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.

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. 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.

Cane Creek is a small company with a big name. Like any other small company, their people cross over between roles to get the job done. Chris Strout is no different, juggling customer service -which means shops, distributors and consumers like us- with sales while also getting out in the field to promote the company at events like Interbike, Sea Otter Classic and smaller events throughout the U.S.

It’s a job that’s gotta get done, and like any other job in the cycling industry, it’s got some pretty sweet perks. His story also continues to illustrate the benefit of having a broad variety of life experiences and jobs outside of the industry before trying to “break in.” Here’s his story…

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

STROUT: I am Director of Domestic Sales and Customer Service at Cane Creek Cycling Components. I’m part of a a “new guard” at Cane Creek, a management team that has come on in the past couple of years and really paved the way for Cane Creek to be successful as we develop our future. Cane Creek has this amazing history and legacy that we want to preserve; our challenge is to figure out how to do that while moving forward and staying cutting-edge against the backdrop of today’s business realities.

My focus is to continue to strengthen our relationships at the distributor level while providing resources and education for dealers across the country. I’m also the “advocacy guy” here. Finally, my team and I are responsible for all customer service – and we have big shoes to fill in that regards, as Cane Creek has built an incredible reputation for service. It can be tough sometimes: Our staff isn’t very large, but we take our customer commitment very, very seriously.

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As the lead mechanic of one of the most successful World Cup downhill mountain bike teams, the Santa Cruz Syndicate, Doug Hatfield is an incredibly accomplished mechanic. He’s wrenched for world champions in both cross country and downhill racing while traveling all over the world. How does a normal guy go from being a mechanic at the LBS to working on some of the most lust worthy bicycles in the industry? Read on to find out.

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

My name is Doug Hatfield, and I have worked for Santa Cruz Bicycles for almost 10 years now, and have been in charge of team support for the Santa Cruz Syndicate race program going on 6 seasons now. For the past 5 seasons I have done the team equipment orders, helped with planning and worked as a mechanic for the riders. We do a lot of races during a season and our main focus is on DH World Cup racing. Sounds simple, but a huge amount of time and effort goes into this job.

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Winter Bicycles‘ founder/builder Eric Estlund has shown us some pretty wild bikes over the years, and it looks like he’s been up to more of the same since last year’s show.

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

ERIC: Winter Bicycles specializes in made-to-measure custom bikes. I’ve had a great year working with clients on bikes built for their needs, fit and aesthetic tastes. Just like the customers I work with, each one is unique. This year I have also started to formalize my “After Hours Specials”- essentially builder project bikes I use to work through ideas and concepts I want to develop, or that I use to highlight specific attributes for shows. These are built as time and inspiration permits, and are available alongside my built to order offerings.

Lastly, my stand alone stems and forks are picking up. I offer these as upgrade items to address fit needs or cap off that special build with a personalized finishing touch.

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Benny leads out a group of journalists at the 2010 Avid Elixir 9 launch in Santa Cruz, CA.

For the past few years, any time we get all hot and bothered over the shiny new parts at a SRAM product launch, tradeshow booth or demo, we’ve been doing so thanks to the hard work and preparation of Benny Cruickshank.

As any event promoter will attest, having everything come together to create a seamless, effortless experience is anything but. From Interbike’s labor to Sea Otter’s unpredictable weather to lining up bikes, equipment, transportation and food at random locations throughout the U.S. for media launches, Benny’s the man that makes much of it happen. Oh, and he’s also the brand manager for Avid Brakes. Here’s how he got there and what he does…

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

BENNY: I’m Benny Cruickshank and fancy myself as a bit of a “Purveyor of Dreams” at SRAM, but my business card says Avid Brand Communications Manager. Essentially, I develop, oversee, and promote the Avid brand through all customer touchpoints; which include marketing collateral, product launches, communications, advertising, events, tradeshows, swag, sales support, etc. If you see the Avid name on something, it’s a safe bet that I had something to do with it.

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Reynold Yip’s won the People’s Choice award at NAHBS 2010 and his 2011 collection saw a very nice Rambler and Big Mountain bike grace the show floor. For 2012, he’s bringing a show version of the 650b randonneur bike, like what you see here, and some retro-inspired cruisers. Until then, here’s a peek at what Yipsan Cycles been working on recently…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?
REYNOLD: Lots of all road bikes and some city bikes.

BIKERUMOR: Any killer custom bike builds?
REYNOLD: I am quite happy how this bike came together, a 650b randonneur with integrated fender and lighting ready for any long rides on almost any terrain. A very wide gear range to allow my customer the possible need for steep climbs after a long day.

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Our pre-NAHBS buildup continues with John Caletti of Caletti Cycles. Until now, he’s been all about steel bikes, but that looks to be changing…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

JOHN: I’m continuing to refine my process, both in office type work as well as in the shop. I’ve been developing some new finish designs with a graphic designer. They are fitting with my style and offer a bunch of cool and fairly unique choices for my customers, which will hopefully make the finish planning and selection process more fun and easier. It seems choosing color(s) is the hardest part. I’ve had people go round and round with elaborate designs before settling on solid black.

