Road, Track & Mountain Bikes

Jamis Xenith SL Review and Video

drbob — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:34:18 +0000

Steven Fairchild of Jamis Bikes gives us a very detailed look into the 2009 Jamis Xenith SL. The very same bike that Team Colavita races on, you can pick up at your local LBS.
2009 Jamis Xenith SL

Upgrades from 2008
• Lighter frame with increased stiffness in the BB and HT area
• BB 30 Bottom Bracket system
• New fork design utilizing 1.5” crown race
• Ritchey Logic WCS Carbon Drop-In integrated headset
• 3T Rotundo LTD handlebar, ARX Team stem and Doric LTD seatpost
• Fizik Arione CX saddle with Carbon Braided rails
All the technology in the world, the fancy ads, the awards—they don’t mean squat once the gun goes off. Being first across the line—that’s all that matters. That’s what these Xeniths are all about.
Colavita’s pros love their Xeniths. The thing is, word’s gotten around about how light, stiff and responsive their bikes are, and the rest of the peloton looks at their Xeniths like an unfair advantage. In the pros, there are two types of bikes—the ones sponsors make you ride and the ones you want to ride. Like the Xenith SL or Team.

Trek 2300 60cm Full Dura Ace Excellent

0 Bid

US $1,000.00

5h 6m

2009 Jamis Ventura Race 58cm Road Bicycle

3 Bids

US $520.00

5h 42m

JAMIS XENITH PRO 54CM MEDIUM

US $1,899.00

7h 43m

Jamis Xenith T2 51cm

0 Bid

US $1,700.00

7h 57m

2009 Jamis Nova Pro Cyclocross Bike 56cm

US $1,599.00

10h 29m

2005 JAMIS Eclipse Road Bike Bicycle 58cm Large Frame

33 Bids

US $556.01

10h 47m

SCHWINN BICYCLE GIANT EXT BLUE MENS BIKE JAMIS SEAT

US $225.00

15d 10h 56m

2010 Kona Major Jake Cyclocross Road MTB 49cm Scandium

2 Bids

US $1,305.00

1d 2h 17m

Must Have Tools For The DIY Mountain Biker

drbob — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:12:24 +0000

Bike Maintenance | 198 |

Every job can be made harder without the correct tools to do the job. Bicycle maintenance requires several specialized tools that will make your life much easier on and off the trail.

One thing to keep in mind: In my early days of mountain bike maintenance, I didn’t go out and buy the most expensive tools I could find. I bought the store brand tools until I saved up enough to get some more expensive versions from Park or Pedros. This comes in handy later in your mountain bike maintenance career because you can use your “first set” as a mobile tool set that stays in a small tool box.

#1 – Bike Repair Stand
Mountain bikes…for the most part…are very awkward to work on. In many cases, you have to have the wheels off or you need the bike up at shoulder level to get the work done easily. This is where the bike stand comes into play. A bike stand will hold your mountain bike so that it is easily accessible for any repair or build. Normally, you hold your frame by the seat post with the clamp that is at the top of the stand. This allows you to move the bike around as you work. I bike stand will make life much easier as you become more proficient at your bicycle maintenance.
Over the years, I have used the Ultimate stands because I feel that they are more stable. Park Tools also makes a great stand that a lot of riders like.

#2 – Floor Pump
You will not be able to live life as a mountain biker without a good floor pump with a properly working pressure gauge. You will start to take tires on and off (some people more than others) and tire pressure is crucial to how the bike rides. A good floor pump will end up going with you everywhere.
Find a pump that you are comfortable with and one that you can read the air pressure gauge easily. Almost all floor pumps go to much higher pressures than you will ever use, so make sure you can see the pressure that you use easily.

#3 – Y Hex Wrench
This should be one of the first tools you ever own as a mountain bike maintenance beginner. This Y shaped he wrench contains three of the most common sizes found on mountain bikes today (4mm, 5mm and 6mm). I keep several of these laying around and even one in my pack while riding. It is a nice, convenient way to have the 3 most common sized hex wrenches at your disposal.

#4 – Hex Wrench Set
The Y Hex Wrench will get you through a lot of repairs and tunes, but nothing replaces a good set of hex wrenches. The Y Wrench can actually get in the way in tight situations, so have a good set of hex wrenches laying around.
Almost all of the bolts on your bike will be hex heads.

#5 – Multi-Tool
You should already have one of these in your pack when you ride, but this is a good reminder. A multi-tool is a must have for any mountain biker. It can keep you riding on the trail or provide you with a tool you just can’t seem to find on those bike maintenance days. With a wide range of hex heads, screwdrivers and most of the time…a chain tool, this compact set is a perfect compliment to any tool collection.

#6 – Chain Tool
Most multi-tool’s come with a chain tool, but it is much easier to use a dedicated chain tool when possible. This cheap little tool will save you time and fingers while you are working at repairing that chain in the stand.

#7 – Chain Whip
This funny looking tool is specific to rear cassettes on any bike. It will hold your cassette still to allow you to remove the lock ring from the cassette to do drive train maintenance and replacement. Replacing drive train parts is one area that you should seriously consider doing yourself, and the tools associated with these change outs are a must have.

#8 – Lock Ring Removal Tool
The Lock Ring Removal Tool and the Chain Whip go hand in hand. The lock ring on your cassette that tightens the cassette down onto the hub body requires a specialized tool due to its unique pattern. You use this tool along with the chain whip to remove your cassette from the rear hub.

#9 – Cable Cutters
A good set of cable cutters will make your life much easier when replacing housing or cables on your mountain bike. Can you do this with a non-specialized tool? Yes…but you will not be as efficient and your cuts will not be as clean. A nice side effect of a good cable cutter is the ability to round out the housing after you are finished with the cut. A good set of cable cutters also insures a straight and accurate cut on cable. This will make feeding the cable through the housing much easier.

#10 – Bottom Bracket Tool
Almost every mountain bike on the market today comes with external bottom brackets (x-type). These bottom brackets house the bearings external to the frames bottom bracket shell. This makes them easy to remove and replace. The bottom bracket bearings are a wear item on your mountain bike. They also require this specialized tool for removal and installation. You will scratch the bottom bracket shell when using this tool…that is normal.

