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I’m still on my ‘05 Giant Trance after two full seasons of riding. To be honest I’d expected some sort of frame failure by this stage, but the Trance is still alive and kicking.
For 2008, Giant released the Trance X series, which utilizes the same chassis as it’s little sibling but adds an inch of rear wheel travel. BikeMagic has posted up a real, quality review of the Trance X that’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the market for a trail bike this year.
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Floyd Landis has taken his defence of the doping allegations against him public.
The 2006 Tour de France winner who was alleged to have an illegal testosterone ratio during the race, posted documents and presentations on his website which he plans to use to fight the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s disciplinary process against him. Read the rest of this entry »
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Last year, Shimano’s Hone crankset was one of the best values in mountain biking. Of course, the price of these cranks (they can be had online for $165 usd) meant that they were out of stock for much of the season but, if you were able to get your hands on a set, you were probably pretty happy with the performance of the Hones.
Built around Shimano’s HollowTech II design and featuring external bottom bracket cups, the Hone crankset is strong, relatively light (they weigh about 930 grams — about 100 grams more than Shimano XTs), and durable. They’re a great option for value-minded riders who want to reap the benefits of the x-type crank system without dropping a ton of cash on a set of XTs or Race Face Atlas cranks.
Bike Magazine has a review of the Shimano Hone crankset that’s worth checking out. There are some interesting thoughts about chainring options and it sounds as though the reviewer really put the bash guard on his two ring setup through the paces.
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As we move towards spring and out of the dark of winter, reviews of gear that will be used during the upcoming 24 hour race season is starting to filter onto the web. BikeMagic has a review of the Cateye EL700 Triple Shot light that’s a must read if you’re considering a new set of lights for the upcoming season.
If you’re just getting into the scene or want to learn more about riding your bike in the dark, there are a bunch of decent starting points in The Biking Hub’s archives:
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Shimano’s Saint lineup is targeted at the freeride and downhill markets and every component in the group is designed to meet the rigourous demands that gravity-assisted biking places on gear. asilvertouch ‘zine has a long-term review of the Shimano Saint crankset that does a good job of showing how well the Saints hold up to a long season of abuse on the race circuit.
If you haven’t seen these things in person, you’ll probably be surprised when you eventually stumble across a set, because the Saint crank arms are absolutely huge. As mentioned in the review, the Saints are amazingly stiff and most riders won’t be able to bend or damage them, even under the most extreme conditions. At the same time, if you do damage the crank’s spider or the drive-side crank arm, you’ll be on the hook for the entire right-side setup — something you can avoid by running Race Face’s Diabolous cranks. I’m not saying that this ‘feature’ makes the Diabolous a more desirable product, it’s just something to keep in mind when laying down the cash for a new set of cranks.
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Based on the number of people coming to The Biking Hub who are looking for information about the Giant Anthem, Giant’s new cross country racer is one of two new bikes that are really generating a lot of buzz in the xc world (the other is the Cannondale Rush). Ever since the bike was unveiled on the trade show circuit in 2005, there’s been plenty of talk about the Anthem and rightly so. Built around Giant’s well-received Maestro suspension platform, the Anthem is set to replace the venerable NRS as the company’s dedicated cross country race bike and the expectations are high.
The first legitimate review of the Giant Anthem that I’ve seen on the ‘net was recently published on CyclingNews.com, and it contains plenty of meaty tidbits for all of you who are pining after the latest and (supposedly) greatest xc offering from the manufacturer. The CyclingNews writeup discusses the Australian version of the bike, with the only significant differences being in the parts spec — so you can read on knowing that the overall ride characteristics of the frame won’t be too different from what we see here in North America.
The reviewer’s biggest criticism of the Anthem centered around pushing the bike to the limits of its intended purpose (ie. xc racing) and he found that it didn’t perform well enough to be considered a cross country bike with trail-minded capabilities. Of course, it was admitted that the Trance would be a better option for those of you looking for a Maestro-equipped trail bike. Anyways, head on over and check out the review, there’s lots of good stuff there, including closeup photos, a response from Giant Australia, and more.
