SRAM Media Camp: San Luis Obispo, CA

SRAM’s second Ride Camp was held in beautiful San Luis Obispo – although Mother Nature decided to have her way by sending us dark clouds and a lot of rain. The Ride Camp was a full two days of 2006 product overview, riding, tech seminars and most importantly, good times!Unfortunately due to the unexpected bad weather, the initial schedule had to be adjusted. Many nice rides were planned for Monday and Tuesday – including a 3 hour ride from Shooters Canyon to Morning Glory, which I’ve heard are killer trails! A break in the weather Monday morning allowed us to do a few loops of Montana De Oro, which was in pretty good shape considering all the rain. From short steep rocky climbs, to fast bermed descents, Montana De Oro offers a bit of everything - And all this surrounded by an amazing view of the ocean! The place is infested with poison oak though – therefore if you ever plan on riding there, either bring leg warmers or a good supply of Tecnu. Hard torrential rains made it impossible for us to go ride on Tuesday - instead we got a tour of the Truvativ Warehouse.

Some 15+ media guests were invited and we were all staying at the Madonna Inn. No, it’s not some hotel owned by Madonna! The Madonna Inn is one of California’s central coast landmarks, which offers 109 rooms, uniquely decorated with a special theme and color scheme (some are really funky) and no two alike! I ended up staying in the “Indian” room: it had Indian artifacts, arrow light fixtures and was this nice greenish color. I should be happy since some guests got rooms with Floral themes ;o)

Bright and early we all gathered at the Madonna Inn conference room. Shortly after breakfast, SRAM kicked off the camp with SRAM & RockShox 2006 product presentations.

What do SRAM and RockShox have in store for 2006? Well I’ve already talked about the new 2006 SRAM X.0 drivetrain - you can read part 1 HERE and part 2 HERE. After posting these articles I got many e-mails asking about new X.7 derailleurs and changes to the X.9 line. Well at the time I couldn’t really talk about anything other than the 2006 X.0 product line, but now I got the go ahead.

NEW 2006 SRAM Products

• New line of rear derailleurs: The SX5 and SX4. Both will be offered as medium or long cage and silver or black colors. The main difference between both is the pulley material, weight and obviously price. They are Zinc Alloy outer link for the SX4 and simply Alloy outer link for the SX5. The SX4 comes in at 315g for the medium cage while the SX5 weighs in at 290g for the medium cage.

• New SX4 trigger shifter is also going to hit distributors sometime in January of 2006. The new SX4 trigger shifter is 7/8 speeds and comes with a nice black alloy body with composite lower cover.

• There will also be new SX5 and SX4 twist shifters for 2006.

• New TRX trigger shifter will suit people using front and rear Shimano Derailleurs. This new trigger is an addition to the already existing SRAM Rocket and Attack trigger shifters.

• New Centera 2:1 Grip Shift and MRX Pro SRS 2:1 Twist shifters.

• Three new SRAM PowerChain II Series chains: PC-991, PC-971 and PC-951. All updated design for enhanced shifting performance with Truvativ chainrings.

• Two new PowerGlide II cassettes: 9 speed PG-990, with 11-32 and 11-34 ratios. This new cassette has a SRAM Red light weight aluminum spider – like shown in my 2006 X.0 preview. In addition, this new cassette will have a nice red forged 7000 series aluminum lock ring. The PG-980 has a 3 sprocket alloy spider and comes in 11-32 and 11-34 ratios.

X.9 and X.7 line remains pretty much the same.


