Friday News And Views

BMC is another company suffering from economic headwinds.

 Rumors Dominate Worrying 2024 Outlook:

I continue to see and listen to (on YouTube) that many brands and companies are having difficulties navigating the poor economic situation cycling is suffering through now. 

From brands like Swiss bicycle manufacturer BMC cutting employee hours back to rumors of one of the large bicycle parts distributors having difficulty staying afloat, things seem precarious, to say the least, in the cycling sector. 

A report came out on Tuesday of this week that Shimano's sales were way down and profits were cut in half. That's crazy!

Of course, if you are looking for deals, it doesn't get much better than it is now for someone looking to buy a bike or high-end parts. That won't last forever, and it remains to be seen if that by marking down so severely and flooding the market with product that it will perhaps damp any demand in the near future as people will have bought what they needed and won't be open to buy for some time. 

Some punters in the sector feel that will affect the market for at least two to three more years. Who will make it out the other side when it comes to brands and companies? Time will tell. 

Image courtesy of Twisted Spoke

Twisted Spoke Debuts Single-Serve Pour-Over Coffee:

Last year I went on a ride and stopped at a local park and made some pour-over coffee. It was a very pleasant experience and I've wanted to do that some more coming up this year.  

Now, I realize I am about 20 years late to this, or more, and that I know nothing about "how you are supposed to do this". However you are supposed to do that. Anyway, I received a presser recently that Twisted Spoke, the company famous for its CBD products, has a non-CBD coffee in single serve, pour-over packets now. 

I have zero affiliation with Twisted Spoke, and maybe other companies do this same thing, but I thought it was pretty cool. It would make what I was trying to do easier. What, if anything, do you do for coffee out in the field on a ride? Let me know in the comments. 

Image courtesy of SOMA

SOMA Announces New Vesrion Of Juice 29"er:

Lots of folks may not know, or remember, that SOMA was one of the first to offer a 29"er frame set for folks which was a great value and set many riders off on the path of big wheels. 

That frame set was the Juice 29"er, and it has been offered by SOMA almost as long as the Surly Karate Monkey. In fact, in many ways the Juice has followed the Karate Monkey's development with some important differences here and there, as with the previous version's belt drive capabilities. 

That feature, ironically, has been left off the latest version of the Juice which  is being billed as a somewhat "old school" single track/bike packing/all-day MTB with some modernized features like a steeper seat tube angle and a lowered bottom bracket. they did not go for a slack head tube angle, at least not anything like most of this year's hardtails. With a Soma 485 axle to crown rigid fork ($289.00 extra), the head angle comes out to be a relatively conservative 68.5°. The frame is single speed compatible with sliding drop outs. The frame comes in two color choices, the orange (shown) or a "Desert Metallic" which is a kind of champagne metallic color.

The Tange tubed frame has clearance for up to a 29" X 2.4" tire or a 27.5" X 2.8" tire. Price for just the frame alone is a reasonable $699.00. You can purchase one at the SOMA Shop HERE. 

Comments: It has been a while in coming, but I have often thought that the absence of a reasonably priced, high-value, single track oriented 29"er hard tail was sorely missing from choices out there. This Juice hard tail is a welcome breath of fresh air in a world of choppered-out downhill oriented hard tails that handle like barges on climbs and single track. 

I only wish that this bike had the capabilities to deal with bigger 29"er tires. But be that as it may, it is a great alternative to the usual slack, low, and long 29"er which currently dominates the marketplace. 

New Guitar Ted Podcast:

A new episode of the Guitar Ted Podcast just dropped last night. In it we have some pre-interview banter, N.Y. Roll and I, and then we bring on Dave Pryor.

Dave has been the person I have interviewed the most. He is one of the principals of the unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley gravel event in Lewistown Pennsylvania. Dave did understudy work in gravel race promotions at Unbound and has a long history of putting on cyclo-cross and other grassroots events on bicycles. So, he has a very unique perspective when it comes to events, how they are put together, how people integrate into them, and more. 

Anyway, if you want to check it out click the link HERE.
 

That's a wrap on this week's FN&V. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Friday News And Views

 Sea Otter Sold To Life Time Fitness:

A bombshell announcement was revealed Tuesday this past week when Sea Otter revealed that they had sold to Life Time Fitness. The current Sea Otter leadership and staff has been retained and Life Time has committed to growing the event even larger. 

