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11/22/2008
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Interbike 2004 - The bikes
New offerings for '05 from Giant, Cannondale, Knolly
Bikes, Santa Cruz, Norco, and Devinci
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Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan
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Santa Cruz Bicycles
Santa Cruz was at the show with its usual fare - the Bullit, Heckler,
and Chameleon made their appearance as you'd expect.
There was also some new additions (like the 4-cross version of the Blur)
and some other bikes that are becoming increasingly popular.
The real news at the Santa
Cruz booth was the Jackal, a DJ / urban hardtail with some wicked
headtube work.
You can run the Jackal with vertical or horizontal dropouts (with or
without a rear derailleur, in other words), and up to 6" of travel
in the front.
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The massive hydroformed toptube junction |
Designed with input from Syndicate rider Kirt Voreis, the Jackal sports
hydroformed toptube and hefty chainstays that are up to just about anything
you can manage.
The Jackal is available in two sizes: standard and long, which have a
22.25" and 23.5" toptube, respectively.
Pricing on the Jackal is damn respectable, coming in at US$499 for the
frame and $1,599 for a complete bike with a Marzocchi DJ3 fork.
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The VP-Free is back for '05...
The VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) VP-Free is and up-and-down 8" bike, with
215mm of rear travel and triple chainring compatibility. An uninterrupted seattube
means you don't need to run a telescoping post, and 150mm rear spacing with
a 12mm through-axle makes for a stuff rear end. Powdercoated frames are US$1,749
and ano frames are $1,899. Complete bikes will run from $3,349 to $5,058 depending
on the fork and build kit.
... and so is a revamped V-10. Sort of. Ooooooo, trans red.
Santa Cruz even got into the carbon state of mind that seemed to be prevalent
at Interbike this year. The new V-11 features a carbon rear fender. Oh, and
255mm of VPP rear-wheel travel, a 150mm / 12mm rear end, and full titanium hardware.
Frame-only pricing is $2,199 for powdercoat and a 5th Element with cromo spring,
$2,399 for ano, and about another $240 to throw in a Hadley rear hub. Complete
prices range from $4,953 to $6,034.
Norco Performance Bikes
The good Canadian kids at Norco
are back again with some really cool rides for '05. Colours and graphics have
changed, and the eye candy was everywhere. There were a ton of bikes in the
booth, so it was difficult to decide what to shoot. Here's a sampling of what's
available.
The Manik is Norco's double-crown freeride hardtail. The CNC'd rear yoke lets
you run either a 26" or 24" rear tire, and the Marzocchi Drop Off
DC fork with 170mm makes big hits a breeze. Titec El Norte parts are standard,
along with Kenda Nevegal and Blue Groove 2.5" tires and 8" Hayes discs.
MSRP is CDN$1,650.
Norco has really stepped up with its VPS full suspension bikes in the last
couple of years, and the line keeps getting better each year. The new VPS Savage
(bottom, in red) is the price-point bike in the line at $2,069, but it's still
spec'd with some great parts. 6" or 7" of rear travel, a Manitou Metal
R coil shock on the back and a Stance King-pin 170mm fork, a 150mm / 12mm, and
Truvative Blaze cranks. The Atomik (top, in blue) is back again, this year with
a 170mm Marzocchi Drop Off fork, Hussefult cranks, bar, and stem, and a 6"/7"
Fox DHX-3 rear shock. You'll be shelling out $2,575 for the Atomik.
The Six brings - you guessed it 6" of travel front and back, courtesy
of a Marzocchi Z1 FR2 fork (or the optional 66VF). Sizing runs from extra small
to extra large, so there's something to fit just about everyone. A Fox DHX-3
rear shock is standard, as are Hussefelt cranks and a Titec Scoper post. Pricing
is set at $2,949 with the Z1 and $3,199 with the VF.
All-mountain rippers will be digging the Fluid. This year, there are two models
to choose from, with 4.6" to 5.6" of rear wheel travel. Fox and Manitou
air shocks cushion the rear end on the Fluid 1.0 and 2.0 (shown above), respectively,
with a Manitou Elite and Marzocchi EXR on the front. There's also a liberal
sprinkling of Titec XC components to guide you down the trail. The 1.0 will
set you back $3,539 and the 2.0 is $2,139.
