Easton - Ask Us Anything

 Cork, We did introduce 35mm bars for motocross. They did received a lot of positive reviews but had a difficult time with all the clamp configurations. You can still find them online. This is where this inspiration for the 35 x 800 bars came from.

 Motocross bikes vibrate a lot... you wouldn't want your bars to be too stiff. Even with 7/8" bars it's still rough when you're on the bike for a few hours.

 Mass Dampers exist (US patented in fact) that can tune-out the bar vibrations. They're designed for motorcycles but can work wonders on mountain bikes also.

www.vibranator.com

One of the geniuses behind them, Don Richardson, is who invented the full floating shock linkage (successfully suing suzuki when they stole the design) and who also actually inventer Inertia-Valve Shocks FIRST (it damn well wasn't anyone at Specialized or Fox).

 I'm scared to click that link.

 I'm not even going to consider it, especially since I'm near the front in class.

 Great bit of history there about Don Richardson, Thanks Deeeight!

 @trozei - i wanted to t-up that but couldn't bring myself to ruin the +69

 The stiffness isnt just related to the bar diameter, the larger diameter means stiffness can be gained while keeping the wall thickness small and therefore weight down, motorbike bars have much greater wall thickness to gain stiffness and strength while remaining fairly slim since weight isnt quite as much of an issue when you have an engine.

Just to add dont really agree with the whole 35mm new standard easton are trying to sell, i get the reasons why and its fair enough but stop giving us more standards and compatability issues, its just not worth it, are you really going to notice the gain over 31.8mm bars?

 I'm gonna buy my wife some Vibranator's for her Birthday, I'll upload photos when she tries them out!

 I was hoping to see "Norbs got robbed, why?" as the top comment.

 Thank you We appreciate your comment.

 I guess they dont want to let the cat out of the bag that they are working on frames

 We sometimes test new things with our sponsored riders, but always with the intention of learning how to make production wheels/components better. Team Lapierre tested our Havoc 35 bars/stems for a full season before we brought that stuff to market.

 We actually used their feedback and modified the Havoc 35 Carbon bars. A few of those riders said that the first version bar was too stiff, the iterations that came later (and the production bars) had more damping built in to decrease arm pump.

 Huh I wonder where you got this question from... Still a good question I don't want other companies pullin a RS

 So if the new 'standard' of 35mm bars is to make them stiff, and you modify them to make them less stiff because stiff is not actually better, why the need for a new 'standard' in the first place? What was the 'problem' you were trying to solve that was worth creating obsolescence over? Never noticed my 800mm Enve bars to be too flexy. Who was complaining they didn't get quite enough arm pump, shock/vibration transmission and deflection from 31.8mm bars?

 I think people need to stop referring to this 35mm bar thing as a 'standard' and getting all bent out of shape about it . Changes in standards can be a pain but 'standards' are IMO things that are integral to your particular bike, things that can't be changed once you commit to a particular bike or at least not with changing out a major component like a fork. Things like wheel sizes, bottom brackets, chain guide mounts, head tube sizes, axle sizes, direct mounts stems, etc.

Handlebar size IMO is not that. Its not a real change in standard. If you want to go to the 35mm bars, or even switch back, all it takes is a change of stem. Its not like bikes need to be manufactured differently to accommodate the 35mm bars. I see this no differently than say something like the I-beam seat/post. If you want an beam seat you need a new post, nothing more. Its just an option. I didn't see people getting all bent out of shape over that, complaining about a new standard.

 We tested every existing 800mm handlebar on the market and found that they were not as stiff as our 750mm Havoc 31.8 bar. We've had a lot of great feedback on the 750mm and we really wanted to make a wider version of it. We soon realized that making a wider version and keeping the 31.8 clamp would compromise either weight or strength or stiffness. We obviously didn't want to have any compromises, so we increased the clamp diameter.

We're happy to hear that you're enjoying your Enve bar. But we're Easton, we didn't want to make a bar "as good" as the Enve. We wanted to make something better. And we're proud to report that our Havoc 35 Carbon bar is stronger/lighter and stiffer. But, thanks to the rider feedback, the bar isn't "too" stiff. Does that answer your question?

 That was a great answer and Easton bars rule I love the 9 degree sweep.

 There is no position open currently, but we do plan to open a junior level engineeer position in the next 4 - 6 months.

 Check the replies to Hanofly and MTBLegend92 for more info on how to persue your career path and fulfill your interets.

 so i know i'm a little late on this article but... how would one go about applying for this junior level engineer position?! i'm a manufacturing engineering major who graduates in June and this would be a dream position to me! I have experience in manufacturing environments and extensive CAD/CAM training but all i need to know is where to send my resume...

 RafaGamas yes wee have a large army of riders to test product other than professional riders. Lots of time we get more detailed feedback from average users than the professional guys.

 Good question and, yes, we agree, there's a bit difference between Sam Blenkinsop and you and me. We have a core group of local guys/girls and a bunch of shredders here at the Easton-Bell Sports office. Everything we bring to market has been tested by these folks as well as the pro riders.

 Thanks for the reply. That's good to know. Good luck to all the Easton staff to keep building better components helping push mountain biking further

 Ok now how do I become one of the average riders that tests all the stuff? That is the real question.

 No. We are two seperate companies.

 Then can you explain the nearly identical products?

 Which products are you referring to specifically?

 Hi - not to hound you, but the question was "Are Easton and Raceface products made in the same factory?" - you answered that they are separate companies. Can you answer the question at hand?

 They did. The answer was "No".

 I thought RF was made in Vancouver? maybe just high end stuff only?

 @digital-criminal, Most of RF stuff now come from Taiwan. Only the very high end is still made in New Westminster BC.
RF was bought by and EX Easton CEO.

 When Raceface went under my neighbour placed a rather large bid to purchase RF's carbon fibre division. The deal was going through and then someone, apparently an ex Easton CEO according to you, bought all of RF.

 Race Face is a COMPLETELY privately owned company - and a company without any ties to Easton. We use a high end handlebar factory in TW....and you can be sure that other brands may be using this same vendor but that does not imply any relationship between Race Face and any other company working with these TW vendors. Race Face creates and engineers our own proprietary bar designs that we have that HB factory make. Race Face does produce its all its carbon cranks and many of its chainrings in its Canadian facility.

 Boom. Knowledge'd

 As I had stated and got neg repped for "I bet they do share floor space in Taiwan". A lot of companies share factories and suppliers in TW.

 I was referring to the Raceface Atlas FR bars, and (31. Havocs.

 Theg-man, To be frank we don't see the resemblance. Other than they are both excellent AM/DH bars. At a minimum they are different width, rise, and weight. If you look deeper and cut them open they are different material. Different dimensions for handle, center, taper. Not to mention the difference in process, heat treat, bending, butting,and drawing.

