2019 Pinkbike Awards: Innovation of the Year Nominees
Innovation of the Year Nominees
Mountain biking has advanced dramatically since the sport's pioneers started riding re-purposed Schwinn cruisers, but even after nearly half a century of change it turns out there's still room for improvements. This year's batch of innovations includes a clever way to dial in the perfect spring rate on a coil-sprung shock, two sets of wheels that seek to achieve the ideal balance of comfort, stiffness, and durability, a wireless, electronic component group, and a cross-country race bike with a shock integrated into the top tube.
Why it's nominated
The 2020 Olympic Games are fast approaching, and a long list of new XC-race oriented products are being launched ahead of the event. Trek's Supercaliber is one of them, and while it first hit the World Cup circuit partway through the 2019 World Cup season, there's no doubt the potential for Olympic glory was a motivating factor for the unique design.
It's the IsoStrut that sets the Supercaliber apart from other softtails or short-travel cross-country bikes, a structural, frame integrated shock that was developed in conjunction with Fox. A carbon fiber carrier slides along the stanchion that's located under the the top tube to deliver 55-millimeters of travel, with an additional 5 millimeters of travel coming from the vertical flex of the seatstays.
Incorporating the shock into the frame allowed Trek's designers to hit stiffness numbers that wouldn't be possible on a traditional full suspension bike. In the cross-country world, unwanted flex, even if it's a millimeter here or there, is energy that would be better of being used for forward propulsion, which is why hardtails are still a common site on certain tracks. The Supercaliber's unique frame combines the benefits of a hardtail and a full-suspension bike into one potent package, a feat that puts it into the running for an Innovation of the Year award.
From the First Ride:
 | Trek's IsoStrut serves multiple purposes - it contains an air spring and a damper, and also serves as a structural component of the frame. The IsoStrut's air spring can be tuned and dialed in exactly how a rider desires, and it can be fully locked out. With the IsoStrut integrated into the bike as a structural component that carries top tube loads, it allows the Supercaliber to achieve stiffness numbers that are a lot higher than a typical full suspension bike. |
Why it's nominated
After six years in development, SRAM's AXS components debuted in 2019, bringing wireless, electronic shifting and a wireless dropper post to the mountain bike world. Along with eliminating the for cables and housing, the system opens up a new realm of possibilities when it comes to the shape and location of shifter and dropper post levers.
Incorporating a battery and a motor into a derailleur while keeping the weight down and maintaining a relatively low profile is no easy feat, but SRAM's engineers managed to pull it off. There's even a tiny gearbox inside the derailleur that converts the torque from the motor into the right and left motions required to shift up or down the cassette. The derailleur also has a secondary clutch, called the Overload Clutch, that's designed to disengage the gearbox and allow the derailleur to move out of the way during an impact. That movement helps keep the motor from being damaged, along with protecting the derailleur and hanger at the same time.
Out in the real world, our time with the AXS group has shown that the system lives up to the hype. It delivers quick, precise shifting every single time, along with an instant response from the dropper post, with no need to worry about bleeding a hydraulic line or fussing around with cable and housing. The battery life has been impressive as well, with testers getting 15-20 rides in between charges. Yes, the fact that you need to remember to charge a battery is the downside to an electronic system, but if you can remember to charge your phone every day or two, charging a derailleur battery once a month isn't the end of the world.
There wasn't one single aspect of the AXS component group that earned it the Innovation of the Year nomination. Instead, it's the system's level of refinement that cemented its spot on this list. For their initial foray into the world of off-road electronics, SRAM got it right, and it's going to be very interesting to see how they go about bringing this technology to lower price points.
From the review:
| You can say that computers and batteries don't belong on your bike, and you can certainly moan at the cost as much as you want, but the bottom line is that nothing else on the market offers this combination of simplicity, consistency, gearing range, low weight, and overall performance. |
Why They're Nominated
When carbon wheels first began to gain popularity in the mountain bike world, it was the increased level of stiffness that they brought to the table compared to aluminum rims that was one of the main selling points. And it's true, a set of light and stiff wheels can noticeably alter the feel of a bike, especially if that bike's frame isn't all that stout to begin with. However, it's entirely possible to have too much of a good thing, and overly stiff wheels can make for a harsh, jarring, and at times, downright unpleasant ride. Super-stiff wheels with tall sidewalls can also make pinch flats more likely, and can be more prone to failure due to their inability to absorb large impacts.
This year, we saw two companies take steps to create compliant carbon rims - Zipp with their 3Zero Moto wheels, and CrankBrothers with their Synthesis wheels.
