ready beads were plenty strong to hold tires in place without a bead hook, they decided to go without.  Genius move- or recipe for disaster?  Hit the jump to find out how they’ve fared.

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Kickstarter is bringing another project to life, the Plume Mudguard. It’s a recoiling fender that works like a snap bracelet. Constructed of a stainless steel spine coated in plastic, we expect that it’ll hold up fairly well when subjected to street grime over time. The base of the mudguard is stainless steel and wraps around the seat post for added security.

Pricing is $35 and the project’s still fresh so there’s plenty of time for funding. Click through the break for an image of the extended mudguard, and a teaser video…

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Over the past year, photos of the new Evil Uprising trail bike have surfaced on the internet under pro riders and a few very lucky e-riders. The 6″ travel carbon trail bike hasn’t been officially released but several were wandering around Sea Otter. Luckily, we managed to catch up with Kevin Walsh, the owner of Evil, and talk for a few minutes about the new bike.

While the various pros and sponsored riders were running a variety of different setups, the one pictured above closely resembles what a stock high end build might look like when completes builds are released. A frame only option will also be available. Expect final builds to be fairly light, as the company is aiming for a sub 6 lb production frame (w/o shock).

See more past the break…

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If you had something new to show, Sea Otter 2013 was the place to be. With more vendors than ever, and even more making the rounds with product in hand it seemed that wherever you looked there was something new to see. The Sea Otter was spotted with Asylum Cycles’ new Meuse SSCX cross bike which just met its funding goal through Crowd Supply. That means the bike will see production, but you still have 4 days left to get in on the special price for the frame at $895.

Read on for more on the SSCX, plus a look at some of the best show randoms!

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Mavic’s Annecy, France, HQ houses clothing & footwear design and wheels prototyping and testing. It also holds their accounting, administration and other desk jobs, for all their brands. About 150 of the 1,000 people in the building work for Mavic.

Their rim factory has been running since 1962 in Saint Trivier, about 150km away in central France. It (UPDATE) and their Romanian factory still makes most of their rims today, and all of their high end rims that use any sort of proprietary technology or materials. A few of the basic rims are made in Asia to speed up delivery for entry level OEM customers, but they keep the good IP close to home.

They also house all of their shoes and clothing development in house, borrowing from (and giving to) their sister companies for tech, materials and more. Roll past the break to see how they put it all together…

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Catch up on all of our Project 1.2 posts here!

Stems aren’t the most glamorous of components.  For the most part, they all work- and those that don’t don’t tend to survive on the market long.  While the Reasonably Priced in our Reasonably Priced Carbon Project 1.2 singlespeed build theme ruled out every full-carbon stem on the market, FSA’s SL-K stem does have a carbon fiber face plate and happens to match not only our build’s white fork but also its unidirectional carbon SL-K seatpost and Gravity Light handlebar.  Is its dash of carbon just for show, or is it a key piece of the puzzle?  Hit the jump to find out…

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Sea Otter is full of mini product launches within its Laguna Seca confines, but it is also host to many events that happen outside the famous race track. Just a short trip from the venue lies a number of company headquarters to some of the biggest industry players, including Fox in Scotts Valley, CA. Fox took advantage of Monterey’s invasion by the bike industry to open their new museum, chronicling the suspension company’s nearly 40 year history. We were fortunate enough to get an invite, and took advantage to give you a peek into the museum.

Get a Fox history play by play, including the first ever Fox bicycle shocks after the break!

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Smith has introduced two new models and new frame colors with their Ignitor NXT photochromic lenses for the Pivlock V2 series.

Shown above in Impossibly Black is the Pivlock V2, which is now available with both a black and clear NXT photochromic lens, allowing it to automatically adapt to varying light conditions. The two NXT lenses are also available with their mirror blue lens and white frame, and in the larger Pivlock V2 Max.

The new Approach 2 and Approach Max are dual-lens designs that use Smith’s newer two-position adjustable nose piece and their eco-friendly, plant-based Evolve frame material. It’s made of Rilsan Clear, a material sourced from non-GMO, renewable castor plants.

Peep those and some new shades from Spy Optics below…

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Three years ago, when Fuji set out to replace their much loved D6 tri bike they knew it had to be fast, but more importantly it had to fit. In Fuji’s 114 year history, the making of the Norcom Straight marks their most ambitious project yet. Fuji doesn’t just look at the Norcom Straight as their latest and greatest Tri bike, but on a larger scale as the current pinnacle of their design and engineering efforts.

With a billing like that, the Norcom Straight has a lot to live up to. Read on to see if it delivers.

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Even for those of us who aren’t beer drinkers, the links between bike and beer cultures are awfully hard to deny.  For one reason or another, it seems like bike folks are often into their brews- and vice versa.  Substantial crossover aside, if there’s ever any doubt about the similarities between the two camps just substitute “tire compound” or  “head angle” for “malt” or “IBUs” when that dude in the microbrew hoodie gets rolling. (Yes, that’s exactly what us bike geeks sound like.)

A side project of the bike-loving guys at Oskar Blues Brewery, REEB Cycles is a collaboration with fellow Coloradan Generic Cycles (also known as Chris Sulfrian).  Designed for the steep ups and downs along the Front Range, the REEB is hand built in Colorado out of True Temper OX Platinum steel tubing (a Ti version is also available).  With its Gates belt drive and decidedly trail-oriented geometry, the REEB is a unique bike- and a whole lot of fun.

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