 We have some best practices to keep your first generation Haven wheels running smooth. If you check out our post from the M1 Bearing Spacer Upgrade Kit announcement we go through those tips. Check it out in the "comments" section: www.pinkbike.com/news/Easton-Cycling-Hub-Upgrade-Kit.html

 micah356 also contact our wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com with the same question.

 Sounds like a "no" to me. Even on a hub with freshly replaced internals, and locktite on the preloaded adjuster, it still loosens after one to two rides. Is there no way to replace the internals with the newer version?

 If you've tried everything that we recommend and are still having issues, send us an email at wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com. We can get you going with a new hub on your current wheel, but it's up to our customer service on how much to charge you.

 we can sell you another hub that's like only going to work with our wheel and we can charge what we want too... cause that's what I just read.

 They could be charging MSRP or it could be free. You don't know any more than any of us. No point taking bites at them.

 There is no point in taking bites at them but...... things should work properly in the first place. This is "ask us anything", thing's might get a little heated from time to time, that's a good thing. If the company couldn't take the heat, they wouldn't be doing this Q&A thread.

 micah356 as stated drop us a line on the wheelinfo email and I'm sure we can get this sorted. We stand behind our product 100% and understand that you have had a frustrating experience thus far.

 Thanks. I sent the email earlier today, so we'll see what they say.

 It will be interesting to see if you get directed to OGC (and your LBS). Or can we actually deal with and get hub spares direct through Easton? Even in the 'Mecca' of MTB, North Van, it is insane how hard it is to get spares. Last fall I was needing a freehub body. OGC out of stock, with no ETA. Same with spokes and nipples. Now I need a couple hub body seals ( the orange silicone ones), and bearing. The pain starts all over again. Please Easton can Canadians source spares direct?

 Hopefully you'll still answer this being a day late. I just picked up a set of 2012 Havoc's. Is the fix compatible with them?

 flightsolutions,
If the hub number is M1-121 then yes. If not give us a call.
here are some videos to help with the hub numbering: www.pinkbike.com/news/Easton-Cycling-Hub-Upgrade-Kit.html

 Just confirmed with the store that they're M1-121s. Looks like I get the fix!

 No answer from wheelinfo yet...

 FYI, Easton did eventually repair my wheel. Unfortunately it was with them for 1.5 months though...

 We don't have a finish date for the Carbon DH wheels. It's one of those projects that is not tied to a model year calendar. We have developed a few different tests to better evaluate the impact testing in house. We have made good progress on the project however at the moment it is lower on the priority level.

 How does Easton adapt its carbon process to make its rims more impact resistant? Is there an off-the-shelf material available that is designed specifically for impact strength?

 RC, in our Armored Ballistic Composite rims (Haven Carbon and EC90 XC) it's a materials and a resin change. It's a material that we found in military applications and we adjusted it slightly to work for our wheels. It is designed specifically for impact resistance and we've never seen anything as strong in any material. That's how we can offer the industry-leading two-years "no questions asked" guarantee on the Haven Carbon wheels!

 When you say you have never seen "as strong" in any material. Are you talking impact resistance which I always think of as an energy measurement, versus something more ultimate strength, which is a force measurement? Also is this more a specific strength [strength/mass] or an absolute measurement of strength regardless of material density?

 The-valult, this was referring to impact resistance.

 @the-vault, Put it to you this way, Easton Haven Carbon wheelsets have the strongest rims made. Period. Not that it should be advertised, but my friend hit a tree head on at 30mph on a carbon Trek Remedy equipped with Carbon Havens, and the frame broke into four pieces and the wheelset was perfectly true with not one blemish. They are expensive, but worth every penny.

 Hi, I apologize for posing the dumb question above. It was meant to illicit discussion. On the bright side of things: I am firm believer in Easton products. I have purchased 2 carbon haven sets in the last 16 months. One for my ibis mojo HD, and one for my ibis mojo SLR. Both sets have held true and had no issues with bearings or rims at all. I recently sold the bikes and am looking to building a third Ibis Mojo HD. When I do it will be with Easton Carbon Havens. No doubt.

Recently I built a Santa Cruz Nomad 2012 C. I finished the build last month. The wheels I chose were Easton Havoc USTs. These were half the price of carbons and were the easiest setup and so far have held up with no issues. The workmanship on them is excellent. No complaints. I have also recently purchased the Easton 35mm boxxer stem and orange bar. the combo is so noticeable in terms of turning and stiffness that if I ever build a new Ibis Mojo HD, it will get the Easton 35 treatment.

www.pinkbike.com/photo/9254050 my recently built up Santa Cruz V10c with Eastons Havoc USTs and 35mm Havocs

my 2011 ibis mojo hd with easton bits:

www.pinkbike.com/photo/8874063

www.pinkbike.com/photo/8874065

www.pinkbike.com/photo/7565363

 jaybird951, you have A LOT of really nice bikes. Consider us jealous! Can we use a pic of that v10c on the Easton FB page? We do a "Hot or Not" bike pic every week. That thing is certainly "Hot" it would be cool to see what kind of it response it gets from our FB fans. Also, thanks for the nice comments!

 Yes you can, I would be honored. Thanks.

 Legend92, Depending on the size of the company, roles become more diverse or specific. In a small company, you for sure will get a full range of experience and trial by fire, an awesome way to learn and be exposed to significant responsibility. In larger companies, there will be CAD/design engineers, industrial engineers, manufacturing engineers, prototype machinists, engineering managers, test engineers/techinicians - all with specific roles in the process. Easton product development structure is likely typical for the medium to large size companies. We have been smaller in the past and my specific experience had me in smaller companies which would have me making prototypes in the shop, and learning how to quickly make accurate structural prototypes for future testing with what we have on hand. In the current Easton structure, we divide our projects based on experience, interest, and work load. So during a development calendar, each engineer can have ~2-5 projects to take from design through production, with support staff along the way to aid the production ramp. We collaborate on our test programs, design finalization, drawing reviews, and prototype field testing, as well as sourcing test riders. As your interests form, and in the right size company, you can tailor your work to the company needs. And this really depends on your interests, the company size, needs and product development goals. And the management mentality in allowing productive interests to flourish outside of your role or staying within specific roles. All those factors create the confinement or vast opportunities for your career interests. Hope this helps, Todd

 We've been looking at that for a long time. The short answer is no, we're not going to have rims for sale separately anytime soon. Our UST rims (with dual-threaded nipples/eyelets) are not compatible with J-bend hubs, that leaves out 90-percent of most builds.

 Beat me to it. Thanks for the quick answer.

 @Easton
Could you give a few more details as to why the rims are not compatible with J-bend hubs? I have never heard of rims being specific to J-bend or straight pull.
Selling the rims individually would be great.
Thanks!

