All Content

Avid’s new Shorty Ultimate brake will finally be put into production. Unfortunately it will be too late for this season, as SRAM reps pegged January for its release date.

The 2010 Jamis Xenith Team employs the new resin and Near Net process, tapered head tube, BB30 and new FEA adjusted carbon layup; equipped with SRAM Red and Easton EA90SLX wheels it costs $5,575. The same frame equipped with Shimano Di2 costs $11,000.

Along with the Near Net process Jamis is using a new resin that is said to increase impact resistance by 40 percent over the previous model. The new resin is less brittle and more flexible than the old. Jamis sources its raw carbon sheet from Toray, Mitsubishi and Toho.

Jamis’ Endura is positioned as a relaxed performance bike, meaning a slightly taller, slacker geometry with conveniences like rack and fender mounts and huge tire clearance, but with all the performance features of the brand’s race bikes.

Oh yeah! Santa Cruz and Fisher's carbon, dually 29ers are the current supermodels of the mountain bike world, but what are you overlooking when you lust over these sexy beasts?

None other than Lance Armstrong tips Jack Bobridge as a name to watch for the future. The 20-year-old Aussie railed to the U23 men’s time trial world title Wednesday in Mendrisio to prove that Armstrong’s endorsement is deserved. “You couldn’t ask for much more than that for Lance to mention your name as an up-and-comer,” Bobridge said after dominating the 65-rider field. “It gives me extra motivation. I think I caught his eye a little bit and he’s been following my progress. I met him at the Tour Down Under this year and we had a chance to train together.”

No one can ever accuse Spanish veteran José Vicente "Chente" García Acosta of being a slacker. The Caisse d’Epargne rider completed his 25th grand tour Sunday with the conclusion of the 64th Vuelta a España. And that number is just from racing the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France. Somewhat surprisingly, García Acosta has never raced a Giro d’Italia since turning pro in 1995.

Alejandro Valverde doesn’t want any surprises from the Italians and will not sleep in Italy during this week’s world championships as planned. According to the Spanish daily AS, Valverde and possibly other members of the elite men’s road team will sleep in a hotel in Switzerland rather than with the rest of the Spanish national team at a hotel already reserved in Italy.

A special request by Cannondale pulled several of us out to Interbike’s Outdoor Demo at an uncomfortably early hour on Monday and then to a “secret location” billed Area 88 — actually a local self-storage unit — via vintage Mercedes Unimog to see a “proof of concept” prototype of the manufacturer’s Simon suspension fork. The Simon is a computer-controlled, electronically damped suspension fork, a project without a specific release date. Cannondale engineer Stanley Song has poured five years of undivided attention into the project.

After a day of riding road bikes at the Interbike Outdoor Demo on Monday, I hit the dirt on Tuesday to check out some new innovations on the mountain bike side. The Santa Cruz Tallboy is big 29er news, as it is a completely carbon full suspension 29er with 100mm (four inches of travel) and the frame weighs only five pounds (size M). Tallboys cost $2350 for the frame ($4700 for the SPX model with Shimano XT that I tested) and come even in an XXL size that fits me with a nearly 26-inch top tube.

USA’s Jeff Louder is a last-minute scratch from the U.S. world championship team because he has come down with the swine flu H1N1 virus. The BMC racer didn’t feel well and visited a doctor, who confirmed the diagnosis.

The debate over the merits of 26-inch and 29-inch mountain bikes has been raging fitfully over at VeloNews' sister Web site, Singletrack.com, ever since Matt Pacocha declared 26-inch hardtails deader than John Edwards' political career.

From road and cyclocross to mountain, Trigon makes everything but the drivetrains.

Tubular routing for cable housing makes set up clean and easy.

Trigon’s integrated bar/stem is new to the market, but the manufacturers are not new to the concept, having produced such things for its customers.

Don’t recognize the brand Trigon? You probably wouldn’t recognize the parent company, either. But Great Go Cycles has been making frames and components for companies like Pinarello, Blue, Leopard and FSA for years. The RQC-929 features BB30, a 1.125/1.5-inch headset, and trapezoidal tubing.

With one hand, it’s easy to get the pump up to 80psi.

The Steel Floor Drive uses an interchangeable and easily rebuildable head for Presta and Schrader.

The Steel Floor Drive is an economical version ($49) of the company’s popular CNC Drive ($99).

This 10-function tool weighs 48 grams. (An empty soda can weighs 14 grams.) It has a T30 in addition to 8 standard Allen keys and a chain tool. “We're not making the Super Tool 25,000,” Kozuschek said. “We just make what you need.”

Lezyne continues to expand its line of precision tools, as company founder Micki Kozuschek blends engineering with design. “In the old days, everything just worked. It didn’t look great, but it worked. Now some things look great, but they don’t last,” he said. “We’re doing this differently.”

The NV’s locking cable stows tidily inside the rack’s body. The lock heads are held in place by magnets, and the same key is used to lock the rack to the vehicle’s hitch.

The NV has a built-in cable lock.

Küat Racks feature an expanding wedge (the lighter silver part) that eliminates wobble.

The Trail Doc is also available separately for use with Saris Cycle-On, Thule T2 and Yakima Hold Up racks.

The Trail Doc telescopes out and up to serve as a full-size bike repair stand.

Beefy aluminum cam locks make pivoting the rack up (for transport) or down (for rear vehicle entry) clean and easy.

The $415 NV includes the Trail Doc, a pivoting bike work stand that mounts onto the rack’s rear.

Based in Springfield, Missouri, Küat Racks is a relatively new company with some innovative hitch-mounted bike carriers. The NV is the brand new, all-aluminum model.

Küat, Lezyne and Trigon may not be huge names in the bike industry, but they've got some cool stuff. We checked out the latest at Outdoor Demo.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Heck, even pro roadies like Cesar Grajales get caught up in the fun.

…and folks with helmet cams and helmet mics.

…women on cross-country mountain bikes…

…men on carbon road bikes…

Outdoor Demo is similar to the Sea Otter Classic in that it’s one of cycling’s few converging spots. You’ve got guys with beers and full-face helmets on Pugsleys…

Check out our racks. Indeed, we did.

It even has a place to hang your hat. Alas, we didn’t try this one.

The Street Strider performs something like how it sounds.

The dual-drive bicycle features an alternating, non-circular pedal stroke. Each crank arm rotates less than 180 degrees, which feels like marching in place.

What is this? We’re not sure. Heck, he’s not sure. “I call it the Stairmaster,” says former shop owner Will Holt.

IMBA’s Spencer Powlison collects the cash and preaches the good word. To date, some 480 bike shops are IMBA members. IMBA is tipping its big hat to its Platinum members at Interbike (those who have given more than $2,500), including Wheat Ridge Cyclery, Wheel and Sprocket, Free Flite Bicycles, Bicycle Sport Shop and Shenandoah Bicycle Company.