The second round of the 2022 XC World Cup is well underway in Germany after a flat out XCC Short Track race, we've been for a lap of the pits to see what's fresh in Albstadt:
Data acquisition has become common place in the downhill pits in recent years but it's beginning to spread into the XC pits too.
The Bixs team bikes lined up in the pits.
The Bixs team are running DT Swiss dropper posts.
The linkage movement looks pretty wild when is use!
We've seen plenty of prototype rubber from Continental in the downhill pits over the last year or so but now they're getting stuck into the XC side too with Team 31.
No mistaking who this belongs too.
Anne Terpstra's cockpit setup.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot has a fresh paintjob for this weekend.
The logos really pop in the light.
Rain or shine, the muddy conditions will pose the biggest issue for everyone.
Jolanda Neff tried the Trek Procaliber in practice but opted for her Supercaliber instead.
Jolanda's mechanic Alvaro really went to town on this one.
Shock rebuilds going down in the SRAM pits.
A closer look at what looks to be electronic SR Suntour suspension.
Mathias Flueckiger looking for every and any millimetre of front end drop.
Mechanic Gavin Black has modified the DT Swiss dropper post lever to Flueckiger's taste.
Jenny Rissveds has a new race bike this year, the Ibis Exie.
No frame stickers here. The riders' names are under the lacquer.
The decathlon (rockrider) bike looks good, 'I like big box stores and I cannot lie' 'all the other brands can't deny' 'when a bike comes in with coloured TRP brakes' 'and a manitou fork in your face' 'You get sprung, want to pull up tough...'
It seems like the next illogical step by the bike industry! Remember when their were a lot of push back with internal routing then a few bike companies responded with internal routing tubes…..most everyone is happy. The next thing will be forced super boost with PF92 BBs
@salespunk: It's actually more expensive to run the cables through the headset because you have to use a 1.5/1.5 headset vs a 1 1/8"/1.5. You have two big bearings and cups to buy. The routing must be a look things. Not having cables around the head tube, does look nice!
I love the diversity and quirkiness of the world cup XC bikes.
In the old days it would be downhill that had more to look at,but today it feels like there's only 4 or 5 different bikes,with 3 brands of suspension,and not much more.
@SintraFreeride: I love how you got downvoted, when XC is literally extreme gravel. It's not an opinion, it's just an objective truth. A gravel bike nowadays is just an xc bike from 10 years ago.
Downhill, is and always will be the pinnacle of mtb. People who say they're all sessions just dont understand what they are looking at. There is a certain breed of mtber who thinks aesthetics=engineering. These people are very silly...
@gabriel-mission9: The person who came up with the idea to recycle 90s fully rigid XC bikes with modern parts add drop bars and sell it to roadies is a freaking genius! Having a bunch of pros ride those bikes way out of their element and video it was another stroke of genius.
XC racing is the slowest and least advanced sector of mountainbiking. Dated geometry with most bikes still not running dropper posts...Comparing them to F1 is just ridiculous!
DH is the pinnacle for sure but we are only now getting back to the level of tech used by the mighty all winning Sunn team from the late 90s.
Most of these bikes look weirdly contorted, like the rider is annoyed that they’re on a mountain bike and the bikes have tried to warp themselves into something they’re not.
The Ibis, however, looks like a mountain bike. Just a really light one.
@daweil: which is hilarious given they’re the only brand that talks so much about how they have a graphic designer design their frames. They look horrendous.
@laupe: The chainring and power meter. On the road side they are doing one-piece chainring / power meter combos. The one photo seems to show the chainring off of the power meter in the background.
@laupe: Well lots of people didn't think it wouldn't be an option in the road world as well yet they did it. You have to trade in your PM every time you change your chainrings. Thankfully, by the looks of that photo, they are in fact two piece. I assume by a threaded interface.
The original version of this prototype powermeter was, in fact, a one-piece system as you suspected— in other words the chainring was not removable from the powermeter just like the road equivalent. Swapping ring sizes meant swapping the powermeter as well. Subsequent iterations (it remains a prototype Blackbox product) evolved to the version you see here with a threaded, removable ring allowing you to change the ring size without changing the powermeter as well.
@bbcopeland: Nice, that's cool, thanks! When I saw the all black one I thought it was getting closer to a possible release. I think the regular 4 bolt version is better for consumers, especially as it's a low volume product. I guess there is a tool to remove it, like a giant chain whip?
I wonder what Koretsky is riding : he's not with orbea anymore, he's listed as team "France" on the startlist. He's in KTM road racing team so maybe a KTM?
I did, I'd like a look at that tread pattern. New Specialized Cannibal DH tyre spotting recently as well. They've been doing so great with their tyres recently.
The SID 35 doesn't have Brain, only the SID 32, so he's probably using the SID 35 like many other racers... Lots of riders also using the Fox 34 instead of the Fox 32.
The "flex" is all in the bottom 3 inches where it tapers to the BB. There really isn't much flex to begin with and I am not sure why Trek sticks with it as it adds weight.
I'm literally more curious of what plant supplements/full spectrum extracts these top-level XC racers consume--seeing how all the 'cool' parts of XC are the efficient human motor powering the cranks (think about those uphill sprint sections during mega avalanche/mtn of hell..above 9k ft.)
These guys must eat their medicinal mushrooms, Irish Sea moss, beet roots, CBD>>big recovery for serious training.
I'm literally more curious of what plant supplements/full spectrum extracts these top-level XC racers consume--seeing how all the 'cool' parts of XC are the efficient human motors powering the cranks (think about those uphill sprint sections during mega avalanche/mtn of hell..above 9k ft.)
These guys must eat their medicinal mushrooms, Irish Sea moss, beet roots, CBD>>big recovery for serious training.
I don't care what anybody says, combining electronics with drivetrains and suspension is the coolest thing going on right now in mountain biking. It may not be for everybody but I for one am ready for the future.
I bet i get downvoted to hell but I personally believe that they will get better and better and that they could possibly be the future. but... i still love mech derailures more than electronic...
it's completely pointless, a band aid for improper suspension tune.
when the suspension's setup for you specifically, a dh bike can pedal like an xc bike AND still gobble everything up.
@baca262: What do you think they are doing with it? Its all to collect data, tune and dial in the suspension perfectly. That's cool as f*ck and achieves exactly what you are whining about it being a band aid for. This stuff sets up these bikes flawlessly.
'I like big box stores and I cannot lie'
'all the other brands can't deny'
'when a bike comes in with coloured TRP brakes'
'and a manitou fork in your face'
'You get sprung, want to pull up tough...'
Downhill, is and always will be the pinnacle of mtb. People who say they're all sessions just dont understand what they are looking at. There is a certain breed of mtber who thinks aesthetics=engineering. These people are very silly...
Having a bunch of pros ride those bikes way out of their element and video it was another stroke of genius.
XC racing is the slowest and least advanced sector of mountainbiking. Dated geometry with most bikes still not running dropper posts...Comparing them to F1 is just ridiculous!
DH is the pinnacle for sure but we are only now getting back to the level of tech used by the mighty all winning Sunn team from the late 90s.
The Ibis, however, looks like a mountain bike. Just a really light one.
These guys must eat their medicinal mushrooms, Irish Sea moss, beet roots, CBD>>big recovery for serious training.
These guys must eat their medicinal mushrooms, Irish Sea moss, beet roots, CBD>>big recovery for serious training.
you're one of those who think big company, moar betterer. i see right through you you braindead zombie