Below are a handful of details on a few odds and ends that we’ve happened upon as a result of both our wanderings and our meetings at Sea Otter.
Hayes Group – Protaper / Answer / Manitou / Sun Ringle
A few new things are cooking at the Hayes group. Largely, Protaper is back with a new collection of handlebars, stems, grips and pedals that have all be re-designed from the ground up.
Protaper is going carbon with this new offering. It’s available in the following configurations:
• 1″ Rise, 35mm Bar Clamp, 810mm Width, Black
• 1″ Rise, 31.8mm Bar Clamp, 810mm Width, Black
• 1/2″ Rise, 31.8mm Bar Clamp, 810mm Width, Black
• 20/20 Handlebar, 20mm Rise, 20mm Sweep, 31.8mm Bar Clamp, 810mm Width, Black
A full 810mm width with cutting indicators.
The new aluminum bar is available in 31.8mm and 35mm. It is available in flat, .5″ rise, 1″ rise & 3″ rise. Again, all handlebars are 810mm wide with trimming indicators.
Dual clamp, old school moto style grips…
The new EVO pedals feature a thin, concave body with 10 replaceable pins per side.
• CNC Machined – 6061 alumimum
• Gloss Black chromoly spindle with sealed bearings
• Replaceable Tractions Pins (replacements included)
• ProTaper® moto inspired graphics
The new Protaper stem is available in Direct mount as 31.8mm and Standard mount in both 31.8 and 35mm. They use 3D Forged and machined 6061 alumimum and Torx-head fasteners.
Available options:
Standard stem – 35mm Clamp – 35mm, 40mm, 45mm, 50mm
Standard stem – 31.8mm Clamp – 30mm, 35mm, 40mm, 45mm, 50mm
Direct Mount stem – 30mm – 40mm adjustable
The Sun Ringle Duroc wheelset is now available with 37mm and 42mm outer diameter rims, aimed at Enduro and DH respectively.
Manitou Volume reducers. Rather than adding or removing spacers on the air spring’s top cap assembly, you simply shuffle around the white spacer with the seal on it. This gives you 5 placement options. Brilliant.
Manitou Fork Cutaway
Troy Lee Designs Apparel
TLD recently expanded their line starting with the Resist Waterproof shorts shown below. With heavy testing from UK lads Olly Wilkins and Brendog, who basically only ride in shitty conditions, they’re looking quite nice.
The ACE shorts remain freakishly light, but see a velcro/button combination closure.
The ACE jersey gets a slight fit update and some new, more breathable materials.
Ruckus moves away from the ripstop material and gets fit and closure updates.
Sprint DH gear also gets a minor fit update, particularly at the kneepad area. The Jersey sees a new fabric as well.
Troy Lee Designs Stage Helmet
Some of the best news at Sea Otter is the fact that Troy Lee Designs decided to go full tilt with a lightweight fullface helmet offering. Our initial impressions are that they blew the doors off, per usual – but we’ll need to spend some time in the lid before we make any final judgements.
Details
• Sub 700 grams
• DH Certified
• **Sub 700g & DH approved means it’s the the lightest full face helmet on the planet**
• Sub $300 US
• MIPS liner
So…It also has a Fidlock magnetic buckle – this makes it east to take on and off, particularly in the unlikely, unfortunate event of a big crash.
Additionally, as you’d expect, the Stage has really nice, ergonomic hardware for visor anchoring and adjustment.
The other colorway…for now. Time will tell where TLD goes for the final version, but we can’t wait to try this helmet.
Öhlins Trunnion Mount
Öhlins sent us home with some test bits and they have nothing to do with the photos you see here. Unfortunately we can’t say anything about what we’ll be riding – other than the fact that we have an exclusive on it. What you’re looking it as an updated rear shock with the potential for Trunnion mounting. It’s available really soon and also sees a few other updates…
The upper threaded spring collar has been made more ergonomic and the lower spring collar sees a new system for retaining the bottom out bumper. They’ve also re-worked the bumper’s compound. Our friends at Öhlins said it should also help make the bottom outs feel a bit less harsh and mimic the progressive feel of an air sprung rear shock at the end of the travel.
DROOL
Aside from the aforementioned updates and broader availability, you’ll just have to stay tuned and see what else is coming down the pipe from the Swedish geniuses.
Time ATAC Speciale Enduro Pedals
Time released a new pedal for the first time in quite a while. It’s an Enduro race oriented option called the ATAC Speciale. It has an aluminum cage with adjustable traction pins and Time’s proven spring system with an updated spring design…
If you look closely below, you will see the adjustable tension. Clever and clean.
We’ll be testing these soon…
MilKit Tubeless System
Call us nerds, but so far the tubeless valves from MilKit have been the highlight of our trip. The brand sells a complete kit with a syringe for injecting sealant, a rechargable air can for initial inflation, and the valves…
Details
Booster 1 Liter @ $49.95
Booster 0.6 Liter @ $47.95
milKit Family of Products
- Compact Tubeless Valve & Refill Kit 75mm @ $59.95
- Compact Tubeless Valve & Refill Kit 55m @ $57.95
- Compact Tubeless Valve & Refill Kit (standard 35mm) @ $55.95
- Valve Pack 75mm @ $34.95
- Valve Pack 55mm @ $32.95
- Valve Pack (standard 35mm) @ $29.95
The one way valve is absolutely brilliant. You can:
- Inject fluid without making a mess.
- Inflate your tire without the valve core in, thus getting more flow and a faster setup.
- Never have to deal with clogged valves again
- Never get sealant all over your hands when you’re adjusting pressure
MilKit is sending us a kit for testing. We’ll keep you posted…
Deity Brendog Signature Handlebar
Deity athlete Brendan Fairclough just got his own signature handlbar. It takes notes from the Blacklabel bar, but features some custom numbers for Brendog…Deity’s own Sean “Griz” McLendon gave us some quick details on the new goods.
• 8º backsweep / 5º upsweep
• 30mm Rise
• 800mm width
• $86.99 US
Deity Turq Limited edition line
With color matching clearly aimed at Yeti, Deity have expanded their line’s colorway options for their grips, bars and saddles with a limited edition “Turq” line.
Renovo XC Hardtail made from Hickory
Definitely one of the coolest looking bikes at the show, Renovo has been working on Hickory bikes with carbon fiber inlays. Boutique and compelling to say the least. We’ll see if it takes off…
Suntour’s New Bits
Suntour showed off a few new bouncy bits at the Otter – a DH/Freeride oriented air shock dubbed the Jurni, seen above is first up.
The brand is also revealed at piggy back shock aimed at the mid travel market dubbed the Tri-Air after its 3-position compression adjustment.
They also showed off an XC/marathon fork called the AXON 34. It’s a bit on the stout side, but features a carbon fiber crown and a sleek integrated fender.
Fabric’s Ratboy / 50:01 Signature grips
Rad packaging and a very cool, ergonomic shape mixed with a classic ribbed grip on a single clamp. Simple and clean.
EVOC Hip Packs
EVOC showed off a very well thought out 3 Liter hip pack.
Easily accessible draw straps allow you to cinch it down for the descents…
A second set of draw straps allow you to loosen the front set for the climbs. Brilliant.
Well padded and ventilated back section.
One hand zipper. The Germans think of everything.
There is also a super light weight, ultra minimalist 1 liter pouch on the way.
Breathable and simple, but no room for a hydration pouch. This is for a rider who already has a bottle mounted to his bike.
