Quick Release: Singular Cycles

I’ll readily admit to being a sucker for a classic skinny tubed steel bike. There’s just something about them that makes me go all warm and fuzzy. So, you can no-doubt picture my face when I (quite literally) stumbled over the Singular Cycles stand at Cycle.

This is why:

And:

There were several beautifully designed and constructed frames on display from a fully rigid SS 29er to a ‘Monster Cross’ and a prototype titanium frame. All demonstrating great attention to detail and staggeringly good value (£340 for the SS 4130 steel Swift).

We’ll be getting one in to test very soon but in the meantime check the Singular Cycles website for details. www.singularcycles.com

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Quick Release: The Tent Cot.

So I’m a little behind with updates from the Cycle Show yesterday. I spent 6 hours pacing the aisles looking for great products to bring back and I’m still trawling through 3 memory cards of images and a stack of brochures a foot high (I’m not exaggerating, either).

I’ll be putting some more details online over the next day or so but the first thing I had to post was this fantastic invention for the Cycle tourist: The Tent Cot.

Isn’t that just the most fantastic thing you’ve ever seen? (from the Cycle Touring niche, anyhow).

The sturdy aluminium frame holds you 30cm off the ground on a foam padded and sprung ‘mattress’ while you’re enclosed from inclement weather or irritating bugs by the proper tent that assembles in a matter of moments. This is the lightweight version but they also do a larger version (longer, wider & bears more load) or a double version for if you just can’t face sleeping alone.

I genuinely think this is a great invention and I can’t wait to have cause to try it out.

More details can be found at the Tent Cot website www.kamprite.com

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Quick Release: Two new bikes from Foes!

Foes Racing have been busy adding two new models to their range for 2009. We take a quick look.

The ProLite 2:1 slips into the existing Foes range between the hardtail Prolite and the XCT4 offering up 3.5″ of perfectly damped Curnutt suspension in a lightweight XC specific package.

Foes use a combination of monocoque sections and Easton tubes to construct the frame then pair it up with the new Curnutt Air XTD (External Threshold Damping) shock and to keep everything torsionally stiff there’s a scissor link bracing the rear triangle to the main frame halfway up the seat tube.

The ProLite 2:1 will easily build into a 26lb trail muncher, Marathon / Enduro or 24 Hour race bike and with a little careful planning and slightly more investment a 22lb build that retains the fantastic Foes ride is achievable opening this new Foes to the serious XC race crowd.

The ProLite 2:1 is shipping now with a custom Fox shock for $1849 or with the Curnutt Air XTD for $2549

Next is the RS-7. A Race Specific 7″ travel (see what they did there?) lightweight DH frame.

Amazingly, Foes refer to the RS-7 as a short travel frame. I guess when you’ve got The Fly (8″) and the DHS (10″) in the range, 7″ isn’t really all that long.

The RS-7 is again constructed using a combination of monocoque sections and Easton tubing offering up a brilliant balance of strength, rigidity and light weight. Suspension duties are handled by a Curnutt Air XTD shock with a remote reservoir for even greater bump swallowing ability over any terrain you’re ever likely to come across. A Coil XTD shock is also available.

The massively strong rear triangle swings on an oversized single pivot mounted in Foes usual position and is further anchored to the main frame by a scissor link mounted halfway up the seat tube. There’ll be no lateral flex through this frame!

With a 1.5″ head tube, 150mm spaced 12mm bolt through rear dropouts  and floating brake mount as standard the RS-7 comes ready equipped to take on any course you’re ever likely to ride.

But enough from me, here’s a video from Freecaster.tv of Brent Foes introducing the RS-7 at Eurobike earlier this month:

Have Foes made a SOCOM killer? It certainly looks that way.

We’ve got no details of pricing or availability just yet but as soon as we do we’ll let you know. Expect the RS-7 to start appearing in stores soon.

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Santa Cruz reveal updated Nomad

Santa Cruz don’t rush with their suspension designs. For example; the Superlight has been around since… umm… forever and has undergone gradual tweaks rather than complete revolutionary re-design, getting gradually better and better over time and yet still obviously being related to the bike that it was in the 90’s.

Earlier this year Santa Cruz revealed the tweaks they’d made to the Blur LT and now the Nomad gets a dose of the updates as well. Here’s the result - Stiffer, lighter, stronger and perhaps even prettier than before. The Nomad is dead. Long live the Nomad!