NEW 2006 RockShox Products

Lots of new exciting forks and shocks from RockShox this year; some of you will probably notice that something is missing out of this list! I’ll get a head start by simply saying “Don’t ask since I don’t have any answers!” ;o)

• New MC 3.3 and MC 3.R Rear shocks intended for XC and all mountain riding. The MC 3.3 is a totally new Motion Control Damper with a 3 adjustment switch (i.e. fully open, middle floodgate setting and locked out). The MC 3.R has all the same great features as the MC 3.3 but with a remote actuation remote instead of the hand actuated switch. There will also be an MC 3.1 which will have all the same features, but will be permanently set to the middle floodgate setting (Mostly OE oriented shock)

• RockShox Tora 302 and Tora 318 forks. Intended for XC and All mountain; the Tora has a stout new chassis with stiff 32mm 4130 steel tapered wall upper tubes. Travel up to 130mm for all models, which are 318 Solo Air (80/100/130mm), the 318 U-Turn (85-130mm), the 302 Solo Air (80/100/300mm) and the 302 U-Turn (85-130mm). Perfect choice the today’s high value All Mountain Bikes. Main difference between the Tora 302 and Tora 318: The Tora 318 has Motion Control Damping.

• RockShox Recon 351 and Recon 327 forks. Intended for XC and All mountain; the Recon also had a stout new chassis but with stuff 32mm 7075 aluminum upper tubes. Travel up to 130mm for all models, which are 351 Solo Air (80/100/130mm), the 351 U-Turn (85-130mm), the 327 Solo Air (80/100/300mm) and the 327 U-Turn (85-130mm). Recon is a great choice for most mountain bikes. Main difference between the Recon 351 and Recon 327: The Recon 351 has Motion Control Damping.

• RockShox Revelation 426 and Revelation 409 forks. Intended for Enduro and All mountain; the Revelation has a new chassis design optimized for 130mm travel. Uses stiff 32mm straight wall aluminum upper tubes, new forged 6061 T6 aluminum crown, integrated remote cable stop, Motion Control Damping with adjustable Floodgate. Don’t be fooled; this is not a long travel Reba, but a totally new fork, which was redesigned top to bottom! Main difference between the 426 and 409: The 426 has an external floodgate adjuster.

• Pike will now have an Air U-Turn Option. Pike 454 U-Turn, Pike 426 Air U-Turn and Pike 409 Air U-Turn. Also new for 2006 are new Aluminum Control knobs. Each of the models mentioned here also come as Coil U-Turn or Dual Air.

• All forks from the Revelation up (i.e. Revelation, Reba, Pike, SID, BoXXer) get new aluminum controls, from new flip lever U-Turn knobs, to Air Valve caps to Rebound adjusters. All new AL controls. The new Air Valve caps are now easier to remove - Instead of using an o-ring on the outside circumference of the cap, RockShox designed them to now create a seal on the top of the schrader valve via a small o-rig on the inside of the cap.

This is the bulk of what was presented to us before we headed out for a ride. The plan was to have Media Guests ride the Recon fork on Monday, followed by the Revelation on Tuesday. But unfortunately we only got to ride the Recon since the weather was crap on Tuesday.

Montana De Oro XC Ride

I was lucky enough to try the Revelation when I was at the SRAM camp in AZ, but did most of the riding there on a Tora 318 equipped Santa Cruz Blur. I must say the Tora felt pretty nice for a fork in it’s class – I had some little problems with it blowing thought it’s travel on the first loop, especially in some of the downhill switchbacks and hard corners. But that was only because I didn’t have enough air in it, once dialed-in it performed flawlessly!

The Recon 351 we rode was also very nice – that coupled with a MC 3.3 rear shock made for a perfect couple. You could lock both dampers with the twist of a switch, which made it much easier on climbs. Although locked out works great for some climbs, I personally prefer to have a bit of compliancy when climbing. This is where the MC 3.3 shines! You can easily set the Floodgate to resist bobbing, but still have the suspension move on those bigger bumps and rocks. When in the fully locked out setting you tend to loose traction over things like water bars and/or square edged rocks, but by using the middle Floodgate setting, you get the best of both worlds. Once you reach the top of your climb you can simply open it up for a fun flowy descents.

This camp also reinforced what I’ve been saying about the new X.0 Trigger shifters. Initial impressions in Arizona were good but the San Luis Obispo camp sealed it. The new triggers are so damn simple, yet feel much nicer than anything else I’ve ever ridden. Think about it - there is only a hand full of parts in each shifter, not only does this mean you can easily service them, but also means fewer parts prone to fail. They feel so great that sometimes I feel like shifting even if I don’t need to ;o)

If I had to describe in 3 words how well the new SRAM 2006 X.0 drivetrain works – I would have to say that each shift is quick, precise and effortless.

After the first ride, we all met up for lunch and refueled before heading out for another Montana De Oro loop! We almost got through the day without getting rained on, but alas rain started as we were making our way down the mountain. Still good times – how can you not have fun when you’re riding your bike?

The day ended with fine dining at The Cliffs in Pismo Beach – SRAM treated us like kings and queens.

The bad weather prevented us from riding today. Now you’re probably thinking since we’re in California: “How could weather possibly prevent you guys from riding?” Let me tell you, it wasn’t simple showers, I mean it came down like nails non-stop from like 1am Tuesday morning until mid afternoon – turning all the trails into goopy soup. Not only is it bad for the trails and drivetrain when riding in those conditions, but I also would feel bad for the mechanics that would have to clean over 20+ bikes after the ride.

So the new plan was to spend most of the day at the Truvativ Warehouse for some presentations and tour of the facility. It all started with breakfast and 2006 Avid & Truvativ product presentations.

NEW 2006 Avid Products

• Split handlebar clamp is back on the Juicy 7 – other than that no other significant changes

• Juicy 5 comes in stealthy black.

• BB7 remain unchanged – but they will now come with Roundagon Rotors

• BB5 has a new adjuster knob. Bigger inboard adjuster knob, which also gives the caliper a narrower profile.

• Rim brakes – just so you know, they still make them ;o) Avid brought back the Single Digit 3’s, which is now their entry level brake.


NEW 2006 Truvativ Products

• Holzfeller Stem: Very nice Polish Anodize finish with laser etched logos. Forged AL-66 Aluminum and CNC’d for weight reduction - 50g lighter than their 2005 stem.

• Howitzer BB System: Forged and CNC’d allow cups. Massive External cartridge bearings with Heat-Treated chromoly spindle. Comes as XR (Alloy in Pitch Black) or Team (CNC Machined Alloy in Metal Grey). Think of this one as an external bearing ISIS drive and will maintain a 3 piece crank.

• New Stylo Carbon cranks. They start with a forged interior spine made of AL-66 for high interface strength, and then they wrap the arms in carbon fiber & pressure cure. Strong and beautiful! Giga X Pipe.

• Hussefelt cranks have a new attitude. AL-66 alloy for higher strength with new shaped arms for a more aggressive tone. Also machined finish logos and stealth black finish. Works with the new Howitzer interface.


• Holzfeller cranks use a brand new arm design made from AL-7050-TV. The result is a stronger, lighter and stiffer crankarm. Also works with the new Howitzer BB interface.

• New Shiftguide: New for 2006 are XR and Team Shiftguides. Both attach between the BB&BB shell. Adjustable bottom roller made of durable bushing type composite. Designed to work with standard triple front derailleurs, setup as a double with Bashguard.


Truvativ Warehouse Tour

Garrett Smith, Location Manager at Truvativ, gave us the full tour of the facility. For me the most impressive part was the stress testing area – hey, who doesn’t like to break stuff? Ha!

Micki Kozuschek, founder of Truvativ also talked about Truvativ’s success. Whether it’s catalogs or conception, Truvativ can always make quick changes if needed, since everything is pretty much done in house. “The ability to do everything in house, quickly, cost effectively and professionally are the key points of Truvativ’s success!” stated Micki.

There are 5 Engineers that work at Truvativ USA, including Garrett. Almost all Truvativ products have been done at their US office in San Luis Obispo, and this is since the very beginning. Other than manufacturing (which is done in Asia), R&D, Engineering, testing, and sales are all done here in SLO.

George Dubois, Engineer at Truvativ, gave us a demo of the software they use (Pro/Engineering) throughout the design phase. Then for the optimization of the product itself, they use a process called FEA (Finite Element Analysis). FEA allows you to take that 3D geometry designed in Pro/Engineering and apply loads to this geometry. One you are done with your FEA run, you get a stress plot or where the stress points are under specific loads – pretty cool stuff! You can see in the picture here – Red color is high stresses, while Blue color is lower stresses.

