Author Archives: "bikemag"
Previewed: Aaron Chase’s Proto FS Street Bike
08.19.2008 //
Aaron Chase was showing off his new full-suspension street bike at Crankworx. It’s really nothing like we’ve ever seen before and is just in the development stages, only two prototypes currently exist, but could potentially turn into a new FS frame style. Aaron provided all of the design input and the Cannondale engineers got creative [...]
Previewed: Unveiling Truvativ’s Hammerschmidt
08.13.2008 //
Since spring, we’ve been subject to a barrage of ambiguous ads and various clandestine activity from the folks at Truvativ all in the name of Hammerschmidt. Thankfully the veil of secrecy has been officially lifted and Truvativ is publicly revealing its secret product. Hammerschmidt is a crank and bottom bracket combination with an integrated planetary [...]
Previewed: Norco’s 2009 Lineup Revealed
08.01.2008 //
The Whistler Bike Park recently played host to the 2009 product launch from Norco Bicycles. As expected, Norco took the opportunity to show off their more aggressive, gravity inspired bikes. Two team-inspired bikes highlighted the new lineup. With the help of last year’s Crankworx Slopestyle event winner Ben Boyko, Norco this year is offering the [...]
Previewed: Salsa El Kaboing and Big Mama
07.30.2008 //
Since the early fillet-brazed frames of Salsa Cycle’s heyday, the brand has enjoyed success in niche markets with its cyclocross, commuter, 29-er and steel hardtail frames. But Salsa has developed two new frames—one built around 26-inch wheels and the other 29ers—that should have mainstream riders salivating. The El Kaboing and Big Mama may have colorful [...]
7-24-08 // Tested: Scott All Mountain Shoes
07.25.2008 //
Scott All Mountain Shoes // $95 800-292-5874; scottusa.com The first pair of clipless shoes I ever owned were Scotts: Tan, synthetic, nubuck, lace-up high-tops, and I loved the them right up until the sole plate cracked at the cleat after a few months of use. That was 10 years ago, and Scott has since left [...]
7-24-08 // Tested: Marzocchi 55 ATA
07.24.2008 //
Marzocchi 55 ATA // $935 More info: 800-227-5579; marzocchi.com Marzocchi’s top-of-the-line, all-mountain fork weighs just 4.6 pounds, yet cranks out an impressive 6.5 inches of travel. On top of that, it comes loaded with a suspension lock-out, variable low-speed compression damping, a quick-release, 20-millimeter thru-axle, and 40 millimeters of adjustable travel. It’s a veritable Swiss [...]
Tested: Hayes Stroker Trail
07.24.2008 //
Hayes Stroker Trail // $180 per wheel 888-686-3472; hayesbicycle.com Almost as soon as it celebrated the tenth anniversary of the venerable Hayes Mag disc brake, the company went and shut down production. In fact, following on the lackluster El Camino platform, Hayes shut down all production and started fresh with three models of the new [...]
7-24-08 // Tested: FSA Gravity Wheels
07.24.2008 //
FSA Gravity Wheels // $590 425-488-8653; ridegravity.com When your friendly neighborhood bike shop can lace any hub to any rim with as many of whatever spoke you choose, a pre-packaged wheelset needs to offer a little more than matching stickers. Enter FSA’s Gravity Wheels. Aside from looking downright moto, they sport straight-pull spokes, which offer [...]
7-24-08 // Tested: Garmin Edge 705
07.24.2008 //
Garmin Edge 705 // $500 800-800-1020; garmin.com The first thing you notice about the new Edge series from Garmin is its blazing 176-by-220-pixel color screen—goodbye dot matrix, hello full-color mapping goodness. To really harness its potential, you need to buy a $100 Micro SD card pre-loaded with either a nationwide street or regional topographical map [...]
7-24-08 // Tested: Ergon BD-2
07.24.2008 //
Ergon BD-2 /// $165 323-656-2788; ergon-bike.com Put some ergonomically obsessed German engineers to the task of designing a mountain bike pack and this is what you get. The BD-2 is the middle child of Ergon’s three-bag family, all of which use a ball-and-socket swivel a rigid plastic frame and a waist harness for support. In [...]
