Foldable Bikes Party: September 2015

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

â€‹Pro GRT: Kamikaze Bike Games close out season

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Bryn Atkinson(AUS/Rocky Mountain Shimano) andJill Kintner(Bellingham, Wash./Redbull-Norco) put the finishing touches on the menandrsquo;s and womenandrsquo;sPro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (Pro GRT)titles Sept. 26 at theKamikaze Bike Gamesin Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

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Nibali wins Tre Valli Varesine

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Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) won the Tre Valli Varesine race with a solo attack on the final climb, just 24 hours after arriving in Europe from the World Championships in Richmond, USA.

The Astana team - especially Fabio Aru - worked for Nibali on the final 12km lap around Varese and then the Italian national champion jumped away from a select group of riders with a double attack on the final climb. He quickly opened a gap on the chasers, who then hesitated slightly, afraid to set up their rivals if they led the chase.

Nibali celebrated with his arms in the air, finishing nine seconds ahead of Sergey Firsanov (RusVelo) who jumped away in sight of the finish to take second place. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) won the sprint for third ahead of Simone Ponzi (Southeast).

Nibali’s success makes him a logical favourite for Sunday’s Il Lombardia race, the final race of this year’s WorldTour.

“The guys did a great job today, especially Fabio Aru, without them I wouldn’t have won,” Nibali said, revealing he arrived in Italy at lunchtime on Tuesday. “I was tired after the flight and because of the jet lag. I started and even thought of climbing off but I felt good and things worked out. I have to thank my teammates for this win.

“The only tactic I could use was to ensure the race didn’t end in a sprint. I managed to pull it off. I now want to do well at Lombardia and hope to recover quickly for Sunday.”

Thanks to his victory Nibali also secured victory in the three-race Trittico Lombardia. He won the Coppa Bernocchi race and was second in the Coppa Agostoni race and so took home a special diamond prize awarded by the race organisers.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Gougeard wins Tour de l'Eurométropole prologue

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You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Niner refreshes its thinking with RKT 9 XC ripper

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Niner has just introduced a new flagship cross-country racer. The RKT 9 brings new frame features and a striking new frame design to Niner’s short-travel line-up.

90mm rear suspension travel
Designed around 100mm suspension forks
148x12mm rear thru-axle
439mm / 17.3in chainstays
1-2x compatible
Complete bikes range from $4,500 - $9,500 / £4,199 -£8,799(AUS pricing TBA)
Frame with shock retails for $3,000 / £2,899
Shipping now

We first caught wind of the RKT 9 in mid-August when Niner-sponsored athlete Rebecca Rusch was teasing the new bike on her Instagram feed. Rusch tackled the Leadville 100 aboard the new bike. Many other Niner-sponsored racers such as Chloe Woodruff as well as the Clif Bar squad have also been putting the new bike through its paces this summer.

The RKT 9 ushers in a host of new frame details that may signal a change in direction for the Fort Collins, Colorado-based company. The RKT 9 is the first Niner to feature a 148x12mm thru-axle rear end. The RKT 9 uses a more compact version of Niner’s CVA suspension design, allowing Niner to tuck the rear wheel in, reducing the chainstay length to 439mm / 17.3in. Compare that with the rangy 455mm/ 17.9in chainstays of the Jet 9 RDO. In addition to shrinking chainstays, rear suspension travel is reduced from 100 to 90mm on the RKT 9.

The RKT 9 may be the first Niner to sport 148x12 rear axle spacing, but it certainly won't be the last

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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Silca shoots shrink ray to create new Pocket Impero

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Silca recently debuted the modern reinterpretation of the classic Impero full-sized frame pump. As usual, there was the company’s typically obsessive attention to detail and design with features like a slick alloy body, simple-yet-ergonomic push-on head, intricately machined fittings, and a leather plunger that self-adjusts as the pump gets hot. Now, Silca is following up with the Pocket Impero, a miniature version with the same technical attributes but in a much more compact package.

Don’t call it a ‘mini-pump’

Company owner Josh Poertner is key to point out that the Pocket Impero isn’t like other mini-pumps. In fact, he insists that it isn’t categorized as one since, in his opinion, the segment is rife with inadequacies. As we’ve now come to expect from Silca, the Pocket Impero goes well above and beyond what’s normally expected of such a pedestrian item – and similarly, that’s what makes it special.