#11 – Pedal Wrench
A great pedal wrench was always one of those tools that I was certain I didn’t need. Couldn’t you just use some other wrench to remove the pedals? Yes…but it is a pain! The nice advantage of a pedal wrench is its thin profile. This allows you to get the pedals off easily and quickly without any real effort. The handle is also much longer than a conventional wrench to give you more leverage and get your hands farther away from the bike to make removal and installation easier.

#12 – Chain Ring Nut Wrench
Chain rings are another wear item on your mountain bike. This little wrench keeps the rear of the chain rings bolts still while you unscrew the hex side of the bolt. Its low profile allows you to get in behind the rings for easy installation and removal.

#13 – Tire Levers
This seems like an easy assumption, but choosing the right tire levers can mean the difference between easily installed tires and bloody knuckles. Pick out a set of STRONG tire levers. I use the Maxxis levers and they have worked perfectly. A previous set of Park’s caused me a lot of issues…they just were not wide or strong enough.

#14 – Adjustable Wrench
An adjustable wrench will help you use other tools in your mountain bike maintenance arsonal like the lock nut removal tool. It is always a good idea to have one of these laying around at all times.

#15 – T-25 Torx Wrench
The bolts that secure the rotors on your mountain bike are held in with T-30 Torx heads. Many brakes actually come with one of these wrenches, so keep it handy and try not to lose it. It will come in handy when you are swapping out rotors or wheels. Be careful not to strip out these bolts during removal and installation.

#16 – Screwdrivers
You will need medium sized flat blade and phillips head screw drivers throughout your bike maintenance career. You will use these to do routine maintenance tasks like derailleur adjustment, so keep one set around the bike maintenance area at all times.

#17 – Shock Pump
This specialized pump will control the air pressure in your suspension components. Almost all full suspension mountain bikes come with air suspension. Most bikes and components provide you with one of these pumps with purchase, so keep it in a safe place. I would also recommend carrying one of these with you on the trail.

Conclusion
So there you have it! Your 17 must have tools for any bike maintenance wrencher! Start building up your collection now so when we start to go over each area of the bike…you are ready. Try to shop around for the deals on tools because at any point in time…someone is having a sale.

Tips On Buying New Mountain Bike Gear

drbob — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:04:02 +0000

Parts Last Longer Than Frames
Once you jump into the frame only market, you are going to start to swap out frames more than you do parts. Even in complete bike purchases, you will transfer your better components over to the new build leaving the lower grade parts as backups or to install on the old bike for resale. As you look at bikes to buy or parts to upgrade, keep in mind that you are going to keep those higher end parts for a longer period of time, so that investment is going to bring you more return on your money. I have a Chris King headset that has moved through 7 different bikes. Several of my wheelsets have been on 3 bikes or more.
Swapping out frames on a regular basis is also more common as your riding style changes so your mountain bike frame needs change as well. No matter what bike you are riding, the components will stay virtually the same (things like suspension fork may change due to frame specifications).

Spend The Money Where It Matters
I know that carbon cage looks cool as hell on your rig, but for a 1/3 of the price…you can step down to XT or X.9 and get the same performance. You will not be shaving precious grams or have the bling to show off at the trailhead, but you will be able to save that money and spend it on more component parts that will actually affect how your bike performs on the trail. I can’t tell you how many mountain bikes I have seen with $250.00 rear derailleurs and $100.00 wheelsets. It just doesn’t make sense.
I tend to make the biggest investments on wheels and suspension forks. The rest of my builds get the run of the mill XT or X.9 components.

Your Friend Is Wrong
9 times out of 10, your buddy that is telling you to buy his bike because it is the best thing he has ever thrown a leg over is wrong. No one can tell you what the best mountain bike is for you. If his bike was the best thing since sliced bread and everyone should have one…then there would only be that model of mountain bike on the market. All of our body types, riding styles and trail needs are different. Do not let someone talk you into buying something without riding it first to see if it is exactly what you need. It is not their cash they are shelling out…it is yours.

Ideally, you want to test ride as many bikes as you possibly can to find out what works best in your situation. Read reviews, try it out…talk to as many mountain bikers as you can and then formulate your own decisions based on fact. Try not to let this become an emotional, off the cuff buy.

Think About The Resale
Boutique bikes are easier to sell as frame only and big box bikes (Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher, etc.) are easier to resell as complete bikes. It is pretty hard to unload a big box bike as frame only and get any resemblance of a quality resell price out of it. This is something to keep in mind as you look at purchasing complete mountain bikes or just a mountain bike frame. If you are selling a Trek or Specialized mountain bike, it does not have to have all of the original components on it, but it is going to resell much easier as a complete build as that target buyer is in the market for a complete mountain bike.

Better Deals Are Found In The Off-Season
You are going to find better prices and deals in the off-season as you have more buying power because retail is slow. The same goes for picking up used parts and mountain bikes. If you are looking to save some money or you are on a tight budget, waiting until the colder months may be a great option. There will be less to choose from in the used market, but the prices are generally lower.

2010 Marin Mountain Bike Reviews

drbob — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:16:05 +0000

By Ron Koch

Marin gave us a peek at its new 2010 models at its headquarters in Novato California followed by quick rides on local trails to get a feel for what’s to come. I’ve visited quite a few manufacturers over the years but I didn’t really have a good feel for how big or small Marin Bikes really was. Its facility is impressively large and expanding with a newly constructed building next door. The warehouse is large but the most fascinating part is the portion that for many years was once the Grateful Dead’s rehearsal studio. I can’t say that I’m a fan if the music but the studio lighting and blacked out ceiling above the rows of boxed bikes gave what would otherwise be a boring warehouse a cool vibe.

