The Fork Got Boosted!

The new "Firestarter 110 Carbon Deluxe Fork"

The news came out Friday, I believe, but the Ti Fargo was announced as a go again for 2019, which in reality means it will be another small batch that will be gone in a month or so. That is what happened last year. So......was the 2018 Fargo in Titanium really a 2018 model? Same can be said for this run..... Whatever! Marketing!

Leaving that behind the big deal now is that the Firestarter fork is now Boost 110. That means you won't have to be put in the awkward position of getting a non-boost front wheel and a Boost rear. (Or getting the reduction plates for the Alternator to make the rear standard 142mm through axle)

Basically- totally boosted now. But that's not all.....

Now there are four sets of Three Pack bosses, front-ish facing and rear-ish facing. I've always preferred the rearward facing cage position for bottles, myself, but now you have options. Added to this are fender mounts, low rider mounts, and internal routing for a dynamo hub. These are suspension corrected for 100mm travel and have 51mm of fork offset. I find that offset figure interesting since the standard steel fork and previous Firestarter Carbon forks are listed at 45mm offset.

Wheel sizes that work are standard 29"er, 29+, and 27.5+. So, Salsa is still claiming compatibility with all of those differing diameters.

Finally, this may or may not be a sign of things to come. My opinion was that if a Boost spaced Firestarter wasn't produced, it could be the end of the Fargo. But here we have that fork. The Fargo is ten years old as of the release of this so-called 2019 Titanium Fargo. Will their be an anniversary Fargo? Maybe...... I was asked about what I would do for one several years ago at the DK200 by a couple Salsa engineers close to the Fargo. Salsa has done anniversary models before. So, we will see in a month or two when Saddledrive happens, at which time Salsa generally releases news on the next model year.

Whatever happens my Gen I Fargo isn't getting replaced anytime soon.

The Fork Got Boosted!

The new "Firestarter 110 Carbon Deluxe Fork"

The news came out Friday, I believe, but the Ti Fargo was announced as a go again for 2019, which in reality means it will be another small batch that will be gone in a month or so. That is what happened last year. So......was the 2018 Fargo in Titanium really a 2018 model? Same can be said for this run..... Whatever! Marketing!

Leaving that behind the big deal now is that the Firestarter fork is now Boost 110. That means you won't have to be put in the awkward position of getting a non-boost front wheel and a Boost rear. (Or getting the reduction plates for the Alternator to make the rear standard 142mm through axle)

Basically- totally boosted now. But that's not all.....

Now there are four sets of Three Pack bosses, front-ish facing and rear-ish facing. I've always preferred the rearward facing cage position for bottles, myself, but now you have options. Added to this are fender mounts, low rider mounts, and internal routing for a dynamo hub. These are suspension corrected for 100mm travel and have 51mm of fork offset. I find that offset figure interesting since the standard steel fork and previous Firestarter Carbon forks are listed at 45mm offset.

Wheel sizes that work are standard 29"er, 29+, and 27.5+. So, Salsa is still claiming compatibility with all of those differing diameters.

Finally, this may or may not be a sign of things to come. My opinion was that if a Boost spaced Firestarter wasn't produced, it could be the end of the Fargo. But here we have that fork. The Fargo is ten years old as of the release of this so-called 2019 Titanium Fargo. Will their be an anniversary Fargo? Maybe...... I was asked about what I would do for one several years ago at the DK200 by a couple Salsa engineers close to the Fargo. Salsa has done anniversary models before. So, we will see in a month or two when Saddledrive happens, at which time Salsa generally releases news on the next model year.

Whatever happens my Gen I Fargo isn't getting replaced anytime soon.

Hubba

Paul WORD hub- Now with Boost

Its no secret that I like hubs, spokes, and rims for bicycles. I enjoy building my own wheels and I like riding them when I do build them up. There is just something really amazing about taking a bunch of wires, brass nuts, a hub with nice bearings, and a nice rim and making all of that in to a wheel.

