Cyclingnews Features

Albstadt World Cup start lists

Sue George — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:47:02 GMT

Start lists Elite men eliminator (qualifying) # Rider Name (Country) Team 33 Ralph Naef (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team 34 Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team 35 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing XC 36 Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team 37 Raphael Gagne (Can) 38 Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team 39 Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Cycling Club Roma MTB Team 40 Simon Stiebjahn ...

Sea Otter 2013: Wrap-up gallery

Peter Hymas — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:26:42 GMT

Although we have already covered dozens of new products from the 2013 Sea Otter Classic, we still have memory cards full of photos. You can peruse our collection of Sea Otter coverage here, and click through the photo gallery at the right for a whole load of fresh gear from 29 companies....

Sea Otter 2013 - Norco Sight 650b carbon

Peter Hymas — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:57:19 GMT

Norco's popular Sight trail bike is getting a carbon makeover, adding features and shedding weight in the process. The 650b (27.5in) version of the 140mm-travel Sight was shown at the Sea Otter Classic in 2012. The current Sight is available with 26in or 650b wheels. (We have a 650b Sight under test and have been pleasantly surprised by its performance.) For 2014, the 140mm trail bike will also be offered in carbon, but only with 650b wheels. The carbon Sight's frame geometry is similar to the current ...

Sea Otter 2013: Tate Labs' Garmin, CycleOps, iPhone 5 mounts

Daniel Benson — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:12:07 GMT

Tate Labs' Bar Fly mount for newer Garmin Edge computers isn't just a model name, anymore – it's fast become the common term for any computer mount that sets the display out in front of the bars. Tate Labs hasn't been resting on its laurels, though, and now has a new Bar Fly 2.0 model plus an expanded collection for use with CycleOps, CatEye and even the iPhone 5. Tate Labs has taken feedback on its original Garmin-compatible Bar Fly 1.0 and 1.1 models – including from us – and ...

Pro bike: Manuel Fumic's Cannondale Scalpel 29er

Peter Hymas — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:44:39 GMT

German national champion Fumic, 30, doesn't usually race his Scalpel. Instead, he competes on his hardtail Cannondale F29er for all cross-country events. However, he also doesn't normally race mountain bike stage races, and he knew eight days of riding in South Africa at the Cape Epic mountain bike stage race would take its toll, the effects of which can be mitigated somewhat by full suspension. "We thought about using the F29er because we use it all year, but we talked with teams who've already ...

Sea Otter 2013: Marin prototypes spotted

Peter Hymas — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:27:43 GMT

At this year's Sea Otter Classic, Marin had four prototypes dressed in black with decals that read “08.01.2013”, a reference to the expected debut of the new bikes. Three of the four new bikes are carbon and all reflect one of two current trends: 650B wheels or disc brakes for cyclo-cross. Attack Trail is back After a brief hiatus the Attack Trail is back in the Marin line, now with 650B wheels and a full carbon frame. “We really think this is the sweat spot for this wheel size," ...

Sea Otter 2013: Focus 650b carbon hardtail, Ag2r team replica

Daniel Benson — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:15:41 GMT

Following the launch of Scott's new Scale 700-series of 27.5-inch carbon hardtails, German company Focus is now tossing its hat into the ring with its new Raven 650b 1.0 – a close cousin of the existing 26" and 29" Raven carbon hardtails but with specific geometry to accommodate the new 'tweener wheels. Focus is offering the new Raven 650b 1.0 as a single complete build for now that includes a Shimano Deore XT 3x10 group, a RockShox Revelation fork, and house-brand aluminum clincher ...

Sea Otter 2013: Scott reveals Scale 700-series 650b hardtails

Daniel Benson — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:59:16 GMT

This article first appeared on BikeRadar Scott has been supplying the Scott-Swisspower and, more recently, Crankbrothers Race Club teams with 650b/27.5-inch Scale carbon hardtails but up until now, they're been strictly team-only items. That's now changed with the release of the carbon fiber Scale 710 and the aluminum Scale 740 complete bikes plus the limited edition Scale 700 RC Swisspower frame, all of which are already in warehouses and ready to ship. The Scale 710 features Scott's top-end HMX-NET ...

Pro bike: Aaron Gwin’s Specialized S-Works Demo 8

Peter Hymas — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:09:42 GMT

BikeRadar has been profiling Aaron Gwin’s bikes since he first turned pro in 2008. The 25-year-old World Cup downhill racer first rode for Yeti aboard a 303 Factory DH , then for Trek on a Session 88 and 9.9 . Gwin has made some significant changes for the 2013 season, swapping Shimano for SRAM and leaving Trek for Specialized. We caught up with America's winningest male downhill racer in Boulder City, Nevada, following the first stop on USA Cycling Pro GRT. New year, new team, new bike Not ...

