We’re wading through a ton of regular product info for you from the Sea Otter, but here’s another collection of things that defy categorisation. Enjoy!
Mr Mirrorballhead works for MTBR. Say no more.
So who came out of retirement to win the XC race? Ex-MTB-world champ and Tour rider, Miguel Martinez, that's who!
Already out of date. The new Light and Motion will be the Seca 2000, with, you've guessed it, 2000 lumens.
You can rely on Specialized’s creative director, Robert Egger to have a flash new bike. Here’s his aero road tandem with a shaft-driven timing system for the two sets of cranks. Bonkers.
Better than a company car.
Super aero moulding
Integrated computer and aero bars
Team GT’s downhill racers were in full effect, with the Athertons and Marc Beaumont too. They’ve all been testing out a new prototype DH bike. It’s currently in aluminium tubing to allow for different configurations to be tried easily and cheaply, but expect the final model to be carbon. Are they playing with 27.5in too? Of course they are.
Factory ride. Spot the unbadged Stan's rims?
Mirror shades are back in, as shown by Giant's new pro enduro racer, Adam Craig.
That guy's not short. That bike is huge.
Looks in proportion, until you realise the wheel is 36in tall. And the rotors are 250mm, and the cranks 220mm.
Apparently it does good wheelies. We're not sure where the seatpost had gone.
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.)
Yes, but as an XC World and World Cup racer. He’s now a pro enduro racer. It’s interesting to see that there are ex-DH racers heading to enduro and also ex-XC racers too. It’ll be interesting to see how both groups do.
Re; the tandem timing. Assuming it’s all hooked up, there’s an advantage to running a road tandem timing ‘chain’ unsynchronised like that. It means that one rider’s flat spot/top centre is the other rider’s power stroke so you get a more efficient power output.
So whats with the double valves on the unbadged Stan’s rims?
They run the wheels tubless, value 1, but then also have a tube in, valve 2 to minimise the risk of a puncture runining their race run.
That S-Works tandem reminds me of the the old Raleigh Vektar.
Something up with the shaft drive timing on the tandem also, as both the stoker cranks pointing straight down and the drivers are at 45 degrees.
Hasn’t Adam Craig ridden for Giant for like, 10 years already?
Yes, but as an XC World and World Cup racer. He’s now a pro enduro racer. It’s interesting to see that there are ex-DH racers heading to enduro and also ex-XC racers too. It’ll be interesting to see how both groups do.
Re; the tandem timing. Assuming it’s all hooked up, there’s an advantage to running a road tandem timing ‘chain’ unsynchronised like that. It means that one rider’s flat spot/top centre is the other rider’s power stroke so you get a more efficient power output.