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We at chinamtb were unable to attend the Taipei International Cycle show (get out your violins) Luckily for us though David Reid over at taiwanderful.net was kind enough to share a few of his findings.
The Street Surfer and all 4 of its front wheels was on show. We reported on this interesting looking Australian designed bike a while back. It might look a little strange but thanks to the clever front end it is able to make sharper turns than most bikes in fact you can even continue pedaling while making fast U turns due the the high bottom bracket.

The Giant City Storm was also at the show. Giant have high hopes for this bike. With big cities such as London introducing city tolls commuters are looking for alternative modes of transport. The City Storm designed by Michael Young, a top interior designer from the UK, manages to introduce some style to the city bike market and also has some clever additions such as a clock built in to the stem (with stopwatch function), an integrated headlight and angled pedals which help reduce stress on long rides.

To see what else David found at the show read his article here.

*PRESS RELEASE*
The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation today announced that internationally recognized NBA superstar LeBron James, through his wholly owned company King James Inc., has acquired an undisclosed ownership stake in Cannondale. The privately held company, which began amidst modest surroundings in a loft above a pickle factory in 1971, has a passion for continuous innovation and quality and has never wavered from its goal of delivering the ultimate cycling experience.  Cannondale has a long history of delivering premium-performance products to athletes worldwide.

Cannondale has teamed up with LeBron to provide bicycles for the James Family Foundation’s annual “King for Kids Bike-a-thon,” a charity bike ride event in Akron which benefits children and single mothers.  For the 2006 bike-a-thon, the company designed and manufactured a custom bike for LeBron based on the Caffeine™ model design, which he has subsequently incorporated into his training regimen.  LeBron’s bike uses Cannondale’s 29er frame painted in team colors and features the company’s Lefty® fork and Si Hollowgram™ cranks.  In addition, Cannondale donated custom Bad Boy bikes for athletes to ride at the event as well as bikes to be auctioned off to benefit the charity.

“Cannondale is one of the premier cycling companies in the industry,” said LeBron James.  “Biking is an extremely important part of my training routine, and I like to invest in what I know.”

“LRMR is constantly seeking interesting investment opportunities for LeBron, who is a smart and sophisticated businessman,” said Maverick Carter, CEO of LRMR Innovative Marketing & Branding.  “Cannondale is the perfect fit for LeBron and LRMR as we continue to invest in companies that are leading, cutting-edge brands.”

“We’re very excited to have LeBron as an owner.  In addition, LeBron is one of the world’s most accomplished athletes and we are proud to provide him with bicycles for his cross-training,” said CEO Matt Mannelly.  “LeBron is an astute entrepreneur and investor who recognizes the quality of our products and value of our business, and he will certainly extend the awareness of the benefits of cycling to more people.”  Added Mannelly, “Cannondale is the brand of choice for cross-training athletes who are continually upgrading their performance in any sport and realize that cycling can contribute to helping them achieve their goals.  There are many star athletes in other sports cross-training on Cannondales today because our bikes deliver a competitive edge.”

The UCI recently paid an on site tour of the Olympic BMX venue at Laoshan in west Beijing and it looks like its taking shape nicely.

Construction of the 1.98 hectare Laoshan BMX venue started at the end of last year. When completed, it will have a floor space of 3,399 square meters and 3,396 seats. Currently, earthworks have completed and the project is expected to be inaugurated on June 30 this year.

The UCI have just announced Nissan will be the official sponsors of the UCI World Cup Chapionship until 2009.

The press release follows.

The International Cycling Union has unveiled Nissan as new title sponsor of the forthcoming Mountain Bike World Cup.

The Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, will see 11 events across 10 countries during 2007, while the partnership has been agreed until at least 2009.

The UCI and Nissan aim to develop mountain biking across all levels, particularly through the high profile World Cup event which attracts a global television audience.

UCI president Pat McQuaid underlined the importance of the agreement between the International Federation and Nissan.

“Mountain biking is a modern and dynamic discipline with an attractive image and enormous potential,” he said. “The interest shown by a company like Nissan confirms this. Thanks to the joint efforts of Nissan and the UCI, everyone associated with mountain biking will see fantastic progress in the years to come.”

Darren Cox (European Brand Promotion Manager): “Nissan has historically supported adventurous activity but now we are stepping up a gear and will really show the passion that we as a company hold for sports adventure and the environments in which they are held. Through a calendar of events, activities and content we hope to inspire adventure spirited people throughout Europe. Nissan becoming title sponsor for the World Cup really demonstrates this.”

The Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano, will consist of 11 events this year, spanning the different disciplines of: cross-country marathon, cross-country olympic, downhill and 4-cross.

