Over the past month we've brought you loads of news from the UK's Core Bike and The Bike Place trade shows – there are links to all those stories to the right of this article. Here's a round-up of all the other bits and pieces that caught our eyes, along with a massive image gallery.
Ellsworth
Ellsworth have revamped their whole full-suspension line for 2011. We brought you news about the 100mm Truth, 140mm Epiphany and the 100mm Evolve and 120mm Evolution 29ers back in October. UK pricing for the Truth frame has now been set at £1,995, with the other models having an RRP of £2,095.
UK distributors Haven were showing all these bikes at The Bike Place, along with the Moment all-mountain bike and Momentum four-cross/slopestyle rig. The latter is new for 2011, and looks ready to rip. It uses the same ICT (Instant Center Tracking) four-bar linkage suspension design as Ellsworth's other bikes.
Ellsworth's Momentum is ready to race or hit the dirt jumps on
Travel is 100mm, the same as the Truth, but the Momentum has a shorter wheelbase (42.8-45in, depending on frame size), lower bottom bracket (12.25in static) and much slacker 67° head angle. It comes with a Fox RP23 shock and is designed to be used with a 100mm Fox 831 fork up front.
As with all the aluminium models that have been revised for 2011, the seat tube pivot is integrated with the hydroformed frame and there's a semi-integrated tapered head tube up front. Something else the Momentum has in common with the rest of the Ellsworth range is that there's a wide range of customisation options on offer.
Ellsworth frames are available with loads of custom colour options. Seen here is an Epiphany with a custom green rocker and bolt kit
You can choose the colour of the suspension rocker, head badge, derailleur hanger, bolts and seat clamp. Most frames, although not the Momentum, are also available in an array of colours. Custom colour rockers and frames cost £150 each end, while bolt kits are £75.
The Momentum's bigger brother, the Moment, has 60mm more travel (160mm) but is similarly designed for a bit of rough and tumble, with a 68° head angle, 14in bottom bracket, 43-46in wheelbase and acres of standover room. Frame price is the same – £2,095.
The Moment has 160mm of rock-munching travel but is designed to be pedalled uphill too
FSA
FSA have been busy with a number of new road wheelsets. The FSA Team Issue uses Shimano Dura-Ace style carbon-reinforced aluminium clincher rims and weighs in at 1,400g. Which is a Dura-Ace kind of weight, too, although the £699 price tag won't save you many pennies compared to Shimano's offering.
At the same price and with similar rim construction is the Vision T42 wheelset. The Vision brand focuses on aero kit for testers and triathletes, and the T42 delivers with a 42.5mm deep rim section and bladed spokes. As you'd expect for an aero wheel, the T42 is somewhat heavier than the FSA Team Issue at a claimed 1,700g.
The Vision T42 aero wheelset has Dura-Ace style carbon-reinforced aluminium rims
Devinci
Devinci's UK distributors Haven Distribution were showing the Canadian company's new full-suspension line which uses Dave Weagle's Split Pivot design, where the rear pivot is concentric with the axle. We brought you news on these bikes from Interbike in the autumn, but UK specs and pricing have now been confirmed.
Each of the three models – the Dexter cross-country bike, all-mountain Dixon and Wilson downhill bike – is available as a frame or as a complete bike, with a choice of three specs dubbed XP, RC and SL. Of most interest to the average rider is the 145mm-travel Dixon.
Devinci's Dixon is available with pricier or cheaper builds, as well as the RC spec seen here
The Dixon's frame is made in Canada from 6066 aluminium, and it comes with a 142x12mm rear axle and a tapered head tube. While the complete bikes are all fitted with 150mm-travel forks, Devinci's Gabe Fox says the Dixon is happy with anything between 140 and 160mm, depending on how you choose to define “all-mountain”. Head angle is adjustable by 0.5 degrees independent of fork choice.
Pictured is the mid-spec Dixon RC (£3,449), with a Fox 32 Float RL fork, SUNRingle wheels, SRAM X9 transmission and Avid Elixir 5 brakes. The XP (RockShox Sektor, SRAM X7) comes in at £2,499 and the top-flight SL (Fox fork, Easton Haven wheels, SRAM X0 group) £4,999. Frame-only price is £1,699.
All of Ellsworth's suspension bikes use the company's four-bar ICT system
Inevitably the Wilson downhill bike is a little more expensive, but £3,299 for a race-ready XP bike with Fox VAN RC shock and RockShox Boxxer RC fork is pretty competitive. There's nothing on there that you'd feel the need to change urgently, certainly.
The Wilson uses a slightly different Split Pivot configuration, with the shock driven via a rocker that's concentric with the bottom bracket and links the bottom of the swingarm with the 3.5in stroke shock, keeping everything low in the frame. Travel is 216mm, with the rate curve optimised for coil-sprung shocks.
The Wilson is Devinci's new downhill bike, and it looks suitably slack and low slung
£5,694 gets you the top-of-the-range Wilson SL (Boxxer World Cup, Fox DHX 4.0 shock, DT Swiss/Mavic wheels, X0) or go for your choice of parts on the £1,999 frame, which comes with the same DHX 4.0 shock as the SL bike. Devinci bikes are available in the UK via Haven Distribution.
