NSMB.e.MAGAZINE - Freeride, Extreme and North Shore style Mountain Biking

My old friend Graham Elvidge was taught to build wheels by Keith Whittaker before passing that knowledge on to me in the mid eighties. Graham took immense pride in his building and while I'm sure I have never came close to his skill and precision I did manage to absorb his passion for the job. Since that time every single wheel I've built has been laced with DT Swiss spokes. Who else but the Swiss would you rather have creating the narrow spines that span the ether between hub and hoop? My enthusiasm for DT spokes has me very interested in trying their newest project - the FR 2350 wheels.

2350 tells you the weight in grams of a set which is about 100 grams less per pair than a pair of Mavic Deemax tubeless. The good folks from DT told me that they are the only company capable of manufacturing triple butted spokes. On top of that they just built a brand new factory in Switzerland to build rims. I bet that didn't cost much.

Something else you may notice about these wheels is that they are as red as an infected saddle sore. If you check out the footage of Aaron Chase's winning run in the District Ride you'll notice he's rolling 2350s. Some people I've talked to aren't that keen on lipstick coloured rims with orange decals but I for one think they look pimptastic. I hope to soon have a set for testing so I can let you know how they perform here on the North Shore.

The 2005 Inductees to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame are The British Columbians; John Gadsby, Pippin Osborne, Peter Hamilton, Dan Gerhard, Paul Brodie, Doug Lafavor, Chaz Romalis, Ashley Walker, Larry Ruble and Jacob Heilbron.

Rocky Mountain keeps pushing their bike designs. You've already heard a lot about the new Slayer but the Switch has also been completely redesigned. Wade Simmons chose it as his steed for the District Ride in Germany - perhaps because, like the Slayer, it's become lower and sleeker. Other tweaks include; a longer stroke shock, a rising rate linkage for a bottomless feel, a 12mm thru axle rear hub, a lower standover height and stronger 'boxed in' link plates. Best of all it's handmade and powder coated right here in B.C. We'll have a tester in the stable any day now. If you leaf through the Rocky 25th Anniversary catalogue you'll notice that the Frorider name for their team riders is continuing to make a subtle comeback.

Wade Simmons chose the colour scheme for the RMX Crossfire special edition. Like the Switch Stealth above, this frame was released to coincide with Rocky Mountain's 25th Anniversary in the biz..

The special edition RMX frame will put a $3099 dent in your Canuck wallet and US$2799 for our southern neighbours. Complete RMX bikes give you more dollar for dollar. The RMX 1 will set you back CDN$3999/USD$3399 and the RMX 2 lists at CDN$4999/USD$3999.

Sponsored riders are often busy at Interbike. Darren Berrecloth was negotiating all his contracts. Here Richie Schley (left) and Wade Simmons take a break at the Rocky booth.

Ryders Eyewear is making goggles now - these are the Vapor MX. They have single lenses with anti-fog protection as well as hypo-allergenic face foam so you don't break out in hives .

Dakine just started coming to Interbike last year and there has been a pretty much constant buzz at their booth. You can't walk by without seeing a pro rider and Geoff Gulevich always seems to be there.

One of the best things about Dakine is the way they respond to rider input. Every year products improve based on what riders say they want - as well as good old innovation. Who but Dakine would think of making a Pick Up Pad - a padded cover that straps onto a pick up tailgate so you can transport your ride by hanging the rear wheel over the gate of your truck. The pad keeps both of your rides looking good. This year they are also making a rider specific gear bag with space for your full face and all your pads as well as vented pockets for your wet gear.

Dakine's packs now include dividers for all the appropriate gear like your pump, tube, tools and any other paraphenalia you might be packing.

Apparently the Las Vegas nightlife was too much for Geoff Gulevich.

Dakine continues to push the boundaries with colour and design. The Drafter pack now has a 'deployable' helmet carry that tucks away when not in use. The Cross X gloves have been my favourites for several years now.

A fair amount of guerilla marketing goes on at Interbike and from what I've seen nobody does it better than Knolly bikes. They had no booth but they managed to place bikes at the Magura and DT Swiss booths for the final day of the show. Unfortunately they didn't have their bike stands for the first couple of days so they just ended up wheeling three bikes around.

Noel Buckley and the first frame he went into production with - the Vtach.

Noel Buckley is a North Shore veteran – one of the boys who’s been ripping the Shore since the days of cantilevers and rigid forks. When you combine that experience with insane amounts of passion and mix in an physicist’s brain you’ve got the ingredients for a mean bike maker.

The Delirum T is a scaled down version of the Vtach with a little less travel and a heft.

The first time I saw a Knolly it was a prototype but I was blown away. The finish and quality of the frame were the sort you come to expect from the very best builders in the business. It made the sort of first impression you expect from a Santa Cruz or even a Foes. That was a couple of years ago and Noel has further refined his debut model – the V-Tach - and added a couple of other bikes to the line. The V-Tach is a 196mm travel monster that somehow gets around Specialized’s stranglehold on the Horst Link. The Delirium T is V-Tach’s little bro with a similar design, lighter weight and 160mm of travel. The FreeRadical is all hardtail but like all Knollys it’s got ample room for 2.7” tires and it’s more than willing to mount a 203mm fork.

Kira Cailes who works with Noel at Knolly is another North Shore vet. She was even in Digger's first movies and she's been ripping it ever since. Here she's reluctantly posing with the Knolly Free Radical hardtail.

Don’t think these are Taiwanese knock offs either – every Knolly is built in Vancouver B.C. – just across the bridge from the North Shore. Check them out at knollybikes.com

Cam McRae