iceBike* 2010 DT Swiss, Commencal, Shimano

Let’s continue our coverage of the iceBIKE* spectacular with a bike that has just come in to Madison’s warehouses. We have our man Albert to thank for this gushing paragraph…

“these have just hit the UK shores and are ready to ship. Available in limited numbers featuring Atherton racing inspired graphics, the ethos around the bike hasn’t changed since the introduction of the original MaxMax a few years ago – a tough, affordable and easily upgraded introduction in the world of dirt jumping. This point is empahsized by the use of the exact same 6061 T6 aluminum frame that is featured on all the higher-spec Absolut 1 and 2 full bikes. The new frame features arguably the most versatile dropouts on the market, allowing the use of a rear derailleur and pretty much all rear 135mm hub standards on the market (10mm, 12mm, 12mm Maxle or Singlespeed hubs) via the modular hanger/dropout system. The bike also features Commencal’s new dirt fork which replaces the heavier five-piece fork used in previous year’s models, helping to drop weight.

Price: £399.99 complete
Frame: Absolut AL (new dropouts)
Fork: NEW Commencal Dirt Fork (1 1/8in)
Headset: Tange Fatty MX2 (1 1/8in)
Stem: Commencal FR 50mm oversize
Bars: Commencal 6061 Oversize Riser (2in rise)
Grips: Commencal Kraton
Brakes: Commencal V-Brakes
Bottom Bracket: Truvativ Howitzer
Cranks: Truvativ Ruktion
Chain: KMC
Rims: Alex Rims DM18 (26in)
Hubs: Commencal 6-bolt disc Front & Rear (8/9sp freehub) 14mm nutted
Spokes: Stainless Steel 72p (3X lacing)
Seatpost: Commencal Hi-Ten Steel (black)
Saddle: C Trail by Velo
Sizes: Short or Long
Colour: Atherton Blue

All photos above by www.tombunning.com

Rainbow stripes on a ‘cross bike? Who could it be?

DT Swiss.

As you may have seen, our Benji has been in snowy Spain this week testing the new DT Swiss forks in the frozen slush. Madison, as the UK distributors, had some early models there on show for us, including the full-carbon crown/steerer racy model and more of the all-mountain ones.

Interestingly, the first paragraph in the ‘DT Swiss 2010 Lowdown’ trade leaflet starts “Have Pace reliability issues been sorted?” to which DT Swiss answers an emphatic ‘Yes!’. DT Swiss has re-sourced all the parts of the forks and now offer a two-year guarantee and a 200 hour service interval. The new magnesium lowers are completely new and the carbon forks already have a UCI XC World Championship under its belt.

Prices for the DT Swiss forks aren’t as scary as originally thought, with the basic 130mm, mag lower EXM130 QR coming in at £599.99. You can then add £50 for a QR15 and a further £150 for carbon lowers (or any combination). There’s a 150mm version too.

Benji will be following up with his full DT Press Camp story, so we don’t want to steal his thunder, but there’s also the XMM fork for ‘cross mountain’ – this comes in 100/120/140 and again in QR or 15mm. Prices start at £649 and weight at 1540g (add £150 for carbon again, £50 for QR15 and £50 for the neat remote lockout).

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