The cross country oriented 100mm travel Alchemist that we first saw last year at Downieville is finally ready for action in 2010 and like other Marin full suspension designs this one uses the four bar Quad Link 2.0 design. Like most XC bikes pedaling efficiency is the primary suspension focus while bump management is secondary on this bike. The shock eyes are captures through the pivots to reduce weight and you won’t find any carbon on this racer – it’s all aluminum with 6061 cold forged and machined pieces connecting the 6069 seat tube and 6066 aluminum frame tubes. For years now Marin has utilized hydroforming to shape and manipulate its tube shapes and 2010 is no different. Geometry is a little bit longer and a little bit steeper than the Mt. Vision bikes for snappy handling and a more stretched out cross country rider position. There will be three complete Alchemist models available in five different sizes.

2010 Alchemist
A three hour or so ride consisting of rocky fire road, tight single-track and more open faster wide trail on an Alchemist 4.9 ($5499.99) revealed a bike that likes to cover ground with comfort and speed. It pedals well without any funky pedal feedback and the aluminum frame feels stout mashing the pedals in the big ring over a short rise or hauling the mail on some rough trail. The suspension is fairly supple off the top of its stroke and that seemed to enhance traction and help me clean a couple of loose rocky steeps that upon first approach looked like a 50/50 chance of walking or riding up.

The trail bike oriented 2010 Mount Vision gets lighter and features revised geometry. Its swingarm is 200 grams lighter thanks to using tubes similar to those used in the Alchemist and Marin claims they cut that weight without effecting ride quality (stiffness). Marin claims that in its three years of service they’ve yet to see a swingarm failure so it was probably a bit overbuilt. Perhaps the most striking change is the smooth almost carbon looking front end. It’s all aluminum but the welds are filled giving it a sculpted look. Instead of sanding the welds smooth a filler is used that’s describes as being like a heavy paint that Marin claims adds little in the way of weight but it certainly offers a unique look. Pivot points remain unchanged since they were happy with the suspension performance but the links are now narrower with bearings set further into the links. Geometry gets a major revision via a slacker head tube (68.5 degree – was 69.5), longer top tube (size medium is about 20mm longer), lower bottom bracket and a slightly steeper seat angle. Internal bearings are now used in the head tube for a sleeker integrated look. Cable guides are added to the bottom of the top tube for a remote lowering seat post like a Gravity dropper or Joplin.

2010 Mount Vision
We took the Mount Vision 5.8 ($3299.99) on a short ride around the Tamarancho loop just outside of Fairfax to get a feel for the changes. The new geometry is noticeable right away giving it a feel that I’ve never experienced from a Marin before. The lower BB offers better high speed stability and makes the bike feel more confident on steep climbs and descents. I noted an odd short feeling from the front of the bike like I was on a size too small but it was indeed a large. Later I learned that the preproduction samples we were riding had about a ½’ shorter top tube than the production model so I wasn’t crazy. Other than the short top tube Mount Vision impressed with great suspension and better handling than past years - even with the short top tube.

The Wolf Ridge is now called the Attack Trail because it’s in many ways a new bike. The mainframe features a new support tube while the head tube is tapered with internal bearings and like the Mt. Vision, its linkages use deeper set bearings for a lower link profile. Travel is up 10mm from the Wolf Ridge to 150mm. The most compelling feature of the Attack trail frame is the fact that it’s specifically designed around Truvativ’s Hammerschmidt. It features a forged ISCG 05 bottom bracket shell and the suspension’s instant center has been changed to offer the best pedaling in the 22-tooth chain ring. Marin claims it actually ends up pedaling better in all the rings as a result. The frames are the same throughout the line so they’re all “Hammerschmmidt ready”. Like the Mt’ Vision remote activated seat post cable guides are located under the top tube.

2010 Attack Trail
Of the three bikes I rode the Attack Trail 6.8 ($3199.99) left the most lasting impression since it was one of those bikes that I jelled with instantly. It was almost like I’d owned it for a year rather than just riding it for a few hours even though the bike and rocky Marin County trail were new to me. The Rockshox Monarch equipped rear shock and Quad Link combo gobbled up small medium and large hits with equal finesse while the bike’s geometry offers a great blend of stability and responsiveness. I made sure to ride the bike in the small chain ring and use all the cogs to see how it would pedal with Hammerschmidt and felt great across the cassette. When the opportunity arose to spend another day on the Attack Trail in Downieville it didn’t take much to talk me into the three hour drive. The much faster trails revealed a stable flex free chassis that boosted my confidence on Third Divide and efficient pedaling rear suspension was nice crossing First Divide.

Take these first ride impressions for what they’re worth: first rides on preproduction bikes but I really like where Marin is taking things especially regarding geometry and handling. Look for more thorough reviews in the pages of Mountain Bike and here at mountainbike.com after we get some quality saddle time on production machines. And look for these bikes to arrive in shops around August to September.

09 Marin Mount Vision 58 Bicycle Frame Fox RP23 Med

US $649.99

5d 1h 9m

NEW 2009 Marin Mount Vision 56 FS Mountain Bike Large

US $1,199.99

26d 2h 38m

NEW 2009 Marin Mount Vision 56 FS Mountain Bike XL

US $1,199.99

26d 2h 38m

Gary Fisher Paragon MTB Rarely Ridden

6 Bids

US $355.00

30m

Marin 26 Steel Hardtail Mountain Bike XTR FSA Carbon

0 Bid

US $1,104.00

17h 31m

Marin Hidden Canyon Gitrls 20 New Girls Mountain Bike

1 Bid

US $195.00

2d 8h 41m

Giant TCR Advanced SL 2 Review

drbob — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:22:58 +0000

Giant TCR Advanced SL 2

Frame Technology
Experience the one-of-a-kind ride quality of Giant’s unique Alliance technology, which blends the best characteristics of both composite and aluminum. You get amazing power transfer for the sprints and a supple ride for long days in the saddle.