 Sure!
The UST nipple system we use needs to be explained first; there is a precision formed insert in the rim at each spoke hole. The insert has a left hand (reverse) thread which is lined up exactly with the spoke hole in the hub when it's eventually assembled.
The nipples have complimentary left hand threads on the outside and regular, right-hand, spoke threads on the inside. This turnbuckle system allows us to true and tension the wheels like normal, adds durability and cuts weight when compared normal nipples. unfortunately when you try to assemble this on a j-bend spoke/hub it leads to two problems;

1 - The assembly procedure necessary to achieve a strong, fully-tensioned, wheel requires the spoke to spin in the hub while getting the nipples started in the rim. Something not possible with J-Bend spokes/hubs.

2 - While lacing a normal wheel the spokes and nipples can be loose and 'float' in the rim while the other end is fixed at the hub.
Threading the nipple into the rim precludes this ability and forces all the spokes to make some wacky bends and curves between the hub and the rim. this makes it really really easy to cross thread the nipple/rim threads. Not to mention that you cant thread the thing into the rim because the spoke won't twist indefinitely.

We have tried everything we can think of to build UST rims on j-bend hubs, and we've found methods to achieve basic assembly but proper tensioning is not consistent, predictable, or usually even possible.

A lot of rims were destroyed in that experiment.

 I usually avoid proprietary stuff but I must say that I like the system that you guys have thought up. I will definitely consider some easton haven carbon wheels when they are available in 650b, especially when they come with such a great warranty! Cheers!

 Sounds very similar to any (or I should say most of) Mavic wheelset from Deemax to Crossmax.

 @EnduroManiac
The tubeless nipple/rim system is simlar for mavic (except for the god damn proprietary nipples) but does mavic drill the rim holes in the direction of the the spoke?

 Yes, on the surface the two systems appear similar. (The rim has some threads and then some type of spoke/nipple thing screws into the rim to attach the spoke.)

Both systems work well but if you dive a bit deeper the differences become more important.

The 'fore' process involves making a very thick (heavy) rim. Push some of the thick material at the nipple bed to the inside of the rim and then tap threads into it. Milling processes are then used to remove as much of the excess material as possible.

The Easton UST process (which doesn't have a catchy name) allows for a very light rim which is drilled and then has threaded inserts formed in place. The process of forming these inserts sandwiches a large area of nipple bed making a super strong connection between the thin nipple bed and the threaded insert.
We think this gives us a couple of advantages;
-Use regular spokes (we do have special nipples though)
-No need to attempt to machine out the extra rim weight which was added for the early part of the process. This translates into wider rims at the same weight.
-Armored Ballistic Composite, UST, rims!

 Thanks, I really appreciate your replies. There's nothing like getting my tech geek curiosity satisfied by people that work with the products!

 It's really my pleasure, I love this stuff! -Scott

 We are working on new lengths of stems for the 35 platform. At this time I believe 40mm is the shortest in development.

 Thanks gnarbar, glad to hear you are happy. Just so you know if when you get a new bike those wheels can also convert to the new emerging standard of 12x157 with an endcap swap.

 Good to know, thanks.

 We've been trying to get this thing to market as soon as possible, but unfortunately it's looking like late May or early June.

 Will that work on the 2011 Havens?

 Yes, the XX1 cassette body will be compatible with all of our M1 hubs, regardless of the generation or model.

 Saweet!!! Now I can keep my wheels.

 Sorry we have a correction on the M1 compatibility: The XX1 compatible XD driver body will fit every M1 rear hub ending in a '1'. We are hustling to catch up with the XX1 cassette and bodies which should be shipping out of our warehouse in early June.

 Well f*ck me in the goat ass. You want to crash replacement my wheels? Or send it in and get it relaced to a new hub?

 whattheheel contact wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com and we can swap out the hub if you are not compatible.

 Sweet, my hubs will work.

 Whattheheel, you can't even count to 11, why do you need 11 gears?

 I can count to 11 watch. 1, 2 , 3, 11. Now go get back to building that imaginary bike!

 You forgot potato. 1,2,3, potato!

 I was going to do 1, 2, 3, f*ck YOU but I thought that might be too rude??

 Not bad. I would have also accepted, ham.

 You're just jelly WTH, too many potatoes fo you.

 Jelly? Moi? Never.

 You should send an email to our wheel service center (wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com). Those guys can work out the best/most affordable option for you.

 dhpinner i'm sorry to hear you have had issue with your Easton Product. We always want to get failures back for evaluation. As I don't know the whole detail from the return I assume customer service offered you the crash replacement which is 30% off retail. We would like to learn more about your issue, if you can email wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com we can get into the detail.

 I have also had a very similar issue with blown up wheels, since most parts are proprietary; hubs, spokes, rims; I cannot get replacement parts readily. When I contacted customer support they told me they could rebuild my havoc wheels for more than I paid in the first place but when I asked if I could order parts to fix them myself I was told they were not available. This has left me with hubs and spokes that are completely useless because I do not have rims to fit them with, I am a believer in the product but the experience rubbed me the very wrong way with the company and now a customer, product believer, racer, and ambassador of products I believe in will never purchase another easton product because the lack of reasonable support or replacement parts.

 30% off MSRP, not retail/online...

 That's really unfortunate. Sorry to hear about the hassle. Most of our customers are satisfied with the pricing on our wheel service program. If our customer service team told you that no parts were available, it sounds like you have an older set of our Havoc DH wheels? The good news is that those wheels use standard spokes/bearings. The bad news is that we really don't have any rims in stock to rebuild them. They would have to be replaced with a newer model. That was an oversight in our service dept for not stocking more rims.

 Wow @DHpinner. I'm surprised Easton didn't stand behind their product and offer you a warranty replacement free of charge. Are you not the original owner? Regardless, 30% below MSRP is ridiculous. I'm very disappointed to learn that this is standard practice. Especially because of the reputation Haven stems have acquired for cracking. I'll be sticking with Thomson in the future. As a shop employee, I've always been impressed with the quality of their products and their no questions asked, free of charge, warranty service.

 I was told by whichever lady on the phone that the new rims would not fit, will they because I would gladly put those on instead. I do have the older version of the havoc.

 Circles, we asked for more information. We can't comment on whether our customer service should have warrantied the stem without learning more.

 p-romano, the customer service rep on the phone was right. The new rims are not compatible with the old hubs.

 We tuned the stiffness from feedback from our professional and test riders. The 800x35 bars are stiffer but keep arm pump low. This is accomplished by the vibration dampening in TaperWallTechnology. The flex in both carbon and alloy bars are similar, however the carbon bars have added vibration dampening due to the material.

 Are you planning on releasing a 31.8mm carbon bar that is wider then 750mm? I feel since I am very light that the 35mm is over the top, and will decrease the performance, but I also like my bars between 770-790. I want the vibration damping of carbon, but I still want a little bit of flex on hard landings.

