http://www.pinkbike.com/news/oddities-from-the-pits-nove-mesto-world-cup-xc.html
Some interesting stuff going on here!
weird that soft tails are back
and the words "negative-rise" make my head hurt
DR, I reckon that the softail revival may have had something to do with Trek and their "decoupler". Along the lines of, if it can work on a road bike, why not?
Soft tails always made sense for XC, IMHO. I loved the Endorphin when I had a play on the World Cup version. It just felt like it would leave me less tired during a race. Now, I'm too old and encumbered with mini-people to do XC racing any more, I'll stick to big bouncy bikes and grrravel pootling instead!
Ninos Scott
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-check-nino-shurters-scott-spark-nove-mesto-world-cup-xc.html
Pendrels Orbea - which looks very "busy"
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-check-catharine-pendrels-orbea-oiz-nove-mestro-world-cup-xc.html
twiddly ring on this Trek, didn't know Lizard Skin did a DSP XC Grip, might have to try them
http://www.pinkbike.com/u/mdelorme/album/Tanja-akelj-Trek-Super-Fly/
I like the Scott spark and the Bmc hard tail,flying machines I'm sure.
I have the DSP grips, they are good although single use. That tubeless worm on its own just isn't going to work IMO.
One assumes it's accompanied by a pump in a jersey pocket, they just don't want to stick an awl in their pocket. either that, or its a case of hoping for the best and stopping a tyre going down to get you back to the pits seems optimistic.
what is that thing taped to the seat tube? can someone explain what its mean to do?
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Proper XC machines, jeez I'm so glad to see proper racing is alive and sprinting.
I'd like one of those soft tails too.. 8)
WTF's that then ?completely slammed saddle
A slammed saddle used to mean it was as far down as seatpost/tube could go, so it didn't get in theway of yr rad midair skillz. That saddle definitely does not look slammed in the usual pinkbike sense!
Non level saddles belong on Supermarket BSOs only!
Saddle is "slammed" to the rear in this case, I believe.
and probably to the max in terms of rotation tooSaddle is "slammed" to the rear in this case, I believe.
Thing's a ****ing shed, basically 😯 😉
Bizarre
Should bookmark this thread for reference next time there's a question about bikefit.
Interesting that Absolon is running the continental protection tyres and not the racesport. I also found the racesport carcase useless, but assumed it was my spare tyre which caused the problem, looks like they are not always suitable for racing snakes as well.
Darn it
I love XC bikes and am fighting buying a carbon HT. Those BMC bikes look pretty wicked. Can't afford that team model though.
New Trek stuff, Top Fuel back and the fancy decoupler hardtail
Oooh missed this first time around! I wonder how long one of those soft tails lasts before the elastomer hardens and whether it can be replaced?
Kinda thought you'd see more PM's, if not to look at in the race just to have the data afterward?
I'll happily exchange my left testicle for Di2 XTR...
Do try and keep up, DR.
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/not-very-soft-tail ]The Trek soft tail. A month ago! 😉 [/url]
I'll happily exchange my left testicle for Di2 XTR...
mines all fitted and ready to ride, I'm broken though 😥
missed that the first time round, not seen it about since CFH, back end on that Trek looks tidy,
I ride a XC racing machine for my "mountain cycling" on south-east trails, and can report its batsh*t fast and I love it
this is after years of heavy duty freeride / downhill / all mountain bikes with lots of suspension travel and huge tires
the XC racing bike is all about rider skill and fitness, and its a blast to ride the same trails which my full bouncers just flattened = snoozing
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Love it, bookmarked for reading later
So which of these magic tweaks shall we adopt next?
I'm a fan of the forced forward saddle.
Oooh missed this first time around! I wonder how long one of those soft tails lasts before the elastomer hardens and whether it can be replaced?
I did wonder when it appeared on the road bikes, what does it actually do? There's a bearing between the toptube and seatube, and the flex comes from bending the seatube below the join rather than just the seatpost. So surely the CFRP's inherent hysteresis would (or could) be doing the bulk of the damping. Not a tiny elastomer?