Zipp's solution was to create a single-walled rim, one that looks similar to what's used on motocross bikes. That profile is intended to allow the rim to flex and absorb hard impacts, rather than transmitting them to the rider. Zipp isn't the first company to try this design – Mello Boumeester, who's now working with Crankbrothers, had single wall carbon rims on the market in 2014 – although Zipp claim they first tossed around the idea in 2012. In any case, it's still not a very common design, and based on the number of resin and laminate configurations that Zipp tried, it's a tricky one to get right.
Crankbrothers took a slightly different tactic, creating a wheelset with a stiffer rear wheel paired with a more compliant front. That front wheel uses a wider rim and a lower spoke count, while the rear wheel has a slightly narrower rim with more reinforcement to handle harder impacts. The rims use the more traditional double wall shape, but have additional reinforcement in key areas to provide extra impact resistance.
Zipp and Crankbrothers are both recipients of an Innovation of the Year award nomination for their efforts to improve upon the modern mountain bike wheel in a way that increases both performance and durability.
From the Synthesis review:
| The difference between the ride quality of the Synthesis wheels and their high-end competitors is quite remarkable. Upon riding these wheels, it's easier than ever to comprehend that there's a lot more to a wheel than it just being stiff and strong. Compliance and ride quality directly translate to comfort and control on the bike. |
From the 3Zero Moto review:
| Zipp are rolling down the right path with the 3Zero Moto wheels – they're very comfortable, and track very well in rough terrain. They've also held up extremely well to five months of hard usage. |
Why It's Nominated
If you've owned a bike with a coil-sprung shock at any point in your riding career there's a good chance you amassed a small pile of springs to go with it. Getting the correct spring rate can take a bit of trial and error, and it's not as easy as pulling out the shock pump and adding or subtracting a couple pounds of air.
Sprindex's clever new system helps make it easier to dial in the perfect setup – literally. A plastic (glass-reinforced polymer if you want to get technical) collar is mounted on the bottom of the spring, where it can be turned to one of 14 indexed positions. Turning the collar locks out a portion of one of the coils, effectively increasing the spring rate. The total amount of adjustment varies depending on the spring's length and rate, but it's between 30 – 60 lb/in, which effectively gives one Sprindex spring the range of two 'normal' springs.
This design falls squarely into the “Why didn't I think of that?” category, and for their efforts Sprindex receives a nomination for Innovation of the Year.
From the First Look:
| Sprindex's new adjustable-rate coil spring system lets riders alter their spring-rate without needing to swap out coils or even reach for any tools. Instead, all you need to do is rotate the Sprindex collar by hand to add or subtract as much as 30 to 60 lb/in to the spring rate. It also consists of only a few extra parts, making it dead-simple to boot. |
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I nominate:
1. Pole...bend the truth about bent stays
2. RM....break it down how safe their bikes are
3. Insert your favorite " thanks for all the great years" video, messages etc from teams that just got dumped by their top riders
4...
1) best xc uphill overtake.(not a joke)
2) outtakes of people pronoucing names wrong, like levy...
3) top ten loris noises.
4) when cathrovision got it wrong.
Now we have everyone saying 'six-fifty-bee' or 'twenty-seven-point-five-inch', both of which make us sound even more like idiots to any outsiders of the sport, how about just 27 inch.... which it actually is.
Presenting the E-bike Mike Drop Awards -
Can Kazimer on a Kenovo drop Levy on a Levo?
bad ideas in no particular order:
1. How a about a video of actual dentists and their bikes....
2. Waki narrating a few of his best rants....the new years top ten countdown style.
3. A parody of some of the bike promotional videos with those super long intro panoramic mumbo jumbos and never even show the bike or bikers
4. The Walmart bike hot lap video ( get supplemental health insurance before the run please)
5. promo video for the ebike upcountry bike fieldtest
6. Interview with all the coulour blind bike designers picking out the " best" bike colors
7. Huck to flat football lineman or sumo wrestlers video ( not you 160 pounders1)
6.
AXS? Making a mountain version of an existing road group? Just because marketing puts “innovative” on the sales presentation materials doesn’t make it so...
I guess they must have designed the spring with this in mind, but I can't visualize how it would work. I'd love to see photos of it at full compression!
I'm not sure on the wheels, for sure it seems like carbon wheels were too fragile and then too strong and the idea that they don't have to automatically copy aluminum rims is great. But cost VS performance when they are now trying to replicate the feel of aluminum it seems those are a bit of a hard sell when I can get the feel of aluminum for SO much less and the weight difference doesn't seem as drastic...?
Making spring rate easier to dial would make coiled rear ends more affordable and viable for the industry. While the current Supercalibler is a spendy beast, this design should transfer to a lower price point pretty easily.
