Here at Mtbr HQ, the iPhone is king. Of all of us employees, the actually count is 5 iPhones vs. 2 others (the two others being a Blackberry and an Android G1). I love my all purpose iPhone and it’s even better when I can combine my inner tech geek with my mountain biking Passion! Here is a list compiled from our own opinions along with current forum discussions on just what the hottest iPhone apps for mountain bikers are.

#5.) “The Bike Computer” ( http://www.everytrail.com/iphone.php) FREE - Provides a large display of speed and distance based on your iPhone’s GPS. Also contains a bunch of other GPS based features, but the clean and simple bike computer is the best part.

Next #4 - iTunes>>

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Summary of the review

We’re stoked to be the first people to get their hands on the new GoPro HD Hero cameras. GoPro HD Heros are the first video cams from GoPro that shoot at full 1080P resolution. GoPro bypassed the whole 720p era and jumped right to 1080P at an amazing price. The GoPro brand is well known among sports enthusiasts and can boast to be the best selling helmet camera for the last couple of years

…. see more here

http://pointofviewcameras.ca/blog/povca/article/first-gopro-hd-hero-helmet-camera-review

Courtesy of our reviewer Lee, here are some clips of the second test run using the new GoPro HD. Recorded with a resolution of 720p at 30 fps. Filmed at Interriver Park in North Vancouver, BC.

Preview of the GoPro HD Helmet HERO 1080p Camera from PointOfViewCameras on Vimeo.

Introduction:

Gary Fisher invited a handful of journalists to Park City Utah to try out their new offerings. Timing was a bit odd with the event happening less than two weeks before Interbike. “They must have a story to tell.” I thought.

And there is a story indeed. It is one of development and racing. The folks at Gary Fisher have been very busy refining their full supsension 29er line. Using technology they learned from the development of the 26er Roscoe bike and from Trek R&D, they sought out to continue the work Gary Fisher himself started back in 1999.

What they came out with are three new products, the Superfly 100, Rumblefish and the Superfly Singlespeed. The star of this trio is definitely the Superfly 100. It features a carbon full suspension frame that was designed to redefine cross country racing.

The Racing Story:

In July, Matt Pachocha of Velonews boldly proclaimed the death of the 26-inch hardtail in XC racing (http://velonews.com/article/95579). It’s certainly a controversial claim and Matt is still impressed at the volume of hate mail he continues to receive. But there to relate their experiences to us were 2009 National Champions, Jeremy Horgan-Kobleski and Heather Irminger. Willow Koerber who placed 3rd in the 2009 Worlds had a 29er story to share as well. All of them started using the Superfly 100 in mid-season and achieved stellar results.

So it is always difficult to to get an honest evaluation of a bike from a sponsored racer. By definition, sponsored racers do not say anything negative about a bike. So in this case, we’ll let the statistics and results do the talking.

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Height: 6′1″)
2009 XC Nationals - 1st place - 6:47 ahead of second place
2009 Marathon XC Nationals - 1st place – 12:26 ahead of second place

Heather Irminger- Height:5′4″
2009 XC Nationals - 1st place
2009 Marathon XC Nationals - 1st place

Willow Koerber - Height 5′1″
2009 XC Nationals – 2nd place
2009 Worlds - 3rd place

Kobelski Interview on CyclingDirt at Marathon National Championship
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235299-2009-usa-marathon-national-championships/191901-jeremy-horgan-kobelski-wins-marathon-championship

Heather Irminger Interview
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235299-2009-usa-marathon-national-championships/191906-heather-irmiger

And one thing interesting about these results is these racers are not youngsters and they are having the best results of their careers. Something is clicking and the Superfly 100 seems to be part of that formula. The other curious note is the height of these racers does not fit the ‘tall rider only’ stereotype of the 29er full suspension rider.

The bike:
So I only got to ride the Superfly 100 for three solid days in the trails of Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. These are first impressions only and I hope to ride it a lot more on my local trails in Santa Cruz, CA.

As I mentioned in the video, the highlights of the bike are:
Frame - 2200 grams or 4.85 lbs in size medium with the rear shock and all the hardware.