Top Fuel could be interesting. Always liked the two 26" ones I had.
TINAS - it looks like you're right, which makes it different to virtually all other soft tails. Bit weird.
I was referring to the BMC, assume the Trek's is there to just stop the seat tube from slamming into the TT?
[edit] I'm not sure whether I sound like a dick ^ there...
Crossed wires I think, I was thinking of the Trek not the BMC, and I suspect you're right.
Both look awesome, I wonder if Trek will do a cheaper alloy version for mortals.
it wouldn't work with aluminium 😕
All looks quite normal stuff besides the new approaches to softtails.
Evidently, a tubeless tire plug and insertion tool taped to the seatpost is lighter than a Co2 dispenser or a can of aerosol-charged sealant.
It looks like a Scott team bike and if so then it would be fitted with Dugast tyres which do not work with sealant or like CO2 very much as far as I am aware.
Interesting that Absolon is running the continental protection tyres and not the racesport. I also found the racesport carcase useless
Possibly a training setup for test laps? I can't find a decent pic of the tyres he raced on.
The most interesting thing about the bikes is that despite running all these weight saving bits and bobs, they are very much still at the mercy of their sponsors, evident by seeing all SRAM bike now running RS-1's!
Stuff like that always makes me wonder how interesting would be to see the top riders racing on off-the-shelf £999 bikes...
medoramas - Member
Stuff like that always makes me wonder how interesting would be to see the top riders racing on off-the-shelf £999 bikes..
They'd still kick everyone's respective asses as demonstrated by the F1 drivers on Top Gears "Star in a reasonably priced car" feature, where the F1 drivers still absolutely batter all comers despite the short comings of whatever mid priced hatch they're driving that week.
They'd still kick everyone's respective asses as demonstrated by the F1 drivers on Top Gears "Star in a reasonably priced car" feature, where the F1 drivers still absolutely batter all comers despite the short comings of whatever mid priced hatch they're driving that week.
Yeah, I absolutely have no doubt in that! The question should be formed: how would the "normal" bikes perform under the Full Racing Power of Absalon, Kulhavy, Fontata, Hermida... 😆
it wouldn't work with aluminium
Works on the alloy Domane. It's a myth that you can't flex aluminium, domane, Garry fisher Sugar, Salsa spearfish/horsethief etc all do it. And in this application it's exactly the same as riding a frame with a long 27.2 seatpost, it's just longer.
It'd be interesting to compare the ride against the BMC system which is a proper softail providing some suspension to isolate the rear wheel movement from the frame, whereas the Trek just isolates frame movement from the saddle, so your hands/feet still get the buzz.
nino binned it on the final decent just now, great last half a lap 😮
Ooh what happened? Im travelling back from a race and can't access the feed
He pushed on the last descent and according to the interview thought he had it in the bag after the last corner, then immediately slid out on some loose stuff, only to see JA out the saddle pumping past! Excellent race.
nino and absalon together into the last climb, a minute up on Kulhavy, nino in 2nd, camera breaks to show something else, camera back, nino now in front, final descent he starts opening a gap, bins it on the last bottom corner, absalon passes as nino is getting back on, sprint to the finish, nino gives up with 100m to go
MOAR XC TECHNESSS!
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/albstadt-xc-pit-walk-bike-checks-and-crazy-tech.html
Lauf forks 😯
I really can't bring myself to love XC race machines. The big wheels, the steep, short travel fork and the drop stems make me twitch.
The less said about kulhavys saddle angle, the better, frankly 😯
Disagree!! Race bikes are always beautiful be they Road/XC/ENDURO/DH/BMX/Track, Kulhavys is an extreme case and should just be ignored.
What's that in the axle?
What's that in the axle?
Display/pit stand, I think.
Duh, never even seen the stand 😳
Oh I agree (mostly) monkeyfudger, it's just the front of xc racers seem to have the proportions all wrong IMO.
Picture also shows no bottle mount bolts - crikey.
interesting stem that has no apparent clamping device. Does this mark the return of the internal expanding quill stem? We would not be surprised.