The Nomad has always been a hard to classify bike, being put to use everywhere from XC to light DH duties and there’s no denying that when it first hit the market people were either smitten or appalled by its looks. I was always firmly in the smitten camp. Swoopy & Hydroformed with a good amount of high quality welding the Nomad always looked purposeful and made me grin whenever I swung a leg over one.

Now though, the top tube has been redesigned along with a number of other areas of the frame. It still manages to look like a Nomad, just more svelte, yet Santa Cruz say this new design is stiffer than the previous model. 

But not all the changes are as instantly obvious as the new look of the front triangle. Santa Cruz have also tweaked the links that form the VPP system resulting in less chain growth (a Good Thing), a more constant shock rate (a Very Good Thing) and as a special bonus* have fitted a Carbon Fiber top link - which not only looks pretty cool, is also stiffer and lighter than the old alloy version.

As well as the new linkage design Santa Cruz have changed the way in which the linkages mount to the frame. Collet heads now securely mount 15mm alloy axles directly to the frame itself, reducing load placed upon the lower linkage bearings. Couple this with the grease nipples and you’ve got much easier maintenance, increased service intervals and easier disassembly when the time does eventually come for a strip down and re-build.

Still offering a full 160mm (6″) of travel the new Nomad has retained its 1.5″ head tube meaning you can fit pretty much any freeride / AM / Burly XC fork that you want to. Santa Cruz quote the head & seat angles as 67°/71.5° respectively based around 545mm axle to crown fork length. Keep in mind that for every ±25mm you will alter these angles by 1°

The chainstays have been shortened to 440.9mm (17¼” - only ½” longer than my old Klein race hardtail!) to keep things responsive - coupled with the tweaks to the VPP system and a 3rd of a pound (340g) dropped from the overall weight (a size large, powdercoat Nomad weighs 6.9lbs) the Nomad looks set to defy classification for a while longer and this new incarnation is sure to become a regular sight on trails near you soon. 

The new Nomad will be available from late October with a US MSRP of $1850 inc Rock Shox Monarch shock and Grease gun. There’s no word on other pricing yet but as soon as we hear what it’s going to be we’ll let you know.

Visit the Santa Cruz Bikes website for details of the full range

* Not actually a bonus but still a very nice touch.

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Quick Release: New Intense bikes!

New for 2009 (although it’s available now) is the Tracer VP from Intense Cycles. 

In a first for a VPP bike the new Tracer (the original Tracer is still one of the highest regarded trail bikes of all time) offers adjustable travel of between 5.5 and 6″ - not a huge amount of difference but with the option of running forks with up to 160mm of travel the difference the rear travel settings make to the head angle should offer plenty of adjustability for most trails.

Amazingly Intense have managed to keep the weight reasonable (quoted at 6.25lbs inc shock) so lightweight builds should be achievable. Will Intense re-set the benchmark for trail bikes with this Tracer like they did the last one? We’ll see.

Also new for 2009 is a 29er 5.5

Details are still thin on the ground regarding this bike but I will say right away: I want one.

More details on the 2008 / 09 Intense range can be found on their website and we’ll bring tests as soon as we can.

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Quick Release: Point One components

Every now and then a Company pops up with a new take on a product that we all use (and mostly take for granted) that totally changes your expectations from a component.

PointOne are a new Company who make stems, spacers and a nifty little gadget to tidy up mounting of direct mount stems. Run by two Mountain Bikers who just happen to be Engineers this is their first stab at stems and it looks set to be a huge success 

Split-Second stem

Looks alone are enough to get this stem noticed but look closer and you’ll see just how much thought has gone into the design & construction.

The Split-Second weighs in at 137g (50g less than a Thomson X4), offers increased torsional rigidity (partly due to the 55mm clamp width) and an innovative topcap-less design.

Independent tests scored the Split-Second ahead of any other stem for torsional rigidity. Impressive for any company but even more so for a start up. The Industry Big Boys need to sit up and pay attention.

Available in 50mm 0° rise 25.4 / 31.8mm clamp for $119 (70mm & 90mm available soon)

 

Split-Second Direct Mount

PointOne haven’t neglected the increasing number of riders using Direct Mount stems either.

Featuring the same 50mm reach, 0º rise, 55mm clamp width, the Split-Second DM comes in at 128g all up (yes, that includes the mounting hardware).

Construction & finish are first rate (as they are in all PointOne components). A limited edition Nickel finish will be available soon.

Also available now for just $119.

 

 

 

Nano-Second Spacer

Dull, old fashioned headset spacers not good enough for your bike? Then take a look at these!

