Testing the new Deville single crown agressive trail fork –>

…and the new Idylle (with external piggy back rebound chamber) –>

More Mountain Biking >>

With the success of Race Face’s proprietary Optimized Carbon Technology program, Race Face has decided to take another step into making your bike lighter, and stronger while still providing you with the same ride comfort and reliability you need. SixC (the c is silent, eh!) is the next step in cranks and handlebar development being constructed out of carbon fiber. SixC is a true AM/FR product, 20+ grams lighter than anything else out there and perfectly suited for the 5 to 6 inch travel range. Here is some information on the new lineup.

Check it all inside,

Manufactured and engineered in Race Face’s British Columbia, Canada manufacturing facility, they have done a ton of testing on some of the most abusive and demanding trails around. The SixC crank arms are completely hollow, with all the unnecessary material removed from the center core, and not replaced with an aluminum spine. The SixC crank arms are strictly carbon, exactly what you would hope for from a carbon lineup.

Race Face removes all the unnecessary material in the post curing process, so their engineers can mold the carbon at high pressure levels resulting in optimal material compaction and an overall lower void structure (empty space in the carbon overlay). This process aids Race Face in creating a superlight crank setup, weighing in at 760 grams. Race Face has included the pedal and spindle inserts in the molding process to ensure they will never loosen off or creak. The SixC crank arm features a superlight CNC machined CrMo bottom bracket spindle that is permanently molded directly into the drive side crank arm. This minimizes weight, and maximizes power transfer.

Race Face’s chainrings are 100% CNC machined from super hard 7075 aluminum to maximize wear resistance, and impact strength. These chainrings are secured in place using alloy torx 30 hardware, keeping the weight down. Removing the SixC cranks is simple using the built in crank puller cap, and an 8mm hex wrench. Race Face has also equip the SixC lineup with 3mm of available chainline adjustability. This ensures you the ability to achieve perfect drivetrain alignment even with difficult suspension frame designs.

Offered in a triple ring set-up, or double ring with Race Face’s lightweight 7075 alloy bashguard the SixC lineup should have an offering for your needs. As well, the bottom bracket that is included with the SixC cranks features Race Face’s triple wiper seal, which retains the factory Phil Woods waterproof grease better, and helps it keep contaminants out. The SixC cranks carry a US MSRP price of $669 with a bottom bracket.

Along with the SixC cranks Race Face did up a SixC handlebar. The SixC handlebar is manufactured with leading edge composite material that allows Race Face to reach their high strength requirements, while still coming in at an impressively low weight of 225 grams. Designed with a standard 9 degree rearward bend, and 4 degrees upward the SixC handlebar is a 3/4 inch rise bar that is only manufactured at 725mm wide, with a 31.8mm clamping diameter.

Race Face ensures that the SixC handlebar meets standards with each run that comes out of the factory by testing a handlebar from each run. This ensures that all the standards set by the engineers are met. As well, Race Face has equipped the SixC 3/4 Riser bar with reinforced clamping zones for lock-on grip compatibility.

The SixC handlebar got the same Matte Carbon color scheme that was offered on the cranks, along with the Orange accents (the bar, like the crankset, is also available in white and silver). Race Face has also included cut lines on the ends of the bar in 12mm increments, down to 700mm. The SixC handlebars have a US MSRP price of $129.

Aside from the SixC lineup Race Face recently released their Atlas FR direct mount stem. The Atlas FR direct mount stem is a flip flop design, meaning in one position it provides 30mm of reach, and the other side features 50mm of reach. Weighing in at 162 grams the new Atlas FR stem is constructed out of 6061 Aluminum, and features an interlocking u-shaped handlebar clamp. This U-shaped clamp aids the stem in transferring more load through the stem body, and not into the bolts.

The flip flop design is something we haven’t seen too much of around the mountain biking scene, but it makes sense to offer two options on one stem, at one low weight. Offered in black, white, and rum red the Atlas FR stem is designed to be a Boxxer direct mount stem. 4 bolts secure the front face plate to the body, and 4 bolts secure the body to your bike.

