During our last day of Eurobike in Fredrichschafen, we decided to see what is new in the world of Cannondale, Trek and Specialized. After spending some time on all the stands and being talked through the new bikes and products for 2011, the most common theme is the growing amount of ‘trickle down’ technology. So features you might have only seen on more top end models are now becoming more accessible at lower price points – for instance frame technology previously only used in the Specialized S-works Roubaix road bike, is now across the range. You can also see trends in bikes becoming a lot more colourful (a backlash against the black and white thing going on everywhere?). I did feel the amount of jargon and acronyms is a bit overwhelming, plus if you are a mountain biker these days it is getting a bit ridiculous; ‘extreme enduro bikes’, ‘over mountain bikes’ etc. The choice is staggering – no wonder so many of us just want to talk to mates or the local bike shop to make sense of it all!
Cannondale
The only brand of the big three showcasing a new protoype electric bike, complete with lefty fork!
The new Jekyll mountain bike features a twin adjustable travel - effectively you can switch between two shocks, a shorter one for going up, and longer travel for going down.
Double bearings are used throughout the linkage
Other bikes in the range, such as the Flash, feature plenty of little touches such as this flattened seat post, to allow more flex for comfort
Head shock honcho Larry was kind enough to talk me through the mysteries of the famous Lefty fork. The secret is in the inner squared stanchion, which won't allow the fork to twist, and the movement aided by the needle bearings running up the side. It is an amazing piece of engineering!
Moving on to the CAAD10 road bikes, the main features to note were the SAVE frame technique - meaning parts of the frame are slightly flattened to give a bit more flex and damping ability
This is especially noticable around the seat seat stay areas
The matt finish on this top end CAAD10 bike was stunning.
Trek
The big news from Trek is the introduction of the new 3 series Madone. This means you can now get a full carbon Madone at a lower price point. Definitely aimed at riders looking to get their first carbon bike, I am sure that this will be very popular. Prices are yet to be confirmed, but likely it will retail for around £1800.
Specced with a mix of SRAM drive chain and 105 gearing for the best of both worlds.
Featuring the E2 tapered headtube.
Ian from Trek and Joel get to grips with the new Bontrager range of commuter clothing.
Complete with reflective turn ups for the trousers!
Some of the custom Project One bikes were stunning, because Trek still manufactures in the US it allows them to do this.
The integrated headset on this Triathlon bike is aerodymanic design at it's best and there no cables anywhere to be seen!
Both front and rear brakes are tucked right away in the frame
On to the mountain bikes: look at the cable routing on this Top Fuel, to stop any cables rubbing on the carbon.
12mm rear axles are becoming the norm - a lot of manufacturers seem to be using them for 2011.
These custom Fox forks on the Fuek EX stand out. A good example of manufacturers getting more detailed with the colour schemes.
Plenty of protection on the downtubes of the DH / gravity bikes. This is the Scratch Air.
With the ability to adjust the geometry via flipping the Mino link
A neat touch on the Session DH bike is the rubber bumpers on the frame to stop the forks bashing it when you crash!
The new partnership with Gary Fisher means Trek now has a full range of 29ers.
The Bontrager clothing and accessories line has increased, here is the new MTB helmet, a bit like the Giro Xen.
Specialized
For Specialized in 2011, the main point to note was that a lot of design technology previously only avaliable on the high end S-works range is now featured on other ranges. This is the S-works Roubaix, with a reshaped top tube for 2011.
Which you can see reflected on the Tarmac model.
Onto the mountain bikes, again 12mm rear axles becoming standard - this is the Epic.
The popular Hardrock now comes in some nice co-ordinated colours, even the saddle rails are red!
Specialized have now integrated their Brain technology into forks - meaning it will automatically soften or harden depending on the terrain.
Ever wondered how a helmet is constructed?
Specialized were the only stand to have a whole area dedicated to women's specific products.
Check out this early Stumpjumper model from 1982, look at those brakes! We have come far!
Phew – that was a lot to take on board! We’ll do a few more brand features from the show, and a post on what our buyers liked the most (cake served from the Trek stand will not count however!).
View all Cannondale bikes
View all Trek bikes
View all Specialized bikes
Read about Day 1 at Eurobike
Read about Day 2 at Eurobike
|
Add a comment |
|
post |
| Tag: About Us, Events, Other Stuff | ||
