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Tech News – November 20, 2003
Edited by John Stevenson
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What's Travis riding?
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Trek/VW rider Travis Brown is known as a rather useful mountain bike racer, so it's not surprising that he's been cleaning up (or is that muddying up?) in the cyclo-cross season. As you'd expect, he usually campaigns on Trek's XO-1 cyclo-cross bike, but we did a double-take when we spotted the bike Brown rode in last month's Xilinx Cyclocross in Boulder, a 26in rig with drop handlebars from the school many people call 'Frankenbike' - a blend of road and mountain bike technology.
So, Travis, what is it?
"This is the bike that I raced locally (non-UCI, you can see the tire cross section here is a bit over 35 mm) until my 'cross bikes were finished," Brown told Cyclingnews. "The bike ... is a stock 9.8 with a Sibex titanium fork, 1x7 gearing (42 x 12-26), drop bars, XTR V-brakes with Travel Agent rollers, STI right lever, and regular left lever.
"I love the extra cush of the bigger tires and if the UCI didn't know what was best for me I would probably race this bike in some of the UCI races."
While he's obviously fond of the ad hoc rig, there's a reason why Brown was waiting for an X) instead of being able to pull one from stock: he likes a frame that by 'cross standards is seriously big. "The largest stock X0-1 size is a 58 cm. My size (60) was a special product run."
That bike actually uses a similar set-up to the 9.8-based machine. Here's the full rundown on Brown's UCI-legal rig.
Frame: Trek ZR9000 aluminum XO-1 60cm.
Fork: Sibex Ti
Wheels: Bontrager XXX carbon
Bars: Bontrager CX (44cm)
Stem: Bontrager 105mm
Seatpost: Bontrager carbon, 27.2 zero offset
Brake levers: Shimano STI right, non-STI left
Brakes: Cantilevers
Cranks: Shimano Dura-Ace cranks, 175mm, 42t single ring w/ FSA carbon guards
Bottom bracket: Shimano Dura-Ace 109mm
Sprockets: 7 speed 12-26 cassette
Tyres: Challenge Griffo 34c
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater
Saddle: Selle San Marco/ Bontrager
Weight: 16.9 pounds
Specifically for women
This year's Interbike show seemed to have more women's specific products than ever, a sign that the industry is taking female cyclists more and more seriously, and that more women are riding bikes.
The companies of the Trek Empire (Trek, LeMond, Gary Fisher and Bontrager) have always been strong in women's equipment, and have several introductions for 2004, and as well as an extensive line of women's specific products within the 'Body geometry' line of saddles, gloves and shoes, Specialized has a slightly quirky one, the first (as far as we know) women's specific mountain bike tyre.
LeMond Zurich
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Female road cyclists can now pick up a women's version of the steel-and-carbon fiber Zurich bike. Developed with input from the Saturn women's team, the Zurich uses a steel 'spine' of down tube, chainstays and head tube with carbon fiber top tube, seatstays and seat tube.
The women's Zurich is available in 49cm and 53cm sizes and comes with a full complement of women's-specific components: saddle, reach-adjustable brake levers for smaller hands, shorter crank arms, and shorter stem. With a full Shimano Ultegra groupset with choice of double or triple chainset it retails for $2449.99.
Bontrager bars & saddle
A slightly surprising omission from the Zurich is a new component from sister company Bontrager, the Flat-Top Road Handlebar. The Flat-Top has a shallow drop and a flat transition to the brake hoods, to help raise the rider position, according to Bontrager.
Bontrager also has a women's-specific version of one of its popular saddles. The Race Lite WSD has tubular titanium rails, a claimed weight of 250g and an RRP of US$85.
Gary Fisher Cake 2 GS
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The mountain bike side of the Trek empire also sees a new top-end women's bike with the Gray Fisher Cake 2 GS, claimed to be the only five-inch travel women's bike, and also the lightest five-incher around.
The Cake 2 GS uses a custom-tuned (for lighter riders) version of Manitou's SPV rear shock in a ZR9000 aluminium frame with a single-pivot, aluminium and OCLV carbon swingarm. As you'd expect, the parts pick is designed for the intended rider, with narrower handlebars, shorter-reach brake levers, wider saddle, and shorter crank arms compared to a bloke's bike. The cake 2 GS is available in 13in (XS) and 17.5in (SM) sizes at an RRP of $1759.99.
Specialized Women's Roll X Pro
One of the more unusual women's specific products we've seen is Specialized's Roll X Pro mountain bike tyre. We have to admit our first reaction was "Huh? Women's tyres?" But before we dismiss this as marketing hooey, here's Specialized's rationale for the Roll X's features.
"Generally speaking, women tend to sit more upright on their bikes than men, with their center of gravity over the middle of the bike, which means the front end is left unweighted," Specialized's Kathy Loebs told Cyclingnews. "This means women will tend to have less control over the front end, especially on sketchy descents, and front wheel wash-out in corners. The compound, being stickier, tackier, will help alleviate these problems, thus inspiring overall handling confidence. The tire is pretty light, with low, widely spaced knobs for less rolling resistance, which is great for women with weight-challenged bikes (we are not talking Pro women here!) and best of all, the Aramid bead insures a trouble free on/off of the tire without necessarily having to use tire levers. This can be a big deal to women who are petrified of flatting and then having to try and get the tire off."
