Andi takes us through the latest, most breaking news of the week in our first ever broadcast of Singletrack Newsdesk.
Watch the video below, or read the highlights further down the page.
Can’t see the video? Click here
Cécile Ravanel Crashes During Training
Commencal EWS racer Cécile Ravenel had had a major accident during training. She has already undergone surgery in Nice, but has broken her C5 and C6 cervical vertebrae and has compacted her dorsal D4 and D5 vertebrae. At the time of writing, we don’t know how long Cécile will be off the bike for, but we hope she heals up soon.
Anne Caroline Chausson Back On The Bike After Surgery
Commencal rider Anne Caroline Chausson is back on the bike 3 months after surgery for cancer. The next stage is chemotherapy but we hope to see her out on the bike again very soon.
Aaron Gwin wins at Southridge
Intense Factory Racing superstar, Aaron Gwin has already collected a podium on his M29 downhill bike before the WC season even starts. He took the win at Southridge DH race in the U.S on an M29 with custom shock links. Expect to see more podiums for him and the rest of the IFR team in 2019.
Intense Teases new Tracer
Intense UK spent most of last evening posting screenshots from a video that appears to be of an updated Intense Tracer enduro bike. The screenshots don’t give much away but we guess the new Tracer will see a major change in geometry to bring it in line with the Tazer e-MTB.
Yoann Barelli accidentally shows us the Lyrik Ultimate
The original Instagram post has been removed, but Commencal rider Yoann Barelli accidentally posted photos of his new bike fitted with a RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork fitted. We can still see the fork in the post above, and just make out where the ‘Ultimate’ sticker is but there isn’t much more online than this. We believe that the RockShox Lyrik Ultimate will be a coil version of the current Lyrik, but we could be wrong. What do you think?
Matt Simmonds testing Cannondale’s DH Bike
It’s no secret that Cannondale is working on a new DH bike, and the U.S brand has been very coy about the development only letting a few teasers appear online from time to time. In the image above we can just make out a downhill bike with dual crown forks that we think is the new Cannondale DH bike. We’ll have to wait and see what this looks like in the flesh but keep your eyes peeled for more #cannondalecomeback photos on social media for more clues.
Cedric Gracia is reinventing himself
We’ve already posted news that Cedric Gracia has left Santa Cruz, but what we don’t know is what he is working on. It’s clear from his social media posts that CG plans a new business venture, and we know whatever bike he is riding this year will still sport Production Privee bars and stem, it just won’t be a PP frame. Could CG be working with another big name sponsor on something? Perhaps Probike Shop? Only time will tell.
Airdrop Edit v3 announced
At 10 am this morning, Sheffield based Airdrop bikes announced the 3rd version of the popular Edit full-suspension bike. The new Edit has an updated tube set, cleaner design and mounting for a metric shock. The Edit v3 will work with either an air or coil shock and will be in stock from March. More details here.
Rocky Mountain Growler Powerplay
Rocky Mountain expands its range of e-MTB models with the new Growler Powerplay hardtail. The bike comes with the same Dyname 3.0 motor and internal battery as the full-sus models we’ve already seen but both models are only available in Canada or the U.S. More details here.
Mojo Racing
Chris Porter has set up a race series where adults and children can race together. The series will be held at Bike Park Wales on 28th April and is open to children aged 6+. Full details here.
Vitus Substance CRX carbon gravel bike
Vitus has just unveiled a carbon version of the popular Substance CRX gravel bike. The new model has a 1×11 Apex drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes and costs just £1799. If you prefer steel then you’ll be happy to know that the original Substance is still available for just £949.99.
Unconfirmed: Charge Bikes no longer making bikes? (Spoiler, they still are – see the response below…)
According to Singletrack Forum member, Funkmasterp, Charge Bikes is no longer producing bikes and don’t plan to for the near future. The revelation comes after an email exchange with the company asking when the new Cleaver would be available, the answer seems to be “it won’t”. We’re waiting to hear back from Charge Bikes for the official response.
Update! We’ve just heard back from Nick at Charge Bikes. He says that, contrary to forum speculation, they’ve not stopped making bikes – though some models might not be available at the moment. And while they have had a bit of a quiet year this year, there are some exciting plans lined up for the future.
And that’s it for the first edition of Singletrack Newsdesk, tune in next week for more breaking news.
Comments (3)
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Just tell us about the Lyrik ultimate, you’ve clearly had one on test for 3 months 🙂
@howsyourdad1 nope, we haven’t actually but I’d love to get one if anyone from SRAM is reading 😉
I saw a Lyrik Ultimate in the wild yesterday. 29er 170 mm with a 42 mm offset. Appeared to have an air valve.