chinamtb 09

After Shimano left us drooling after their new Saint groupset, they go and pull this on us! The release of another gravity/trail group with design touches and influence from the new Saint has already forced me to open up the old wallet and start counting my pennies (It’s like they knew I’m in desperate need of a new set of brakes!).

The SLX is dubbed an 09 group-set, but thanks to the bicycle industries calendar, will probably be available at your local Shimano stockist from July. The big S are expecting a large demand for the SLX, which looks set to make huge waves in the mid range component wars.

The brake levers are similar to the design of the new Saint, but activate only a 2 piston caliper, which means you get the tools free adjustment at the lever and, possibly, the improved oil flow feature for easier bleeding.

The rest of the group looks much like the new ‘Shadow’ kit found on XT, but with a more aggressive angular design.

Again with any luck we’ll get to see the new SLX group from Shimano over this coming weekend at the Shanghai Bike show, so keep posted.

Earlier this week we reported on the updated Shimano Saint groupset. Well here are some juicy details for you to mull over.

Shadow Rear Derailleur

Similar to that on the new XT and XTR the Saint also gets the futuristic ‘Shadow’ makeover, with a few more tweaks and features. The spring tension has been increased over it’s XT and XTR brothers and comes in a short and medium length. The two big changes are the inclusion of a bracket adjustment for use with close or wide ratio gears and also a super wide inner linkage that adds to the strength of an already tough mech

4 Piston Brakes

As we said before the 08/o9 Saint sees a return to 4 pot brakes. The new design is just that, totally new! Redesigned levers and calipers. The Saint 4 pots will be easier to bleed now (not that they were difficult in the first place) thanks to improved oil flow in the claiper. Also new are the dual diameter pistons which offer up to 50% more power over the current saints and better modulation. The lever is totally different from anything else in the Shimano stable too and offers tools free reach adjustment and a big stronger lever.

Crankset

The new crankset is around 80g lighter than the current Saint model, its stiffer and it also has better graphics too! It’s designed around the Hollowtech II technology similar to that found in XT and XTR, and also gets a ‘Honey Combed’ bashguard for better strength and impact resistance.

Hubs

‘What could they change about the hubs?’ you might ask, a lot is the answer. The new Saint freehub is around 100 g lighter than the current incarnation and feature the a regular size lock-ring for weight saving and strength, it has also been designed to engage a lot quicker than previous versions, which is great for technical situations. The bearings have been positioned further apart to increase the load bearing capabilities and also feature better seals.

Keep posted for more info, but if you can’t wait that long to see the Saint 2 in action visit the Collective website and check out their short video:

www.thecollectivefilm.com

13th, April,  “Round North Lake Bike Race” was held in JiNing, a city in Shandong province at the North Lake Tourism center. The race was  supported by JiNing Giant shop, local cycle and sport clubs and the Shimano Club.

It is the biggest bike race in JiNing. The was race divided in to different levels a male youth category, Seniors  and a female category. The total distant was 9.5km. In all there were 18 winners from different categories all of which received prizes from Shimano and Giant.

Props, the undisputed BMX video film masters (in my opinion) have been pumping out quality videos for years, and this has got to be the most inspiring video ever (I’m not a BMX’er anymore but when I watched this I was itching to get out and ride!). Not the latest, but still mint, Props Issue 62 ladies and Gentlemen.

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Wideopen issue 6 is ready to download NOW from wideopenmag.co.uk.

It’s jam packed with over 100 pages of mountainbike and BMX action from the UK and abroad.

There’s race reports, interviews, product repo’s, news, bike tests, industry features and loads of great photos. 100% guaranteed to get you fired up and ready to ride!

Wideopen are also very excited to announce that they’re looking for a team rider for ’08. They want someone to hit up the races, spread the name of Wideopen and do a bit of reporting for the mag and the website. Full details are in the mag. Anyone at all is welcome to apply!

