The missing file: part three of the Empire Group Test.

This has been a little longer in the wait than intended so first of all apologies there! To recap, this is a test between three bikes; the Empire AP-1, the Santa Cruz V10 and the Iron Horse Sunday.

Read on for the final installment:

PRO - Powers your performance, well that's what they tell me!

PRO is now acknowledged by Shimano Japan, for the first time in the brand’s history. The 2010 products are now subject to Shimano’s strict MPAN QC testing procedure, arguably one of the toughest and most stringent in the industry.

Now if it's good enough for the Athertons then it is good enough for you!

Source: elise

Now, initially I felt this little jacket was too light and flimsy to be considered part of a Fall-Winter collection. Who did this featherweight think it was trying to compete outside its weight class?

Full Piper Jacket review inside,

It really never ends, every where you looked there were amazing parts and cool gadgets on display. One of the biggest advancements on the component side of things was SRAM's all new XX line up. Over at POC everything was looking extra clean - plain and simple, their display was to the point. Jamis and Morewood bikes had some shiny bits to show us all too.

Details inside,

After months of talking, weeks of planning, days of prepping, and hours of digging it has come, and gone. The first 'Ham and Steeze Jump Jam' at the world famous Aptos Post Office Jumps was a total success. Over 30 riders attended the event, many spectators were out to enjoy the festivities, and Black Sabbath played all day. Oh, and of course tons of prizing and shwag was given out!
Video of the Comp inside

Gravity may have had a small booth but it was filled to the brim with new goodies for 2010. Their new Gravity Lite chainguide looks to be a massive improvement over last year's model, the Gravity Whip Cap takes the steerer tube routed front brake to a new level, and the 777 flat DH bar should be a hit with all the downhillers out there. And how about a 800 mm wide riser bar! Four videos and a load of pictures inside!

Read on...

While the video crews were off at appointments, some of us were able to scour the desert or trade show and learn about new products from anyone that had time to talk to us. Check out some new shoes and components from Shimano, new bikes from Cove, Scott USA, clothes and armor from Mace, and hand built frames from Dobermann Fab.

Details inside,

Last year we had a chance to ride Mongoose's flagship DH bike, the Boot'r, and came away praising it as one of the best off the shelf big bikes that we've ever spent time on. While it always seems to be the DH bikes that get all the attention, Mongoose has an entire lineup of bikes that use the same great FreeDrive suspension. While in 'Vegas we took some time to check out two of their shorter travel bikes, the Pinn'r and the Nugget. The HammerSchmidt equipped Pinn'r is Mongoose's answer to the free ride question, while the fun looking Nugget is a 4" travel mischief machine that is ready for any trouble you want to get in.

Read on...

Andrew Taylor joined the ranks of Marin bikes late last season and has shown that he's the right guy for the job over the past season with his input and riding skills. The all new Attack Trail with it's 150mm of rear travel has been reworked for 2010 and you can thank Andrew for a lot of it.

Check his personal Marin bikes out inside,

GT had two bikes, both with 6" of rear wheel travel, for us to have a closer look at while in the desert. The first is their 150 mm travel Force Carbon Pro, a light all mountain bike that will appeal to those who like long days in the saddle with some gnar sprinkled in for good measure. The second bike is the Sanction 1.0, a heavier duty 6" bike with slacker geometry and stock parts that include a Fox 36 RC2 fork and HammerSchmidt crankset. Two great videos and loads of pictures inside for you to see the difference in these two 6" mountain machines!

Read on...

Fox Clothing has a stacked team of riders and an amazing line up of protection and gear to drape them in for 2010. Kirt Voreis, Jeff Lenosky, Aaron Chase and Cam McCaul were all at the Outdoor demo for Interbike this year and were able to take some time out of their busy jumping schedule to talk to us about the 2010 line up from Fox Clothing.

7 videos, details and pics inside,

Bell had their 2010 helmet collection on display at the Interbike show in 'Vegas. Inside we have a closer look at their Faction skate lid, the great looking Drop fullface helmet, and a new all-mountain oriented lid, the Sequence! With new artwork by both Jimbo Phillips and Paul Frank, all these lids look great. Video inside giving you the rundown on even more helmets as well!

Read on...

WTB, Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler are the team to recon with when it comes to making All Mountain products for the every day rider. The all new Weirwolf tire is a prime example of taking an aggressive tire, re-working it to be faster rolling and more user friendly, while still keeping all the traits that an aggressive trail rider needs.

Check out 2 new tires and a saddle from WTB inside,

With the new 831 fork, Fox finally has a short travel but burly option for riders who want to run Fox suspension on their 4X or dirt jump bikes. Inside we'll take a closer look at some of the technology that it uses and what makes the 831 special. Two great videos to watch!

Read on...

