Welcome to the annual dealer only show, Frostbike, put on by the bicycle parts distributor Quality Bicycle Parts, for its dealers. Here are some things I saw while cruising the show floor today. Detailed reports on specific items will come later. For now, let’s take a quick look at some items of interest….
Tires: It seems that tire makers are still getting requests for more and varied 29″er tires. I saw several new models and a surprising entry into the world of 29″er tires at Frostbike. A detailed report on tires will be coming soon. The image here is of the Panaracer Driver Pro, a fast, light, XC tire that was soft-intro’ed earlier, but this wasn’t the only bit of news from Panaracer. Stay tuned for that and more.
Fat Bikes: Of course, Quality Bicycle Products is the parent of Surly Bikes and Salsa Bikes. So, it comes as no surprise that fat bikes were a big part of the news at Frostbike. (Pardon the pun. 
) here we see the newest 170mm hub from Hope. This is based upon the Pro 2 mountain bike hub, and will be available this spring in black, blue, red, and pewter. A matching 135mm OLD hub for the front is, of course, coming as well. There will be a special report on the fat bike news coming soon as well.
Forks: Get used to seeing a fork called “Marvel” for 29″ers. Manitou has them coming in versions from 80-120mm in their version of a 15QR and 9mm quick release with straight 1 1/8th or tapered steer tubes. Tower forks will stretch out to 140mm and also will be available in the same configurations as the Marvel. A more detailed report will follow, along with a couple of other tidbits on forks….
Wheels: Of course, one of the other special parts for 29″ers are wheels. I saw several new issues and some details were given on some others as well that we knew were coming. The wheel here is SRAM’s top of the line Rise 60 wheel with a Zipp built carbon rim. It wasn’t the only carbon wheel we saw, and a report on wheels will be forthcoming to detail out everything I saw.
Components, Etc: Of course, there is more than just 29″er stuff, and I saw some interesting tidbits at Frostbike including this XO level Grip Shift for 10 speed. That’s right folks, Grip Shift, (whether you like it or not), is back in 10 speed versions from the XO and XX group sets. Stay tuned for more on these and other components.
More of Frostbike will be coming to you tomorrow!
I like the 170mm Hope hub, looks sweet.
Good news that – a fatbike hub from Hope
Huh? A 29er marvel? Didn’t see that one coming… I wonder if it will contain the MRD cartridge damper.
Driver Pro: 1.9 or 2.1? Looks skinny…
Please ask the Manitou folks how difficult it was to offer their new fork in so many configurations. Various dropouts, various head tubes, variable length, What is the matter, couldn’t they figure out how to do a variable offset too?
We kept hearing that the tooling for all this variety was to expensive, well kudos to you Manitou!
Now if only SRAM would make a Shimano compatable 10-speed gripshift, they would get kudo’s too!!!
Fatbikes are like early 29er’s in that only the limited tire(and rim) choices are holding them back.
Carbon, carbon, everywhere….still waiting on a light, wide, strong and under $250 carbon rim(28, 32, AND 36 hole drillings would be nice). 36 hole would corner the tandem market!
Are 36′rs just a novelty item?
Yeah Manitou! Just in time too, a new fork is probably my next purchase.
what’s under the gripshift and brakelever? It looks like some kind of perforated shim stock on the carbon bar…
Hey GT – any idea if the Gripshifters will be 2x only, or will they also work with 3 ring cranks? Can the same shifter work for either one? Thanks.
Fun Works makes grib shifters for shimano 10 sp.
@Two-One: I have the specifics on the Marvel which should go up on the post concerning forks in a day or so.
@Yogi: My understanding is that Manitou just isn’t big enough to turn around product unless OEM spec pays for it. (Rock Shox and Fox operate in much the same manner: ie: Fisher
)
36″ers are indeed more a novelty item than anything for now. In fact, don’t look for a bigger wheel than a 29″er to get any interest. 650B is where the next buzz is setting up at.
@Kurti_sc: That’s just a graphic on the bar you are seeing, nothing more.
@Dgaddis: My SRAM contact says no 3X Grip Shift is planned for now, and the front shifter has no trim feature.
Won’t “old” SRAM twisters work on the front?
@yogi: I don’t see why not, but then they won’t match the right shifter for looks and feel. I’ll have a bit more detail in my upcoming post.
170mm Hope!!! Meaning that I could buy it in euro stores, unlike salsa… also meaning great pricing…
I thought the Marvel is a 26″ only fork. Can you please confirm?
@Oliver: I saw one and held it in my hands. Definitely will be coming as a 29″er fork soon.
Good to know. Look forward to trying one out. It should have their new air system in it.
@Yogi – yes, you can. Sorta. There’s a local guy that did that for a while with anotherwise full XX group. He liked having the trim for the FD, which is why he hung onto the 9sp X0 gripshift. He eventually switched to trigger on the front as well though. I think he had issues getting it perfect. Gripshift is still indexed, it’s not a friction shifter, and I think he never could get it so both FD ideal positions matched up to an indexed position on the shifter, he could get one to match, but not the other.
Grip shift stays alive! Halleluja !
Yay!!!! 10x GripShift!!!!!
Gripshit is like herpes.
Just won`t go away.
Grip Shift! One of those things you think should have died long ago – then ride a bike sporting ‘em – and come away thinking they work really well. Super Light ‘N’ Simple.
I’ve never used ‘em, but one of son’s bikes had ‘em. Every time I’d work on his bike, thought these shifters are pretty cool.
I’d consider ‘em for my next build or replacement.
Gripshift didn`t work with 8 speeds, so you think it will work with 10?