Atherton Bikes, Onyx Hubs, Kogel Bearings, & More - Sea Otter 2022
Atherton Bikes made the trek over and had Jim Monro's AM.200 DH race bike on display. The non-production link skipped the anodizing step to change up the suspension kinematics.
Jim was using an O-chain pedal kickback damper and the titanium lugs were reconfigured to work with a 27.5" rear wheel.
There was also the AM.150 enduro bike hanging out at yet another Continental tent.
Pinkbike Racing Team manager and race line decipherer, Ben Cathro, was also about with his very yellow Santa Cruz V10.
Ben also managed to get his hands on the same chainstay extenders we've seen Greg Minnaar use.
HT has been working on shaving grams off of their pedals and extending the bearing life. The T2 on the left weighs in a 373 g while the beefier X3 now comes with the cleat slider plate and revised internals.
Factor had hubs in all of your favorite anodized colors.
The silent, zero drag Onyx hubs come in any color option you can dream up. The Helix front hub has cut out to save even more grams.
More colors and all of the driver options.
'Liquid camo' is now a color option for DMR's Vault pedals and Wingman handlebar.
Hayes snuck in their Dominion T4 brake which save 50-grams per brake by removing more material from the caliper and adding a carbon lever.
The gold Pro Taper alloy bar is a throwback to their early 2000s look.
Ok it's not aluminum or machined, but this throwback paint job on the Intense M29 gathered attention.
When stanchions used to be less than 30mm.
Kogel's ceramic bearings are found in their premium 12-speed SRAM or Shimano derailleur cages.
The jockey wheels are said to reduce drag thanks to the ceramic bearings and larger tooth count of 14 and 18-teeth.
Mix and match the jockey wheels, bolts, and cage colors for $489.
5DEV is all about testing the limits of machining. Their Trail/Enduro Pedals are less than 12mm thick.
The Spacey sprocket is proof of that and was made in a flash to test the narrow wide tooth retention profile until someone asked for one of their own.
This top loading prototype stem isn't ready for production, but it's always cool to see what 5DEV is cooking up.
Will from 5DEV had his personal bike tricked out with a mix of raw and black anodized components, topped off with some Versus tires to match the turquoise paint.
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118 Comments
So if you don’t mind replacing it every so often then you do get a new BB every 6 months and don’t even have to worry about servicing it.
Doubt.
Running pulley wheels from there now and love them.
This wording is so weird. Skipping the anodizing changes the kinematics? Missing some commas or out of order there?
For example, HT's Supreme pedal is $120, and it's HT ME03T is $280. They are produced in Taiwan.
But yea, I run cheap plastic pedals and replace them once a year.
Ceramic bearing derailleur pulleys are just the-dumbest-“upgrade” you can light your money on fire bolting onto a bike.
I turned wrenches in the late 1990s when companies made pretty cranks with weird/non-functional designs. They all had an alarming failure rate.
Magic Motorcycle/CODA cranks and Sweet Wings were hollow with a tubular bottom bracket spindle and super reliable.
Then Shimano came out with second generation (M900/910) with hollow tech cranks and they were stiffer, lighter and dead reliable. Put those garbage (but pretty garbage) CNC crank manufacturers out of business.
I’m alarmed that we may be seeing a return to products like this. These companies can’t afford the kind of extensive beta testing a bigger company can-you get to product these their stuff, and if you get hurt they can’t afford to cover your injuries.
So yeah-engineering 101, hollow or tubular construction is optimal.
And buyer beware on pretty CNC junk.
Also, since these are machined not forged they’d have to be a little heavier anyway.
Period.
I’ve ridden Dura Ace cranks hard enough for them to develop stress cracks, but it took 20,000 miles with something like 200 days of racing to get there.
Actually-all Profile products are hella good!!!!!!!
5Dev is not AC, Cook Bros or Kooka (I rode/worked in a shop during that era and know those products well) where they had access to a buddy's machine and drew up some bro designs with little consideration of durability. They are a division of a very large engineering company with multiple staff engineers focused on just the bicycle products. The cranks have been tested are are well beyond any of todays standards. BTW they are ~40 grams heavier than XTR for comparison.
This might be of interest to you if haven't already read it.
(Not trying to prove anything/argue, purely fyi)
I understand using your manufacturing facilities to produce a product with them but I do agree with wyo that it’s taking the long way round when there is a better way to make the product, with a different process.