Features
- Complete 10-speed SRAM RIVAL (black) groupset
- Lightweight Giant Connect SL handlebar and stem
- Fi’zi:k Pave CX saddle
- Lighter Mavic CXP22 wheelset

Review
We have to break out the superlatives for this out-of-the-box racer. It's the lightest and stiffest frame that Giant has ever produced—the same one (albeit without the integrated seat mast) that was ridden to more pro wins last year than any other bike. Granted, the SL 2 is hung with a more affordable mix of Shimano Ultegra components and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. But make no mistake: It's still an absolutely race-worthy rig. It's such a well-rounded package, in fact, that three testers each gave it a perfect 10 on their score sheets—but, and this is the most telling part, in three different categories: climbing, descending, and pedaling responsiveness. 16 lbs, 56cm; giant-bicycles.com

How To Align A Bicycle Wheel

drbob — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:03:59 +0000

Truing a bike wheel is one of those things you may never have to do, or never want to do, in that case take your wheels to you local bike shop and have a trained experienced mechanic true your wheels.
Aligning bicycle wheels, step by step

Building and truing wheels is a very difficult thing to do, it can take years to learn, but your wheels may only be a little out, or your no where near a bike shop and you need to straighten a wheel, its good to know what to do in those circumstances.

How to Start
To build and true wheels properly you need a lot of expensive tools, such as:
1. Spoke key
2. Truing jig
3. Dishing tool
but if you only need to do a little straightening all you’ll need is the spoke key and you can do the work in the bike frame, either in a bike stand or you can turn the bike upside-down on the ground.

The next step
With your eye on the wheel where passes between the brake blocks, spin the wheel slowly, now take note of where the rim touches the blocks, if it touches the left brake block then the spoke pulling to the right needs tightening and spoke on the left heeds loosening, and so if the rim touches the block on the right then the spoke on the left needs tightening and the spoke on the right needs loosening.
Now that all sounds simple, but if you over tighten or over loosen the spokes the wheel is going to be in very bad shape, so be careful. I would say that the spokes nipple should only be turned a very small amount at a time until you can see how much difference it makes. Some rims are softer than others and that can make a difference too.

Up and down too!
If your wheel is true from left to right maybe it isn’t round and the rim goes up and down or has a “flat spot” this is the most difficult problem to sort out, it can be done, but it takes time and practice, also if it is very bad it means a new rim needs fitting.
This is how you try to fix it. If the rim dips loosen the spokes if it seems to rise then tighten them, but be careful, not too much!

And all Together
This is the tricky bit, to get the wheel straight and round at the same time, it’s a case of tighten a little here and loosen a little there until you get it right.

The other thing you have to remember is that the wheel also has to be in the middle of the axle of the hub, so that its in the middle of the bike frame, there is a special tool for measuring this, but you can do this in the frame, either buy looking down at the bottom bracket where the wheel is closest the frame and measuring the gap between frame and rim, or up at the brake you can do the same.
And Finally
There is a lot to remember, the wheel has be round, not going up and down, the wheel has to be true, not going from side to side and the rim has to be in the middle of the hub axle.
If that wasn’t enough the spokes also have to be at the correct tension, this means if the spokes are loose it makes for a sloppy, soft ride and the wheel might fall apart and if the spokes are too tight it makes for a ruff ride and the spokes might snap.
Truing wheels takes a lot of patience and practice, you may not be able to do it and in many cases it’s a job for the professionals, but if you are brave enough, give it a go, but beware you could ruine your best wheels if you are not careful, it could all end in tears.

Scott CR1 SL Review

drbob — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:57:05 +0000

By James Huang, technical editor, BikeRadar

Scott's CR1 has been revamped for 2010, with trick new tube shaping that's designed to take the edge off the bumps without overly diluting the bike's racy feel. This shaping actually works, and quite well – though not entirely the way we expected it to.

Ride & handling: Light and stiff enough to race, but with a bit of give over bigger bumps
On smoother roads the so-called SDS (Shock Damping System) – basically, the stays have been flattened in key areas so they flex under big impacts – is essentially inactive and the CR1 rides similarly to the company's Addict flagship, leaving us wondering what all the fuss was about. It's notably firm with excellent road feedback and, as is typical for higher-quality carbon frames, has just enough inherent vibration damping to smooth out road buzz without killing the ride.

SDS kicks in on bigger impacts such as potholes and frost heave – right when it's needed most – which the Addict and others tend to violently crash through. It's no magic carpet, mind you, and even Scott claim just 2mm of vertical movement. You still feel the bump but it's significantly less harsh or jarring and even rock-hard, frozen washboard on dirt roads is notably smoothed over to the point where it's nearly tolerable.

Scott add the SDS feature to the matching all-carbon fork too, though here the shaping is much less radical and, not surprisingly, offers a more subtle ride improvement. In either case, keep in mind that SDS isn't really 'damping' per se, regardless of the nomenclature – it's more like a very short-travel leaf spring. Regardless, it works as intended and is definitely more suitable as a long-distance machine than the Addict, especially if your local road conditions are less than ideal.

Drivetrain and overall torsional rigidity feels little changed from before and is still admirably high with just a hint of dullness to the back end when you really lay it down. In spite of the added comfort, there's still plenty of get-up-and-go left in the chassis and the CR1 remains quite race-worthy. In fact, the CR1 may even offer a traction benefit for competitive riders who regularly have to corner hard on broken tarmac. However, those looking for ultimate performance will still want to look towards the Addict instead, which offers slightly snappier reflexes and a livelier ride quality.

As part of Scott's retasking of the CR1 as more of an all-rounder, frame geometry has been slightly modified from the usual racer layout to accommodate a more upright riding position. Thankfully, though, the changes are decidedly modest: our 52cm tester has just 5mm taken out of the effective top tube length (but a steeper seat tube angle so the reach is virtually unchanged) and a reasonable 20mm added to the head tube, compared to the same size Addict. Simply slam the stem down to the headset to produce a more aggressive position – as we did – or take advantage of the generous steerer tube length to save your back as needed.

Handling prowess doesn't take a hit, as is often the case with many 'endurance' chassis, and the CR1 carves turns as ably and neutrally as its Addict big brother. This means that the CR1 isn't a sit-up-and-watch-the-birds cruiser, so if that's what you're after, look elsewhere. Think of it more as a racecar with softer suspension settings.

