Best of 2014: Cam’s List
In 2013 I was smitten with SRAM’s one-by drivetrain system, bikes labelled ‘Enduro’ and with running tubeless tires. None have betrayed me in that time; only one dropped chain, no flats on tubeless and ‘little big bikes’ continue to dominate my saddle time.
Mark 2014 as the year I began to like bigger wheels. I’ve been seduced by the fast rolling utility of 650b because there is no fun compromise. And because there is no option since virtually every manufacturer is dumping two six like Blackberry stock. This doesn’t mean I have an aversion to 26″ wheels. It has and always will be fun riding heritage hoops. Assuming we can still get tires in the future.
And speaking of rubber, my favourite skins of 2014 came, unsurprisingly, from Maxxis. I’ve been using Minion DHR II 3C EXOs front and rear (26″ no less) and loving the consistent cornering grip, light weight and excellent grip both going and stopping.
But let’s call those honourable mentions. Here are three favourites from 2014.
7Mesh Revelation Jacket
Normally I’d be skeptical about a freshly-minted cycling clothing company. When so many have failed (RIP Sombrio as an independent brand) who would have the cojones to start from scratch? The pedigree of those behind 7Mesh gives me reason for optimism. Most were with Arctery’x for many years before cutting the cord and all are Squamish residents who love to ride as much as you and I. They are legit.
The first iteration of the Revelation comes in Goldstone. The hood detaches easily leaving tiny, colour-matched male snaps that are almost invisible. Photo – Brian Goldstone
The Revelation Jacket is part of 7Mesh’s 7 day collection. These are pieces you’d take on a trip because they can be worn on and off the bike, but this is clearly tailored for riding position. If you are arrested be careful; you may have to unzip to comfortably put your hands up, but that no-compromise approach makes the jacket fit beautifully with hands on bars and ass on saddle.
The 7Mesh Revelation jacket incorporates several features that are cycling specific, including large side-venting zips that can be opened and closed while wearing a pack.
For me the Revelation strikes the perfect compromise between features and packability. It has excellent side and arm zips for venting, two zippered slash pockets, a removable hood etc. But it weighs only 270 grams/ 9.5 ozs. 7Mesh tells us the Revelation is the first cycling-specific jacket made of Gore-Tex Pro – the top of the line waterproof membrane fabric. It’s so exclusive that you need to be vetted by Gore before you can use it – and Gore doesn’t even make a riding garment using Pro.
It was blowing atop Mount Ashland when this shot was taken but moments later the weather went completely to shit. The jackets look similar but Seb Kemp (left) was rocking an older Arc’teryx soft shell while I wore the 7Mesh Revelation. I was warm and dry and he was still shivering four hours later – after the hot tub. My shorts helped too. More on those below. Photo – Pete Roggeman
The fit, features and breathability in particular are excellent thus far – but I’ve only been caught in one downpour. It was a nasty one in the high alpine though and one of my companions nearly succumbed to the elements while I remained toasty and dry. Full review to come but I know enough already for this to make my list. The one downside? The Revelation will set you back $475 CDN and $450 US.
2015 Giant Reign Advanced 27.5 (650b)
Before this I’ve spent very little time riding Giant bikes for some reason and I haven’t had much attraction to the brand. I’m often drawn to companies with great stories, deep roots in the community and interesting characters at the helm. Giant hasn’t ticked any of these boxes for me in the past and I’ve generally found the overall impression of their bikes (independent of the ride) uninspiring. Until this year.
The 2015 Reign Advanced won me over easily. They probably went a little overboard on the colour-matching – but it looks pretty sweet nonetheless. Photo – Sterling Lorence.
I was immediately drawn to the black, green or orange colour schemes with tri-colour accents along with the clean lines of the 2015 Reign Advanced models, and when given the opportunity I eagerly saddled one up. The Reign is plush yet playful, agile but burly, a descender that climbs capably; the best of all worlds in many ways. I’ve ridden it in the Whistler Bike Park, around the Whistler Valley, here on the Shore and most places in between and I rarely wished for a different bike.
On Whistler’s Gargamel a bike that goes up and down well is essential. The climb is a crusher and the descent is DH bike serious in several places. Photo – Kaz Yamamura
We have a long term review coming on this bike, so I won’t go too deep – but the Reign Advanced was indeed my favourite bike in a year when I mounted many excellent steeds. We have been riding the $7499US Reign Advanced Team 0 but it shares its frame and suspension components (including the custom 46mm offset Rock Shox Pike) with the well-priced $4199 Reign Advanced 1.
Check out Pete’s early impressions of the 2015 Reign Advanced here.
Waterproof Shorts
It’s counter-intuitive; the idea that you might want waterproofing from a garment that deliberately exposes bare skin to the elements. And yet after just one ride I became a believer. I had a pair of Mavic’s Stratos H2O shorts awaiting trial but, despite being a size medium, I could have worn them over three sets of Depends. I took them to a local tailor and had belt loops added and we were off.
