Day Two in the Dirt

The second (and final) day of the Dirt Demo kicked off looking a lot like the first… except it was cooler, less windy and there was a brand new Knolly waiting for me.  So in hindsight, it was better in just about every way imaginable.  The only thing that could have have possibly put it over the top would have been a squad of my own personal booth babes following me around, fanning me with palm fronds and feeding me grapes to keep me hydrated… but that wasn’t in the budget this year.  So I just had to “suffer” through with Gatorade, energy bars and the occasional complimentary malted beverage.  On to the bike.

The new Knolly Delirium is subtle update to the old Delirium design, which is just fine as the old one is a favourite of riders who have tried it.  ||  photo: David Ferguson

Knolly is a Vancouver brand with a history of making machines that aggressive riders love.  They are durable, stylish and highly sought after.  The Delirium T was their 6.5″ travel frame and positive reviews have been pouring in since it came in to Knolly’s lineup several years ago.  This year the team at Knolly decided they could make a good thing better so they redesigned the Delirium and its public launch was right here at the Dirt Demo.  I grabbed one and headed for the hills to see what the new Delirium could do with a little gravity added to the mix.

I spent some time on the old Delirium T frame this summer in Nelson B.C., so the image of its performance is still pretty clear in my mind for comparison purposes.  The new Delirium uses some reworked tubing profiles but maintains most of the old frame’s characteristics, which is a very good thing.  The old one was a very capable machine and the new one does not seem to have lost a step while adding in some nice new features.  The ride report card is similar as well.  Steering is predictable and flex free.  The bike feels very solid on even the roughest impacts and tracks fairly well too.  It is always a little sketchy playing with suspension settings at a demo.  Mine featured a coil over (Cane Creek) shock that was a bit solid feeling for my tastes, but chances to tune it today were limited.  With a little time I imagine I could make the back end perform even better in the choppy sections without losing any of the larger bump smoothness.

Although the Knolly did just fine, this was a common sight at the Dirt Demo.   When single-ply tires and XC tubes meet sharp pointy rocks… something has to give.

The differences in the frames on the smaller end of the spectrum are a bit easier to see.  A more radically curved top tube mated with a low profile patch for strength at the top tube/seat tube junction allows morestandover height and a more comfortable position for smaller riders.  We’ll have a few more details later in the week about the new frame, but for now you can feast your eyes and have a new image for that recurring dream about a new Knolly showing up in your garage. 

This is one of the hub stations for the Bootleg Canyon zipline network.  Riders start at the top and take an incredible ride over several sets of ziplines all the way to the bottom of the canyon.  Having a screaming zipline rider fly over your head while you are trying to negotiate a tricky section of trail is a unique experience.

After my ride on the Knolly I headed over to chat with Race Face about what is new in their world on both the component and the clothing fronts.  They have a ton of new goodies on both sides.  To get through as many as I can, I’ll just jump straight to the pics.

Race Face is diving in to the world of using the reactive D30 (pronounced “dee-three-oh) material in their protective gear.  D30 starts off as a soft flexible compund but intantly hardens when it sustains an impact.  You can see the pads made with the material on this glove running along the outer two fingers and the knuckles.

Race Face had a huge hit with their soft-sided Dig knee pads last year.  This year they are taking the idea one step further.  Although the Dig will remain unchanged in the lineup, Race Face is adding this new pad cut on the same pattern but using the D30 material instead of a hard plastic knee cup.  This allows more pedalling flexibility and an even more comfortable fit.

Another new pad in the line is this D30 knee/shin combo.  It has extended coverage farther down your leg to help reduce the damage that might be incurred from impacts that happen right under the knee cup (like a pedal kicking back or those nasty low-hanging trailside branches).

This jersey made with bamboo fibers is a great addition to the ever-growing Race Face women’s lineup.  The fabric has a very smooth feel, and the logo is not overpoweringly large either, which is nice.

These new shorts a half step in between the casual Shop Shorts from lat year and the more technical Indy shorts.  They are farily light but definitely aimed at the riding set.

 

The Race Face SixC lineup of parts is aimed at the exploding six-inch travel, all mountain caqtegory.  These carbon bars are redonkulously light while maintiang the sstrength needed for aggressive riding.  They are also the widest carbon bar currently available at 29.5 inches.

One of the smartest new products I saw all day:  This chainring guard from Race Face is adjustable depending on which foot you normally lead with when going over obstacles.  It allows you to keep a thrid ring on the front of the bike and have a little added protection as well.

The new Respond group; Atlas-like strength at a pricepoint that is much easier on the wallet.  It also comes in black, with green and silver logos.

Attention all fixie/hipster wannabes: Race Face modified their Cadence road crank and came up with this Decadence model just for you.  You can run the ring on the inside or the outside of the crank arm spider to better facilitate the proper chainline.  Four color choices will be available.

I stopped by the Chris King booth to check in on their lineup.  It was one of those “right time, right place moments that just seem to happen occasionally at Inerbike .  Not only did I get to meet the man (company founder Chris King) himself, I also got to witness him meeting one of his sponsored riders face to face for the first time.  He’s an English guy.  Rides fast downhill.  Goes by the name of “Peaty” or some such.  Did well in a big race a few weeks back.  Maybe you’ve heard of him?

Recently crowned World DH Champ Steve Peat dropped by to give his sponsors at Chris King a little love.  He couldn’t move ten feet with a crowd of well wishers gathering to let him know they were just about as thrilled as a he was that he finally managed to pull the monkey off his back and sew up the rainbow stripes jersey.

The InSet is just another option that may work for your frame if your are craving that legendary Chris King quality for the front of your ride.

Lezyne has really expanded their gorgeous line of products.  They managed to fill table and several others like it, showing off their very slick pumps, tools and water bottle cages.

So that is wrap on the daily reports from the dirty side of Interbike for 2009.  We have lots more to show you that will trickle in to reports over the next few days, but tomorrow this little carnival kicks in to high gear as the indoor portion of tradeshow in the Sands Convention Center opens its doors.  From then on it is a full sprint to the big finish on Friday.  It’s going to be a great ride.  Thanks for taking it right along with us.