Note: the image above shows the US-version of the 2006 Trance 1 and not the Australian version of this bike.
As an aside, I recently picked up a 2005 Trance 4 for cheap, and am in the process of stripping down the frame and building it up with my favourite bits. I’ll post up my initial impressions of the frame and a longer term review after I’ve spent some real time on it. For those of you who live in Europe, keep in mind that the ‘05 version of the Trance is the same one that you’ll see at your local bike shop in 2006.
Hat tip: Mr. AshwinEarl
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If you’re like me, you find a disc brake that works well for you and are extremely hesitant to make changes to your existing setup. Of course, when you do this, you close doors that could help you ride faster and with more control.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere Magura is doing a good job creating a solid support network for its users across North America. And it doesn’t hurt that products like the Gustav are showing up on more and more pros’ freeride bikes and in places like North Vancouver’s ‘Shore’, which certainly is a testament to the stopping ability of the company’s ‘big’ brake.
BikeMagic posted up a quality review of the Magura Louise FR disc brake for those of you who want good stoppers but who don’t need the heart stopping power of the Gustav. Based on the reviews that have made their way onto the ‘net, there don’t appear to be too many problems or criticisms of Magura’s product.
Magura brakes have a five year ‘leak proof’ guarantee so, barring any mechanical failures that result because of crashes, you should be good to go for some time. And if you do need replacement hardware for your brakes, you can order parts for your Maguras directly from the company’s website.
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Cove Bikes is best known for developing solid, well constructed bikes that are just at home on the trails of North Vancouver Mount Seymour as they are at area bike parks and at downhill races all over. Bikes like the Cove Peeler are proven performers on the downhill race scene and bikes like the Cove G-Spot helped the company establish a solid reputation as a producer of Shore-worthy rides.
But the bread and butter of the Cove Bikes stable are the hardtail frames that can handle a 4″ trail fork as capably as a 7″ dual crown fork. Frames like the Stiffee FR and my personal favourite, the Hummer XC, have given riders a solid alternative to the ‘big names’ in the biking industry.
BikeMagic has a review of the Cove Stiffee FR available for your reading pleasure. Take the time to check it out if you’re considering any other ‘all purpose’ hardtail frame. And if you ride one of these bikes, feel free to add your thoughts…
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If you’ve ever seen an Intense Cycles M3 in person, you’ll understand what I’m about to write about these frames: these things are likely the sexiest downhill bikes in existence. Combine the M3’s hot looks with a laterally-stiff rear end, race proven geometry, decent weight, and the cachet that comes along with a high-end frameset and you’ve got a frame that almost anyone would ride if given the chance.
Whatever your take on the characteristics of the M3, there’s no denying that it’s a performer, and a performer at the highest level of competition. Intense has several top pros on its downhill team, including Sabrina Jonnier and Chris Kovarik — who both did well on the World Cup circuit this past year.
asilvertouch has a long-term review of the Intense M3 that looks at the frame’s performance over an entire season on the dirt. There’s plenty of good advice about the frame — including some common problems related to set up — and a few photos that highlight the overall quality of the frame.
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Judging by the popularity of our entries on the 2006 Cannondale Rush, it looks as though Cannondale made lots of good decisions when planning their new cross country racer. Dan’s initial impressions of the Rush 1000 were quite positive and other, similar assessments are starting to pop up around the Internet.
Racer Carl Buchanan has some good initial thoughts on his Cannondale Rush 2000. With the help of a number of quality photos, Buchanan’s post does a good job of highlighting some of the key features on the Rush, including the uber-sexy Lefty Speed Carbon DLR2 ‘fork’ and the nice-looking mocha finish. Check it out.
Update (27 February 2006): Carl has added some follow up thoughts on his Rush 2000. Looks like the tires aren’t the most mud-friendly things on the market.
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