So Paul Component Engineering just released news about a new version of their WORD hub. This is a hub that claims to be the very first production single speed mountain bike hub. If it wasn't, then it is close to being that. I know it has been around a long time. I bought a set of the first version of the Disc WORD for mt Karate Monkey back in 2003. Those hubs are still around although I need to re-lace them to new rims.

While I don't have a Boost spaced, single speed device around, it may happen someday. Who knows? It's good to know that a hub option exists that will work for a dedicated single speed set up. And even in polished silver! That's even sweeter.

While I am on the subject of Boost spacing, I've heard a rumor that it is coming to road bikes. Gravel road bikes, actually. It seems that a "certain component manufacturer" that doesn't have a great front derailleur design and is pushing 1X wants to introduce this so they can get you to buy a 1 X12 system for your next gravel bike. This is not all that surprising, and it will be touted as a solution for the gravel people who race in the earlier Spring events with mud and what not. But here's the thing......

DK200 2015- The infamous 3 mile mud march. Image by A Andonopoulous

Front derailleurs are not the problem. It is the rear derailleurs that stop folks from finishing these muddy, wet gravel events. The Land Run 100, the 2015 version of the DK200, Trans Iowa, and various other events have seen their fare share of rear derailleur carnage due to mud and bad conditions. Maybe a clutch style rear derailleur will be more mud resilient, but then again, maybe not.

At least it will be easier to set up a damaged bike single speed with a narrow-wide chain ring......possibly....maybe.

But why Boost? Well, it seems that many manufacturers are looking to stuff 2.1" 29"er tires into these "adventure/gravel" bikes. But you might say that many mountain bikes are using the "old" dimensions and are doing fine. You would be correct. So, again- why? Well, we are going to hear all the "stiffer, stronger. lighter" arguments, of course, but that isn't really why either. Think about it- If you already have tooling for Boost 1X12 why develop it in any other format than Boost? So, you are going to see a split in gravel/adventure. More "Cutthroat-ish" bikes with Boost and the more narrow Q factor bikes we have now with compatibility with road components. Then again- I could be all wrong about that.

In the meantime, I'm thinking those Boost WORD hubs and a nice, simple steel gravel rig, set up single speed would be the ticket. Hubba-hubba!

Hubba

Paul WORD hub- Now with Boost

Its no secret that I like hubs, spokes, and rims for bicycles. I enjoy building my own wheels and I like riding them when I do build them up. There is just something really amazing about taking a bunch of wires, brass nuts, a hub with nice bearings, and a nice rim and making all of that in to a wheel.

So Paul Component Engineering just released news about a new version of their WORD hub. This is a hub that claims to be the very first production single speed mountain bike hub. If it wasn't, then it is close to being that. I know it has been around a long time. I bought a set of the first version of the Disc WORD for mt Karate Monkey back in 2003. Those hubs are still around although I need to re-lace them to new rims.

While I don't have a Boost spaced, single speed device around, it may happen someday. Who knows? It's good to know that a hub option exists that will work for a dedicated single speed set up. And even in polished silver! That's even sweeter.

While I am on the subject of Boost spacing, I've heard a rumor that it is coming to road bikes. Gravel road bikes, actually. It seems that a "certain component manufacturer" that doesn't have a great front derailleur design and is pushing 1X wants to introduce this so they can get you to buy a 1 X12 system for your next gravel bike. This is not all that surprising, and it will be touted as a solution for the gravel people who race in the earlier Spring events with mud and what not. But here's the thing......

DK200 2015- The infamous 3 mile mud march. Image by A Andonopoulous

Front derailleurs are not the problem. It is the rear derailleurs that stop folks from finishing these muddy, wet gravel events. The Land Run 100, the 2015 version of the DK200, Trans Iowa, and various other events have seen their fare share of rear derailleur carnage due to mud and bad conditions. Maybe a clutch style rear derailleur will be more mud resilient, but then again, maybe not.

At least it will be easier to set up a damaged bike single speed with a narrow-wide chain ring......possibly....maybe.

