Randoms Round 1 - Sea Otter 2017
This air-sprung prosthetic leg was designed and used by Mike Schultz, who rides for Fox's motocross team. After developing the leg for himself, Schultz went on to found BioDapt in order to help other amputees participate in action sports.
Fox's X2 and DPS shocks both received updates for 2018. The DPS gets a new air can designed to increase the negative spring volume and increase small bump sensitivity, while the X2's damping tune was revised. Both shocks are now available in imperial and metric sizes.
For riders who want the performance of Fox's Factory series but would rather forgo the Kashima coating, the Perfomance Elite series uses the same internals, but has black stanchions.
"Giro's Empire shoes and Chronicle helmet" = the title of a painting Picasso never did.
It may look like a fairly basic rain shell, but Gore's 1985 Shakedry jacket is constructed with the lightest Gore Tex fabric available, and weighs a scant 116 grams for a size large. It's currently aimed mainly at road cyclists, but a more durable version designed to withstand the rigors of mountain biking is in the works.
NitroShox have been teasing us with their oleo damper since 2015, but they're getting closer to bringing the unit to the market. There's supposed to be one heading our way for testing very, very soon - it'll be very interesting to see if a shock with only one adjustment - preload - can match the performance of today's ultra-adjustable options.
The only external adjustment on the NitroShox damper is preload, which is altered by turning this oversized knob on the piggyback reservoir.
DHarCo, the Australian mountain bike apparel company whose focus is on comfortable, more casually styled clothing, made their first appearance at Sea Otter. Beginning in May, when riders in the US order from their site, those items will be sent out from a warehouse in the United States, greatly reducing the shipping time.
Praxis had their new Lyft HD cranks on display. Available in a 170mm length, they're a beefed up version of the standard Lyft cranks, with a thicker spindle and a carbon layup that's designed for aggressive riders. Weight is claimed to be 548 grams, including a 32-tooth chainring.
The styling of Bern's FL-1 XC may not be for everyone, but at $119 for a lightweight, MIPS equipped helmet the price is reasonable.
Ohlins had a partially disassembled version of their RXF 34 fork on display. We're currently testing the new coil sprung version of their RXF 36 - keep an eye out for a review in the next few months.
Ohlins said the highest demand for their shocks seems to be from Santa Cruz and Yeti owners, and this Hightower served to prove that point.
Version 2.0 of Kona's Wah Wah pedal is on the way, with a wide polycarbonate platform and seven pins on each side. The final price hasn't been determined, but it's expected to be less than $65. There's also an alloy version in the works, but its release is a little further down the line.
Specialized had their new, ultralight Epic hardtail on display in a paint scheme inspired by Ned Overend's 1991 S-Works M2. Ultralight isn't an exaggeration, either - the frame weighs only 900 grams.
Along with their new $1200 carbon wheelset, Bontrager also released an alloy version that uses the same quick-engaging hubs, but, at $600, costs half as much.
Whistler Performance Lubes made the trek down from British Columbia with their line of chain lubes and fork oils.
Bike park season is right around the corner - Ergon's super comfy GD1 grips are a good choice for warding off the claw hand that results from long days of plowing through braking bumps.
Best booth at Sea Otter? The fact that Pit Viper sunglasses had a stereo cassette player blaring MC Hammer only made this scene even better.
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Why am I not surprised.
Plenty of nomad owners have an 11-6. I'm in the minority that still use a DBair
I'm yet to see a nomad with an ohlins but if they're less than an 11-6 they will sell a lot. I almost bought an 11-6 but i couldn't justify the price of a new nice steel hardtail for more midstroke support and small bump sensitivity. I got my db air used from someone that upgraded to an 11-6. It's not perfect but it's damn close and i have an extra grand.
I ride mine plenty. It's my only bike and it does everything well enough. The stock spec'd monarch is a good shock but it doesn't jive well when you start pushing the bike like it's intended. If the monarch had a HSC adjustment it would work well enough.
I was using a DBAir CS on my SB6c and I changed too the DBCoil CS and it feels a lot better than the air spring.
Air spring felt punchy where the coil feels smooth throughout its stroke.
I'm not sure why all the hate towards Ohlins they are 600$ less than Push Eleven-six and pretty sure it's just as good!
And btw, f*ck you weight weenies for flooding the market with air shocks.
Also, Bontrager is killing it with these new affordable high end wheelsets!
the motor bike stuff is sexy as f@#k makes spending all that money abit easier.