The CNC-machined head is the same one Silca uses on the full-sized Impero frame pump

For example, the CNC-machined alloy head features a machined brass check valve that almost no one will ever notice. In true Silca tradition, the plunger is a real leather U-shaped cup that Poertner says maintains a much better seal than cheaper rubber o-rings as the pump body heats up. Opposite the pump head resides a Teflon-impregnated Delrin guide bushing held in place with a separate stainless steel C-clip instead of the usual, cheap plastic bit that’s screwed into the body. According to Poerter, this allows for a longer effective stroke length in a shorter overall package.

A premium compact saddle pack, too

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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The best mountain bikes under £1000

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BikeRadar's sister magazine What Mountain Bike has been hammering a series of budget mountain bikes to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here we take a look at five steeds at or just below the crucial £1,000 price point – the Marin Nail Trail 9.6, Claud Butler Alpina 2.8, 13 Incline Gamma, Specialized Rockhopper Expert and Calibre Bossnut.

At this level we found a lot of similarities – cross country-oriented spec, 1x or 2x cranksets and air sprung forks are the order of the day. You definitely don't want to see crude coil-sprung forks when shelling out this sort of cash, and you're also ideally looking for 10-speed drivetrains with clutch derailleurs, brakes from SRAM or Shimano and 15mm thru-axles.

All the bikes on test here are hardtails, with the exception of the Bossnut, a debut full-sus machine from the unlikely source of UK mega-retailer GO Outdoors. It's already garnered a strong review on BikeRadar, but how does it compare to its price point peers?

We'll be rolling out full reviews of the cream of the budget MTB crop – stay tuned over the coming weeks…

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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Longo Borghini aims to win gold medal in Rio Olympics

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After a disappointing fourth place in the elite women’s road race at the World Championships in Richmond last Saturday, Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini will turn her attention to her next big target, a gold-medal performance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next summer.

“The lap really suits me and I want to put all of my efforts into the Olympic Games next year,” Longo Borghini told Cyclingnews. “I missed out on the Olympics in 2012 and this time I really want to be there. I will put every single bit of energy in my body into that event for the gold medal.”

Longo Borghini has had a strong season with a win at the Tour of Flanders World Cup and the overall title at La Route de France. She also had second places at the Philly World Cup, Boels Rental Ladies Tour, before taking fourth place at Worlds.

She lined up as one of the favourites to win the world title, however, the Italian team also had strong sprinters in former double world champion Giorgia Bronzini and Elena Cecchini. The team also included former world champions Marta Bastianelli (2007) and Tatiana Guderzo (2009), Valentina Scandolara and Silvia Valsecchi.

“We had two really fast girls and we wanted to have a sprint for Giorgia or Elena, and I had to play a kind of free role but of course I had to wait for them for the sprint, because I am not a sprinter,” Longo Borghini said.

Instead of a bunch sprint, the race came down to a small group of nine riders and Lizzie Armitstead won the world title for Great Britain. Longo Borghini was in that small group but she could only manage a fourth place behind silver medallist Anna Van der Breggen (Netherlands) and bronze medallist Megan Guarnier (USA). It was a result that she expressed disappointment over while speaking with Cyclingnews at the finish line.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Vinokourov’s lawyer 'negatively surprised' by comments of corruption charges in the press

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News swept through the media Wednesday that Belgian prosecutors have decided that Astana team manager Alexander Vinokourov and Katusha rider Alexandr Kolobnev must stand trial on corruption charges, according to an initial report on Sky Sports News. Astana sent a statement to Cyclingnews that Vinokourov’s lawyer Jean-Louis Lodomez is “negatively surprised” by such reports in the press.

The statement read that, “Mr Vinokurov’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Lodomez, is negatively surprised by comments made in the media attributed to the Public Prosecutor and the Investigating Judge.”

The Belgian courts have been investigating the two riders since last year, on allegations that Vinokourov bought his 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory off of his breakaway companion Kolobnev for €100,000. A court in Liege picked up the case in 2014, and have been looking into two payments of €50,000 from Vinokourov to Kolobnev, and a third payment from the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation into Vinokourov’s bank account.

Both riders have denied buying or selling the race, however if found guilty, Vinokourov, who is now manager of the Astana team, and Kolobnev, a rider for Katusha, could face anywhere between six months and three years in prison and a fine of €300,000-€600,000.

Astana provided an in-depth explanation to the situation in a full statement to Cyclingnews, which noted that the Court Chamber has not yet decided on whether their is enough evidence to bring the case to court.

“The Court chamber of the Liege criminal Court had to decide on this September 11th on the questions to know if the investigation made by the Public Prosecutor and the Investigating Judge may be considered as completed or not, if they are sufficient elements in order to refer the case before a Criminal Court called to decide on the merits or if the charges needed to be dropped for lack of evidence.

