Sea Otter is a spectacle filled with so much awesome the coverage could literally never end. Here’s a few juicy components I wish adorned some of my bicycles.

This new MRP Bling Ring allows you to run an ultra small chain ring. The design utilizes SRAMs spline system to bypass the limited range offered by traditional chain rings. Normal chain rings in the middle position, utilized by the majority of single speed rigs, are limited by the bolt circle diameter to no smaller than a 32. With the bling ring riders can choose from a 28,30,32,34, and 36 tooth setup. The guide is a modified G2 Micro SL.

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Reynolds showed us their new carbon 29er XC tubeless and 26″ XC and All Mountain wheels in late March with all the specs and layup details. Here’s a close up look IRL (In Real Life).

Quick details: The AM and 29er XC use a 21mm inside bead width. All three wheels use the same hub with different spoke counts. The AM wheels get 28 spokes, 29er XC gets 24 as does the regular 26 XC wheels, but the latter has a 17mm inner rim width. There’s also a tubular 26, but even they admit the market’s pretty small for it. All wheels include replaceable end caps to work with the major axle standards

Wheelset weights are claimed at 1426g (XC 26), 1571g (29er), 1588g (AM 26) and 1371g for the tubular.

They have a prototype 650B wheel that’s modeled after the 29er with the wider rim and 24 28 spoke count. Look for this one in late fall. Hubs are the same as the others.

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Just because you’re not riding a couch with wheels doesn’t mean you can’t go big. Freeride legends Thomas Vanderham and Wade Simmons show us what it looks like when they take their little bikes out to play.

If you were wondering, yes, the Element MSL is the same frame Marc rode on the 16.5 mile loop in the 24 hr race on  the Old Pueblo course!

Want more? Work slow? Coffees not cutting it? We’ve got you covered. Check past the break.

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Following Sea Otter’s showing of several bike brands (including the Pivot bikes we saw and the new Santa Cruz Tallboy LT) with the new mounting system, apparently they sensed some confusion over whether this was a new standard that would make current derailleurs obsolete. Not true, and Shimano wants to make it clear that this is simply an option, not an either-or proposition. That said, the benefits become pretty clear once you see some of the applications brands are putting out there.

Spot Brand’s new Rocker Ti SS has an oversized 3/2 titanium frame that’s made specifically for Gates’ belt drive.

Uses an updated Kobe dropout with dual tension screws to fix belt/chain tension and prevent pull back from braking forces (shown below). Dropout has a shaped, snap-in cutout that pops the wheel into place, giving a tactile feel letting you know the wheel’s all the way in. It also let’s the belt tension hold the wheel in place while you tighten the skewer or axle bolt. It’s a little touch, but something that’s sure to be appreciated when fixing a flat trailside.

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If you developed a bit of a crush on the Foes Ultra Shaver we highlighted a few weeks back, but larger diameter wheels have taken your fancy, then you should be seriously considering this new Shaver 29r as your next trail bike.

The frame retains the same 2.3:1 single-pivot leverage ratio as the 26″, but will have a trail demeanor all of its own. The 29r, mated to a 140 mm fork, has a steeper head tube angle at 68°, inch longer chainstays (18″), and a bottom bracket which stands 0.4″ taller than its sibling. Due to the steeper head tube the overall wheelbase remains virtually the same.

Travel is decreased slightly to an adjustable 5-5.25″ rather than the 26″ versions 5.25-5.75.

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Dr. Allen Lim, who you may recall from a few of our recent interviews (here and here) or from his adventures feeding a few pro cyclists over the years, has given his little Secret Drink Mix a branding makeover.

The redesign comes as he’s prepping a retail push and developing a few new products. No, gels won’t be among them (read the interviews and you’ll see why), but real-food energy bars, like his infamous rice cakes, could be on deck. We’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid, literally, and it’s good stuff. If you’re the type of person that gets a sour stomach from any sports drink, Skratch might be worth a whirl.

About the name: Lim says it’s a play on “made from scratch” which he endorses as a meal prep method for everyone (and athletes in particular) rather than buying prepackaged, prepared foods. We’re on board, particularly since most packaged foods these days have more chemical ingredients than actual food ingredients.

Wickwerks is offering new 42/28 2×10 chainrings. They also have some new 3×10 chainrings, and all of them will work with both 9-speed and 10-speed chains from any manufacturer.

Wickwerx rings are made in the USA, use continuous bridge ramps to speed upshifting and are raced by Katie M-Fin’ Compton.

Click through for lots more goodies and a ridiculously expensive single-speed belt drive commuter bike…

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Redline’s Conquest Disc is a disc brake specific 6061 alloy framed version of the Conquest and is new for 2013. Price is $1,600 and includes a mix of FSA and Shimano Tiagra 10-speed with compact gearing, a lower BB than last year -it’s now the same as their carbon race bikes- and it gets the more conventional 135mm rear spacing. It has a carbon fork with alloy steerer and is really designed as more of an adventure commuter bike. It uses the new Alex CDX26 rims that are designed specifically for disc cyclocross bikes.

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Fuji’s prototype Altamira CX takes the same geometry as their regular cyclocross version except that it’s disc only.

Frame is Di2 compatible thanks to some nice bolt on cable covers for the internal routing ports. They’re looking for a fall release, though it might be a bit late for this ‘cross season. Pricing and build spec TBD.

Click through for detail photos of this and their carbon racing 29er hardtail…

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Intense Bikes, owned and run by be Jeff Steber,  manufacturers all of its aluminum frames and components (such as dropouts, thru-axles, and linkages) in the United States. As a result, when a new hot trend arises, they’re able to quickly mock up working prototypes.

Instead of trying to squeeze 27.5 wheels and slimmer tires into their existing frames, Intense went back to their lair and created two different solutions. (more…)

According to Zipp, most of the attention has been on high end carbon fiber aero bars lately, but there’s a larger market in the affordable aluminum component range.

As such, they’ve introduced the Vuka Alumina, an all new alloy aero bar series. They’re based on the shapes and sizes of their higher end carbon models but have been tweaked to put you in the most neutral aero position possible. Afterall, the fastest race position is the one you can hold comfortably and put down the power.

“We made the parts fit to the rider rather than make adapters to make parts fit after the fact,” said David Ripley, Zipp’s technical PR director.

Part of the design of the Alumina series is actually based on riders not having the right size bike or, at least, not being positioned well on it. Both are common problems. They worked with a number of athletes and fit specialists to design an adjustable, flexible system that lets riders with one or both of these predicaments find a proper position on the bike.

They’ve also updated their elbow rests and tweaked the carbon parts, too…

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