Starling CyclesStarling Cycles had their new Murmur on display at their stand. The Murmur is made of stainless steel and, when in production, will come with a black swing arm. The bike you see here was built in collaboration with Hope, and as amazing as it looks it's not really meant to be used. The painted rims, for example, would be scratched in seconds. It is however a thing of beauty!
The new Murmur hasn't just had cosmetic changes, there is a new main pivot casting at the heart of the frame. As part of this the swing arm pivot bearings have been moved from the front triangle to the swing arm. This makes it a bit wider, and also stiffer. Alongside that it takes some of the load off of the bearings which should help extend their life.
The new Murmur should be in stock in September.
Stashed's SpaceRailStashed's SpaceRail saves space by reducing the centerline distances between bikes during storage. Traditional bike storage, such as a stationary wall or ceiling hooks and wheel hangers suffice for hanging one bike, but if you want to hang more, then you need to leave space around each bike for access. This normally means that bikes have to be spaced at least 350mm-400mm apart and at different heights.
Although folding and articulating systems improve access, bikes are still limited on how close together they can be. SpaceRail facilitates bike spacings down to 150mm by rotating, sliding and overlapping bikes, which means your bikes are stored as close together as they can be to reduce storage volume. Add the included spacers to increase spacing by up to 25mm each side for wider bikes or if you just want to keep your bikes further apart. Floor space is freed up and when bikes are not on the SpaceRail the system is unobtrusive, allowing space for other uses.
RockstopAlongside Rockstop's tire inserts they had their new chainguard on display. The chainguard is made of a tough polyurethane rubber that has superior wear properties that can withstand chain damage, but is flexible enough to deaden the sound of chain slap and will fit to many chainstay shapes as well as seatstays. The upper crescent shaped ridges prevent chain links from catching and reduces noise caused by chain slap.
The chainguard is held on with Rockstop's own fitting system. The Ziggy Wraps and tabs are flat, stretchy, and do not cause any marking on the frame. The wraps can be easily fastened and removed. An extra wrap and tab comes with each chainguard.
CrankbrothersThere were a few new things on the Crankbrothers stand this year with some new colourways for the massively popular Mallet E pedals.
Along with some new colourways for their Stamp and Mallet shoes, one of which is not yet released but isn't too far away.
TopeakTopeak have a new pump out to which is able to deliver both low and high pressure so it's good for both your fork and shock as well as your tires. It comes with a digital display and a really high quality build. Even better, it's out right now too.
Enduro BearingsEnduro's MAXhit Components are machined entirely from 440C stainless steel and ‘guaranteed for life’. Final MAXhit assembly includes proprietary double-lip labyrinth seals and Enduro’s ‘extra high pressure’ grease for headsets or ‘high-performance speed’ grease for bottom brackets to ensure a lifetime of trouble-free, heavy duty performance.
They're also a little different from your normal bottom brackets and headsets. Where your conventional bottom bracket or headset is a machined cup with a bearing pressed into it, Enduro's MAXhit has the bearing built into the external cup.
HopeAs always, Hope had lots of stunning CNC machined aluminum parts on their stand, anodised in a variety of colours, and they also has some new parts. First up is their new gravity stem. With the increase in longer travel trail bikes tailored to more gravity applications Hope saw that there was an opportunity to redesign the stem to make it lighter than Hope's DH stem, but stiffer than the current AM stem. This is where the new Gravity stem sits, with a weight that's only 12 grams heavier than the AM stem. The new design incorporates individual clamps for the handle bars and a simple “no gap” clamping system.
Sizes available:
35 and 50mm long
0 deg rise
31.8 and 35mm bars
and as always in six colors.
We also need to talk about the new Hope HB.916 which, with the help of Fergus Lamb, topped the podium this weekend. The HB.916 is available to order now. The HB916 bike is Hope's new 160mm rear travel enduro bike.
The HB916 bike has been designed with enduro racing in mind, taking into account its wide variety of terrains and formats. Engineered so a racer can be fast not only on a quick 2 min stage but also on a 20 min mega stage on terrain varying from Scottish Moors to Alpine descents. Hope's focus was on making the bike to be efficient, balanced, predictable, and easy to ride to save racers precious energy on long day races, enabling them to focus and make the difference when it matters the most.
Although the released colours of the bike are the ones above, there was this stunning British racing green bike made for the Goodwood festival on the Ohlins stand.
