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Morewood Bikes has gotten together with Dave Weagle to offer a new 150mm travel trail bike with the newly patented Split Pivot suspension. Check inside for photos of the new prototype as well as video with Dave Weagle himself explaining the suspension design.
Patrick Morewood and his team have worked tirelessly to bring to market what is perhaps the most anticipated frame in the company's history. Licensing Dave Weagle's famed design, this finely tuned trail bike has all the characteristics that riders have come to love and expect from us. Split Pivot fits the 150mm travel platform perfectly.
This bike is a prototype but will still look very similar when it comes into production. Release date is set for February/March of 2011.
With this bike they've felt they've been able to acheive the best of both worlds. Being able to help incoproate new damper designs into a more tunable fashion with their control link, the 150mm bike is designed to excel on the trail. Tapered headtube for additonal strength and allow for the usage with the current range of tapered forks and headsets.
142mm x 12mm rear end. This means the dropouts are keyed much like a front wheel and the wheel drops simply into the dropouts with confidence. The hangers are easy to replace too which is a treat.
Rear disc mount is post mount so the brake caliper bolts directly to the frame. Front derailleur area will see some minor tweaks to allow for more clearance but the use of the direct mount derailleur simplifies front derailleur setup as riders will be able to set their derailleur up easier since they will only have to worry about having to align the derailleur vertically as it sits on a rail.
Geo will be quite aggressive for Morewood. They're still finding that sweet spot on a few measurements but expect around a 67.5º HA and a lower bottom bracket than their previous 150mm bikes.
The 150mm bike will certainly open the door up I think for Morewood in terms of being able to fine tune their bike range and in the future will include more Split-Pivot models. What is Split Pivot?
Split Pivot is a patented suspension system for high performance bicycles, where traction, efficiency, manoeuvrabil- ity, and frame stiffness are important factors on the track and trail. The heart of the new suspension design features a concentric dropout pivot. Together with Dave Weagle's competi- tion proven engineering and testing process, Morewood have engineered a frame to combine the best performance traits of single pivot and long-arm linkage suspensions. Split Pivot is all about having fun on the trail, and each unique suspension layout is designed to offer a ride that will make you smile regardless of your riding style or ability.
How does it work?
The Split Pivot concentric dropout design separates acceleration forces from braking forces in the suspension. The system reduces excess suspension reaction to accelera- tion forces, and at the same time reduces excess reaction to braking forces. Braking neutrality can be tuned independently of acceleration characteristics, and suspension feel can be tuned by varying leverage ratio curves. With so many possible mechanical layouts, not every Split Pivot bike looks or performs the same. But therein lies the beauty, because it allows us to create the perfect tool for the job. And we have. Jeudi, 2 septembre 2010 Posted by Benoit CommentsLadenenchef Sep 2, 2010 at 21:18 What an nice bike!!! Can't wait to see it and try it!
Also for any readers who are in the Ottawa/Gatineau area come on out to the Hot Air Balloon Festival this Labour Day weekend at Labie Park in Gatineau as i will be there along with the Crazy Crew team all weekend doing shows for you guys so come on and check it out! Jeudi, 2 septembre 2010 Posted by Andrew
One of my good freinds who has been filming small web edits of me all year long has finally went through all his tapes and put together this edit of lost clips that most of you have not seen yet to entertain you while Tyler and I still work on his HD web edit that is starting to come along and will be posted on heer soon! Enjoy Jeudi, 2 septembre 2010 Posted by Andrew
Lundi, 30 août 2010 Posted by Benoit
I know alot of MTB park, dirt, street, and even some slopestyle riders look to BMX to push the limit of our sport. One rider i look to is Drew Bezanson, might be because hes from the east coast but however you feel about him heer is a video that one of his sponsors released last night of most of his 2010 highlights. Jeudi, 26 août 2010 Posted by Andrew
Now here's a scoop for all of you tech heads: Formula Brake Company was cool enough to send me a set of 2011 Formula R1 brakes for a review. I was actually expecting to get the the 2010 model so when these babies arrived I was stoked! The R1 is basically the pinnacle of the accumulated technology behind Formula which means these brakes are up there in cost but they're dripping with superior modulation in a super strong, lightweight package. To me these brakes may well be worth their weight in gold. The first thing you'll notice about the R1 brakes is the forged and compact master cylinder (similar to Formula's the ONE). The master cylinder (MC) takes up very little bar space and is radially constructed. Featuring a convenient flip-flop design, the R1 allows you to bleed the brakes on either side (dual ports) while the split clap allows you to install and remove the brake without disturbing other components (nothing drives me crazier than having to remove unrelated parts unnecessarily). Inside the MC is a high capacity reservoir that surrounds the piston.
