Magura Sedona Press Camp 2011- Crank Brothers

At the 2011 Magura Sedona Press, Crank Brothers was showing their 2012 product line, which includes redesigned mallet and 5050 pedals, wider handlebars, a level 1 group, saddle, new or redesigned tools, wheels and packs.Crank Brothers has been realigning their product suite, and they have divided it up into collections (cobalt-Cross Country, iodine-All Mountain, sage-Freeride and opium-Downhill), and then levels within each product line (11-Best, 3-Better, 2-Good, 1-Entry), except for the pedals, which are only categorized by their numerical level.

Magura USA (aka Magura Direct) hosted an incredible press camp in spectacular Sedona Arizona in mid-May, and they were kind enough to invite Francis and I on the wondrous shindig. The invited editors and writers got to test out the Magura Direct products that they distribute, which includes Magura (brakes and forks), uvex (helmets and sunglasses) and Vaude (packs and apparel), and they also were joined by SKS and Crank Brothers. We got to test the products from each of the companies on the inspiring, scary and extremely technical trails of Sedona, and the riding experience was simply superb. Our awesome Crank Brothers hosts, Amanda Schaper and Jason Firsty, gave us an excellent and in depth walkthrough of their entire product suite.  

Cockpit
The cobalt and iodine bars (1, 2, 3, 11) get a larger selection of widths, including the addition of an ultra wide 780mm in the 11 level, which is made from strong and lightweight carbon. The cockpit (bars, stems, seatpost) gets a new level 1, which is for entry level users and will be spec'ed on OEM bikes, and they come in cobalt (seatpost, bar) and iodine (bar, stem). The opium 3 and sage 2 bars have been added, and they measure in at a whopping 780mm wide with two rise heights (15 or 30mm).

Bar Model	cobalt, iodine 11	cobalt, iodine, opium 3	cobalt, iodine, sage 2	cobalt, iodine 1
Weight (narrowest)	flat: 132g, rise: 160g iodine -178g	flat: 180g, rise: 230g iodine - 238g Opium - 290g	flat: 227g, rise: 262g sage - 325g	flat: 278g, rise: 318g iodine - 328g
Rise	Flat: 8mm, Low: 15mm iodine - 30mm	Flat: 8mm, Low: 15mm iodine - 30mm opium - 15, 30mm	Flat: 8mm, Low: 15mm iodine - 30mm sage - 15, 30mm	Flat: 8mm, Low: 15mm iodine - 30mm
Sweep (only cobalt flat)	Flat: 6° Rise: 6° 680mm 9° 700, 740, 780mm	Flat: 6° Rise: 6° 680, 700mm 9° 720mm, 780mm	Flat: 6° Rise: 6° 680, 700mm 9° 720mm, 780mm	Flat: 6° 600, 680mm Rise: 6° 680, 700mm
Width (only cobalt flat)	Flat: 600, 680mm Rise: 680, 700, 740, 780mm	Flat: 600, 680mm Rise: 680, 700, 720mm opium - 780mm	Flat: 600, 680mm Rise: 680, 700, 720mm sage - 780mm	Flat: 600, 680mm Rise: 680, 700mm
MSRP	$120	$80	$50	$30

The cobalt (2, 3, 11) and iodine (1, 2, 3) stems are very trick, and the cobalt 11 is a gorgeous full carbon unit. For clamping purposes the cobalt series uses an innovative plunger system that uses a single torx bolt at both the steerer and handlebar, which pushes out in a uniform manner, giving a cleaner surface area and a more distributed load, and allows a much higher torque setting. The iodine series uses the typical clamping systems, except for the iodine 3, which uses a carbon faceplate for weight savings and a plunger system on the steerer.

Stem Model	cobalt 11	cobalt, iodine 3	cobalt, iodine 2	iodine 1
Weight 100mm	125 grams	cobalt 140 grams iodine 158 grams	cobalt 158 grams iodine 167 grams	190 grams
Rise	6º	6º	6º	6º
Length	80mm-120mm	cobalt 80mm-120mm iodine 65mm - 100mm	cobalt 80mm-120mm iodine 65, 80-120mm	50, 65, 80 - 110mm
MSRP	$300	cobalt $100 iodine $130	cobalt $80 iodine $90	$70

Saddles
The iodine saddles come in a 3 and 11 level, and they have replaceable rails (kium rails on the 11, chromoly on the 3) , a flexible nose and scuff guards, and cost $110 and $170 respectively. I tried the saddles out at the Sedona press camp, and I really liked how they felt when you got yourself up on the nose, as you could grab enormous amounts of leverage and power up on its peak, but still retain some comfort. They were an impressive saddle, that was very useful and comfortable for All Mountain riding, and appear to be durable.