But why Boost? Well, it seems that many manufacturers are looking to stuff 2.1" 29"er tires into these "adventure/gravel" bikes. But you might say that many mountain bikes are using the "old" dimensions and are doing fine. You would be correct. So, again- why? Well, we are going to hear all the "stiffer, stronger. lighter" arguments, of course, but that isn't really why either. Think about it- If you already have tooling for Boost 1X12 why develop it in any other format than Boost? So, you are going to see a split in gravel/adventure. More "Cutthroat-ish" bikes with Boost and the more narrow Q factor bikes we have now with compatibility with road components. Then again- I could be all wrong about that.

In the meantime, I'm thinking those Boost WORD hubs and a nice, simple steel gravel rig, set up single speed would be the ticket. Hubba-hubba!

News Season: Salsa Cycles 2017 Highlights

"Fat Fargo" straight from the factory.

Salsa Cycles 2017 Bike Highlights:

Well, everybody and their brother has probably seen the Salsa 2017 line up by now, so no news here for you on that front, most likely. That said, here are my thoughts on what's new for 2017......

Fargo Gen V: The Fargo may look kinda the same, but it really is pretty much a new bike for 2017. The frame is still steel, but that's about it. Now made in the "Cobra-Kai" tubing instead of the old "Kung Fu" used previously, the frame is said to be "stronger", (stiffer?) than before. Plus, it now uses Boost spacing, although reducer plates are available for backwards compatibility with 135OLD and 142 through axles. Boost is important here because now you can run real 27.5+ wheels and tires. "Real" because Salsa believes 27.5+ means a full three inch tire. Of course, 29 inch wheels and tires work here as well. The weird thing is that they are saying 29+ works on every Fargo but the smallest ones, which isn't clear to me now. (By the way, that means the Deadwood is.....er, dead!) I'm not sure how that doesn't jack up the bottom bracket sky high, but I've been tipped off that there is some magical Alternator plate that makes that work. I'll find out and report back later.... Oh yeah.....it is belt drive compatible as well.

There are two models. A 27.5+ one (seen here), and a great looking 29"er one in Forest Service Green, which is the same color as my Blackborow DS. That one comes with a steel fork. The one shown here has the carbon Firestarter. Salsa also tweaked the head tube angle a bit slacker to 69° to accommodate a 51mm offset fork, which is weird because both rigid forks they use are 45mm offset. Hmm...... Frame only is also still available in the weird, rather sedate looking gray scheme shown here. (Not digging it really, but whatever.....Salsa's images never do the colors justice and I may change my mind here.)

Blackborow gone- Enter bigger, more carbon-y Mukluk

Mukluk:

The Mukluk is Salsa's first fat bike model and has always been the one that was more "adventure-exploration" than "race" which is the Beargrease's game. The Blackborow kind of made the Mukluk an off-the-back fat bike with its more trail/progressive geometry and nimble handling all wrapped up in 4.8" tires, which Mukluks couldn't handle on 100mm rims. Well, Salsa fixed that by calling the Blackborow a Mukluk and introducing a carbon frame as well.

This bike still has the Alternator drop outs, albeit a new, carbon fiber compatible one that allows tuning of the chain stay length for tire size.  The aluminum Mukluk has the original Alternator drop. While I like titanium for a fat bike a lot, the carbon Muk is sure going to be a hard one to pass by with its lighter weight. Salsa says it fine tuned the layup of the carbon for a more compliant ride than the Beargrease, so that sounds even more enticing. Would it fit those crazy 5-point-whatever inch Vee Tire Snowshoe XL's? That would be cool if so. I could totally see the soft compound version of that tire, the creme colored one, on the red Muk pictured here. That would be cool.

There are several models of the Carbon Muk and a couple aluminum ones as well.

To my mind, the most interesting new model- The Timberjack

Timberjack:

The El Mariachi is gone folks.......

