Hannah is out at the Sea Otter Classic in California, USA. It’s a four day festival of racing and a huge expo area. There are races for every type of bike, but there’s a strong leaning towards mountain biking, and if you want to see new products, prototypes, and unique bikes, it’s the place to be. Head here for all our Sea Otter 2022 Coverage
For those who like carbon bikes but want something a little bit different, perhaps We Are One might be of interest. They’ve been making carbon mi rims for a while, but the bikes are a newer addition to the line up.
What’s really impressive here is that everything you see in this diagram is made by them in Kamloops. That’s a lot of skilful carbon layup, plus machining too. They have two laminate shops, one making the frames, and another making wheels and bars. All in all they have 80 staff.
There is a single ‘Arrival’ frame which can be adjusted through changing the upper link to give between 130 to 170mm travel.
The ‘dual shortlink’ suspension design is their own, though it’s not subject to a patent.
Changing the link changes the bike between the models, with the 150 being their first bike and them just starting on the 170 and 130. To preserve the geometry, the Arrival 130 and 150 are run at 25% sag and the Arrival 170 is run at 30%, with the Arrival 170 having a slightly higher BB height.
Even the most jaded of ‘seen it all’ carbon sceptics could get excited about this. The frame shaping is angular and sculptural, with the hand painted ombre finish being nicely simple, but not boring.
The titanium bolts on the linkage are one of the few parts they don’t make.
There is no head badge or branding anywhere on the bike, except for this ‘Arrival’ below the shock. This is created by leaving the lettering area unpainted, so it’s the raw carbon finish showing through. The frames are hand painted in their own paint shop, and each ombre finish is slightly different.
Remember, even the bar and stem are made in house. It’s as locally grown as you can get (if you live in Kamloops). If they have an idea, they can work it up in house and have it made and fitted onto a bike to try out within a day or two.
This little integrated carbon mud flap was one of those ideas – conceived in the morning, ready to test the next day.
Want one? They’re making their next production run soon, and prices will start at $8,999.
Also on display was their new ‘TBR’ wheels – that’s not their name, it just stands for ‘To Be Released’. There’s a secret ingredient in the layup that will give 30% greater protection from impacts, but they’re not going to talk about that just yet. When the wheels are fully launched, they say they’ll have data to back up this 30% claim.
The wheels have a bevelled shaping to the rim, giving a shallower crown, and giving the spokes a straight run to the hub. With no bend, there’s apparently less fatigue on the nipple bed.
When these are released, they’ll be available in 28/30/33mm widths, in 29er only.
Head to their website for more details.
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