The first event of the series will be the cross-country marathon on March 17 in Gran Canaria, Spain.

Logo of the Nissan UCI MTB World Cup presented by Shimano:

Seems that Team Great Britain are a little worried about how the heat at next years Olympic games will affect the athletes, so have been developing new clothing and 'gadgets' which will help the body to cool quicker.

This is what the "Daily Telegraph" reported.

"Prof Tipton has been working with Oli Beckinsale, the British mountain bike champion, to help him adapt to the sweltering conditions expected in China.

He is developing ways of filling handlebars with coolant that will draw heat from the cyclists' hands as they ride, by exploiting the high numbers of blood vessels near the surface of the hands and wrists.

It builds on work he did with track cyclists at the Athens Olympics where, before a race, the athletes cooled their hands in ice packs.

But Gilles Peruzzi, the track co-ordinator at the International Cycling Union, cycling's governing body, warned that any new technology would need to be approved before it is used.

He said: "All technical novelties used or worn by riders have to be approved before they can be used in a race."

Researchers at Napier University in Edinburgh have also been doing tests on how the air pollution in Beijing will affect athletes' performance."

How about some 'Bond' style spikes that come out of the wheels too?

We've been haveing a bit of a debate here at chinamtb. If your could choose from these two great looking bikes which one would you go for?
The Coconino Crusier, with its beautiful custom built steel frame and retro looks.

Or the fururistic Matrix Nickey which looks like something from 'Battlestar Galactica'

	Retro Coconino Crusier
	Futuristic Matrix Nickey

Novatec have just announced a new range of wheel sets. We had a look through the listings and it seems they have everyone covered from XC - DH.
The big diffrence between these wheels and sets from other companies are these have been handmade. Handmade wheels tend to last and stay true longer than cheap machine built wheels.
The spes are as follows:

DH wheelset

Rear with 2 in 1 system, 10mm or 12mm interchangeable axle, for free ride uses.
Welded joint, single eyelet and double wall.
Equipped with light & strong Sapim-Race butted round stainless spokes.
Available color in Metal Brown Hub/Black Spokes/Black Rim.
Two silver spokes to indicate the air valve.
Weight: 2,340g / pair with 10mm axle.
Weight: 2,304g / pair with 12mm axle.

DS Wheelset

Regular Q/R.
Weight: 2,123g / pair

XC wheelset

Weight with AL cass.body & AL axle is 1,720g.

Check ot the Novatec website for more details.

A nice little video of Dan Csokonay, Norco factory team rider, tearing up some trails in Canada.

Novatec continue to release some really nice looking gear.Here are some of the latest products they have on offer.
This disc hub uses a neat adaptor which means they can be used with either standard 6 bolt discs or Shimano splined discs.

The new 'generation 3' hubs are a great idea. They can be converted to use either QR (5mm or 9mm) or bolt through axles and are availbale for the front and the rear.

Also hot from the CNC are these new lighter weight XC/all mountain hubs. The front weighs in at 191g with a standard quick release. The 20mm throu axle version weighs 185g. The new rear hub has an aluminium hub body and axle, it tips the scales at 298g.
All three are available in this smart bronze finish.


Check ot the Novatec website for more details.

We reported on this last week but now we have some more up to date info on China’s first Asia X Games.
As we mentioned before it will run from May 3-5, during the May holiday, in Shanghai. It will be held at Jiangwan Stadium just north of Wujiaochang. The stadium recently underwent a US $12.5 million renovation. It seats around 40,000 and is said to be equal in size to 3 football (soccer) fields.
Tickets will be about ￥120 per day (￥ 50 for students).
The official site of X Games Asia is kiaxgamesasia.com.
Read ESPN’s full press release here for more info on the Kia Asia X games Shanghai also check out the promo video.
Roll on May!!!

Trials riding is huge here in China and as a special treat for you Chinese riders (all riders really) we have added this cool video from Earthed 3 (via youtube) of Chris Akrigg trials supremo.
Sit back and enjoy.

When most people think of China they find it difficult to imagine that there is any sort of riding culture here. Well this is the first of a series of articles to enlighten those individuals by spotlighting great places to ride in China for BMX and mountain bike.
Now, my first riding spot mention is really a no brainier. It’s the biggest of its kind in the world!! 12,000-square-meters (129,000 square foot) to be precise. Bi g enough for mountain bikes and BMX.
The SMP skatepark in Jiangwan is on the northeastern fringe of Shanghai and cost about 100 million yuan (US$12.35 million) to build. Its aim is to become the hub for extreme sports in Asia.
There is something for everyone at this monster of a park bowls, stairs and rails, a street course, quarter pipes and a ‘Mega pipe’ , which measures more than 40 meters in length and is 4.1 meters in diameter.