Frame: Clever frame engineering means stiffness isn't sacrificed for comfort
Not surprisingly, the new CR1 frame layout is similar to the Addict with a one-piece moulded IMP (Integrated Molding Process) front end connected to separate seat tube and stay assemblies via Scott's long-standing tube-to-tube construction. Carbon is again used for the housing stops but is now also subbed in for the new dropouts, and the extra-wide bottom bracket surrounds newly press-fit composite cups.

Our top-end SL version uses Scott's highest-quality HMX carbon fibre blend as well, but even with the upgrades and material substitutions, the 2010 CR1 gains a few grams relative to last year's version in order to reinforce the frame against the newly added flex patterns (adding frame flex is easy; controlling its direction and engineering where it stops isn't). While both the chainstays and seatstays are very thin top-to-bottom, they're also very wide – and probably a tad thicker-walled than usual – to keep unwanted torsional flex at bay. In addition, the anchor points for the chainstays are decidedly stout at the bottom bracket.
Still, actual weight for our bare 52cm frame is an impressive 893g (1.97lb) and well in-keeping with other high-end platforms. Even with alloy clinchers fitted and a heavier-than-stock saddle (consumer bikes are supposed to come with a carbon-railed Fizik Arione CX), total weight for our complete tester was just 6.59kg (14.53lb) without pedals – hardly a boat anchor.

Equipment: Smart parts kit, including full Dura-Ace and Mavic Ksyrium clinchers
The corresponding build kit is wisely chosen across the board with light weight kept in mind but not at the expense of durability. Shimano's latest Dura-Ace badge is found on the entire transmission (which Scott offer in either compact or standard) and brake callipers and the result is predictably smooth and precise shifting matched with best-in-class stopping performance.

Our tester came fitted with slippery Gore sealed cables, too, effectively cancelling out the extra line friction from the newly concealed derailleur routing. Stock bikes won't come from the factory that way but the improvement in shifter feel is significant enough that we'd recommend the upgrade. Rolling stock comes courtesy of Mavic's Ksyrium SL Premium alloy clinchers and Continental Grand Prix 4000 rubber. Both are well-proven items with an excellent balance of performance, durability and versatility – no complaints there.
Finishing kit is supplied by Ritchey in the form of a SuperLogic Carbon Evolution handlebar and one-bolt seatpost, and WCS Carbon 4-Axis stem. We've had good luck with the seatpost design and stem in the past but the handlebar is a decidedly love-or-hate-it item with its hyper-ergonomic bend. Bigger handed riders will likely find the flat sections of the drops too short, too.

Scott Genius MC 10 in Grösse L mit neuem Rahmen

US $3,536.52

2009 Scott CR1 Comp Road Bike 52cm Small 18 Speed New

US $1,299.99

29d 3h 40m

Scott 2008 CR1 Team w EA90SLX wheelset 52cm

0 Bid

US $1,900.00

15h 4m

ProCycling Sammlungsauflösung Heft Februar 02 2005 12

0 Bid

US $1.36

18h 17m

Scott CR1 Pro Road Bike Seat

1 Bid

US $9.20

18h 51m

Scott CR1 Plasma LTD

0 Bid

US $5,439.44

22h 31m

scott scale 20 mountainbike 2010 med brand new in box

US $3,201.66

1d 4h 30m

Scott Genius MC 10 Carbon

1 Bid

US $1,143.45

1d 6h 20m

Mountain States Cup Announces 2010 Schedule

drbob — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:42:54 +0000

The Mountain States Cup Series has announced its 2010 Race Schedule. From all accounts, this is one of the best run series in the US. If you’re within driving distance of one or more races, I suggest you put one of these beautiful locations in your plans to ride next year.

April 24-25 - Rabbit Valley Rally - Fruita, CO -TT and XC
May 15-16 - Chalk Creek Stampede -Nathrop, CO - XC, STXC, 4X, DS
June 5-6 - Chile Challenge - Angel Fire, NM - XC, DH, 4X, SD
June 26-27 - Wildflower Rush - Crested Butte, CO - XC, DH, 4X, SD
July 10-11- Blast the Mass - Snowmass Village, CO- XC, STXC, DH, DH, SD
August 7-8 - Keystone Revival - Keystone, CO - XC, STXC, DH, SD
August 22-23 - Full Tilt in Telluride - Telluride, CO - XC, HC, DH, 4X
September 4-6 - Winter Park Pursuit - Winter Park, CO - XC, STXC, DH, 4X, SD
September 10-12 - Fall Classic - Breckenridge, CO - STXC, TT, XC
Want to know more? Visit the series web site at www.racemsc.com

Cannondale Scalpel Team Pro Review

drbob — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:38:58 +0000

by charles

Cannondale’s top of the heap XC Scalpel Team edition gets dirty. Doubt everything about the bike from the funky fork to a rear end missing at least two joints, but like everything else, a ride tells the story.

Cannondale is “that other American brand”. Frankly they’ve always done a better job designing and building bikes than they have at marketing them. That’s a bold statement coming from a goober like me, especially when you consider that, along with prototype testing or R&D, a company’s marketing guys usually run the media show…

But please understand that I don’t mean it as a swipe at Cannondale. Frankly, if a few companies engineers (the ones that actually have engineers that is…) spent more time in original thought focused on what works better, rather than in playing catch up to a marketing departments ideas about what sells, well, they would be Cannondale. Some of the best examples of that have consistently been in their development on the Mountain side, and the Scalpel Team is no exception.

The easiest thing to note here, and the first thing every casual passer-by notices is the Lefty fork. It’s been in the product range long enough that nobody (with any brains) is calling it a fashion fork (especially guys trying to design something competitive). The latest version on the Scalpel, the Lefty Speed Carbon SL is a relatively close cousin the Max Carbon (tested by Mtbr site manger Gregg on the Rize) and represent the best of the bunch and offer fantastic performance.

