Hayes has launched the Hayes XC Collection – a new range of XC gear aimed at ‘normal’ riders and not just pro racers. If you’re not sure what category of rider you are, here’s the introduction from their PR piece:
You wake up at 5:00 am in your plush hotel room. You’re drowsy, but luckily you prepared for this by packing your portable espresso machine. Post-espresso slam you hop in the shower, it’s race day, and that means race day razor. You need to make sure your legs are smooth, because that’s what the pros do, and pros are fast. Next, you slide into your freshly dry-cleaned skin suit and hit the road. It’s time to race. You pull up to the event, hop out of the car, throw on your headphones, and pop onto the trainer to spin it out. You see the competitors, circled up around a truck laughing and not warming up, that’s not for you. No distractions on race day. At the start gate you disregard the competitor advances and pleasantries, you are focused and determined to get the gold. The starting gun erupts, the race is on, you push hard on the double track because you know it is your strong suit, you can hold off everyone in the single track as long as you get there first, this is your strategy throughout the race. Once the race is done you pack up your things, hit the road, and plan out your rides to train for the next event.
While this pre-race ritual resonates with some, we understand it does not reflect the entire category of XC riders. So, what about the other guys? The riders who camp at race venues, and maybe have one too many beers around the campfire the night before. The riders who would rather sprint for a chance at some air off a stump than save it for the climb. The riders who look for components that allow them to race XC on Sunday, hit some flow trails on Wednesday, smash rock gardens and get tech on Friday, and do it all again the next week. Don’t they deserve a bit of love too?
Well, we think they do. Which is why when we developed an all new XC group we kept both riders in mind. To do so is not easy, our engineers needed to find the perfect balance between weight, stiffness, and reliability that best served both audiences simultaneously. This meant countless hours staring into computer screens, weekend runs into the office to check on tests, and an unhealthy amount of energy drinks. As they say, hard work pays off, and we are proud to announce an all new collection suitable for all XC riders no matter their focus on the trails.
So, quite a few of us then?
The new range consists of a fork and shock, new hubs, and bar, stem and seatpost. Let’s take a closer look at each.
The Fork: Re-introducing the R7
The original R7 was popular in the mid-2000s, and the new XC range sees the resurrection of the R7 name. There are Pro and Expert level models, each available in 27.5” and 29” wheel sizes with travel internally adjustable from 80mm-120mm.
Manitou’s Reverse Arch allows them to use r a shorter arch which they say yields 13% increased stiffness compared to a forward arch fork of the equivalent weight. This means they can use 32mm stanchions to save weight while keeping stiffness closer to that of a larger stanchion fork with a forward facing arch.
The Variable Terrain Tune (VTT) Pro damper claims to overcome the downside to many dampers with firm lockout modes by eliminating high-speed spikes while maintaining the lock-out force demanded by most XC users. This allows the fork to have a less progressive high-speed response while maintaining some low-speed support without getting wallowy. Independent shimstacks (one for lockout and one for the other two positions) manipulate the characteristic of the damper to be locked out, digressive, or progressive.
- Position 1 – Open – (Progressive) The lowest damping force available to provide comfort while staying progressive enough to keep the fork under control. This is ideal for casual trail riding where comfort takes preference over speed. In this position you can fine tune the feel of the fork by adding additional low-speed support through turning the open mode adjust.
- Position 2 – Mid – (Digressive) Provides additional low-speed support for flow trails or gravity style riding where you want the fork to ride higher because the rider is biasing more weight forward.
- Position 3 – Lock Out – This setting provides the most platform for maximum pedaling efficiency.
The fork also see Manitous’ Dorado Air adapted to fit the needs of shorter travel riders. The Manitou Dorado Air spring system contains a balancing valve that equalizes the positive and negative air chambers during the air fill process. This should give the spring rate a consistent feel without any flat or dead spots in the stroke, along with giving riders of different weights the same initial stroke feel. For the R7 the volumes have been tuned in each chamber to give support and feel for shorter travel.
Also included on the air leg is Incremental Volume Adjust (IVA). The IVA modifies the volume in the positive air chamber with a set of self-contained spacers which dictate the fixed position of the IVA piston. This self-contained volume reduction system has five different settings allowing ramp-up tuneability without the need for additional parts.
Manitou R7 Pro Details
- MSRP: $849.99 USD, €903
- Weight: 1648g (29” at 120mm)
- Travel: 80-120mm
- Offset: 37/44mm for 27.5”, 44/51mm for 29”
- Spring: Dorado Air with IVA
- Crown Material: Forged aluminium, deep hollow bore
- Leg Material: 7000 series Aluminium
- Damping: VTT Pro
- Adjustments: 3-position Compression with Open Mode Adjust, Rebound, Air Pressure, IVA volume adjust
- Leg Diameter: 32mm
- Wheel Size: 27.5”, 29”
- Brake: Post Mount 160mm
- Axle: 15mm Hexlock2
- Fender: Integrated fender mount.