Pro bike: Anton Cooper's Cannondale F29

Peter Hymas — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:16:37 GMT

When Anton Cooper was entertaining offers from teams for the 2013 season, he was concerned about making sure he'd sign for one with a bike that would fit him. Cannondale Factory Racing promised to take care of him. They don't make the carbon F29 in a small size, but for the junior world champion they were willing to make a special bike. "Basically, I wasn't quite fitting on the medium bike – the reach was a little long," said Cooper, who is 1.64m tall (5ft 4in). "I discussed ...

Pro bike: Marco Fontana's Cannondale F29

Peter Hymas — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:34:13 GMT

Sometimes Olympic bronze medalists have to make tough decisions — like figuring out which bike to race. When Marco Fontana (Cannondale Factory Racing) shows up at races, he'll have to decide between his Cannondale F29 with the Italian national champ paint job or his stock Cannondale Factory Team F29. "I would say they both look great," said Fontana, the current Italian mountain bike and cyclo-cross national champion. "Probably the national championship colors will hit the World ...

NAHBS 2013: REEB Bicycles

Peter Hymas — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:37:52 GMT

Dale Katechis, owner of Oscar Blues Brewing Company, is passionate about beer and bikes. He's an avid mountain biker who had the bad luck of having his singlespeed stolen several years ago. Katechis rose the occasion, turning lemons into lemonade by creating his own bicycle company. (If you didn’t pick up on it yet ‘REEB’ is beer spelled backwards.) Katechis partnered with Denver-based Generic Cycles to build frames for REEB. Until recently REEB only had one bike in their line, ...

NAHBS 2013: Black Sheep Bikes

Peter Hymas — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:46:54 GMT

Colorado-based builder Black Sheep Bikes certainly stand out from the crowd with their incredibly curvaceous titanium creations. Black Sheep brought their A-game yet again this year, winning not one, but two NAHBS awards: one for "best tandem" and another for "best titanium construction". Black Sheep's winning tandem was a fitting tribute to the company's work with bent titanium tubing. From tip to tail, only the head tube, bottom bracket shells, seatposts, and boom tube were ...

NAHBS 2013: Kent Eriksen debuts new full-suspension design

Peter Hymas — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:49:32 GMT

The titanium wizards at Kent Eriksen Cycles debuted a new full-suspension mountain bike design at this year's North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Though still unnamed, the single-pivot arrangement was designed in Steamboat Springs, Colorado by Eriksen welder and designer Brad Bingham, offering 90mm of travel in a scalable layout that will work for 26in, 27.5in/650b or 29in wheels. Unlike the Yeti and Ventana rear ends Eriksen has shown in previous years, this new design uses titanium chain stays ...

NAHBS 2013: Moots' go-anywhere trail maintenance machine

Peter Hymas — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:13:19 GMT

Moots previewed at a small pre-NAHBS event at Vecchio's Bicicletteria in Boulder, Colorado its interpretation of the ultimate bike for trail building – and after seeing it in person, we're certainly not about to argue. Moots' awesome titanium creation is first and foremost a go-anywhere, do-anything rig with enormous 50mm-wide Surly Rabbit Hole 29er rims wrapped with 3in-wide Surly Knard tires to roll over any sort of terrain – whether or not there's already a trail. The as-yet-unnamed ...

Tech: Inside the workshop of Kappius Components

Peter Hymas — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:25:29 GMT

You won’t find Rus Kappius scowling very often. An engineer by trade, Kappius operates his small cycling company Kappius Components operates out of his garage, sourcing a few parts like 3D printed pawls that he can’t make himself. Although his design has been scoffed at by some, including bigger companies, he labors on unperturbed, with a small but growing clientele serving as evangelists for his quick-engagement hubs. Using carefully hollowed-out SRAM cassettes, the Kappius road and ...

2013 Merida team bikes – first look

Daniel Benson — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:31:41 GMT

This week in Mallorca, the Multivan Merida pro mountain biking team announced some personnel changes, and have followed this up with news that they're working with some new equipment suppliers for 2013 and beyond. SRAM are still providing the headline groupsets, notably XX1 for all team bikes. This group will be used for everything but the occasional marathon event, where a double XX transmission is preferable. The 11-speed 10-42 XX1 cassette has a range that covers almost all eventualities for ...

