Let’s see what SRAM has in store for us for later this year (which apparently is 2010 if you didn’t know – most 2010 products will be appearing this summer…)
A Truvativ Noir crank with new orange decals and bolts. Nick's fitted a non-SRAM titanium chain, just because he can. Apparently it's self-lubricating and costs around £250...
Starting with an application of the new stuff, we saw the familiar face of Nick Larsen of Charge bikes at the SRAM presentation. Always with an eye for design, Nick was quick to jump on SRAM’s new Truvativ coloured components to make his latest Charge Duster look super-slick.
SRAM will be offering XO in orange, pink, red, green, gold and blue. And for those of you who weren't sure about the Crank Bros blue Cobalt wheels - they now come in 'Champagne'.Orange shifters and Nick even specced the Crank Bros Cobalt Directset headset, but with the top washer from the all-mountain Iodine headset because it was orange.
Rockshox Ario and Monarch shocks. The Monarch will be available (to OEMs) with a Dual Air option. This will let you set a squishy initial feel for suppleness, while having the shock firmer for bigger drops without bottom out.The Rockshox Ario rear shock - comparable to the Monarch shock with fewer bells and whistles.SRAM Grips - We're still not sure about single-bolt lock-on style grips, but these seem pretty good so far.Centre Lock rotors from SRAM? Whatever next? SRAM Matchmaker-X now has a little more adjustment and is a little more neat looking and rounded off. You can now adjust the angle of the shifter body too.
Elixir Technology trickles down to the Elixir 5. It lacks the tools-free pad adjustment, but can still be adjusted with a 2.5mm key. It'll weigh 395g with a 160mm rotor.
The Elixir 5 caliper. Now that SRAM are doing white, you know that it's gone mainstream. So, what's next? Purple?
There’s more Elixir news too – there will be an Elixir CR Mag – this uses a forged Magnesium body for the lever body, and it’ll replace the Juicy Ultimate. The carbon lever blade is now 4g lighter (not bad because the original was only 12g) and uses pressed-in hardware to save weigh. It comes with a new U-clamp like the old cable Avid levers of yesteryear and with its two-piece alloy caliper it’ll weigh 330g for a 160mm postmount system. It’ll come in 160/185/203mm options too.
In order to ‘play well with others’ – SRAM will be offering Shimano compatible Centrelock rotors in 160, 185 and 203mm. For complicated/patent reasons though, you’ll have to supply your own lockring though.
Mr Greg Herbold with one of the new Dual Air Monarch shocks.The full colour range. It's like the early '90s all over again. We can't deny, though, that there are some smart looking bikes out there using the stuff.Rockshox' new Revelation fork. The sheer amount of options available with this fork is immense.
Rockshox showed their new Revelation, which will need some explaining, just to get over the options available. The common bits shared by all models, though are the new Powerbulge lowers, post-mount brake mounts, a new brace for more mudroom and up to 2.5in tyres and travel is between 130 and 150mm (more of this in a minute.) Rockshox sees the fork ending up on high-end trail bikes.
Ready for the options?
It’ll come in Dual Air 130, 140 OR 150mm (adjustable internally) – or in 130-150 Air U-Turn.
You’ll be able to get 1 1/8th steerers, or a 1 1/8th to 1.5in tapered OR a 1.5in constant steerer.
Lowers come in 9mm QR or Maxle Lite 20mm
The Rev SL and the Race will have Motion Control. The Team will have Black Box Motion Control.
Other stuff that’s coming out from SRAM includes the Reba – now available in 29in, and with a tapered steerer option too.
We loved the Truvativ Noir bars last year and they now have a seatpost (or two) to join them. Interestingly, the post is a combination of filament-wound carbon and unidirectional carbon to create a butted seatpost that will 'be strong but fail well' - ie it'll crack or bend before it snaps in two, which should help reassured the more nervous users of carbon.Some road stuff: The R2C time trial shift lever - it 'Returns 2 Centre', rather than working like an old thumbie and ending up with shifters at extreme angles. Seems to work well. Wonder if we can get Paul's Components to make a mountain bike bar bracket.We came in at the end of the road presentation, so we currently don't have much info (as Chipps hasn't read the press release) but this is the new SRAM Force groupset. SRAM will also be launching a 'SRAM Professional system by Gore' cable set that promises super slick shifting and which works with extra long ferrules designed for the SRAM road gear.Like carbon or loathe the idea - you have to admit it's pretty...Any 'cross racers out there? The Zipp 303 carbon rimmed wheel will work with 21mm-27mm tubulars and has been designed for (and tested on) the Continental cobbles of Roubaix. It's good having folks like Levi Leipheimer on hand to tell you that they like your components. We love his denim brand too.Here's the Elixir CR lever. Lighter carbon blade, pressed-in pivot, new clamp and the tools-free pad-contact adjuster. The XX lever that we saw featured this lever, so the new magic must be at the caliper end, perhaps with a magnesium caliper...