WhyteRight in the centre of the Whyte stand was their new Whyte Snake hardtail. This will come in 2 forms: one aimed at use on pump tracks which you see here, then a second aimed more at dirt jumping. The pumptrack bike will be a slightly lower price point than the dirt jumper. Whyte will have more information available later this year.
Hunt & PriviteerIt looked like there wasn't too much new at Hunt and Privateer this weekend other than the news that they had some bikes in stock which, with the way the market is right now, is news in itself
l did notice a new prototype of their popular Race Enduro carbon rims, although the guys at Hunt were pretty tight lipped about these for now.
OhlinsOhlins brought their full range of suspension products to Ard Rock 2022 including their new RXF38 m.2 single crown fork. This is the second generation of this that first saw use on Commencal e-bikes. This, however, is a totally redesigned fork that is designed for hard-hitting trail, enduro and e-MTB use. The single-crown RXF38 m.2 shares several key technologies with its dual-crown brother, the DH38. It will come in 160/170/180 mm of travel and with 44mm and 51mm of offset and only 29" wheelsize.
FerodoAt the side of the Ohlins stand, quite unassumingly, was the launch of one of the world's largest automotive brake pad and disc suppliers entry into the cycling market. Ferodo have both 6 bolt and centerlock rotors, as well as pads for all the major brake suppliers in 2 different metallic compounds, one for E-bikes and the other for normal bikes.
HiplokHiplok had their new Ride Shield on display. Ride Shield is a protection system for your car that allows you to transport your bike to and from the trail without fear of damaging both it or your car. It even has compartments to store your wheels.
They also had the Hiplok Jaw which is a compact wall mounted bike rack for storing your bike. The Jaw holds the bike in horizontal or vertical position. Its fully adjustable design fits all popular bicycle types and sizes and is a “one size fits all” efficient bicycle storage solution. It can even take a Hiplok Z LOK to secure your bike to the wall.
e*thirteenThe e*thirteen stand had a few new parts. The highlight being the e*thirteen HelexR aluminium crank set. It's a 2 piece crank design using a 30mm spindle. These are a spiderless crank designed to be used with the e*thirteen HelexR chain rings. Interestingly, the HelexR chainrings allow you to flip them around to adjust for different chainlines.
The e*thirteen Quick Fill Plasma Valve is a follow up to their already popular tubeless valves and has all the same features but now includes the ability to undo them at the mid way point to allow you to add sealant to your tire without braking the bead.
The e*thirteen HELIX R Cassette has more range than any other cassette on the market. The 9 tooth cog lets you step down one chainring size while keeping the same top end gearing and provides not only better ground clearance, but an overall lighter drivetrain.
Spada ClothingSpada may not have been a name you have heard in the mountain bike world before, but they have a history of making quality motorbike protection and clothing at affordable prices. They have started their mountain bike range with all the essentials: a trail helmet with MIPS, a jacket, shorts, pants, short sleeve jersey, long sleeve jersey, gloves and of course socks.
RideworksA quick introduction to Rideworks. They are a British brand formed with a passion for engineering, design and a love for all things bike, well mostly mountain bike.
They produce high end mountain bike components in the UK, CNC machined from aircraft spec aluminium – mountain bike bottom brackets, hubs, bash rings, chainrings, and more. Their background in engineering has given them a passion for bike product design and manufacture.
Their product portfolio is constantly evolving, they strive to make products that they would want to use, and they do use. Their products are proudly UK-made and they always will be.
The Rideworks stem is called the Robot, with a 31.8mm clamping diameter and 35mm length made from 7075-T6 aluminum with a 35mm diameter in development. Along with the stem there is a headset that comes in ZS44/EC44, ZS44/ZS55 and 56.
Rideworks pedals are still in prototype, but they have a platform of 100 x 113mm approx. They are made from 7075-T6 aluminum, and have a 6ALV4 titanium spindle fitted and they weigh 168 grams with 12 pins fitted.
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Hubs also made from 7075-T6, 142 and 148, 44T ratchet ring with pawl and spring system. Designed around the larger 6805 bearing, all made in-house at Rideworks.