The R1 master cylinder body is forged and then machined for maximum strength and minimum mass. Speaking of mass, you can get these brakes down to 263 grams±. This is very light indeed for a brake that can be used safely by AM riders (Enduro) who want to keep their rigs in lightweight climbing condition.
The 2011 R1 model adds reach adjustment as well as pad contact point adjustments. The reach adjust (red knob) on the lever makes it easy to adjust how far out you want the levers, with plenty of room for adjustment. The contact point adjuster, which is radially mounted before the brake line, adjusts the volume in the line to compensate for pad wear and engagement points. Reach adjust is retrofit-able to 2010 models.
The bright red bits are all-aluminum fasteners to further reduce weight on the R1 brakes and torx heads on all the bolts reduces the risk of stripping the bolt heads. With the R1 it's important that you follow the installation instructions to the letter and torque all the bolts down to stated values. |  |
The R1 caliper hasn't changed this year (probably because it's hard to improve on perfection) and features the same forging process as the master cylinder. The upshot: a compact, lightweight, and stiff structure. What is hidden from view is the 22mm pistons and larger-than-expected brake fluid capacity behind the patented cap design. All of this increases the fluid capacity (reducing the chances of boil over) and reduces the physical size of the caliper (as well as weight).  The calipers are post mount in design and can handle rotors up to 220mm. However, keep in mind these are not DH brakes (those would be the ONE or the ONE FR). Earlier I mentioned how I dislike removing parts for no good reason and with Formula's top load design, removing pads and springs can be accomplished without disturbing caliper alignment (see image right).
The stock R1 brake pads sport organic material backing on aluminum to further reduce weight but you can get the sintered pads on steel backing plates if you want a more aggressive set-up.
Installing the R1 brakes on my OPUS Stahk was a piece of cake. Following Formula's instructions and recommendations it took all of about 30 minutes to get both front and rear brakes installed. I'm sorta particular so I shortened the hoses a bit and then re-bled the brakes (15 minutes per wheel). In the package you get extra fittings to get the job done without having to hit up your LBS for parts. Remember to torque everything down properly - the last thing you want to do is snap a bolt or even worse have something come loose on that 15 mile loop you're hitting.
On the trail the R1's have a similar feel to the ONE's which I've been rocking on my DH bike. The modulation on these brakes is second to none. The R1's don't engage like on/off switches; rather they come in with an amount of stopping force proportionate to the lever pressure. I only use one finger to grab the levers and that is more than enough with these brakes. On descents or technical spots where I find myself dragging the brakes, the overall characteristics of the brakes didn't change much due temperature increases on the rotor and pads. |
The amount of braking force the R1's generate is certainly less that its bigger brother the ONE but clearly the R1s sport a much more compact and lightweight package. These brakes release very quickly without a hint of drag which to me is a great thing. This is especially important for competitive riders where every second counts - the last thing you want is a system that slows you down when you don't want it to. Valuable energy can be lost when brakes drag and fortunately the R1s don't. If you go back and read my review of Formula's the ONE you can see that both sets are very similar in performance aside from overall braking force. Pricing is also similar with the R1's landing at $330.90 MSRP. These are incredible brakes for XC and AM use and you'll have a hard time finding higher performance in a mountain bike brake package anywhere close to this weight and build quality.  Although it's not shown here, Formula does offer the direct mount MiXmaster for your XX/XO/X9 shifters, both left and right side to clean up your bars a bit. They can be had for about $33.60 each; carbon levers and titanium bolt kits are offered as well.
