Our own XC-race legend in the making, Anton Cooper has signed with Trek World Racing for his 2012 season. He'll be joining fellow kiwi Justin Leov, and a roster of international XC and DH stars that make Trek World Racing one of the most succesful and professional teams on the circuit. It's exciting times for the young star, with the level of support now available to him boding well for a succesful 2012 season. I can't wait for the racing to start next years and see what he can serve up to those Euros!

More on the Trek World Racing lineup here: www.trekworldracing.com

Carl

Caution: contains bike-nerd geometry musings…

Yep, that’s what Yeti’s prototype SB-95 earned itself last week - the best first ride on a test bike I’ve ever had (wresting that title from the Rocky Mountain Altitude). It helped that we had a week of sunshine in the capital leading up to that first ride, but it was more than that. While it’s still a prototype, indeed one of only six in the world, and I’ve only had four decent rides on it, the newest of the abominable snowman brand ticks so many boxes it’s like … (someone send me a good box-ticking simile would you?)

First off, the much lauded Switch suspension does an outstanding job of showing any pedal-induced squat where to get off, the stroke action is just right (!) for a trail bike, being plush as you like, without wallowing in the middle and keeping that linear feel all the way to full travel. And after my first ride I can say that the Fox 34s are a game-changer for 29ers; there is a noticeable increase in ‘solidity’ at the front end over Fox's 32 legged 29er forks. I hope the proto stays just like it is all the way into production – we should know in April when we will be getting a production model to test…

Now for the boring bike-nerd part: the Yeti’s fit is as close to perfectly suited to my own tastes as possible – it’s got good length in the top tube (though it doesn’t appear so on paper…), nice short-for-29er 17.5 inch chainstays, and a steep seat angle, which is perfect for seated climbing up Wellington's steep hills, without having to teeter on the front of your seat. I can see already though, the numbers are going to confuse the interweb experts. That’s because the seat angle looks like a normal slackish 72 degrees and is listed as such. But…the seat tube is welded about 2cm further forward than the bottom bracket, which means its closer to a 74 degree seat angle up where you sit, and taking that into account, the top tube is closer to 24 inches, rather than the 23 listed. Can o’ worms!

Back to reality! You only have to jump on one to find all that numbers business has been worked out bang-on by Yeti, so any e-hand-wringing over geometry can be solved by a test ride. Speaking of test-rides: the good folks at Yeti in New Zealand, Kashi and Zeph at Black Seal Imports, are running demos about the country as you read this. Get on their site now and ask nice and see if you can hook up a ride. And don’t forget to let me know your thoughts on virtual seat tube angles and front-centre measurements...

www.yeti.co.nz to find out more about the bike and how to get a demo ride

Carl

Here's Yeti NZ's Zeph Wadsworth with the SB-95 ('get off Zeph, I'm riding that one!') and the recently reviewed SB-66 at the south end of Barking Emu above Wellington's south coast.

Hitting our shores recently, come the latest offerings from French brand Lapierre, this Megavalanche winning design is the 160mm (6”) Travel, Spicy 516. Clever graphics emphasise the white hydroformed tubing and a truck load of blue anodised parts make this a visually stunning machine. Straight out of the bike shop, it looks like the Spicy is well equipped for its intended duties, and it appears very little needs changing to enjoy the potential this bike offers. This is going to be a very difficult bike to give back...Check out the upcoming issue of the magazine for a full review.

Mark

GT Bicycles is proud to announce its partnership with Atherton Racing. Beginning in 2012, the mountain bike race team of Dan, Gee, and Rachel Atherton, will join non‐family GT rider Marc Beaumontand form the new team GT Factory Racing.

"Atherton Racing is one of the most progressive teams in the history of mountain biking, and is known for taking the sport to the next level," said Mark Peterman, Global General Manager GT Bicycles. "We’re excited about the partnership because it both continues GT’s legacy as the brand that helps progressive riders push their limits, and because of the opportunities it presents to develop new products."

