e*thirteen, SDG, Birzman, Easton - Sea Otter 2014
Want to run a single ring drivetrain and a wide ratio cassette without having to talk to the bank about remortgaging your house to make it happen? e*thirteen has you covered with solutions for both the front and back of your bike. Shown above on the right is their new Extended Range Cog that can be installed on existing ten speed cassettes in order to increase gearing range. The EX Cog will be available in both 40 and 42 tooth sizes for Shimano cassettes, and a 42 tooth size for SRAM ten speed units. It's intended to replace either the 15 or 17 tooth stock cog, and is timed and ramped specific to Shimano and SRAM in order to have the shift aids line up correctly. The EX Cogs will also ship with a new B-tension screw that is longer than what you'll find used as stock on your derailleur in order to provide enough clearance between the larger cog and the derailleur's upper pulley. MSRP will be $69.95 USD when it becomes available in May.
The other part of the equation is the company's Guidering, shown on the left, that uses the now familiar dual width tooth profile. The 'rings are available in both spiderless direct mount and 104mm BCD configurations, and retail for $54.95 USD. That means that spending around $125 USD for the 'ring and EX Cog, and picking up a clutch derailleur if you don't already have one, will allow you to get the large majority of the benefits of a dedicated one-by drivetrain that costs a hell of a lot more. Not a bad strategy, right?
www.bythehive.com
SDG had these great looking Patriot seats on display that are inspired by Cam Zink. The model on the left includes a Caddy and a very patriotic theme - note the Statue of Liberty holding a six pack - and both sport the Sensus logo of Zink's grip company. The Patriot is intended for dirt jump and slope use, and looks very much like something straight off of a BMX bike. SDG plans on offering a few different colour options of each model.
www.sdgcomponents.com
Birzman had a massive display of tools on hand that would allow you to take apart, repair, and then re-assemble pretty much any bike or component that you can imagine, but it was their sturdy looking Damselfly chain tool that we reached for first. The Damselfly is a bit too big to carry on the trail with you, but the shop quality tool's 'Smart Cradle System' might make it just the ticket when working with expensive eleven speed chains that you don't want to bugger up. The SCS design is essentially a spring loaded chain perch - the forked steel section that runs up through the chain's rollers - that squeezes the chain to hold it in place. The design is said to prevent the chain from squirming up as you push the pin out, a whoops that can damage the outer plates beyond repair. The Damselfly will work with 1/8'' and 3/32'' single speed chains, as well as all 9, 10, and 11 speed chains.
www.birzman.com
Easton's 35mm clamp diameter stem and handlebar system has migrated down from the gravity inspired Havoc line to their more trail bike friendly Haven range of components. The new Haven 35 handlebars will be offered in both aluminum and carbon fiber versions, with the former coming in at 270 grams for the 20mm rise and ten grams more for the 40mm rise model, with both measuring out at 750mm wide. But it's the matte finish of the 750mm wide carbon fiber Haven 35 bar that won us over, although the 188 gram claimed weight for the low rise option certainly helped. Easton told us that they've worked hard to create a bar that offers some true damping abilities, and that calling them stiffer doesn't really tell the whole story as they are also claimed to offer impressive vibration damping abilities. We've left Sea Otter with both an aluminum and carbon Haven 35 handlebar, so you'll be able to read about their on-trail manners in the near future. They also had their matching Haven 35 stems out on display, including a new 40mm length option that will make sense for many of the latest bikes that feature longer front - center lengths and depend on shorter than average stems to reign in the cockpit length.
www.eastoncycling.com
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THIS is the kind of innovation I feel we need.
I'm seriously pondering if they wouldn't make more money by using the tech through their range immediately since they probably sell a lot more x7/x9/x0s especially when 3rd party companies come in and make alternative solutions for much much much cheaper.
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