In a letter sent via e-mail to past Sea Otter attendees, CEO of Sea Otter, Frank Yohannan states, "The growth of cycling across all categories—whether road, mountain, gravel or e-bikes—will continue to be our single-minded priority as we begin our fourth decade of making cycling history. "

Comments: Life Time continues to creep into the world of cycling and the industry with this acquisition. Now it owns an event- but more than an event- Sea Otter is an industry trade show of sorts. How Life Time addresses this facet of Sea Otter will be quite interesting. In fact, we get a little hint as to what that might mean through a quote from the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" story on this news. Kimo Seymour, Life Time's President of Events and Media, was quoted as saying, “Sea Otter is really expanding beyond purely cycling-related types of exhibitors and issues, so we think there might be an opportunity to do something focused on outdoor versus just purely cycling,” 

I think it is safe to say that we will see more varied outdoors type media and vendors at Sea Otter in the future. Synergies with camping and hiking/running being very apparent here as Sea Otter boasts of its camping opportunities and has lots of outdoor spaces to utilize at Laguna Seca and the nearby former military installation. It also doesn't take a genius to see how that statement from Seymour dovetails right in with what "BRAIN" owner, Outside Interactive, could bring. Outside Interactive has a host of widespread media properties that could fit into this sort of expansion. In fact, "BRAIN" already publishes the Sea Otter Guide for the event. 

Is RAGBRAI Looking To Get Into Gravel?

A rumor reached Guitar Ted Productions headquarters Tuesday which may indicate that RAGBRAI is looking to expand its event offerings to include a gravel event. Obviously, RAGBRAI has flirted with gravel for the past several years, but a full-fledged, separate gravel event? It isn't as far fetched as it may seem at first glance.

Take, for instance, RAGBRAI's new director, Dieter Drake. He came from a competitive cycling and running background and was the director of the "Tour of the Battenkill", a multi-surface event that includes dirt and gravel roads. So, he is likely quite aware of the popularity of gravel events. With Iowa being basically the birthplace of the modern gravel scene, well, it would be quite the plum to have one of the premier gravel rides in the world be associated with RAGBRAI. 

The story I heard was that RAGBRAI was poking around last week looking at possibly taking over a current event. Scuttlebutt has it that certain folk well known to Iowa gravellers are principals in this story. I have heard details, but I am not at liberty to discuss them due to the situation as I understand it now. 

Suffice it to say that this has my attention and I will be keeping an eye on any further developments. But it would not surprise me at all to see this happen. At what level it starts at, and to what level it grows to is all purely speculation now, but looking at who is involved, I would guess bigger rather than smaller.
 

Wildfire Smoke Causes Events To Cancel:

We've seen the effects of the Western wildfires here in the Mid-West before, but this year it has been particularly intense. However; we've had it easy compared to some other places.

Take for instance Montana, where much of the Pacific Northwest fire smoke arcs up into. I even heard Wednesday of this week that a gravel event had to cancel its 2021 date due to the effects of the smoke in the air. Another social media contact that lives up that way also confirmed that almost everything has been postponed or cancelled due to wildfire smoke issues. 

Fall forecasts are saying that relief from the ripe conditions for wildfires is not coming this year. The word is that this wildfire season will probably end up in the top five ever recorded here in the U.S.A. This makes me wonder how many more events might get cancelled or postponed. Gee, if it isn't COVID it is wildfires. This decade is not starting out on a very good note, that's for sure!

Update On "Tool Roll Wars": 

Last Wednesday I introduced the "Tool Roll Wars" that I am engaging in. Three tool rolls that are being contrasted and compared for use in gravel riding. In the comments I heard from Josh of SILCA. He made it known that the current Asymmetrico Tool Roll isn't really up to gravelly standards and that a version of the Asymmetrico made especially for gravel travel is on the horizon. So, good news-bad news.  

Meanwhile the other two tool rolls are quite up to the task and holding up well so far. I'll have a lot more to say on all this later, but there is one side note that I found when ordering from SILCA, (yes- I paid retail for the Asymmetrico), and that was that the experience of purchasing that product through SILCA's website was outstanding. 