Short Chainstays - chainstay length is 451 mm or 17.75 inches. This is the hallowed ground of full suspension 29ers as short stays deliver quick handling and better rear traction. The seatstay had to be pushed forward in front of the bottom bracket to achieve this. This also resulted in a short wheelbase of 1114 mm.

Repositioned pivot point - The pivot point was repositioned lower to the rear axle to deliver better rigidity. The suspension was tuned as well to have better small bump sensitivity and ramp up later in the 110 mm of travel.

ABP and E2 technology - These Gary Fisher and Trek technologies were incorporated to give better suspension action during braking. E2 enables a beefier head tube design to deliver greater steering accuracy without adding much weight.

G2 Geometry - And finally, the bike is finished off with the proprietary 51 mm fork offset to deliver quick steering without a steep head angle.

The ride:
The ride was natural and telepathic. That’s what you want to hear on a fairly short test ride session right? It was very easy to get used to as the position seemed natural and not to high off the ground. Acceleration was awesome and traction seemed like it was always there.

Descending on the bike seemed really easy as it carved through the singletrack of Park City with ease. I never locked out the platform suspension yet the steep pitches that surprised me were never an issue. The only real problem was my lungs not quite ready for the 9000 foot elevation!

It was easy to forget that this was a 29er since it rode very similar to a 26er. But when the going got real rough on rocky fire roads, the trails did seem smoother than they looked. And at the Wasatch Crest trail, as my guide Photo-John coasted in front of me on his 26er, I had to grab a handful of brake to avoid ramming into him as I was coasting too.

Like I said, these are just first impressions and I hope to ride it more. But color me impressed so far.

Photos:

Gary Fisher Superfly 100 Specifications:

MSRP: $5600
Frame: OCLV Co-molded carbon main frame and rear swingarm, G2 Geometry, E2 headtube, ABP, topswing carbon link
Fork: Fox F100 FIT RLC 29, 100mm travel, custom G2 Geometry 51mm offset crown, E2 steerer, lockout force adjustment, FIT cartridge damper
Brakeset: Avid Elixir CR hydraulic disc, 160mm rotors front and rear
Wheels: Bontrager Race X Lite Scandium 29 Disc, tubeless ready
Tires: Bontrager XR1 Team Issue 29×1.9, 120 TPI, aramid bead
Headset: Cane Creek Frustrum E2 1-1/8″-1-1/2″, semi-integrated, cartridge bearings
Crank Set: Truvativ Noir Redwin Carbon, 44/32/22
Front Derailleur: Shimano XT Direct Mount
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X.O Redwin
Shifters: SRAM X.O Redwin
Cassette: SRAM PG990 11-34 9spd
Handlebar: Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep, 640mm width, 12d backsweep, 31.8mm
Stem: Bontrager Race X Lite OS, 7d rise, 31.8mm
Saddle: Bontrager Race Lite, superlight hollow cromoly rails
Seatpost: Bontrager Race XXX Lite Carbon OCLV, Carbon Shaft, infinite adjust Carbon Bontrager head
Color: Carbon Smoke / Gloss White
Sizes: SM (15.5″) | MD (17.5″) | LG (19″) | XL (21″) | XXL (23″)

www.fisherbikes.com

Talk about it on the MTBR 29er forum

Talk about it on the MTBR Gary Fisher forum

Canfield isn’t the first name you think of when it comes to 29ers or cross country bikes. Bikes for chucking off red cliffs, maybe - but 29ers? They’ve been talking about it for a while and those who had heard the rumors have been waiting. But this will be a surprise to most mountain bikers. Well, the bike was in my studio today and I’ve got proof. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the Canfield Brothers Nimble 9 29er.

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Following the AM and the AC the new Helius line is getting a new  sibling. Our latest baby has taken the name of the Helius AFR, it stands  for All Freeride. The name is the destination: Bikepark playgrounds,  trail hunting, gaps ‘n steps, epic descents, spot hopping while dropping  in where ever you want and always full throttle.

The AFR provides 7 to 8 inches of poised rear wheel travel that is still  rapid in acceleration due to the Horst-Link technology. With a 7 inch  Totem that matches the frame perfectly, the head angle sits at 66,8°.

We’ve lowered the top tube while the seat-tube is offset and flattened.

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Big Ibis News (from the Ibis Newsletter)

Mojo HD Hits the Slopes
It’s time to let the “HD” out of the bag.

