Swinging by THE’s booth (Toby Henderson Enterprises) at Interbike is always a treat. For one thing, it’s one of the very few booths where you get a chance to meet and greet with the owner. Talking with Toby was great because I really got to better understand what goes through his mind when he’s coming up with new and improved products.

The star of THE’s 2011 booth was the all new T2 Carbon skid lid. The T2 features 17 vents to allow efficient flow into the 4 internal channels that vent out the 6 large rear vents. Fortunately THE kept what worked from previous models, namely the removable washable (swede looking) liner and the double “D” ring padded chin strap. The T2 also sports some cool metallic hardware that makes this helmet really pop. Even the included helmet bag rocks! At at reasonable 1000 grams, this helmet won’t have you staring at the ground all day or coming off the trail with a sore neck.

If you want the same great looks in a helmet but at a slightly lower price point, you can get the T2 composite. The composite version features everything the T2 Carbon has minus the fitted bag and slightly more heft (1100 grams).

The POINT5 helmet (not shown) is essentially the shape of last year’s ONE helmet but injected molded and at a really competitive price.  This should be a great choice for those on a budget or for kids who are just starting out (and whose head is still growing!).

Not only did THE revamp their helmet line but they also added some hot jerseys in three colors (red,blue, black). Featuring full-length front, rear, and sleeve venting, forearm and elbow padding, fitted ribbed cuffs, and sublimated THE graphics, this jersey doesn’t just look good, it performs well too. Check out THE’s website when you have the chance to see all this plus more!

I recently went looking for a set of carbon handlebars for my hardtail 29er mountain bike and by some lucky accident I ended up with the ProTaper Carbon 720 AM bars from Answer. Although my bike isn’t anywhere close to “all-mountain,” I really like these bars and I almost shudder at the thought of going back to the uncomfortable, timid world of straight XC handlebars.

Technology

The “ProTaper” part of the Carbon 720 AM bars is actually a patented design and manufacturing process that tapers the bar diameter to provide more strength where it’s needed while stripping unnecessary weight from other areas. Answer has proven this design in aluminum bars over the years but the Carbon 720 AM is one of the first products to feature ProTaper in a carbon fiber handlebar. The result is a strong, lightweight carbon bar that won’t leave you cringing every time you tighten your stem bolts (though you still need to be careful). At just 205 grams, this is one of the lightest all-mountain bars you’re likely to find.

Speaking of stem bolts, the Carbon 720 AM handlebar features a rough, grit grip area in the middle for a no-slip stem grip. The upshot is you can get the same level of grip at lower stem bolt torques, saving the agony of cracked carbon tubes. Answer offers a 1-year warranty against breakage, though unsurprisingly the warranty doesn’t cover “non-riding damage.”

Shape

Mountain bike handlebars are sorta like saddles in a way – you need to choose the shape and size that works best for you. I went with the middle-of-the-road, 1-inch rise version based on my bike’s geometry but 1/2″ and 2″ rise versions are available as well. All three sizes feature 4-degrees of up sweep and 8-degrees of back sweep which may not mean much to most riders but Answer claims this combo is both “competition and race proven.” Suffice it to say it’s a comfortable set-up that feels natural on the bike (more on that later).

As the name implies, the Carbon 720 AM bars are 720mm wide which is a good bit wider than say a traditional XC handlebar. Wider bars give you more control over the bike at speed and I noticed they also allowed me to open my chest a bit on lung-searing climbs. If you’re not into the wide bar scene, Answer provides cut marks to make it easy to trim the bars down to size. I did find myself clipping more trees than usual with the bars at full length so in the future I may choose to lop off a few centimeters.

The Ride

I’ve been riding with these bars for a couple months now and I have to say I really love them for a number of reasons. First, the unidirectional carbon seems to take a lot of the sting out of rocks and roots. At the end of epic rides with more than 4 hours in the saddle my arms didn’t feel completely spent and beat up and I noticed less shoulder pain as well. Of course this could be thanks to the refined shape of the bar as well.

Coming off a straight XC-style bar, this medium-rise bar is much more comfortable and made my regular rides more enjoyable. As I mentioned earlier, the wide bars and 8-degree backsweep also helped open up my chest and lungs on climbs (though serious climbers will still prefer the more powerful position offered by an XC-specific bar).

The Answer ProTaper Carbon 720 AM is only offered in black so if you’re working on building that all-white rig you might have to skip these bars for now. The oversized Answer graphics are pretty dope, though I’m not really feeling the gold 1980s Donald Trump color scheme. Fortunately looks aren’t everything.

Whether you’re all-mountain or even cross-country, the Answer ProTaper Carbon 720 AM handlebars have a lot to offer the modern mountain biker. Lightweight, strong, and high performance, these bars won’t disappoint on the trail. Perhaps best of all, these bars offer superior control without sacrificing comfort. Looking for a new set of bars? Here’s your Answer.