 Benthirlwell, The Havoc 800x35 bar is lighter than the Havoc 750x31.8 bar. It's ok that you are a light riders the bar will out preform 31.8 bars. The carbon and taperwall technology will give you that vibration damping you are looking for.

 That's a great question. In a perfect world you could get 10+ years out of those bars and they'll still be stronger than their aluminum counterparts. But anytime the bar is compromised (over-tightening levers/crashes/big scratches) it should be replaced. If there's no noticeable wear and tear and you use a torque wrench, keep riding those bars. If you're concerned, it might be time for an upgrade. Unfortunately you're running out of options in 25.4mm.

Our Havoc Carbon bars represent the evolution of the bars you're currently running.

 Hanofly, I graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering as I was interested in math/science/physics and figured it would offer a multiple career options. While still in college I an engineering friend gave me a reference for the internship he was working at, which was a vibrator company. Not the type you may be thinking about, but industrial type for moving parts, mail, materials. This provided very little income but experience and resume building was the goal. I actually had an interview with Girvin/Proflex suspension bikes directly out of college but I only had a degree and they weren't actively hiring. The internship had run it's coarse and Girvin was actively hiring about a year later. I called them once a week for 6 weeks and finally got an interview. I went in with interview experience, current research on Bob Girvin, motorcross experience, and fresh threads. The job I received wasn't even listed yet and it was an R&D test engineer. Crazy awesome. I created the opportunity for luck to happen. Build your internship, resume, and experience and try to get in the door of a company in your interests. Actively persue references, network and be in the position to grab an opportunity. They won't come to you, and you may not find them, but you for sure won't find them if you don't scrap for them. Create the situation for a great job to present itself. I just saw this happen to our latest hire here. He beat the other intern candidates here by having awesome education, internship experience and maturity. There wasn't any sure path to a full time position at the end of the internship but there was a bit of a staff shift here and he was in the perfect place for luck to happen to him and now he's a full time Easton Cycling engineer. Create your situation. Best of luck. Todd

 Socket, Excellent recall from about 2001 from our estimation from Dain, a former journalist familiar with this article. Two things are in play here. The first is state of the art testing at that time used vibrational testing with weights at the handles where a stiffer bar actually did worse. This changed in the early-mid 2000s and load controlled testing is now the norm. The other change is much better suspension and riding style that demands less flex in the frame and bar/stem, leaving the suspension and wheel set to manage the control to the ground. Based on where the DH/FR/All Mtn riding category is currently the stiffer 35 platform made sense.

 We do not recommend changing the bolts on any of our components. It will void your warranty.

 ok i wont then thanks for heads up

 Sorry to put the brakes on that project!

 Hey i guess it my safety 1st you guys are doing a good job with the stems and bars im super Pleased with mine

 It's not about safety honestly, it's about liability. Easton doesn't test their stems with titanium bolts so they can't guarantee that the whole setup will withstand the kind of riding that you do with the new 35mm bar/stem combos. In the past many many people have upgraded their stems with titanium bolts and had no issues, but most of them voided their warranties when they did so.

 Votes for 29mm internal!

 Our rims will evolve to be wider. But in our testing (in house and with our pro teams/riders) our Havoc rims (23mm internal/28mm external) work very well with 2.5-inch DH tires.

 i prefere the feel of wider rims. 25mm internal width for 2.3" and 29mm for 2.5" in my opinion 17mm rims are fine for narrow road tyres but need to go the way of the dodo on mtb.

 Email wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com

Happy Trails!

 Done - thanks!

 Cwoiszwillo, great questions, we share materials and new processes from all divisions. We were using Scandium in our bat products before we brought it over to cycling. While the products are different understanding the materials is what keeps us ahead of our competition.

 There's a fair bit of cross over. We are extremely fortunate to be in a company with "outside the bike industry" resources. We share a lot of the material know-how, and we share some of the testing fixtures. Easton is a company that's been rooted in sporting goods since 1922, so we attract intelligent engineers and seem to be getting better and better all the time.

 Thanks, I like studying up on new alloys and materials, which are being used for what and why (i wish all parts came with spec sheets and drawings). Having broken many of your carbon equipment in half, seat posts handlebars and hockey sticks,I now buy cheaper metal alternatives. If I had saved my Monkey Lite bars and ea70 carbon seat post would those have been able to be warrantied?

 We can't say without getting more information. You should contact our customer service anytime you feel like something should be warrantied. Our components carry a 5-year warranty. The best way to keep your carbon parts safe is to always use a torque wrench and follow torque specs.

 also using carbon paste

 I completely understand with your plight as some kid bikes can easily weigh as much or more than 'adult' bikes. Unfortunately the market for fancy high end kid bike parts is somewhat limited. There are a lot of ways to drop weight from your daughters' bikes. Try looking into some of the high end parts for BMX. Many of the wheels, tires, handlebars and saddles designed for BMX racing will apply.

 I don't think it has to do with volume. Making parts for kids is in the interest of the sport's growth. Groms with solid gear ride more and longer, farther, faster. Easton makes everything in Softball from the t-ball gear to the best bat on the market. Parents buy your brand for their kids and appreciate it and spend the real dollars on your core products.

Plus, parents buying kids bike parts are more affluent. You're after a more affluent market in bikes right?

 I have to say bizutch, almost everything has to do with volume. I completely understand your frustration, however after working in the industry, the demand for high end youth bike products is very, very small. I would expect to sell one component group a year as a manufacturer, maybe two. Kids grow out of things too quick, and it's not like there are many kids framesets available. It would be awesome to see the youth market expand, however the demand isn't there yet.

 As a dad with three kids and an avid cyclist, I so agree with bizutch! My youngest daughter hated to ride and no wonder, her little kid bike weighs almost twice as much as my full size bike! I bought a used, totally upgraded XS size bike that weighed a lot less than her big box brand bike and guess what: she loves to ride now! Says "dad, I don't have to push so hard to make it go!" Easton (IMO) has a huge untapped market here, kind of like when lunchables were created. package it right, price it right and you could have every LBS' kids bike decked out with really lightweight components, further differentiating between those bikes and the big box retailer bikes. Those Easton components don't have to be as light or as tough as the grown up versions, heck you could even sub-brand if you are afraid of hurting your brand value. There is just no way I can afford to deck out all my kids bikes with top-end Easton cockpits, but may with a kids version that is priced accordingly? Just maybe.

 a company out of calgary(spawn cycles) is making some good kids bikes not sure where they are getting thier components from.

