Frost Bike 2016: Day 1

Race Face comes out with their 1 x "Hop Up" lever for their Turbine dropper post. This is an upgrade from their normal remote lever, and the MSRP is $59.99 CDN. It does feature a nice, tactile paddle for the thumb, though, and it looks good. Available in the typical Race Face flavors: black, green, orange, purple, blue, and red. Sure, the regular remote works just fine, but after snapping off more than one remote due to the effects of poor line choice, I'd recommend upgrading to this under-the-handlebar mount option: it protects the remote from impact and it's a more ergonomic movement for the thumb to utilize when rallying the rough stuff.

Hope was on hand with these lovely boosted versions of their new Pro 4 hubs. Pressed in bearings for convenience on both of these lovelies, which have been machined out of solid aluminum billet. The front hub is designed with the new 110mm hub spacing, and rather than just making a wider axle, Hope has moved the flanges out 5mm to increase stiffness. The front hub is available in 24, 28, and 32-hole configurations; 188 grams for the 32 hole version. The rear features a four-pawl engagement with 44 engagement points (8.2 degrees for you math nerds out there), and comes with either and alloy or steel freehub body, and is available in 28, 32, and 36-hole configurations (311 grams for the 36-hole version with the alloy freehub), and like the front hub, the flanges have been moved outboard - this time by 3mm, for stiffer wheel builds. Both hubs come in Black, Silver, Red, Blue, Purple and Orange flavors. six-bolt rotors only.

These new SRAM "Level" stoppers debuted less than a week ago. They feature the same master cylinder as their highly regarded Guide Brakes, but rather than the burly four-piston calipers found on the Guide brakes, they feature a Mono Block, 2 piston design that sheds weight without compromising much, if any, stopping power. The lever feel is quite good, but hey, they're only on a showroom bike. Wait for one of our testers to give you the straight stick in a few weeks/months as to how well they perform.

Located about four minutes from QBP HQ here in Minneapolis, MN, is Wolf Tooth. They cut their teeth on making narrow-wide chainring options very early in the SRAM 1 x 11 game, and their two latest offerings keep in that vein: Elliptical wide-narrow (called "Drop-Stop" by Wolf Tooth) chainrings for better pedaling ergonomics and a variety of stainless steel Drop-Stop chainrings and direct mount chainrings for increased durability of that critical drivetrain component. They also have nice anodized headset spacers. What we see here are (clockwise, top left): 28T SRAM Direct Mount 426 stainless Drop Stop chainring, an elliptical alloy 30T Drop-Stop Race Face compatible direct mount (Cinch) chainring, an XT compatible 34T Drop-Stop alloy 96 BCD chainring, and an anodized blue 32T 104 BCD Drop-Stop elliptical alloy chain ring. Why elliptical? Reportedly, elliptical rings deliver a smoother cadence for more reliable power transfer. They may look funky, but there is some science behind this assertion. The purple headset spacer in the middle is just one of many colors and options of spacers they offer. Check their website for pricing.

Wolf Tooth also has these SRAM direct mount compatible 416 Stainless steel Drop-Stop chainring bash guards available. Their guards will fit their 24T, 26T, 26T and 30T stainless steel direct-mount rings. Given the cost of one of these chainrings--$100 USD give or take, adding on the security of a bash guard for only an extra $46 USD is a no brainer. Weight is 48 or 58 grams, depending on what size bash guard you purchase.

Oh hell yeah! Wolf Tooth trail side pain reliever flask. Perhaps their most sought after winter riding component. $TBA

Park Tools were on hand with a little something for the onslaught of press-fit bearing bottom bracket frames besieging the market. Yes, carbon frames have revolutionized press-fit bottom brackets as a viable option, since every single frame pops out of the mold perfect and thus eliminates BB alignment hassles. But... having had one too many frustrating creaky crank episodes, I'm personally not a fan, nor are most crusty shop mechanics. At least now, these same crusty shop mechanics and equally crusty home mechanics like myself can now press in their own PF bearings with Park Tools' dedicated BB press and it's array of precisely machined bushings (shown with the BBP-1 is one of the bushings, the 2291-2). $190 including bushings.