Loebs admits that there's "nothing earth-shattering or innovative here, we are just trying to take the step and talk to women about tire choices - let them know how a certain tire can enhance their ride quality and overall experience. No other manufacturer tries to explain tires to women - why not us? We wanted to appeal to her sense of confidence and desire to understand yet another previously mysterious aspect of the bike."
We can't really argue with that - anything that helps demystify bikes is good, but all of those features sound like plus points for guys too. "Men can use this tire, no reason they can't," says Loebs, "but the compound will not last as long with a heavier man. We are saying this tire is optimally for riders not over 140lbs."
Descente returns to sponsorship with Health Net
It's always good to see cycling companies getting involved with sponsorship of our sport, not least because if someone doesn't sponsor them all those pro riders will be competing with us cycling hacks for jobs. The latest high-profile manufacturer to get behind a trade team is apparel manufacturer Descente, which has just announced sponsorship of the revamped Health Net team.
The squad, formed from a merger of the 2003 Health Net and 7Up/Maxxis teams, and formally known as the Health Net professional cycling team, presented by Maxxis, will be Descente's first pro cycling team sponsorship since 7-Eleven back in the 1980s.
Hugh Walton, founder of US Descente importer Axcent Sports and a former professional cyclist himself, said, "Sponsoring the Health Net Pro Cycling Team, Presented by Maxxis was a natural choice. As the first pro cycling team sponsorship in many years for Descente, we wanted to insure that we were partnered with a winning team that reflected our own company's values. I've ridden with many of the riders on the team and can attest personally to their strength, skill and dedication."
Descente's Health Net clothing will be available through dealers in February.
Rocket 7 comes to bike shops
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Shoe manufacturer Rocket 7 has announced that its line of high-end and custom cycling footwear will soon be available through bike shops. Rocket 7 shoes were previously only available direct from the company, but company founder Brian King says he is looking for "shops whose customers are buying custom bikes and other high-end products... Ours is a thinking-mans product and we need to work with retail staff who offer platinum level service to their customers."
Rocket 7 offers four models of shoes for road, triathlon, mtb, and track, and each is available in a 'standard' model or one of two levels of customisation, 'Full Custom' or 'Super Stock'. Full Custom shoes are based on a cast of the rider's foot which is sent to the company's Washington state factory to be used as the basis for a lightweight, carbon-fiber-soled custom shoe. Super Stock shoes are based on the standard models with the addition of a customised footbed, tailored to the rider from a cast of his or her sole. The footbed is integrated into the sole and can incorporate orthotics if necessary.
However, the move into retailers doesn't mean that King has any intention of sacrificing the quality of his shoes. "Price be damned, we are going to make the best shoes in the world," he says. "We will not sacrifice price for quality and we will not build shoes to fit demographic price points. Our shoes are hand-made in the USA with the best materials available today. Clean and simple, they are built to perform without a lot of excess time and money spent on expensive prints, graphics and gadgets. They are made with one target in mind; to help you ride further, faster and with more comfort."
Rocket 7 shoes should be available in pro bike shops in the US some time this winter.
SRAM gets injunction lifted
SRAM has won a small victory in its on-going German court stoush with Shimano. According to a release from SRAM, the Munich District Court has set aside Shimano's preliminary injunction against SRAM's X-series trigger shifters. The court had previously granted Shimano an injunction preventing the shifters being sold in Germany, on the grounds that they might infringe Shimano's patents. However, SRAM claims it was prevented from being able "to present our case before the court made their decision."
SRAM anticipates Shimano's action will continue but says "now it will be done through the process of an open trial in which SRAM has equal opportunity to present our opinions."
Giant plans Chinese plant for Chinese market
While Giant's high-end bikes unsurprisingly grab most of the attention from the 'serious cyclist' end of the cycling community, the Taiwanese builder is busy in the 'everyday cyclist' arena too. According to a report from Bloomberg News, Giant is planning a new factory in China that will exclusively supply the Chinese market.
Giant already has three factories in China - a country whose people own a staggering 450 million bikes - and Giant made one in 20 of all bikes sold in China last year, according to company spokesman Jeffrey Hsu.
The new factory will be located at either Chengdu or Tianjin and is part of a push by Giant to sell bikes into China's rural areas where the car-ownership craze sweeping big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai has yet to penetrate.
Giant has gained market share in China against the state-owned Forever and Phoenix brands by selling lighter bikes with aluminium frames and mountain bikes. While Forever and Phoenix have both seen declining profits or losses in the last few years, Giant expects to sell as many as 20 percent more bikes in China this year than last.
Honey Stinger adds bars
Honey Stinger, maker of honey-based sports energy gels, has added energy bars to its range. Honey Stinger's energy bars provide soy protein, calcium, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals in three flavours: 'Rocket Chocolate', 'Peanut Butter'n Honey' and 'Berry Banana Buzz'. A fourth flavor, Apple Cinnamon with Cranberries, will be available soon.
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