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What's left of the bag I brought home from Sea Otter. The delicious beans within are long gone.

SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - I met Evan from 53×11 Coffee at Sea Otter where he enlightened me on some of the coffee trade practices of the big companies. Without pointing fingers or naming names, I’m all the more convinced that small batch roasters like 53×11, Kinetic Koffee and the myriad others that have intertwined their love of the bean with love of the bike are the way to go when you need a fix.

Evan also hooked me up with a bag of their new Brazil Ipanema Dulce roast to try out, which benefits Bike MS. Here’s how they describe it:

Brazil Ipanema Dulce is a rain forest alliance certified coffee. Your purchase benefits the National MS Society through their Bike MS program. We are giving $3 from every bag purchased to the National MS Society. A wonderful natural bourbon with tastes of CHOCOLATE, HONEY, DRIED CHERRY, CITRUS AND ORANGE. Medium roasted for tons of flavor.

I can’t say that I tasted all of those fruity notes, but I can say that it had a slightly sweet flavor and was exceptionally smooth…no bitterness or harsh roast aftertaste, and pretty darn close to what I imagine the ideal cup of coffee should be.

SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Chiru Bikes is a relatively new company named after the Himalayan antelope and is the brainchild of Pierre-Arnaud Le Magnan. Chiru’s line is all carbon fiber, and they’re designed specifically for endurance and adventure racing.

The full suspension Sonic mountain bike above weighed in right about 22 lbs, and they also have a 26″ hardtail called the Laktic and a currently unnamed and brand new 29er hardtail with stays designed to provide some vertical flex.  Le Magnan says he’s worked with carbon fiber in sports equipment for 20 years and has been building bikes for himself for five, and that his experience combined with the fact that carbon is trailside repairable (read this interview for an explanation of that one).

More pics, specs and pricing after the jump…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - By moving the downhill oriented Code brake series to their Taperbore design, Avid managed to drop 39g from the top-end model, and 52g from the Code 5 (now called Code R).

Using the Taperbore design led to some feature improvements, too.  On the Code levers (silver, above), the reach adjustment gets a tool-free, indexed dial on the lever and the pad contact adjustment moves inline with the hose like their other Taperbore models.  The system (160mm rotor, front, post-mount) comes in at 410g.

The new Code R (gray) gets a more chiseled master cylinder body and loses the pad contact adjustment to come in at 395g for the set.  However, it now has a tool-free, indexed reach adjustment dial, which the outgoing Code 5 lacked.

Both models get new dual piston calipers with forged bodies. For the extra 15g, the Code packs in a lot of features that might just make up for the slight weight penalty, but there’s a price for the tech.  Details and more photos after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Hayes Bicycle Group, which owns Manitou, Hayes and Sun-Ringle had all their new goodies on display.  We showed you the hot new Sun-Ringle wheels at Interbike last year, and we’ve covered the launch and tech specs of the Circus DJ fork and Hayes Prime hydraulic disc brakes (in order: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), so we took the opportunity to talk tech with them at Sea Otter and get a few updated details.

After the break, there are cutaway, internal photos of how the new Hayes Prime brakes work, but first, a few notes on the new Circus.

There are two models available, the Expert (left, with aluminum stanchions) and the Comp (chromoly stanchions).  The lowers and crown are identical, but the internals, controls and sliders are what make up the $50 price difference.

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Geax had some new rubber, including a prototype of their completely revised DHEA downhill tire, shown above, and their all purpose, already available AKA cross country tire shown after the break.

According to Ryan Delong, Geax’s marketing man, all of their gravity tires will eventually move to a 2.4 width only (rather than the 2.3 and 2.5 widths currently offered), which  includes the DHA prototype.

“It’s a 60 (durometer) center with 50 shoulder, dual compound tread with 60tpi, 2-play casing.  The transition gap is a little bigger than our current DHEA, but because of the profile when it’s inflated, it provides consistent traction despite the increasing spacing.  We’re waiting more feedback from our pro testers before we can say much more on this, but the shaping and direction of the new tread pattern is really fast.  That’s all I can really say on it for now.”

This is slated to be a new revision for 2012, so they’ve got plenty of time to test and refine the new design. Another photo, plus specs on the AKA, after the break…

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SPY SHOT! POC Sports, better known for their downhill armor and full face helmets, is apparently working up some XC magic for debut later this year (fall tradeshows, anyone?).

All we found was this top secret photo, no specs or details other than it’s aimed at the cross country mountain bike crowd.  Judging from the extended rear end, it’s likely intended more for the all-mountain and freeride gang than weight weenie XC racers.

SEA OTTER CLASSIC: If you’re into the big drops and crazy gravity-powered riding, check out the carbon fiber shelled Cortex DH helmet, plus new gloves and sunglasses after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - If you follow the downhill scene, this should come as no surprise.  I spoke briefly with Pivot Cycles founder Chris Cocalis at Sea Otter and, while he was mum on details about the bike, he confirmed that they are building a downhill specific bike for testing under the new Team Lex / Pivot Racing DH team.

On the team are pro riders Kyle Strait (USA), Will Rischbieth (AUS) and Mitch Deifs (AUS), and if you’re headed to the first UCI World Cup downhill event this weekend in Slovenia, you may just spot the bike.  Until now, team riders have been flogging Pivot’s 6.5″ travel trail bike modified with a Boxxer fork and massive coil-over rear shock (shown above), but Cocalis hinted that riders will need more bike than that for the world cup courses…meaning we should start seeing something along the lines of a full DH bike at the races.

More pics after the break, including a Pivot Mach 5 modified for slopestyle duty…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Along with the XT group, Shimano gave the versatile SLX mountain bike component group the new Dynasys treatment by shrinking the gear range on the front and expanding the cassette to 10 speeds.

