09/06/2008

Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan

Ah, California. The land of sunshine and attractive women in bikinis. Unless you were in San Luis Obispo during the third week in March, and then it was a dozen male mountain bike journalists and a crapload of rain. Thankfully, the Truvativ factory roof wasn't leaking too badly so we were able to spend the second day of our California media camp hanging out there and checking out new Truvativ goodies for 2006.

Considering that I had climbed this hill (below) twice in one day, my legs weren't all that sad to be getting a break.

No trees on the hill means you know exactly how far you have to climb - shot from the mid-point of the ride up
(those little dots where the trail meets the skyline are people)

The Truvativ tour
A Truvativ tour was always in the works, but a torrential rainstorm made it more of a necessity than an option. Tucked away in the back of a strip mall on the road to the airport is Truvativ world headquarters, which is part office space, warehouse, and testing space; warranty will be moving back to the SRAM mothership in Chicago.

The company got its start in 1997, and has always prided itself on being master of its own domain. All of Truvativ's engineering is done in-house by a team of four full-time professionals - one of whom was a stress analyst in the aerospace industry. Truvativ conducts simulated stress testing and 3D computer modelling on every part that the company makes, and then sends the computer models to the company's factory in Taiwan for forging or casting. These guys are serious about stress testing, and do anywhere from 30 to 90 iterations per crank - drive and non-drive - before the engineers are ready to sign off.

Truvativ engineers modelling a crank - check out the stack of engineering books

Every part goes through the same testing process, regardless of what it is or what the final sticker price will be. One of the things Truvativ has found out through computer modelling that its 7050 aluminum alloy is 75% stronger than its 6061.

But it's not all about computer simulations. Truvativ has also built its own torture chamber to break parts. Yes, break them. The goal is to stress components to the point where they break, and measure the amount of force that takes in order to built parts that are as strong as possible. Bottom bracket are cycled repetitively, cranks are vibrated and subjected to incredible loads, and handlebars are slammed into huge steel rods (below).

Truvativ's torture test - handlebars are attached to a 160lb. sled and dropped from 10'. They all break.

Left - A Holzfeller bar after going through the drop test || Right - A close-up of the broken bar

To give you some example of the forces here, the Holzfeller bar withstood 547 foot pounds of pressure when it broke; a Truvativ carbon bar took 225 foot pounds. A pair of Stylo cranks bolted to a bottom bracket and pulled from the pedal inserts withstood 2,780 pounds of load - the weight of a car - without breaking. The cranks twisted inward, but the compressor used for the test wasn't strong enough to actually break them.

Now that you've got an idea what Truvativ components go through before they show up on bikes, let's have a look at some of the new and updated parts for 2006.

Bottom brackets
Truvativ continues to offer its Giga Pipe ISIS bottom brackets and Giga X Pipe external bearing BBs in a wide variety of sizes, but the biggest news for this year is the introduction of the Howitzer BB. The Howitzer takes the external cartridge bearing concept to the next level by substantially increasing bearing size for longer life and greater stiffness, using forged and CNC'd alloy cups, and a heat-treaded chromoly spindle.

That's one big bearing - the Howitzer (below) next to your standard ISIS BB

These bad boys are available in 68, 73, 83, and 100mm shell sizes, and varying spindle lengths so you can dial your chainline to suit any frame.

Howitzer technology isn't designed to be retrofitted or used with other platforms, so you'll only be able to mate these BBs with 2006 and onwards cranks from Truvativ. Bitch and moan, but that's life.

Cranks
Truvativ is stepping things up about a half-dozen notches this year with a huge range of cranks for everyone from those singlespeed freaks (and I mean that in the nicest way) to big hit kids on a budget. Here's a sampling of what's available.

There are three lines of heavy-duty cranks: at the top, the Holzfeller; in the middle, the Hussefelt; and at the bottom, the Ruktion. There are a number of different models in each line, including a triple-ring set-up, Downhill models that generally come with a 34/36/38 middle ring, Bashguard models with middle ring and a bashguard, and RockGuard models with small and middle rings and a bashguard. Check the Truvativ site to see a complete list of all the options available.

Holzfeller is back for DH and full-on freeride bikes, but gets what Truvativ is calling a mirror-black finish. There are a few different Holzfeller models, including a new 22/32/44 triple-ring version, a 22-tooth trials model, and a double ring set-up with a 10mm polycarbonate bashguard; each of them use an AL-7050 alloy for the crank arms and Truvativ's own chainrings (either steel or aluminum). Holzfellers for '06 use a new arm design made of AL-7050-TV to create what Truvativ says is a stronger, lighter, and stiffer crank - especially when it's combined with the Howitzer BB.

All Holzfeller cranks are four-bolt, and the use the new Howitzer bottom bracket interface. Arm lengths are 165, 170 or 175mm, depending on the model, and they aren't compatible with Shimano's new LX/XT/XTR E-type front derailleurs. Truvativ isn't releasing weights for the Holzfeller cranks - make whatever assumptions you want about that.