 My 2 daughters (7 and 5 years old) are on Specialized Hotrock 20's (6spd) bought on ebay, and I upgraded their parts - they're running Thomsom stems (ebay) 25.4 Easton carbon bars that have been cut to fit them (PB buysell), Easton Carbon Posts (PB buysell), I built them new wheels with BMX rims and 9spd hubs (ebay for the hubs and rims) hub spacing is an issue for the frame as it is 130mm not the mtb standard of 135mm, and put on some lighter and narrower BMX tires that have good enough tread for the tame trails they like to ride (ebay). I also gave them my old sram x9 x0 shifters and derailleurs. The bikes are dialed and they love to ride them! They love shredding on them especially if you play up the "Carbon bits that are the same as on Dads bike" they love that. Got them matching used TLD Carbon helmets on Pinkbike buysell and they love it. All this and I have 2 great bikes for them and spent less than a new Hotrock. Don't tell me you needed a company like Easton to figure all this out for you....cmon. the parts I replaced were the obvious choices for lightening the kids bikes by many lbs each next on the list is some used BMX cranks from Crupi short light and cool colors!

 Don't get me wrong. Ebay and PB are steal of a deal places, but right now I'm stuck waiting on a composite bat a company lied to me about being in stock...and a cell phone LCD screen that was faulty that's taken the company a month.

One stop shop for kids upgrade piece parts that all have a universal standard would be great. Most people don't have time to pick and choose one part at a time off of sites like that. Imagine you are like me and just bought a Hotrock 20" for your kid off Craigslist for $80!!! But the only parts light enough for kids have to be chopped, hacked and retro fitted from BMX bikes.

Now, go search for a Kawasaki KX50 or KX80 and upgrade parts. They're all over the place. Just saying.

 Nice work there Valleyimagewerx!
gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb6309682/p4pb6309682.jpg

We love it!

 This is the more recent incarnation of my Girls bikes

www.pinkbike.com/photo/9035399

 my son is three and rides 6 ms to daycare a couple times a week and is on a 16 wheel bike( norco scorpion). can't seem to find a set of shocks that actually work or have a disc mount.. the v-brakes suck, and the parts are all steel that came with the bike. i replace the parts i can with aluminum but it would be nice to just be able to buy a decent spec'd bike out of the box.

 Don't bother! Get rid of them ASAP

 Good question mackster. We have a number of really good slopestyle and FR riders on those wheels (Watts, Bizet, Aggy). If you're doing 360s and hitting everything on the slopestyle course, than you know that no wheels will withstand a full season of that sort of abuse. The Havoc UST wheels are incredibly strong for their weight, but they are wicked light and designed for winning world cup DH races.

 Appreciate your comments. Keep in riding and enjoying those wheels.

 Hey there, sorry for the delay. This is a good question. Sounds like you're on track to do some really great things. When I was 15 (this is Dain talking here) I was a lot like you and all I wanted to do was ride and race and talk about mountain bikes. I even did an mountain bike RV trip when I was 15! (it was the best summer ever!) My biggest advice to you is be patient. If you work/train hard and make sure that you're well prepared at the races you will do well. It might take longer than you think, but there are no real secrets in racing. Talent is part of it (sounds like you have that), but a bigger part of it is hard work and training and traveling to events.

It sounds like you're having a lot of fun. That's great and really important. Make sure you never lose that. If you're winning races and having fun, sponsors will be knocking on your door and everyone will want you riding their gear. That includes Easton.

One other thing, if you're ever at an event and you see an Easton tent, come by and say hello. Sometimes that's the best way to get in with a potential sponsor. A "hello" and a high-five goes a long way.

Good luck out there.

 Thank Dain your a great guy! And that's awsome that I'm like same kid at 15 yrs old! Hopefully ill see you at a race! It would be awsome if we stayed intouch this summer/ when I start racing no matter how I do I'm going to post my results and I'm putting up pics today asking all 12 ppl that follow me for ideas for trails in these spots so If you have any ideas please comment on the photos and tell me them! The more ideas the better riders my buddies and I can become and the more exposure to building and stuff I can get and the better shots I can get of us riding!
Once again thank you sooooo much man you guys are awsome!!!
Sincerely
Sean Kelly

 Thanks JB, we appreciate the note. You're welcome to come on an Easton lunch ride anytime. We'll do our best to not lose you next time!

 Easton actually pioneered butted aluminum tubesets in cycling. Throughout the 1990's nearly every high-end aluminum frame was built with Easton tubing. We believe that aluminum will always have its place in cycling. Unfortunately sales of high end aluminum tubesets really trailed off in the past 2-3 years and we recently decided that we would no longer be in that market. We're now staying focused on wheels and components. There are still tubesets available from places like Nova Cycle Supply. You can get a kick ass Easton Aluminum tubeset from them and get a great custom builder to make you your dream bike. I'm still riding a custom bike made out of Easton Ultralite Taperwall Aluminum. I love it.

 look he got neg propped but its not a totally stupid question. personally i was also wondering if easton had plans to offer more anodized colors in the future?

 Can we get different coloured carbon bars? Really want a white carbon bar.

 There's no such thing as a stupid question, right? Only stupid answers.

With that said, we don't have any plans for red bars/stems in the immediate future. Obviously bright colors are getting more and more popular. What colors (aside from red) do you think we should do?

 a blue similar to hope hubs

 just some more anodized stuff, i like the orange and green you have, but gold/red/blue etc. would be nice.

 More of the green you have, a set of haven carbon wheels with green hubs and Havoc carbon bars with green decals please!! I'll even test them for you

 You should make a gold color that matches saint gold

 Stealth.... black on black Haven and Havoc lines.....

 We already have the "murdered out" stealth black Haven line for you Darkstar63.

 Oh wow, guess I need to check your site more often. Good stuff!

 Defo agree with Enduro2. Gold would be snapped up buy me, just waiting to find a gold or white carbon bar about 770 and i will part with my left arm and leg

 yeah the anodized colors are what you should do a lot of

 We addressed this question above.

 ahh see it now, technically my question was first, but thanks

 All of us on the Easton staff ride with dropper posts on trail bikes, so it has certainly been talked about. But there are a lot of great options now. Rock Shox and Fox are great options. Actually there are a handful of reliable dropper post brands.

 Do you think there is still a market for a reliable and really light dropper? Would your carbon processes be well applicable to a dropper?

 In a word yes. But it would highly depend on the design.

 Perhaps out-sourcing the internals and manufacturing the rest in house would be a good way to go. Droppers are still quite weighty and the remotes on some aren't great either!

 We don't feel 31.8 bars would be strong / stiff enough in sizes wider than 750mm so only plan to offer those wider sizes with the 35mm clamp diameter.

 How about a shorter 35mm diameter stem then?

 If you look at how deep the clamping surface is on a Havoc 35 stem, you'll notice we can't go too short. We're working on a shorter option than 50mm, but it won't be quite as short as 35mm in length.

 "We don't feel 31.8 bars would be strong / stiff enough in sizes wider than 750mm..."