Thanks to the folks at Answer for providing these bars for review.

It’s that time of year when I get to call up my good friends in the industry and see what’s up and coming and possibly squeeze out some interesting tidbits about new products. I recently got a chance to talk with with Joel Richardson, Production Manager at Hayes Disc Brakes, which is always super fun and exciting. I enjoy talking with Joel because we speak the same language – “Techish” – and he’s a person who is super stoked to talk about new products in development.

Joel managed a bike shop in Wisconsin from 1994-1998 and as things go in this kind of business he ended helping Len Cabaltera (the original Hayes guy) with development of the Hayes Mag brake back in 1996.

“Len would come into my shop and ask for design and feature feedback on the prototypes.  We had no idea what it would lead to. He hired me straight out of College in 1998 and I started in tech, hand bleeding brakes and answering phones.”

Joel moved around the company a few times before landing in his current position as the brake Product Manager.

Our conversation started out with a bit of small talk, chatting about the usual challenges riders have with disc brakes and set-up. It’s during conversations like these that new ideas are introduced and Joel and I actually came up with a few good ones – perhaps you may even see one or two in the near future, you never know. Anyhow getting into it, we talked a bit about technology and key product characteristics Hayes will carry forward and improve upon and even touched on some of the new stuff under development.

Above: a Hayes design that never went into production but got some serious consideration. Back in 2002 Hayes came up with a two piece rotor for Shimano’s centerlock hub design.

One of the most exciting new products at Hayes this year is the Prime braking system. Prime is the name of the eventual replacement for the Stroker brake line-up and the Prime Pro and Expert take all that is great about the Stroker – forged calipers, compact master cylinder design, and tool free reach adjustment – and make it even better. Prime brakes feature a new caliper design that can withstand a set of bigger pistons and allow you to change up the pads without removing the caliper thanks to a top-loading design. The new brakes also throw in a floating two-piece rotor for the icing on the cake.

The new Prime master cylinder design was put under heavy scrutiny during the design phase. Keeping the basic Stroker design, Hayes tilted the cylinder 10 degrees to maximize finger positioning and changed up the master cylinder internals to allow for easy position adjustments and pad placement. As if that weren’t enough, Prime brakes features a new hose design that minimizes expansion and improves feel while sporting a plethora of exotic materials to reduce weight – now that’s Prime!

A good bit of motorsports technology was put into the Prime brake design. These brakes will outperform all of the present systems that Hayes produces thanks in part to the largest pistons they have ever produced @ 26mm. Many hundreds of hours were needed to develop a brake that would feel consistent under the tremendous forces generated in the caliper. Early in the product development Hayes decided that the calipers needed to be forged to achieve performance expectations (just like the previous model Strokers).

Hayes takes product testing very seriously and one of the tools they use is a Dynamometer capable of testing real world situations such as high speed/high input and wet conditions, shock, and vibration, while monitoring hydraulic pressure, force, speed, torque and temperature. After the dyno test, Hayes slaps the brakes on real bikes rigged with data capturing tools for actual testing on the dirt.

Here’s more from my conversation with Joel.

So when can we expect the Prime for sale to the public?
Everything is pointing to a June 2010 release date.

How powerful is the Prime and where does it fit in the line-up?
It surpasses the power of the Stroker Ace 4 piston brake by 23% on average.

There are two versions here, are we going to see another model or two in the future?
You bet, we are investigating the possibilities for a carbon version.

Are you planning on matching the finish on the brakes to other components produced by Hayes group of companies?
Maybe you can find the ANSWER.

I noticed there are no weights listed yet, any clue as to how light these units will be?
You’re looking at about 385 grams for the Pro and approximately 415 grams for the Expert, give or take a few grams.

On the new Prime brakes I noticed Hayes is going with a two-piece rotor. How long has that been in the making? I recall there were rumors that you were thinking about that…
Back in 2002 there was consideration and work on a two-piece rotor but for various reasons it never made production.

Along with Prime, what other things are changed up for 2010?
The Stroker Gram now comes in all white with a white brake hose. The Stroker Ace has a revision on the friction material making it easier to burnish the brake pads while the caliper and brake lever now come in black. We also started selling the Stroker Ace tool kit as well as the Feel’r gauge to set up your brakes. In 2010 the familiar HAYES logo is back on our brakes as well.

Well folks, stay tuned for a product review or two of the new 2010 Hayes brake offerings. I’m not sure about you but I’m stoked to give the new Prime brakes a run for their money!