I got confirmation of my purchase and a thank you email immediately. Then, every step of the order was accounted for from packing up at SILCA to my mailbox. The order went through several stages and I was able to keep track without going through to a shipping website only to find that "your package is in transit" and nothing more. No- SILCA has details and you get them. I appreciated the entire process and the very timely delivery of the SILCA Asymmetrico to my door. I wager you'd be hard pressed to find a better online retail experience in the cycling realm than SILCA's. 

Contrast that to my dismal experience with ordering direct from Hayes and there is no comparison. In fact, Hayes never did respond to my complaints after a week waiting past the original delivery date of the handlebars I ordered from them. Anyway...... Sidetracked down a rabbit hole again! I just thought that the experience I had buying that SILCA tool roll was so exceptional that I needed to make a note of that.

More on "Tool Roll Wars" soon.......

Thanks for reading as always and have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

 Sea Otter Sold To Life Time Fitness:

A bombshell announcement was revealed Tuesday this past week when Sea Otter revealed that they had sold to Life Time Fitness. The current Sea Otter leadership and staff has been retained and Life Time has committed to growing the event even larger. 

In a letter sent via e-mail to past Sea Otter attendees, CEO of Sea Otter, Frank Yohannan states, "The growth of cycling across all categories—whether road, mountain, gravel or e-bikes—will continue to be our single-minded priority as we begin our fourth decade of making cycling history. "

Comments: Life Time continues to creep into the world of cycling and the industry with this acquisition. Now it owns an event- but more than an event- Sea Otter is an industry trade show of sorts. How Life Time addresses this facet of Sea Otter will be quite interesting. In fact, we get a little hint as to what that might mean through a quote from the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" story on this news. Kimo Seymour, Life Time's President of Events and Media, was quoted as saying, “Sea Otter is really expanding beyond purely cycling-related types of exhibitors and issues, so we think there might be an opportunity to do something focused on outdoor versus just purely cycling,” 

I think it is safe to say that we will see more varied outdoors type media and vendors at Sea Otter in the future. Synergies with camping and hiking/running being very apparent here as Sea Otter boasts of its camping opportunities and has lots of outdoor spaces to utilize at Laguna Seca and the nearby former military installation. It also doesn't take a genius to see how that statement from Seymour dovetails right in with what "BRAIN" owner, Outside Interactive, could bring. Outside Interactive has a host of widespread media properties that could fit into this sort of expansion. In fact, "BRAIN" already publishes the Sea Otter Guide for the event. 

Is RAGBRAI Looking To Get Into Gravel?

A rumor reached Guitar Ted Productions headquarters Tuesday which may indicate that RAGBRAI is looking to expand its event offerings to include a gravel event. Obviously, RAGBRAI has flirted with gravel for the past several years, but a full-fledged, separate gravel event? It isn't as far fetched as it may seem at first glance.

Take, for instance, RAGBRAI's new director, Dieter Drake. He came from a competitive cycling and running background and was the director of the "Tour of the Battenkill", a multi-surface event that includes dirt and gravel roads. So, he is likely quite aware of the popularity of gravel events. With Iowa being basically the birthplace of the modern gravel scene, well, it would be quite the plum to have one of the premier gravel rides in the world be associated with RAGBRAI. 

The story I heard was that RAGBRAI was poking around last week looking at possibly taking over a current event. Scuttlebutt has it that certain folk well known to Iowa gravellers are principals in this story. I have heard details, but I am not at liberty to discuss them due to the situation as I understand it now. 

Suffice it to say that this has my attention and I will be keeping an eye on any further developments. But it would not surprise me at all to see this happen. At what level it starts at, and to what level it grows to is all purely speculation now, but looking at who is involved, I would guess bigger rather than smaller.
 

Wildfire Smoke Causes Events To Cancel:

We've seen the effects of the Western wildfires here in the Mid-West before, but this year it has been particularly intense. However; we've had it easy compared to some other places.

Take for instance Montana, where much of the Pacific Northwest fire smoke arcs up into. I even heard Wednesday of this week that a gravel event had to cancel its 2021 date due to the effects of the smoke in the air. Another social media contact that lives up that way also confirmed that almost everything has been postponed or cancelled due to wildfire smoke issues. 