Also, I’m using more U.S. made parts on frames, including a cool light and compact dropout for most road and cross bikes, and I’m moving towards more stainless steel for the small bits like cable guides and bottle bosses to add to the longevity of the finish and frame. I’m doing 29ers with larger head tubes (as an option) to allow for tapered steerer bikes and I’ve been working with Titanium, which I’ll soon be offering in addition to steel.

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Brian Fornes, racing at CrossVegas, makes marketing "work" look easy.

We love the tradeshows and press events. They’re a smorgasbord of shiny new bicycle awesomeness. But day after day of lugging cameras, iPads, laptops and more around with nothing more than a few three-quarter-inch Clif Bar samples and 2oz cups of Kinetic Koffee fueling mad dashes across a couple square miles of booths can drain us.

That’s why it’s always refreshing stopping by the Raleigh booth. Brian’s always good for a laugh, usually good for a cold beverage and better than most at returning emails in a timely manner. He makes our job easier covering Raleigh’s bikes, which generally results in better coverage for their bikes. He’s also the guy that helps us line up two wheeled things to review (we’ve got a couple in the queue now, actually). Beyond our little Internet world, though, Brian gets the Raleigh brand out in front of people, choosing events that build on the brand’s growing relevance in cyclocross and urban/commuter bikes. He puts a face on the brand.

As of late, he’s also charged with convincing people the 125-year-old-brand can make a very modern carbon fiber road bike and 29er. Here’s how he got there…

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

BRIAN: I’m Brian “Sally” Fornes and I work for Raleigh America and am the Raleigh Marketing Guy. I think the title is actually Marketing Manager, and how you manage marketing…your guess is as good as mine. I do know I have a lot to do with the social media, sponsorships (from teams to individuals to events), brand image, ads in magazines and web, talking about bikes, getting bikes in hands of people who talk about bikes, riding my bike, drinking beer with people who like bikes, going to trade shows, organizing photo shoots, the list goes on and on. Some days it feels like additional duties get made up and lumped under the title. Although, I know a lot of people look at it as the Fun job…and some days, I tend to agree.

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Our pre-NAHBS hype continues with all-carbon-all-the-time frame builder Matt Appleman of Appleman Bicycles.

As you may recall, Matt’s the guy that even cuts his logo out of carbon fiber and does some pretty unique layups and aesthetic finishes on his frames. Let’s see what’s he’s been up to:

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

MATT: Appleman Bicycles has laid down quite a bit of carbon since NAHBS last year! Options for frames have expanded since last year. New options include: full internal cable routing (cable or hydraulic), Di2 ready frames, disc brakes, and 1.5 inch tapered forks. Most of these options will be seen this year at NAHBS.

The largest change in business is that I started taking on carbon fiber frame repairs. There are so many busted frames out there, it’s a shame if people throw them away or have to pay for a high dollar crash replacement. Top tube and seat stay damage is the most common, but I’ve specialized in carbon dropout repair, extreme damage, and replacing missing tubes. I’ve repaired frames from as far away as the Philippines and Singapore! Doing repairs is also a great way to study how frames get damaged. I’ve been able to tweak the designs of custom frames to make them more damage tolerant.

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As a more urban rider, I have had my eye on the products that All-City Cycles has been turning out.  They make dope fixed gear freestyle frames, along side a nice road frame (Mr. Pink), a cross bike (Nature Boy), and a touring bike (Space horse).  Plus, they have a quality parts selection.  I have been reading Jeff’s blog, BikeJerks for a while now, and at Interbike I had the pleasure of meeting him and talking more about All-City.  After that meeting, I knew Jeff would be a good candidate for our interview series.  Below is his story.

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

JEFF: I’m Jeff Frane, the Sales and Marketing Manager for All-City. I run the nuts and bolts of the day to day operations of the brand, work with the dealers and handle the marketing duties. I’m also the guy who gets to dream up our new products and bike models.

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Driving the follow car for Team Vera Bradley Foundation, one of the early teams Jessi worked with before signing on with Tour de France contenders.

We all watch our favorite teams and riders when we can. But for many races, we’re left to digital reporting to find out how they did, particularly for foreign races. True fans have probably noticed that the same athlete and team manager quotes end up in a lot of different outlets, usually very soon after the finish.

Ever wonder who puts out all the race reports, team profiles and quotes you see following any major cycling event? For Team GreenEDGE, that person is Jessi Braverman, who says she “lucked” into the position.

As any successful person will tell you, you make your own luck. Hard work, self confidence and putting yourself out there help make luck, which helps explain how she got where she is today.

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

JESSI: My name is Jessi Braverman. I’m the digital content manager for GreenEDGE Cycling. My primary responsibility is to create all online content (website copy, social media updates, press releases) generated around races. I also have had a hand in creating static website copy (such as rider bios) and creating copy for sponsors. I handle our Facebook and Twitter strategy on a daily basis.

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The other day, while visiting with Dan Powell at PDW, we stopped next door at the Titus / On-One / Planet X offices to say hi. While there, shiggy had this lovely fat tire bike in pieces behind his desk. Intrigued, I asked for more info.

Stay tuned for a shop tour from the new US Titus / On-One / Planet X offices, as well as interview with the General Manager, Michael Golinski.

For now though, head past the break for the details and photos galore on the Askja.

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