News Roundup: Week of October 6th

Industry News

Commencal Launch Mixed-Wheel and E-Bike Versions of the 2022 Meta SX

Commencal have announced their full lineup of bikes for 2022, with new mullet and e-versions of the Meta SX taking the spotlight. Both bikes feature revised geometries, which Commencal claims place the rider more in the center of the bike versus prior models. They have also integrated a flip-chip for quicker adjustment of the geometry and suspension kinematics.

The Meta Power SX gets a Shimano EP8 motor with a 630Wh battery, with tweaked positioning of the motor to increase clearance and reduce the chances of inadvertent damage.

The Meta SX comes in 6 build kits ranging from $3,799 CAD to $7,399 CAD, and the Power SX is offered in 4 build kits, priced from $7,599 CAD to $9,799 CAD.

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show Returns in 2022

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show will return from its pandemic hiatus next September. The event will be held at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. show founder Don Walker announced Thursday.

In a Facebook video Walker said the event will honor registrations made for the canceled 2020 event, which had been planned for Dallas, Texas.

"If you signed up for Dallas in 2020 your registration will moved forward and you are covered for the 2022 show," he said. 

Walker said more details will be released soon. The show will be Sept. 23-25.  

Denver last hosted NAHBS in February, 2013. That year the event was held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center.

Race/Event News

Anneke Beerten Retires From Professional Racing

After over a year of rehabilitation and seeing many specialists, doctors and doing rehab for my brain injury sustained in a car accident, my doctors have decided I will have to retire from racing at the Elite pro level of mountain biking. This is for my own safety and health. The risks and danger racing at the highest level brings and knowing it takes 110% to be racing against the clock and in-between the tape is not safe for me while I’m still recovering from my brain injury. Unfortunately, my visual system isn’t back to normal yet and my left eye is struggling with tracking. Putting stress on my visual system causes symptoms like nausea, dizziness, fatigue and confusion in the brain. The visual system is complex and everything you see needs to be processed by the brain, and due to the injuries I incurred, I have some loose circuits in there. Next to my visual dysfunction, I still experience neck pain from the whiplash and just recently underwent a nerve block procedure to help reduce my neck pain and headaches.

Some things in life are out of our control. And while it breaks my heart to end my career this way, I feel lucky for the time I had. As a pro athlete you always dream of ending your career on a high and doing that one last race, but for me that will not be the case. 

The past year has been difficult, challenging and a roller coaster to say the least. My life went from going a 100miles an hour to a dead stop. I love riding, racing, camping, traveling, riding dirt bikes and exploring this world. And when your life comes to a sudden halt along with dealing with severe symptoms for months, life gets pretty dark. 

But these difficult months have made me stronger, more appreciative of life, grateful for what I have, can do again, and it motivates me to keep going and set new life goals and to keep pedaling forward.

I can look back knowing I gave it my all, including all I've put into my rehab. Many doctor visits and many hours spent in concussion/brain rehab and vision therapy. I left no stone unturned, educated myself on brain injuries and pushed through the hardest time of my life mentally. 

This next chapter has come sooner than expected, but I approach it like I do all things in my life, head on, and 110% in. I have so much to be thankful for and amazing memories that I’ve collected along the way. My passion for the bike industry has not changed, but my role in it has. I look forward to leaving my mark on it outside of racing. 

As many of you know, I've always loved passing on my knowledge of racing and cycling to the next generation of kids and other people, and I will continue to do so. There are still many possibilities and opportunities to continue my passion for cycling. You’ll find me outside the tape coaching, doing clinics, motivational speaking, creating content and continuing to work closely with my sponsors.

With that being said.. I’m excited to announce that I will continue my partnership with Specialized for 2022 and beyond. I’m proud to be part of the Specialized family who has supported me as a racer, but mostly as a human being in the industry, whether that be on or off the track. We may not be racing down the hill anymore, but we are moving mountains together! 

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Sea Otter Classic October 7th through the 10th. I’ll be announcing the kids' races and creating content for GMBN! 

Many things to look forward to and in the meantime, I will continue to keep working hard on my TBI recovery and I will keep sharing my road to recovery to bring more awareness to concussions and TBI injuries. 

Thank you all for the love and support. 

See you on the trails!

Anneke

Rheeder Out, Genon In at Red Bull Rampage

Brett Rheeder has withdrawn from contention at Red Bull Rampage due to an injury sustained earlier this month. He said: "A crash took me off the bike and put me into crutches on September 24th with a minor knee injury. From there I spent the following week rehabilitating my knee with @damienmoroney in hopes that we could see enough improvements to go ahead with Rampage. We made insane progress! But unfortunately not enough for what Rampage demands. Bummed for sure but this injury could be a lot worse, as of right now the prognosis is perhaps a sprained LCL or bad bone bruise (MRI results coming this week) Either way I think this will be a relatively short recovery. Good luck to the riders and dig crews this year! Bummed I can’t be there with you but stoked to see what everyone builds and rides. Will be watching from home!"

In his place, Thomas Genon will be headed to the Utah desert to compete in his 8th Rampage to date.

Red Bull Rampage is set to go off on October 15th