Albstadt XC Pit Walk: Bike Checks and Crazy Tech
World Cup XC racing stopped at Albstadt, Germany this week and racers were greeted with a decidedly less technical course, but with a significant increase in climbing. As one may expect, hardtails were the weapons of choice on German soil and PB's intrepid photographers, Irmo Keizer and Matt Delorme, took some time between shooting the racing action to capture some of the technology in the pits, including some first looks, a number of bike checks, and an interesting montage of S&M styled cockpit components.
Helen Grobert's Ghost Lector
Ghost brings back the Lector moniker with an all new carbon chassis. The exact numbers are not out of the bag yet, but Ghost tells us that the 29er XC racer has a slightly higher bottom bracket, shorter chainstays and a one-degree steeper seat tube angle. The top tube has also been lengthened, but only by a few millimeters. The seatpost diameter has been increased to 31.6 millimeters to allow for a dropper post, and there is internal cable routing for same. We like the checkerboard motif on its RockShox RS-1 inverted fork.
Clean, internal routing and new-school super-profiling of the frame tubes.
An aluminum caliper mount is said to wick heat away from the caliper better than carbon.
AX Lightness is a small accessory maker that makes improbably lightweight parts - like Grobert's carbon saddle and seatpost.
AX Lightness carbon wheelset, shod with Schwalbe Rocket Ron and Racing Ralph tires.
SRAM XX1 brakes and drivetrain - a theme which seems to be prevalent in the XC Pits.
Through-axles are quickly replacing quick-release skewers - once considered an XC racing must.
Merida Debuts Ninety-Six 9 XC Race Bike
Merida's Ninety-Six 9 is a 29-inch-wheel cross-country racing bike, intended to take on the more technical courses we are beginning to see on the World Cup circuit. Merida says it will offer the bike with 27.5-inch wheels as well. The RockShox RS-1 fork intimates that it won't be an inexpensive purchase. The Ninety-Six debuted with SRAM XX1 components.
RockShox Monarch shock with hydraulic remote lockout. The carbon rocker is said to weigh only 80 grams.
Intelligent cable routing, complete with an access port in the bottom bracket to assist threading the hoses and housings.
Suspension is based upon a single-pivot swingarm and Merida has opted for the more-rigid through-axle rear hub.
"Just in case" holes on the seat tube for a front derailleur, just above the high-pivot swingarm location.
Just enough carbon to reinforce the seat tube mast, and just enough carbon to clamp it in place.
No, you can't put a 2.34-inch knobby into our cross-country racing chassis. Beautiful carbon construction throughout.
Jordan Sarrou's Prototype BH Hardtail
Jordan Sarrou's BH hardtail frame is almost ready for production. BH adds length to the top tube, shortens the chainstays and stems, while slightly slackening the head angle. Sound familiar? The Spanish brand would not tell us the weight, as a final version was not available, but did say it would be their lightest ever.
Beautiful lines. Carbon has injected new vitality into the Plain-Jane XC racing hardtail of the recent past.
Shimano Di2 shifting, KMC chain, direct-mount hanger - and zip-ties for the wiring. Di2 must have caught BH by surprise.
So, how thin is that down tube? Press-fit bottom brackets are the most common types because they allow for wider (read, "thinner") tubes.
Clean looking screw-down plates to cover internal routing access holes. Shimano's Di2 has been embraced by XC racers, which will further affect cable routing strategies.
High-tech FSA K-Force brakes beside low-tech foam grips.
SR Suntour's carbon Axon fork means business. The largest fork supplier in the world has a strong XC following.
A couple of laps and then the racers all head for the hotel. This shot was taken during XC practice. Cross-country race pits are far more relaxed than the general mayhem of a DH World Cup.
"Hey, my tires are a little dirty, can you give them a once-over, please?" There seems to be no end to mechancs' love for their charges.
Helen Grobert's (slightly out of focus) seat post binder is not made for ham-fisted home mechanics.
SR Suntour's through-axle only requires a quarter-turn to disengage the front wheel. With the peloton shifting to through-axles, it could be a race saver.
The lightest suspension fork on the World Cup XC circuit: the 980-gram Lauf TR 29 uses composite leaf springs to provide a small amount of cushion.
Yeah, it holds a full water bottle on a rough course, I think. Carbon can do amazing things.
Prototype Michelin tires on Jordan Sarrou's prototype BH Hardtail. What's up with the unlabeled Mavic rims?
The tread on the new Michelins looks more robust than we are used to seeing at pro XC races.
Prologo saddle with traction pads - placed in a less than intuitive position on the saddle nose. Junk stabilization technology?