Manitour R7 Expert Details
- MSRP: $699.99, €744
- Weight: 1812g (29” at 120mm)
- Travel: 80-120mm
- Spring: Expert Air
- Crown Material: Forged aluminium, hollow bore
- Leg Material: 6000 series Aluminum\
- Damping: VTT
- Adjustments: 3-position Compression, Rebound, Air Pressure
- Leg Diameter: 32mm
- Wheel Size: 27.5”, 29”
- Brake: Post Mount 160mm
- Axle: 15mm Hexlock
- Fender: Integrated fender mount
Manitou Mara Shock
The Mara is a slimmed down and XC focused sibling to the Mara Pro. The Mara features the same air spring design as well as a proprietary SKF Internal Floating Piston (IFP) to minimise any initial breakaway stiction. The IFP uses a flexible membrane and lip seals instead of a rigid disc, allowing the centre of the IFP to begin its movement upon compression and rebound before the actual lips of the seal break free.
The four position Incremental Platform Adjust (IPA) damper offers a wide range of compression adjustment from an open mode to a firm platform setting. Like the compression adjustment, the rebound on this shock is controlled through two separate circuits. The first is a tapered needle that provides the ability to tune the rebound damping to account for rider weight, leverage ratio, and air spring settings. The second circuit is a fixed shim stack optimised to preserve the correct high-speed rebound as the needle is adjusted up or down.
Manitou Mara Shock Details
- MSRP: $424.99, €452
- Weight: 275g
- External Adjustments: Compression Platform, Rebound, Air Pressure
- Mount Styles: Trunnion and Eyelet
SUNringlé Düroc 30 Pro
The new Düroc 30 Pro has the same trusted double wall, welded alloy tubeless rim but now gets water transferred decals and the all new Super Bubba X hub.
Super Bubba X Hub
The Super Bubba X has the same drop in ratchet ring tech as the Super Bubba, however, instead of the two offset 45 tooth rings found in the Super Bubba, the X features only one 90 tooth ring. This combined with a offset six pawl freehub body results in the same high engagement of 4 degrees and shaves 55g to bring the total weight of the rear hub to 285g.
The wheels are laced with straight pull Wheelsmith DB14 spokes and alloy nipples. The total weight of the set is 1690g and will include everything you need to set up tubeless within the box. Freehub options include HG, XD, and Microspline.
SUNringlé Düroc 30 Pro Wheelset Details
- MSRP Wheelset: $899.98/ €383 Front, €574 Rear
- Wheel Size: 29”
- Outer Rim Width: 30mm
- Inner Rim Width: 26mm
- Spokes: 28/28 Wheelsmith DB14 Straight Pull
- Nipples: Alloy Nipples
- Spacing: 110×15 / 148×12
- Disc Mount: 6-Bolt
- Front Wheel Weight: 806g
- Rear Wheel Weight: 954g
- FreeHub Options: HG, XD, and Micro Spline (Each wheel available separately)
ProTaper Hyperlite Bar
- MSRP: $174.99, €186
- Weight: 125g
- Width: 760mm
- Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm
- Sweep: 9°
- Color: Yellow or Stealth
Hayes says ‘this bar is not just light, it is Hyperlite. At just 125g when you first lift the bar you may wonder if the 8oz bicep curls you’ve been practicing all quarantine have paid off. And while that may be true, don’t let it distract you from the fact that this thing is stupid light.’
8oz bicep curls? Maybe these aren’t for those riders drinking too many beers by the fire? Surely we’ve all been doing 12oz curls?
The Hyperlite comes in Team Yellow and Stealth black, with Grip Grit on both the stem clamping surface and grip areas.
ATAC Stem
- MSRP: $139.99, €153
- Weight: 90g
- Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm
- Length: 50mm, 60mm, 70mm, 80mm, 90mm, 100mm
- Rise/drop: 5°
- Hardware: Titanium
One of the oldest names in the high-end stem game has returned, blinged out with titanium hardware and a fresh laser etched finish. Available in 10mm increments ranging from 50mm all the way up to 100mm this 90g stem is ‘ready to steer you to victory, or the pub post-ride, whichever you prefer.’
Forty Post
- MSRP: $249.99, €266
- Diameter: 30.9mm or 31.6mm
- Offset: 0mm
- Length: 400mm
- Weight: 212g
- Hardware: Titanium
Not converted to the merits of a dropper? Then this is a carbon seatpost with Ti hardware for you. It’s 40cm long with 0 offset for both 30.9 and 31.6mm seat tubes, and weighs 212g. Might also be handy for (whispers) adventure-gravel-gnarmac.
Is this the gear you’ve been waiting for, to keep your wheels near the ground and your weight low? Or is it some familiar names returning to the scene that stir up fond memories that make you want them? It’s nice to see that not everything is about huge hucks and bike park descents – or XCO racing snakes. There’s still room in the market for the lounge lizards in between!
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When did riding XC get so expensive? Circa £250 for seatpost WTF?
Nice catalogue stem there Manitou…. same stem that Sunline used about 10 years ago, and that Superstar still sell (£29.99 at the moment BTW). so effectively £110 ish quid for some ti bolts, right? Nice….
And, if say, you’ve just realised you’re the boost off a stump guy, the catch the last uplift on yer xc bike guy, hit all the jumps even though it’s a slower line guy…. what 120 fork hardtail with slack angles and low bb but still good at xc bike could you bolt all this stuff onto….?
And a Merry Christmas to all the above 🙂
“what 120 fork hardtail with slack angles and low bb but still good at xc bike could you bolt all this stuff onto….?”
We’re looking into that, @knowli47 🙂