For a full technical run down of why Dynasys 3×10 is Shimano’s latest and greatest, check out this video and this post.  Here, we’ve got the run down on the SLX Dynasys components and some tasty photos.  The basics include a 10-speed cassette mated to a 42-32-24 (versus the standard 44-32-22) chainring set, a directional chain like Dura-Ace and now XT and revised derailleurs and rear shifter.  All new parts are marked with the Dynasys logo, but otherwise look very similar to the current group aesthetic.

Hit ‘more’ for the goods…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Michelin has developed a new series of tires called Wild, with three versions for varying terrains.

Rather than specify the intended use (freeride, XC, etc.), Michelin is trying to reduce the clutter of choices catering to the seemingly ever expanding range of riding disciplines, instead labeling the rather simple Wild line by the type of terrain they’re designed to handle.  And, they’ve set up a new website to match your riding style with the correct tire via a simple Q&A at michelinwildbike.com.

Despite the attempt to simplify, their media kit and website do little to clarify the myriad options within the Wild series, leaving you to basically trust their auto-generated tire recommendations or find a bike shop that’s stocking the full range to compare.  Here, though, I’ll do my best summarize:

Three main versions are available, the Race’r (hardpack), the Grip’r (mixed terrain) and Rock’r (extreme terrain, which also has a Dig’r version for muddy downhill runs).  The Race’r, shown above, will come in five sizes: 2.0, 2.1, 2.15, 2.25 and 2.3 and its tread is designed to roll fast and maintain traction on off-camber trails and hard leaning turns.  There are a range of options, from tubed to tubeless, and even a 29er model, with weights ranging from 590g to 750g and prices from $50 to $65.

The gray-ish central tread compound is their dual compound casing, which means they’re tubeless (the tubed versions are all black) and have Gumwall sidewalls to further protect against scrapes and cuts.  There are “Advanced” models with 127tpi casings, and Descent Technology is taken from motocross and applied to some sizes of the Rock’r and Grip’r to improve traction and sidewall protection. Not all sizes have all options.

More pics, plus two additional models beyond what’s mentioned above, shown after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Thule has updated their popular T2 hitch-mount bicycle rack to be more compatible with 29er mountain bikes.  In the process, they’ve added lock cores to the ratchets, which will now come standard on all new T2s.

If you’re recall, they’ve had a very vocal opponent of the T2 rack, creating a video that I’m sure Thule wishes would disappear.  The customer’s video claims that the design is inherently faulty, and goes on to show what happens when a large mammal (or, presumably 70mph winds) vigorously assaults the rack. I spoke with Karl, Thule’s marketing guy, about the issue and he said that as long as the rack is assembled properly (which is pretty important for most things to work right, don’tcha know), it works perfectly well.  The reason for the design is actually pretty nifty, and I’ll explain why after the break so you can make your own opinion…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - In addition to the Vivid Air, Turncoat and some spied SID and Monarch models, Rockshox was showing off their new Argyle RCT slopestyle/DJ fork and a totally redesigned Maxle Lite with one-sided operation.

The Argyle RCT, drawing on their new product naming scheme, comes with Rebound, Compression and Threshold adjustments.  While the threshold adjustment is internal, the compression and rebound settings are made via external knobs.  More details, photos and info after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Syncros is upping their wheelset count with new alloy rim models for everything from hard core XC use to full on downhill and freeride.

Earlier this year they announced the ultralight sub-1400g carbon wheelset, and at Sea Otter they showed off their new DS25, DS28, DS32 and FL25 wheelsets along with cutaway versions of their hubs to show the impressive bearing layouts.

Shown above is the FL DS25, their lightweight XC wheelset with 25mm width rims.  The number in the model name generally corresponds to the rim width, with the wider numbers getting beefier spokes and hubs to accommodate rougher riding.  The FL DS25 uses Syncros’ FL hub with wideset bearings and a minimal hubshell.  Check it, and the others, after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Syncros took the wraps off several new carbon fiber mountain bike components, giving you the ability to run a full carbon cockpit from the brand.

The FL Carbon Saddle, above, uses carbon rails and a composite shell to dampen trail vibes and a leather cover and Aramid rear panels for durability.  The superlight foam padding is contoured to provide center channel relief.  Weight is 190g to 200g and it’s available in white and black.  Surprisingly for a carbon-railed MTB saddle, there’s no rider weight limit, but it does require a clamp kit if you plan on running it with single-bolt posts that clamp from the sides.  The rails are slightly taller than wide (9.6mm x 7mm) to give them a bit of extra strength, so they’re really made to run with more traditional posts that clamp from top and bottom.

Check the post and stem after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - If this doesn’t take the cake as the lightest mountain bike rim on the market, I don’t know what does.  Weighing in at a confirmed 260g per rim, the new Ritchey Carbon SuperLogic tubular rim is molded onto a “disappearing” mold so that no bladder is left inside to weigh it down.

The result is a rim that contributes to the ridiculously light 1,320g SuperLogic wheelset that will retail for $1,900 with CenterLock hubs.  Separately, the front will be available with either 9mm or 15mm axles for $899.95, and the rear is rear $1049.95.

But that’s not the only new goody Ritchey showed off. They have lots of new WCS level items in carbon and white, all for making your go-fast bike go faster and look better.  Check it all out after the break…

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SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - Orbea had a prototype model of the new Rallon hanging around the booth for visual inspection, and it’s as strong and boxy looking in person as in the photos.  They had it zip-tied down or I would have weighed it.  Complete specs and info on the bike are in this post and this post, just some pretty pics here…

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