Do you mean your bars or all of them out there?

 It's a game of compromise. You can certainly make a bar wider than 750 in 31.8mm, but we found that we would have to either make the bar heavier or compromise stiffness. If you look at the numbers, there are no 800mm wide options that come close to our Havoc 35 bars in strength or weight. We can increase strength/stiffness and decrease weight because of the 35mm clamp diameter.

 There are bars wider than 750mm in the market we would trust on our own bike and others that we would not. Most of the top brands who make 750mm bar are doing it right. We could make a bar in 31.8 wider than 750mm however it would not be as light, stiff, and strong, as the same bar in 35mm

 we have an "advanced concepts" team that looks at all possible materials. Including things that none of us have ever heard of. It's an exciting time right now, and there are a lot of great options. We've been making some impressive advancements with carbon fiber too, of course.

 That's literally the first we've heard about that stem slipping. All of our stems with removable faceplates have something that we call "Top Lock Technology". If you instal it correctly this system is a much more consistent/secure interface. It also works well if you don't instal it correctly. www.eastoncycling.com/en-us/dirt/technology/#components

If you have any trouble with any of our stuff you can always send it back. We have a 5-year warranty on all of our components.

 I first of want to say I think this open forum with your customer's is a great idea. I have no questions or concerns at this time but thank you for the opportunity to present them. I own your Havoc bars and stem (31.8 ) and your Haven bars and stem. LOVE them both, fit and finish first rate. Wait! I do have a question.... I want an all-mountain/enduro stem just a tad shorter than the Haven. 50mm, 45mm Haven? Maybe just a little more robust but not quite a Havoc?

 To go shorter than 50mm you have to step up to the Havoc stem. We'll certainly take your feedback into account for the future product line, though. Thanks.

 That was very helpful, Thanks alot! I look forward to trying out your products Cheers

 Good question. Never say never, Noah.

 We are always looking at ways to maximize performance in components (as well as wheels). Our current (aluminum) direct mount stems are among the lightest in the industry as well as the strongest. We're pretty happy with aluminum for the time being!

 it's hard to address the problem without knowing a bit more or seeing the wheel. Please send us an email at WheelInfo@eastonbellsports.com and we'll get you some answers.

 Thanks for the feedback. Can you please provide more details of what you want to see and / or reference other pedals currently on the market?

 The platform is ideal they just feel too high, so something like the Nukeproof nuetron or DMR vault, correct me if I am wrong but they are about 200g lighter too.

 Something similar in size to the flatboys but 16/17mm thick

 Something like the Hope F20 or PointOne Podium would be a great

 Thanks for the information guys. We appreciate hearing from you. Your friends at Easton

 Is that a CNC machine I can hear being turned on then?! Or will it be a carbon offering?!

 Stay tuned

 Start turning wrenches at your local bike shop.

 Yup, we agree. Start at the local bike shop. The majority of us here at Easton worked in bike shops in high school and while we were going to college. There's no better place to work when you're a student that's into bikes. Think about it: you can learn all about bikes, talk about bikes all day, and you usually get a discount on bike parts!

 First off, thanks! We really want to see more industry partners utilize the 35mm diameter. We see a real performance advantage in the increased diameter and we think the market could use a few more options. If you're going to be at EuroBike, stop by and say hello. Or bring by one of your stems, we'd love to see it. Good luck!

 Cool i hope, i have a prototyp till then. So im looking forward to see you! Which exactly diameter have your bars? 34,9mm?

Thanks

 Contact wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com and we can get you the tolerance and sizes.

 There's always a tradeoff. I imagine those rims will be ok for a little while. We've tested some other 'off brand' rims and they didn't do very well in impact durability. Ultimately it's up to you to decide whether you trust those things to hold up as you're charging through rocky or rooty sections. We invest an extraordinary amount of research, engineering, and materials science into our carbon rims to be able to guarantee they'll hold up to years of use. Additionally the materials required hit our weight and strength targets are extremely high tech and therefore somewhat expensive. Because this stuff is expensive we're always looking for ways to trickle technology down to lower price wheels. This is what we did to get to the EC70 Mountain wheels.

 Great choice of studies and great question. We can't share every bit of our proprietary process, but you can learn a lot by watching this video that we put together last summer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxTWSTo2_4Q

 This is an even longer shot on the question front there would be no chance of a placement/internship with you. with a chance of a dissertation topic at the end of it? i have done a fair amount of composites work

 We do have an intern program, more information here: www.eastonbellsports.com/careers/internships

 CMDS, above the standard things, i would say lots of experience 3D modeling with Solidworks and work with FEA software. Having examples of your work will help separate you from other candidates.

 Check the replies to Hanofly and MTBLegend92 for helpful info.

 We're sorry to hear about the issues. We've tested the Havoc wheels against every other "DH Race" wheel and we're proud of the results.

The good news is that we use standard, straight-pull spokes that should be easy to find and replace as needed. A lot of good bike shops have spoke cutting/threading tools, so they can cut a spoke to length for you if they don't have the right one in stock.

If you have a big race weekend planned or a week of shredding in the Alpes or something, we would recommend that you bring a couple of extra spoke nipples with you. The dual-threaded nipples are the only proprietary Easton parts. Everything else should be easy to source on the go.

 Thank you very much for the reply. I didn't realise that the spokes were standard issue straight pull spokes.

As for the nipples - I was finding that the spokes were snapping off in the nipples rendering them useless. Is this a tension issue with the wheel build? Where can I buy nipples from? They seem to be quite hard to locate too?

 It's hard to know why you were breaking spokes without seeing the wheel and getting more information.

Our distributor in France is Shimano. You should contact them to get a hold of some spoke nipples. If you don't get a response from them, you can contact us directly for spoke nipples. But we encourage you to go through our distributor (or have your favorite local bike shop contact our distributor).

 One of the bonus features with our Easton mountain wheels is each hub model is designed to use the same spoke length for all locations. No need to carry different lengths for Rear Drive, Rear Non-Drive, and Front, so that helps the spoke purchasing and spare carrying a bit. We use Sapim spokes which should be available if you're looking to match your stock setup. Check the exact spokes on your wheels for the butting profile to order.

 That's interesting because I measured spokes out of my Havoc 2012 (150X12 rear, 20mm front) wheelset and the front and rear spokes were different sizes.

One of the teams Easton sponsored teams kindly gave me some spokes (with nipples) but they were too short to work with the back wheel - they only worked on the fronts. They would work with the rears but there was a very small amount of thread in the nipple and it made little difference whether the nipple was barely or fully screwed into the rim.

I'm just a little confused how this could happen if they all use the same lengths? I measured them and there were shorter and longer ones.

I would just like to reiterate my thanks for your responses to these questions, and I'm not attacking your products, just genuinely confused.