Considering that an aluminum Slash frame weights only a pound more than a carbon one, and Trek is willing to sell aluminum frames with decent parts (Slash 8 is a really good deal) then we may see this setup at 3-4k with decent parts in a year or 2.
Sprindex is a good second place. Ultra-simple, innovative, inexpensive, and does what it claims. I don't ride a coil shock (or even a full-sus anymore), but this is a great product idea!
The shifting is indeed amazing. But the lever Ergonomie is realy crap. My thumb hurts every time i see a AXS shifter. (Yea i know you can rotate it slightly, its still sh*t)
And on Bikes with lots of rear travel and a long stroke dropper the rear wheel can knock out the AXS battery, friend of mine used to ride with a spare battery until he finaly ditched the AXS dropper.
They have an interesting opinion on the single wall design and about when it's beneficial and when it's not.
Better tell the bike manufacturers in cali to close up shop.
To not put myself in a Situation where I could be seen as puting words in someone's mouth I won't referance the conversation or anything.
The folks at Noble are great people if you reach out with questions I'm confident they I'll et back to you.
26 ain’t dead
I do dream of the day I own the latest and greatest.
Give me a bike that can run 26, 27.5, or 29....or maybe I'll just build my own some day. GG is on to something with their modularity.
"but I honestly don't think the 27.5" wheels make it any faster. 27.5" and 29" just make it easier for less experienced riders to get over stuff IMO"
You for real? Like gun to your head you have to admit to this opinion you still doing it? Like do you honestly believe that the only advantage these two wheel sizes give a rider is the ability to make life easier for less capable riders?
Yes, that and generating money. They're not lighter, stronger, nor are they easier to corner. Resistance rolling over stuff is really the only advantage I see to them and that comes with the disadvantages mentioned. I also question how much difference in rolling over things there actually is with suspension technology being as good as it is. My guess would be that it only offers a significant advantage for obstacles over a certain height. What other advantages do you see? I'm not complaining about being on a 27.5 bike now and I think all wheel sizes can be fun, but I just don't see or feel a significant advantage going up in wheel size.
But I will say it's very I interesting that you talk about how larger wheels have the added benefit of rolling over things with more ease but don't equate that to being "faster".
Okay okay.... I'll give you one of the biggest PROs to the larger wheels. Contact patch.
I'm not saying it's the only reason but I do think that plays into people switching over. I never said that there isn't any advantage to larger wheels. I simply made the point that I personally don't see a significant advantage and I don't think the average rider does either. Ride whatever makes you happy.
My initial point wasn't that I don't think people shouldn't ride other wheel sizes. Maybe they're not as big of an advantage that some have made them out to be. I'd like to see options rather than killing off something that still works and is still fast. Sales speak though and the industry has shifted to larger wheels. Would it be bad to offer more options? Would it be harmful to re-evaluate? There are advantages and disadvantages to all options. The "best" one is dependent on the rider and what they ride. To think that 29" is better for everything because the pros ride it is naive and short-sighted.
@TheBearDen: and @hamncheez: Keep drinking the Kool Aid the industry is handing out or decide to have an intelligent discussion on this. No need to get bent out of shape because I've questioned whether the "fastest" wheel sizes are actually faster.
Your times haven't significantly improved for probably all sorts of reasons but it could be your wheels only really became 1" bigger, you probably have less time on your GG than you had on your Yeti and the fact ones suspension platform and travel length is very different than the other's.
Also an intelligent conversation wouldn't have started with you making statements about how 29ers only benefit was they made trails easier.
A trails difficulty is based solely on a particular riders abilities. A 29er isn't gonna make a double black diamond in whistler easier for a new rider compared to a 26" wheeled bike.
I did a timed race on a alloy Norco fluid with WTB superBee tires on it vs a guy on a YT Capra with all the bells and whistles and after two laps my fastest lap was 7 seconds faster. Why? Because our skill levels were very very different.
other contender is a banshee spitfire which can run 26 or 27.
I don't deny that I missed some things in my initial post and you brought up a good topic of contact patches. However, you can also run larger tires on small wheels to get comparable grip. There are many approaches to get similar performance. The industry is leading us to believe that it's cut and dry and that big wheels are better though. I 'm still of the opinion that there's some marketing B.S. being pushed on us.
My whole point is that options are good and things aren't as black and white that big wheels are just better. A modern geometry 26" could be a better option than 27.5 or 29 for a lot of people as I suggested and even you did too. There are many factors that determine what's best for each person. There's a lot of subjectivity as to what's best and a lot of it is just personal preference and getting used to a bike. People should think for themselves and weigh options rather than blindly following the fastest pros or what each company says is best.