Okay, with that said, here's the deal- Something had to give with the El Mar. It was woefully out of date, not a competitive bike in the market place, and it hasn't been for years, by the way. You can get all teary eyed about the steel, the tradition, blah-blah..... Meanwhile bikes like the Canfield Nimble 9, Diamondback's Mason, and others had blazed a trail of long, slack, and low hard tails that are ubiquitous in the hard tail trail market now days. And they did that years ago. The El Mar was a dinosaur. Either Salsa brought it up to date, or created a new model. This bike is so different, I can see why the new moniker was brought in. Timberjack brings Salsa into the "hard tail du jour" category and also brings with it a decent, affordable price which the El Mar didn't have.

Behold! A 29"er or a 27.5+ bike, slack angled, short stayed, and modern dropper post capabilities. Alternators, yes! And.......curiously hidden in the specs, a mention that this model will also handle 29+ wheels. How? Again, I don't know. (NOTE- I have been tipped off that the info I saw on the 29+ compatibility with the Timberjack frame has been removed from the page on the Timberjack on Salsa Cycle's site. So, apparently it does not fit a 29+ wheel.) The 29"er version sells for under a grand. The 27.5+, a better equipped model, sells for about a grand and a half. The old El Mar retailed at about the same as the nicer 27.5+ Timberjack, and was, again, woefully under spec'ed and outdated. No contest. Timberjack wins. (By the way, if you have to have a steel bike, hold on till the end......)

Woodsmoke with 29 inch wheels......

.....Woodsmoke with 27.5+ wheels........

......and Woodsmoke with 29+ wheels

Woodsmoke:

Okay, here's the showstopper, folks. Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke "all-wheel" monster-bike. Same frame, three different wheel sizes. If you can't fall in love with anything you can stuff under this frame, you probably are a 26"er holdout, or a roadie. That's the idea here.

Alternator V2 drop outs, all models have the same carbon frame, and suspension travel is mostly 120mm with the exception of the one 27.5+ model that has a 130mm fork stock. Boost obviously. Stache-like, yes, very. In a gangly teenager sort of way, to my eyes. The once weird Stache actually looks somewhat refined after seeing this mash-up of bent shapes and swoops in weird spots.

Trek will introduce a Stache Carbon very soon, by the way...

Oh! But you say that at least it is carbon fiber? Well, Trek is coming out with a Carbon Stache, so there will be that as competition. Anyway, Salsa does have the Stache beat when it comes to all the wheel madness, or so it seems now.

I don't know....... In the looks department, I have a real hard time not saying the Woodsmoke isn't working for me. The Stache just looks like it makes more sense, but maybe it would win me over after a while. Besides that, the chain ring overlap with the rear tire seems like a problem to me in terms of gunk getting dumped right on your chain by that mahoosive rear tire, ala fat bikes, and that super-short chain stay can't be a good thing in the extremes on a 1X drive train. But hey! What do I know? Back in the early 90's super-duper short, elevated chain stays were all the rage and look what happened then. Oh.......yeah. Well.......moving on now.......

While this bike will certainly drive the head lines and be the "I have the weirdest, coolest, super-special niche bike" darling for a while, we'll have to see how it stacks up in the real world of riding. Stay tuned on that front......

Acme Bikes posted this image of the new Karate Monkey from Surly.

One For The Steel Freaks:

Just like the El Mar, the venerable Karate Monkey had fallen on mediocrity in the market place. The Instigator V2, which came out a couple years back, kind of made me wonder when, or if, Surly would wave that same trail geometry wand of power over the Karate Monkey. To me, it made perfect sense. And guess what? They finally have done it!

The new KM will sport either 27.5+ X 3.0" tires and wheels to match, or your 29"er X 2.5" meats on the 700c format. There is a "yellowy-orange" geared version with the 27.5+ wheels or a purple SS 29"er that will be available and the frame only version will be in black. Surly had a demo in purple set up with the geared 27.5+ stuff and that's the way I would do this bike up. Unfortunately, I'd have to get the SS 29"er set up to get there, but that's okay. Two wheel sets, one bike, right?