The Atlas FR stem has a US MSRP price of $95 for the black one, and $100 for the white model. Also, Race Face is producing a lighter version of the stem, known as the Atlas FR SL (super light). This stem weighs in at 138 grams, and will come with 8 Ti bolts. The US MSRP on that stem is $115.

Atlas FR SL Stem

Somewhere in between carbon cranks and direct mount stems sits the Respond line up. Respond is designed for riders who are wanting big hit performance at an All Mountain weight. Constructed out of 7050 aluminum the Respond crank setup weighs in at 1150 grams. Race Face has designed the Respond cranks to have 6mm of chainline adjustment, meaning these cranks should work with virtually any bike.

Race Face offers the Respond cranks in 165, 170, and 175mm lengths, and they will fit 68, 73, and 83mm bottom bracket shells. The bottom bracket included with the Respond cranks is filled from the factory with Phil Woods waterproof grease, just like the SixC cranks. This grease is known to extend bearing life, and keep your cranks spinning smoother over a longer period of time. The granny ring on the Respond cranks is removeable as well, for increased clearance should you choose to run a single ring chain guide.

Much like the SixC group the Respond cranks use the same EXI interface, making installation and removal of the cranks a breeze at any well setup bike shop. As well, Race Face has equip the Respond cranks with their light weight aluminum bash, lightening up the whole setup that extra bit. The Respond Cranks carry a US MSRP price of $160, and are part of a complete Respond lineup.

Along side the Respond cranks in the Respond lineup is the bar and stem. The Respond bar has been cold drawn out of seamless Air Alloy material. Its butted for a optimized weight to strength ratio, and is offered in two rise options, 1.5″ which weighs in at 370 grams, and 0.5″ which weighs in at 335 grams. It offered at 27″ wide from the factory, with 9 degrees of rearward bend, and 4 degrees of upward, with a 31.8 clamping diameter. The Respond handlebar carries a US MSRP price of $48 for the black bars, and $55 for the white version.

Matching up perfectly with the Respond handlebar is the Respond stem. The Respond stem is offered in 45mm and 60mm lengths, with 10 degrees of rise. Its forged and blasted out of 6061 aluminum, which translates into high stregn and fatigue resistance, with a reasonable weight. The Respond stem weighs in at 195 grams for the 45mm length, and 215 grams for the 60mm length. Also, the Respond stem features the same interlocking U-shaped handlebar clamp, which helps the stem dissipate images and stresses through the stem body, and not directly through the bolts. As well, when you combine the Respond stem and bar the graphics match up nicely in either the black or the white options. The Respond stem is for sale in black and white color options. The black version holds a US MSRP of $48, and the white version has a US MSRP of $57.

For more information about these new products from Race Face or any other products from them check out their site.

I have been noticing all over the last two months of Dirt mag and on the internet that a few bike such as the Atherton’s World Cup and Champs bikes have been sporting Shimano Saint branded rims such as below…

Looks like we could be seeing complete Shimano Saint Wheelsets for 2010 with bladed spokes..?

Rumour mill started!

Here’s the Race XC caliper and floating disc with lots of weight-saving titanium and aluminium fittings in evidence. (John Stevenson/BikeRadar.com)

British hub, brake and lighting maker Hope has an interesting handful of new components for 2010 including a seatpost that’s been in development for so long the company has named it, with typical gritty Northern humour, the Eternity. Also new is a lightweight disc brake, carbon fibre road wheels, and tweaks to Hope’s extensive range of stems.

Brake lightly on the earth

Cross-country racers and everyone else who picks parts with a gram scale will be interested in Hope’s new Race XC brake, which replaces the Mini Pro X2 in Hope’s line-up. Hope have shaved weight wherever possible, retaining the carbon fibre lever blade, but using aluminium and titanium fittings in place of steel, and aluminium back plates on the brake pads. Even the top cap will be carbon fibre.

