As we enter the standard January drought conditions here in the Southwest, it is finally time to get out on the trails again. We have to enjoy the brisk temperatures and warm sun as we prepare our legs for next month’s 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo.  This has allowed us to spend a little time on the trail/road/snow in our fancy new US-made socks and arm warmers from Swiftwick. Jump past the break to see how things are shaping up.

(more…)

Given that SRAM already officially acknowledged forthcoming hydraulic brakes when they unveiled the new 2012 Red group, we thought we might see some leaked images. We just didn’t think we’d see them quite this early!

Did you miss them? Yep, we had some nice glossies up. They’re probably floating around a forum somewhere now, but at SRAM’s request, they’ve been pulled. Call us lackeys or whatever, but occasionally we have to make concessions to avoid biting the hands that feed us all the goodies we post here. Sometimes the leaks are forgiven, other times they need to be plugged. Rest assured, we don’t take these decisions lightly and try to balance the relationships with getting the news out first.

UPDATE: Apparently they’re willing to let some fuzzed out images slide.

In the images were both the hydraulic rim and disc brakes. The rim brake appearance is much closer to traditional road calipers than Magura’s new RT8TT center pull design. The key visual difference is the flip flop of the push/pull parts to the opposite side of a cable-actuated brake. Looks like a large quick release lever will make wheel changes easy, and a simple push piston to actuate the brake arms. Overall, it’s a pretty slick looking package.

The disc brakes are full hydro, fuzzy image after the break. We didn’t see any mention of a mechanical counterpart, but wouldn’t rule it out as a future Force level option. Hoods are slightly taller than the new mechs, but with the same new ErgoGrip surface texture. As they’ve told us already, 160mm and 140mm rotors will be on tap. If everything stays on track, look for a full launch in a couple months and availability in summer.

(more…)

See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

Specialized‘s EVO designation is attached to products that are targeted at riders who don’t readily fit into one category or another. Intended to be pro-quality gear for those whose focus isn’t necessarily racing, EVO bikes and accessories are designed to be both burly and efficient. For riders who expect a high level of performance- but aren’t willing to accept the compromises that race gear often makes.

At least that’s my interpretation. In any case, Specialized designed the S-Works EVO MTB shoe “was developed to meet the needs of aggressive trail riders who demand more from their gear.” Seeing as I consider myself to be an aggressive trail rider and know that I ask a lot of my gear (flattery is an extremely effective selling tool), the S-Works EVOs seemed like they would be a great fit. Hit ‘more’ for photos, pricing, and initial impressions…

(more…)

Not too long ago, we had the opportunity to check out what was new at the Northernmost Ray’s, Ray’s MTB Milwaukee. Ray’s has become somewhat of a mecca for riders looking to push their limits and develop new skills, and now that applies to novice and beginner riders more than ever. In Milwaukee Ray’s went to great lengths to add new features and rooms to the park to give beginners, who were a little uneasy, a place to grow their skills and confidence. We were assured that the same changes had been made to Ray’s MTB Cleveland as well, although verifying this meant a trip to Cleveland to ride the trails for ourselves to find out (you can never be too sure about these things, verification takes lots of riding).

Sure enough, Ray’s CLE has somehow managed to get bigger, better, and still more beginner friendly again.

Check out the new features after the break.

(more…)

See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

After a number of years essentially ‘winging it’ when it came to training for 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, it hadn’t really occurred to me to engage a coach.  Much like bike fit, if -like me- you’ve been riding and even racing for over 20 years, you just kind of know how to train, right?

A trick question, obviously.  When my race partner Alex suggested talking to Tom Jones at JBV Coaching, I was intrigued- and a bit worried.  After all, I ride because cycling is fun.  And training -actually training- didn’t sound like much fun at all.  Our first meeting with Tom put most of my fears to rest- in addition to an impressive resume as a coach, racer, physicist, and mechanic, Tom is also a nice guy. While we won’t give away any of his trade secrets, go beyond the fold to find out what we’ve learned so far…

(more…)

See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

For the most part, it’s hard to get too excited about stems.  If they do their job well (and most do), they’re essentially unnoticeable.  Of course, if they don’t they’re ugly, flexy, or (if they do their job especially poorly) fail catastrophically.  That said, when we posted early word of Ritchey’s new C260 line of stems this fall, people got pretty excited.