Best of all its free!! That’s right no admission (for the time being) and through the week it is apparently pretty quiet, imagine 12,000 square meters of ramps and bowls in all there concrete glory just for yourself to play on all day.

For more info go to the official SMP website www.smpskatepark.com.

phone
+862165907622

email
info@smpamerica.com

Love your bike and want to show it off to the world? well send an email to Andi and he will gladly add it to the 'your bikes' photo album.

Today was the first Shimano Cup race to be held in Qingdao. It all turned out pretty well for most. The weather was ideal, nice and sunny but not too hot and the track conditions were perfect.
Riders from all over Shandong province, came to compete or watch and brought a wide variety of bikes from hybrid to full on downhill. Ash and I took our trusty single speeds.
Poor old Ash was in the first group and managed to maintain second place for most of the race until he dislocated his shoulder (2nd time in a matter of months) and had to retire.
I was in the 4th group and managed second place, good but not good enough as I didn't qualify for the final. Fellow XGNBT team mate Li Hai Tao, also came second in his group.

The overall winner was 18 year old Bing Piao (Alexander) who won both his races by a huge margin.

Have a look at the rest of the pictures in our photo section.

Da Bomb have just unveiled their latest D/H frame the limited edition Bouncing Betty!!

"The Bomb Boxx9 of “Bouncing Betty”, a new limited edition frame, packs 9 powerful speeds into this lethal machine.
They perfected high performance and then took it over the top, the result is going to lay an assault on the DH world cup scene! Take your ride to the next level, drop the Bomb!"

The new 'Bouncing Betty' is a departure from Da Bombs usual frame designs. The heart of the frame is SR Suntours ‘X Off V Boxx’ which is a lightweight, 9-speed internal gearbox.


With more of the component weight in the middle of the bike the ride should be more balanced and in theory will be easier to control when air borne.

The Bouncing Betty is not available at the moment as Da Bomb are still fine tunning the ride, however they have promised we will be one of the first to know when they do put it in to full production and have finalised price details.

See what we thought of the Mosso Slalom M-1.

It looks like BMX is gaining real popularity in China. With the 2008 games fast approching the Chinese Cycling Association (CCA)and State General Administration of sports, China's sport governing body have made huge investments in building public interest in the sport. In the bigger cities like Guangzhou and Kunming there are more than 12 purpose built BMX tracks. Plus more than 100 cycling coaches and riders have been sent to BMX training camps all over the world with 30 lucky individuals training at the UCI headquaters in Switzerland!
Wouldn't it be nice if all countries put this much time and effort in to the things we love?

We just found this promotional video for the 2007 Asia X Games, which will be held in Shanghai in May. I myself am really excited and can’t wait to get there and watch the action. Take a peek at the video it shows some of the highlights of previous X games set to some really cheesy music.

Props issue #64 is out now and it looks amazing. It features coverage from the Etnies Backyard Jam, a Dennis Enarson Bio, a Two Hip Bikes road trip, a Clairemont skatepark and plenty more. Have a look at the trailer and visit propsvisual.com to buy yourself a copy.
You will need QuickTime to view this video.

More than 200 top athletes of extreme sports from America, Brazil, Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries and regions will compete for over US$100,000 on X Games Asia 2007 this May in Shanghai.
Sponsored by KIA Motors, X Games Asia 2007 will take place in Shanghai, China from May 3-5. The athletes will play in five categories of extreme sports, including Aggressive inline skating, Skateboarding, BMX freestyle, Sports Climbing and Moto X.
Harvey Davis, Managing Director of ESPN STAR Sports said that, this year, the Kia X Games Asia has chosen an exciting hosting city, which is a guarantee for its success.
The 2007 games will be the ninth competition since 1998 and is promoted an organized by ESPN International. And it is said that from this year on, the X Games Asia competition is scheduled to take place annually in China till 2009.

The Huangshan Mountain Bike Festival is the one and only mountain biking festival in China. Set near the mythical Mt. Huangshan and with a track crossing ancient settlements, dense bamboo forests and tea terraces, it offers participants a mountain biking experience unlike any other.
The second edition will be held between April 6 and 8 2007 and will have a 23 km and 69 km race. See Huangshanbike.com for entry details, accommodation deals and pictures of last years race.

