Giant Announces Their 2017 Off Road Team

"Following an ambitious year that saw its riders compete at international off-road events of all disciplines, all around the globe, the Giant Factory Off-Road Team looks back at a successful 2016 season while also preparing for the year ahead.

The core of the team, including six-time Colombian downhill champion Marcelo Gutierrez and Australian enduro specialist Josh Carlson, will return for 2017, and at least three new riders will be added to the roster.

Highlights from the 2016 season included race wins and podium finishes at Crankworx World Tour events and Enduro World Series races around the world. Gutierrez won his sixth Colombian DH national championship, and Carlson continued his progression at the top level of enduro racing with a podium finish at the Whistler, British Columbia round of the EWS and a top-10 overall series ranking.

“It was another wild year on the enduro tour,” said Carlson. “I was especially stoked to come back from a crash and score that podium finish at Whistler with my friends and family there watching. We did a lot of development with our bikes and gear throughout the season, and I think it showed with some of our results.”

Carlson’s teammate Yoann Barelli also showed moments of brilliance in 2016, scoring two top-10 finishes in the Enduro World Series before he was slowed by injury in the second half of the season. And the surprise enduro racer for Giant last year was 20-year-old Canadian Mckay Vezina, a member of the North American Giant Co-Factory Team who broke onto the EWS circuit as a rookie and immediately became a consistent top-20 finisher.

The team’s U.S. riders Adam Craig and Carl Decker also chalked up some big results in North American racing. The versatile Craig scored wins in a variety of off-road events, from enduro to cyclocross, and Decker found success at races ranging from gravel grinders to XC and cyclocross competition.

Decker will return for 2017, targeting a mix of off-road races, events and festivals. Craig will also continue, but in a new capacity as an ambassador. The longtime Giant racer will evolve his role to help inspire riders of all levels, connect with retailers at events, and provide valuable rider input on new bike and gear development projects.

While the core of the team remains the same for 2017, French riders Yoann Barelli and Guillaume Cauvin, along with Spaniard Alex Marin and American Seamus Powell will depart at the end of the year.

“Each of those athletes brought a lot to our program,” said Giant Factory Off-Road Team manager Joe Staub. “Their energy and commitment has been a constant over the past few years. We wish them each good luck in the future.”

The coming year will also see some new faces for the team, with a focus on up-and-coming young talent. In enduro racing, Vezina will step up to become a full-fledged member of the Giant Factory Off-Road enduro squad. And for downhill racing, Gutierrez will be joined by young talents Jacob Dickson, a four-time junior national champion in Ireland, and Eliot Jackson, a former motocross racer from the U.S. who scored top-10 results at two Crankworx DH events last year.  

More information on the 2017 Giant Factory Off-Road Team, including the final team roster as well as all the details on new bikes, gear and equipment sponsors, will be announced in early 2017. 

 You can follow the Giant Factory Off-Road Team all season long on their Facebook page."

Zerode Taniwha

Zerode bikes came to market offering a downhill bike with a high pivot and a modified Shimano Alfine located just above the BB. The bike proved to offer incredible bump absorption, pedalling ability and great reliability. Now 6 years later Zerode is about ready to launch The Taniwha a 160mm travel all carbon trail bike that is using a 12spd Pinion at the BB. The bike went away from the high pivot model to help keep it lively and is now using a modified Single Pivot with a link up high above the rear hub on the stays. Keeping the chain line constant will help to make the bike maintain a constant pedaling platform throughout the travel.

"In Māori mythology, Taniwha (Māori pronunciation: [tanifa]) are highly respected protective guardians, or in some traditions, stealthy, predatory beings. The Zerode Taniwha could be seen as both of these.

Fundamentally the Zerode Taniwha is about making the mountain biking experience better. Nothing inspires us to ride more than a quiet, low maintenance, confidence inspiring bike

The 12 spd pinion gearbox offers a huge spread of gears that goes well beyond today's 1x11. Whether you are grinding up an epic backcountry single track or blasting down a high speed fire-road there is a gear to do the job. An unexpected pinch climb will never be a problem again, changing gear is effortless and immediate.

A significant reduction in unsprung weight ensures suspension performance that is undeniably better than any Enduro bike equipped with a rear derailleur. Symmetrical spoke angle ensures a very strong, light rear wheel that further improves suspension performance.

A simple, effective and proven suspension platform combined with a fixed chain line optimizes pedaling performance through the entire travel range. It is difficult to approach the elegance and performance of this layout with any virtual pivot design.A sleek full carbon frame offers excellent stiffness, reduced weight and flawless beauty in a modern geometry.

Maintenance and tuning of gears are almost nonexistent, sprocket and chain life are massively extended. On a Zerode, that brand new drivetrain feeling happens every day.

For those that ride for fun, the Zerode Taniwha will inspire you to ride in any conditions on any trail.
If you are racing, whether it for an EWS podium or for bragging-rights amongst mates, the Taniwha provides an edge your competition won't have."

Zerode Taniwha Geometry 

The Pinion adds about 1.75 LBS over an Eagle group and the yellow bike that has been showing around the internet is supposed to weigh 31 LBS. We had our Insurgent built to 32 lbs so this would be high 33 with a DH type build. So you do have added weight. The benefit of removing 1.5lbs off the rear wheel is claimed to be very noticeable while riding the bike. Only time will tell and we hope to get one to review in the near future!