“The Chamber has not taken any decision owing to the circumstance that the respective lawyers of the two incriminated cyclists had officially requested additional duties to find out the whole truth of this matter.

“In such a case, the Chamber has the obligation to postpone its decision until the reaction of the Investigating Judge and, in case of refusal from him, by the Court of Appeal, and that is what the Chamber did.”

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Nike forced to hand over communications with Lance Armstrong, US Judge orders

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US District Judge Marco Hernandez has decided that sportswear company Nike must hand over communications between it and its former sponsored athlete, disgraced seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, in an on-going legal battle, according to a report in USA Today.

Lawyers representing the federal government had requested to see communications between Nike and Armstrong as part of the whistleblower lawsuit, a civil fraud lawsuit against Armstrong.

The whistleblower lawsuit was originally filed by Armstrong's former teammate Floyd Landis. The US Justice Department joined the case in 2013 in an effort to recover sponsorship funding paid by the US Postal Service to the team between 1996 and 2004. The case could see Armstrong lose US$100 million, and a third of those damages could go the whistleblower, Landis. Armstrong has said he fears financial ruin because of this lawsuit.

The federal government and Armstrong subpoenas Nike to provide information in the lawsuit, however, the sportswear company claimed they don’t have an involvement in the case. Although Judge Hernandez has requested the communications between Nike and Armstrong, he has not yet decided on ordering Nike to provider financial information, which was requested by Armstrong.

At the beginning of August, the US government had subpoenaed the Indiana University School of Medicine to provide Lance Armstrong’s medical records from the time of his treatment for cancer in 1996, to find out if his doctors knew that he had used performance-enhancing drugs. The government also issued subpoenas for testimony from Armstrong's other former sponsors Trek Bicycle Corp., Giro Sport Design and Discovery Communications Inc.

The report in USA Today had a quote from US Justice Department attorney Greg Mason, who told the judge, "(Armstrong) is saying the U.S. Postal Service should have known that he was doping because of allegations, because of publicly available information that is available to all of Armstrong’s sponsors.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Dimension Data planning step up to WorldTour

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It has been a big week for MTN-Qhubeka (soon to be Dimension Data), with the announcement that Mark Cavendish had signed for them and that they had secured Dimension Data and Deloitte as sponsors. In fact, it has been a big year for the team but they’re hoping to go bigger and better in 2016 by stepping up to the WorldTour.

The team indicated to Cyclingnews at the Tour de France that they would be keen to apply for the WorldTour. The initial date to apply for WorldTour licences passed on August 1 but the team did not send off their application, as their finances were not in place. However, with two major sponsors on-board, they can finally look to moving into the top level of cycling. “We’d love to take that step next year. We have let the UCI know that we have an interest. At the end of the day it’s up to them and the licencing commission,” MTN-Qhubeka team principal Doug Ryder told Cyclingnews.

The UCI have history of allowing teams to make a late application for a WorldTour licence. For 2014, they did it with Europcar and this season they took IAM Cycling on late. With Europcar suffering a budget shortfall ahead of the 2015 season, and the merger of Cannondale and Garmin, this year saw only 17 teams receive WorldTour licences. Ryder hopes and believes that cycling’s governing body will be keen to fill that spot.

The MTN-Qhubeka team has made a huge step forward this season, competing in two Grand Tours – including their first Tour de France – and all five of the monuments. “We are the highest ranked Pro Continental team and we know that there is a massive interest for the UCI to fill that 18th spot in the WorldTour because that’s how they’ve made their business on trying to make that happen,” said Ryder.

“Of course it would mean some investment in our logistical side but we are prepared for that and to look at that. We’ve done a lot of that already this year, we have a double infrastructure. We aim to give our riders both our programmes the same experience and the same support.”

The team have until October 1 to send off their paperwork and, after that, they have until October 20 to confirm riders who have enough ranking points to qualify. It won’t be until the first week of November that they would actually find out if their application is successful.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Von Hoff signs for ONE Pro Cycling

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ONE Pro Cycling has made another key signing in its bid to step up to Professional Continental level next year, announcing that Steele Von Hoff has joined the team.

Von Hoff has WorldTour experience having raced with the Garmin team for three years before dropping down two tiers this season with British Continental outfit NFTO, where he has been competing against some of his future teammates.

“After racing against ONE Pro Cycling all year I have seen how professional the team has been managed and raced with a strong team environment,” said the 27-year-old in a statement from the British team.

“I was very impressed with the ethos and core values of team and feel it aligns well with those I uphold myself. It’s a team I can’t wait to join. The atmosphere ONE Pro Cycling has created gets me excited to be racing again.”