An easy assumption from people (including me) was that this tech simply can’t offer the stability that comes from a standard two legger… And that’s generally speaking, wrong. In fact anything in the Lefty SL weight class is less stiff… In twist flex and in front to back flex. And that’s when you loosely define the term “weight class”.
Even if it tracked worse than it’s heavier competition (and it doesn’t), the weight of the SL sits at 2.5 pounds. For weight weenie types like me, it makes for an interesting problem because we’re so used to making excuses for the lack of performance on fly weight parts that we frankly don’t know what to do when something is this light and then outperforms other things…

The FAT tube cross section and materials combine for a fork that gives exceptional stiffness.
And does so without reservation or conditions like “better than you would expect for a single leg fork”.

The stiffness and tracking of the Lefty Speed Carbon is great compared to forks in the all mountain weight range.
It makes sense that compression and rebound have to be in one side on the lefty… But it’s that way on lots of two sided forks as well.

Another benefit of the massive cross section of the Lefty fork tube is that engineers have a lot of space to work inside compared to double leg forks that try and stick all of their damping into a smaller tube.

That extra room not only provides more volume for damping hardware, it also allows for the use of needle bearing actuation…

This coupled with better volume for damping makes for the smoothest operation XC fork on the market (just a personal opinion). And the structure also gets credit for some of the stiffness of the Lefty…

Swing around back and like the lefty, it looks a bit like something is missing here too…

The linkage at the back of most bike designs is, well, gone.

And I can honestly say that the combination of no pivots and the fact that Cannondale expect solid hunks of carbon to flex properly up and down, while not being sloppy as all hell side to side was nuts. I was thinking it would either be a glorified hard tail or be a noodle.

Part of the design that allows the Scalpel’s booty to work is pretty plain to see. Skinny stays top to bottom mean that they control both the point of flex as well as the direction…

And no pivots at the rear drops means nothing to gunk up.

Here in AZ it’s mostly dust, but pick your off road poison depending on geography and whatever it is, it’s not fouling up bearings or bushings that don’t exist…
And this lack of linkage / pivot points at the rear wheel also means that the stays are flexing in tandem more so than designs that do allow more freedom of movement. There is hardly any torsion twist that allows the rear wheel to track out of line in hard fast cornering or while the rear suspension is super active.

The link at the shock is pretty basic. Nothing overly special here. One of the neater features is that the tidy overall design makes this the easiest to clean Full Suspension mountain bike ever…

OK so that’s not really a big thing to lots of people but keeping things maintained is a pain in the ass…
The rear end actuates on the uber common Fox Float RP23. This one at 100MM travel with ProPedal. It’s basically a firm and soft setting with 3 subsets versus a standard lock out.

Lock out needs no explanation and ProPedal is pretty dang easy. The numbers are associated with variable degree’s of damping stiffness.

Now honestly I’ve set this bike up and don’t use much but active (lever to soft) and position 2. But for guys that ride lots of different places, this adjustment feature will have it’s advantages allowing on the fly dial in once your sag is properly set. For me, Lockout and single setting is enough.

The Build kit is what you would expect when a company like Cannondale writes “TEAM” on it… (though I’m miffed that Mine didn’t come in pimp-green trim)
Very good Wheels from Mavic in the form of their Crossmax SLR Disc give very low weight and an easy upgrade to tubeless.

Frankly this overall design and concept is better suited to Mountain bikes than Mavic’s continued format use on the road (thankFULLy these are not “M-Sys”). Mavic have a great wheel here in all respects.
The Brakes and Shifting are handled by SRAM / Avid and show in Black-Bling…

The brakes are what they are. Juicy Ultimate with good modulation, weigh diddly, are easy to set up and maintain. great reach and pull adjustment as well…
The shifting actuation of the XO is very good and we’re all ready for XX that should snug things up further.

One of the other features that are a great example of Cannondale design are the SIsl Cranks. Cannondale brought the integrated BB30 system to the field and this is one of the better examples of Cannondale Engineering… (In fact, Cannondale actually sub out their engineering to lots of folks.)

Simplifying and combining parts in the right way can make them stronger and lighter.

That’s about as simple a way to put it as you can. Having oversized bearings sitting wider means they get to handle the load in a way that allows for a combination of a more stable (stiff) bottom end and that stability in load handling also means things take a little (or a lot relative to what other system you compare them) longer to wear out.

And of course it’s pretty damn expensive and time consuming to do the type of detailed machining involved in making a crank like the SL

The detail and design combine for the strength to weight.
And at the end of the day, all these little details that you might think are not much different or don’t save “that much” weight, start to add up…

The whole damn thing rolls in SUB 22 pounds with Look Quartz pedals right out of the box. No cutting the seat post, still running the triple. Still rolling the stock (and damn nice) Conti Race Kings with tubes.

Did I ride it?
After I sat staring at it wondering how bad it would look getting passed by anything without a motor… Yeah.
This is a make no bones about it Cross Country Race bike design., The Scalpel has it’s obvious focus at XC but simply functions well enough not to get cubby holed.
Phoenix Trail 100 isn’t anyone’s fast smooth path. The entire ride is either pointed up a hill or down (frequently both in rapid succession) and the path isn’t traditional “dirt”. It’s almost completely made up of rocks of variable size with the occasional patch of sand… Crashing here means landing on either a sharp rock or a Cactus (or more likely a Cactus growing out between two sharp rocks).

Frankly I should look more toward the all mountain side for an every-day ride, but I love light bikes and simply prefer to ask too much of Cross Country rigs. The Scalpel has no problem filling that roll (but with a definite tilt to XC).

There is a premium in this environment on tracking and control and also on starting and stopping quickly. Constant changes of pace are the norm… Don’t get me wrong, there are other trails around here where the terrain is fast and rolling and this would be a fantastic bike for that. The Scalpel doesn’t sacrifice in weight to many hard tails, but smoother than any hard tail.
The suspension here is a treat. The Speed Carbon Lefty doesn’t just surprise me. It’s surprised everyone that I heard a comment from. And if you’ve tried lefty in the past, I can say that the SL and Max are both better than anything you’ve tried in the past.

