RockShox inverted Fork

   On the RockShox Facebook page they have been teasing at a new inverted fork, the RS-1:

The inverted RS-1 (get it?!)

   They are coming out with a new fork design that is going to be inverted, so the telescoping leg is on the bottom. They also put up this complete image:

Complete image

   Some of the older readers may remember the RS-1, it was their first suspension fork back in 1989, complete with 1989 slogan:

Original RS-1 advert

   There's a teaser video on YouTube that shows some guys riding on the fork, and you can make out an inverted fork.

Video screen grab

ENHANCE

   The inverted for is nothing new, a lot of bikes have them, the Maverick was a popular fork for both their frames and the Klein version. The Cannondale Lefty is also an inverted design:

      Lefty                              Maverick 

   Exciting things from RockShox, it will be even better when some third party reviews come out, so stay tuned!

UPDATE: There is a full article on the fork on Bikerumor and a video interview with a product manager here.

Brand Spotlight: Ritte Bicycles

   There's something about a well crafted bicycle. Smooth lines, clean welds, and choice components can make or break a bike. Venice based Ritte cycles has done a great job of building some very good looking bikes. Try not to drool on your keyboard:

   Aluminum disc equipped cyclocross bike, with BB30, Chris King headset and aggressive steering angle, perfect for tight corners and fast courses:

Crossberg Disc

   The road frame boasts a steel frame to absorb the bumps and a combination of carbon parts to lighten things up. Plus a seat mast, which will unfortunately not be on the production bike.

Stainless Steel Snob

   Completing the trifecta of material, the Vlaanderen is a carbon race frame constructed from hi modulus Japanese carbon. This is a longer frame that still claims to handle well due to the stiff construction.

Vlaanderen

   The company has a pretty story cool as well. Taking their namesake from cyclist Henri "Ritte" Van Lerberghe, they focus on high quality, well designed bikes. This guy raced back when men were men, and women were men, and children were men.

The man, the legend (1919)

   No mention of price on their site, and you know what they say. 

Friday WTF: "Bicycles cause more pollution than cars."

   This is a bit of old news, but still deserves a look. Early in 2012, Washington state Rep. Ed Orcutt emailed a bike shop owner defending a $25 bike tax on many new bicycles. He wrote:

"If I am not mistaken, a cyclists (sic) has an increased heart rate and respiration. That means that the act of riding a bike results in greater emissions of carbon dioxide from the rider. Since CO2 is deemed to be a greenhouse gas and a pollutant, bicyclists are actually polluting when they ride.”

Rep Orcutt

   This idea is based on a book called How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, by Chris Goodall. This claim is false. There is a lot of science that shows bikes have a lower carbon footprint than cars.  

Bad science?

   Orcutt later admitted that he was incorrect. 

LEGO Bicycle

   With the LEGO movie that just came out (and getting pretty good reviews!), what better time to post an awesome LEGO bicycle? Check this bad boy out:

Looks like a Cannondale to me

Complete with water bottle holder

It's a single speed

Functional cantilever brakes

   Bicycles are hard to build models of, but this guy did a great job! Check out the model page on the TechnicBRICKS site.

Cannondale releases Two 27.5" Mountain Bikes

   Hot off the presses Cannondale has announced entering the 650b market. "What the hell is 650b?" 650b is a wheel size equates to 27"5 inches, and falls between the aging standard of 26" and the big turning 29".

Standard mountain wheel sizes

   Recently, the popularity of the in-between wheel size of 27.5" has really taken off, with companies like Trek and Specialized introducing models. Never one to be left behind, Cannondale introduced a couple models of 27.5" wheel bikes last week:

2014 Jekyll 27.5

2014 Trigger 27.5

   There are a couple differences in these models. The first is the travel: the Jekyll is 160/95mm travel and the Trigger is 140/85mm travel (The two numbers are the full travel and locked down travel). The second difference is and the suspension linkage configuration. The Jekyll 27.5 uses the linkage system from the Jekyll 26" and Claymore 26" frames. The Trigger 27.5 adopts the linkage from the Trigger 29er.
   In addition to the frames, you get the Lefty Supermax fork, the longest travel Lefty to be released:

Lefty Supermax 27.5

   This fork replaces the Fox fork that came on these long travel bikes in the past. It comes in both 140mm and 160mm travel for either configuration. True to form, people are up in arms in attack and defense of the Lefty. "It's an abomination!" "It's the best thing ever!" No such thing as bad press, eh?

   With the mid season release, there's been some muttering about Cannondale pulling the rug out form under their retail shops, leaving them with hard to sell stock. Two shop owners had this to say:

"As a cannondale dealer we have known about the mid year release for almost a year, cannondale has given us increadible (sic) pricing and ample warning, in fact this has been our best year yet because of it."

"We didn’t book any 26″ Jekylls knowing that no one wants it. I doubt many did. We’ve been waiting for the 650b to show up and now they are here."

Good to know this wasn't a complete surprise to anyone but me!

   Whether you like 27.5" or 29" wheels, everyone can agree on one thing: 26" wheels are on the way out. Now, to convince my wife that I need a third mountain bike...

Friday WTF: Best Seat Ever?

   This week's WTF comes from Essax saddle makers, and is supposed to keep your pelvis aligned with:

Top view

Back view

Face View

  I think we all know what a real shark saddle would look like:

Bikes + Coffee

   While in Oakland a few weeks ago, I had a chance to check out a farmers market. The farmers markets in CA are a lot different than the ones in Colorado. In addition to a lot more vegetables, this farmers market had a pretty cool mobile coffee shop set up:

Bicycle Coffee Co

   So the Bicycle Coffee Co is a coffee shop that sets up at events like this, and gets everything there via bicycle. Awesome! Here's a few pics of their set up:

Tables / trailers

Tent and another trailer

One of the bikes

   So the cool thing was that a lot of the trailers served as counter space as well. One of the guys there was super friendly and explained all about how they break everything down and haul it around. He said the water was the biggest hassle since it's so heavy (fixed gear BTW).

   In addition to a cool business model, they brew a mean cup of coffee (according to Natalie, to whom I defer to for that kind of decision)

  In addition to both of those things, they had a pretty cool bike on display. This is a bike from 14BikeCo out of London. 

14 Bike Co

   This was a rad fixed gear set up for urban riding. Nice tall headset and beefy frame. It was jsut a good, clean bike that made me want to ride it. So we got a coffee, some strawberries, and saw a cool bike company! Good day!