One great theme about the bikes we saw at Eurobike (apart from crazy, clashing colours everywhere) is that bottom-of-the-range bikes are getting just as much attention lavished on them by designers as the top-end jobs. Quality parts and designs are found throughout most bike ranges.
Cannondale is one such company, with all of their bikes looking great. Here’s a quick peek at their new Trail SL bike – the low end version costs £450, yet comes with discs, suspension forks, a great looking frame and is ripe for upgrades with a head tube that’ll take regular suspension forks, tapered ones, or 1.5in jobs.
We love this new Bad Boy urban bike, below… Starting at £550 too. That definitely fits into the Cyclescheme budget, eh?
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.)
i wouldn’t like to catch my nads on that shock! seems a strange idea – perhaps it’s the only place you can put a shock these days without infringing any patents?
The Pronghorn shock is less intrusive than you might think. When standing over your bike, you straddle the top tube near the headtube, so the shock is never in the way. If you’re that concerned about the ‘winkie pinching’ nature of the shock, Pronghorn offer a shield that bolts over it, but say that it’s completely unnecessary.
I did a few laps at Bonty 24/12 on a Pronghorn and though it rode really really well. Stiff in the rights ways (up hill and round corners) but still plush for blasting over braking bumps straight into the corners.
My nads didn’t feel at all in danger, or any other part of me.
Oooh like the look of the flash, always fancied a dale racey hardtail – out of my price range tho I bet.
“The ‘X’ stands for Extra Fast” of course it does :-)
i wouldn’t like to catch my nads on that shock! seems a strange idea – perhaps it’s the only place you can put a shock these days without infringing any patents?
The Pronghorn shock is less intrusive than you might think. When standing over your bike, you straddle the top tube near the headtube, so the shock is never in the way. If you’re that concerned about the ‘winkie pinching’ nature of the shock, Pronghorn offer a shield that bolts over it, but say that it’s completely unnecessary.
I did a few laps at Bonty 24/12 on a Pronghorn and though it rode really really well. Stiff in the rights ways (up hill and round corners) but still plush for blasting over braking bumps straight into the corners.
My nads didn’t feel at all in danger, or any other part of me.
And that white one even looks nice!
I like the Cortez, looks like another updates DB Manitou with the cable in the right place, bet the rear end is still harsh though.
Cannondale looking ace after an indifferent few years. IMHO.
Strangely liking those pink Middleburns. What square taper BB do I need with those?
I remember talking with Joel from Tomac a few years back at Mountain Mayhem, about how much he detested 29″ wheeled mountain bikes…
re. middleburn intergrated chainset
is that “fabled” ‘cos we riders think they manufacture one, or due to the fact they are actually getting onto the task of designing / maching one?…
Oooh like the look of the flash, always fancied a dale racey hardtail – out of my price range tho I bet.
“The ‘X’ stands for Extra Fast” of course it does :-)