Fall forecasts are saying that relief from the ripe conditions for wildfires is not coming this year. The word is that this wildfire season will probably end up in the top five ever recorded here in the U.S.A. This makes me wonder how many more events might get cancelled or postponed. Gee, if it isn't COVID it is wildfires. This decade is not starting out on a very good note, that's for sure!

Update On "Tool Roll Wars": 

Last Wednesday I introduced the "Tool Roll Wars" that I am engaging in. Three tool rolls that are being contrasted and compared for use in gravel riding. In the comments I heard from Josh of SILCA. He made it known that the current Asymmetrico Tool Roll isn't really up to gravelly standards and that a version of the Asymmetrico made especially for gravel travel is on the horizon. So, good news-bad news.  

Meanwhile the other two tool rolls are quite up to the task and holding up well so far. I'll have a lot more to say on all this later, but there is one side note that I found when ordering from SILCA, (yes- I paid retail for the Asymmetrico), and that was that the experience of purchasing that product through SILCA's website was outstanding. 

I got confirmation of my purchase and a thank you email immediately. Then, every step of the order was accounted for from packing up at SILCA to my mailbox. The order went through several stages and I was able to keep track without going through to a shipping website only to find that "your package is in transit" and nothing more. No- SILCA has details and you get them. I appreciated the entire process and the very timely delivery of the SILCA Asymmetrico to my door. I wager you'd be hard pressed to find a better online retail experience in the cycling realm than SILCA's. 

Contrast that to my dismal experience with ordering direct from Hayes and there is no comparison. In fact, Hayes never did respond to my complaints after a week waiting past the original delivery date of the handlebars I ordered from them. Anyway...... Sidetracked down a rabbit hole again! I just thought that the experience I had buying that SILCA tool roll was so exceptional that I needed to make a note of that.

More on "Tool Roll Wars" soon.......

Thanks for reading as always and have a great weekend!

Friday News And Views

Real? Imagined? Spoofed? Who knows?

Submitted for Your Consideration:

This came across my radar screen yesterday and, after diligently searching everywhere on the "innergoogles", I cannot say whether or not this is true, or what. I will only say the following is what I do know for now:

• The original posting on the net apparently goes back to an Italian based cycling blog which shows a different imaging layout and is marked with the word "CONFIDENTIAL". The grainy image quality suggests this was grabbed from a screen shot. 
• Images were also seen Thursday on the "Imgur" site here. Images are also watermarked "CONFIDENTIAL" and an embargo on release is seen with a late March date.
• There was a thread on this on mtbr.com which shows up on a Google search, but was taken down. The thread was dated December 2015. 
• A few Facebook posts with mentions of a SRAM Eagle 12spd "one-by" group had a link which was bad. Taken down? Hard to say.....

The Italian blog stated that the group was to be revealed in March, probably just ahead of Sea Otter, which would make sense, since SRAM historically has usually introduced big mtb group/product offerings during that festival.

Comments: So, is this real? The images I've seen look convincing. Would SRAM really want to do a 12 speed 1X group? One of the big complaints about XX1 is that the gearing range isn't as deep on the low end as a triple or 2X. Having one more gear, a 50 tooth cog, would put that complaint to rest, although the jumps between lower gears would still remain large. In the end, who knows? It all could be an elaborate hoax, although I will admit, a rather convincing one. Or, maybe someone actually slipped up, and this got leaked out early. My opinion is that it could be that this is SRAM's answer to critiques on its XX1 11spd stuff. I think it also could be fake. What I would rather see is SRAM adapting its wireless electronic technology for mtb. This development- if indeed it is real- doesn't do much for me.

New look, new models.

Rawland Reborn:

Remember Rawland Cycles? They made a splash starting in 2007 when they introduced a model with 650B wheels dubbed the Olaf. The company dabbled in 700c wheels with a model called the Draakar, then teased a few gravel grinder models and rando based rigs later on but the company kind of faded away.

However; it would appear that now Rawland is set to make a new model or two and is launching a new look with them. Still steeped in Norse nomenclature, the bikes will feature several of the well known Rawland traits: low trail front end, steel frames, and versatility, but will feature all disc brake compatibility and on the Ravn, will be suitable with 26" wheels, with 650B and even smaller 700c wheels as optional choices. The other model, dubbed the Ulv, will be a B+ wheeled bikepacking type rig.

