First Look: Gamut, 3T, and Race Face - Sea Otter 2013

Gamut Trail S Prototype Guide
Gamut's approach of designing simple yet effective guides that don't employ any moving parts continues with their Trail S, a new model aimed at the enduro/all-mountain set. The prototype pictured here is fitted with rapid prototyped upper and lower slider pieces, but Gamut told us that the production version will likely look very similar, including the extensively machined away boomerang. Speaking of the boomerang, do you notice anything different about it? The answer lies in the angle of the upper arm, which is tilted anti-clockwise a few more degrees than what seems to be the norm. This shifts the top slider lower down and more rearwards over the chain ring, allowing Gamut to use a more compact, lighter weight slider. This setup wouldn't be possible without the size-specific boomerangs that Gamut plans to manufacture for the Trail S, meaning that there will be distinct guides for each chain ring size that it is intended to work with (28 - 32, 32 - 36, and 36 - 40 teeth). As you might expect, this method results in a light weight guide that doesn't feature any of the extra material required by the typical setup with adjustable upper and lower slider pieces, and the prototype shown here weighs just 140 grams.

The production version will make use of Gamut's replaceable O-ring on the lower slider, with it positioned so that only the chain's rollers make contact. Gamut knows full well that the O-ring layout will wear out over time - they include multiple replacements in the box - but they say that it makes for a very quiet setup with no moving parts to wear out or rust. There will be versions to fit both ISCG and ISCG-05, as well as older style bikes that clamp the guide's backplate underneath the drive side bottom bracket cup, and it should be available this coming summer.

www.gamutusa.com

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3T Mountain Bike Components
The 3T name might not be a familiar name to a lot of mountain bikers here in North America, but the brand, founded in Italy in 1961, has a long history in the road world. This year's Sea Otter marked their entry into the mountain bike market, with them showing us their carbon fiber Ionic mountain bike post that utilizes their interesting single bolt DiffLock seat clamp. Before you chime in with a story about how you've had nothing but trouble with your single bolt saddle clamp rotating when your ass hits the seat hard, 3T has gone to great lengths to prevent that from happening. Two interlocking, splined barrels, one inside the other, slip into the post's zero offset head, with the outer barrel using a coarser spline than the inner. The two-barrel arrangement allows for very precise angle adjustments, and we don't see how the clamp could ever rotate under hard use. 3T also had a new carbon fiber riser bar and aluminum stem on display that, much like the Ionic seat post, looks to be aimed squarely at cross-country riders.


www.3tcycling.com

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Race Face Goes Wide and Skinny
Race Face is joining the ranks of companies who, in an effort to limit the chance of dropping a chain, offer rings with alternating tooth profiles. The Canadian company isn't claiming to have invented the idea, but the concept of having sequentially spaced wider teeth that mesh snuggly with the wider spaced outer link plates of a chain makes enough sense that all of their single rings, including those that come on their single ring cranksets, will use the design.

They also showed us their Flank Core protection, a thin upper body garment that incorporates density changing D30 padding on the shoulders and back, as well as thin foam chest plate. The idea is to offer riders something that they can wear under a t-shirt, jersey, or jacket that will go unnoticed by others, and be as comfortable as possible while still offering a degree of protection. Not looking for shoulder pads? Simply remove each D30 pad from its internal pocket, and riders also have the option of slipping out the D30 back pad if they plan on wearing a backpack. The Flank Core shouldn't be too hot, either, thanks to its mesh and lycra construction that looks very airy, and Race Face says that it doesn't interfere with neck braces.


www.raceface.com