And that’s when it’s not even functioning properly…
Full disclosure, I had a little bit of a fork oil leak in the Lefty. On initial build, the top cap on the internal cylinder was left a bit loose and maybe a teaspoon of oil leaked. I noted that there was a little loose-play in lock out (a fairly easy sign) and also noticed the bottom of the fork and the front brake had a coating of oil. And the front brake wasn’t functioning (a REALLY easy sign).
The brakes sit just in the right place for oil to pay a visit.

So it was surgery time and this gave me a chance to see the guts of the fork and how simple the mechanism is inside (the take down is a pretty darn easy deal compared to most forks). After topping off the oil and making sure everything was tight, the fork was working better than great… [Juicy Ultimate brakes are also VERY easy to work on as swapping pads took no time]. Once fully filled, the fork was dead silent (instead of the very VERY slight squish/liquid traveling noise) and the compression was even more consistent and smooth through the range.

Combine the function and the 100mm Travel and the fact that the fork weighs nothing and you have a reasonable all mountain fork that forgot the extra pound of weight.

Or use set up the damping and use it as intended and you have an insane XC fork that leaves me drawing blanks if asked to name a fork I would prefer regardless of bike brand.

Out back is a little different but still very good.
This isn’t an all mountain rear end. The Zero Pivot design sits where Cannondale want it to sit. Some place between a super plush linkage design and razor / hard tail precision.

To do that, you’re not going to get a silk pillow, but the 100mm of travel and the rear design soak up far more than you think they should given the tracking and control.

The Scalpel’s back end stays very well connected to the ground and the RP23 gets a full work out. The combination of control and bump soaking is really impressive. Once you go Tubeless, get your shock preload pressure right and add in the fine tuning selection that the Fox’s ProPedal gives you, you’ll have a ride than handles like a hard tail except the bumps go away…

The only XC condition where tossing in linkage would be a bit of a benefit and would be in fast and continual choppy sections where quicker smoother action under heavy, rapid fire compression and rebound becomes a little more critical due to a bit more limited travel of an XC bike. Frankly that same condition pummels other XC suspension designs where I am and just plain wigged out another companies compubrained unit. But I mention it to those that heard me talk about all mountain.

I’m happy to sacrifice the bit of extra smoothness for the overall better control and tracking that comes with the Zero Pivot design. Even then, it’s only because I’m asking an XC bike to do more than it reasonably should. If XC is your focus, you really loose nothing in the Zero Pivot system and simply gain tracking.

That the rear isn’t as incredible as the front is a compliment to the front not an insult to the back…
The Frame itself is solid. Full high Mod Carbon Fiber sits under the stock paint job.

I honestly wish they would show off the carbon a bit more, and a fellow weight weenie in Italy did enough work to give you a more clear view of what the co-mould frame looks like (along with modifying almost everything else on the bike)

The weight and stiffness that come with this package are a noticeable factor. Coupled with the SI cranks (and yeah, the top line wheels and race rubber) and it provides for an exceptionally quick platform that transfers power that is, in a word, “direct”. In fact, given the exceptionally light front end (and total package really), the geometry had me at times wishing I had chosen to be fit a little more forward and lower at the bars. Pulling the front end off the ground is easier on this bike than any other bike I have ever owned.

The frame here is stiff… Frankly I wish I could have this bike with a couple different forks just to do a better job of narrowing down exactly what’s what with regard to directional control. That said, I would not at all be surprised to find that the frame fork and rear end are each (stand alone) stiffer than competitive bikes in class.

Put the stiffness of these segments all together and unlike most things bicycle, “scalpel is a pretty damn appropriate name.

There’s so much feedback and so little slop anywhere that I’ve not been on anything else that handles like this bike. In fact I’ve been on dual suspension bikes with front and rear locked out that don’t react as quickly as the Scalpel does with its suspension fully active.
Not sure what else to say except that XC bikes in general are getting to be genuinely exceptional. There are a lot of great choices out there and lots of places to spend BIG money.

For me, after testing top line bikes from a few other companies, I’m not sure that there are more than a couple other bikes that rival the Scalpel Team. At the best part of $7000 it’s not going to be for everyone. It doesn’t look like an over the top amount of money when you look at the parts list and frame and fork spec, but this is a bike that simply should not be judged by it’s off the charts parts list.

The drawbacks are not many with the front end arguably the best in the biz and a rear end that moves more (up and down) and less (side to side) that anyone thinks it will. Mix in a who’s who of top parts and that leaves the only gripe I have sitting at the stem… I would LOVE for Cannondale to find a way to make this rig easier to swap stems, but a good dealer should frankly do this for you if they fit you a bit off and you need a change in the first month.

I would also like it more if a few other wheel manufacturers had lefty tech hubs. In fact it would be GREAT if Cannondale sold a slick hub set with a couple drilling patterns. It’s not like they lack the design and execution to do it!

The Scalpel Team is all about the way the frame and Fork operate and as you work down through the range, something less than the team is giving you the better part of all of its operational advantage, if not the cream0crop parts list.

29ers are the rage, but for ultimate quickness and control, there isn’t a 29er that behaves like this. Not everyone has the same flowing trails that allow 29 to shine. And while this bike has a slick enough, 100mm front end and good durability that allow it to take more tough things than lots of XC bikes should, make no mistake about it’s field of expertise…
T
he crazy part is that any day now you’ll see the next Scalpel… And while I am grinning from ear to ear about this one, there are proto forks in the works that will break the 1K barrier and still be more than competitive with stiffness. The frames are getting tweaked and suspension on the whole is getting better.

