Giant is recalling approximately 370 2011 Anthem X 29er mountain bikes because “the frame can crack at the junction of the seat post and top tube, posing a fall hazard to riders.” Fortunately no injuries have been reported but owners should stop riding the bikes immediately and contact their Giant dealer for an inspection and repair. The full suspension mountain bikes, including the 1, 2, and 3 models, retailed for between $2,200 and $3,500.

Four mountain bike news items to start off the week:

Easton Seatpost Recall

Easton is recalling approximately 200 EC90 Zero seatposts manufactured in 2010. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the carbon top clamp on the seatpost assembly can crack which, as you can imagine, would really suck for the rider. The release we read made it sound like the seatposts may have been included on some Turner and Ibis bikes so if you bought one of those bikes this year, check your post and the Easton website to see if yours is affected.

Although no injuries have been reported, consumers should immediately stop riding the bicycles and contact any authorized Easton Sports (dealer) for a free replacement top seat clamp.

Croc Trophy Race Wraps up “World’s Hardest” MTB Competition

photos courtesy crocodile-trophy.com.

To be more specific, race organizers claim the Croc Trophy is “the world’s hardest longest hottest and most adventures (sic) MTB race in the world” and this year’s competition just wrapped up a few days ago at the northeastern tip of Australia. Apparently the course takes riders into the Australian Outback and some daily stages are nearly 100 miles long. Just to finish all 10 stages of the Croc Trophy takes serious stamina – congrats to this year’s winner Urs Huber who finished 5 minutes ahead of second place finisher Bart Brentjens and 40 minutes ahead of third place finisher Mike Mulkens. Now’s the time to start training for next year’s epic!

Singlespeed World Champs Recap

We wrote about the Singlespeed MTB World Championships a couple weeks ago ahead of the competition in New Zealand and today we discovered ESPN.com’s entertaining take on the event. My favorite quotes from the article:

“If you are riding really, really fast but don’t want a tattoo, then don’t win the race. The winner will be tattooed at the finish line so decide before you start if you want a tattoo or not.”

If “The Dude” from “The Big Lebowski” was into mountain biking instead of bowling he would have been a singlespeeder.

I think this is one of those things I gotta experience for myself at some point – sounds like a blast! Though I guess that means I’ll need to shed some gears first…

Loch Raven Reservoir Cracking Down on Mountain Bikers

Mountain bikers in Baltimore have been enjoying the 30+ miles of trails around Loch Raven Reservoir for years but lately rangers have been issuing $100 citations for things like night riding (read the recent trail reviews for more examples). According to this article, land managers are becoming concerned about erosion issues affecting water quality and it seems mountain bikers are an easy target. Specifically new “unofficial” trails are popping up and land managers want it stopped – though hikers are just as likely to create unauthorized “social” trails as bikers. Keep an eye on this issue as local club MORE works with reservoir managers to resolve the situation…

This week there are several large MTB recalls involving suspension forks and frames:

Trek is recalling 16,000 mountain bikes due to faulty suspension forks that can become misaligned leading to a loss of wheel control. No one has been injured yet but the recall affects 2009 Trek 7300, 7300WSD, and 7500 bikes. The suspension forks are marked “Bontrager SPA” and are manufactured by a Taiwanese company called JD Components.

Cannondale is handling a similar recall, though far fewer bikes are affected (just 1,500). The recall includes the 2008 Cannondale Adventure 2, Adventure 3, Adventure 2 Feminine and Adventure 3 Feminine which also use the JD suspension forks (these forks are labeled “cannondale AT35 adventure trail”).

Finally, Norco is recalling 36,000 2007 Team DH, 2008 Team DH, Aline Park, Aline, Atomik, Shore 1,2,3, and 2009 Atomik (without gussets) MTB frames due to an issue that may cause the frame to crack and separate. One rider fractured a collar bone after a fall due to a cracked frame. And these ain’t cheap frames either – most of these bikes sold for between $2,000 and $7,000.

In all three cases manufacturing was completed in Taiwan which may raise some eyebrows within the industry. It’s also interesting to note that Cannondale and Trek are using the same manufacturer for suspension forks on their low end mountain bikes leaving very little differentiation (other than marketing) between manufacturers.

2009 Specialized Rockhopper Comp

If you bought a new Specialized mountain bike between June 2008 and February 2009 check this out: Specialized is recalling 14,000 2009 model bikes due to a serious fall hazard involving the handlebars (see below for a list of specific models). In one case a rider’s handlebars broke and the resulting crash left the guy unconcious with a puncture wound. Ouch. Then again, no one said mountain biking was a 100% safe…

If you own one of the bikes listed below Specialized says you should stop riding it immediately and bring it to an authorized Specialized retailer so they can replace the handlebars. The handlebar in question is part of the HL series and is marked “ALR-13 NTFOV” beneath the ride side grip.

Affected MTB models:

• 2009 Cross Trail Comp
• 2009 Myka HT Comp
• 2009 Myka HT Elite
• 2009 Rockhopper
• 2009 Rockhopper Comp
• 2009 Rockhopper Comp 29

Some 2004 Specialized road bikes are involved in the recall as well – find out more here if you think your bike may be affected.