 Ouch, yes the Havoc UST 150 rear needs a different spoke from the Havoc UST front and Havoc 12x142 rear because it has 28 spoke not the 'normal' 24 spokes. more spokes in a DH wheel made too big of a difference to sacrifice it for the sake of consistent spoke length.

 That's not black plastic inside, that's all aluminum! Our wheels have a nice, sealed rim bed because of the dual-threaded spoke nipples. You can learn more about the system and learn how to replace a spoke by watching this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAdO33oLvn0&list=PLEAFFC31B14945B62

 lol thanks a lot, didn't know this mounting technic/technology

 We've had a few of other requests/questions about this. We addressed them above. We appreciate the feedback.

 We are working on different rise bars. We hope to have a bar that fits all riders. We are also offering a riser kit for the DM stems to rise the bars 2mm / 4mm / 6mm

 Where can I find pictures or information on this riser kit.... I've been rising these since I was able to find anywhere offering them, always wished they were a fraction higher but dare not to get new parts because that bar and stem are beautiful

 This kit will be available ~May-June, we're working on it currently. It will be called the Easton Direct Mount Stem Riser Kit, or something similar to that.

 We like your PB handle, ScandiumRIder! Yes, you can enjoy carbon wheels every day. The Haven Carbon wheels were designed for guys like you. We don't have weight limitations on any of our components or wheels, but we only ask riders to use common sense and to pay attention to recommended usage. Don't hit big drops to flat on XC wheels, etc.

Generally, the fatigue life of carbon is more than 10x better than aluminum.You just need to pay attention during installation (use a torque wrench and follow torque specs) and make sure to inspect carbon parts after every crash. If you see a deep gouge it's probably time to replace it. If you're unsure whether it's a cosmetic scratch or something more serious, you can have your local bike shop inspect the parts or send them back to us for inspection.

 Thanks!

 I'm also a noth shore local riding easton carbon hoops on my 29er, now for two years without a problem. I'm also running the carbon 750mm bar on the same bike no issues. Top notch parts buddayyy!

 Also would have been good to mention 6'2" 230 and pretty hard on parts, these wheels blow me away.

 Thanks for the props and the North Van usage. Enjoy!

 Wow, that's a lot of hassle. Sorry to hear that. Were you dealing directly with our customer service/Wheel Service Center?

The reason that we didn't give you that upgrade kit when we had your wheel here for service was because we simply didn't have them before the announcement was made last Tuesday.

 We've looked into this and our investigations led us back to hand laid composites for weight and durability reasons. Rims can certainly be made but you probably wouldn't like riding them too much.

 We recently announced a running change and a free upgrade kit on our M1 hubs. You can read about it here: www.pinkbike.com/news/Easton-Cycling-Hub-Upgrade-Kit.html

As for your DH wheels, seems like our Havoc UST wheels would be perfect for you. You can read all about them on our website:http://www.eastoncycling.com/en-us/dirt/wheels/gravity. To answer your question about the pawls: There are three pawls and 12-degrees of engagement.

 The composite we use for the Carbon mountain bike wheels is unlike any other carbon out there, it's specifically designed for impact resistance. This is why the Haven Carbon wheels carry a two year no questions asked guarantee. no matter what happens to your wheels we'll repair or replace them. labratory testing has proven that Haven Carbon wheels are significantly more durable than their aluminum competitors in impact strength and durability. No matter how good as we make things somebody will still find a way to break it, our goal is to make wheels which take that limit beyond the norm.

 Good to know! Thanks Easton!

 Thanks for the comment jgreermalkin. We suggest trading that bar out with a new Easton Haven bar. A 60mph freeway thrashing is more than enough for any carbon bar. We're glad you're safe and want to make sure you stay that way. Happy trails.

 I had the same thought and replaced them with the Havoc Carbon Bars, absolutely love them! What torque should I be tightening my brakes, shifters, etc?

 All good.

Always tighten everything to the manufacturer’s specs (probably around 3 Nm).

 I can't possibly make that call without seeing the bars but it sounds like a bar I wouldn't ride without getting it inspected.

 An area that large likely also has some carbon damage. Paint damage is ok, carbon damage - not ok.

 Our carbon rims are made in a single mold with no post mold machining. This is the best way to achieve the durability we require.

EC90 SL stems are approved for use on XC bikes.
www.eastoncycling.com/en-us/dirt/components/stems/xc/ec90-sl

 Campagnolo has this on the road side but I haven't seen it on mountain bikes yet. Maybe Campy's working on Record OR 2.0!

 The very best method is to go through your local bike shop. If they don't already have them I'll bet there are some on the way.

 Unfortunately I'd be better off trying to forge my own hub internals out of chocolate than deal with my local shop. Last time I had to deal with them they lost my bike twice in one transaction and then ordered the wrong size warranty frame resulting in three months without it. Thanks anyway.

 Sorry to hear it bighitter, but we like the sound of chocolate hub internals. We might need to write that one down for Easton holiday gifts to our friends/families.

 If you can send some my way and I'll let you know how I get on installing them.

 Just reading through this one again bighitter. You had us distracted, thinking about chocolate bike parts.

If all else fails, and you can't get your hands on an Upgrade Kit, shoot us an email at Wheelinfo@eastonbellsports.com and we'll sort it out..

 Hi Guys,

I emailed you last Sunday and I am disappointed that I have not yet received a reply from either yourselves or the UK distributor. I'm sorry to be posting this on a public forum but it looks like this is the only place I'm likely to get a reply. I appreciate that you guys must be fairly busy with this but please can we sort something out?

Cheers.

 I actually just received a reply from you guys so sorry for my above post. I can be a little impatient some times! Cheers

 It depends on which of our hubs you're looking at wheel brands you're comparing us to. We use standard sized bearings (so they're easy to find if you ever need replacements). You can find more technical specs on our site: www.eastoncycling.com/en-us/dirt/product-manuals

 Yes, and yes! All the 12x142 hubs can be adapted down to 10x135QR The UK distributor may be able to change the hub at some point in the future but this is not possible right now.

 We test the EC90 Stems to the mountain bike standard but it is certainly designed for a different use than your Haven bar. The middle-ground is filled by the EA90 stem which is also available in a 0 degree.

 Hi Shacky,
While the wheels are absolutely covered under warranty this is still not ideal.
This is why we recently announced a free upgrade for all existing M1-121 hubs, this upgrade will absolutely extend the life of your bearings.
www.pinkbike.com/news/Easton-Cycling-Hub-Upgrade-Kit.html

 Thank you, I will get these sent back (hopefully for the last time). Thanks.
P.S they are awesome whilst working! Never had to true once and I have never had that with another wheel!!!

 @shacky

there is a reason these wheels are all being sold at big discounts by CRC, etc.