Not only that, but the rigid fork that comes with the bike has rack mounts, triple pack bosses, and would make for a great off-road touring set up. I can dig it! Purple is also my favorite color. Yes.....I could be seriously tempted. Same slack, long, low-ish trail geometry as the Timberjack, but in steel. I have a Singular Buzzard which is cool, but a SS-able, versatile, bike-packable, rack-able Karate Monkey has my name written all over it. Of all the new bikes here, I am most intrigued by this one.

Note: All Salsa Cycles images courtesy of the Salsa Cycles website. Stache pic pilfered from the internet. Acme Cycles had the KM pic on their Facecrack page.

News Season: Salsa Cycles 2017 Highlights

"Fat Fargo" straight from the factory.

Salsa Cycles 2017 Bike Highlights:

Well, everybody and their brother has probably seen the Salsa 2017 line up by now, so no news here for you on that front, most likely. That said, here are my thoughts on what's new for 2017......

Fargo Gen V: The Fargo may look kinda the same, but it really is pretty much a new bike for 2017. The frame is still steel, but that's about it. Now made in the "Cobra-Kai" tubing instead of the old "Kung Fu" used previously, the frame is said to be "stronger", (stiffer?) than before. Plus, it now uses Boost spacing, although reducer plates are available for backwards compatibility with 135OLD and 142 through axles. Boost is important here because now you can run real 27.5+ wheels and tires. "Real" because Salsa believes 27.5+ means a full three inch tire. Of course, 29 inch wheels and tires work here as well. The weird thing is that they are saying 29+ works on every Fargo but the smallest ones, which isn't clear to me now. (By the way, that means the Deadwood is.....er, dead!) I'm not sure how that doesn't jack up the bottom bracket sky high, but I've been tipped off that there is some magical Alternator plate that makes that work. I'll find out and report back later.... Oh yeah.....it is belt drive compatible as well.

There are two models. A 27.5+ one (seen here), and a great looking 29"er one in Forest Service Green, which is the same color as my Blackborow DS. That one comes with a steel fork. The one shown here has the carbon Firestarter. Salsa also tweaked the head tube angle a bit slacker to 69° to accommodate a 51mm offset fork, which is weird because both rigid forks they use are 45mm offset. Hmm...... Frame only is also still available in the weird, rather sedate looking gray scheme shown here. (Not digging it really, but whatever.....Salsa's images never do the colors justice and I may change my mind here.)

Blackborow gone- Enter bigger, more carbon-y Mukluk

Mukluk:

The Mukluk is Salsa's first fat bike model and has always been the one that was more "adventure-exploration" than "race" which is the Beargrease's game. The Blackborow kind of made the Mukluk an off-the-back fat bike with its more trail/progressive geometry and nimble handling all wrapped up in 4.8" tires, which Mukluks couldn't handle on 100mm rims. Well, Salsa fixed that by calling the Blackborow a Mukluk and introducing a carbon frame as well.

This bike still has the Alternator drop outs, albeit a new, carbon fiber compatible one that allows tuning of the chain stay length for tire size.  The aluminum Mukluk has the original Alternator drop. While I like titanium for a fat bike a lot, the carbon Muk is sure going to be a hard one to pass by with its lighter weight. Salsa says it fine tuned the layup of the carbon for a more compliant ride than the Beargrease, so that sounds even more enticing. Would it fit those crazy 5-point-whatever inch Vee Tire Snowshoe XL's? That would be cool if so. I could totally see the soft compound version of that tire, the creme colored one, on the red Muk pictured here. That would be cool.

There are several models of the Carbon Muk and a couple aluminum ones as well.

To my mind, the most interesting new model- The Timberjack

Timberjack:

The El Mariachi is gone folks.......