Owing to its 260 degree clamp and gently curved 3-bolt steerer clamp, Ritchey’s WCS C260 stem tests 3-4x stronger in its aluminum form than any previous Ritchey stem- while being 30% stiffer than the preceding 4Axis design.  Throw a unidirectional carbon wrap over the same basic design and weight goes up by ~15g (to an actual 110g in our 90mm size) and stiffness by an additional 16%.  Oh, and it’s prettier, too.  After a couple of months on my Project 1.1 single speed and Project 24.2 race bike, has the C260 lived up to its light/strong/sexy billing?  Hit the jump to find out…

(more…)

First things first, it’s being called the new 2012 SRAM Red, not 2013. Second, it’s simply the new Red, there are no new group names. We hear there was some internal debate on renaming it to ease confusion for OEM customers and distributors given that there is Red Black, Red LTD Tour Yellow, etc., but turns out, no. And the rumored hydraulic disc brakes? Yes, they’re coming. Officially. Just not until Fall. Now that we’ve got that cleared up, let’s dive into details.

The overriding goal with the group’s redesign was to make it more aerodynamic, lighter weight and resolve some of the niggling issues that kept forum trolls busy. Issues like excessive noise from the cassette, weak front shifting on TT bikes, particularly with the first generation original Red front derailleur, and the lack of proper front derailleur trim.

All three could merit design changes on their own, but the new group tackled all major complaints head on. Then they looked where seemingly no one else was looking: aerodynamics. While Shimano and Campy were busy rolling out new electronic groups and apparently working on adding cogs, SRAM was quietly toiling away to make the lightest component group even lighter. Their stated goal was to refine the parts down to the bare minimum, removing any “glitz, smoke and mirrors” to make the best performing, most comfortable system on the market.

Here’s how they did it…

(more…)

Tucked away in Insjön, Sweden, is a little company called Experimental Prototype that’s making the kind of things that we love to geek out about. Things like a 63g custom ratio 11-23 road bike cassette with eight of ten cogs made from carbon fiber!

For just €300 and about 6-8 weeks of breathless anticipation you can get one of your very own in any gear range and combo you want. Need more? They specialize in making pretty much anything you want. By hand. Usually from carbon fiber or titanium from the looks of things. Thinks like replacement Lefty steerer tubes, ti chainrings and cassette cogs and sooooo much more. Take a quick spin through their website for a gallery of lust-worthy hacks and one-off upgrades. And by quick spin, we mean 20+ minutes of your life, gone.

(more…)

See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

There are certain things that we do as we get older that aren’t necessarily cool or exciting.  Grownup stuff, like telling people who aren’t your mom where you’re going riding and when you expect to be back.  Like packing enough water and food for a ride.  Like keeping your insurance current.  Road ID fall squarely into that category.  As important as carrying a some form of ID, if things go horribly wrong most identification doesn’t really doesn’t contain all of the information that emergency responders want- or need.

(more…)

Now we know why Zdenek Stybar likes his bikes as lightweight as possible. Photo: TDWsport

Earlier this week, Specialized sent out some pics of Stybar’s custom painted pink Crux cyclocross bike and many media took the bait. This is one of four matching custom painted bikes he was provided with, actually. Being that we don’t really cover racing so much as what’s being raced on, our inquiries led to some good discussions about why he wasn’t racing the Crux Disc model.

Introduced last fall, the Crux Disc uses essentially the same frame save for the obvious sections needed to modify it for disc brakes. Both are alloy, Specialized ceased offering a carbon version for the 2012 model year, so presumably one would want the benefits of disc brakes, right?

While we weren’t able to get quotes directly from Stybar, we did get some paraphrased bits from his, uh, handlers:

“As for the disc/no disc thing, there are a few factors – one being that the team’s wheel sponsor, Zipp, does not yet make a disc wheel for ’cross.”

True enough…

(more…)

Set to unveil officially tomorrow, our friends at Niner Bikes gave us the exclusive first look at something big. Err, small, actually.

The recently released new EMD9 hardtail is their first bike to come in an XS (Extra Small) size, something one of their shorter employees has been pushing for a while. By the numbers, it’s:

• 22.5” toptube (over 1/2” shorter than the small)
• 14” seattube length (1–1/2” shorter than the small)
• 3.9” headtube (3/32” shorter than the small)
• Recommended height range 5’0” to 5’5” (minimum height varies based on standover/rider inseam)
• 27” standover, (1–1/4” lower than the small)

Like their other sizes and models, Niner kept the important bits of the geometry intact. They claim there’s no toe overlap, no seatstay bridge to hinder tire clearance and no limits on water bottle fit inside the front triangle. In fact, they even say the large 24oz Polar bottle will fit just fine!

(more…)

Check out all of our Project 1.1 posts here!

don't worry: saddle angle was corrected just after this photo was taken

When both Schwalbe and American Classic were in touch recently to ask if we were interested in spending some time with their lighter-and-faster-for-2012 Racing Ralph tubeless ready 29er tires and Mountain Tubeless 29 single speed wheels, we thought that it would be a great chance to bring back two of our favorites from last year’s Project 24 bike in a single speed 29er setting. Now that they’ve arrived and are mounted on our Project 1.1 Tomac, hit the jump for photos, weights, prices, and initial impressions…

(more…)