Sea Otter 2011 - 2012 Shimano XT and XTR

Shimano revamped their Deore XT line, and the new M780 group got a slew of trickled down technology from the 2011 XTR brethren, and come in a more affordable price point. The XT gets an 2x10 (40/28 and 38/26) and 3x10 (42-32-24) crankset, Race and Trail pedals, Race and Trail wheelsets, index shifting with multiple release and vivid indexing, Servo-Wave brakes with a two-piece caliper that has the ICE technology (radiator-backed pads, alloy-core rotors, 22mm oversized pistons). This goes along with the 2011 M770 wide-range 10-speed cassette and asymmetrical chain. The system will be available in silver or black.

Sea Otter 2011 - Schwalbe Hans Dampf

Schwalbe had their new Hans Dampf on display at Sea Otter, and the German name translates to "jack-of-all-trades". The all conditions mountain bike tire, are tubeless ready with a non-directional tread pattern, and uses their tough SnakeSkin sidewalls, and was designed for dry and loose or wet and rooty and rocky terrain. The tires use their Triple Star rubber compound design, specifically the TrailStar version (High Performance Trail Ride Compound). The TrailStar is comprised of a base layer, which provides knob stability and good rolling properties, and then a medium soft rubber running down the center knobs for traction, braking and acceleration performance, and finally a soft rubber on the side knobs for grip in corners and riding over adverse and rocky terrain.

Sea Otter 2011- DT Swiss 29er

DT Swiss was showing off some trick new 29er products, including wheelsets, rims and forks. They have a wicked carbon tubular wheelset (XRC 950T-29) that comes in at 1200 grams that the Scott Swisspower team is racing in Europe. Although pricing hasn't been announced, you might want to take out a second mortgage if you want a set, and they should be available around mid-summer.

Sea Otter - Magura MT8 Carbon Brakes

Magura had their stunning new MT8 brakes on display, and they were incredibly lightweight (278g w/ 160mm rotor) and drop-dead gorgeous. The high tech works of art use some amazingly innovative production techniques and materials to create a light and strong brake for any type of riding, from x-country to downhill.

Sea Otter 2011 - Purely Custom Soft Touch Bashguard

The Purely Custom Soft Touch Bashguard is a unique component. Instead of using hard plastic or metal for the bashguard, they use CNC machined aluminum that has Thermoplastic Polyurethane bonded on the outer edge. Thermoplastic Polyurethanes or TPU is a class of polyurethane plastics with many useful properties, including elasticity, transparency, and resistance to oil, grease and abrasion. The TPU ring is ribbed, and can be used as a third wheel, offering adhesion and traction capabilities over obstacles, and will not mar surfaces. The TPU is hard, but has a slight give, so that it can adhere and conform to objects, offering a useful gripiness when dealing with and powering over large rocks or trees. The bashguard is CNC machined from a solid billet of aluminum, for additional strength and durability.

Sea Otter 2011 - Answer Products - ProTaper XC Trail Handlebars

Answer had their new ProTaper XC Trail handlebars on display, and the 7050–T series aluminum alloy bars come in a vast array of colors and three height versions. They aren't the lightest bars, but they have a good price point at $65, lots of color options and sizes, and are strong and durable. They come in wild set of colors, including Black, Brunette, Green, Red, Mango and Pink Petal.

Sea Otter - MET Helmets

MET helmets are quite popular in many parts of the world, but they haven't been available in the US due to certification issues. The California company Tom Hall Ent is working on getting them CPSC approved, and they should be on the market in July. Getting the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) approval is quite difficult, as the US regulations are very stringent, although Jim Bremner of Tom Hall Ent told me that Australia is even tougher? In case you want to read the technical fodder on the regulations, refer to http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/regsumbicyclehelmets.pdf

Sea Otter - 2012 Fox Forks and Shocks

Fox has been busy this past year, and they have revamped the product line, added a long travel 29er fork, and titanium crown/steerer fork, tweaked the FIT damper, changed seals, and added Kashima to rear shocks.

The new family grouping covers their entire suspension line, and everything is now divided into three entities, Factory, Performance and Evolution.

