My reviews on bikes and parts.
At first, I just started playing with the Clix in the RST fork. To my surprise, I was able to hold the heavy RST fork in one hand while quickly removing and latching the hub with the other. It was almost too good to believe! Was this really a QR that wasn’t going to require re-tensioning and could be operated with one hand?
Gary Fisher’s new bike this year is the 5.5 inch Roscoe. It might look like your average 140mm bike, but this new ride is anything but average. Stapled as their new light weight, all mountain bike, the Roscoe weighs in at 28 lbs. with their build kit and it has some suspension and geometry tweaks that set this bike apart from the rest.
Last week, Fluid sent me a tub of their new Tropical Escape flavored recovery drink to test out. This will be my first experience with any recovery drink, so I am excited to see some results. Per the instructions, I am supposed to mix 2 cups of Fluid in with 8 oz of water and drink it no within 30 minutes after my ride.
I was right on board with the anti 15mm crowd from the beginning. It was actually my first post on this blog. The 15mm axle creates a problem for manufacturers and end users by creating yet another “standard” by which we have to live by. The increases prices and makes replacement parts harder to come by.
As many of you already know, I am in the process of reviewing the Project Pink Ellsworth Evolve. Before I get to the overall bike review (pretty much frame only review), I want to touch on a couple of the components as I go along. This bike came spec’ed with the WTB LaserDisc Trail 29er wheels.
The new linkage design features 15mm diameter alloy axles bolting directly into the frame that are locked in place with ultra-trick collet heads. These control preload on the angular contact bearings in the lower link, which are in turn easily lubed up via the grease ports in the link.
On Friday, I received my package from out west. The content of this large box contained everything needed to build the Ellsworth Evolve (Ellsworth’s 4″ full suspension 29er frame) for a long term review. To my surprise, I opened the box at T2 Bikes and inside was a bright pink Evolve!
I ran into a deal that I just couldn’t say no to from Mark at T2 Bikes, and I picked up a Troy Lee Designs D2 Carbon. The helmet (off the bike) is much lighter and a lot more comfortable. I am hoping that the blue and red flames on the TLD make me faster than the ghost flames on the Specy…but I am not going to hold my breath. Now I just have one more product has more bling than my riding!
These new shifters combined with the new Hammerschmidt front shifting device is bound to make it a HUGE Interbike for SRAM this year. It really seems like they are starting to think outside the box of conventional shifting. I welcome this change. Shifting has been done the same for a long time. It’s time to shake things up a little bit.
CLIX Systems, Inc. has introduced a revolutionary new wheel release system, called CLIX™. For the first time ever, riders are able to install and lock their front wheel with no cam adjustment, and with only one hand. The traditional quick release was invented in 1927 and is a safe and effective system when operated correctly. However, correct operation is not inherently obvious to all riders.