Pro bike: Shannon Galpin's Alchemy Agrius 29

Peter Hymas — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:06:29 GMT

After six years of pioneering women's rights activism in war-torn Afghanistan with her Mountain2Mountain organization – and being the first woman to mountain bike there – National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Shannon Galpin is hoping to do something similar in the United States with the Strength in Numbers initiative, with mountain biking as the centerpiece of the program. "All of that time [Mountain2Mountain] has been focused on the same idea: how do you create voice and value ...

Chain drive or belt drive: who's faster?

Peter Hymas — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:35:07 GMT

Back in November, BikeRadar reported on a drivetrain efficiency study by Friction Facts, and our relationship with the component tester continues to bear fruit, with this installment investigating the efficiency of a conventional chain drive vs a toothed belt drive. Which is faster? Well, that depends. The Gates Carbon Drive toothed belt drive has proven – especially in commuting and singlespeed circles – to be quiet, practically maintenance free, and remarkably smooth. It's also lightweight, ...

SRAM XX1: Component development and details

Peter Hymas — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:44:31 GMT

We've already ridden SRAM's XX1 group and as you might imagine, there was a lot of engineering that went into creating this groundbreaking drivetrain. We covered XX1 components in their prototype form and were recently invited back to SRAM's European headquarters , located in Schweinfurt, Germany, to learn more about the development of XX1 and spend more time riding the production versions of this group. What follows is a breakdown of the development and technologies of each of the components that ...

La Ruta de los Conquistadores start list

Sue George — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:35:08 GMT

Start lists Women # Rider Name (Country) 13 Monique Pua Mata (USA) 15 Sonya Looney (USA) 17 Lena Yarbrough (USA) 21 Ariadna Abad (Ven) 32 Rocío Monge (CRc) 33 Ligia Madrigal Moya (CRc) 34 Carolina Viquez Alpizar (CRc) 41 Kathya Rojas Venegas (CRc) 49 Luz Caceres Zapata (CRc) 62 Gabriela Morera Guerrero (CRc) 67 Yessenia Villalta Coto (CRc) ...

Crocodile Trophy start list

Alex Malone — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:28:12 GMT

Elite men # Rider Name (Country) Team 1 Ondrej Fojtik (Cze) 2 Wolfgang Krenn (Aut) 3 Josef Benetseder (Aut) Team Eybl-Gastrogas.at 4 Mike Mulkens (Bel) 5 Cory Wallace (Can) 6 Guillaume Bourgeois (Swi) 7 Dominick Hrinkow (Aut) 8 Patrick Konrad (Aut) 9 Matthew Page (GBr) 10 Sebastian Einsle (Lux) CT Toproad Roeserbann 01 11 Den Hutmacher (Lux) CT Toproad Roeserbann ...

Interbike 2012: SR Suntour carbon crowned Axon XC and RUX DH forks

Peter Hymas — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 23:54:57 GMT

Cast aside your notions of SR Suntour being solely an entry-level fork brand. With the new carbon crown on the top-level Axon range and the race-ready RUX, SR Suntour is not only aiming for higher price points but higher levels of performance, too, plus the already convenient serviceability of its cartridge damper design. SR Suntour's Axon RC cross-country fork already boasts an impressive resume of features, including genuine molded carbon fiber lower legs capped with bonded magnesium dropouts, ...

2012 Marathon Worlds start lists

Sue George — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:13:32 GMT

Start lists Elite men # Rider Name (Country) 1 Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) 2 Steffen Thum (Germany) 3 Alban Lakata (Austria) 4 Alexandre Moos (Switzerland) 5 Andreas Kugler (Switzerland) 6 Simon Gegenheimer (Germany) 7 Urs Huber (Switzerland) 8 Lukas Buchli (Switzerland) 9 Tim Bohme (Germany) 10 David Schöggl (Austria) 11 Thomas Dietsch (France) ...

Interbike 2012: American Classic expands into 27.5in/650b wheels

Peter Hymas — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 03:43:18 GMT

American Classic is among the latest companies to support the burgeoning 27.5"/650b movement with three options for 2013. The road range is significantly updated as well with new carbon and alloy tubulars, tubeless wheels for those that don't feel like playing with glue, and even disc-compatible models for early adopters. Three 650b options, no waiting American Classic will add 27.5"/650b variants to its three most popular mountain bike wheelsets: the All Mountain, the Race, and the Terrain. ...