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There are some photos and basic information about the 2007 Shimano XTR lineup floating around the web.
If these are actually the final production versions, I’m not sure I’m on board in the aesthetics department. All I can think of when I see the big ‘X’ is the X-Men.
Update (3 April 2006): The ‘07 XTR photos are pretty much everywhere now, but one of the best writeups about the 2007 Shimano XTR group can be read at CyclingNews.com.
Update (4 April 2006): And because most of you can’t seem to get enough of Shimano’s upcoming XTR stuff, BikeMag.com has posted up some more info on the 2007 XTR group. Nothing really new but, hey, bike porn is bike porn.
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There are plenty of press releases coming out in advance of next weekend’s Sea Otter Classic. Expect these releases, along with plenty more product news in the weeks to come.
Original content
On Monday, Dan posted up a brief review of the Louis Garneau Airstream bib shorts followed by Ashwin’s final entry in his skills series, one that focused on the bunny hop. Wednesday saw Guitar Ted’s second-t0-last entry in his introduction to the 29″er and it focused on some of the beneficial ride characteristics the 29 inch wheeled bikes. For Thursday, Dan offered up his thoughts on cycling with music.
Elsewhere around the ‘net
Cannondale announced The Cut, helped along by a tongue-in-cheek writeup from BikeMagic. PinkBike built up a pimped out Iron Horse MKIII. The Haro Werx 5 / VL120 was awarded Mountain Biking’s 2006 Cross Country Bike of the Year. The Transition BottleRocket is a burly slopestyle bike with 5.5″ of travel. NSMB.com interviewed Mark Weir.
Nature published a great series of articles discussing the future of computing. American researchers are using computer generated models to predict the effects of global climate change.
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Is there anything more motivating before a big race or even a serious training ride than listening to some heart-pounding music? Or conversely, how frustrating is it to hear some horribly annoying tune just before you start a long ride. Then just as you’re about to be passed on your favourite singletrack you catch yourself singing the theme song to some TV show (Blue’s Clues if you’re a dad like me).
Technology in this day and age has made listening to music before or during a ride incredibly easy, and surprisingly safe. Read the rest of this entry »
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In the last few installments, I covered the basic concepts and benefits that are an inherent part of the 29 inch wheeled trail bike. In this installment, I will attempt to show how you can take advantage of the 29″er’s strengths while you’re out on the trail.
Increased traction
The most obvious benefit to the 29 inch format is the increase in traction over a 26 inch wheel, due mostly to the difference in the shape of the larger tire’s contact patch. Better traction helps riders in in two ways.
Climbing. On my 26 inch wheeled bike, I’d often experience wheel spin (and the resulting loss of momentum) on short, steep climbs. With the aid of the 29″er’s better traction, now I am able to successfully clean these sections of trail. This is something that can open up new levels of success for the 29 inch bike rider, and even make you try harder climbs than you thought possible before.
Cornering. Since the front tire of a 29”er is less prone to washing out, higher cornering speeds are attainable. The trail rider can brake less and carry more momentum through the turns — this alleviates the need to regain your lost momentum after the turn. You can achieve a more flowing ride with less need for acceleration than you can with a 26 inch wheeled bike. Read the rest of this entry »
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Now that we’ve made it through the first few skills sessions we’ve finally arrived at the good stuff. This article focuses on the bench press of the mountain bike world: the bunny hop. The bunny hop is one of the most important skills for an cross country rider and it’s the skill that really will take your riding to another level.
Imagine that you are approaching a rock or a log and without hesitation or slowing down at all, you hop right over and continue on your way. Your buddy behind you locks up the brakes and either picks his way over it one wheel at a time or dismounts as you fade away into the distance.
But wait! There’s more! Call now and, in addition to learning to bunny hop, you will also get rock hard abs and a Ginsu Knife set. Ok, so I’m just kidding, but once you start to bunny hop, you will feel like a new rider. Read the rest of this entry »
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Say what you will about bib shorts but until you try them, don’t knock them.
I know that right now we’re focusing more on the mountain biking side of things, but if you’re going to try anything new this year when it comes to your race-day clothing, give a pair of high-end bib shorts a try. At $199 usd, the Louis Garneau Airstream Bib shorts are definitely on the top-end of the market, but you will not find a higher quality bib. Read the rest of this entry »
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I could have rolled this post into yesterday’s weekly roundup but I didn’t, so you get a double shot this week.
