At ISPO we found the
Drift Products carbon flat pedal and now at Taipei we've found another pair, this time from Austrian brand Now8.
Now8 have a fairly broad ranging catalogue featuring everything from bottle cages to cassettes but we found their flat pedals to be most interesting at this show. Whereas the Drift pedals looked out of place in the modern market, these MC44s look to be a bit more on trend. The platform is 100x100mm with a 7mm depth and each pedal has eight pins. The real selling point here is the weight though, a pair of these pedals tip the scales at 220 grams, that's 40 grams lighter than Drift's effort.
Also promising is that, unlike Drift's $300 pedals, these come in at a much more reasonable price of €69.99.
Also on show for Now8 were some new carbon bars. Now8 haven't traditionally been a gravity focussed outfit and that previously showed in their handlebars too. The widest on offer was 720mm, however, they were super-light with that model coming in at coming in at just 156 grams. Now they are introducing an 780mm version that weighs just 194 grams.
- 780mm, 17mm rise, 31.8mm,
- 720mm, 17mm rise, 31.8mm, 156 grams
- 710mm, flat, 31.8mm, 148 grams
- 620mm, flat, 31.8mm, 129 grams
- 600mm, flat, 31.8mm, 126 grams
www.aliexpress.com/item/MTB-road-bike-Comfort-MTB-Wide-Bicycle-Seat-Carbon-Fiber-Bike-Saddle-Bicycle-Saddle-Bike-Seat/32766321631.html?spm=2114.search0204.3.18.6adf7b9cRnQSKi&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_6_10065_10068_10130_10547_319_10059_10884_317_10548_10887_10696_321_322_10084_453_10083_454_10103_10618_10307_537_536_10902,searchweb201603_6,ppcSwitch_0&algo_expid=30c5e17f-7e82-43d9-8201-e2806ffa91da-2&algo_pvid=30c5e17f-7e82-43d9-8201-e2806ffa91da&transAbTest=ae803_4
www.aliexpress.com/item/ZERAY-D213-Carbon-Fiber-Ultralight-Mountain-Bike-Flat-Pedal-Alloy-Bicycle-Pedal-MTB-Cycling-pedales-bike/32835182770.html
Now8 didn't even bother to request a plug to hide the "ZP-D213" model number. "Zeray Pedal - Model D213". I'm getting tired of people throwing a logo on catalog parts and pretending to be a real company.
A top quality catalog component can be among the best available and I have nothing against companies that are transparent about it. If I create a "house brand" part, my goal is for it to be both a little cheaper and a little better than a "name brand" item.
"Name brands" rarely own their own factories, so most products already come from these factories; the difference is whether a company designs their own products and pays for custom tooling. In some cases, "name brands" produce custom components not to get a better product, but to get a cheaper product.
CORRECTION: I just checked out Now8's website: www.cooolsport.com/NOW8/index.php/de
THEY'RE NOT HIDING THE ORIGIN OF THEIR COMPONENTS, SO I'VE PUT AWAY MY TORCH AND PITCHFORK!
From their website (translated):
"Under the brand NOW 8 high end and tuning bicycle parts are presented. Among other things, NOW 8 concentrates on the compilation of top products from various quality manufacturers under one brand, which are improved and optimized according to our ideas.
"Although many producers develop top solutions, they hardly market them because they are busy with the production of merchandise for well-known brands in their day-to-day business. Thus we work on the quality level of the premium brands, which often purchase their products from specialized manufacturers. Often, even the development of these suppliers comes from.
"Under NOW 8 We are constantly looking for these "nuggets" that fit in our product philosophy. These are then modified, improved and thoroughly tested before we launch them. But we also have some ideas of companies, with the corresponding technological "know how", developed for us."
www.ebay.com.au/itm/SCUDGOOD-polyamide-Road-MTB-Mountain-Bike-Bearing-Pedals-Platform-Bicycle-Pedal-/272827628026
I've broken everything on a bike(loads of frames too) minus the stem and bars and so I've never understood spending more than $50 on a stem(besides wanting a certain look)
I recently bought a stem for $25...cool looking CNC machined 50mm...looks exact to a few brands out their....so far so good.