FIRST SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE GONDOLA-ACCESSED BIKE TRACKS OPEN IN QUEENSTOWN

Dubbed the ‘Whistler of the Southern Hemisphere’ by some of the biggest names in the international biking fraternity, including the royal family of biking top pro riders Dan, Gee and Rachel Atherton, the Queenstown Bike Park already has some famous fans after being used for offseason training during a very successful four-month trial earlier in the year. The Queenstown Bike Park officially opens Saturday 17 September at 10am for an eight month season to April 2012. Lift tickets cost $60 for a full day or $45 for a half day. http://www.queenstownbikepark.co.nz

Ignoring the massive flax from which it is emerging (or at least leaning on) this Jamis Dakar XCT 2 might look familiar – that's because it’s fancier brother, the carbon XCT 4, has recently been gracing the back page of NZMTBR. The 2011 Jamis Dakar XCT 2 sports an entirely new frame design, which is new across the board for Jamis’ long-standing Dakar range – though it’s still the tried-and-true linkage actuated single-pivot of the original Dakars. With a Rockshox Monarch shock providing 130mm travel out back and a Rock Shox Revelation giving 150 up front, SRAM X9 handling the gears and Elixir 3s responsible for slowing down, this $4,250 machine has value for money trail-weapon written all over it. But we’d better put some more miles on it before deciding whether that’s borne out in the saddle.  Almost as important for the aesthetes amongst you, what about the colour combo? We’re undecided on the ‘tarnished copper’ green and black paint job with red accents and gold chain (I’m not going to say the b-word...). So far it’s about six against and three in favour, following our informal ‘what do you think of the look of this bike’ survey. Luckily, that gold chain (I’m still not going to say it...) shifts like a dream across the SRAM X9 cassette.  We’ll have a full review in an upcoming issue.

Carl

Following on from Fox’s Flux helmet, which has been around the tracks for a few years now, we’ve just received Fox’s latest offering to the head-safety gods – the Striker. I thought the Flux was a great helmet, so I was keen to see what Fox have done with the Striker. The first thing I noticed is that it has a slightly more refined profile (notably absent is the Flux’s rear spoiler), as well as having more vents in the front. The next thing I noticed is that it is noticeably lighter on my head, so I had to go weigh them both. The Striker comes in at 290 grams, not an insignificant drop from the Flux’s 360 grams. 70 grams might not sound like much, but when it’s sitting on your head, even small amounts are noticeable. The first ride today went well – showing it's comfortable and has plenty of cooling. I’ll report back when I’ve had more of a chance to test it out (hopefully just by sweating in it, rather than landing on it).

Carl

Well, after some teasing last week, here it is – Yeti’s new superbike, the SB-66 (Super Bike with 6 inches of travel and (twenty) six inch wheels). We're excited about this one. With a totally new suspension system, based on a single-pivot contained within an eccentric pivot, it might smack a little of GT's original I-drive, but it has more in common with the various mult-link bikes out there, at least in terms of wheel path and shock rates, though Yeti claim they’re nailing the holy grail of pedalling snap combined with a supple linear shock rate. Aside from all the suspension trickery, what strikes me the most is the outright ‘solidness’ of the bike – that back end is welded up to be one piece of sturdy looking aluminium, as well as being tied together by two bolt through suspension axles, plus the rear wheel axle. And there's a carbon one coming soon. Either way, if I were to judge a bike by a picture, I reckon Yeti might have something pretty damn awesome here.  It seems Black Seal Imports’ Kashi Leuchs has already been sneakily riding one right here in NZ. We’re currently negotiating the sale of whatever odds, sods and family members we don’t need to secure a ride on one...

More on Yeti importer Black Seal’s blog site and Yeti’s main site, here and here:

http://yeti.blackseal.co.nz/wordpress/?p=831

www.yeticycles.com

We’ve recently taken delivery of a new test bike, this here Specialized Camber Pro 29er. It’s been out on few missions already and it’s proving to be a very sorted machine. With 100mm travel front and rear, combined with the big wheels, it produces a comfortable but nimble ride on fast flowing trails and takes the sting out of the rough stuff. But what will we think after we've given it a proper hammering? Look out for a full review in issue 48.

Look what just turned up – a new GT Zaskar 100 Expert! I can tell you it is one sweet looking bike in the flesh (carbon). It makes me think of 60s era space exploration sci-fi, in all the best ways – the smooth fluid shapes of the (very very rigid) carbon frame have been covered in white paint with a hint of red wine accent in the decals and hubs. So far, everyone who sees it loves it. It’s been out on its maiden voyage already, up Red Rocks singletrack, along the 4wd road to the radar dome (almost) and down Barking Emu – Wellington’s flowiest new trail. It’s early days yet, but this bike makes me want to ride faster all the time. The RPL shock feels too firm in the carpark but opens up once up to speed and the bike swallows square edged bumps very nicely. I felt no need for the rear shock lock-out and it feels bang-on for a hard charging XC bike, complete with ‘almost no tread’ low volume tyres (with tubes), which won’t be ideal for trail riding but hey, it aint a trail bike and the tyres do speak to the bike’s intentions. With some minor but meaningful changes to the suspension/frame workings, the Zaskar 100 is the testiest looking GT I-Drive frame we’ve ever had the pleasure of thrashing. We've got another six weeks of riding it to go yet, so look out for a full review in the Dec/Jan issue.