 This is a good question Masr. Easton is a premium brand and our engineers are always focused on making the best stuff possible. Unfortunately "budget" can sometimes mean "compromise" (weight/durability/etc.), so it's not a big focus of ours. My biggest recommendation to you, Masr, is to keep an eye out for deals on things that are two or three seasons old. For example, when we announced the benefits of Havoc 35 our standard Havoc line became a bit more attainable. Sometimes we're amazed at the deals on the new stuff that's just a couple of seasons old, be it drivetrains/frames/suspension/brakes.

 Ah I that's fair enough, I completely agree that budget can sometimes mean compromise. And i'll look out for some deals! Thanks very much!

 I'll have to turn that one over to the Hockey guys.
Maybe they'll do an AMA on whatever is the the hockey equivalent of Pinkbike.

Does hockey have a 'pinkbike'?

 Kits are landing in the UK very soon or we may have shipped one from the US. our customer service team is working super overtime to keep up with the emails. The easiest way to get this is to go through your local shop. they may already have some.

 The Havoc 150 hub has this feature already built into the axle. You're all set!

 Meanin the Havoc 150 UST doesn't need the upgrade kit at all?

 Correct, The way the kit works is it puts a spacer in between the bearings. The Havoc 150 hubs have this feature on the axle already so the upgraded kit is not needed nor would it work.

 Glad to hear that the bar is working well.
The 150 hub is a very different system from the narrower 12x142/135 hubs (such as those found on the Haven wheels) and is not subject to the same type of bearing wear as it has no bearing preload adjustment.

We have definitely been addressing bearing wear with the in line changes we've made. But the real solution is the bearing spacer which has been tested for over a year. Bearings will still wear out eventually but it will take much, much longer now.

The hub reputation is really fairly recent, I believe there are a couple of factors at work here; Until recently all of our high end hubs had bearing preload adjustment. Which, like any other adjustment on a bike if it's ridden while maladjusted can do all sorts of terrible things. The other side is that the competitor hubs which are generally revered for their bearing durability are simply less common.

 Because no one does wear and tear like the British weather!!!!!!!

 @minty1

simple answer to your question


Hope Pro II Evo hubs, hand built with Sapim or DT Swiss double-butted spokes and brass nipples, onto your rim of choice (I'd recommend the Mavic EX series for DH abuse)

Hope design and manufacture their hubs in the UK to suit the filth-bucket that is our climate...simple

 Yeah thanks buddy,I'm running mavic 823's laced to king hubs which are sweet enough but wanted to drop the weight

 I always think "wheel weight" is way over rated with wheel sets

wheel performance is so much more than just a lower weight


the lighter, weaker, more flexible wheel sets are not efficient at transferring rider power to the terrain

and to keep the strength and rigidity high and weight low = the cost becomes insane and require proprietary parts like specialist spokes, nipples, rims and hubs, which are hard / time consuming to source as replacements and stupidly expensive

often the "factory wheelsets" require specialist skill to repair, which means sending them away to a service centre at high cost

I'd always prefer a quality set of handbuilt wheels using regular spokes and nipples, and Mavic / Stan's / Sun rims which can be easily sourced

King, Hope, etc. for hub as these hubs have had years of development to iron out issues, the durability / quality is much higher than the hubs used on the factory wheel, and all spares are easily available

 Varaxis, All of our engineers have engineering degrees at a minimum, and some have masters degrees as well. All of us are passionate about performance and cycling. When asked what I do for a living, "I make bitchin' bike parts." Other's are are just as passionate and cyclocross / triathlon racers, road, cross country riders, etc. We can all fix, modify, hop up most anything mechanical - great to have on road trips. As our personal favorites, the Haven Carbon wheel set rocks, certainly changed my perception on how great carbon rims can be. I was skeptical for all mtn rougher riding and now sold hands down. The XD driver body for XX1 is in the works and surviving testing without issue. And the Havoc 35 bar and stem is a recent launch of more things great.

 Always on it - Design forces is a challenging realm. We all want components to survive everything, but that doesn't result in competitive product. High performance use in reasonable realistics situtations is the goal. At that relatively mature stage of bike industry testing, many of the legal test requirements are well established. For some test requirements, these are more than sufficient to provide safety for some requirements, so those are set. Other test requirements aren't up to speed with new technologies or all usage types, so we must fill in gaps in this testing to deliver safe, high performance and quality product. Determining what loads, impact levels and how to test comes from years and decades of development experience. We develop appropriate tests, benchmark product we understand to be high and low performers and determine the appropriate performance targets. None of this is cheap, easy, or fast, and one of the things separating Easton's development ability from the rest of the pack.

 Thanks,

Is there somewhere I would be able to get a hold of these standards for future use?

 The current state of the art standards are the European Norm, EN 14781, for racing (road) bikes, and EN 14766, for mountain. These should be pubilically available.

 Custom colors would be really cool. Unfortunately we don't have that capability right now. As for your rear wheel. You are correct in thinking that the grease has been flushed out. You'll get better durability out of your hub if you overhaul it. We recommend that you use Easton Cassette Body Grease, or if that's not available, Phil Wood's Tenacious Oil works really well. Glad to hear that you're enjoying your wheels!

 Well, till now, it's been flawless. Will overhaul it soon, if you recomend. Been told to rerease it with oil instead of grease, but noone recommended any brand of oil. And i'm not sure i can find Phill Wood's around here - i have to order it online and wait for it for od knows how long. If i look for an alternative, do i have to look for something speciffic regarding quilities of the product?
As for the colors, as far as i know, anodization is achieved by some chemicals (acid or something like that). Do you need different chemicals for different colors, or what? Let's say, i'm really, really interested in the color RED.

 Any light grease or heavy oil will work better than leaving it as is. It's not that we can't do red anodized bars, we just need to make sure that we can sell enough red bars to justify making them. We appreciate the feedback. Consider us one step closer to making red bars.

 Red is always one of the fastest colors! Therefore, more people should want them. And not only bars - stems, too.

 You really shouldn't be breaking spokes. We recommend that you send your wheels back to our Canadian distributor, OGC. They can rebuild your wheels right and keep them running well.

 Brett7, that doesn't sound good. Not really sure what's going on there. Can you send us an email with some pics? It could be warranty-able.

 Thanks guys will do! Email addy please

 Awesome kit to use tho despite the graphic issue

 WheelInfo@Eastonbellsports.com will get you in touch with our customer service.

 Cheers

 Thanks! we'll definitely think about it.

 The EA90 SLX is a really great road racing wheel. And compared to the EC90s they're a real bargain. Seriously, sub-1,400 grams and less than a $1,000 (US) and they're really strong. They are a great option.

 I guess... still a pain at my age, where do these prices come from? If the cost is justified it's fine but idk where even a 1000 comes from in a wheel

 They're entirely built by hand and they're built to last.