Okay, with that said, here's the deal- Something had to give with the El Mar. It was woefully out of date, not a competitive bike in the market place, and it hasn't been for years, by the way. You can get all teary eyed about the steel, the tradition, blah-blah..... Meanwhile bikes like the Canfield Nimble 9, Diamondback's Mason, and others had blazed a trail of long, slack, and low hard tails that are ubiquitous in the hard tail trail market now days. And they did that years ago. The El Mar was a dinosaur. Either Salsa brought it up to date, or created a new model. This bike is so different, I can see why the new moniker was brought in. Timberjack brings Salsa into the "hard tail du jour" category and also brings with it a decent, affordable price which the El Mar didn't have.

Behold! A 29"er or a 27.5+ bike, slack angled, short stayed, and modern dropper post capabilities. Alternators, yes! And.......curiously hidden in the specs, a mention that this model will also handle 29+ wheels. How? Again, I don't know. (NOTE- I have been tipped off that the info I saw on the 29+ compatibility with the Timberjack frame has been removed from the page on the Timberjack on Salsa Cycle's site. So, apparently it does not fit a 29+ wheel.) The 29"er version sells for under a grand. The 27.5+, a better equipped model, sells for about a grand and a half. The old El Mar retailed at about the same as the nicer 27.5+ Timberjack, and was, again, woefully under spec'ed and outdated. No contest. Timberjack wins. (By the way, if you have to have a steel bike, hold on till the end......)

Woodsmoke with 29 inch wheels......

.....Woodsmoke with 27.5+ wheels........

......and Woodsmoke with 29+ wheels

Woodsmoke:

Okay, here's the showstopper, folks. Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke "all-wheel" monster-bike. Same frame, three different wheel sizes. If you can't fall in love with anything you can stuff under this frame, you probably are a 26"er holdout, or a roadie. That's the idea here.

Alternator V2 drop outs, all models have the same carbon frame, and suspension travel is mostly 120mm with the exception of the one 27.5+ model that has a 130mm fork stock. Boost obviously. Stache-like, yes, very. In a gangly teenager sort of way, to my eyes. The once weird Stache actually looks somewhat refined after seeing this mash-up of bent shapes and swoops in weird spots.

Trek will introduce a Stache Carbon very soon, by the way...

Oh! But you say that at least it is carbon fiber? Well, Trek is coming out with a Carbon Stache, so there will be that as competition. Anyway, Salsa does have the Stache beat when it comes to all the wheel madness, or so it seems now.

I don't know....... In the looks department, I have a real hard time not saying the Woodsmoke isn't working for me. The Stache just looks like it makes more sense, but maybe it would win me over after a while. Besides that, the chain ring overlap with the rear tire seems like a problem to me in terms of gunk getting dumped right on your chain by that mahoosive rear tire, ala fat bikes, and that super-short chain stay can't be a good thing in the extremes on a 1X drive train. But hey! What do I know? Back in the early 90's super-duper short, elevated chain stays were all the rage and look what happened then. Oh.......yeah. Well.......moving on now.......

While this bike will certainly drive the head lines and be the "I have the weirdest, coolest, super-special niche bike" darling for a while, we'll have to see how it stacks up in the real world of riding. Stay tuned on that front......

Acme Bikes posted this image of the new Karate Monkey from Surly.

One For The Steel Freaks:

Just like the El Mar, the venerable Karate Monkey had fallen on mediocrity in the market place. The Instigator V2, which came out a couple years back, kind of made me wonder when, or if, Surly would wave that same trail geometry wand of power over the Karate Monkey. To me, it made perfect sense. And guess what? They finally have done it!

The new KM will sport either 27.5+ X 3.0" tires and wheels to match, or your 29"er X 2.5" meats on the 700c format. There is a "yellowy-orange" geared version with the 27.5+ wheels or a purple SS 29"er that will be available and the frame only version will be in black. Surly had a demo in purple set up with the geared 27.5+ stuff and that's the way I would do this bike up. Unfortunately, I'd have to get the SS 29"er set up to get there, but that's okay. Two wheel sets, one bike, right?