Cannondale Scalpel Carbon Lefty Full XTR Mavic Crossmax

US $2,299.00

25d 13h 14m

2008 Cannondale Scalpel Carbon Team Large XC Frame NEW

US $2,199.90

27d 10h 4m

Cannondale Scalpel 1000 EPO Carbon Fox Float L Lrg

US $545.00

27d 15h 16m

Cannondale Scalpel 1000 Racing Mountain Bike Large

US $1,395.00

12d 1h 57m

CANNONDALE SCALPEL 1000 FRAME LEFTY FORK CRANKS BRAKES

US $650.00

7d 13h 4m

2008 Cannondale Team Scalpel Frame ONLY Large

0 Bid

US $500.00

6h 49m

Cannondale Rush 5 Frame Large

1 Bid

US $250.00

10h 28m

2009 Cannondale Scalpel Team Large Carbon Frame 45 lbs

US $1,699.90

1d 6h 1m

Cannondale System Six Carbon Superlight Road Bike Review

drbob — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:36:02 +0000

By BikeRadar

"With its short head tube, direct steering response and exceptional willingness to respond to all-out efforts on steep gradients, the new SystemSix is sharper and more refined for speed than Cannondale's previous models, and closer to its competitors in terms of performance. "

The heady days of the Saeco team's supremacy in the sprint may be over for Cannondale - certainly since Mario Cipollini bowed out - but the company is still very much at the cutting edge of bike technology. With benchmark setters like the R900 and the sublimely smooth Six-13 Team - used by the up-and-coming Barloworld squad - innovation and success is still a massive priority for the Cannondale crew.

Not content with resting on their laurels, the people from Pennsylvania are competing head-on with the best team issue bikes available, through the creation of a new frame, with a strong emphasis on the stiff and responsive end of the ride spectrum - the SystemSix.
So, just how does it stack up against stiff competition at the high end, and can Cannondale's hunger for innovation set it apart from the crowd as it did for the Six- 13 Team bike? Read on to find out.

Frame
The SystemSix has been created using the unorthodox method of co-moulding an aluminium back end that resembles the CAAD 8, to that of a moulded carbon front triangle.

Looking like a set from the Roswell Project, Cannondale have a huge walk-in refrigerator at their factory for storing the raw aircraft-grade pre-preg carbon. This is then formed into tubes, through which the ends are folded back to become one with the massively oversized head tube. Before curing in the mould, the carbon ends are placed inside the welded aluminium rear triangle. Inflatable bladders then ensure that the carbon squeezes into windows that are cut into the sides of the tubing, thus locking the carbon tube to the aluminium tube just in front of the seat tube and bottom bracket.

The frame is constructed in its entirety at their Bedford, Pennsylvania factory, and Cannondale's industrial designer, Torgny Fjeldskaar, says that weight considerations were secondary to getting a satisfactory balance of stiffness and shock dissipation. Saying this, at 1,112g they don't appear to have sacrificed low weight in their quest, with few high-end frames being much lighter.
The key to the frame's inherent stiffness lies in its hugely oversized tubing, with its one-inch lower bearing race, and a steerer that tapers down to one and one-eighth inch at the top. A sleeve is used to pack out the difference between the upper head-tube and the bearing, and it was necessary to create a massively oversized stem to properly integrate the look.

The frame eschews the trend for compacts, with a barely noticeable 2cm sloping top tube (3cm on sizes 54cm and less), and the geometry in terms of numbers is pretty much what we have come to expect, with no unpleasant surprises across the range of eight sizes.

Ride
Straight out of the crate, the new Cannondale has an overriding sense of lateral stiffness that initially fools the rider into thinking the ride is harsh. But hit a patch of poorly surfaced road and that thought is immediately banished, with the frame dissipating shocks very effectively before they get through to your contact points.

The exceptional torsional stiffness when climbing, and the speed with which the bike swallows up gradients in a gear higher than most of our testers felt they would normally use, will be hugely beneficial in a race situation. The ride even went a fair way to reconciling Cannondale's claim that the SystemSix is 44% stiffer in torsion and 45% stiffer in the bottom bracket area than their Six-13 (and indeed most of the bikes that we have tested in the past two years - with the exception of the Storck CD1.0).
Just to show that outright stiffness isn't everything, though, one of the testers said that he was on the brakes earlier than normal on the approach to a slow corner, as the directness of the steering can unnerve a cautious descender.

This trait is typical of high-end 'team issue' carbon frames and in this respect it can be compared more closely to its rivals than any of Cannondale's previous models. The Six-13 Team's steering has a tendency to feel remote at times, but the new SystemSix is more direct when feeding in the brakes hard into a slow corner and is simply the most stable race bike we've ever encountered on descents at speeds over 70kph.

Equipment
If you fancy getting your hands on the SystemSix, there are three price options. First up is the Campagnolo Record Superlight tested here, which is a cool £6K. This includes Fulcrum Racing light carbon wheels. The Dura-Ace costs £4,149 and includes Mavic Ksyrium ES wheels. And at £2,649, the Ultegra-equipped bike represents the best value, with a Cannondale Si carbon crankset and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels.

The finishing kit on all three versions is as good as it gets, with USE Alien Cyclops carbon seatpost, the much-loved Fizik Arione carbon-railed saddle, Reynolds carbon oversized handlebars and matching carbon stem. The stem is specially oversized to match the chunky frame tubing dimensions, and a choice of five sizes is available, from 80-120mm. There are no triple-chainset options on this bike but a compact chainset with 34/50 tooth chainrings is optional for no extra cost on Dura-Ace and Ultegra models. Note that the Barloworld version to be released in September will get power measuring SRM data-logging kit.

Wheels
Now to that all-important question of wheels. The Fulcrum carbon wheels are very similar to the Campagnolo Hyperon Ultras, and use angular contact bearings that, in our experience, promise a longer life than is typical of a cartridge bearing.

The stainless steel spokes are crossed on the drive side, with the remainder built to the radial pattern. To improve strength - by equalising the differences between left and right-hand spokes - the rear carbon clincher rim has spoke holes that are biased to one side. This virtually eliminates chain rub on steep gradients and only occasionally requires trueing up.

We figured that a weight saving of 238g per pair over the Mavic Ksyrium SSC's of the Dura-Ace versions would make a difference that we could feel, but it was not sufficient to justify the expense of the Superlight.
The Vittoria Diamante Pro Light tyres are mid- to high-end on the comfort scale and their super-soft compound grips well in dry conditions and, despite a bout of heavy weather prior to testing, there were no signs of cuts in the tread.