I wish they were taking the p1ss but the author's comments in the comments section just show that they do indeed know sweet FA about anything XC related 🙄
Madness!
Why do people shift more with electronic shifting?
I wish they were taking the p1ss but the author's comments in the comments section just show that they do indeed know sweet FA about anything XC related
I thought that, mental!
Why do people shift more with electronic shifting?
Because it always works instantly, not 99%of time in ideal conditions and 9/10 chance just before that tricky rooty climb. And its just a button, no more having to gently aapplapply pressure and untill you fell the chain shift, just full power-click-bang-full power.
Its all marginal gains.
I really want to see the whole bike that that pink Lauf is attached to!
XC bikes are amazing. I don't want one any more than I want a massive DH bike, but they're great.
🙂
I have to say I like how much positive feedback there is in the comments. Being cynical Id expect a lot more "there not 2 rad m8".
XC bikes are amazing. I don't want one any more than I want a massive DH bike, but they're great.
They're pretty versatile, I'm happy with mine as my only MTB!
Why do people shift more with electronic shifting?Because it always works instantly, not 99%of time in ideal conditions and 9/10 chance just before that tricky rooty climb. And its just a button, no more having to gently aapplapply pressure and untill you fell the chain shift, just full power-click-bang-full power.
Its all marginal gains.
I see, so you get that split second more of optimum power input in the right gear , and that adds up over the course of a race. Clever clever !
I see, so you get that split second more of optimum power input in the right gear , and that adds up over the course of a race. Clever clever !
That plus it makes your bike sound awesome with the whizzing and whirring. At least that's why I want it!
A look at the carbon Lefty's hydraulic lockout control and an interesting stem that has no apparent clamping device. Does this mark the return of the internal expanding quill stem? We would not be surprised.
What are they on about - do they have no idea abou the OPI stem thats been around for ages!
I love that D'ale.. Always been a fan of leftys and that bike looks bloody lovely..
I feel a twinge coming on...
I see, so you get that split second more of optimum power input in the right gear , and that adds up over the course of a race. Clever clever !
Kinda, though more like it felt reliable. Even with a brand new drivechain, perfectly setup it always feels on the verge of not shifting (especially under power) with cables. Whereas Di2 always felt like it would shift however much you were pedalling, never just ending in that clicking noise and having to shift up 2 down 1 to get it back.
A bit like riding an SS and never needing to worry about crunching your bollox into the stem.
That was just on a road bike though, no idea how it handles mud/grit, I imagine it gets even better (relative to cables).
I can see Shimano's argument that Di2 makes 2x better than 1x as the shifting's so smooth and therefore they're sticking with 2x11 10-40 and smaller gaps than 1x11 with 10-42. But they seem to have lost the popularity contest on that.
I love that D'ale.. Always been a fan of leftys and that bike looks bloody lovely..I feel a twinge coming on...
Read a report from the welsh enduro over the weekend, a F29 came 1st senior and 3rd over-all!
If we are really getting picky then I'm pretty sure that isn't an AX saddle on the Ghost, there's no such thing as XX1 brakes, I'm not sure how many "2.34-inch knobbys" exist, mocking a bike for not being Di2 ready then praising the Di2 access ports is a bit silly, we don't really have "peletons" in XC... but the pictures are nice 😀
We like the checkerboard motif on its RockShox RS-1 inverted fork
Ah, that's more their level 😆
Is funny to see obsessively weight wheenied bikes with a big old RS-1 shoved on the front. The power of sponsorship!
Indeed! The Ghost is the best example of this- AX everything, great looking frame, AX/ Tune wheels, Ti Eggbeaters... then that porky twisty fork!
Wonder how long it'll last. Don't get the impression Kulhavy is particularly obsessive with weight, I expect Sauser would've been having kittens by now!
Wonder how long it'll last. Don't get the impression Kulhavy is particularly obsessive with weight, I expect Sauser would've been having kittens by now!
Is there a minimum weight for XC bikes? Seeing as you can build a 20lb hardtail for not silly money with mainstream components, some of these must be worrying the road bikes?