Not much else is known yet, but details should be coming soon. I will be interested in seeing what is coming down the line with this brand since I used to know a couple of the fellows involved with it at the genesis of the brand almost 10 years ago now.

I will be participating in this.

Race Director's Summit:

You know what happens when you start putting on a race for over a decade? People think, "Hey! This guy must know what he is doing!", or something along those lines. The reality is that I've just managed to stick it out all these years! But whatever- somebody thought I had something valuable to offer others, so I was invited to be a part of this tomorrow in Des Moines, Iowa.

Specifically, I am going to be on the panel which starts at 10:10am concerning "Promotions, marketing, media". So, if you are around the Des Moines area, and are thinking about being a race director/promoter, you can check this out for free, (I believe it is free), and see what it is I have to say, along with several others far smarter and better looking than I.

Of course, this means a two hour drive for me and so I will be getting up early tomorrow, heading South, gabbing, and then hitting up the Krunkwich Ramen House for noontime vittles. Afterward I may celebrate a little something-something, so stay tuned for whatever that may be and find a full report on the goings on, as far as I saw things, on Monday.

So, for now I'll be signing off. Have a glorious weekend and enjoy whatever is left of your day and/or night!

Friday News And Views

Real? Imagined? Spoofed? Who knows?

Submitted for Your Consideration:

This came across my radar screen yesterday and, after diligently searching everywhere on the "innergoogles", I cannot say whether or not this is true, or what. I will only say the following is what I do know for now:

• The original posting on the net apparently goes back to an Italian based cycling blog which shows a different imaging layout and is marked with the word "CONFIDENTIAL". The grainy image quality suggests this was grabbed from a screen shot. 
• Images were also seen Thursday on the "Imgur" site here. Images are also watermarked "CONFIDENTIAL" and an embargo on release is seen with a late March date.
• There was a thread on this on mtbr.com which shows up on a Google search, but was taken down. The thread was dated December 2015. 
• A few Facebook posts with mentions of a SRAM Eagle 12spd "one-by" group had a link which was bad. Taken down? Hard to say.....

The Italian blog stated that the group was to be revealed in March, probably just ahead of Sea Otter, which would make sense, since SRAM historically has usually introduced big mtb group/product offerings during that festival.

Comments: So, is this real? The images I've seen look convincing. Would SRAM really want to do a 12 speed 1X group? One of the big complaints about XX1 is that the gearing range isn't as deep on the low end as a triple or 2X. Having one more gear, a 50 tooth cog, would put that complaint to rest, although the jumps between lower gears would still remain large. In the end, who knows? It all could be an elaborate hoax, although I will admit, a rather convincing one. Or, maybe someone actually slipped up, and this got leaked out early. My opinion is that it could be that this is SRAM's answer to critiques on its XX1 11spd stuff. I think it also could be fake. What I would rather see is SRAM adapting its wireless electronic technology for mtb. This development- if indeed it is real- doesn't do much for me.

New look, new models.

Rawland Reborn:

Remember Rawland Cycles? They made a splash starting in 2007 when they introduced a model with 650B wheels dubbed the Olaf. The company dabbled in 700c wheels with a model called the Draakar, then teased a few gravel grinder models and rando based rigs later on but the company kind of faded away.

However; it would appear that now Rawland is set to make a new model or two and is launching a new look with them. Still steeped in Norse nomenclature, the bikes will feature several of the well known Rawland traits: low trail front end, steel frames, and versatility, but will feature all disc brake compatibility and on the Ravn, will be suitable with 26" wheels, with 650B and even smaller 700c wheels as optional choices. The other model, dubbed the Ulv, will be a B+ wheeled bikepacking type rig.

Not much else is known yet, but details should be coming soon. I will be interested in seeing what is coming down the line with this brand since I used to know a couple of the fellows involved with it at the genesis of the brand almost 10 years ago now.

I will be participating in this.

Race Director's Summit:

You know what happens when you start putting on a race for over a decade? People think, "Hey! This guy must know what he is doing!", or something along those lines. The reality is that I've just managed to stick it out all these years! But whatever- somebody thought I had something valuable to offer others, so I was invited to be a part of this tomorrow in Des Moines, Iowa.

