Tech News – August 29, 2005 Edited by John Stevenson Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk. In the pits at Mt Snow With the season's end approaching, there was a fair bit of new stuff in the pits at the final round of the NORBA series at Mt Snow this weekend. Here's a quick look at some of it. Travis Brown's Trek 69er proto Travis Brown's 69er Trek pro Travis Brown wheeled out this extremely unusual singlespeed with different sized wheels at Mt Snow. Adjustable drop-out and brake mount Brown says he really likes the handling characteristics of mountain bikes with 700C (aka 29in) wheels, as well as the superior ability of the bigger wheels to roll over obstacles. But he prefers 26in wheels for their light weight and quicker acceleration. To get the best of both worlds, then, here's the 69er, with a 26in rear wheel and a 29in up front. The new machine also boasts some innovative sliding dropouts, avoiding the need for an eccentric bottom bracket to provide chain tension adjustment. Brown says the 69er will likely be a 2007 model year item in the Trek range, with Maverick fork and a standard rear hub with special cog guard/spacers. Cane Creek Double Barrel Cane Creek Ti one on A joint project with motorsport suspension maker Ohlins, the Cane Creek's new Double Barrel shock is available with a titanium spring, but this is far, far more than a weigh-weenie project. The shock offers a massive range of damping adjustment, with speed sensitive valving to provide independent compression and rebound damping through a true 'damping circuit'. Instead of the oil flowing in and out of a damping chamber through the same orifice, the Double Barrel pushes its damping medium through a loop that contains the damping mechanism. Cane Creek claims this makes for less cavitation in the oil, and opens up a colossal range of adjustment for long-travel bikes such as downhill and freeride rigs. Gretnabikes Rothrocker Look, ma - no shock Gretnabikes has taken a different tack in the lightweight suspension arena. While bikes like the Cannondale Scalpel dispense with a main pivot but still use a shock to provide motion, Gretnabikes has shed the sh9ck but kept the pivots on its Rothrocker frame. With its Boomerang carbon subframe, the Rothrocker gets 1.5in of travel from what the company describes as a "four bar linkage softail". Schwalbe's new rubber Schwable Knobby Nic Schwable Smart Sam Schwalbe rolled out a couple of new tyres at Mt Snow. The Knobby Nic uses Schwalbe's Evolution casing for reduced rolling resistance, and raised outer knobs for increased cornering traction, while the Smart Sam has a tread pattern with an almost-continuous centre section designed for the harder-packed trails usually found in endurance events. Mt Snow pit pics For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Clay Lundgren Travis Brown's Trek 69er proto uses a 26in rear wheel and 700C ("29in") front wheel. You just might be able to buy one in 2007. (One or two people have written claiming that we have the wheel sizes the wrong way round. Take a look at the full-size version of this pic, where you can see the front rim is marked '29'.) Adjustable drop-out and brake mount on the Trek 69er. The rear sprocket is protected by this sprocket guard. Travis Brown explains the 69er. Cane Creek's titanium-spring shock - a few makers offer aftermarket titanium springs to pare weight from coil shocks, and Cane Creek is trialling this shock that comes with a titanium spring as standard. Gretnabikes Rothrocker gets 1.5in of travel from an all-carbon rear end. The Gretna rear end - look, ma, no shocks! Images by Schwable Schwable Knobby Nic - with raised side knobs for better cornering, and Schwalbe's Evolution lightweight construction. Schwable Smart Sam - looks promising for hard-packed trails.