The 29″ers. Marketing hype? Grassroots explosion? WTF is a 29″er? Whatever your take on the 29″er, there’s plenty of talk about the big-wheeled bikes around the ‘net: there was an interesting discussion about the 29″er on one of the forums at NSMB.com earlier this week; Cycling News published the results of an informal field test that compared 26″ bikes with 29″ ones.
And for those of you who think 29″ers are the creations of marketers, I suggest you look instead at the huge number of ‘all mountain’ bikes that have made their way to market over the past couple of years.
Gear news. BikeMagic has an introduction to the 2006 Giant Glory. I’ve seen the Glory in the flesh, and I must say that it’s a ridiculously sharp looking bike although, if it were my bike, I’d be a little concerned about trail debris being flicked up towards the shock mount area. There is an aftermarket carbon-fiber cover available but it probably should’ve come stock on the bike.
CyclingNews has some more information (but no pictures) about the 2007 Shimano XTR group. What’s on tap for all you Shimano devotees? Trigger shifter options, separate brake levers, an XTR branded pedal, and a carbon / titanium middle chainring are all on the table.
Doping and cycling. PezCycling News has a good introduction to EPO. Cyclelicio.us points us towards some comments by Nathan Schultz about blood doping and Tyler Hamilton. Following Schultz’s entry, there are lots of really interesting comments from a pretty diverse range of individuals and the resulting dialogue.
Mountain Cycles shuts its doors. Portland-based Mountain Cycles has closed its doors after the company’s Taiwanese parent laid off its US-based employees. Relying on Jonathan’s comments below, this move has nothing to do with the legal dispute between Specialized and Mountain Cycles over the name ‘Stumptown’.
Trail building and politicians. Trail building in British Columbia is a refined art. Builders around the province continue to develop innovative, thoughtful, and economically valuable trail networks and, as the trails become more and more popular there are a whole host of increased demands on these volunteers. NSMB.com just posted up an interesting article by a guy who’s quite involved with the trails in my neck of the woods.
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I know, I know. It’s Thursday. But I’m taking a long weekend so I can attend to some housekeeping. It’s likely that I’ll post a couple of updates over the next few days and we’ll move back into normal rotation for Monday.
Original content
I started testing a Manitou Minute: 04 and on Monday I offered up my initial impressions of the fork. Tuesday saw another entry in Ashwin’s cross country bike skills series, and it focused on getting your bike up and over obstacles. Guitar Ted continued his discussion of the twenty-niner, looking at the special considerations frame makers had to make when laying out the geometry of 29″ frames.
Elsewhere on the ‘net
NSMB.com posted up some info on the 2007 Devinci Ollie and some 661 protective gear. Mountain Bike Action has a snippet on the Intense Spider 29″er. The Rocky Mountain Slayer 70 is the ‘All mountain’ Bike of the Year according to Mountain Bike Magazine. The Shift Tricycle was named one of the top inventions for the year (2006). Will you make the leap?
Update (24 March 2006): Bike Magazine has a good review of the Adidas Marathon mountain biking shoe.
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Editor’s note: This entry is the third in Guitar Ted’s introductory series on the 29 inch wheeled bicycle. The first entry is a brief introduction to the twenty niner, and the second discusses some of the main benefits that a 29″ wheel bestows on riders.
Using a 29 inch wheel in a trail bicycle application is a little more complicated than it might seem at first glance. There is much more to it than taking an existing frame and simply increasing the length of the frame’s chainstays and the fork’s legs! Whenever you change one aspect of geometry on a bicycle, it affects the geometry of the whole bicycle and it is no different when you change wheel sizes.
This writeup looks at the ways 29″er designers address several things in their designs that help replicate the handling of a 26 inch trail bike. Read the rest of this entry »
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Most mountain bike rides include obstacles — logs, root ledges, rocks — that, one way or another, you’ll need to get over. Sometimes you can just continue pedalling right over these things, although there are times when the edge of the obstacle (like a root) can cause your rear tire spin out. If you can’t pedal over it than you either need enough speed to jump it completely or you need another method to get over it otherwise you are walking.
This article talks about two methods of getting over an obstacle when you don’t have enough speed to bunny hop it completely. As always, comments and correction are welcome from the advanced riders out there. Read the rest of this entry »
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