Hope are aiming for a complete weight of 270g including their signature floating disc.

The world in a grain of sand…

The new Eternity post has taken rather more than an hour to get right. With tapered, side-closing clamps to hold the saddle rails, it’s a similar design Bontrager’s widely-used post, but the reason it’s taken four years to come to fruition is that every time Hope was ready to go into production, they came up with a way to improve it.

Even the version you see here isn’t quite final: production posts with have 6mm Allen bolts instead of 5mm, a change that Hope CEO Ian Weatherill says adds very little weight for a lot of extra security.

Like a Model T Ford, it’ll come in any colour you like as long as it’s black – with silver clamp components. Different colour clamps will be available as accessories if you want to pimp your ride. The Eternity post will be available in November in 27.2, 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters.

Wheels to road

It’s quite surprising to hear that Hope has gone from nothing to 10,000 pairs of wheels per year in just a few years, especially as they have steered away from doing anything gimmicky with their wheels. Where other companies quite literally tried to reinvent the wheel, Hope’s first wheels used conventional J-shaped spokes, Mavic rims and their own hubs.

Their latest road wheels were motivated by the desire to put decent hubs into the carbon fibre rims popping up all over, as they were being asked for hubs for rebuilds on expensive carbon wheels.

The wheels – with 50mm rims –will be available in clincher and tubular versions, with Sapim CX Ray spokes (20 up front and 24 in the rear) and in Campagnolo and Shimano compatible versions. They will retail for UKP950 per pair in the tubular incarnation.

Stems for descending

Hope’s also known for very tidy stems, and for 2010 they have diversified from the do-everything approach that saw their CNC-machined stem being used for both cross-country and downhill riding to making what Weatherill calls “a proper downhill stem”. The new unit closes with a combination of a dovetail and bolts and will be available only in 50mm and 70mm lengths.

For riders who use Fox 40 or RockShox Boxxer forks and therefore want a direct link between upper crown and stem, Hope is also introducing a direct fit stem.

Not your cheap bearings

Finally here’s an interesting bit of random Hope trivia. The bearings Hope use in their bottom brackets cost them 11 quid each. Seems the way to get outboard bottom brackets to last is simply to throw money at the problem by using spendy rollers.

Source: Bikeradar

Nicolai to launch B-Boxx, a Hammerschmidt rival

Nicolai's B-Boxx

Nicolai unveiled their new Hammerschmidt rival, the B-Boxx, at this weekend’s in-house show at their factory in Lubbrechtsen, Germany.

They are keeping details of the planetary gear system, which has been developed in partnership with Bionicon, close to their chest.

But CEO Karlheinz Nicolai told us: “The current prototype of the B-Boxx works great! Super-smooth function, nice design and under-load shifting.”

It looks set to be available in a range of colours, but not for at least another year.

B-Boxx Colours

“We have to invest huge tooling costs and we have to do a lot of long-term durability testing,” said Nicolai.
“Because of this, there will be no mass production before winter 2010/2011.”

Obtainium springs are made in the USA using high quality aerospace grade titanium (3-8-6-4-4 Beta-C Titanium), and the available spring rates for 3″ stroke shocks rage from 200 Lbs/Inch to 600 Lbs/Inch, in 25 Lbs/Inch increments. K-9 Industries believes that the 25 Lbs/Inch increments allows for better fine tuning of the wheel rates for different riders and bikes. No More Compromises, when choosing a spring rate, why compromise when you can get the right one!

Obtainium Performance Products are the choice of champions, Obtainium Performance Products are currently used by some of the top riders in the world including the Syndicate Team and the Monster Energy Team.