Source: David Peacock

Hey Pinkbikers! With the buzz of film premier season fully activated, everyone seems to be awaiting the arrival of their new DVDs, or a tour stop of this fall’s releases, NWD 10: Dust and Bones and Aaron Larocque’s What’s Next?. But this year there is also a crop of masterpieces waiting to be unveiled in the spring, after a laborious winter spent in the editing and post-production stages. Headlining are Anthill’s Follow Me, and the somewhat enigmatic and mysterious Life Cycles, from Stance Films. We know the quality is of the utmost from the Stance guys, but so much of this film is shrouded in mystery. I present to you an interview aimed to shed some light on the men with the…plen? Anyway without further ado the people behind the lenses of Stance’s piece de resistance.

Giro has some great great color schemes gracing their helmet lineup for the upcoming 2010 season. Inside we'll take a look at their Zombie motif Remedy, as well as the new white and gold carbon Remedy. For those looking for a more XC orientated lid we also have the Xen in a few new colors to show you. Lots of pictures and a great video inside!

Read on...

Shaums March has been with Marin bikes for a number of years now, so who better to tell us about the QUAD XLT 180 series of bike and more specifically the Quake 7.9.

The Quake has undergone a lot of changes and Shaums tell us all about them inside,

Many years ago, back in the haze of purple anodizing, 20" handlebars and custom lightweight parts courtesy of your Black and Decker, Nukeproof were a company well known for their high end trickery such as carbon bodied hubs. It's doubtful that many would remember those products but Nukeproof over the last few years have been reborn (thankfully less the purple) and are back in the fold with some very neat kit, including the wheels we have on test here. These are their factory offerings which are made up with several parts from the collective Nukeproof stable to produce a capable, light, and all importantly well priced set of hoops. We've had this pair on test for over six months now, opting to give them a good pounding before coming to any conclusions. After all, it's easy to get something feeling good out of the factory but far harder to have it feeling the same after a season of abuse.

Extensively tested over the course of the 2009 British race season, read on to see how we thought they coped:

Dakine is based out of Hood River Oregon and are making real headway with their new clothing line up. Last year they showed us their line up in it's infancy and I'd say it's a teenager now and really finding itself in the industry. Dakine has a lot of real world clothes that riders seem to gravitate to and really want to wear while riding, heck I'm even seeing some racers hang up their pajamas and put on Dakine gear instead for it's clean look.

Gully wakes up from his late night at the What's Next premiere to go over some of the bangers in the Dakine line up with us,

This is the one, the most hyped and talked about product that will hit the shelves and tracks in 2010. Mid 90's and the talk was all about the TLD Edge. The turn of the century and it was all about the D2 Daytona. It's been some time coming, has it been worth the wait?

Here's some info that will help you decide and wet your lips..

Cannondale is one of the busiest and most innovative bike companies in our sport today. They are always looking at ways to make things different, never ones to look inside the box, but rather spend all their time out side it making cool products. New for 2010 is the Cannondale RZ One Twenty 1, a 120mm version to last year's very successful RZ 140 platform. The Cannondale Moto Carbon 2 is back for 2010 and has under gone some refinements to further improve its stance among the All Mountain bikes out there.

Full details on both inside,

While Elka is a relatively new name in the cycling world they have been producing high end suspension products in the motorized segment for many years. Well known within the ATV circles, Elka also has a full line of rear shocks for both street and track use, as well as fork piston kits for road racing motorcycles. Now they are taking that experience and applying it to mountain bikes. Elka takes a slightly different approach than other manufacturers when providing customers with their Stage 5 damper, as they do not have a 'generic tune' to fit most bikes. With so many vastly different rear suspension designs that produce varying leverage ratios, as well as differing needs from the actual riders, Elka sees fit to tune the shock for each specific bike and rider. That strategy has already earned Elka a strong following in the short time they have been available as it has brought a semi-custom tuning option to the average rider, and at a very competitive price.

Check them out inside and see why they are a true player in the rear shock after market and OEM spec market,

About a month ago Black Market released a bit of info as well as some pictures of their new Killswitch 4" travel frame. Interest in the new bike was off the charts but there really wasn't that much information to share at the time. Fortunately for you guys we were able to catch up with Carter Holland of Black Market while in 'Vegas to give us the lowdown in his new machine. Inside we have loads of new pictures, as well as Carter on video explaining the new Killswitch!

Read on...

Race Face Components, Pinkbike.com and Rocky Mountain Bicycles proudly presented the world premiere of rising star filmmaker Aaron Larocque’s What’s Next?, at the first ever live broadcast film premiere and VIP party: Breaker Breaker 09.

After a premiere is Whistler and Las Vegas, Aaron LaRocques film, 'What's Next?' is now premiering on Pinkbike.com free for the world to watch!

Check out the FULL 45 min MOVIE inside!