The Team DH got a bright new paintjob this year, and it will be hella difficult
to miss when it's screaming down the trail. There's more than candy apple red
at work here, though. A hydroformed toptube, CNC'd yoke, shorter rear end, slacker
headtube angle, and fully adjustable BB height are all kicking up the Team DH
this year.
nsmb's Corey Anderson is testing the '05 DH, which will make for a nice comparison
review with his write-up of the '04
Team DH. The gold ano rims are pimp, the Hadley front and rear hubs will
keep things spinning smoothly, and the 888RC fork will make up for any shortcomings
you may have on the landings. Start saving you pennies - you'll need 588,900
of them.
Devinci Cycles
Good Canadian kids from Quebec, Devinci
has been getting some attention lately. I had a chance to test the Ollie at
this year's Dirt Demo, and came away fairly impressed. In fact, I had my best
run of the day on the bike and really liked the way it handled in the steep
and rocky terrain at Bootleg Canyon.
The Ollie (top, in green) and Wilson (bottom, white)
The Devinci freeride line is back for '05, with a few minor changes. The biggest
come on the Wilson, which has been transformed from a freeride bike into a full-on
DH bike, with slacker angles and a lower BB. The Ollie, 8 Flat 8, and new price-point
Johnson have been refined for this year to make them better at what they do,
and all have 1.5" headtubes for increased welding radius and strength through
the headtube.
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Sharp-eyed readers will notice that the bikes on display here use a different
rear linkage than those available north of the 49th parallel.
Devinci bikes sold in Canada use the Horst Link four-bar rear suspension
design, but because Specialized holds the U.S. patent on four-bar and
is reluctant to license it to other companies, Devinci has to get creative
and develop its own chainstay / seatstay pivot and dropout for bikes sold
in that market.
The result is an elegantly machined interface that bolts onto the chainstay,
incorporates the seatstay pivot, and provides a mounting point for the
rear derailleur.
Expect to find this type of dropout on all Devinci full squish bikes
available south of the border, and the standard four-bar in the Great
White North.
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A Wilson for U.S. riders, complete with Saint rear derailleur
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The 8 Flat 8 and Johnson freeride rigs
Pricing on these four bikes runs from CDN$2,699 for the Johnson,
$3,699 for the 8 Flat 8, $4,499 for the Ollie, and $6,299 for the Wilson.
The Kicker (top) and the Hucker (bottom), ready to rip on the
streets or local jumps
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Devinci is going hard with its DJ / urban / street bikes as well, and
they're also using a 1.5" headtube.
The Kicker comes in at $1,199 with a Marzocchi Dirt Jam Comp 100mm fork
and the Hucker is $1,599 with a Drop Off 130mm fork. Components are a
SRAM and Truvativ mix on the Hucker, and Shimano / Truvativ combo on the
Kicker.
The other things Devinci is doing with the Hucker are adding an ISCG
and building its own combination rear derailleur hanger / moveable dropout.
Change the chainstay length and change the ride with an Allen key.
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You move your dropout to the left, you move your dropout
to the right... |
The other interesting news from Devinci was its 6" All-Mountain Extreme
series. The $3,499 Magma boasts a RockShox Pike fork with a dedicated through-axle
and U-Turn travel adjustment, a mix of Shimano Saint and Hone components, Avid
Juicy 5 brakes, and some really cool gusseting at the toptube / headtube / downtube
junction. If that's a little steep for your budget, give up the through-axle
fork and step down in the components and pick up the $2,599 Guzzler. Both bikes
come in at around 35lbs.
That's all for this instalment. Stay tuned for more Interbike 2004 coverage
this week from Cam and I. We've got the latest suspension goodies, more new
toys, and a whole bunch of odds-and-ends.
Stuart Kernaghan
The complete Interbike
low-down from nsmb.com
IB
Dirt Demo '04
Interbike
'04 - Day 1
IB
'04 - Day 2
IB
'04 - Day 3
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