Madison/Saracen Myst Team DH Bike - iceBike* 2015
Continuing with the theme of winter trade shows, from Frostbike we go to iceBike*, a show where British distribution giant, Madison, showcases its brands to representatives from the UK cycling industry. Situated at the MK Dons stadium in beautiful Milton Keynes, we check out the new colorways from the World Championship winning Madison/Saracen downhill team.
A replica of last year's Madison/Saracen rig, the Myst Team is available for £4899.99. The XL frame size piloted by Matt Simmonds and Sam Dale is also now available as a frameset, with a reach of 460mm that should help even the tallest riders feel comfortable. World Championship proven.
MENTIONS: @SaracenBikes, @foxracingshox, @shimano, @ContinentalMTB
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 This is the new bike of reigning World Champion Manon Carpenter, ready to attack Lourdes at the first World Cup downhill in a few week's time. The bikes are the exact same bikes you can buy, with no special geometries or sizing used for the team riders. The mainframe is alloy with a carbon swingarm. It's a single pivot design which uses a link to drive the shock and add stiffness. The 2015 Myst has an updated linkage which offers more progression, as tested by the team throughout last year. |
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| The Myst runs a full complement of PRO Components, downhill handlebar, direct-mount stem, seat and post. |
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| Saracen's own brand grips with these laser etched PRO bar plugs are a nice touch. |
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| Shimano Saint stoppers take care of slowing duties, with ICE rotors sized at 180mm for the rear and 203mm up front. |
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| Shimano Saint centerlock hubs and 10-speed Saint drivetrain. |
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| Saint cranks with Shimano's own Modular Chain Device system. |
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| Fox Suspension front and rear; I'm sure we'll see a titanium spring here come race-day. |
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| These Continental Kaiser tires are team-issue. These tires are stamped with a number for ease of reference, for riders giving feedback or post-ride analysis at the factory. |
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A replica of last year's Madison/Saracen rig, the Myst Team is available for £4899.99. The XL frame size piloted by Matt Simmonds and Sam Dale is also now available as a frameset, with a reach of 460mm that should help even the tallest riders feel comfortable. World Championship proven.
MENTIONS: @SaracenBikes, @foxracingshox, @shimano, @ContinentalMTB
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That coming from somebody with carbon frame, wheels, seat post, stem, bar, and seat even (for my road bike).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xreZdUBqpJs
From what i've seen, that specialized frame would have been totalled if it was metal. That dude had the carbon repaired and put over 200 km on the frame with no problems.
news.discovery.com/tech/new-steel-alloy-stronger-than-titanium-150204.htm
If this takes of which it will, carbon will go the way of the dodo.
But if you want some good examples carbon rims and carbon frames, the weight difference in carbon frames to the metal counter part is negligible. Carbon breaks, it doesn't bend or have any give in it at all, which means if something happens to the frame or rims then you have to replace it. With metal small dents don't necessarily reduce the integrity of it.
But with that different process the cost comes down for metal frames, it can then be made thinner with the same strength as they are now and thinner metal means lighter metal. The weight difference between carbon frames and metal is about 1 pound of a difference, thats 453.59 grams. Now look at the price of a metal frame and its carbon counter part.
Read this and you will see about the weight difference between the frames.
www.bikerumor.com/2014/06/26/santa-cruz-pricepoint-carbon-weights-compared-plus-closer-look-at-new-2015-colors
Santa Cruz Bronson Frame Only: £1,749 with Fox Float CTD
Santa Cruz Bronson Carbon Frame Only: £2,799 with Fox Float CTD Adjust Kashima
Regardless of the shock that it has on it the price difference is MASSIVE, with this new technique the price is just the same as the metal frames that are being made just now.
It won't dent this is true, it is elastic right up to its breaking point. However, carbon is far stronger by weight than any metal commonly used in bike production, including ti, meaning you have to hit it a lot harder to cause it to fail than you would its metal counterpart. The advantage of metal frames (apart from the low cost) is that you can still ride them once they have undergone plastic deformation, while carbon has no plastic deformation faze, it is either fine, or broken. The only real disadvantage to carbon is it is easy to damage with sharp objects, but some well placed frame armour will pretty much cure that, leaving you with a frame that is lighter, stronger and (when armoured) more durable than a metal frame. Look at all the denting issues the Trek Session 88 had. The carbon Session 9.9 is much lighter, and so far does not appear to be anywhere near as prone to damage.
The point that I am trying to make is that frames using that new technique using less metal will be potentially as light or lighter than carbon with the same strength as normal metal frames & since to the MTB community lighter is better then carbon may very well have a limited lifespan. It is strong don't get me wrong but now that metal that can be made to similar strength as carbon but doesn't have any of the negatives of it, that will become the go to material in the future. And it's much cheaper.
If this can change the motor world then it can do the same for MTB.
I've done a little reading about this new magical alloy, and it sounds very expensive to make. Do you have a projected cost on it once it's available, assuming it hits the market?
You seem to be contradicting yourself, on one hand saying metal frames can be made too thin, on the other hand saying with this new process they can be made even thinner! There is a point of thinness where *any* alloy no matter how strong will be easy to dent (or if it's hard enough crack). Part of the advantage of carbon is it's low density which allows it to be thicker than metal, giving it local stiffness that thin metal can never have. I doubt that carbon will be bettered in this or any other respect any time soon.
Lets take carbon for a second, the way it is weaved (there are other creation processes as well) makes a difference to how strong it is, it takes skill to make good quality carbon. So with new techniques why do you think that a thinner metal created in a new way couldn't be as strong?
FYI, I not actually involved in making this metal... but since there is talk of it being used in cars as a substitute for carbon due to price then it is quite logical to take it to the next step for it to be used for other purposes.
Obviously there is teething problems with new discoveries but these will be overcome. They can’t use the same protection layer to protect it while its being made because what is used now reacts with it, but because of it being 13% less dense money is being spent on it to develop it so it can be used. And it being 13% less dense brings it to about the same weight as Carbon.
Having just spent a week driving from Cambridge to Milton Keynes and back every day, your comment made me chortle.
I can now say without a moments hesitation i f****ng hate roundabouts, especially the black cat roundabout. They may as well just re-name it "the black cat traffic jam."
Not many world cup winning DH bikes for under £5k that are race ready right out of the box.
I'll be at Revolution Bike Park on her this Sunday if anyone is thinking about one but wants to try it out first!
Only this and the Nukeproof have won a DH race in the last 12 months and cost under £5k.
There are a few others though that are basically the same bike now as when they were ridden to victory like Commencal and GT
Shows how much they are ripping people off in the 1st place. I'd be pissed off if I bought one full RRP and less than a year later couldn't sell it for half what I paid.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11590095