“We are excited to have K-9 as our exclusive distributor in the United Kingdom. Most of our UK customers had to wait forever because of shipping and customs; now they can make a phone call to K-9 and have their bikes ready for their next weekend ride”

Jim Harvey
Owner
Obtainium Performance Products

Product Detail

Springs
Obtainium springs feature a wide internal diameter (1.5″) that allows the spring to fit some of the most popular dampers in the market including the Cane Creek Double Barrel, the Bos Stoy, the RockShox Vivid, the Marzocchi Roco, the Fox DHX and many more. Spring rate are also available in 3.5″ stroke, so anyone with a Morewood Makulu, Session 10 and Intense M6 can now fit a titanium spring on their bike.

Adapters
In order to ensure that the titanium springs have a proper and secure fit to the damper, Obtainium have designed and manufactured individual Performance Adapters for each damper. The adapters are made out of Delron which has a very low coefficient of friction to increase the spring’s performance and make sure the spring is free to move and won’t bind or buckle.

Bearings
Another exciting and unique product from Obtainium Performance Products is the Trust bearings. The idea is as the spring compresses, it is now free to rotate and as a result it offers a true spring rate throughout the travel as the spring does not bind.

Product Sales

The first batch of titanium springs; performance adapters and bearings have just arrived to the K-9 Industries head quarter. The springs have a unique finish and distinctive look that defines quality; the fit of the springs, performance adapters and bearings for the Double Barrel, Stoy, Vivid and DHX dampers are very precise. They are also extremely light: the springs are on average between 50-80 grams lighter than RCS titanium springs of equal spring rates.

Obtainium Performance Products were displayed for the first time at the National Champs on 18th-19th of July at Innerleithen, at the K-9 Industries stand.

Obtainium performance products are now available for purchase to OE, retailers and general customers

For more information, prices, availability and to purchase please contact us at.

sales@k9industries.com
info@k9industries.com

Tel: 01865 349013

Nice? I think so! ….and NO you can’t have your stuff like this (yet!)

Source: descent-world.co.uk (written by Alan Milway)

Renthal is not a new name to many – in fact it is probably one of the most successful names in Motocross. Formed in the 1960’s by 2 friends who started bending pipe to form Trials handlebars, this English brand has quite an image in Motorsport and has supported Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart (among others) to countless vitories.

They have now made the transition to producing mountain bike products and I was like a child at Christmas when the package arrived with the famous logo adorning the parcel tape! It is always exciting when a brand with so much experience makes the transition into another sport- what will their take be on mountain bike products?

Renthal Fatbars

Handlebars:

These are pre-production bars, sent over in time for a good testing in the Mountains. However production versions are imminent. They are scaled down ‘Fatbars’ (the same name is used on a form of brace less bar produced for motocross bikes). The finish is faultless as expected and as the name suggests they are oversize clamp diameter fitment of 31.8mm. Width as measured was 720mm – not narrow at all, but not at the full broom handle width they could have been. Rise is probably best described as ‘medium’ not low rise/flat but not high and wavy as riser bars were in days gone by. Sweep is spot on. They look the business and they’re getting a good workout in the Alps so more to come on these soon.

Renthal Fatbars

Renthal Chain Ring

Chainring:

P.i.m.p was the first word to my lips as I pulled this from the package. Not the most politically correct adjective I could have chosen but the finish, etching and machining gone into this featherweight- yet tough, chainring surpassed any other I’ve seen recently. I have a 36tooth for the Saints but I am sure there will be a range of other fitments available. I am sure there will be little to tell with this as it will do the job, last for ages and look the business. Gorgeous.

Renthal Chain Ring

Stem:

Yet to become available, but we wait with bated breath for their offering….

As you might have spotted, these parts are fitted to a rather special Orange Blood. Special geometry, special ride. More on this beauty to come too.

Chainrings are available now, RRP = £39.95

Fatbars are available now, RRP = £59.95

Stem will be available in a couple of months, RRP = £79.95

Ison are distributing all of the Renthal products so check them out and hound them for pre-orders:

Ison: http://www.isondistribution.co.uk / sales@ison-distribution.com / Tel: 01223 568361

Or check out the Renthal website: www.renthal.com