7-24-08 // Tested: Bell Variant
07.24.2008 //
Bell Variant // $100 800-456-2355; bellbikehelmets.com Helmets are one part protection and one part personal fashion statement. A challenge presented itself, then, when a Variant—Bell’s latest high-end, all-purpose mountain bike helmet, with hot pink highlights—showed up for a thrashing. This color scheme bounces my selection theory straight out the barroom door. Can its performance overcome [...]
7-23-08 // Tested: Bontrager Rhythm Elite 29
07.24.2008 //
Bontrager Rhythm Elite 29 // $539 920-478-2191; bontrager.com Overgrown 29-inch wheels have a pesky way of upsetting the balancing act bike makers must tackle: creating bikes and parts that are lightweight and durable. Big wheels are heavier, no way around it. But there are advantages to be found. The engineers who created the 1,950-gram Rhythm [...]
Previewed: The New Scott Genius
07.23.2008 //
The Genius is back. A patent dispute with Specialized had prevented Scott from selling its Genius bikes in the U.S. for years, but the company has completely redesigned the bike for 2009 and will soon offer six versions of this new 150-millimeter trail bike. It’s an important step for the company. Until know, the company [...]
7-22-08 // Previewed: Fox The Main Goggle
07.23.2008 //
What: The Main Goggle How Much: $40 Fox has long been synonymous with motocross gear, but now they are making a push to get their eyewear in the display case at bike shops, too. They’re taking a step in the right direction: optical offerings include The Main goggle, a no-frills design to get the job [...]
Tested: TruVativ Noir Team 3.3 Crankset
07.15.2008 //
TRUVATIV NOIR 3.3 TEAM CRANKS $386 312-664-8800; SRAM.COM The life of a crankset isn’t an easy one. Nearly all the forces applied to the bike by the rider must travel through cranks, which also get bashed, quite unapologetically, into rocks, roots, or worse. It’s noteworthy then when a major manufacturer designs a crankset out of [...]
Tested: Specialized Trail 110
07.15.2008 //
SPECIALIZED TRAIL 110 $135 408-779-6229; SPECIALIZED.COM I’ve always thought that this sort of shoe—a no-nonsense, 3/4-cuff job with a stiff sole and an aggressive tread—is exactly what a mountain bike shoe should look like. Forget about those brightly colored, Italian-made ballerina slipper with carbon fiber stickers, zero ankle protection and space-age buckles that fail when [...]
Tested: Magura Louise BAT
07.15.2008 //
MAGURA LOUISE BAT $161 per wheel 618-395-2200; MAGURAUSA.COM Now in their 14th year, Magura’s Louise brakes benefit from some significant improvements for 2008. First, the brakes now feature a hinged-back clamp, which makes for easy-on/easy-off action and allows the lever to be mounted on either side of a SRAM or Shimano shifter. I ran mine [...]
7-15-08 // Tested: Fox TALAS 32 RLC
07.15.2008 //
FOX TALAS 32 RLC $725 800-369-7469; FOXRACINGSHOX.COM I was smitten with this fork before I ever put it on a bike. With 140 millimeters of buttery-smooth action that lowers into a 120- or 100-millimeter setting at the flip of a switch, what’s not to love? On paper, it’s perfect—and in practice, it wasn’t far off. [...]
Previewed: Santa Cruz Nomad “Redux”
07.15.2008 //
The Santa Cruz Nomad frame design broke new ground by practically defining the “all-mountain” category of mountain bike. Now Santa Cruz has redesigned the Nomad using many of the same revisions that we saw them use on the new Blur LT (TESTED HERE). The Virtual Pivot Point (VPP) revision results in a flatter shock rate, [...]
Previewed: Avid Elixir CR Disc Brakes
07.09.2008 //
Avid introduced the all-new Elixir R disc brake at April’s Sea Otter Classic event. The Elixir R lacked the contact adjust feature pioneered by the Juicy model so it was easy to predict additional Elixir models would follow. Avid is now introducing the Elixir CR model with tool-free pad contact and reach adjustment. The Elixir [...]
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