BikeRumor.com

NAHBS 2010 - Ever wonder what a man who builds frames and components would build and ride himself?  Pictured here is Chris King’s personal road bike, and it’s pretty sweet.  Sure Cielo makes fairly straightforward frames with few if any frills, but the devil’s in the details, and the closer you look, the sweeter this bike becomes.

Besides the owner’s ride, Cielo had some new colors on display for 2010 and their entry into the Oregon Manifest’s Constructor’s Challenge.  Check it all out after the jump…

(more…)

How’s this for a nice twist…someone’s actually outsourcing manufacturing TO the United States. Ragley, a UK brand by frame designer Brant Richards, is having the titanium, rigid-fork-specific 29er bike built by Lynskey Performance in Tennessee, U.S. of A.

Designed to work with a 440mm fork, which is standard sizing for 26″ wheels, the bike will put the rider in a lower, racier position.  The geometry pretty much rules out putting a suspension fork on there, and standard rigid 29er forks with 470 to  490mm heights would kill the handling, too.

The frame features Lynskey’s sliding dropouts, a bent seat tube and horizontally ovalized top tube.  Look for it to come through Hotlines in the UK for about £1,200 (which, as Ragley puts it so eloquently on their blog, could vary depending on when they order and when Hotlines orders, thanks to the exchange rate…which, BTW, sucks for the $$).

Standard ZeroStack Headset on a Pivot

Cane Creek’s newest headset offering is set to do a lot more than just create more standards and part numbers for dealers to keep tabs on. In fact, it’s one of the first headset designs in  that I know of that actually doesn’t require a new headtube design, and that’s the beauty of it.

The ZeroStack design was initially created to drastically reduce the stack height on a given mountain or road bike, allowing the stem to be placed lower and lowers the front of the bike as well. It also allows the use of the largest bearing possible, and reduces weight somewhat as well.

These days, tapered (1.5 to 1-1/8th) steerers are all the rage - and for good reason. They allow a larger bearing to be used on the lower half of the headset which takes the most abuse, increase the overall stiffness of the fork, and still allow use of all the 1-1/8th stems on the market. This has left some manufacturers, especially smaller ones, with a tough decision to make. Do they invest in the expensive equipment necessary to form a tapered head tube so they can offer the latest technology, or wait it out? Now that choice isn’t necessary.

New headset schematic and much more after the break!

(more…)

NAHBS 2010 - I’m going to go ahead and say it: Black Sheep had the biggest collection of 100% bad ass bikes of any other booth there.  All titanium, they covered the gamut of speedy fixed gears (above), 29er mountain bike, cargo bike and a quick looking path racer.  Coupled with the frames they were building for Vuelo Velo, their frame designs and shapes were, in a word, wicked.

Shown above is the singlespeed speedster, featuring S&S couplers and a sweet criss-cross seatstay.  The curvy frame is accentuated by their custom spear-tip handlebars, semi-integrated seatmast and smoothly shaped fork legs.

Check out more after the break, you’ll be glad you did…

(more…)

To highlight the new and improved F-Series and F29 suspension forks, Fox Racing Shox has created a mini-site specifically for the lightest platform of forks they offer.

Dubbed the 1429 site due to the fact that this is precisely the weight of a 26 inch F80 or F100 9mm quick release fork. The rest of the forks in the line-up fall close behind with the heaviest fork in the group being a 120mm F29 which tips the scales at just over four and a quarter pounds.

The new forks offer an option of damping systems with Fox’s typical open bath damping system or the new FIT cartridge damping system. FIT cartridges (Fox Isolated Technology),  have been on the 36 and 40 forks for some time and only recently were redesigned to fit the needs of XC and AM bikes. The benefits of the new cartridge are many, as it eliminates fluid aeration, reduces total oil volume therefore reducing unsprung weight, and also expands the range of usable adjustments for both compression and rebound.

Having now had the chance personally to both ride, tear down, and rebuild a fork with a FIT cartridge I can say without doubt, that it not just a marketing ploy. The new forks just work, and are some of the lightest, most plush forks available. Check it out here.

Some photos and info have been in the wild for a bit now, but today comes the “official” release of the new 2010 Manitou Dorado Pro dual crown fork.  By using aluminum legs instead of carbon (MRD), the Pro model is a) more affordable and b) more versatile, with Manitou claiming it can be used for jumping and general freeriding.

There’s also a 29er specific model, and rumor has it Steve Romaniuk has been spotted playing with one and is about to sign a sponsorship deal (keep that on the DL, woodja?). Here’s the official word:

The Dorado Pro features 7050 aluminum legs and utilizes the same premium internals as the Dorado MRD carbon version. With premium durability, the Dorado Pro maintains its World Cup DH race pedigree. However, it’s not a typical DH race fork anymore. With the added strength of the 7050 aluminum legs, it becomes a very capable park, free-ride and big mountain fork. Along with proven TPC+ damping, the fork has plush top-out coupled with a unique hydraulic bottoming ramp-up that makes the fork feel bottomless.

Updates for 2010 include an improved two-chamber, large-volume, low-pressure air spring which simplifies set-up and optimizes fork performance. The air spring pressure is now tuned by using a single valve at the top of the fork eliminating the second valve at the bottom of the leg. The pressure in the two chambers auto-equalizes when a shock pump is connected offering ease of set up by adding and/or bleeding off air from the top. Also, all mount hardware features high grade bolts with deep hex broaches offering an improved tool inter-face, and the brake line guide has been improved for optimum routing.