After analyzing the results from the FEA fun, Truvativ Engineers can then go back and optimize the geometry for weight and strength. This is only one of many R&D processes they use – they also ride the parts and use fancy machines they’ve designed to test strength, stiffness and stress levels, and fatigue life on the actual parts (proto and/or final).

Truvativ has all the necessary knowledge in respect to components and what they need to do to make a strong & safe product at multiple price levels and multiple market places. A good point that Micki brought is that unfortunately, the bike industry doesn’t always do what is best. “Whether we like it or not, we are the fashion industry” stated Micki. At the end of the day, they always have to do things visually that wasn’t always best for the part but pleasing for the customer. Not that it takes anything away from the safety features of the parts, but we all know people want parts that are aesthetically pleasing.


We then stepped into the “Engineering Playground” – and that is where it’s at! This is where they try to break whatever they can by using a plethora of custom machines! The only way to really learn about the parts is by stressing them to their failure point – they do as much mechanical testing as they can.

John and Anthony gladly did a few demonstrations for us by breaking a few bars and applying ridiculous loads on cranks. Anthony was telling us that they break every single type of bars they make and measure the amount of force right before failure (impact) and immediately after. By measuring the change in energy, they can tell how much energy can be absorbed by each particular sample before it fails/break.

Truvativ had to order a new compressor since the one they currently have isn’t strong enough to break some of their current cranks. The cranks seen in this picture has some 2800 lbs applied to them. The information they get out of this machine is Stiffness, Yield strength, Ultimate strength and Energy. “Four very important sets of information!” said Garrett.

Stiffness: How much the crank will displace under a given load.
Yield: Increasing the stress above a certain limit will give rise to inelastic deformations, known as yielding. In other words, when the stress is removed, the strain does not return to zero (and the original shape is not fully restored) since some deformation has permanently set in. The stress level at which this occurs is referred to as the yield stress or yield point.
Ultimate: Max load that the crank arms took when it broke.
Energy: The area under load vs. displacement curve (i.e. graph) will give you the amount of Energy that was stored in the crankset.

I’m sure even more tests are conducted, but in a nut shell this is what I got out of the tour. Very interesting stuff - Really made up for not being able to ride that day.

Tech Session with Greg H, Ron R, and Sander R

We got a private Tech session with Greg Herbold, Ron Ritzler and Sander Rigney. They showed us how to properly adjust the new X.0 trigger shifters using the various mounting options and why MC is so great.

Ron Ritzler gave us the run down of the new X.0 trigger shifters while Sander Rigney went through set-up, functionality and benefits of Motion Control dampers. He also showed us how to properly install a PopLoc Dual.

Tournament of Champions

No better way to finish off a great event than by enjoying a few cold brews, sharing some good laughs and duking it out with a Billiards Tournament! Everyone met up at the SLO Brewing Co. and good times were had.

My playing partner and I made it all the way to the Semi-Finals, but were eliminated by Michael Zellmann & Vernon Felton (of Bike Magazine), who eventually won the tourney. But you know, Zellmann is the one who invited me to this camp in the first place, so I HAD to let him win ;o)

The billiards tournament was not enough for some of the more competitive ones in the group – “Over The Top” style arm wrestling matches toped off the evening activities.

We then headed out to Novo Restaurant for dinner.

Conclusion

It’s great to see all the collaborative effort that goes into the making of these fabulous bike gems. Not only are they all hard workers, but they seem to have a good time while doing it. A lot of innovation is coming out of SRAM year after year! Quite refreshing, and simply keeps us excited and curious as to what they will come out with next!

I wish I could list everyone that was there (including media guests) in order to thank them all. But alas the list would be too long and I would probably end up forgetting some people. Even if the weather put a damper on things, the people at SRAM/Truvativ/RS/Avid really did a good job at re-scheduling the events and keeping everything under control.

Props go out to our hosts Michael Zellmann and Dillon Clapp.

If you want to see the entire gallery of this event: CLICK HERE

Brand web sites:
www.sram.com
www.rockshox.com
www.avidbike.com
www.truvativ.com
www.blackboxracing.com