Tech News – February 21, 2005 Edited by John Stevenson Got tech? Send press releases, news, and tech questions to the Cyclingnews tech desk. Merlin goes back to its Roots Merlin Roots Photo ©: Merlin "We had basically received many requests to redo the Newsboy," says Merlin marketing director Herbert Krabel of the company's new Roots retro mountain bike, "but we wanted to do a bit more than that." The Newsboy was a titanium-framed mountain bike styled to look like a 1950s beach cruiser that Merlin made in limited numbers in the nineties and again, briefly, in 2002. It was one of those bikes that went into the "I'll have one of those if I can ever afford it" category and it seems just lately quite a few people have decided they can afford it and started asking. Rohloff 14-speed hub Photo ©: Merlin However, Merlin's answer isn't quite the Newsboy. Instead, the Roots is a limited-edition bikes (just 50 will be made, of which 35 will be available in the US and the rest in Europe) that's intended to replicate the first modern mountain bikes, but with 21st-century parts and materials. "It became our chief engineer Brad DeVaney's pet project and he did quite a bit of research on the subject," says Krabel. "At the time when mountain bikes were first thought of, the 1930s bikes such as the Excelsior was the preferred choice, because they were easier to modify and structurally a better bike. However, 50s type beach cruisers were more easier available at the time and thus more common as a basis." Style Photo ©: Merlin The Roots then, is a Schwinn Excelsior recreated in 3Al/2.5V titanium with modern parts such as a Rohloff 14 speed internal rear hub, Avid Juicy 7 disc brakes, Sun rims and Chris King headset. In keeping with the retro theme though, there's no suspension fork, something that must have been a temptation for the guys at Merlin and that no doubt the original Marin County mountain bike pioneers would have loved to have on their heavily modified Excelsiors. Instead the Roots uses a vicious Cycles chromoly fork. Want one? Better talk to your bank manager as the Roots is expected to cost, "around $6500, depending on the final parts selection," according to Krabel. More info: www.merlinbike.com Photography Merlin Roots - a classic recreated with a twist. Rather than being a modern hardtail styled like a 1950s bike, the Roots marries 1930s Schwinn Excelsior geometry to modern materials and components. Brooks saddle - what else would you have on a retro-monster? Rohloff 14-speed hub - the rare and expensive Rohloff hub makes for clean lines while providing a wide gear range. Eccentric bottom bracket makes for easy cable tension adjustment and allows the use of vertical dropouts with the Rohloff hub Truvativ handlebars and stem Vicious Cycles fork Style Folding bike parking Allen Racks folding rack Photo ©: Allen Racks The Cyclingnews tech desk spent yesterday at an eight-hour endurance mountain bike race (and the exertion strained him into talking about himself in the third person, which I'll now stop doing). Between laps I remember looking at the high-zoot bikes casually abandoned on the grass outside our support tent and thinking there must be a tidier way of storing them, and more importantly one that reduced the risk of a tired racer stumbling in from transition and falling over them. Some sort of transportable bike rack perhaps? Allen Racks, a maker of car-mounted bike carriers, has had the same idea and come up with this folding bike rack, which boasts telescoping uprights so it packs into a fraction of it in-use size. The folding rack is available in versions to take two, four or six bikes, ranging from 12in to 36in long and is sold fully assembled. It's finished in black powder coat for protection from the elements and carries a lifetime guarantee. More info: www.allenracks.com BMC mountain bikes available in US Prominent for its sponsorship on the road of Floyd Landis' Phonak team, Swiss bike maker BMC has seen its road bikes become available beyond its Swiss home in the last couple of years. Now some of BMC's line of mountain bikes is now available in the US thorugh distributor QBP. QBP will initially bring in a range that includes two hardtail and two full suspension models, scheduled to be available in the shops in late March. Velo seats more teams for 2005 Saddle manufacturer Velo Enterprises will support five UCI Continental teams in 2005, increasing its involvement in pro road racing from one squad in 2004. Velo has renewed its involvement with the Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home Pro Cycling Team which will continue to ride Velo saddles, handlebar tape & frame protectors. The four new teams using Velo equipment will be Portugal's Imoholding Loulé Pro Cycling Team, Canada's Jet Fuel Coffee team and two more US teams: Advantage Benefits Endeavour Pro Cycling Team and Jelly Belly-PoolGel Pro Cycling Team "We firmly believe in our elite sponsorships and feel very good about the programs we're with in 2005," says company president, Stella Yu. "Our teams and athletes provide us with the feedback we need in order to continue building leading products, and there is little doubt that the exposure they offer is tremendous. We look forward to much success together this year." Sampson drops carbon brakes price Component maker Sampson just sent us some Stratics carbon fiber brake calipers (more details in 'New Arrivals' in a day or two) and company principal Eric Sampson has dropped us a line to let us know that he's been able to ramp up production of the 315g/pr brakes and so bring down the suggested retail price from US$229 to just $189. More info: www.sampsonsports.com