That’s it. Log on. Download. www.wideopenmag.co.uk

Shimano have revamped their Saint groupset for 08/09. The new set is full of new features, from new colors and graphics to updated brakes and lighter cranks. The new Saint brakes are a 4 pot design, much like the old 4 pot XT’s but have some additional features such as different sized pistons and a stronger more durable lever design. Other updates are a lighter crank set with a ‘honey-combed’ bash guard and more ankle clearance. There’s also a new short arm rear mech with integrated bash plate.

With any luck we’ll see the real thing next week at the Shanghai bike show, so keep posted for more info and pictures.

Who is Johnny Korthuis? You might ask, and to be honest I have no idea, however he seems to know a thing or two about trials.

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We all know that China is well known for knock offs of designer gear and expensive bags. Every major city in China has a market where tourists can pick up Rolex watches or Gucci bags for a fraction of their retail prices. Unfortunately they’re never what they should be (no matter how hard you try to convince yourself) and the designer bag you just picked up at a ‘Bargain Price’ turns out to be nothing more than ‘Jia De Prada’ and will probably only last you the walk back to your tour group. The bicycle world in China is no different, but fortunately the Police and local governments are cracking down on the people involved.

For every real S-Works frame there is they’ll likely be 1000 ‘replicas’ varying in quality and design. For those of your not sure the frame on the left is a real S Works with a real price tag of more than 6000 RMB, the frame on the right is the fake and is priced to reflect it’s quality, 300 RMB.

It’s not just Specialized that gets the makeover treatment either. Giant, Cannondale, GT and even local brands such as Flying Pigeon get copied and flood the market at knock down prices.

The people or factories involved in the copying business vary from the casual seller who wants to sell is Huffy at a Litespeed price, so simply changes the decals, to the professionals who copy the real product to such great tolerances that even a pro would have difficulty working out if it were real or not.

Just last year Chinese police arrested and shut down a group of individuals producing fake Phoenix brand bikes. The municipal police managed to confiscate more than 2000 bikes in different degrees of completion from the factory, which employed only migrant workers. It was believed that more than 200 crates containing up to 1500 fake bicycles would leave the factory each day. Police estimate that at least 1,000 of the bicycles have been sold in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces.

To be fair, over the years I have seen less and less fake and more real bikes and parts, this is partly due to the government taking firmer measures to stop companies from making such copies, partly due to the big companies like Specialized getting in to the Chinese market and shutting the counterfeiters down, and partly due to the Chinese riders becoming more affluent and demanding better parts and accessories and not being happy simply ‘making do’ with a substandard product.
So next time your at your local Chinese bike shop or online searching the many bargains there are to be found, keep in mind the $14 Cannondale frame probably isn’t a Cannondale and the $4 Prada bag you picked up for the GF probably isn’t Prada.

Route: MOB will lead you into the valley of Lingshan Nature Reserve with
approx 900 meters of climbing and 50km ride plus some bike carrying as
well as teamwork ☺-
Mountains stand in the west, north and northeast of Beijing; the
10,417.5 sq km of mountainous areas, with an average elevation of
1,000-1,500 meters, account for 62% of its total territory. In its
southeast lies the vast North China Plain of 6,390.3 km, with an
average altitude of 20-60 meters above sea level. The 2,303-meter-high
Mount Lingshan on the border between Beijing and Hebei is the highest
peak of the city.

There was a very interesting ride through a forest at one point
something for the adventure seeking downhillers, which most people
sensibly walked.

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In the women’s cross country race, Shi Qinglan, was keeping the lead until the third lap when tragedy struck in the form of a flat tire. Gao Xiaoning, Team Shangdong took the her chance to take the lead and eventually win the race.

In the men’s , ” Under dog”——-Wangzhen,who is the youngest rider from Gansui province, took the win.

According to the association, this is the Third Stage of the National MTB Champion Race,which was held in Jinxi, Guizhou province. The first, Second Stage took place in Yunnan, Dali,and the last two will be held in Beijing, Laoshan. This final race will decide which two riders will take part in the 2008 Olympic and save points for 2009 national champs meeting.