Specifically, I am going to be on the panel which starts at 10:10am concerning "Promotions, marketing, media". So, if you are around the Des Moines area, and are thinking about being a race director/promoter, you can check this out for free, (I believe it is free), and see what it is I have to say, along with several others far smarter and better looking than I.

Of course, this means a two hour drive for me and so I will be getting up early tomorrow, heading South, gabbing, and then hitting up the Krunkwich Ramen House for noontime vittles. Afterward I may celebrate a little something-something, so stay tuned for whatever that may be and find a full report on the goings on, as far as I saw things, on Monday.

So, for now I'll be signing off. Have a glorious weekend and enjoy whatever is left of your day and/or night!

Wednesday News And Views

Lunch Anyone?: A couple days ago I posted about the new long travel/ big hit 29"er scene that is emerging. I mentioned that Lenz Lunchbox bike pictured on that post and said that it wasn't really available to the general public yet. Well, it turns out that is wrong, wrong, wrong! Actually, the story on that bike is that it is available as a regular model from Lenz now. The Lunchbox, named after a favorite set of trails called the "Lunch Loop", was put into production shortly before Interbike. The first small run was eagerly snatched up, but as they chip commercial says, "We can make more". So you really don't have to know anyone special, go underground, or use a secret handshake. Just contact Lenz Sport to order your very own long travel 29"er frame.

More Rumblings From The Coming Storm: As long as we're on the subject of long travel/ big hit 29"ers, I have heard more evidence of their impending arrival on a mountain near you. Seems that parts are being developed at an accelerated rate to make the genre' happen. Rims, tires, forks, and of course the frames to mount them to are now being tested. I can't say who, what, or where, but trust me: It's coming! This is interesting from the standpoint of what the "B" wheels were supposed to help "solve". Namely, the supposed problem of not being able to easily make a 29"er long travel bike work out. Well, from what I'm hearing, it can't be too much of a problem, or these companies wouldn't be hard at work trying to bring this stuff to market already. The proponents of the "B" wheels better hurry up and get some tires and rims done up double quick for AM/FR/DH or 29"ers will make that "B" size a moot point very shortly.

Shimano XT 29"er Wheels: Yep! If you missed that during Interbike coverage, Shimano is indeed going to bring a 29"er version of it's XT wheel set to market in '08. It's supposed to be a grown up version of it's 26"er wheels (scroll down for info at the link). If that is true then expect a lower spoke count, XC type rim with a center lock rotor attachment and tubeless compatibility. Stories on the prototype shown at Interbike indicated a late summer release, but my sources are saying no. Look for the XT 29"er wheels to be debuting at Sea Otter in April of '08 when Shimano has big release scheduled for new components.

.......And A Fork?: Shimano is also going to be introducing it's own carbon fiber rigid front forks for 26"ers and 29"ers under it's PRO brand component range in '08 as well. I took a close look at the currently Europe only 26"er "XC" model which bears a striking resemblance to the White Brothers/Fetish/Origin 8 forks, which we know are all the same manufacture. The fork crown in particular is a dead ringer for those 29"er forks mentioned. Hmm...........looks like that Asian manufacturer hit a home run with that catalog fork!

Wednesday News And Views

Lunch Anyone?: A couple days ago I posted about the new long travel/ big hit 29"er scene that is emerging. I mentioned that Lenz Lunchbox bike pictured on that post and said that it wasn't really available to the general public yet. Well, it turns out that is wrong, wrong, wrong! Actually, the story on that bike is that it is available as a regular model from Lenz now. The Lunchbox, named after a favorite set of trails called the "Lunch Loop", was put into production shortly before Interbike. The first small run was eagerly snatched up, but as they chip commercial says, "We can make more". So you really don't have to know anyone special, go underground, or use a secret handshake. Just contact Lenz Sport to order your very own long travel 29"er frame.

More Rumblings From The Coming Storm: As long as we're on the subject of long travel/ big hit 29"ers, I have heard more evidence of their impending arrival on a mountain near you. Seems that parts are being developed at an accelerated rate to make the genre' happen. Rims, tires, forks, and of course the frames to mount them to are now being tested. I can't say who, what, or where, but trust me: It's coming! This is interesting from the standpoint of what the "B" wheels were supposed to help "solve". Namely, the supposed problem of not being able to easily make a 29"er long travel bike work out. Well, from what I'm hearing, it can't be too much of a problem, or these companies wouldn't be hard at work trying to bring this stuff to market already. The proponents of the "B" wheels better hurry up and get some tires and rims done up double quick for AM/FR/DH or 29"ers will make that "B" size a moot point very shortly.

