Rapid Reviews - 2012 Race Bike

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BY: Richard Jones

Published: 12th January, 2013

Rapid Reviews - 2012 Race Bike.

Here goes a summery of products that I raced and trained with during 2012. All of these items have been well used in a whole variety of conditions for numerous events. 

There's no actual product photos as your better of googling it for a detailed quality photo. Instead of some photos of the products being used and abused in races.

Easton Carbon finishing Kit. 

This year I used an EC90 seat post, a rather flashy EC90 SL stem and some wide EC70 flat bars. This collection of finishing kit is no thrills yet super reliable. It does just what its designed to do with out any drawbacks. I appreciate there is lighter options on the market but the superb strength and durability sells this for me. The 685 flat bars feel just perfect. Uncut they offer just enough stability on technical sections with out clipping trees whilst in the tight stuff. 

ESI Grips. 

I couldn't ride any other grips on the mountain bike these days; these are super light at just 60 grams. The 100% silicone design makes for a tacky non-slip feel whilst dampening many vibrations. The silicone acts like memory foam allowing the grips to mold to the shape of your hands. Fantastic in the mud…. we had a lot of that last year. 

MTZOOM TI Skewers. 

These things are light! Just 45grams a pair what isn't there to like? They also hold your wheels in which is useful. They're also only £25 so that's probably the cheapest way to loose a bunch of weight. 

RockShox SID XX forks. 

Well where do I start? This was the biggest investment for the race bike last year, as I wanted something that would feel good and be light. First ride was brilliant however it was mostly down hill from there. No matter how much setting up I just couldn't get any "life" out of them. They always felt as if there was little rebound and very little low speed compression. Then with in minutes of racing at Dalby National they seized solid. Cleaning the bike once home I went on to find there was some serious paint flaking going on….not impressed. Off they went for warranty work and thankfully a week later they where back, repaired and with new lowers. However they soon went back to feeling anything but inspiring. The last month of racing I began to have issues with them sucking down in there travel. So they are off again for more work. I see that many people have these so perhaps I just got a bad set however I would be interested to hear others experiences. 

XTR Drive System. 

I have been using a combination of  an XT cassette with XTR chainset, front mechanism, rear clutch mechanism and chain. As I am sure most of you know it's a faultless groupset, I believe the clutch rear mechanism really sets this apart as it prevents chain chatter and decreases the chances of dropping the chain whilst racing. I have also found that it heavily minimizes chain suck in muddy races as the chain is under so much more tension. Great weight, very reliable but a high price to pay. 

XTR Race pedals. 

The predecessor pedal was absolutely faultless, thousands of miles with out any servicing and I am still running my older pedals on the training bike with no issues. However these new SPDs where not so bomb proof. After 5 months of use the axles began to rattle loose, no warranty, as they hadn't been "serviced". However my awesome mechanic TOM WRIGHT worked his usual magic and brought them back to life.  

MTZOOM Ti Bottle cage. 

This thing looks the DB. Its also rather light and holds the bottle very well. It weights just 25 grams and costs £21:49. The cage can be flexed to accommodate different bottle sizes. What more could you want? 

Easton EC90 Wheelset. 

It's hard to detract from the price of these wheels, Thankfully I was lucky enough to get hold of these at a discounted price. The impressive weight of just 1250 grams a pair for a Tubeless specific rim was what originally caught my eye. I find the ride quality of a Tubeless specific rim to be better than the normal Stans type rim. It seems to holds the tyres better and gives a much more stable feel when cornering. The hubs have been running smooth for the best part of the season up until the week before Kielder. The bearing got swapped out on the rear and the internals cleaned up, all running smoothly since. It's hard to say if this bearing wear was premature but with the conditions we had last year, its hardly unexpected. 

Fizik Tundra 2 saddles. 

It always bugs me when I read saddles reviews. One guy says it's the lovely and comfortable, the next guy hates it and then they either praise it or slate it dependent on there opinion. It all comes down to personal preference. So as im sure you can guess, I find it comfortable. Its easy to clean and has a nice short back so its easy to get off the back of the saddle. I have a kium railed model on the training bike and a light 00 model on the race bike. Its 145 grams and that makes it flipping awesome. Its coped with me leaping on and off it for a whole season with no real sign of any wearing. That and its full of carbon, Winner! 

Richard Jones 

XCRacer.com 

Accelerade. 

MTZoom.