Von Hoff has had a successful season, winning the Australian Criterium Championships in January before taking a stage of the Tour Down Under in national colours. He has also taken victories on British roads for ONE Pro at the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic and at the Canary Wharf round of the Tour Series.

“My goal this year has been to step back to racing in the top tier so I can show what I can do and with ONE Pro Cycling progressing from the British domestic scene to Pro-Continental it felt like a natural fit,” he added.

“Here they will get invited to some of the biggest races in the World and I’ll be able to race back at the top level. I believe that with the right support I can beat some of the fastest guys in the world.”

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

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Best mountain bikes under £1000

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We'll be rolling out full reviews of the cream of the budget MTB crop – stay tuned over the coming weeks…

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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Trendsetter: Stages drives left-side power meters, lower prices

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Three years ago Stages Cycling launched a new genre of power meters, offering a tiny power meter built onto a standard alloy left crank. Some riders were excited about the weight (sub 20g) and the price (sub $/£1,000), and some questioned the accuracy of such a small and single-sided meter.

Fast forward to the end of 2015, and now four other companies have followed Stages' lead. The end result for riders is greater choice in power meters and better pricing across the brands. Now a Stages Dura-Ace meter, for example, is just $649 / £699, while 4iiii offers its Precision meter for $399.

At Interbike, we talked to representatives from Stages, Pioneer, Rotor and 4iiii about their latest watt-measuring tools.

Stages has been enjoying healthy sales of its meter in 30+ countries, and the fact that a few other companies are now offering one-sided power meters isn't lost on the Colorado company. "When we first started out, a lot of people said you couldn't do it," Stages marketing manager Matt Pacocha said. "We had one of the main guys from a competing company at our Interbike booth the first year telling us it couldn't be done. But the most satisfying thing for me is just helping people who race for a living and those who ride bikes for fun to improve."

Stages adds carbon cranks, lowers price

The news from the Boulder, Colorado company is twofold: carbon crank options and lower prices.

After launching with alloy-crank meters, Stages now has carbon-crank compatibility for Campagnolo Super Record, Record and Chorus as well as FSA SL-K Light and SRAM – the latter via Stages’ first own-brand $630 crankarm.

Pioneer

Rotor

4iiii Precision

Garmin

Stages' Pat Warner: "It's not just about price"

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Polaris Vela Race Jersey

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British brand Polaris's range may not be that extensive, but the items themselves are well thought out and look the part, particularly considering the accessible pricing – and the Polaris Vela Race jersey is no exception.

It seems likely this in part down to the brand having a female product designer who has striven to ensure its products fit well and look good.

The Vela Race jersey uses a selection of different fabrics in a panelled construction that gives a combination of great fit and performance. The main body of the jersey is constructed from a quality Lycra that sits close to the body and holds its shape without bagging or pulling. At the sides and underarms, mesh fabric allows for increased breathability and wicking, which helps regulate temperature in warm weather.

Size-wise, the Polaris range adheres to UK high street dress sizing. We tested the UK 12 (US 8), which we felt came up true to size. The length was excellent, coming comfortably to hip-height on our 5ft 8in product tester. That said, if you are particular curvy in the chest department or would like a looser fit, you may want to go up a size. The jersey is available in sizes 8 to 16, and as the name suggests is designed to sit close to the skin in a more aerodynamic race fit

The raglan cut to the sleeves is comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, and the lack of seam on the shoulder top is good if you wear rucksacks as there is less chafing under the shoulder straps.

Full length zips are particularly handy for transitional seasons, allowing easy temperature regulation when wearing base layers. The zip on the Vela Race jersey is a quality YKK item, which locks in place allowing the jersey to be worn partly unzipped if so desired without opening further.

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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Bont Vaypor Sprint

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It’s impossible to describe the Vaypor S as a ‘normal’ race shoe. The construction is just so different to the standard upper bonded to a sole that pretty much all of the competition uses.

Highs: Incredibly stiff, secure fit
Lows: Easy to mark carbon sole, expensive

Bont takes high-grade Toray carbon fibre and moulds it into a bathtub shape that encompasses both the sole and plenty of the upper, from an inch deep at the mid-foot to almost the full height of the heel cup. A Durolite ‘leather’ skin is bonded onto this, over a proprietary base material. It’s then padded with closed-cell memory foam, with a soft brushed covering and heat-formable EVA insole finishing things off.

The carbon ‘chassis’ (it’s more than a sole) is heat-mouldable to provide the best fit. You just place the shoes into a pre-heated oven at 70°C/160°F for 20 minutes, let them cool a little then place your feet in and tighten the dials. Allow the shoes to cool and they’ll set in the shape of your foot. If you have any lumps or bunions use the round end of a screwdriver handle or similar to press out any rub points. If you don’t get it right, you can re-mould as many times as you like.