Shimano XT 29"er Wheels: Yep! If you missed that during Interbike coverage, Shimano is indeed going to bring a 29"er version of it's XT wheel set to market in '08. It's supposed to be a grown up version of it's 26"er wheels (scroll down for info at the link). If that is true then expect a lower spoke count, XC type rim with a center lock rotor attachment and tubeless compatibility. Stories on the prototype shown at Interbike indicated a late summer release, but my sources are saying no. Look for the XT 29"er wheels to be debuting at Sea Otter in April of '08 when Shimano has big release scheduled for new components.

.......And A Fork?: Shimano is also going to be introducing it's own carbon fiber rigid front forks for 26"ers and 29"ers under it's PRO brand component range in '08 as well. I took a close look at the currently Europe only 26"er "XC" model which bears a striking resemblance to the White Brothers/Fetish/Origin 8 forks, which we know are all the same manufacture. The fork crown in particular is a dead ringer for those 29"er forks mentioned. Hmm...........looks like that Asian manufacturer hit a home run with that catalog fork!

Frost Bike Weekend Report: Part II The Rumors

There were lots of cool scuttlebutt going around at Frost Bike this past weekend. Here's a quick recap of all the 29"er related stuff I heard or saw.

Forks: Manitou Minute forks are going to be a reality later this summer. The big deal here is another choice with options, options options! You can get three different travels in two different axle formats. So for instance, you can have 80mm, 100mm, or 120mm in QR or thru axle. You can get two different damping platforms, TPC, or the new Absolute. Color available is white, but OEM's will have some different colors available to them. Of course, you'll have to purchase a complete bike to get those color choices. The coolest thing is that you can get either a 40mm offset or a 48mm offset! I think the best choice would be 48mm for alot of 29"ers with the 40mm offset good for the steeper head angle bikes like the Mamasita and the Intense Spider 29"er. The show sample that was a 100mm travel thru axle model weighed just a smidgen over 4lbs with an uncut steerer.

Also on the rumor side was talk about Fox entering the 29"er market this summer. This is something I have said would happen this year too. Look for an offset suitable to 29"ers from them as well.

Tires: First, the Maxxis Crossmark is very nearly here, probably within a month or two. Reports from rides on prototypes are that it is one of the fastest, best cornering tires in the 29"er format. This rings true with what I've heard about the 26"er version of this tire, as well. Asked about tubeless tires for 29"ers, a Maxxis rep said that it probably won't be happening from them.

I also laid eyes on a prototype Continental 29"er tire that will be offered in a 2.4" and 2.1" version. (Which in "Continental" terms will probably mean a 2.1" and 1.8" tire!) The tread pattern was somewhat open with low, triangular shaped knobs arranged in the typical "helter skelter" Conti pattern. No name on the casing could be discerned, but the tread area was emblazoned with little "King Pin" logos inbetween the knobs. Take that for what it's worth. I have known for awhile that more 29"er tires were coming out of Germany, so this is a confirmation of that.

Finally, there was some vague scuttlebutt about Panaracer developing another 29"er tire in addition to the Rampage and the co-branded Fire XC tire with IRC. No distinct info came my way, and the lips were pretty tight on that one. The Panaracer rep was quite inqusitive about what I thought would be a good addition to the 29"er tire market though. Hmmm.......

I spoke to the Kenda rep too. He mentioned the well known fact that Kenda has invested in a tire mold machine that will be capable of exceeding the currently maxxed out 29"er molds in terms of casing size, and importantly width. This won't come online for at least a year or more, but you can bet that tire designs are waiting in the wings that'll blow peoples minds in terms of size. Kenda is going to have to get their return on investment, so look for a huge 29"er fattie to make an appearance soon after the machine is up and running!

Also, availabilities are going to improve drastically on the currently available Rampage and Smallblock 8 tires with new shipments arriving on these shores within weeks. Panaracer will have 800 units of the Rampage coming in to QBP alone. Good news as the season gets underway!

