cycling

BERKELEY, CA (BRAIN) Feb 22, 10:55 MT— Northern California’s high school mountain bike league has grown to its limits and may have to be split in two next season to accommodate its growth.

CULLOWHEE, NC (BRAIN) Feb 17, 11:19 MT— Construction will begin this spring to develop a 350-acre public trail network on Western Carolina University land here. A $5,000 Specialized Dealer Grant through Asheville retailer Motion Makers helped leverage funding for the $130,000 project

From the latest product news to details of routes and events, our news round-up is a collection of short snippets of information in one handy article.

Today we bring you the limited edition Liquigas Sidi Ergo 3 shoes, Madison Saracen’s new team manager, the latest Nukeproof recruit, developments from the Cornwall Festival of Sport and much more.

Product and team news

New shoes celebrate eight-year Sidi/Liquigas partnership

Sidi have unveiled a fetching limited edition version of their Ergo 3 Carbon shoes in the distinctive green colours of Team Liquigas Cannondale. The Ergo 3 represents the high watermark of Sidi’s current road cycling shoe range, something reflected in the €363 price tag. They will have their own unique number printed on the inside, come packaged in a team colour shoe bag and will be available from the end of April.

Will Longden appointed Madison Saracen DH team manager

Will Longden, the four-time British mountain bike champion, with titles in 4X, downhill and dual slalom, takes the reins of the Madison Saracen Downhill Race Team from Tim Flooks, who has stood aside due to ill-health. Longden will be kept on his toes in 2012, having to juggle the new job with his role as Downhill Co-ordinator at British Cycling and racing duties for Lapierre-Nema.�

Fogelquist joins Nukeproof

Canadian dirt jump star Jack Fogelquist will ride for Nukeproof in 2012. He has used the firm’s components for a number of seasons but this year will be his first as a full factory rider. As well as riding the Snap 4X Pro and Scalp DH bikes, he’ll be involved in the development of new dirt jump and slopestyle frames, which are both at the prototype stage. Among his targets this season are the forthcoming Sea Otter Classic and Crankworx Colorado.

Cornwall Festival of Sport links up with Chain Reaction Cycles

The Cornwall Festival of Sport, a multi-sport summer event which we revealed details of last week, has secured Chain Reaction Cycles as its retail partner. The partnership will see the online retailer providing mechanical support both within the festival village and out on the road, a massage service for weary competitors and a shop for those looking for products at exclusive festival prices.

Routes, racing & rides

Artists given chance to impress at USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Aspiring and established artists are once again invited to enter a nationwide contest to design posters for each of the 12 host cities of the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Winners will be selected for all 12 cities, plus a national poster that’ll be seen around the globe. You can enter from today via the race’s Facebook page and have until 16 March to do so. Fans of the page will select their three favourites for each city, plus the ten best national posters, with a panel of judges announcing the winners on 16 April. They’ll receive a cash prize as well as the priceless opportunity to showcase their work during the second edition of the race, won last year by Levi Leipheimer.�

Biking guide unlocks off-road routes in Keswick

Lakeland bike shop Keswick Bikes have just published a leaflet featuring five “do-in-a-day” off-road track and country lane rides that all begin and start in the Lake District town. Routes include The Skiddaw Loop, Lonscale Fell and the Glenderattera Valley, The Borrowdale Bash, The Old Railway Line & Castlerigg Stone Circle and Swinside Circuit, and features comprehensive directions, route difficulty and refreshment locations. To pick up your copy, email kmb@keswickbikes.co.uk.

Yuba opens distributor Down Under, adds new hires • U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame launches Legends Gran Fondo May 6 • A social network for bike shops launched SAUSALITO, CA (BRAIN) Feb 13, 13:06 MT— Cargo bike manufacturer Yuba Bicycles has opened a distributor in Melbourne, Australia, serving Australia and New Zealand, said Benjamin Sarrazin, Yuba’s owner and founder

MELBOURNE, Australia (BRAIN) Feb 7, 06:37 MT — Six key industry suppliers have stepped up their commitment to the Australian market through an investment in the Cycling Promotion Fund (CPF) advocacy group.

By Doug McClellan Editor’s note: BRAIN’s complete package on nonprofits, including an executive salary breakdown, is in the March issue. Adventure Cycling’s 2012 bicycle tours are filling up faster than ever before in the organization’s history. USA Cycling expects a 10th consecutive year of membership growth

By Nicole Formosa TORRANCE, CA—Similar to many small startups, Niner Bikes co-founder Chris Sugai squeezed everything he had to get his new company off the ground in 2005. Through personal capital, investments from friends and family, and two minority investors he concocted a recipe that carried him through the initial growth phases. But as the 29er movement caught on and sales took off, it became clear he would need more cash to mature.

Via Ferris Wheels

———————

Jumpstart Your Season! workshop

When: Sunday, February 12, 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Where: Ferris Wheels Bike Shop, 66 South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

What: Laura Smeaton, a League of American Bicyclists LCI (League Cycling Instructor) presents a free workshop for those who want to get out on their bikes earlier this year. Stubborn patches of ice, chilly breezes, and cold spring rains will be no match for you once you’re equipped with the knowledge from this workshop! Winter? What winter?!

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) Feb 1, 18:17 MT —Buoyed by mild winter weather that extended their selling seasons, independent bike dealers rang out 2011 with a bang as December sales surged 13 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, according to Leisure Trends Group’s RetailTRAK data and Cycling Specialty Topline Report. The result was powered by strong performance across nearly all major bike categories and price levels. Sales remained robust at lower price points, but as the recovery ‘has been picking up steam, we’ve seen a bit of renewed life at the higher price points” as well, noted Greg Shoenfeld, retail relations manager at Leisure Trends.

The iO iD twins – available with either eight- or 11-speed transmissions – have been built around Shimano’s Alfine hub gear system. Billed by Genesis as ideal bikes for riding in bad conditions with minimal maintenance, they’re an interesting example of a bike company pushing Shimano’s technology further than the Japanese giant are comfortable endorsing.

Ride & handling: Low-maintenance year-round bike at a fair price

Although it’s the more basic of the Alfine brothers, the eight-speed hub performs decently on the trails, although the big gap between ratios in the middle of the range takes a bit of getting used to.�

Genesis are right to emphasise the quiet nature of the hub-based transmission. From the almost silent freewheel mechanism to the absence of chain slap, the iO iD wafts through even the lumpiest of technical trails with only the subtle hiss and gurgle of oil through the fork’s innards as accompaniment.

The frame’s origin, in a collection of relatively modest chromoly steel tubes, is obvious. Although the iO iD has more spring to its step than any of the aluminium competition, it lacks the resilience or liveliness of frames built from better tubesets. That’s no big surprise, given that Reynolds 520 tubing used here is a little heavy and unsubtle next to the likes of Tange Prestige and Reynolds’ own 853.

Genesis deserve credit for spotting an opportunity where Shimano fear to tread. The iO iD is a cost-effective way into hub-geared bike ownership, but we’d stick with the simpler – and cheaper – eight-speed option. The higher price of the Alfine 11 model (£1,500) isn’t justified by the relatively basic frame.

Frame & equipment: Great value frame offers an affordable entry to hub gear ownership

A traditional design – and the Reynolds tubing badge – mark the Genesis out as an old-school remix that wouldn’t have looked out of place 20 years ago. Subtly larger tube diameters, geometry built around the 100mm-travel RockShox Recon Gold RL fork and an open-ended gusset at the head and down tube junctions are the only obvious clues that this is a bang up-to-date design.�

Reynolds 531 steel�was a stalwart of the frame building scene before mountain bikes were even a glimmer in a Californian hippy’s eye. The Reynolds 520 tubing used by the iO iD is a modern development of this cycling tradition, with similar properties. It’s good, reliable stuff but isn’t the lightest or most refined option. This is reflected in our test bike’s 13.3kg (29lb) all-up weight. Svelte it ain’t, but it enables Genesis to undercut most of the Alfine-equipped competition.�

Because it’s built specifically to accept the Alfine hubs, Genesis have been able to tailor the frame to suit. �Slender stays taper demurely into horizontal dropouts and neat cable routing provides a home for rear brake and hub gear runs only�– there’s no provision for a front derailleur.�You could go singlespeed, but if you want a frame that’ll adapt to anything you’re looking in the wrong place.�

The newer 11-speed Alfine hub has some worthwhile refinements, but the eight-speed option is a lower-cost alternative that’s still worth considering. Shifts are smooth and clean, it doesn’t have the irritating jump between gears one and two that the 11-speed version does, and it’s £180 cheaper. Ramming home the winter bike theme, there’s a pair of Crud Catcher-compatible bosses under the down tube.

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.