Pete Roggeman modelling the Mavic Stratos H20 waterproof and breathable shorts.
I call them shorts but Mavic calls them 3/4 rain pants. For my long legs they are just right. They have stretch panels for lots of mobility and small pockets for keys or your phone. But the highlight is how they feel in use.
Gore’s Alp-X shorts are made of Gore Active fabric and have almost no stretch. They also lack pockets. Photo – Kaz Yamamura
It turns out that soggy diaper feel of a water-logged chamois is optional. This time of year it’s either frozen or wet and I have been reaching for my modified Stratos for virtually every ride.
Pete Roggeman recently reviewed the $189 US Stratos H2O and Matt Lee tried the $179 US Gore Alp-X 3.0.
I apologize for the high-dollar theme for my favourites. Feel free to suggest some value-priced options below.
Comments
Chris Cogsdil
9 years, 3 months ago
As a suggestion for more value priced Best of 2014, may I suggest the Ibis Ripley Special Blend build. With an MSRP of $3950 U.S. I think this is the least expensive complete bike with a carbon front and rear triangle. By buying a $75 shop jersey, I was able to get 10% off anything I bought that day. This brought the price down to $3600 plus tax!
I wanted a change from my 30lb 160mm 26″ for the trails that keep kicking my butt on the climbs, taking a good chunk of fun enjoyment out of my riding time. So I looked high and low at carbon framed bikes aimed at singletrack riding, which is what I enjoy most these days. While never counting out aluminum frames entirely, most other bikes with carbon frames were made overly expensive by using Sram's 1×11, RS Reverb, Cane Creek DB inline, xtr or guide RSC brakes, and Enve wheels, etc. Often bike tests and reviews were the highest of the high end models from each manufacturer and @6,000-10,000. For me, if there is a high priced/high end component on my bike it's because I chose it over all the other options out there. So I just wanted a great frame and fork worthy of a custom build, but one that I could ride in the meantime while cherry picking my favorite components.
This makes the Ripley Special Blend a perfect "gateway" 29er. I look forward to the fun of daydreaming about which wheels to get, which tires, crankset…. all that. I believe the new Mojo can be had for the same price if you're into a 150mm 27.5″
Reply
DrewM
9 years, 3 months ago
This is a repost as my original comment was marked as Spam:
The photo caption “The jackets look similar but Seb Kemp (left) was rocking an older Arc’Teryx soft shell while [Cam] wore the 7Mesh Revelation. [Cam] was warm and dry and [Seb] was still shivering four days later – after the hot tub” isn’t really fair to Arc’Teryx?!
Huge NSMBA supporter, Arc’Teryx makes some Awesome lightweight waterproof jackets that are definitely comparable with 7Mesh minus the (very?) cycling specific cut.
In this case (with Cam fully decked out in H2O proof gear) it sounds like Seb was totally unprepared for the conditions in a non-waterproof (soft shell) regardless of what brand it is (i.e. hardly Arc’Teryx’ fault or warranting any negativity towards their brand)?!
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Pete Roggeman
9 years, 3 months ago
To be fair, the caption did mention that Seb was in a soft shell but yes, depending on how you look at it, it may have been fair to point out that one of those two monkeys was dressed more appropriately than the other for the conditions on that day.
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DrewM
9 years, 3 months ago
Some companies (Giro for example) are offering seam sealed (H2O proof) soft shell jackets // some readers may not know that the Arc'teryx soft shell was not intended to be a competing (H2O proof) product?
It just reads like "7Mesh good // Arc'teryx crap."
In fairness to NSMB I had posted a link to your (similarly positive) review of an Arc'Teryx jacket using the same GoreTex Pro material -- but that too was apparently deleted as Spam?
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Cam McRae
9 years, 3 months ago
Hey Drew. What happened to your post? I'm not sure why that would happen. The issue was gear appropriateness rather than performance/quality, and my point was more about the severity of the weather than any difference between the brands. I figured that would be clear to most - and the quality of Arc'teryx product is well known. And actually I was just lucky. Like Seb I was planning to wear a lighter jacket because the weather was relatively warm and dry in the valley before we arrived in the alpine and things got nasty fast. I made a last minute change to try the Revelation - without any idea the weather would go to hell. I also don't feel the need to go much beyond the facts. Seb was cold. His jacket was a soft shell. There is nothing negative in that without interpretation. I also don't think it's 'unfair' to Arc'teryx to state those facts - but you are welcome to your opinion. Without a close look it also could appear from the photo that we were wearing the same jacket so that clarification seemed useful. Regardless - my intent was not to malign Arc and if that happened I apologize.
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DrewM
9 years, 3 months ago
No idea -- first post flagged "SPAM" by Disqus. Post with link to NSMB Arc'Teryx review simply doesn't show.