DT Swiss has their new carbon rimmed XMC 1200 wheels available for the masses. These are available in both 27.5 and 29-inch sizes, boosted and non-boosted, and feature a proprietary tubeless rim tape, straight pull spokes, 24mm inner rim width, hookless carbon hoops, and 240-level hubs, with DTs legendary 36-point star ratchet system. The wheels also come with Shimano centerlock or six-bolt rotor options. There is a 110kg (242.5lb) system weight limit, though, so Clydesdale class riders will either have to skip a few beers, go on a diet, or look elsewhere. 1865 grams for the 29er set, 1410 grams for the 27.5 version. MSRP is $2500 for the set. Ouch!

Many people were left wondering what brakes Aaron Gwin was using when his sponsorship announcement came down a couple weeks ago. TRP Quadiem SLs? WTF are those? Well, TRP has been in the game for a fair bit of time and have a reputation for quality materials for their road and CX brakes. Hydraulic Disc brakes aren't new for them, and you can bet Gwin is demanding the best, so these four-piston stoppers should be the real deal. The Quadiem SLs utilize mineral oil, vs. DOT fluid and feature a carbon fiber lever with a tool-free reach adjustment. There currently is no "match maker" type of mount to simplify the handlebar clutter, but we speculate that is in the works.

On the business end of the brakes--the calipers--there are composite pistons (ala Shimano) to help manage heat dissipation, as well as a two piece, six-bolt rotor design. These brakes will accept Saint or Zee pads, too, in the event that you can't find TRP pads when you need them. Retail on the system rings in at about $180 per wheel. Weight is a competitive, 315 grams per wheel, not including the rotor (158 grams for a 180mm rotor). Rotors are available in 160, 180, and 203mm sizes.

Bont shoes. Never heard of them? Hmmm, likely because they are big in track cycling and such, without too much notoriety in the MTB world. But, they make a few dandy mountain bike shoes. The important thing is that they are manufactured with a molded carbon last that uses 2000 measuring points vs the seven measuring points used by most other shoe manufacturers. Even better, the shoe can be heat molded to fit your foot. And here's the kicker: unlike other heat molded options, these shoes can be molded multiple times. Live in a cold place and need more volume for thicker socks come winter? Simply re-mold the shoes with the appropriate socks on. Need a snugger fit again come spring? Re-heat and re-mold once again. These are aimed more at the XC and XC race crowd, but the entry level shoe on the left, the Riot, comes in at $160 USD, while the top end Vaypors on the right will set you back $390 USD. The mid-range shoe, the Vapor, is $299 USD. Not cheap, but $160 for a heat moldable shoe is pretty shockingly inexpensive vs. the competition, and they are moldable multiple times vs. the the same competition. The fit that is designed to keep the pedal spindle squarely beneath the knee for greater ergonomics and more efficient power to the pedals. Shoe weights vary by size, but trust me, these are ridiculously lightweight.

Yep, I've done it. I've broken a brand new set of carbon bars by over-torqueing the brake lever clamp bolts. D'oh! This was a long time ago when I was more of an idiot than I am now. Birzman neatly eliminates that problem, though, with this, their M-torque 5Nm folding tool. The little button on the right side of the tool is the torque measure. Simply tighten the bolt in question while pressing that button, and at proper torque, the button pushes in. Brilliant. Your only excuse for breaking a carbon component by over tightening a bolt now is pure idiocy. I bought one on the spot for a cool $24 USD.

Manitou is offering a new screw-in front axle option for their trail forks. Yup, a tool option vs a tool free option. Manitou's 15mm Hex Lock system works just fine but some riders and mechanics find that they prefer a threaded option. Manitou listened and delivered. More info on what new fork(s) are in the works later. Manitou was tight-lipped on that, but will drop that announcement on Feb 27th.