The Avid Shorty Ultimates in wide profile configuration, on a Milram Focus Mares cyclocross bike. © Cyclocross Magazine
We found lots more to geek out over today at the Sea Otter festival in Monterey, California. Photos and eye candy are below, here’s a brief synopsis of what we’ve taken in so far:
Cinelli teamed up with sister company Columbus to offer a sexy cyclocross race rocket built with Airplane aluminum tubing. We offered a glimpse of this bike, called Zydeco, during Interbike, but it’s available to the public in a week. Retail is $1149, for the 1400 gram aluminum frame and Cinelli carbon fork. Your local bike shop can order through the distributor, BTI, which can also put together custom builds.
Crank Brothers’ just-released new lineup of Eggbeater and Candy pedals © Andrew Yee
Yesterday we announced Crank Brothers’ newly revamped pedal lineups. Today we got close-up looks at the pedals in the flesh. Or, steel and titanium. They offer different customized traction options (not yet available) in different thickness to accommodate different shoe soles. The company says the new Candy and Eggbeater pedals boast new steel spindles that are twice as strong as previous offerings. The single and double titanium models are discontinued, however, as the only non-ferrous options is the ultralight 11 models, an updated version of the previous Quad Ti models.
Voodoo’s much-anticipated chromoly Nakisi monster ‘cross bike is coming out this summer. On display was lead designer and mountain bike legend Joe Murray’s personal bike. Designed as a do-it-all bike, it offers braze-ons for racks, has clearance for 2.3 inch wide tires, accommodates rim or disc brakes and has horizontal dropouts with the ability to mount a derailleur hanger.
The long-awaited Avid Shorty Ultimate cantilever brakes are now in production and have officially launched today. We caught them both on a Milram Focus Mares Team cyclocross bike (as used in Paris Roubaix) and a Stybar World Championship-themed Ridley X-Night cyclocross bike. What sets these brakes apart is the ability to switch to low profile for better braking performance or wider profile for better mud clearance. They offer a barrel adjuster similar to the TRP EuroX brakes for adjusting the brakes on the fly, weigh 120 grams per wheel and come with black SwissStop pads. The company says conversion from wide profile to low profile or vice versa should take a competent mechanic 15 minutes. Expected retail is about $98 per wheel.
SRAM also had its new entry-level Apex road components on display, complete with the longer cage rear derailleur and wide 11-32 10-speed road cassette. It’s sure to lower the price point of DoubleTap-equipped cyclocross bikes, and the cassette offers an attractive, aftermarket option for a ‘crosser interested in a single chainring setup without losing much gear range.
Check back soon for more cyclocross gear from Sea Otter!
Photo Gallery:
