chinamtb 08

With two weeks to go to this thrilling bike fest’, you can now check out the track profile and track map by clicking on the image above.

There have been some minor changes of the track from last year’s event. The loop is measured to 20K which will be the distance of the shorter race instead of 23K. While, the longer race will be either two or three laps, which means 40K or 60K, depending on what CCA decides.

We also still have a few trek-bikes left for rental…send an e-mail to sara.andersson@nordicways.com if you are interested!

Also, be aware of the registration dead-line on May 2nd!

The extremely unhelpful boys and girls over on the SR Suntour stand had a good range of their low to mid range forks, the odd crank here and their and an air of don’t bother us. This is probably why, now looking through all the photo’s I took at the show there’s not one of an SR Suntour fork.

The only new features we spotted were the electronic lock out system (which could not be seen working) and a remote travel adjust system (which again could not be seen working as they didn’t bring the cable and lever) It seems remote travel adjust is all the rage for 09 with Suntour, RST and others all jumping on the band wagon.

You may think a visit to the Suntour stand was a bit of a waste of time, however I’m almost tempted to forgive them as they had the elusive X Off V Boxx FR9 on display.

Even better than it just being on show, it actually worked! The shift is nice and precise, although its a shame they had to use a gripshit style shifter. The unit felt solid and sturdy and well made. The only thing that caught my attention was the ‘free wheeling’ sound which sounded grindy and nasty, and possibly a little off putting.

The Suntour gearbox is not new news (we reported on it, and the chance that Orange, Da Bomb and Ghost bikes could make use of it) But with problems with sizing and production woes, news on its availability was always hearsay and some wondered whether Suntour would drop the idea in the end. After seeing a unit on display we can only hope it’s in production and will be out in the near future.

‘Why do you only hope?’ you may ask ‘Why do you not know for sure? Surely there was a group of Suntour employs stood around to answer your every question and give you details about their amazing 09 range’ well my answer would be they were stood around all right and that was about it! Luckily I managed to get hold of an 09 catalogue, which has some X Boxx tech details.

• Speed: 9 speed
• Material: forged alloy
• Crank Lengths: 170-175mm
• Q factor: 180mm
• Weight: 4.52kg including crank arms, sprokets, shifter and cable
• Shifter: gripshift style

After the announcement that Nanjing MG would start to produce bicycles at the old Longbridge plant in the UK, it seems that other ex Rover brands have decided to tap in to the cycle market.

While wandering the bike show in Shanghai this year we came across both Mini and Land Rover branded bikes.

The Land Rover Bicycle stand showed off an impressive range of low to high end bicycles with a few niche bikes thrown in to the mix.

It seems Land Rover want a finger in practically every cycle genre pie, and had all sorts of bicycles on display ranging from cheap cruiser style bikes to entry level MTB’s, mid range downhill bikes, carbon fiber cross country bikes, road bikes and even a trials bike.

Even though they had an impressive range and a monster of a booth the most impressive thing on display was the absolutely mint 9 seater Land Rover Defender, perfect for dragging you and your bike to the top of a trail.

The Mini brand of bikes are aimed at children and people who want a cool little folding bike to commute congested towns. There was nothing really that interesting in the tiny Mini booth, in fact I was a bit shocked by the quality of the toddler bike they had on display with it’s cheap plastic parts and untidy welding.

As with most car branded bikes, both the Mini bikes and Land Rover bikes are really aimed at the recreational end of the market or for the person who wants to pose at the local Starbucks or in the wine bar.

Thats all for today but more Shanghai Bike Show news will be posted all this week.

The Shanghai Bike Show is over and I’m on my way home for a decent coffee and a good nights sleep. Each day this week I’ll be posting photos and information on the new products from the show.

Xtension have been producing great downhill and freeride products for years, and although you may not have heard of them before chances are you’ve seen their bikes and parts on the trail or in the shop under different branding e.g Azonic.

They didn’t have any new 09 frames at the show, although I’m sure they’ll have something new for the coming season, but they did have these cool perspex pedals. The rep on the stand wasn’t sure whether they’ll be put it to production or not, and added ‘They’re just for street bikes and looking cool!”.

The clear plastic bodies are interchangeable and were shown in a number of clear and solid finishes. The usual pedal features are all there too such as replaceable pins and sealed bearings.  I wish I had tried to blag a pair on the way out, oh well there’s always next year.

The main topic  on everyones lips at this years Shanghai Bike Show, is the current lead time problems throughout the industry.

This years show has already attracted a huge number of buyers trying to find an alternative source for their products, due to supply problems.

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We’re at the Shanghai bike show all weekend and will be posting news and pictures of what we see while wandering through this immense show. I’ve just had a quick look around one of the massive halls while on the way to the RST stand, and it seems BMX is making a huge come back probably due to the popularity of street and dirt mountain bikes.

Both Chinese and Taiwanese based companies have some beautifully designed and built street and dirt bikes.

Bear bikes are a rider owned company from Taiwan. All thier products are designed by ex Asian Downhill and BMX star Ben. The frames are handmade from steel in Taiwan and have some really neat design features. Bear bikes also had a full range of bars, stems and custom 120mm brake rotors, great for manuals and keeping out of the way while grinding. More info soon.

Integral are a brand I’m not familiar with, but they had a whole range of beautifully made and well specced BMX’s. I wonder if I can fit one in my hand luggage…..

There’s plenty more for me to see so I’d better get a move on. That’s all for this morning keep checking back for updates from this years Shangai China Cycle Bike Show.

In the past some Asian companies sometimes looked at a major brand or product and were ‘Inspired’ to make their own “Cheap Original and PrettY’ alternative. Some companies still practice this (and if you buy their product your only fooling yourself).

However most companies now have the skill and quality to design and make their own premium bike parts that easily rival the parts from the West.

Seems that the folks at Raceface thought the same and have decided to release a crank which is shockingly similar to the KCNC F-Type cranks we reported on a while back. You can read a full write up of the new KCNC Raceface crank over at www.sicklines.com.

So next time you look at a cheaper brands offering and start to slate it beacuse it’s not a western brand and it looks similar to something else, have a look around first to see who was ‘Inspired’ by who.

Following the huge success of the live online broadcast at last years World Champs from Fort William, MTBcut.tv and the UCI decided to continue airing live streams of the 2008 World Cup. The first live event will cover Downhill and 4X events from Maribor, Slovenia on the weekend of the 10th-11th May 2008.

For more info and to watch the World Cup online, visit www.mtbcut.tv.

Route: This ride would be half paved and half dirt.
Starting from Sihai Yanqing, 15km downstream ride till Xiaopuo, while
Mobsters continue another 10km and ride into the 3rd loup (approx
40km), Mushes turn left into the 2nd valley, 7km uphill on the bumpy
gravel/dirt road to the peak, and then 5km downhill. As soon as hit
the main road, turn right. 2km after, Mushes will reach the 1st loup
at Miaoliang, about 20km.

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The China Cycle Show is the largest bicycle and EV show in mainland China. Each year 1000’s of companies show up to present their latest gear. Companies such as Continental, SKS, Shimano, Mongoose, Trek, Park and others will be at this years show which starts this Friday 25th April and runs till the following Monday 28th April.

We’ll be there from start to finish to bring you the latest news from the show, we’re expecting to see a lot more electric vehicles this year (half hearted ‘YAY!’) but there will also be a lot of COOL new stuff (Please Shimano bring Saint 2!).

The show will be held in the New Shanghai International Expo Center in the Pudong area. Address below:

Exhibition Name : Shanghai New International Expo Center
Add : No.2345 Longyang Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai

 
So keep up to date with the latest from the Shanghai Bike Show with Chinamtb.com.