Crank Bros started the the Sea Otter weekend off with a lunch and a presentation.
First off was a new book by photographers Sven Martin and Gary Perkin, detailing a year’s worth of competition. There are no captions, just stories by the resulting World Champions. Add it to the coffee table book shopping list.
Next up was the big story, the 2011 new Crank Bros stuff. Redesigned pedals (with full bearings on the mid to high end ones), rigid seatposts, stems and handlebars, along with a very unified look to the ranges.
Products come in number ranges. So ‘1’ is entry-level, then 2, 3 and finally ’11’ which is the top end groupset.
All bar the entry level pedals have needle bearing and cartridge bearings. The Candy gains a metal body that's completely sealed to the elements.
Colour coded new Crank Bros grips and stem. The Iodine All Mountain stem uses a wedge for the steerer. XC Cobalt ones use a wedge for the bars too.
It's no coincidence that the Crank Bros stuff matches the new SRAM colours.
Low rise handlebars. From entry level '1' to full carbon '11' bars
How's that for an up-together look?
New metal bodied Candy. This is the '2' level one
The triple Ti. Hopefully the durability will now live up to the look. Full needle and cartridge bearings.
The '3' level seatpost (in blue) with 20mm rear setback. There's also a zero setback one.
The 11 post in high-mod carbon
'3' level Cobalt XC stem uppermost with wedges for the bars and the steerer. The Iodine All Mountain stem below with bolt on faceplate.
Super light locking foam grips. Nice idea!
A case of Candy. The '1' level pedal (the old Candy C) is still plastic. Everything else is ally.
Hans Rey was there to announce a Crank Bros backed scheme to build 20 'Dream Bikes' that will travel the US and Europe on display for the year, to finally be auctioned off to raise money for Han's charity 'Wheel4Life'. It does great work in 20 countries supplying bikes (and backup) for 'people who need bikes way more than we do'. Best of luck Hans and Crank Bros!
Can you see a theme?
It's a bar. It's new. You may love it now.
Sven and Gary's new book will be distributed through Crank Bros' distributors worldwide.
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.)
Needle bearings in the pedals..!!! Something they’ve been crying out for for years. I’ve got 2 sets of the Look licensed Egg Beater copies – with needle bearings – which are still going strong and have never needed bearing replacement in 3 years. Nice one! Loving the matched colours too.. 😀
I stripped and regreased my 1994 Shimano SPD’s last weekend. I think in those days there wasn’t a range, just a pedal. This was my second set as my first ones went when my first Kona MTB was nicked.
I took these pedals off one of my bikes last summer as one of the pedals was a bit rough. After stripping and cleaning I found the bearings were nice and spherical and nice clean tracks on the races. Just the cone had backed off. Regreased, reassembled and work as good as new (though they look ropey and are heavier than newer ones). Hold on to mud worse than newer SPDs but so what. I think the Egg Beaters have always looked ace but was disappointed by reports of poor longevity. Would love a Cobalt Stem, bar and post set. Bit concerned when it comes to their record with mechanical items. I have two of their multi tools which I think are great. Joplin post – would have loved one when I had my FS but were a lot of money for an item with again a dodgy reputation (though they inherited and didn’t seem to correct that from Maverick). I’m not really trying to have a go at them. As I say their designs are lovely. Just not convinced of their abilities with operating mechanical items they make.
RE:pedals
well lets hope they can now give shimano a run for their money. they look spiffing but if they dont last a 1/3rd of what shimano last.. then its back to the drawing board.. unless they want to continue spending money on choosing colour options and all their time at the drawing board designing nice looking stuff without considering function as far as good internals go.
If the money and time spent choosing which shades of each colour was spent paying for better bearings and bushes.. you get the jist of where i`m going.. then it really could be the best stuff out there. once the wear issues get sorted out with pedal bearings etc.. then i`d deffo give them another go.
come on sram.. see if you can give us a pedal that lasts as well as anything else,works as good as anything else, along with being the best looking stuff out there.
Love the Candies I have now, don’t mind fettling them (in fact got a rebuild kit waiting to go right now) but a I right in reading the bearings have a 5 year warranty? If so then I may be a little poorer next time a rebuild comes around…
Ran a set of 08 Mallet 2s on my downhill rig and leathered them in all weather, in Scotland (Fort William, Innerleithen, Pitfichie etc). They have been smashed and hammered. I am still on the original bearings with no play whatsoever.
