Spy Shots | New Products at the Emerald Enduro
In the past, we have had to wait for trade shows to find out about new products, but now there is a more exciting way. The Enduro World Series has become a proving ground for new technology and many riders are testing new products, it’s all on the ‘down low’ but if you sniff around, there are some cool finds to be had!
We took a walk around the pits at Round 2 of the Enduro World Series in Ireland, and even poked our noses where they were not wanted to sniff out some new finds.
Vitus
Hiding behind the Vitus tent was a very interesting prototype, and one thing was immediately clear – the front triangle was made of carbon. The prototype looks to be built off the Sommets geometry, which is no bad thing as we tested the Sommet and loved it. Vitus were keen to stress that this is just a prototype, but it was dirty so is obviously being tested…
RISE XX Hubs
While checking out Jerome Clementz’s Cannondale Jekyll, we noticed he had laced his Rail 50 rims to SRAM RISE XX Hubs with Speedball Ceramic bearings and a new freehub of SRAMS own design. We can confirm that these hubs. spin and spin and spin….
MAVIC Crossmax Pro XL Ltd
While Joe Barnes and Anne Caro were checking out the stages we could not fail to notice the new black colourway on the Crossmax wheels. It turns out that they are racing the new Crossmax Pro XL Ltd edition in celebration of Mavic’s 20 year anniversary. Counting the rear spokes it was clear that there were now 24 rather than 20, and both wheels were running a 23mm internal width for better support.
New Michelin Rubber
Jerome’s bike also featured some new Michelin Grip-R 2 tyres with a prototype compound. The dual density rubber in the side knobs could clearly be felt (and seen), with the ends of the knobs being extremely soft with a very slow rebound, and the sidewalls felt a little sturdier too. Michelin have some great tyres at the moment, and it will be interesting to see if this makes production.
Kona
Not a new product but the guys from Muycullen Bicycle Shop were excited to show off this titanium Honzo to which they had fitted 27.5+ tyres. They were keen to point out that this bike is not a production model, but they are loving how it rides. The entire bike still felt really light, and looks to be a blast on the trails. This is sure to interest some Honzo owners.
Words and photos: Trev Worsey
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