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Obey

Kestrel’s bold designs will now be supported by the strength of Fuji’s distribution and logistics network.

For 2008, Sidi’s high-end mountain shoes have full-carbon soles. The SRS replaceable tread system extends the life of the shoes.

Thorburn suffered a mechanical and finished a minute off the pace.

As in, Shepard Fairey’s experimental “Obey” art project that spread like wildfire

Kestrel’s bold designs will now be supported by the strength of Fuji’s distribution and logistics network.

What do you mean you’re hesitant to buy white mountain shoes?

Neben goes for it

Obey organizers recently contacted Fuji to design this bike.

Internal routing for the rear brake…

The Dragon 2 (and Ergo 2 Carbon road models) feature the new adjustable heel cup system that secures the rear fit.

Security was tight at the event

The new Reveal features a healthy amount of CNC machining for precision cuts and rigidity, such as in the bottom bracket area, the rocker arm and rear dropouts.

And the rear derailleur

An attachable toe plate protects the investment.

Van Rensburg and Frisch give it their best.

Reveal uses Specialized’s four-bar linkage design for 130mm of travel. The rear derailleur cable is routed internally through the seatstay.

Making a strong move into the power meter market, Quarq is similar to SRM in that it uses strain gauges in the crank spider.

How do you say “bling” in Italian? Genius 6.6 Carbon, in Liquigas colors.

Boom on the attack.

The sculpted down tube is for more than aesthetics — the high clearance means the fork crown won’t smack on the frame when things get sideways.

The wireless system only requires replacing the spider on most any crank, then placing a magnet on the frame for cadence sensing and the computer head on the handlebar.

Even the heel cup is ventilated.

Not an easy course

Fuji president Pat Cunnane doesn’t want people to have to wait until they’re fully grown to enjoy road bikes. This $360 rig features 20-inch wheels for kids 5 and up.

Although the Quarq head unit is robust, Quarq also is compatible with Garmin’s upcoming Edge 705 GPS unit, which features power output among other cycling features.

All that glitters is not gold. The price tag, however, rivals gold. Try $450 on for size.

Off they go...

And a $380 model with 24-inch wheels bridges the gap up to 650c bikes.

Rocky Mountain’s ETSX is what Lesley Tomlinson rode to three Trans Alp victories. The rear suspension takes its cues from Formula 1 designs, with its straight up and down rear-wheel vertical travel.

And for the women, the Genius 5.5 Luxury...Which also glitters.

American Craig Lewis at the start.

Built up with SRAM Red and Lew wheels, this Jamis show bike topped the scales at just over 11 pounds.

For 2008, the design went from adjustable 3.5/4/4.5 inches of travel, which changes on the fly with the flick of the quick release, to a 4/4.5/5-inch design. Nonetheless, it still weighs in at 28 pounds.

This $3300 ’cross frameset is so fast it blurs the background standing still.

Stetina leads the chase.

The Dakar XCR Team is fairly unique in the mountain bike world for its use of size-specific carbon tubing. At $6400, the high-end bike is all carbon save for alloy chainstays for chain slap.

For next year, the Element Team shaved some weight with a hollowed-out yoke. This, combined with carbon seatstays and oversized suspension hardware, saved more than 60 grams.

Bastianelli was surprised... and moved to tears.

Danish fans out in force.

Many show bikes are just that — bikes for show.

The Xenith SL uses braided bladders in its construction, which means fewer internal wrinkles and better compaction and great excavation of the used bladders, which stick to the inside of the tubes. Using this process for 2008 saves 30-40 grams.

For next year, the Element Team shaved some weight with a hollowed-out yoke. This, combined with carbon seatstays and oversized suspension hardware, saved more than 60 grams.

Bastianelli scoots ahead for the win

Italy has its supporters, too.

The venerable Italian maker showed a few ’cross bikes.

The Xenith T2 is the company’s first all-carbon time trial bike, and a solid one at that.

The Sola 69’er runs a 26-inch wheel in the rear and a 29-inch hoop up front.

Slovakia's Peter Velis (center) and Australia's Wesley Sulzberger (left) sprint

Regardless of wheel size, you can count on Seven frames for clean welds and sharp CNC work.

A carbon mountain bike with Chorus road pedals. As we said — show bikes.

Product manager Steven Fairchild incorporated a Tektro brake inside the rear of the sculpted fork, a design he said reduces drag by 10 percent compared to an aero fork with the brake on the front.

Built for Mike Broderick, this one features an FRM crank, Shimano XTR and SRAM X.O parts and a rigid carbon fork.

The crash...

Introduced two years ago as a concept bike, the Diamas is now available in Seven’s custom size program. The $4995 frameset is Seven’s first all-carbon custom bike.

Slipstream-Chipotle’s new ride, the Felt F1.

Internal cable routing makes for clean lines.

Seven doesn’t just built custom bikes for its customers. Product manager Matt O’Keefe built this internally geared commuter for his 18-mile trek to work.

... the tumble...

The top and down tubes of the Diamas wrap completely around the head tube for a firm connection — and a striking look.

Sock Guy spells it out for you.

Tucking a brake inside a fork presents adjustment issues…

He made this rack with scrap titanium, and added Full Wood fenders from River City Bicycles’ Dave Guettler.

... the win.

Dear Readers,

Welcome to this week's edition of The Prologue, a regular summary of the news from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com.

As you know the world's championships are now underway in Stuttgart, Germany, and as of Thursday, the time trial events are done and attention now turns to this weekend's road races. Be sure to check in on Sunday for Live Updates from the elite men's event on VeloNews.com

The TT model has a narrower spacing on the front hub to reduce its frontal area by 50-percent. The wheelsets weigh roughly 1370 grams each. The narrower front TT hub concept is also available in the aluminum rimmed EA90TT wheelset.

World Bicycle Relief has given away over 25,000 bicycles similar to these in areas ravaged by the tsunami of 2005 and to health care workers in Zambia doing outreach to people’s homes fighting HIV/AIDS.

The supporting cast includes Julich and Farrar

The EC90SLX is a 24.9mm tall carbon tubular. Because of the smaller rim this set weighs in at 1170 grams. It was Astana’s front wheel of choice for most of the 2007 season.

A typical wooden bike used for hauling goods in Rwanda.

Bettini and Freire are among the favorites

Easton debuted a new crank after two years of development work on it. The EC90 crank has a hollow carbon spider and arms. A 175mm crank with its chainrings and bottom bracket weighs a mere 663 grams, and is only set to cost $600.

A typical wooden bike used for hauling goods in Rwanda.

Abbott, Armstrong and Neben

Metal is used for the attachment points; the pedal threads and non-drive pinch clamp is alloy while the bottom bracket spindle is steel.

Alex Burgess, team manager of Team Velo Bella in his Vegas best.

Abbott likes the course

Easton focused special attention to the bearings in the bottom bracket to cut down on seal drag. The outside of the high quality stainless steel bearing has a fairly standard seal but the inside has just a low contact dust cover.

Lew’s new limited-edition special wheels with specific layups for specific rider weights and characteristics come with this red superlight Tune freehub and cost $15,000/set. The rear weighs just 427g!

Lewis hopes the race boils down to a small group