Take a look at the Formula website for further details. Shout out to the good folks at Formula for providing the R1 brakes for review! |
Jeudi, 26 août 2010 Posted by Benoit
SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 - When we showed you Industry Nine's beautiful new road hubs a bit ago, they were working diligently to get them built up and ready for market. Now, they've put together some of the lightest (and they claim stiffest) road wheels out there.
For the full tech rundown on the rims, check out this post and video, which shows them built with alloy rims. What they're showing at Sea Otter are two sets of road hoops with Edge Composites' carbon rims. The set above, dubbed the I25, uses a 25mm deep Edge rim and weighs in at a mere 970g per pair. They're tubular only, simply because that's the only way Edge makes this rim, but there's the I45 that's available in both tubular and clincher.
And 970g isn't just claimed…we've got them on the scale, along with the I45's, after the break… They're built up with 18F / 24R hole rims using Sapim CX Ray spokes. Individual weights are 380g for the front and 590g for the rear. As you may have guessed, the I45 wheelset uses 45mm deep Edge Composites rims, but they're built the same otherwise. They're rolling in production right now, and since they use traditional spokes in lieu of I9's proprietary aluminum spoke models, the only production hold up these should experience is getting the rims from Edge.
If carbon rims aren't your thing, you can get the I30 alloy rim wheelset. Weights are 630g front / 830g rear (1460g / set), and they're available with either black or white rims. Mercredi, 25 août 2010 Posted by Benoit
Mercredi, 25 août 2010 Posted by Justin
After a great season of riding, we are nearing the end. But it's not over t'ill the Quebec Championships have rolled around! This year, the race took place in Mont Sainte-Anne, which as you probably know from the World Cup circuit, is a pretty gnarly course. A few changes have made the track shorter than usual and faster in the open section. It truly was a case of “hold-on-to-your-panties” through the high speed section! The weather was hot and dry making the track Mont Sainte-Anne, what a great place for the Quebec Champs! A nice three day weekend of riding and racing in the dry sun. This same dry sun contributed to making this shorter-than-usual track into a very fast course. A few lines were changed in the open section that left riders no choice but to pin down as fast as they could… which means nearing 60km/h in one spot under the gondolas. So as I was saying, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and, well, the riders where charging down the mountain on the dustiest terrain we've seen all summer (except for those of us who've been to Panorama…sheesh!). Everybody seemed to be having fun…and then they start falling. This track claimed an incredible amount of riders. Check out the stats: 220 riders signed up for the race, 175 made it to the finals, 45 DNS or DNF due to injury or mechanical failure/flats. That's 20% that didn't cross the finish line! We saw so many riders go down hard and being evacuated on 4wheelers that is was scary. Qualifying went well and was fun, as usual. Mitch Delfs (AUS) qualified in first place with a 2:08:174 Race day was great! The energy was in the air, riders were confident and the crowd was bigger than usual. Riders took their start in early afternoon and when all was said and done, Local rider Charles Alexandre Dubé took the win and the title with a blazing 2:11:879, closely followed by Lama Cycles rider Yann Gauvin at 2:12:399. Franck Kirscher (Lama cycles) had a great run as well but crashed near the end leaving him in 5th position, which is pretty darn good if you ask me ;) Next weekend we head to off to Bromont for the last Canada Cup on the schedule. The track has been tweaked and redesigned so everybody I eager to see what Broms has to throw at us! Jeudi, 19 août 2010 Posted by Justin
Ahhh the West coast! Although we have great riding in the East, it doesn't really compare to the thousands of vertical feet of descent you can find in British Colombia, hence the flocking of Quebecers and Ontarians every summer. For a second year in a row, we've packed up the LAMA van and headed out to the Promised Land with the team booth tightly packed and the bikes neatly hitched to the THULE rack at the back of the van. Traveling with bunch of comrades is the best way to go. Eat, sleep live in the van for 4 days! It's a life style: love it or leave it. |