Not only that, but the rigid fork that comes with the bike has rack mounts, triple pack bosses, and would make for a great off-road touring set up. I can dig it! Purple is also my favorite color. Yes.....I could be seriously tempted. Same slack, long, low-ish trail geometry as the Timberjack, but in steel. I have a Singular Buzzard which is cool, but a SS-able, versatile, bike-packable, rack-able Karate Monkey has my name written all over it. Of all the new bikes here, I am most intrigued by this one.

Note: All Salsa Cycles images courtesy of the Salsa Cycles website. Stache pic pilfered from the internet. Acme Cycles had the KM pic on their Facecrack page.

They Killed It In 2016

Model Year 2016 "Yari" fork in 27.5 flavor

Yesterday a press release from SRAM/Rock Shox was published that detailed the firms plans for the 2016 long travel single crown forks. This is the product category that drives the bulk of the high performance mountain bike suspension market. Everything from the "weekend warrior" trail riders to the enduro racing scene and the more extreme, outback riding styles are represented here. Without a doubt, this is the category of fork that marketing managers and brands push as the "core mountain biking" category.

These forks will find there way to full suspension trail bikes, enduro racing rigs, and longer travel hard tail bikes. They will end up on ads, videos, and be prominently displayed in most shops carrying mtb product, much like high end road racing bikes are. XC and entry level forks are where most riders will end up buying in at, but these beastly forks are what we all would really want to have to justify. They scream "mountain bike!"

And........so what? Well, here's the deal. Rock Shox, who will pump thousands of these forks out to factories for Original Equipment spec, are not making these available in 26 inch wheel compatible models. In other words, the 26 inch mountain bike wheel is dead as far as performance mountain biking is concerned. 2016 will pretty much be that time marker we will all look back to and say, "Well.....that was the day the ol' 26"er went down."

Up until now, most fork and wheel manufacturers quietly carried top end 26"er product along with the burgeoning 27.5" and now well entrenched 29"er product. However; that day is over now with this announcement yesterday. SRAM holds sway in terms of front suspension spec over many companies and brands and the other fork manufacturers will, if they have not already, make high performance 26 inch product extinct in their line ups. It's all over now but the crying.

B+ has forced the front axle spacing to "BOOST" mode.

Boost Mode: The next thing I noted was that all newer options are being offered in the new 110mm front axle spacing dubbed "Boost" by the industry. Quick release front axles are quickly becoming relegated to XC or even entry level forks. So, if I were building new mountain bike wheels, I would insist on Boost spacing and 15mm through axle compatibility, or just a dedicated 15mm through axle. In a few years, 100mm spaced  front suspension forks and quick release compatible drop outs will be gone. You may as well get on this train now, 'cause it is leaving the station, and it ain't coming back. Oh, and through axle, 148mm, "Boost" spaced rear ends will also be more common, if not the defacto new standard.

This new axle spacing has been driven by the desire to stiffen bigger hoops by pushing out the hub flanges to a slightly wider stance, and to accommodate these new, plus sized wheels and drive train clearance issues that come with that. It is also why SRAM is really heavily investing in 1X drivetrains, which they believe will become the standard in the future. So, if SRAM gets their way, you can kiss those front derailleurs goodbye as well.

My take is that I was pretty sure once 27.5" was adopted by the industry a few years ago to pump up flagging long travel mtb sales, the 26"er didn't have long on this planet as a performance mountain biking platform. Sure, there were hold outs and places where 26 inch product was still offered. That isn't going to last though after this announcement. The Boost thing is long overdue. We've been playing within the same overlock dimensions since the late 80's when 8 speed stuff was unheard of. This isn't a new idea, not by any stretch, but it is a long overdue change. I've been saying quick release wheel attachment was something that has needed to go away for years now, and this looks like it will finally happen as well. Moving to the Boost standards will hasten that change. Finally, the only thing I see here that I don't believe will happen is SRAM's wish to kill the front derailleur and multiple speed crank off. With electronic shifting now starting to work its way into mountain biking, the front shift will no longer be an issue. It will shift, and heck, Shimano even figured out a program that will shift the front changer for you when you need it. It is clear that Shimano believes that front derailleurs are here to stay.  I also feel that trying to give riders a wide range of gearing with close ratio jumps between gears is going to be impossible with 1X systems.

