SADDLEBACK
Saddleback has linked with Boulder firm Stages
Dealers were invited to try out Felt’s 2014 bikes over a 25-mile route
Enve’s £1,150 TT bar kit is described as ‘infinitely adjustable’
Felt like you missed out?
If you couldn’t make Saddleback’s Yate HQ gathering it’s not just the bikes, new labels and high-profile international visitors you’ve missed out on. Mark Sutton reports on some excellent coffee, cake and country rides…
THE HEADLINE really was too easy to write. Saddleback put quite an effort into giving dealers a worthwhile day out during September. With a demo fleet of Felt bikes ready to go at intervals during the duration of the show, international visitors, including the likes of Felt founder Jim Felt and a typically performance-based new label joining the portfolio – if you left the Saturday lad in charge for the day, it was probably worth it. According to Saddleback, more than twice the number of dealers attended this year over last. With a separate seminar room dedicated to the most expensive bike now found within Saddleback’s largely premium product catalogue, there was a buzz around Felt’s new IA time trial bike and not just because it turns its back on UCI rules.
The handmade bike, available from £8,000
with Dura Ace Di2, is built around a TeXtreme carbon fibre frame that weighs 1,220 grams and not only ignores the infamous UCI 3:1 rule, but goes as far as 11:1in its tube profiles, much thanks to a shrouded external steerer tube. Using the same patented seatpost system as found on the AR road bike, but with a deeper profile, the post is able to make use of a far thinner layer of carbon, which in turn both saves weight and absorbs shocks better. Limited numbers will land with Saddleback, so if you’re looking to get your hands on one, get in touch as soon as possible Also among Felt’s extensive 2014 line were a
refined and developed line of cyclocross bikes, beginning with the grassroots friendly, 24-inch wheel F24X build at £579. Felt has seemingly taken youth cycling seriously this year, with many fresh youth bikes, all sized for smaller
3D printed titanium chain catchers from Raceware (above)
people, creeping into the range. The adult cyclocross rigs begin at £1,099 for a 105 spec F75X. Each in the adult range utilises a stiff BB30 bottom bracket. Sticking with the trend for the exotic, Enve had two new handlebars on display. First up, time trialists are catered for with the infinitely adjustable TT Bar kit, as designed alongside Simon Smart. The box set with all components will retail at £1,150. There’s a new £375 aero race bar too, as well as a disc-specific road wheel, dubbed the SES3.4, that will roll on Chris King hubs and join the distributor’s stock early in 2014. Bont’s 2014 line brings a £100 shoe for road, mountain bike and triathlon in the Riot. With trickled down features galore, the shoe is bio- mechanical and according to Saddleback, the lightest and stiffest shoe you’ll find for the money. Meanwhile, the aerodynamic Crono is on the verge of UCI approval thanks to a refined design. Perhaps most interesting of all, consumers will soon have access to a custom shoe program, with a 30-day turnaround. The buyer will have a choice of 14 colours and will be able to have their name or club stitched onto the finished item. This service will be available on all standard fit shoes and the customer will be directed to their nearest Bont dealer to complete the transaction. With a large number of accounts in attendance, Saddleback had a perfect opportunity to introduce a new technical brand on its books called Stages. Stages is a resident of cycling mecca Boulder in Colorado and from their facilities they go
Felt’s £579 kid’s cyclocross bike
about cloning the left hand arm of the most widely used cranksets out there. The reason is to enable cyclists to use Stages own power reading device, which comes embedded in the crank arm in order to accurately measure the stresses and wattage generated by the g-force of a revolution. Sound technical? We’ve only scratched the surface – the system needs no calibration and will automatically check the temperature every two minutes in order to give a consistent and accurate torque reading based on its environment working off a calculated ‘true 0’. Cranks are available from £599 and span £699 and £799 dependant on the crank arm. The system only works on an aluminium base, so the likes of Ultegra, Rival, XTR Cannondale and FSA are mostly all covered. Even BMX race cranks are covered, ideal for measuring power out of the gate.
Running on a coin cell battery, the device itself uses no magnets, which have been a bug bear of accelerometers to date. Feedback is gathered either by Bluetooth, which syncs with a Stages iPhone app, itself able to automatically update a crank’s firmware. Alternatively, the system is Ant+ and Wahoo compatible, among other systems.
In other news snippets, Vredestein has a new
top end, with the Fortezza being replaced by the Senso – a new compound with lower rolling resistance and improved grip. Three weather versions are available in 23 and 25c, while the extreme weather variation also comes in 28c. RaceWare has also joined the ranks 3D
printing with metals, having introduced a UK- made chain catcher and race card holders.
BIKEBIZ.COM
BIKEBIZ OCTOBER 23
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