Pushing your foot into the bathtub shape means you get an incredibly secure fit, with your foot in a fixed position and no slop or play. They feel so secure you’d almost believe you could do away with the IP1 Boa adjusters. We love the placement of the Boas. The highest is angled to pull the upper in evenly, with the lower pulling horizontally.

When riding, they’re totally free of flex, which is highly impressive in itself, and this is complemented by a very low stack height – the distance between your foot and the cleat – of just 3.6mm. A downside is that the shapely carbon chassis is easily marked even with the larger toe bumper and replaceable heel bumper.

Some finish details show the Vaypor’s handmade nature, with the occasional glue spot and imperfectly finished edge to the upper material. These are all minor points and easily forgiven because you won’t find a stiffer and more secure, lightweight (502g a pair, size 45) race shoe anywhere. They’re available in standard, narrow or wide fits, and, if money really is no object, fully custom fit too.

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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Kona Honzo AL/DL

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While most aspire to shred trails on full-suspension bikes, Kona is adamant that the hardtail is far from dead – and has set out to prove it with the Honzo 29er.

Highs: Lighter alloy frame, confident handling, stiff and responsive
Lows: No dropper post specced, slightly narrow gear range, punishing ride
Buy if: You want a hardtail that can handle big descents and don't mind cruising for a bruising

Last year’s Honzo was steel, but both bikes in the 2016 range are alloy (with a titanium frame also available). This, says Kona, has cut up to 40 percent from the frame weight – good news, because the 2015 Honzo wasn’t exactly svelte. The frame has been lengthened too, with a reach of 485mm on the XL size tested, while a PF92 BB, big weld areas and 148x12mm rear axle assure stiffness.

Limited clearance out back means you can’t upgrade to the latest 650b+ wheels

Fox’s latest 34 Float fork is plugged in up front. The 120mm (4.7in) of travel is far better controlled with the new FIT4 damper than on previous models, and the new chassis is stiffer too, offering real point-and-shoot performance on a wide range of trails. The Shimano Deore based 1x10 transmission is dependable and comes with a clutch-equipped rear derailleur, and the matching Deore brakes are good too.

Although the seat tube is wide enough there’s no dropper post, which is a real shame – but at least the frame can take a stealth-routed upgrade. WTB’s tubeless i29 rims give a really good profile to the Maxxis Minion DHF and CrossMark tread, both of which benefit from tough EXO sidewalls and tubeless compatibility. The level of grip on offer makes them ripe for alpine adventures. Up front, the short stem/wide bar combo is a winner, allowing you to wrestle the bike through sections while maintaining relatively snappy handling.

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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17 brands recall 1.5 million bikes for quick-release issue

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Some 13 companies representing 17 brands are collectively recalling disc-brake bikes that have quick-release levers that open more than 180 degrees and can thus contact the rotor. Although a bike should never be ridden with an open QR release, these companies are erring on the side of caution with the voluntary recall of some 1.5 million bikes in North America.

Involving the identical component, this recall follows a very similar recall by Trek, which affected some 1.7 million bikes, as it included most entry- and mid-level mountain bikes sold since 1999.

This recall involves disc bikes with a black or silver QR lever on the front hub. When the front QR is fully opened, if there is less than 6mm -- or the width of a #2 pencil -- between the QR and disk brake rotor on the wheel, the bicycle is included in this recall. A video showing how to determine if a bike is included in this recall is available at http://ift.tt/1Gh7yBq.

Here are the brands affected, plus United States contact information for each. Currently the recall only affects those within the US, although we suspect we'll see the recall in other countries soon.

You can read more at BikeRadar.com

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The best mountain bikes under £750

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Looking for an MTB that won't break the bank? These budget mountain bikes don't skimp on performance, and in some cases have componentry that we would expect to see on more expensive models. So which of them takes the Budget Bike Test crown?

The BikeRadar Budget Bike Test includes the Ghost Kato 3, Genesis Core 10, VooDoo Bizango, Canyon Grand Canyon AL 5.9, Trek X-Caliber 8 and Saracen Mantra Pro in the sub-£750 category.

All the bikes featured are hardtail MTBs, some with trail-focused angles and others with more XC race geometry. Despite similarity in price, the quality of parts the bikes are specced with does vary significantly, with the outright winners combining exceptional parts for the price and a great ride feel.

Look out for full reviews of the top-scoring rides from this grouptest on BikeRadar over the coming weeks.

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