It certainly is an interesting time for mountain bikes.

They Killed It In 2016

Model Year 2016 "Yari" fork in 27.5 flavor

Yesterday a press release from SRAM/Rock Shox was published that detailed the firms plans for the 2016 long travel single crown forks. This is the product category that drives the bulk of the high performance mountain bike suspension market. Everything from the "weekend warrior" trail riders to the enduro racing scene and the more extreme, outback riding styles are represented here. Without a doubt, this is the category of fork that marketing managers and brands push as the "core mountain biking" category.

These forks will find there way to full suspension trail bikes, enduro racing rigs, and longer travel hard tail bikes. They will end up on ads, videos, and be prominently displayed in most shops carrying mtb product, much like high end road racing bikes are. XC and entry level forks are where most riders will end up buying in at, but these beastly forks are what we all would really want to have to justify. They scream "mountain bike!"

And........so what? Well, here's the deal. Rock Shox, who will pump thousands of these forks out to factories for Original Equipment spec, are not making these available in 26 inch wheel compatible models. In other words, the 26 inch mountain bike wheel is dead as far as performance mountain biking is concerned. 2016 will pretty much be that time marker we will all look back to and say, "Well.....that was the day the ol' 26"er went down."

Up until now, most fork and wheel manufacturers quietly carried top end 26"er product along with the burgeoning 27.5" and now well entrenched 29"er product. However; that day is over now with this announcement yesterday. SRAM holds sway in terms of front suspension spec over many companies and brands and the other fork manufacturers will, if they have not already, make high performance 26 inch product extinct in their line ups. It's all over now but the crying.

B+ has forced the front axle spacing to "BOOST" mode.

Boost Mode: The next thing I noted was that all newer options are being offered in the new 110mm front axle spacing dubbed "Boost" by the industry. Quick release front axles are quickly becoming relegated to XC or even entry level forks. So, if I were building new mountain bike wheels, I would insist on Boost spacing and 15mm through axle compatibility, or just a dedicated 15mm through axle. In a few years, 100mm spaced  front suspension forks and quick release compatible drop outs will be gone. You may as well get on this train now, 'cause it is leaving the station, and it ain't coming back. Oh, and through axle, 148mm, "Boost" spaced rear ends will also be more common, if not the defacto new standard.

This new axle spacing has been driven by the desire to stiffen bigger hoops by pushing out the hub flanges to a slightly wider stance, and to accommodate these new, plus sized wheels and drive train clearance issues that come with that. It is also why SRAM is really heavily investing in 1X drivetrains, which they believe will become the standard in the future. So, if SRAM gets their way, you can kiss those front derailleurs goodbye as well.

My take is that I was pretty sure once 27.5" was adopted by the industry a few years ago to pump up flagging long travel mtb sales, the 26"er didn't have long on this planet as a performance mountain biking platform. Sure, there were hold outs and places where 26 inch product was still offered. That isn't going to last though after this announcement. The Boost thing is long overdue. We've been playing within the same overlock dimensions since the late 80's when 8 speed stuff was unheard of. This isn't a new idea, not by any stretch, but it is a long overdue change. I've been saying quick release wheel attachment was something that has needed to go away for years now, and this looks like it will finally happen as well. Moving to the Boost standards will hasten that change. Finally, the only thing I see here that I don't believe will happen is SRAM's wish to kill the front derailleur and multiple speed crank off. With electronic shifting now starting to work its way into mountain biking, the front shift will no longer be an issue. It will shift, and heck, Shimano even figured out a program that will shift the front changer for you when you need it. It is clear that Shimano believes that front derailleurs are here to stay.  I also feel that trying to give riders a wide range of gearing with close ratio jumps between gears is going to be impossible with 1X systems.

It certainly is an interesting time for mountain bikes.