The 2014 Eurobike show had certain highlights – new colours, e-bikes and fatbikes. There has been a lot of refinement in the ranges and offerings from many manufacturers, but overall, it’s general improvements more than ground breaking new technology for Marathon and Stage Race mountain bikers. Here are a few of our favourite items that we have seen. We’ll have more up later in the week.
Chris King Lefty Hub
Those who like half a fork have only been able to sample half the goodness of a set of Chris King hubs. No longer! Plus, they launched a new colour at Eurobike.
Chris King PF30 Bottom Bracket
So not strictly new, but having been a rider who has always eschewed the costs of Chris King components, I have also been a rider who has replaced too many PF30 bottom brackets from all the major manufacturers. About five in the past 10 months. If I added all those up that would be more than a Chris King unit. I want this guy to make my BB. At least he’s accountable.
Wheels by Tune
Tune are known to make some nice parts. And they do! Their stand showed that lightweight alloy rimmed wheels are not dead. But that carbon rimmed ones are very nice. The Olympic Gold II is a 1400g 29er wheel set using their Prince and Princess hubs, Sapim CX-Ray spokes and Crest rims. What if they laced the hubs onto a Race Gold?
The Skyline 2.1 go the other way, showing how awesome a set of Carbon wheels can be. Coming in at just 1130g for the 29er pair, they use AX-Lightness rims, Tune Prince and Princess Skyline hubs and Sapim CX-Super spokes. One of our team riders, Stu Spies, spied these wheels on the Bulls bike of Karl Platt at Transalp this year. No wonder he goes so fast!
Put Your Best Foot Forward
There were plenty of great looking shoes around, especially from Giro. But this pair of Northwave Extreme MTB cuahgt our eye. Yes, for the loud colours. But the small section of Vibram rubber on the mid-sole makes a lot of sense on a rigid carbon sole. If you’re walking, chances are you need all the grip you can get!
In the same theme, it is worth looking after your feet, and shoes, in foul conditions. For the former, Sealskinz offer their waterproof sock with great sock height and in an argyle pattern. Their range is extensive, but every pair is tested for waterproofness before leaving the factory in East Anglia (UK). Word is, they also keep out sand. They have a nifty range of gloves that use the same stretch liner, and that are touchscreen compatible too. Stay connected!
And in the same theme still, Giro showed a good looking shoe cover off, one with reinforcement at the toes. Shoe covers aren’t as popular offroad as they could be, as normally they just get destroyed. This one looks like it could go the distance though.
Keep Rolling… Lighter
DT Swiss had a lot to show, with some nice carbon clinchers, fat bike hubs, regular hubs, conversion kits and so on… but the 180 Carbon Ceramic did catch the eye. Such a light hub with the reliability of DT Swiss internals is very attractive. With one of their carbon clinncher rims at about 360g each you could certainly have a very nice wheelset. Or, if Stans end up selling their Valor rim separately… fingers crossed on that one.
And of course… Procore
We can’t run a title picture but give no mention! Procore is for the gravity scene at the moment, but with the move towards wider rims trickling into XC and XCM racing, perhaps the technology will adapt to drop some weight? Compared to tubeless you’re adding over 100g per wheel due to the small tube inside the small tyre inside your regular tyre. But if rim manufacturers design around the system, like Syntace have, then they might find places to drop a little weight. That said, I find no problem running less than 20psi on Kappius wheels, due to their very low sidewall height and wide rim. No burps, no flat spots. But this technology can improve.
Better Luck Next Time
You can’t evolve every year, and Mavic really stood out as a big company with very little to show that was exciting. The highlight of this lowlight was their pedal range. Perhaps Time didn’t keep on top of their patents? Probably just a licensing deal, but their Crossmax wheel set is also looking dated, as are their shoes.