| Picture taken at 1:20 am... |
This year, our itinerary was planned around nationals and the Canada cup, both talking place in Panorama BC. But before we made our way to Pano, we definitely needed to drop in at Camp of Champions based out of Whistler. We've been fortunate enough to hook up with the camp and provided them with some rides for the kids: 10 NS bikes, 2 Morewood Makulus and some Kali helmets. Jeff Young had extended an open invitation for participating companies to drop in and see what goes down at Camp. It was everything we expected and more! Camp is such a great place to be; the vibe, the people and the mountain… We spent a whole week riding and living with the campers and staff. The thrill of being out in whistler with some of the best coaches is hard to put into words. All I want to do is go back and “hang” with the guys, listen to very loud music during breakfast (!), shred some gnarly trails and send it on one of the coolest mountains out there! If you're lucky enough to have parents that will send you to Camp of Champions, make sure you are a perfect child to them! It would have been my dream come true to attend such a camp back in the day. The funny thing is, it still was a dream come true even though I'm in my late twenties! Alas, all good things must come to an end…but the next chapter of our trip was a blast! Pack everything up, hop in the van and head East towards Panorama. Twelve hours later we hit our new home base for the next 2 weeks: Taynton lodge. We got ourselves a pretty sweet deal in one of the upper village condos (oh yhea) with a great view, private hot tub and bike-in bike-out access. We couldn't complain. The first weekend was the big one: Nationals. The track was super dusty and super fast with a winning time of 3:27:97 by Andrew Mitchell. Although there were many Quebecers representing in West coast territory, we didn't make a big splash. For some reason we didn't live up to the expectations we set during qualifying. Finals yielded an 8th and 9th place for the “frenchies”! The fun part was seeing and spending some time with all the good people from the left side of our beautiful, yet very culturally different country. During the week between the two races, we stayed put and enjoyed some time to relax and ride Panorama. It's a very dusty mountain but, nonetheless, very fun to ride. Just watch out for those grizzlies ay! Friday rolled around pretty quickly, meaning we had to saddle back up again and get ready to race. The track changed slightly for the Canada Cup by having the uphill section removed. It also took away a very fun technical section called “cliffs of insanity” but no one complained about skipping the uphill ;) Rob Fraser took the lead with a 3:06:21 but the fastest man down the mountain was junior rider Nick Grimm from the Bryson Clan with a 3:05:69. Good Job Nick! All in all we had an awesome trip filled with inside jokes, excellent riding, gourmet meals and great people to hang with. Next year we'll try and top this one off but it's going to be hard!
Cheers Mardi, 17 août 2010 Posted by Justin
 Pas facile le parcours de Bromont. Je suis allé faire quelques tours de piste la semaine passée et je me disais que la course de dimanche serait très difficile. Ca monte longtemps et c'est abrupt. On m'avait dit qu'on ferait 4 tours de piste pour la course de XC mais en arrivant sur le site dimanche matin, je me suis aperçu qu'il faudrait en faire 5! J'ai vu que ça ne faisait pas l'affaire de tout le monde. La bonne nouvelle c'était qu'il faisait super beau à Bromont ce dimanche.
Je m'étais préparé mentalement à cette course et j'étais prêt à monter 5 fois ce parcours infernal. Ce qui est bien du parcours de Bromont, c'est que une fois la montée terminée, c'est de la descente jusqu'au fil d'arrivé. Ce qui me permettait de descendre à une bonne vitesse et d'en profiter pour récupérer un peu. Mon ''background'' de DH m'a bien servi pour cette course. Je ne suis pas parti trop vite et j'ai fait des tours réguliers. En bout de ligne, ce fût payant. J'ai garder de l'énergie jusqu'à la fin de la course et j'ai fait un top 10. Je suis pas mal satisfait de ma fin de semaine et j'ai hate à la course de Ste-Anne qui sera dans quelques jours seulement.
Bonne semaine à tous et faites du bike.
Mike Lundi, 16 août 2010 Posted by Michel | |  |  |
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