With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
Lots of Revelation options, but Fishers will no doubt only bring certain ones in, and if we go by history, they’ll be the ones we, as the consumer, don’t actually want (like Pop-Loc this year).
Fair play to them for trying something different, but give it a couple of years and that SRAM stuff will be the biking equivalent of your Granma’s avocado bathroom suite.
Great to see the new Revs though. Roumor has it we’re looking at 150mm travel, 20mm maxle lite, for about 3.75lbs. If so, I reckon they’ll be my next trail fork & relegate my hefty (but great) Pikes over to the winter hardtail.
The Herbold necklace is a lot of thumb levers in all the colours.
The XX launch is in late May. Until then, we don’t officially know anything about it.
Nick at Charge looked long and hard for amber sidewall tyres and could only find amber Panaracer Spikes. But he reckons he can persuade Panaracer to make some amberwall tyres if people want. An amber Fire XC anyone? 🙂
chipps, theres a few shops selling old stock of amberwall panaracer fire xc pros in 2.1 size already. I’d like something amberwall in the 2.3ish size (the 2.4 fire xc pro is DH bike massive!)
tyres like the specialized ground control extreme 2.5 & the ritchey 2.35 Z max, both in amberwall can make £100 in pristine condition. thats an indication of how much in demand they are.
Chipps, if Nick at Charge has any pull with Panaracer something more versatile, yet in a larger size like the 2.25 Cinder would be an easy seller.
The revs are going to be just over 3.5lbs, fantastic and hugely stiff (believe me, I was trying my best to get them to flex).
Schwalbe have got 2 new DH tyres, I’ve got pics but need to upload them which I’ll do tonight. Geax have also re-launched the DH range and they’ve got some great tyres coming through at good prices.
Lots of Revelation options, but Fishers will no doubt only bring certain ones in, and if we go by history, they’ll be the ones we, as the consumer, don’t actually want (like Pop-Loc this year).
Nice report, thanks Chipps 🙂
what are the amber wall tyres on that charge duster? VRC world needs some more amber sidewall tyres!
I want the tyres off the charge.
Fair play to them for trying something different, but give it a couple of years and that SRAM stuff will be the biking equivalent of your Granma’s avocado bathroom suite.
Great to see the new Revs though. Roumor has it we’re looking at 150mm travel, 20mm maxle lite, for about 3.75lbs. If so, I reckon they’ll be my next trail fork & relegate my hefty (but great) Pikes over to the winter hardtail.
Thanks again for the quick coverage, loving it.
where is the X.X stuff?
What’s the necklace thing Greg Herbold is wearing made out of?
necklace looks like shifter triggers in all the colours
The Herbold necklace is a lot of thumb levers in all the colours.
The XX launch is in late May. Until then, we don’t officially know anything about it.
Nick at Charge looked long and hard for amber sidewall tyres and could only find amber Panaracer Spikes. But he reckons he can persuade Panaracer to make some amberwall tyres if people want. An amber Fire XC anyone? 🙂
Updated Smoke/Dart combo with natural sidewalls – I’d buy em!
Rev U-turn with blackbox and maxle will be a killer fork, but will it cost £900?
The chain is a Yaban Ti SL290 or something there called – about £80 if you know where to look.
lets do the time warp again…..
chipps, theres a few shops selling old stock of amberwall panaracer fire xc pros in 2.1 size already. I’d like something amberwall in the 2.3ish size (the 2.4 fire xc pro is DH bike massive!)
tyres like the specialized ground control extreme 2.5 & the ritchey 2.35 Z max, both in amberwall can make £100 in pristine condition. thats an indication of how much in demand they are.
Chipps, if Nick at Charge has any pull with Panaracer something more versatile, yet in a larger size like the 2.25 Cinder would be an easy seller.
I heard that Schwalbe were due to show a couple of new DH tyres. Any sign? Cheers.
But what do the look like on the shedfire ragley?
Brant/Chipps sort it
Chipps, these reports have been great.
Those revs are going to be a winner, esp if they dip under 4lb as pedalhead suggests.
The revs are going to be just over 3.5lbs, fantastic and hugely stiff (believe me, I was trying my best to get them to flex).
Schwalbe have got 2 new DH tyres, I’ve got pics but need to upload them which I’ll do tonight. Geax have also re-launched the DH range and they’ve got some great tyres coming through at good prices.
Revs look really good. I’ll skip the rest thanks, all seems a bit silly.
Are these new SRAM coloured gear only available in group sets, would love a green rear mech on my hulk machine 😀
One 160mm Centre-Lock G3CS rotor please.
Theyve got spy photos of the new X.X brakes on cyclingnews.com
Bream – it all comes individually so (in the workds of the Sram guy) you can mix & match if you want to.
STATO – have another look at the story for XX Brakes and levers…