Tech News – February 10, 2006 Edited by John Stevenson Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk. Bell and Easton join forces Helmet maker Bell, which also owns the Giro line and tubing and component manufacturer Easton are to merge, the two companies announced Tuesday. The merger will create a new company, Easton-Bell Sports, out of the two existing entities, Easton Sports, Inc and Riddell Bell Holdings, with annual revenues of US$600 million from cycling, baseball, softball, football, hockey, auto racing, and snow and motorcycling. Easton's chairman, Jim Easton, will be chairman of the new company's board. New bar from Hammer Hammer Nutrition has announced a new energy bar made entirely from organically-grown ingredients. The Hammer bar is available in chocolate chip and almond raisin flavours, and as well as being USDA certified organic, both are certified kosher, with the almond raisin flavour also certified vegan. Each bar contains 220 Calories from 26g of carbohydrate, 9g of protein and 9g of fat. More info: www.e-caps.com Slingshot Farmboy Photo ©: Slingshot Slingshot launches Farmboy 29er Suspension bike maker Slingshot has announced the Farmboy, its latest entry into the burgeoning 29in-wheeled mountain bike sector. The Farmboy "handles like a 26in - but rides like a 29in", according to Slingshot. The new frame features Slingshot's SPT (Sling Power Technology) suspension, which uses a flexible member between the front and rear sections of the frame and a cable in place of the down tube to provide suspension. The Farmboy uses an aluminium front end, or 'boomtube' mated to a Reynolds 853 rear triangle. Slingshot's Scott Templar is a believer in the 29in idea, and the company has been making 29ers since 2002. "We feel that the 29in is the do-all platform for riders who are looking to get the most riding options out of one bike," he said. The Farmboy is available in 16in, 18in and 20in sizes and retails for US$1,200. More info: www.slingshotbikes.com Carbon 29er from Trimble After last week's item on Orbea's carbon fiber 29in/700C-wheeled MTB, Stan Johnson emailed to let us know that Orbea's bike won't be the first carbon 29er (Orbea claims "first monocoque carbon 29er", but it does seem like splitting hairs to get pedantic about construction methods). According to Stan, Brent Trimble has been making a 29in version of his carbon frame for the last few months. "I recently purchased one and built it up. It's a super smooth ride and weighs in at 26 lbs," says Stan. Trimble was one of the first builders to use composites in bikes, along with his brother Roo, with some highly-regarded road and mountain bikes back in the 80s and early 90s. Trimble time trial frames were reportedly among the most aerodynamic ever made (and would be banned under UCI rules now) while the Inverse 4 mountain bike used a novel cross-shaped frame design with a huge main beam that presaged quite a few recent MTB designs. It's good to hear Trimble is back building frames again.