Day Two: The Bike Show - Roc D'Azur 2013
Mavic are just launching some burlier trail SPDs, the Crossmax XL. In the past they tried producing mountain bike pedals, but struggled to produce one that met their exacting standards, so now they have partnered with Time to make their pedals. These will be instantly familiar to anyone who has run Time Atac pedals, but this is the start of the partnership for them and they were clear that they intend to produce something unique further down the line.
Mark Maurissen had something a little bit special hanging in the Atherton Racing pits. We're not going to give much more away for now, as a full feature on this bike will be coming soon...
Hans Rey also had his signature edition (and well-ridden) GT Sensor in the pits. As it's his personal bike, it has a 160mm Fox 34 on the front and Crank Brothers components throughout.
Endura were showing off their all-new Singletrack shorts. Their exisiting Singletrack short is one of their bestsellers, so this is more of a evolution. Gone is the cordura material, replaced by a four-way stretch fabric that they say is lighter, but still as durable. What has been kept is the same raft of useful features and thoughtful touches that made the original short so popular in the first place.
Sobre had this incredibly clean-looking Cash prototype on their stand. Like all their bikes it is crafted from 4130 steel. They already make bikes in 26" and 29", so they are now adding the third wheelsize to their range. Compared to the 26" original, the bottom bracket here had been dropped and the chainstays pushed out to 430mm. It is designed to run with a fork from 130-160mm of travel, with a 130mm fork the headangle sits at 68.4 degrees.
Great news for professional videographers and photographers everywhere! Someone has officially branded the Go Pro on a stick...
Q Bikes had their 150mm travel, 27.5"-wheeled Segment Trophy on their stand. Vital statistics are a 67.5 degree head angle, 444.4mm chainstay and a 73.5 degree seattube. The suspension runs on two short links that work in a similar manner to DW Link/Giant Maestro bikes, but here the shock is mounted to the linkage itself, rather than the frame, so it "floats" with the linkage.
Dainese had their all-new Trail Skin kneepads on show, which is the first time we've seen them in the flesh. The first thing that hits you when you hold them in your hand is how light they are. Yet Dainese claim their imapct absorbing material, Pro Shape, not only offers better force dissipation than other similar technologies, but that they are also more breathable.
Stay tuned for more from Roc D'Azur all weekend.
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Se also JMc003 foir my trail bike. Next generation will be here in a short while.
Steel is indeed real!
Though I would argue that a stiffer Aluminium frame gives a more responsive feel (less lost in flex) and the reduction in weight more then makes up for any lost cornering flex.
It has its place, but, like the influx of fixies, I think too many people are following trends, with no real benefits to their new owners.
P.s, Thank you for replying logically, as opposed to "Steel is real".
A steel frame will be going a long time after most ally frames have fatigued and cracked. A dent in a steel frame doesn't really affect the strength too much. A dent in an ally frame will act as a stress raiser, ultimately resulting in a fatigue failure. The welding of ally frames again acts as a stress raiser that will result in a fatigue failure. Steel frames are much more ductile, so can take poor welds and battle damage.
The latest generation steels have a higher strength to weight then aluminiums. The weight of a prooperly designed steel frame will only be slightly more than that of an aluminium frame. The real difficulty with steel frames is the manufacture of complex parts. Ally is easy and cheap to machine, steel is not.
Which is I believe is why we have most frames being made out of ally. Manufacturing cost is the real driver for material choice. To mass produce a high quality steel frame is expensive. Aluminium lends itself more to mass production; complex parts can be machined or cast, welding is easy, hydroforming is cheap. Machining of steel is prohibitively expensive, cast parts will be too heavy, steel frames must be constucted of mostly straight tubes.
So in summary, the juries out as to the best material for framebuilding overall. But for mass manufacture, aluminium is best.
Steel is still real though!
-see empire bikes (don't like the bikes, love the manufacture process)
www.empire-cycles.com
PEOPLE, I WANT IT IN 29" BECAUSE I'M TOO TALL FOR 26" OR 650B. Deal with it.
Not so sure about this...
What are you not sure about.
With resepct to the cast Empire. Yup, ally frames typically break at the welds. So the cast Empire sounds like a good idea to me. I imagine the main problem is that it's difficult to form tubes, which are a good shape for frame production. Also, you need individual tools for each frame size. Whereas, with welded ally frames you can change the jig.
CNCd frames would be very expensive.
I own a Sobre Off which is the 26 inch version of this new frame. There is also a 29 inch frame that is called the Dad.
You can check them out at www.sobre-bikes.com/index.html
Current 26er: i.imgur.com/7ORjNud.jpg
Old 26er: i.imgur.com/hfbPwrCl.jpg
And just for fun, my current 29er: i.imgur.com/Q9I1FoUh.jpg
Literally the only way to get sensible geometry is to get bigger wheels.
Ideally wheel size should be dependant on frame size.
Smalls get 26"
Medium-large 27.5
Large-an beyond 29
Over lap will always exist and I think it's nice to have more options in wheel size. Especially since we all have different needs from our bike. Joel is a perfect example.
Doesn't SPD mean "Shimano Pedal Dynamics"? that is, it's not just a term for clipless pedals, but refers specifically to the shimano design, which mavic is not using.
Journalistic fluff. Translation: "we use to produce MTB that were sub par. But now we have these new amazing exacting standards in which we cannot attain ourselves, so we got Time to make a pedal for us"
Time are very good pedals. I find my shoes rattle a bit on rough terrain. But the float is smooth, the retention is a lot firmer than CB, and the reliability is far better than the new XTR trails (in which I have two pairs on warranty)
BMX frames that are 4130, cryogenically treated/heat treated, triple butted, gusseted, super light and super strong are like $400. Then a DJ/XC which is basically the same frame but slightly bigger is $750+. So confusing.
Odd.