I bought a carbon bar for $25 that looks exactly like the Race Face Next bar I have on another bike. I did have a little more trepidation with this but I did a flex test at home by putting my weight on it between two chairs(I'm 6'4, 215), before installation. I was even a little shy with a jumps and drop ins at my local trail but after a bit I loosened up and I've now had a handful of "normal" rides with zero issues.
Once you've broken enough high end name brand stuff you realize there are no guarantees(besides a warranty...hopefully) and a lot of these "cheap" versions are the same things.
When I was getting into painting frames I was buying up frames to paint on Ebay...I bought a hardtail for $35 from a factory...upon looking at it all seemed good quality...I'm pretty sure it was the same frame that was sold as GIANT back then, without stickers.
I won't make something a "house brand" item without sending a few samples to an accredited testing facility and regularly sending a few items for QC to ensure consistency. Erodes the margin, but it's necessary.
Consumers can't do this, though, so it's a gamble. How do you know whether you really are getting a high performance carbon bar for $50 or nice looking piece of junk? Metal products carry a lot higher probability of getting what you think you're getting. There's not much money to be saved with a cheaper alloy, so most parts are 6061 or better. Forging is a cheap process at high volume, so you're unlikely to get a cast part. Even a poorly designed, forged 6061 stem is a lot safer than a terribly made carbon bar.
Some consumers are essentially addicted to gambling and will try every Asian part they can get their hands on. I don't recommend this approach, especially to anyone who has broken some "name brand" items. If something seems too good to be true - i.e. implausibly cheap, even for the Asian marketplace - it usually is.
To go back to the pedals that started the discussion: they look like standard injection molded units, seemingly using a chopped-fiber reinforced resin. Potentially a little better than a plain resin, but reliability is determined by, in order:
1. Design
2. Manufacturing
3. Materials
The importance of each factor decreases tremendously from the prior. Material selection gets a lot of attention for something that is the least important factor in making a reliable component.
Great post!
I am an optimist though, because as brutal as it may seem, the natural selection is a good thing.
If such an Asian catalog existed, it would be the size of an old encyclopedia set and take up half of your living room!
www.taichungbikeweek.com
www.taipeicycle.com.tw
www.e-chinacycle.com/en/exlist/en/34
- carbon chain
- carbon brake hose
- carbon tyre insert
- carbon rotor bolts
- carbon carbon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforced_carbon%E2%80%93carbon
2. "Pop" NSYNC 2:54
3. "I'm Real" Jennifer Lopez 3:15
4. "Stutter" (Double Take Remix) Joe featuring Mystikal 3:32
5. "Someone to Call My Lover" Janet Jackson 4:32
6. "AM to PM" Christina Milian 3:33
7. "A Little Bit" Jessica Simpson 3:44
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10. "U Got It Bad" Usher 4:07
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14. "Me, Myself & I" Jive Jones 3:28
15. "I'm a Believer" (from Shrek) Smash Mouth 3:04
16. "Fat Lip" Sum 41 2:58
17. "The Rock Show" Blink-182 2:49
18. "Bad Day" Fuel 3:13
19. "Be Like That" 3 Doors Down 3:55
20. "Walk On" U2
www.aliexpress.com/item/ZERAY-D213-Carbon-Fiber-Ultralight-Mountain-Bike-Flat-Pedal-Alloy-Bicycle-Pedal-MTB-Cycling-pedales-bike/32835182770.html
at 21$ american from aliexpress it might be worth it to just get a bulk order of these. as long as they dont splinter like carbon does they could be like the perfect weight weenie option for bike disciplines where you break shit more often. all they really have to do is match a basic plastic in durability. im probably going to give them a try on my bmx bike.
like seriously 220 grams is 7.76 ounces a pair.
www.schmolke-carbon.com/product/mtb-lowriser-tlo