The thing crank bros really need to sort is the useless cleats. They work really well for a few rides but wear out so fast that you need new ones every few months.
So have they found something new and interesting to do with handlebars or have they decided to do some mainly because they’re doing seatposts and stems so they feel they need to complete the finishing kit trio?
New bearings in the pedals! Does this mean they wont need rebuiding as often?
Love the look of Crank Bros stuff, wouldn’t trust it though
Really like the wheels. Everything else looks shit.
Needle bearings in the pedals..!!! Something they’ve been crying out for for years. I’ve got 2 sets of the Look licensed Egg Beater copies – with needle bearings – which are still going strong and have never needed bearing replacement in 3 years. Nice one! Loving the matched colours too.. 😀
those stems are lovely
That black Mojo is the dogs dangleys! not to sure about the other one with them vile orange CB wheels, they reek of pikey
I stripped and regreased my 1994 Shimano SPD’s last weekend. I think in those days there wasn’t a range, just a pedal. This was my second set as my first ones went when my first Kona MTB was nicked.
I took these pedals off one of my bikes last summer as one of the pedals was a bit rough. After stripping and cleaning I found the bearings were nice and spherical and nice clean tracks on the races. Just the cone had backed off. Regreased, reassembled and work as good as new (though they look ropey and are heavier than newer ones). Hold on to mud worse than newer SPDs but so what. I think the Egg Beaters have always looked ace but was disappointed by reports of poor longevity. Would love a Cobalt Stem, bar and post set. Bit concerned when it comes to their record with mechanical items. I have two of their multi tools which I think are great. Joplin post – would have loved one when I had my FS but were a lot of money for an item with again a dodgy reputation (though they inherited and didn’t seem to correct that from Maverick). I’m not really trying to have a go at them. As I say their designs are lovely. Just not convinced of their abilities with operating mechanical items they make.
Pedals with bearings eh? That’s a bit like inventing the hole in a toilet seat.
RE:pedals
well lets hope they can now give shimano a run for their money. they look spiffing but if they dont last a 1/3rd of what shimano last.. then its back to the drawing board.. unless they want to continue spending money on choosing colour options and all their time at the drawing board designing nice looking stuff without considering function as far as good internals go.
If the money and time spent choosing which shades of each colour was spent paying for better bearings and bushes.. you get the jist of where i`m going.. then it really could be the best stuff out there. once the wear issues get sorted out with pedal bearings etc.. then i`d deffo give them another go.
come on sram.. see if you can give us a pedal that lasts as well as anything else,works as good as anything else, along with being the best looking stuff out there.
Great new about the pedal upgreaded with bearings noe not bushes 🙂 Shame i have just bought some candy ti2’s
Maybe for my next bike 😀
“It’s no coincidence that the Crank Bros stuff matches the new SRAM colours.”
Would they be the colours that SRAM appears to be ditching when it goes to 2×10?
So CB have finally started to think about fixing the probelms with there products, thats great becuase there stuff does look sweeeet.
Finally they made stuff to match the colours of the wheelsets
loving the look of everything, wont buy any of it though until we find out if it will actually last more than a week.
The stem with the sedge is great till you try and fit a riser bar with a bit of rise to it!
How long before it all breaks?
Love the Candies I have now, don’t mind fettling them (in fact got a rebuild kit waiting to go right now) but a I right in reading the bearings have a 5 year warranty? If so then I may be a little poorer next time a rebuild comes around…
Ran a set of 08 Mallet 2s on my downhill rig and leathered them in all weather, in Scotland (Fort William, Innerleithen, Pitfichie etc). They have been smashed and hammered. I am still on the original bearings with no play whatsoever.
The thing crank bros really need to sort is the useless cleats. They work really well for a few rides but wear out so fast that you need new ones every few months.
So have they found something new and interesting to do with handlebars or have they decided to do some mainly because they’re doing seatposts and stems so they feel they need to complete the finishing kit trio?
“Crank Brothers in screaming out to be bought out by SRAM shocker”