You can even use it to jump past the break for a big giant picture, specs and pricing…

(more…)

NAHBS 2010 - If there were an award for shiniest bike, Peacock Groove would probably just edge out Cherubim’s midnight blue/chrome ride for top honors.  This gold-plated 29er had some features to back up the flash, too, like a cutaway seat tube and some solid internal cable routing for both front and rear brake cables (you can see the line entering the top of the fork in the pic above).  The seat tube cutaway was matched by the space-making fork crown cutout, allowing a 29er wheel to clear an otherwise standard size fork, all in all making for a pretty compact 29er.

PG also showed off some other cool bikes with their own tweaks, colorfully displayed after the jump…

(more…)

NAHBS 2010 - Philadelphia-based Engin Cycles’ booth had an assortment of bikes, all with great paint jobs and nice lugs.  At first glance, the pink and beige bike above looks like a  ladies’ randonneur.  Technically, only the paint implies it’s for the ladies, there’s nothing that makes it a girl’s bike and I know plenty of dudes that would ride this…it is pretty sweet looking.

They also showed off a light blue pearlescent road bike with nice pinstriping and that brushed/painted steel 29er you see…it won Best Off-Road Bicycle at the show.  Lots of photos and info after the break…

(more…)

The steering can be twitchy, but nonetheless, it's addictive

Bored at work? Got a spare five minutes at lunch? Then have a spin on FlashRacingOnline’s mountain bike simulation game, which can be played here. 

I recommend turning the volume down unless you’re a fan of bombing down hills to a repetitive arcade beat.  Personally, I prefer a bit of Blue Oyster Cult or The Cure, but each to their own, I suppose.

If your boss catches you playing during working hours, we’re not to blame! If they happen to be a cyclist, perhaps pass on the link to the many other bike games featured.

A good bike rack is critical, and sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.

For pickup trucks, we found these Pipeline Racks. The company produces two-bike and three-bike models of these simple but efficient bike racks, which simply cradle the front tire to hold the bike in place in a pickup truck bed.

Load up the bikes and go, no straps, hitches, or locks. The racks accept any wheel diameter from 26” all the way up to 29ers, and only makes contact with the tire, so no scratches on the frame. These would be perfect for loading up muddy bikes after a wet trail ride, or when you just want to get home after a tough race. The system works with road and mountain bikes, with enough clearance for disc brakes.

Two-bike models retail for $179.95, and the three-bike model is $199.99, available for purchase here. Click more for a close up…

(more…)

The upcoming Intense Tracer 29er is totally redesigned, not finalized, not in production and already for sale on Speedgoat.  They’re listing the 2010 frame with Fox RP23 shock for $2,280.  Color options offered are this sparkly Apple Green, Intense Red, Stealth Black and Works Raw.  Oh, and it qualifies for free shipping.

The frames are handmade in the U.S.A. and will be available in Medium, Large and XL.  Expected ship date is late March, and if you want one from the first run, get your pre-order in now.

The Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race, held in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, announced changes to its schedule this week, moving from last year’s October date to an earlier slot of September 14-18 this year, while also adding an additional day of racing.

Promoters hope that the date change, along with a beefed up prize list of $20,000, will attract more riders from the cyclocross world, noting that October is typically the time when mountain bikers start racing ‘cross.

The race also announced the addition of more singletrack and longer trails in this year’s edition, responding to feedback from the 2009 inaugural event.

The Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race is a 5-day series through the back-country trails of North Carolina, with the start and finish near the town of Brevard, North Carolina. This year’s race will feature 178 miles of racing over the five days with over 40,000 feet of elevation gain in total. For more information on the race, visit their website here.

Some folks may argue that it’s ridiculous to get excited about something as mundane as a seat post collar, but we know better.  We all drool over beautiful little objects and fancy the little touches that make our bikes unique and pretty.  LH Thomson’s understated design essence has carried over to a new seat collar that’s immediately desireable.  Are you going to shave grams?  Probably not.  Go faster?  Unlikely.  Look good? Indubitably.

The collars use the same bolt and barrel nut as in their seatposts and, being the proud owner of three of their seatposts, you’re not likely to break one. This design allows the bolt to “float” on either side, eliminating side stresses that can arise as you tighten the bolts on fixed position designs. MSRP is $29.95, and they’re available in both Black and Silver.  34.9 and 31.8 are available now, and the 28.6 and 29.8 should start shipping next week.  Claimed weights range from 26g to 27g.

Quick release version is being considered for the future, but cycling marketing manager David Parrett says they’re looking at a ratchet mechanism similar to DT Swiss’ RWS skewers rather than a standard cam.  Standard cams can wear out over time, forcing you to tighten the bolt more and more, which isn’t necessarily good for the frame.

Intense has thrown some images of this prototype Tracer 29er into the wild…and prototype it is.  Designed to replace the current Tracer 29er, it brings some fresh technology to the frame to increase the ways you can use it.  They’re still working on final travel specs, but it’ll end up somewhere between 5″ and 6″ in the rear with hopefully matching front.  At the moment, long travel single-crown 29er fork options are a bit limited, and from the forum posts on MTBR, it seems like that’s weighing heavily on the development process.

Other than that, there are some details that seem to be nailed down, and we’ve got a LOT more photos after the break…

(more…)

The USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships will once again take place at the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge, Colorado this year, with men’s and women’s singlespeed categories being added this year for the first time.

Registration for the 14 national championship categories is now open, and a special registration period exclusive for stars and stripes competitors will run through  March 3rd. There are only 750 total spots available for the race, so those looking for a shot at a national title will have the next two weeks to register before it opens up to everyone. Registration for non-championship competitors then opens on March 3, and national championship contenders can continue to register until all slots are filled. Organizers recommend registering early, as last year’s event was sold out, and more competitors are expected to ride the Firecracker 50 this year.

Registration can be done via SportsBaseOnline here, and there is more information about the Firecracker 50 here.