Pedals
Their pedals have gone through some major changes the last couple of years, with a redesign of the eggbeaters and candy in 2010, and the 5050 and mallet in 2011. They went back and worked on durability, production and quality control, and went through a couple of key areas that assisted in this endeavor. Their spindles are 50% stronger by doing a reshaping, and the springs are 10 times stronger. They reversed the springs wind, so when clipped in there is less tension (it loosens instead of tightens against the spindle), which alleviates additional stress to the system. They redid their sealing on the bearings to stop contamination, which was accomplished by going to a two piece design of all the pedals, allowing larger and better bearings to be added, and alleviating inboard leak paths (3 and 11 levels use needle bearings). Lastly, they worked on the shoe interface to the pedal, which is important since you want the tread to rest on the pedal body, for better platform, stability and less stress on the springs. Shoes can very in dimensions and construction, so they created what they call contact sleeves, which fill in the gaps between the tread height and the pedal body, and they come in 1, 2 and 3mm thicknesses. The Pro racers had been using duct tape to accomplish the same sort of thing.

The eggbeaters (1,2,3,11) and candy (1,2,3,11) use the same basic design through the series, but you get titanium spindles and springs, and higher quality bearings as you move up the food chain. The redesigned for 2012 mallet (1,2,3) and 5050 (2,3), are made with two pieces for better seals, have decreased weight and slimmer bodies, and are made with two different materials. Their inner portion use the lightweight and robust polycarbonate, while the outside use aluminum, which is more durable for abrasions and protects the more fragile outer bearings.

Pedal Model	mallet, 5050 3	mallet, 5050 2	mallet 1
Weight	mallet 435 grams 5050 433 grams	mallet? 5050 428 grams	mallet ?
Platform	aluminum/polycarbonate	aluminum/polycarbonate	polycarbonate
MSRP	mallet $120 5050 $100	mallet $90 5050 $80	$60

Wheels
All of their wheels use the same basic design, with direct-pull spokes and twin-spar lacing, and are connected to I Beam tubeless rim with no spoke holes. With their new redesign, the rim's are 30% stiffer and stronger, and have been reduced in weight, which was accomplished by adding material at the weld and valve hole, and reducing it elsewhere. The redesigned hub's strength has been increased by 10 fold, and the level 3 and 11 get four cartridge bearings, while the 2 retains the traditional cup and cone, with two cartridge bearings on the free hub. The level 3 and 11 also get threaded end caps instead of press on. All the spokes in the 26 inch wheels use the same spoke length, making it easier for shops and consumers to retain and replace extras.

The cobalt (26 inch - 2,3,11 and 29 inch 2,3) got a carbon version in the 11 level this year, costing $2200 and weighing a super light 1380 grams. The top secret surprise at the press camp was a carbon 29er cobalt 11, no price, pictures or weight as yet, but they were certainly very feathery. Currently only the cobalt series has the 29er size, but they change in the future? The iodine (2,3) wheels were joined by some tough company, with the new sage 2 and a lightened opium 3, which lost around 130 grams with the rim redesigns.

I tested both the cobalt and iodine 3’s at the press camp, and they both had a great ride and feel, the iodine being slightly less flexy in the front when pushed to the limit on the ugly technical terrain at Sedona.

Wheel Model	cobalt 11	cobalt, iodine, opium 3	cobalt, iodine, sage 2
Weight	cobalt 1380 grams	cobalt 1550 grams iodine 1765 grams opium 1935 grams	cobalt 1690 grams iodine 1850 grams sage 2190 grams
Rim Width	cobalt 19mm	cobalt 19mm iodine 21mm opium 24mm	cobalt 19mm iodine 21mm sage 24mm
Front Axle	cobalt 9, 15mm	cobalt 9, 15mm iodine 15, 20mm opium 20mm	cobalt 9,15mm iodine 9,15mm sage 20mm
Rear Axle	cobalt 135x10, 142x12	cobalt 135x10, 142x12 iodine 135x10, 142x12 opium 150mm	cobalt 135x10, 142x12 iodine135x10, 142x12 sage 150mm
MSRP	$2200	cobalt $950 iodine $950 opium $950	cobalt $650 iodine $650 sage $650

Tools
Last but not least are some very nice new premium tools. The models are the pica+, pica and pixl ($70, $65 and $60), which use investment cast steel for strength and durability. I liked the pica+ and pica, since they both come with a chainbreaker (a necessity IMHO), with 17 and 15 tools respectively. They all have smooth lines, and are well sculpted, and are more like jewelry.