What does an XTR, SID, novatec-light bikes, type build (i.e. lightest without going to tune/AX) on a light-ish fame come to?
There are no restrictions on MTBs, very much unlike the road. You simply need to have bar caps as far as I am aware.
Also, some WWers have managed to build raceable bikes for around 7kgs - weightweenies.starbike.com
What does an XTR, SID, novatec-light bikes, type build (i.e. lightest without going to tune/AX) on a light-ish fame come to?
My Superfly is 18.8lbs with Thunder Burts based on a 1300g frame and entry level SID. No crazy parts. Cannondale are tickling the 17s without anything insane, and you can definitely go sub-17 with gears and bouncy bits and still use it!
The main problem for the pros, as we've already alluded to, is the sponsor commitments which means the bikes rarely end up "properly" light. I'd imagine not many, if any, are lighter than 18.xxlbs, maybe a handful of 17.xxlb bikes in there. Much like Pro road bikes tending to be in the 7.4-7.8kg region 😯 😆
Wonder how long it'll last. Don't get the impression Kulhavy is particularly obsessive with weight, I expect Sauser would've been having kittens by now!
I think Sauser is resigned to being part of bigger marketing picture now- poor guy is even having to run all the latest Spesh SWAT tat in longer races 😆 I may be mistaken but I think on some S-Works models the SWAT box thingy is even permanently attached to the frame!
My Open O-1.0 is 17lb with Rocket Rons, 100 mm Fox, MT zoom and LB wheels, 1x10 XTR/XX mix. Perfect for me in the Surrey Hills.
That Open, nice, anything to do with [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/i-love-you-hmrc ]this[/url]? 🙂
That Open, nice, anything to do with this?
Well spotted - that was banked a long time ago. The Open was a bit of a mid-winter project to see what I could build with weenie parts but for the bike to still be usable. Its turned out to be a very special bike.
Go and stop talking about bike weights...I'm waiting for some carbon rimz and all this talk is making me consider more carbon!
Really looking forward to shedding some wheel weight, going to stick with the front hub that came with the bike for now (can't imagine there's big savings to be made anyway) but the rear feels rather lardy! Just need to ditch the cranks then I'll be happy enough with it, can't afford to go full weight weenie and replace stuff like bars/post/seat that ain't broken.
I think Sauser is resigned to being part of bigger marketing picture now- poor guy is even having to run all the latest Spesh SWAT tat in longer races
I saw a pic with the case on his bike and thought it seemed a bit out of place, did wonder if maybe they'd made some vacuum formed shell to look like it without actually weighing anything, or would that have fallen foul of the 'nothing on the bike that isn't needed for racing' rule?
Go and stop talking about bike weights...I'm waiting for some carbon rimz and all this talk is making me consider more carbon!
I've got carbon bars on my Fatty, made a surprising difference knocking ~100g off the front end!
Really don't want to get sucked into weenie'ing it as everything is both fatbike-taxed and weenie-taxed 🙁 Still got to drill the rims, then maybe a lighter stem, carbon post and roadie saddle and I'll call it quits...............honest.
I think it is where he stores the RS-1 brochures to hand out along the course 😆
IIRC the minimum bike weight for ALL UCI sanctioned races is 6.8kg. Be that that road, TT, XC, DH or trials bikes 😆
edit, actual research says there is no limit.
Yep, no limit for MTB. The UCI are rumoured to be thinking of reducing the weight limit on the road too
To be fair to the UCI, they are now committed to bringing bike tech into the 20th century.
Here all week folks. try the steak.
In fairness to the UCI it's only really been in the last 5 years or so that bikes been at the limit consistently. And arguably it's been good for other less intended reasons, aero tube profiles, disk brakes etc wouldn't even get discussed if there wasn't spare weight to be used up.
I remember seeing a special edition Madone after Lance won yet another tour, and they were offering it in 2 versions, a climbing version and an aero version with a teardrop seatube. The aero one wasn't on the limit despite being something silly like £8k.
Here all week folks. try the steak.
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Flashy gets it 😉