Carl, Sept 29, 2011.

Castle NZMTBR is awash with sweet looking new bikes with the arrival of the Specialized Stumpjumper 29er Expert. Sporting a carbon front triangle (alloy bank end) with 130mm of travel front and rear it’s one of the longer travel 29ers out there. It's also set up like a trail bike should be right out of the box – sensible big volume tyres, wide bar, dropper post as standard. I can’t see anything I want to swap out right away (OK, except maybe the Fox 32 RL to the just released Fox 34). Something that is evident looking at this bike is that Specialized are listening to riders and constantly coming up with little improvements to solve niggling problems – the new ‘dangler’ chain device simply side-steps the whole ICSG issue by mounting the chain-keeper to the chainstay (ala 1997).  So far the dangler silent running and pretty much goes unnoticed. Aside from that, my first couple of rides indicate this bike is going to be a very confidence inspiring ride so I’m looking forward to getting the back end hanging out down a rough and rocky Leaping Lizard trail. Look out for a full review in the Dec/Jan issue...

When the Lapierre showed up on our doorstep, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.Because Lapierre are a new brand to New Zealand (well established in Europe however) , the only place I'd ever seen one was watching some World Cup DH highlights on-line with Sam Blenkinsop ripping down the side of a hill at speeds that made me nervous to watch. Anyway, I was curious to say the least. All fingers and toes were crossed that this would be the bike that could make me ride like Sam.
The X-Control 310 that we are testing is Lapierre's 'marathon' bike, 4" travel rear, 5" travel front, and with only a few quick rides so far, there is a lot to like, but more on that in the full review coming up. Out of the box it already looks fast, I'm loving the white/blue paint job and they have gone the extra mile with blue anodized detailing all over the show, so hopefully that detail will prove to be a well thought out and exciting package throughout.

Lance

I've been waiting for this bike since June last year, when the test models were inexplicably whipped away the day we arrived at Press Camp in Deer Valley Utah. Now it's here, in the carbon flavoured flesh! Unfortunately, it's a medium, which is a touch on the small side for me so Josh, one of our regular testers, took it for its first outing tonight. First impression from Josh? "I like this bike a lot". At circa $16K he can't afford one though, so it's lucky there's a range of more modestly specced carbon options, and the alloy flavoured versions are going to be much more affordable. Still, it's nice to ride the best sometimes, just so we know what we're missing out on. With 150mm travel in the back, remotely switchable to 90mm it's got 'hard-ass trail bike' written all over it. Before you weight fixated types ask, it's around 27 pounds with pedals, a dropper post, and proper 2.4 tyres with stiff and tough sidewalls - so there's no cheating going on with inappropriate tyres for the showroom floor - kudos C-dale. More to come on this puppy (it's been a while since I used that term to describe a bike) soon...

We think the appearance of our latest test bike is going to be polarizing…some will want sunglasses (see what I did there?), while others, like me, will love it. It’s even brighter than the Klein Pinnacle I had in 1991, and I reckon now that ‘tastefully anodizing’ components is back in fashion in the bike industry, it’s time bike manufacturers dredged up a little of our sport’s flouro heritage – it sure beats all the drab variations of grey many of today’s bike seem to be coming out in. We haven’t ridden the big wheeled Sensor yet, so can’t comment on anything apart from how bright green it is (the picture does not do it justice). Keep an eye out in a future issue for a full review.

Sheppard Industries are conducting a voluntary recall on Derelikt 1, 2 and 3 models from 2006 - 2008, not all bad news as they'll be replaced with 2011 ABD Flows! Click Recall Notice below for full details.

Just as carbon fibre was becoming accepted in the mtb fraternity we learn that cows are enraged by it - or at least that's one explanation for Ash Ireland's latest encounter on Te Mata Peak, Hawkes bay. A few months back we posted Ash's Wild Rock commute video after he appeared on our pages with his 'best commute in the country' feature. Since then he's crashed and cracked a helmet on his commute over the Peak, and now he's been charged by a wounded beast! Once I figure out how to put up more than one picture you'll be able to see the scene from placid cud-muncher to charging fence-smasher and bike-stomper.  Until then, check it all out here on Ash (the Wild Rock Guy)'s blog -http://www.wildrockwine.co.nz/blog/