Zerode Taniwha

MAGURA ANNOUNCES THE MT7 DANNY MACASKILL BRAKES

SIGNATURELINE - LIMITED SETS WORLDWIDE

Danny MacAskill is renowned all around the world for his exceptional skills on the trail and for his daredevilish trial tricks. In cooperation with him MAGURA have developed a brake, which perfectly suits the highest requirements demanded by an athlete of Danny's class - the MT7 Danny MacAskill. The Danny MacAskill Signatureline has been designed and specified together with the famous rider. This was done to ensure the brake system either meets or surpasses the requirements placed on it by a professional athlete. The 4 piston calliper is dressed in prominent raceline yellow and is complemented by a real highlight in the form of a new brake lever.

NEW HC3 LEVER BLADE

MAGURA has taken the HC3 technology from our motorcycle division and adapted it for bicycle application. The very first use of this new technology will be for the new MT7 Danny MacAskill. The HC3 lever blade allows for a manual adjustment of the mechnical leverage ratio and is designed to allow for an individual set up with regards to braking force required combined with a perfect pressure point. The ratio adjustment is a new development and elevates the brake system to a new level. The single finger lever offers ideal grip ergonomics. AWARDED MT7 BRAKE POWER In hard trail and trial applications the Danny MacAskill Signatureline features maximum stability in all conditions. Tried and tested - the award winning 4 piston MT7 brake power! PACKED IN A SPECIAL GIFT BOX The packaging has also been individually designed for Danny MacAskill. The brakes are supplied in an aluminium presentation box and include two spare sets of 8.R brake pads as well as the set of 8.P brake pads used in the original system. The number of systems on offer is limited worldwide. MAGURA MT7 DM BRAKE SPECS

Evil Announces The Calling

The Evil Calling

Have you ever wanted a bike that wasn’t like a bike at all? More like your favourite snowboard, or your funnest surfboard, the one that catches all the waves or trashes [pillow] lines faster than Kate Moss in the '90s. The Calling is your answer. This bike-shaped-skateboard has enough travel to keep you honest, while encouraging you to irresponsibly hit every extra-credit line on the trail.

At this juncture most bike companies would drive in some high-scoring-scrabble words like optimized, nimble or anti-squat technology. But we won’t insult you with that nonsense. The Calling has all the bits and bobs you have come to expect from Evil, and water bottle mounts.

The Calling is the Following's delinquent little brother that left on a road trip and never returned, that peddled into the night in search of more, then woke for the sunrise mission to the summit.

The Calling is the trails, it’s the road trips, it’s the little side hits on the way, it’s the all-day peddle-fests, the backyard pallet sessions, the pre-work rip, the “I’ll get it this time”, the stories told later in the bar with your best mates, it’s 130mm travel, it’s Super Deluxe, it’s 27.5 or 26+, it’s boost and it’s as stiff as Ron Jeremy.

The Calling Geometry

The Calling Features

Evil The Calling

Canyon Factory Freeride Team Aced 2016

The Canyon Factory Freeride Team finished the season with a bang, bringing home gold with the 2016 FMB Factory Team World Championship Title.

Factory teams must register a minimum of 2 athletes. Each athlete can contribute a maximum of 3 results and the final team score is the total of the best six results. This year, Thomas Genon (BEL) and Tomas Lemoine (FRA) each secured top ranks at different FMB Events and showcased their top level riding as well as unified team spirit.

Thanks to top performances by Thomas Genon and Tomas Lemoine for their manufacturer, based in Koblenz, Germany, the team beat their competitors and can proudly celebrate their team efforts. In addition to Thomas and Tomas, the Canyon Factory Freeride Team 2016 lineup consisted of three other members, including Anton Thelander (SWE), Darren Berrecloth (CAN) and Peter Henke (GER).

Tomas Lemoine: “The fact that we won the FMB Factory Team Ranking, shows me once again that our team is perfect. Each and every one of us is so stoked to ride for such a sick brand like Canyon. Personally I just tried to do my best during every event and I feel the same vibes go for everyone in the team. We will continue to train and give our best.”

Thomas Genon: “I have known my teammates for a very long time and we are super stoked to ride together. Everyone did great this season and now we´re all going to spend the winter riding, training and improving the things that didn´t work out this season.”

Sports Director MTB at Canyon, Florian Goral: “Our athletes can choose from a range of bikes, which have been developed by the engineers, being as close as possible to the riders. When we created the team back in 2013, it was our intention to build the best bikes possible. We started from scratch and have been listening to all their needs right from the beginning. Winning contests is the logical proof of pure talent combined with excellent material.”

Congratulations to the Canyon Factory Freeride Team and good luck for the next season.

About Canyon Bicycles

Canyon was founded in 1985 as Radsport Arnold and was officially renamed Canyon Bicycles GmbH in 2001. Bikes have been sold under the Canyon name since 1996. Everything from product development, assembly and direct sales of their mountain bikes, road bikes and triathlon bikes in addition to accessories and clothing takes place in Koblenz, Germany. Canyon employs its own engineers, composites experts, designers and quality controllers to ensure in-house quality management of the highest level. Canyon counts a number of prestigious design awards, reader’s choice awards and hundreds of test victories carried out by international publications to its successes.

www.canyon.com