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Sea Otter 2016 – SRAM Eagle, Shimano XT, Shimano SLX and Box Components Drivetrains
What looks interesting for you for the coming summer for new drivetrain systems? The SRAM Eagle 12-speed with the dinner plate 10-50 tooth cassette? Perhaps the Shimano XT expanded 11-46T cassette or the high-tech XT DI2 Electric system? For things on the more affordable end, Shimano is releasing an SLX 11-speed and Box Components will finally…
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Just In – Ibis Mojo HD3 Boost/Plus Swingarm Kit and Schwalbe Nobby Nic 27.5+ Tires
Earlier this year Ibis released an upgraded Mojo HD3 that had the capabilities of running tires from 2.3-inch to Plus sized 2.8-inch. This potential comes as a result of an all-new swingarm design for the HD3 that is now both Boost and Plus tire compatible so that the rear end can accommodate fatter Plus tires…
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Osprey Radial 26 Pack Review
The Osprey Radial 26 pack is part of their Bike Commute product suite and is specifically designed for that purpose though it’s also useful for traveling, work, school, and hiking. It’s fully featured and has an excellent light aluminum wire frame and elevated back panel for comfort, ventilation, and load-carrying capabilities. The pack comes in Mantis…
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Sea Otter 2016 – Onyx Hubs
The highly coveted Onyx rear hubs are known for their silence, instant engagement, and drag free operation. They’ve been making hubs for the bicycling market for four years and had mainly focused on the BMX sector, though they now cover road, mountain, and cyclocross. The Onyx rear hubs utilize a Sprag Clutch, which offers drag free…
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Fresh Produce – Ergon Saddles, Lifestraw Water Filter and Secur Solar Lantern and Honey Stinger Bars
Ergon Ergon has two new saddles for 2016 season, the SMC4, and SMA3. The SMA3 Series is their Comfort All Mountain saddle and has their usual relief channel down the center, a V-shaped top for freedom of movement, a narrow sloping rear for quick positional changes, edge protection and silicone side flanks. It comes in…
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Sea Otter 2016 – Topeak Tools and Pumps
Topeak has a slew of new tools for this season including their new Ninja series that is compact and stealthy, and the Nano TorqBar torque limiter. They join the JoeBlow Dualie dual gauge floor pump which is perfect for fat and standard tires and the innovative JoeBlow Booster tubeless tire inflator. Ninja C The Ninja C…
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Sea Otter 2016 – Apparel from Primal Wear, Club Ride and Elevenpine
Primal Wear They were featuring their new lines, including their push into lifestyle apparel which has a new campaign, called Happy Trails. They have tweaked their branding and icons and have a slew of fresh products with fun colors, patterns, and designs. I was highly intrigued with their Active/Causal lineup of apparel. The Sky Hoodie…
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Honey Stinger Introduces Low Sugar Snack Bar
Late last summer Honey Stinger unveiled the first ever Gluten Free Organic Stroopwafel, which comes in three flavors and is delicious. They are now releasing a low sugar energy/snack bar line which utilizes Non-GMO and gluten free ingredients including organic honey, organic apples, nuts, and seeds. The bars come in four flavors, Peanut Butter and…
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Sea Otter 2016 – SQlab Saddles and Innerbarends
SQlab has Innerbarends and two trick new saddles including a brand new 612 Ergowave and the 611 Active MTB Carbon, which is lighter than their its brethren due to its construction with carbon rails. The key features for SQlab’s saddles are there multiple sizing that is specific for the riders sit bone width, the stepped…
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Sea Otter 2016 – Bontrager Tires, Wheels and Dropper Post
Bontrager’s LINE product suite has some dandy new stuff for this season including the trick Drop Line Dropper Post, 35mm bars (carbon and alloy) and alloy stems, Line Pro flat pedals, XR4/SE4 and Barbegazi fat and Chupacabra Plus tires and finally LineXXX and KoveeXXX carbon wheels. Drop Line Dropper Post Their new Drop Line…
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Sea Otter 2016 – e*thirteen TRS Tires
The brand new TRS tires were built from the ground up, starting with a clean design slate to come up with a tough and aggressive tire for riders that want to push the envelope. The TRS tires come in 27.5″ and 29″ sizes, and in two compounds and measure out to an actual 2.35″ width.…
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Sea Otter 2016 – Ortlieb Bikepacking
For this coming season, Ortlieb is releasing a new bikepacking lineup which includes a Seat-Pack, Handlebar-Pack, Frame-Pack (not seen) and Accessory-Pack. It uses the same wet gear design that all of their product lineups use, they’re 100% waterproof, durable and made in Germany. The four bags cover all the important storage locations on the bike.…
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Sea Otter 2016 – Manitou and SUNringlé
Manitou is releasing the brand new Machete and the upgraded Mattoc Pro 2 forks this year while SUNringlé added the Duroc 40 and Duroc 50 Plus sized ready wheels and rims and upgraded the Charger and Black Flag AL wheels. Manitou The Machete is a purpose built fork for Boost spacing and Plus sized tires…
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Sea Otter 2016 Day 3
It warmed up significantly for Day 3 of the Sea Otter Classic and the cloudless, and bright sunshine made the temperatures feel darn hot in comparison to the previous days inclement weather pattern. The SRAM Eagle 12-speed drivetrain was on display as was Shimano’s XT 11-46T cassette, the Trek Farley EX 9.8 and 8 full…
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Sea Otter 2016 Day 2
Day 2 at Sea Otter rolled around with some cooler weather, with glimpses of sun followed by bouts wind and clouds. Maxxis was displaying their new Plus sized Minion DHF, Minon DHR II, High Roller II and Rekon + tires, Light & Motion had new Seca 1800 and 2200 plus a tiny Imjin 800, Magura…
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Sea Otter 2016 Day 1
Lot’s of cool new stuff on Day 1 of the Sea Otter festival. Including Onyx alloy hub bodies, SQlab 612 and 611 saddles and inner bar ends, Ergon comfort SMC4, and SMA3 saddles, Manitou Machete and Mattoc Pro 2 forks, Sun Ringle Duroc 40 and Duroc 50 wheels, Club Ride winter apparel lineup and Ortlieb…