The Nano-Second(s?) are designed to be used singly (no stacking!) and come in the following sizes: 5mm, 10mm, 20mm & 30mm so should have everyone covered for only $9 (each).

Not only are they the trickest looking spacers we’ve ever seen they are also the lightest headset spacers available anywhere and come finished to the usual high PointOne standard. 

 

 

 

Time Capsule

Finally, we have the Time Capsule. A neat little gadget to tidy up the fitting of direct mount stems.

The Time-Capsule acts as spacer & topcap in one piece which means no more stacks of separate spacers & a topcap holding it all in place - just install the Time Capsule and the job’s done. Neat, tidy and very clever.

Currently available in 15mm (weight 11g) and 35mm (19g) for $14. More sizes are on the way.

 

 

 

We’ll bring you a full review of the PointOne range soon, for more details check the PointOne website

 

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Corsair Bikes

It’s a hard life trying to cover all the Mountain Bike events that you want to. Sometimes schedules just don’t work out the way they should and this years Sea Otter in California is a great example. Brian was the only one of us free to travel and when he arrived he fell quite seriously ill spending the whole weekend in his Hotel room (to be fair, I was very ill… Brian) which meant we didn’t get to bring features on new & exciting developments. It’s okay though. We’ve forgiven him now. Mostly.

So, slightly delayed but no less exciting or shiny are details of Corsair Bikes. It looks like this brand has got great things in its’ future and fantastic things in store for us. So let’s take a look…

Crown (DH)

A refreshing change from all the hydroformed swoopiness.

The Crown is designed to take on (and win) World Cup DH events. It’s got adjustable head angle, adjustable shock mounts, built in (very clever) anti squat system and will even let you run a second shock as a blow-off unit if the course calls for it. All this and it offers 9.4″ (240mm) of travel. Nice.

Attention to detail is King, and look at that finish!

Other manufacturers take note: shock, equipment & frame details attached to bike. Very simple. Very clever. And look at the finish on that paint job!

Maelstrom (FR)

Just asking to be hucked off something. This color is called ‘Ghost’. Nice

The Maelstrom is a brilliantly thought out and constructed Freeride machine. With laid back angles, adjustable head angle (very neatly executed) and packing 7″ (180mm) of travel this bike looks more than capable of dealing with most DH courses you’re likely to come across as well as serious Freeride use.

And this color is ‘Dirt’. We like this, too.

Konig (Slopestyle)

Orange bikes are faster. Fact. Ok, it’s not really. But it should be.

I think they may be doing this bike a serious disservice by labeling it as a Slopestyle bike. It’s got so much potential as a Street / Dirt / 4X / light Freeride bike that I’m expecting big things from this machine. 

Featuring the adjustable head angle gubbins of the other bikes, offering up 5.1″ (130mm) of travel and benefiting from the same beefy design and construction as its’ bigger travel stablemates this is one tough frame that you can expect to see atop a lot of podiums in the future.

There’ll be no flex from this pivot!

The Corsair adjustable headtube & a very neat badge.

Marque (AM)

My nomination for Prettiest Bike Of The Year.

The Marque is billed as the All Mountain rig in the line up and it looks phenomenal. With head angle adjustable between 69° and 66°, 5.1″ (130mm) of travel, the Corsair ‘Chain Idle Pulley’ (anti-squat system) and a 2:1 shock compression ratio (the same as all the Corsair suspension bikes… Biff) as well as the biggest stand over clearance I’ve seen on a bike in recent times this bike will thrive on technical trails going up and down.

The (very) clever anti squat pully system.

The adjustable headtube and a swoopy tube. Nice.

Ducat (DJ)

Simple. Reliable. Tough. Agile. That’s pretty much all anyone can ask from a hardtail Dirt Jumping frame, right? Well Corsair have stepped up with the Ducat. The only real ‘frill’ is the adjustable head tube set-up but when you look at the details…

Nobody minds if I make Motocross noises, do they?

Some of the neatest dropouts I’ve ever seen.

This is the BB yoke. The seatstay gets the same design.

All the frames in the Corsair range look impeccably designed and constructed. There are a few features that we’d like to see some of the bigger players incorporating but as long as companies like Corsair are willing to innovate we’ll be quite happy.

For full details of the bikes and to stay up to speed on what’s happening with new models (and the upcoming component line) check the Corsair bikes website.

We’ll bring tests and more photographs when we get our hands on these bikes.

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