Apologies for lack of clarity -- my point was that the brand name of Seb's soft shell is irrelevant to his discomfort, so why attach the negative label?
My Specialized road bike Sucks for riding down Espresso vs. My road bike sucks for riding down Espresso.
I don't work for Arc'Teryx or own any of their gear -- so it isn't personal -- I just read it as having the potential to be read as a negative review of a brand that gives a hell of a lot to the local trails.
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Cam McRae
9 years, 3 months ago
Thanks Drew. Let me try.
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DrewM
9 years, 3 months ago
The photo caption "The jackets look similar but Seb Kemp (left) was rocking an older Arc'Teryx soft shell while [Cam] wore the 7Mesh Revelation. [Cam] was warm and dry and [Seb] was still shivering four days later - after the hot tub" isn't really fair to Arc'Teryx?!
Huge NSMBA supporter, Arc'Teryx makes some Awesome lightweight waterproof jackets that are definitely comparable with 7Mesh minus the (very?) cycling specific cut.
In this case (with Cam fully decked out in H2O proof gear) it sounds like Seb was totally unprepared for the conditions in a non-waterproof soft shell (which is hardly Arc'Teryx' fault)?!
Reply
Pudskies
9 years, 3 months ago
I can't wait for the Reign review now, it's definitely on my short list of frames I want for this coming season. Will you have any comparisons of the Reign Advanced 0 and the ALU Reign 1or 2? I'm trying to decide if going carbon is worth the extra cash and spec. Also on my list is the Banshee Rune, does anyone have any opinions of Reign vs Rune?
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Pete Roggeman
9 years, 3 months ago
The Giant Reign is an awesome bike and Cam has been shredding on it on and off since the Summer. We haven't spent time on an alloy Reign, however the carbon vs. alloy question is no different for that bike than any other (price differences notwithstanding). Universally speaking: choose carbon if you can afford it, but don't be disappointed if you have to go with alloy. Weight, of course is the biggest difference. Ride quality is harder to discern on a dually than a hardtail in terms of material, but it is noticeable if you're looking out for it. Stiffness is sometimes a variable, but not always. Carbon durability is no longer something to be concerned with, most of the time, but it depends on the brand and model.
That said, we are trying to test more bikes that are closer to 4k than 8k and there is no doubt the alloy Reign would be a great contender for a test in that category. Rune is not one we've had recent experience with, but that may change in future.
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Pudskies
9 years, 3 months ago
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. I usually buy a bike and stick with it for a good amount of time, so the carbon vs aluminium debate has been playing in my head a little bit. I have had my current bike for about 5 years now, but I feel it's time for a change. I like to tinker and change things as I see fit, so buying the base model Reign might just be fine for me. The only real downside I can see is the Monarch RT rear shock, although it is Debonair, it doesn't have the piggy back that the rest of the line has.
The Rune is a couple of years old now so there isn't a lot of interest in it in comparison to the frames that have come out in the last year. It peaked my interest though because of it's versatility to run 26″ or 650b wheels, as well as different axle configurations and geometry settings. The only major downside I can see is the weight.
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Pete Roggeman
9 years, 3 months ago
I think that two years ago being able to run one wheel size or the other made sense as things like tires and wheels were still transitioning as far as availability. Now, you can go one way or the other and find what you want - mostly. Soon the limitations will come on the 26″ side as some new products may not be made available.
As far as the long term viability of carbon - if that is indeed what you were alluding to - I can say I would have no qualms about buying a carbon bike and expecting it to last a long, long time. That doesn't make them any cheaper, but it may help justify the added expense.
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Pudskies
9 years, 3 months ago
The main reason I could use the ability to change wheels is the fact that my current ride is running 26″ wheels and I would need to use most of my components to switch to the Rune if I got it. Then change to 650b when the 26″ wheelset dies or I have enough money to change. Or I can just sell my old bike and buy a Reign, which would probably be quite similar as far as money is concerned.
The carbon/aluminium thing got me a little worried when I was in a shop in Squamish and I was asking which frame would be better. He mentioned to me that when he is riding carbon and his bike goes flying from a crash, he checks the bike for dings and dents first before worrying about whether or not he is hurt. It did make me think that maybe I would just be better off going aluminium, not only for price but for durability and not having to think about it. I mean I generally haven't worried about my bike much in those situations because it usually comes out unscathed, plus the Reign aluminium weight gain is supposedly 200g, which isn't a whole lot in my opinion. That being said, the shop guy did say that he is still planning to buy the Advanced 0 issue of the Reign when it becomes available.
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Pete Roggeman
9 years, 3 months ago
You must be happy to be able to save your Depends and not wear them on rides anymore.
Nice list, Cam.
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Cam McRae
9 years, 3 months ago
I no longer have to raid your supply!
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