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Interbike 2004
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Dirt Demo |
A Class-DT Swiss |
Ellsworth-Hayes |
Intense-Marzocchi |
Maverick-Scott |
Shimano-Yakima
The rumors are true—Maverick will manufacture a single crown fork. The SC32 will come with a steep price though... but we don't know how much! We at least think they include the proprietary 24mm hub. Or get it all with a bike, like the Gary Fisher Cake DLX for $3200.
Eerily similar to sister company GT's iDrive, Mongoose calls this suspension design FreeDrive. Hardly free at $2500 for their Black Diamond Triple (top), but more affordable big travel is a good thing. It gets a new RockShox Boxxer Ride with U-turn adjustable travel from 133Ð178mm and has a Fox DHX 4.0 shock.
Some would say this year's show was all about choppers. At a glance, the raked out bikes had taken over the floor. But if you looked beyond the glitz, you'd see that more companies introduced snow bikes as well. Here's the Moots take on how to really winterize your ride.
South Africa must have some awesome riding. Not only is downhiller Greg Minaar from there, but now Morewood Bikes, a South African company, brings four single pivot bikes to market. The Shova Lt gets a 1.5" head tube with 7" of travel in a 9.2lb. package.
Nokon makes compressionless cable housing that makes shifting crisper and cable actuated braking more responsive. Made of a bunch of individual aluminum ferrules and a Teflon coated line, the sealed system goes for between $55Ð$70 for brakes and $60-$70 for derailleurs, depending on your set-up.
You wouldn't know it from their presence in the U.S., but Norco has one of the most extensive lines of bikes out there. From kids, choppers and comfort to trials, downhill and cross country, the Canadian bike company has their bases covered. The Fluid 1 has two shock mounts for adjustable travel between 4.5" and 5.6". A Nixon Elite fork with the coveted handlebar travel adjust lever puts the monocoque framed bike at less than 32lbs. for around $2850.
Ryan Leech the trials rider. Do yourself a favor and watch him in a video. His style is unparalleled, and unlike many street/trials riders out there, he uses a simple Reynolds 853 steel frame. Get a frame and build it up yourself, then try and ride across a hand rail like Ryan's done in so many videos.
Phil Wood keeps you rolling with his great grease and outstanding bearings. Now the company wants to keep your track hub outfitted with their wide flange steel track cog. Available in 15Ð19t, for $35Ð45.
The Profile DH crank is for all you out there bending bottom bracket spindles while huckin' it, yo. Tubular chromoly with a big, splined bb spindle. Available in 160Ð190mm for $250, including bottom bracket. Shown with $83 downhill chainring with integrated guards to prevent chain drop. Available in 110 bolt pattern and various sizes between 38 and 52 teeth.
Now you can outfit your bike with a piggyback reservoir shock like this Progressive Suspension 5th Element with optional Ti spring, even if the frame wasn't designed for it.
Last year, many companies displayed their answer to Shimano's outboard bearing crankset with...outboard bearings. Now that the cranksets are actually available, Race Face has replacement bearings ready, compatible with both Shimano and Race Face cranksets. Pictured is the Diabolous DH set, which has extra deep insertion and full ball bearings. The DH and XC versions run $45 each.
Evolve is Race Face's budget line of products, and now the line gets the X-Type outboard bearing system. Quite the deal at $200.
Chopper is actually a term used to describe a motorcycle that's been chopped of all unnecessary parts, but recent use implies a bike with a raked out fork and pimpin style. Raleigh has reissued their '70s era Chopper in chrome with a $275 price tag.
Brad took a different picture than I wanted 'cause he thought it looked pretty. But look to the red frames on the right and you'll see what I wanted him to photograph—Raleigh's framesets, a mountain full suspension frame for $1000 or a cyclocross frame for $500.
Motion Control is what RockShox calls their version of "platform" damping. A strange looking plastic spring inside the fork's right leg regulates the oil flow. While Motion Control is featured on entry-level models, high-end forks like the Reba (pictured) and Pike offer the rider a dizzying array of adjustments.
The Vertex line from Rocky Mountain is one of the few high quality hardtail lines out there. The mix of tubes, from Easton Elite at the bottom of the line on through the frameset only Easton Sandium Vertex, lends a race ready aluminum hardtail to many price points. Hardtails are anything but dead around here.
Santa Cruz says the 2005 V-10 is lighter and tighter than last year. I think they're talking about the shedding of two pounds from the frame through that high zoot top tube and some titanium bolts. A bit shorter wheelbase makes this bike a less California-centric design. Ten inches of travel and Virtual Pivot Point technology. What, you want more? Go build it yourself.
The Santa Cruz Chameleon is quite a versatile hardtail, but as more and more mountain bikers discover the joys of jumping dirt mounds, they're asking for something more specific—like this Jackal, available in standard (22.5" top tube) or long (23.5"). Replaceable drops (horizontal or vertical) protect your investment.
Carbon fiber keeps infiltrating bicycle frames, and Scott USA has been using the material for some time now. Weighing in at a mere 2lbs., this cross country frame builds up into a 19lb. bike called the Scale. Look to sell your children into slavery if you really want it though—it's around $5500.
This lifestyle accessory, I mean, cutaway bottom bracket junction illustrates what's inside a carbon fiber frame.
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