NukeproofNukeproof not only have some new colourways for their frames but they are also now offering the Giga and the Mega as frame only with some high end shock choices. You can now get your Giga or Mega with the following shocks fitted with a custom tune just for the bike:
FAST Fenix Evo Enduro Shock
Push Elevensix shock
EXT Storia Lok
EXT Suspension/MOJO
Mojo had the EXT V3 Storia on display with this amazing cut out version. EXT V3 Storia is the 'enduro' shock in the EXT Family. The V3 Storia gets a new 'Hydraulic Bottom-out Control'. The HBC system introduces extra damping during the last 15% of the travel in a tapered progressive fashion. This reduces the speed of the shock shaft in a controlled manner to avoid the harsh bottom out and allows use of the full travel safely.
You can even use spherical bearings in the eyelets of the shock to eliminate any misalignment of the shock due to the frame twisting whilst in use.
I used to run Ferodo carbon/ ceramic pads on cast iron rotors on my road racing motorcycle, but at $150 per caliper they were brutally expensive.
We’ll see how they price their MTB stuff.
Not even a mention of RockStop's down-tube protector that is featured in 2 photos.
As Matt Wragg likes to say, "do better".
you‘re very welcome to say all those things, they‘re propably justified. I‘d just like it a lot more if you thought about the fact that you‘re talking about a humans work here. I think you could make the same points in a friendlier tone and it would be better for everybody. Afterall, writing a comment that solely focuses on the negatives propably doesn‘t feel good for you either
The positive "comment" is continuing to view the site, to make them money. Because if there was zero good content, I would stop even looking. And if they can't accept some feedback, there will eventually be zero good content.
“I’ll stop EVEN looking”
You may or may not actually be within a singular, literal adverb of setting a world record
Saves weight off the cassette itself, saves weight off the chain (less links), can save weight off the mech (shorter arm), and saves weight off the front sprocket.
Increases ground clearance at the mech, increase clearance at the front sprocket.
That's a lot of benefits, with the only downsides being that there is a tiny bit more wear on everything and the 9tooth top gear isn't great for efficiency over extended periods, but who really spends a long time pedalling in top gear anyway (and is bothered too much about a tiny difference in efficiency).
The E13 ones are "OK" (and the weight is great), but I think a proper SRAM one would likely shift better and last a little longer. (The Aliexpress ones unfortunately didn't work for me, really noisy and bad engagement with the chain).
A whole lot of head ache to get adjustable hsr so they don't have to stock and distribute different rebound tunes...
I think a lot of the issues with fox stuff has to do with the lack of quality control from the people who assemble them rather than the design itself.
Case in point any guy with a syringe and a beer can get a better bleed than they can with a vacuum machine that costs as much as a new mountain bike.
You've missed my point the original x2 shot the compression damping in the foot to gain externally adjustable HSR to avoid stocking different tunes, it's understandable that they would want that on an air shock because of how adjustable the air spring is.
Yeah the new x2 is fully shim based, and it doesn't sound like you have bled one. Yeah the 2020 hand bleeds ok. The 21 and up... there is a reason fox doesn't even show a hand bleeding option....
The 2021+ fox stuff bleeds great by hand with a syringe and my custom bleed port adapter. You can still apply a vacuum with the syringe just like the Andreani does.
Doesn't sound like you've bled one of the new ones by hand or you'd know what I'm talking about...
Yes, Fox told me you can't bleed it by hand, and I said- ok hold my beer.
I'm happy to send some pics and give you some pointers if you want.
Wether thats with the palm of your hand pushing down on a glove around the shock body, a $2 syringe, or a $3,000 vacuum/bleed/fill machine, it's all the same stuff.
I'm sorry I've got so many of you guys all wadded up over this lol.
I was just trying to communicate that fox said their new shocks have to be sent in and put on an Adreani machine to be bled and that's just simply not the case.
I'm sure doing it with only "hand tools" with a syringe in one "hand" and the shock eyelet in my other "hand" isn't as efficient as using an Adreani machine, but it still is giving me better results than all the new fox stuff I have seen come from the factory.
Just goes to show that no matter how nice a tool might be, the quality of the job is still up to the dude using the tool.
I think fox has pretty high quality inherently, but the people they use to assemble and bleed don't do the most quality job at it. Hard to knock their engineering/design when that's not the reason for the problems.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/18094669
www.pinkbike.com/photo/13237968
I was going to say know why all, and I mean all DJ bikes and pump tracks bikes are 26 inch wheels. ?
Oh the sticker said I ride 26 inch wheels because. Fck you. !
If you dig Dirt jumping or pump tracks you get my drift.