BBB
Dutch brand BBB have a high profile in Europe – they sponsor Quickstep and Cofidis on the road and the BMC mountain bike team – and now have new UK importers in the shape of Windwave. They have an extensive line-up of gear, including the team-issue Falcon helmet (£99.99) with carbon fibre and aluminium reinforcement. There's also a substantial eyewear range covering both budget and high-end models, as well as lots of clothing.
BBB's Falcon helmet has carbon fibre and aluminium reinforcement
BBB specialise in the kind of bread-and-butter stuff that bike shops rely on, but usually with a bit of a twist – brake pads with three compounds, replacement jockey wheels with ceramic bearings, frame-mount pumps that have a curved cross-section to hug the frame tube and so on. There are also plenty of commuter-friendly bits and bobs like lights and quick-release mudguards.
Spiuk
Spiuk is another name that's not well known in the UK, but they have a promising-looking range of lids, shoes and eyewear. The top-of-the-range Daggon helmet is available in road and mountain versions (ie. with or without a peak) for £109.99, in a load of colourways.
Spiuk's Daggon helmet is available with or without a peak, in loads of colours
It's said to weigh just 270g (small) and has 27 vents, but should be plenty tough enough thanks to an internal skeleton and carbon fibre reinforcement in key areas. Spiuk offer a crash replacement policy, where you can get a replacement helmet for half price.
Also designed for both road and off-road use is the ZS11R shoe. It shares many of the features of Spiuk's top-end ZS11RCSL (£165), including its High-Flow upper fabric, micrometric buckle, reinforced heel and ventilated toe cap, and it's available in a matching bright red colour option.
The Spiuk ZS11R looks a lot like the pricier RCSL but has a composite rather than carbon sole
But the SL's carbon fibre sole is replaced with a polyamide and glass fibre version to keep costs down. RRP is £89.99 and claimed weight is 675g. Spiuk products are available in the UK via Silverfish.
KHS
KHS's room at The Bike Place lacked samples of the brand's top-value full-suspension bikes on account of them all being with magazines being tested. That just meant that other bikes came to the fore, though. The CX200 looks like a worthy budget cyclo-crosser at £799 for a Shimano Tiagra-equipped bike.
KHS's CX200 looks like a decent budget cyclo-cross/commuting machine
The Alite hardtails seem to have at least as much bang for the buck as their full-suspension brethren. The Alite 2000, with Shimano SLX parts and an RST fork, is £799 (and is also available in a women's version for the same price), while the 1000 uses the same frame but Deore parts and an Omega fork at £549.
Deuter
Deuter have a massive range of hydration packs and cycle-friendly backpacks. The SuperBike 18 EXP particularly stands out due to some unique features. Hidden in the top pocket is a hi-vis Windshield – designed to protect you, not the bag (although the pack does come with a rain cover, too).
Deuter's SuperBike 18 EXP comes with a hidden hi-vis Windshield
This is essentially the front section of a jacket. It unfolds over your head to protect your torso from wind and drizzle, as well as providing useful night-time/poor weather visibility. Just the thing for those days when you've forgotten to pack a coat, or unexpectedly end up riding home in the dark.
The SuperBike also uses Deuter's Airstripes system – essentially two large pads that run down either side of the back, allowing air to circulate in between – and has all the features you'd expect of a decent cycling backpack, including a hip belt, a range of pockets, a stowaway helmet holder and reflective detailing. RRP is £79.99. Deuter kit is available via i-ride in the UK.
Other features include a plethora of pockets, a hip belt and a stowaway helmet holder
Cinelli
Cinelli are bringing out a special edition version of their RAM 2 integrated stem and handlebar as part of their ongoing collaboration with graffiti artist Mike Giant. The carbon fibre cockpit is adorned with a skull and crossbones, and follows on from Mike Giant-designed bar tape, posters and catalogue art. The price is suitably exclusive – £524.99. Cinelli products are available in the UK via Chicken Cycle-Kit.
The Cinelli RAM Mike Giant has been designed by the eponymous graffiti artist
Surly
The Troll is an enhanced-function version of Surly's popular 1x1, with bosses for pretty much everything. The rear brake mount is tucked inside the rear triangle to keep it out of the way of rack and mudguard stays, horizontal track ends accommodate hub gears without having to bother with chain tensioners and there's even a pair of bosses specifically for Surly's own trailer. A frameset with chromoly fork is £429.99.
Surly's Troll is a versatile machine which is hub gear and trailer ready
Chub
Chub hubs are, as the name suggests, on the beefy side. Their unique design, where an oversized carbon shell is bonded to big CNC machined alloy flanges, should make for a very light and stiff setup. They're available in fixed, singlespeed, road and mountain bike (cross-country and downhill) versions, with prices starting from £135. All models are fully serviceable. Chub goods are distributed by Silverfish in the UK.
Chub's Single rear hub is available in dirt jump (steel axle and bolts) and singlespeed (aluminium axle, titanium bolts) variants
