Cyclingnews staff scoured the pits at the Beijing MTB event and sent back photos and details of some of a handful of the machines in use there.
A look at Geoff Kabush's race machine
Canada's Geoff Kabush (who currently sits third in the UCI World Cup series) will take a straightforward approach to his Olympic equipment with a Litespeed Ocoee titanium hardtail that we expect to perform well on Beijing's relatively non-technical course.
Kabush's 1.48kg (3.26lb, estimated) frame is outfitted with a pair of Stan's ZTR Race wheels wrapped in Maxxis rubber (converted to tubeless with Stan's NoTubes sealant), Magura's upcoming ultralight Marta SL Magnesium hydraulic disc brakes (with Stan's coated aluminum rotors), ubiquitous Egg Beater 4Ti pedals from Crankbrothers and fi'zi:k's new carbon-railed Tundra saddle with a custom red-and-white cover.
The rest of the bike is completed with a Shimano XTR transmission, Fox Racing Shox F100 RLC fork (with remote lockout), Chris King NoThreadset and FSA's K-Force carbon riser bar, K-Force carbon seatpost and OS-115 aluminum stem. Finishing out the color-coordinated look is Jagwire housing, a Cateye computer and a ceramic-enhanced bottom bracket and derailleur pulleys, all in matching red.
Team officials weren't exactly forthcoming with a total bike weight but the build kit suggests that it's certainly light enough.
Seven Cycles launches Olympic-edition Sola
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Seven Cycles has unveiled a special edition of its Sola hardtail to celebrate the Olympic return of its star rider, Mary McConneloug (United States). The so-called Sola Gold augments the standard Sola's all-Argen butted titanium tubeset with a smattering of the company's ultralight Cirrus Ultra-Butted pipes. The Sola Gold drops about 50g (0.1lb) in the process to yield a total average weight of just 1.45kg (3.2lb).
Based on previous set-ups, we're guessing McConneloug's rig will be set up with an 80mm-travel fork but Seven will build the Sola Gold for consumers to accommodate anything from 80-120mm and with disc and/or rim brake mounts.