The Holzfeller DH crank - bigger, beefier, and blacker

The redesigned Hussefelt becomes the mid-level crank from Truvativ. It's available in a 22/32/42 or 22/32/44 set-up, but uses AL-66 alloy instead of 7050. Crank arm lengths are limited to 170mm or 175mm, and all use the Howitzer BB. Also in the Hussefelt line are a redesigned double ring with bashguard set-up, downhill cro-mo versions, aluminum or polycarbonate bashguards ... the list keeps going on and on. Regardless of whatever ring or bashguard combination you're looking for, there is likely a Hussefelt crank for you. Weights are between 670g for the triple to 987g for the RockGuard model.

The third crank in the heavy-duty category is the new price-point Ruktion, which sports cast alloy arms in 170 or 175mm and is available in double- or triple-ring options. Weight is between 660g for the single-ring DH crankset to 915g for the RockGuard model.

The Hussefelt and Ruktion RockGuard cranksets

Move down a notch in intended use, and you'll find a number of new or updated cranksets to choose from. The Stylo Carbon is a carbon-wrapped AL-66 spine, mated with a Team Giga X Drive bottom bracket. The AL-7050 Stylo is back again, and this year comes with a double-ring bashguard version. The Firex cranks also get a bashguard for '06, and there are cosmetic upgrades to other XC, all-mountain and singlespeed cranks for the coming year.

Chainguides
Guess what? Truvativ makes two lines of chainguides, the Shiftguide and the Boxguide. The Shiftguide is Truvativ's entry into the double ring-compatible chainguide market. There are two models - the XR (bushing bottom roller) and the Team (bearing bottom roller). The guides are designed to be used with a standard front derailleur, and 22/32 or 24/36 RockGuard cranks, and attach between a Howitzer bottom bracket and BB shell. Weight on the Shiftguides is 290g.

The Shiftguide (l) and Boxguide (r)

The Boxguide is available in the same two models as the Shiftguide. It's designed to be used with a single front ring, and works with 34-38 or 34-46 tooth chainrings. The Boxguide can be clamped between the Howitzer BB and BB shell, or attached via an ISCG mount. Adjustments to both guides are made via Allen key, and all bolts are designed to be accessible while the cranks are mounted on the bike. These babies weigh in at 350g.

Pedals and stems
Not to be outdone, Truvativ shined up its collection of small parts. There will still be two different pedals available from Truvativ - the primarily OE-spec Hussefelt with integrated (forged) pins and the aftermarket Holzfeller with replacement pins. Both come equipped with an oversized cro-mo spindle and use oversized cartridge bearings. Improvements on the Holzfeller include longer spikes for '06; weight comes in at 580g and 590g, respectively.

Hussefelt and Holzfeller pedals - Truvativ assures me the spikes on the Holzfellers are now long enough to go right through to the bone

You might not think there is much to be done to refine a stem, but Truvativ seemed to find a few things to tweak. Both Holzfeller and Hussefelt stems were updated, including some tweaks to increase strength and update the look - the Holzfeller get the same mirror-black finish as the Holzfeller cranks and the Hussefelt has new forging.

Holzfeller and Hussefelt stems - refined and prettied up for '06

The AL-66 Holzfeller stem is CNC'd for weight reduction, and uses a four-bolt face plate along with a two-bolt steerer clamp; it's available in 1 1/8" and OnePointFive steerer diameters. AL-6061-T6 Hussefelt stems are bored out for weight reduction and get the same bolt pattern as their more expensive brethren, but are only available in 1 1/8".

Truvativ's XC and all-mountain stems - the XR 3D and Team 3D - come in 25.4 and 31.8 clamping diameters, but the Holzfeller and Hussefelt only come in 31.8 with a 0° rise. Choose from 40mm or 60mm lengths; weight comes in at 190g for the 40mm Holzfeller and 203g for the Hussefelt.

Bars and seatposts There are a bunch of different Truvativ bars to choose from, including XC, all-mountain, and carbon riser bars in 25.4 and 31.8 bar clamp diameters. For the more abusive riders in the crowd, there is the Team, the Hussefelt, and the Holzfeller. Each of these bars comes in 31.8 clamp diameters and widths ranging from 640mm to 710mm. Rises are at 25, 35, 45, and 50mm, with a 8° backsweep and 5° upsweep. Weight for the Team is 299g, the Hussefelt is 334g, and the Holzfeller is 299g. Seatposts aren't glamorous, but you'd be kind of SOL without one. Truvativ also managed to find some way to make seatposts a little more appealing, with the new hardcore XR and Team posts. Both use a double-bolt system, are available in 250 and 350mm lengths, offer 10mm of offset, and are adjustable to a 65° seattube angle. The XR is made from AL-6061-T6 and the Team is made from 3D forged AL-7050-TV; weight is 307g and 240g, respectively.

Greg "H-Ball" Herbold, hard at work at Truvativ HQ

Prices for the 2006 Truvativ line haven't been finalized, so check with your Truvativ dealer in the near future for the bottom line. And go to the Truvativ site if you want to see the full list of what crank is available in what ring combination, at what length. Or what stem is, well, you get the picture. That's just too much detail to go into in one article.

Be patient - there will be a recap of RockShox and Avid parts later this week. Until then...

Stuart Kernaghan