Hayes Company History

1972 –  Schwinn 200E Series bicycle disc brake
1993 –  Production of DiaCompe Speed Check Disk Brake
1997 –  HFX Mag
1999 -  Cable Actuated Hydraulic
2000 -  Redesigned flip-flop Mag MC 2 piece clamp, G1 Caliper 74mm post mount
2001 -  HMX-1 Mechanical
2002 -  HFX-Comp, HML Mechanical Levers
2003 -  HFX Mag Plus, HFX Nine MC, G2 Caliper
2004 -  HFX Nine Carbon, MX-1 Mechanical, MX-2 Mechanical, Wave Rotors
2005 -  El Camino, Sole, , BFL Levers, V-Series 6 & 8″ Rotors
2006 -  MX 3, V7(180mm) Rotor, SRL Lever
2007 – Stroker Trail / Ryde, Stroker Carbon/ V9 (224mm) rotor
2008 – Stroker Ace / Stroker Gram/ V5 (140mm) rotor
2010 – Now the PRIME

Hayes firsts

• Flip/Flop universal lever design with 2-piece clamp master cylinder body

• Three layer hose construction

• Tool-free brake pad change

• Magnesium master cylinder bodies

• Bladder/cartridge master cylinder design

• Ball socket caliper pistons

• Flip/Flop radial master cylinder

Hayes industry standards

• 74 mm post mount calipers with slotted mount feet

• 203 mm rotor size

• 10 mm quick release hub rotor offset

• 15 mm 20mm thru and rear hub rotor offset

• .070” thick rotors

• Forward arcing rotor splines for thermal capabilities and strength

• T25 low profile disc screws

Don’t let the name fool you: the Blue Ryno Carbon mountain bike isn’t heavy or clumsy on the trail. In fact, like an actual rhino, this bike is fast, tough, and enjoys playing in the mud every now and then. Named after Blue’s marketing manager Ryan “Ryno” Barnett, a Cat 1 racer who was severely injured after being hit by a car on a training ride, this FS carbon bike is any serious XC rider’s dream come true.

So what makes this bike so fast? For starters the Ryno Carbon is lightweight – a medium-size frame weighs well under 5 pounds with the rear shock. I actually got to hold a bare XL-size frame (2474 grams) and it was shocking just how light the thing felt, almost like plastic. On the trail that light weight translated into  an extra 4-6 inches of air off whoops and joyous, nearly effortless climbs.

Serious XC riders may still worry about pedal bob on FS mountain bikes but as a longtime hardtail rider I have to say the Ryno climbs like a champ. In fact, on a recent test ride at the IMBA Epic Bull Mountain trail system I easily cleaned the entire rooty, eroded climb on the Ryno, something I had never done on either of my hardtails. With 3″ of rear travel the Ryno kept my tires in constant contact with the trail even on nasty short and chunky climbs. The Ryno also includes a front-suspension lockout on the standard built to improve climbing efficiency even further.

Riding the Ryno Carbon fast over rooty, rocky trails was a blast. On the descents at Bull Mountain I barely had to pick my lines and the Ryno suspension kept my wheels glued to the trail. Landing medium height jumps off whoop-te-doos was a cinch and the bike recovered almost instantly each time to keep the flow. The geometry on the XL model I’ve been riding features an extra long cockpit which kept me low and comfortable mile after mile.

The Ryno Carbon features asymmetrical carbon chainstays which may look a little odd at first glance but are actually born out of high tech design. The upshot? Improved rear triangle stiffness and lower weight overall. The stiff rear triangle transfers pedal power more efficiently and helps reduce side-to-side wheel torsion for even more precise cornering.

Like the XC Carbon, the Ryno frame is optimized for vertical compliance and lateral stiffness. This means even without the rear shock you won’t feel every bump in the trail and cornering remains crisp and tight every time. The carbon fibers in this monocoque frame are manually layered which produces a high strength, accurate build every time.

Complete Ryno bikes feature SRAM X.9 components which I found to be smooth as butter throughout testing. The Elixir brakes and suspension set-up produced few stutters or shakes on quick stops while the X9 Trigger shifters were consistently accurate, even in muddy conditions. Mavic Cross Trail wheels, Rock Shox Reba Race 100mm fork, Rock Shox Monarch 4.2 rear shock, FSA V-Drive crank, and Aerus carbon bars round out the component mix.

The X9 build offered by Blue certainly isn’t the lightest possible but it offers a great mix of reliable, quality components. The only choice that seems a little odd is the tire selection: Hutchinson Piranha 2.0s. These skinny tires certainly offer lower rolling resistance than say a more popular 2.2 or 2.3 tire but in this day and age they feel a little undersized. Then again, you can’t argue with fast!

The Blue Ryno Carbon is one of those mountain bikes that’s so light and responsive you can ride it for days without getting tired or beat up. And if think a full carbon, dual suspension mountain bike is out of your price range, think again – the complete Ryno Carbon retails for just over $3,500 (bare frame is $1,500). Blue quickly sold out of the 2009 bikes earlier this year and it’s no surprise – this is an ultra-fast bike at a great value. XC racers, ultra marathon riders, and 24-hour zombies take note: this is the bike for you!