Trends: Many people I spoke to in the industry agreed that the trend is going to be towards longer travel forks, dual suspension platforms, wider, beefier tires and rims, all with an aim towards developing a freeride/ all mountain 29"er. Interestingly, some folks in the industry bemoan that trend and would rather see a light weight, short travel 29"er fork mated to strong lightweight XC wheels and tires in the belief that the 29"er already has enough bump smoothing ability. They see it as promoting 29"er benefits more instead of masking them behind longer travel suspension, which will also increase the weight of the bikes tremendously. We'll see, as I am quite sure there is no stopping the trend towards the all mountain, long travel 29"er.

Next: Look for some specific bits I picked up at the show for testing and some further commentary in the next couple of posts.

Frost Bike Weekend Report: Part II The Rumors

There were lots of cool scuttlebutt going around at Frost Bike this past weekend. Here's a quick recap of all the 29"er related stuff I heard or saw.

Forks: Manitou Minute forks are going to be a reality later this summer. The big deal here is another choice with options, options options! You can get three different travels in two different axle formats. So for instance, you can have 80mm, 100mm, or 120mm in QR or thru axle. You can get two different damping platforms, TPC, or the new Absolute. Color available is white, but OEM's will have some different colors available to them. Of course, you'll have to purchase a complete bike to get those color choices. The coolest thing is that you can get either a 40mm offset or a 48mm offset! I think the best choice would be 48mm for alot of 29"ers with the 40mm offset good for the steeper head angle bikes like the Mamasita and the Intense Spider 29"er. The show sample that was a 100mm travel thru axle model weighed just a smidgen over 4lbs with an uncut steerer.

Also on the rumor side was talk about Fox entering the 29"er market this summer. This is something I have said would happen this year too. Look for an offset suitable to 29"ers from them as well.

Tires: First, the Maxxis Crossmark is very nearly here, probably within a month or two. Reports from rides on prototypes are that it is one of the fastest, best cornering tires in the 29"er format. This rings true with what I've heard about the 26"er version of this tire, as well. Asked about tubeless tires for 29"ers, a Maxxis rep said that it probably won't be happening from them.

I also laid eyes on a prototype Continental 29"er tire that will be offered in a 2.4" and 2.1" version. (Which in "Continental" terms will probably mean a 2.1" and 1.8" tire!) The tread pattern was somewhat open with low, triangular shaped knobs arranged in the typical "helter skelter" Conti pattern. No name on the casing could be discerned, but the tread area was emblazoned with little "King Pin" logos inbetween the knobs. Take that for what it's worth. I have known for awhile that more 29"er tires were coming out of Germany, so this is a confirmation of that.

Finally, there was some vague scuttlebutt about Panaracer developing another 29"er tire in addition to the Rampage and the co-branded Fire XC tire with IRC. No distinct info came my way, and the lips were pretty tight on that one. The Panaracer rep was quite inqusitive about what I thought would be a good addition to the 29"er tire market though. Hmmm.......

I spoke to the Kenda rep too. He mentioned the well known fact that Kenda has invested in a tire mold machine that will be capable of exceeding the currently maxxed out 29"er molds in terms of casing size, and importantly width. This won't come online for at least a year or more, but you can bet that tire designs are waiting in the wings that'll blow peoples minds in terms of size. Kenda is going to have to get their return on investment, so look for a huge 29"er fattie to make an appearance soon after the machine is up and running!

Also, availabilities are going to improve drastically on the currently available Rampage and Smallblock 8 tires with new shipments arriving on these shores within weeks. Panaracer will have 800 units of the Rampage coming in to QBP alone. Good news as the season gets underway!

Trends: Many people I spoke to in the industry agreed that the trend is going to be towards longer travel forks, dual suspension platforms, wider, beefier tires and rims, all with an aim towards developing a freeride/ all mountain 29"er. Interestingly, some folks in the industry bemoan that trend and would rather see a light weight, short travel 29"er fork mated to strong lightweight XC wheels and tires in the belief that the 29"er already has enough bump smoothing ability. They see it as promoting 29"er benefits more instead of masking them behind longer travel suspension, which will also increase the weight of the bikes tremendously. We'll see, as I am quite sure there is no stopping the trend towards the all mountain, long travel 29"er.

Next: Look for some specific bits I picked up at the show for testing and some further commentary in the next couple of posts.