Margot Moschetti's Superior Team:29 Czech-Made Carbon Speedster
Margot Moschetti's Superior Team:29 features Magura's electronically controlled fork. Margot's saddle is still slightly below the level of her negative-angle stem and handlebar.
Magura's E-Lect wireless electronic lockout system is controlled at the handlebar. The fork's magnesium twin-arch sliders are very rigid.
Love for the cycling universe? Or was it placed there specifically (or strategically) because that is where the most crud is going to end up?
Manuel Fumic's Cannondale F-Si
Looking very sharp with its matched set of Enve 50 carbon wheels, Fumic's Cannondale F-Si hides some interesting technology. The Lefty suspension strut has a carbon fiber upper and a hydraulic remote lockout. To provide a better chain line and also to strengthen the rear wheel, the rear triangle is offset to the right by six millimeters - just enough to eliminate almost all of the spoke dish in the rear wheel. It's a simple solution that solves the same problem as SRAM and Trek's Boost hub system, without requiring any new standards, beyond an offset crank spider, which in the case of SRAM, Race Face and Cannondale, can be retrofitted to existing cranks. Interesting.
Cannondale's Si rear end is offset to the right to improve the chain line and wheel strength, but it also makes more room for the rear tire and allows the chainstays to be tightened up a little.
Fumic opts for a chain guide in spite of the fact that SRAM chainrings are known for their stability in the rough. The inside of the left crankarm has a Stages power-meter transmitter.
A look at the carbon Lefty's hydraulic lockout control and an interesting stem that has no apparent clamping device. Does this mark the return of the internal expanding quill stem? We would not be surprised.
MENTIONS: @shimano, @SramMedia. @foxracingshox, @Cannondale, @GhostBikes, @ikeizer, @MaguraPassionPeople, @mdelorme
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www.german-a.de/en/kilo.html
@Hancheez: damn, that German-A Kilo fork looks hot! Another fork I would love to test drive aswell, and which I would probably have mounted in one of my bikes if I were rich. The article is right though, the TR29 fork is still 100g lighter than the lightest German-A Kilo. But then again the German-A Kilo is a real and decent suspension fork, while this TR29 is almost more like a rigid fork with some extra cushioning (far less travel and no options to set stiffness and rebound for example).
The german-A is a sweet concept. I'd love to try one of those.
With regard to the offset rear end, why don't all high end rims have offset spoke holes? It's such a simple elegant solution to an awkward problem. A lot of the more niche rims (Kappius, Nox, etc) do but why the hell doesn't Enve?
It is great to see XC on PB but I'm afraid the lack of exposure really shows. Besides the OPI stem mistake, unawareness of production Mavic wheels and the host of mocking comments under the photos, there's no such thing as XX1 brakes, I'm not sure how many "2.34-inch knobbys" exist, mocking a bike for not being Di2 ready then praising the Di2 access ports is a bit silly and we don't really have "peletons" in XC.
It is a bit like going to a WC DH race and taking a picture of a SC V10 and saying "oooh look it has lots of bouncy bits... must be at least 5 inches of travel there"
The JST is also a nice idea, bike tech is going crazy!
On a serious note, some of these little features are genius!
On some of the bikes I used to own the drill holes for cables were the size of my thumb and weren't even covered.
"Prologo saddle with traction pads - placed in a less than intuitive position on the saddle nose. Junk stabilization technology?" The traction pads are for climbing very steep hills, when you need to sit at the very front of the saddle. I appreciate that climbing certainly isnt seen as cool anymore, but for its intended application the pads position makes lot of sence.
"What's up with the unlabeled Mavic rims? Are they carbon?
www.mavic.ca/wheels-mtb-crossmax-sl
@Livewire88 Mavic are a huge wheel company with many, many sponsored athletes competing at the highest levels of every MTB and road discipline. Their XC wheels are also light, stiff, responsive with good hubs. Not much wrong with that when it comes to lycra clad racing.
I'm also surprised that Richard Cunningham hasn't seen them before given that Mavic have been running a wacking great banner ad announcing them across the top of the forum for the last month...
Also, that BH bike's geometry looks great
Kinda, but the picture was taken at an angle
Well the bike industry is where the most crud is. :/
But give these bikes a rigid fork and and light tires, and I am sure they are not even far from a road bike !
I'd say around ~28mm rims are the norm, with many racers reaching for newest, wider, 30mm+ offerings..
As for tires, with not too many 26" wheeled bikes left in the field, most 29" xc tires are in 500-550g range, and not super skinny, either - many run 2.2" - 2.35".
Bigger is better - and faster.
Bars may be narrow-ish by today's DH standard, but I still wouldn't call ~720mm outright "narrow".
Really?!
It's the OPI system. Google that shit.