INJURED RESERVE

First Look: Cooper's New Titanium Hardware

Words Cooper Quinn

Photos Cooper Quinn

Date Apr 22, 2025

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There's Tennessee mud on my shoes in the garage. It's been there for three weeks now. Ordinarily, things like this don't happen; my riding shoes get regularly used and washed. However I’m not operating ordinarily. In addition to some mud, I also picked up seven pieces of titanium as souvenirs of the trip - two plates and five screws attached to my left radius. If you’re thinking, “Oof, that's a lot of hardware” that aligns well with what one of my (now numerous) radiology techs said… “Oof, a lot of fragments.”

It's a sticky, claylike, peanut butter mud that we don't have in my corner of BC. It's going to be there for a while longer.

So why tell any of this now, if you don't really get to hear about it until next month? Because in addition to a myriad of various medical professionals and family, one of the other calls I had to make was to the NSMB Powers That Be and explain that most of my deadlines for product review over the next 8 weeks or so weren't going to happen. So in an effort to placate them (and let brands and readers know why things on my end are temporarily languishing), here are a few small teasers and first looks for things that are going to gather dust in my garage for a bit.

I don't have any post-hardware photos yet. Or any pre-ER-reduction photos. But here's a glimpse of the mild disaster that was my wrist after it was straightened out in a Tennessee ER to fly home for surgery. I'll spare you the photos of me holding what looked like a big wet noodle.

Sidi Physis

Ample clichés exist about fine Italian leather shoes - and immediately upon putting fingers on Sidi's new Physis "unlimited adventure" shoes' welded TPU upper, you can see why. While not made of cow-hide, the look and feel of the features and construction on the Physis is as premium as the price tag (400 USD). These shoes arrived midwinter for me, and just as the weather window opened to start exploring with my feet wrapped in Sidi's new "Millennium Fit" battened down by Dyneema strings, I broke myself. So pretty soon here I'll be getting used to using Sidi's patented BOA-like "The Dial System" on my trainer. Initial impressions on quality are high, the fit is excellent, and I expect the stiff full carbon soles - which rate an 11 on Sid's 5-12 scale - to appeal to me for the targeted gravel-through-XC riding.

They're not the lightest shoes out there, but with a wider toe box (that's the Millennium Fit part) than some of their competitors, and nice grippy looking sole lugs, they should be good for those like me looking for power transfer, with just a bit more comfort and off-bike stability than a full XC or gravel race shoe.

Sidi Physis

Part of the reason I didn't spend any time in these this winter is that mine came in the excellent to look at, but likely impossible to clean, Sand colorway.

Sidi's "Millennium Fit" is a touch wider, especially in the toe box, than some racier competitors. It's comfortable for my feet.

Fox 34SL

While Deniz got to attend the coveted AZ Press Junket and is reviewing Fox's new 36SL, we haven't covered the distinctly more XC-oriented (but also fresh) 34SL. I installed the whole kit and kaboodle on the also-new Rocky Mountain Element moments before I headed down to Tennessee. I've pedaled it around the block, but no further.

There's a LOT of detail to cover on this new setup - especially around the fork - but for now, suffice it to say the 110-130mm platform should suit the new Element perfectly, blending the lines between XC and Trail. I'm very keen to put this efficiency-oriented system head-to-head with the RockShox Flight Attendant-equipped SID & SIDluxe on my personal Element. Beeps and boops vs cables; let the comments section get fired up.

The 34SL comes with - you got it - 34mm stanchions. The new hole-filled arch and other improvements keep the weight low enough for Fox to claim the lightest "whole system" of components, including the Transfer SL seatpost.

If it's a party up front, is this end all business?

There's a clever new remote that'll actuate the seatpost and fork/shock modes - you can pick if you want this to be a two or three-position affair.

Cables connect to the top of the Grip SL damper - there are open, firm, and lockout modes available.

And same back here. In the garage, it feels like the firm setting is only marginally different from open, however, lockout is as expected.

Rocky Mountain Element

It almost goes without saying now, but obviously the Element long term review is also on hold. I have no further thoughts on this platform since the First Look, so just hold your horses.

I have a fresh matching Kashima Factory post for the rear as well, but it's hard to install with one hand. Fox's Transfer SL seatpost is great - there's no air seals to worry about and it's very light. The only downside (which doesn't bother me) is that it only locks at the top and bottom.

A moment of mechanical genius? The Element lacks routing for the lockout cable, but I utilized some of SRAM's brake hose stem bolt clamps on the accessory mount.

I've done my best, but there are a lot of cables up here. As a Tidy Bike Fetishist, this is a bit Kathmandu Power Grid for me.

We'll be back soon enough. Photo: Deniz Merdano

So that's where we're at. Give me a few weeks (ok, months) and I'll be back here to wax poetically about everything from gravel to downhill bikes and everything in between. And while you're out there enjoying the prime moments of hero dirt spring riding, spare a moment for me, sweating in the garage on a trainer, or getting wrenched on in uncomfortable ways by my physio. While I'm bummed to be missing out, I know riding will still be there when I'm ready and, occasionally, this is part of the game.

I can get out and do this, though. Which is exceptionally important. A is still loving his Prevelo, although I get more, "Come on, Dad." than usual.

In the meantime, Troy Brosnan will have to hold it down out there for us dads (and moms). While rain conspired against him in Windrock, he still managed to pull out second behind some guy named Amaury.