Its been a long time coming but it finally looks like Mongoose bikes will be readily available in mainland China in the not to distant future (we hope). Mongoose are currently looking for distributors and dealers interested in their brand. If you’re interested in becoming a Mongoose dealer in China go to Mongoose China and fill in the application form. Mongoose have being planning their entry in to the Chinese market for a long time now and with them sponsoring the 2008 Chinese Olympic team and also a pro BMX freestyle team, which currently includes top Chinese cyclists Moulder Rui, Liang Lemin and Chen Haofeng and Max Chen, who also manages the team, they are bound to take the middle country by storm!
Keep posted for more info…

This years China International Bicycle and Motor Fair will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) and will open on the 4th May running till the 7th.
This is the 17th year for the show and as a special treat they will be using all 9, yes 9 halls! The show has already attracted more than 900 exhibitors and will cover about 92000 square meters.
I can’t wait and will be at the show bringing you up to date news and interviews.

Novatec have always produced good quality and well priced hubs and offer a huge selection to choose from (I run Novatec on both my street bike and downhill bike). They have just released pictures of their new splined disc hub. This is great news for anyone using Shimano LX, XT and XTR disc brakes, who up until now had very few hubs to choose from. See the Novatec website for more info...

We have just found this beauty on' Dirt Rag' and thought we would share. The Coconino Crusier, from Coconino bikes costs a cool $1300 (frame only) and uses 29 inch wheels. It's everything you need to cruise to the beach and hammer the singletrack in retro style. Check out www.coconinocycles.com for more info.

Part 3 of Project Cheap Bike.

New for 07' Exustar have updated a few of their products. This year sees the arrival of a newly styled BMX shoe, I have to say this one is much nicer looking than the previous model. It features a leather upper with breathable nylon mesh, an extra Velcro fastening handy for keeping laces tucked away they are SPD compatible and are available in sizes 37-48.
They have also added a few more pedals, SPD and platform to the range.
See the Exustar website for more products.

This funny looking cycle is from Street Surfer International an Australian based company. “The bicycle has effectively been the same since the safety bicycle evolved from the Penny farthing more than a century ago”, says Mark Palmer, chief evangelist of the StreetSurfer, “and we figured it was about time to take the next step.” Well it sure looks like they have. The front ‘foot’ of the Street Surfer has 4 pneumatic tyres that give the bike amazing traction and cornering ability (so we have been told) Car designers have played around with the same idea in the past remember, the Tyrell P34 Formula 1 car? The bottom bracket height of the Surfer is higher than standard bikes, which allows you to continue pedaling while leaning into comers. This all adds up to one quick little bike. It can even handle curbs and other urban obstacles thanks to its front and rear suspension set up.
The main frame is an alloy monocoque and has an oversized 1.25 headtube. Clever linkages handle suspension duties and polymer ‘springs’.
The retail price is around $900 Australian Dollars.

The Geax Datura is designed for aggressive riding in wet and slippy conditions. It is made from ‘Super sticky’ compound to increase grip on wet roots rocks and ladders. The tops of each of the large knobs have ‘micro-cuts’ which “ enhance micro-traction on rocks and on north-shore style parks where optimum grip is compulsory” sounds impressive. It is available as a regular tyre and also tubeless and measures 2.2 inches. Go to the Geax website for dealer location and info on their other tyres.

Tektro I.O. Long term test.

The first thing people say when they ride my bike, ‘Your brakes are amazing!’ first thing Americans and Canadians say, ‘your brakes are the wrong way round! I almost went over the bars!’
I’ve been running a set of Tektro I.O disc brakes for over a year see what I think of them. Tektro I.O review

Marwi have sent us info on their new TiDye spokes. They look pretty cool and are available in a number of colours including purple (the retro favorite) gold and my personal fave rainbow. All the TiDye spokes are 14 gauge and are available in lengths ranging from 150mm-320mm. Being titanium they not only save weight but can also help save your wheels from flat spots (titanium bends but bounces back in to shape). See the Marwi website for dealer locations and pricing. At the time of writing there is no Chinese distributor.

Alenax, a Tianjin based company have announced they are ready to set up worldwide distribution networks for their new range of ‘revolutionary’ bikes featuring ‘Transbar’ Power System (TPS).
The ‘Transbar Power System (TPS)’ can apparently be switched into one of six (6) different pedaling modes, one of these modes closely resembles the bodies natural walking and jogging motions!!

At the moment they have 16 different models/styles of bike ranging from city bikes to track bikes and kids bikes to mountain bikes. All of which seemed to be aimed at the recreational user rather than serious cyclists.

They have also managed to secure a deal with the National Sports Bureau in China to be the sole supplier of recreational bikes during the 2008 Olympic games.
Go to the Alenax website for more info and a video which may or may not work.