• FACTORY - Best: has their latest, greatest and most advanced technology
• PERFORMANCE - Better: FIT on 32, open bath on 36 and 40, less advanced technology and adjustability
• EVOLUTION - Good: entry level, open bath forks, simpler technology

Kashima
The Kashima coating was introduced last year for aftermarket only, and they have now opened the doors (or flood gates) for OEM usage, so you'll be seeing the fancy gold color on significantly more bikes. The coating has been tweaked, and it should appear as a darker color, and be slightly more slippery. Only the Factory series will have the coating, and it has now been added to the FLOAT RP23, DHX Air and DHX RC4 rear shocks, including portions of the air sleeves (RC4 is shaft only). For manufacturing reasons, the coating has to be added to both the inside and outside of the air sleeve, so thing's slide on a smoother surface internally.

OHM XS 750 Review

I have been riding the OHM XS 750 Electric bike, through most of the Winter, doing short commutes into work, and riding with the family on singletrack, and sundry trails. The XS 750 is quite a high tech piece of engineering, with excellent features and component selection, and it's more than meets the eye. The Electric duties are performed by a proprietary Li-Mn battery, which powers a BionX 350 watt motor, and a trick BionX LCD command console controls the operational needs. The e-bike's operation is quiet and smooth, making for an enjoyable riding experience.

Just In: Julbo Ultra, Koobi PRS Alpha, AAZIS Plus 180 Soft Knee-Shin Guard

Julbo Ultra
The new Julbo Ultra just arrived, and I was pretty stoked to try them out. Julbo makes some pretty amazing sunglasses, and they have one of the best lenses on the market, the Zebra. The Ultra comes with the Zebra Light lens, which is Photochromic, and has a somewhat lower category coverage, meaning it's meant for low light conditions. They'll be ideal for my typical late evening rides, and those that take place in the deep dark woods. The frames are quite flexible, and the lens sort of floats off of the front nose piece of the sunglasses. I only had one ride with them, and they worked ideally for the cloudy late afternoon.

Reviews In The Queue: X-Fusion Hilo 100, Deuter Race X Air

X-Fusion Hilo 100
At the end of last year, the suspension company X-Fusion released their new 100mm-travel adjustable seatpost called the Hilo, and they were kind enough to send one along for a quick four week test. The hydraulic seatpost is infinitely adjustable in its 100 mm range, and can be set up to be either cable actuated from a remote on the handlebar or a lever under the seat. It weighs approximately 620 grams, and is available in 27.2, 30.9 and 31.6mm diameters, and comes in either black or matte silver/black. The Hilo is hydraulically controlled, and pulling the cable or lever allows oil to pass freely through the post's chamber, allowing it to move up or down. When released, oil can no longer move, so the post is held in place, holding its height. It uses an air spring to extend the post, which is adjusted by the valve located on the bottom.

36 TALAS 180 FIT RC2 Review

The TALAS 180 is a superb fork, offering a buttery smooth plush ride, and incredible riding traits, along with excellent features such as the TALAS (180-140) travel adjustment, FIT R2 damper, and slippery Kashima coated stanchions. Fox has a winner with this sucker, and you can call it a Rock Star (pun intended), and it really shows the advancements in fork technology, especially in the All Mountain and Freeride realm, where the boundaries are being pushed. This fork can be ridden up and down terrain, as its more than just a shuttle or lift serviced entity.

GoPro Launches 3D HERO System

GoPro Launches 3D HERO® System; World's Smallest 1080p 3D Camera. Professional Quality at a Consumer Price.

Innovative Modular Design Enables Consumers to Combine two 1080p HD HERO Cameras to Create Professional Quality 3D Camera System.

April 4, 2011 - Half Moon Bay, Calif. - GoPro, the world's leading activity camera company, today announced the availability of the much anticipated 3D HERO® System, a waterproof 3D expansion kit for GoPro's best selling 1080p HD HERO camera. The 3D HERO System is available immediately at GoPro.com and is shipping to GoPro retailers worldwide with an MSRP of $99.99.

Industry Nine All Mountain Review

The Industry Nine All Mountain wheels are pretty darn sweet, as they are lightweight, brutally strong, look good, are well made, and have one of the most amazing freehubs I have ever used! Instant power can be applied to the wheel due to their 120 point of engagement hub, with virtually no lag in the power transition, making pedaling a joy, especially in highly technical terrain. All the I9 wheels use their straight pull hubs, and aluminum spokes, which makes them a pretty unique system. Industry Nine is a small Asheville, NC company, and they do onsite design, manufacturing, quality control, sales, assembly, truing and tensioning of their products (the rims and bearings are outsourced).