“Over the last couple years, we’ve been working on a new 160mm travel big brother to the Mojo Carbon and Mojo SL (each with 140mm travel), we’re temporarily calling it the “Mojo HD”. And now we think it’s about time to tell you about it. ”

Introducing the Ibis Mojo HD:

Before we tell you about what nitty gritty details we’re willing to divulge, we want to let you know that we’ve already been putting this bike through the paces, some of them rigorous.

Already a Race Winner

Brian Lopes spent the last week in Vars France, getting ready for and then competing in the Enduro Trophy des Nations. This is an enduro style race, becoming quite popular in Europe these days, where riders compete in a number of stages over a two day period with “beaucoup” downhill. This particular event had 10 stages over two days and featured over 10,000 M of descending. If you’re bad at math (or don’t like the metric system) that’s 32,808.4 feet of descent. Or 6.21 MILES straight down, measured vertically! This race also had a bonus stage at 10PM on saturday night that didn’t count for the overall time, but the winner got an extra 500 Euros of party money.

Brian teamed up with WTB’s Mark Weir and Jason Moescheler to form Team USA 1. Brian notched the first win for his prototype Mojo HD on its first day of racing by winning one of the stages on Saturday, propelling the team to second overall on Saturday night.

Brian is very happy with the bike, and told us a couple things in text messages received over the weekend.

“bike is awesome”

OK, we understand typing is not that easy on a Blackberry.

Brian’s Sunday Night Report

Seriously though, here we we have an extra long Blackberry missive from Monsieur Lopes:

“The Enduro race was a lot harder than I expected. The toll it took on everything: wheels, tires, brakes, suspension, the body, and of course the frame were beyond what I imagined. The new “HD” Ibis never missed a beat. For only getting the frame one week ago & with only one ride on it before packing it up for this race, it couldn’t have gone through any more of a test than the abusive one I gave it here in France. With 10 demanding races, 3 of which ended with flat tires, the French won all but one race (which I won!). It was hard to beat them on course they knew better than all the rest, basically they were on their home track at times, where knowing the course saved them time.
It’s hard to believe that this bike isn’t much heavier than the standard mojo, as it was eating up courses that were worthy of full-on DH rigs. The added travel, stiffness, clearance for larger tires and a 8″ rotor allow you to take on the toughest terrain you can throw at it, but it’s still efficient and light enough to pedal up any hill. Another weapon is added to the ibis line up…”

Wow, so there you go. The only non-French winner of any stage was Brian. We think that’s pretty impressive. Without further fluff, here’s a bit more about the bike.

(more specs>>)
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This is one of our most popular bikes – classically designed with hand-laid graphics. It also features an optional adjustable linkage piece – that can lower the BB a half-inch, and the head angle close to a degree. The bicycle offers a Macstrut design suspension – similar to the VF2 – with a 68 degree headangle – and 67 in the lower travel setting. Made with oversized butted tubes on the front triangle, and CNC machined yoke pieces, this is a solid bicycle to tackle almost any terrain. Frame features include:

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Tallboy on the Horizon

from Santa Cruz Bicycles: “We’ve been hinting about a 29″ bike on our blog for a while, and now that we’re getting the thing closer to finalized, we’re ready to show a little more skin. So to speak. We have photos that are absolutely how the bike will look in final trim, and we’ve got geometry charts, and we’ve got some final prototype mules that we’ve been kicking around. The basic nuts and bolts of the Tallboy have been getting massaged into place for over a year now, and the big wheel beast has taken shape into something we’re really happy with:”

Carbon fiber frame - This’ll be our third carbon fiber bike, and the more time we spend working with the material, the more we are able to push into new definitions of stiffness and strength. Following in line with what we were able to achieve with the carbon Blur XC and LT models, we’re kicking around Tallboy frames that weigh right about 5 pounds (with shock) and are so insanely flex-free and fun handling that they blow all our earlier assumptions about big wheels and chassis flex right out of the water. Tapered head tubes, massive but super light chainstays and rear triangles, absolutely rock solid frames, and they’re still around 2 pounds lighter than most of the similarly targeted competition. Super stiff, super strong, super snappy.

VPP suspension - The Tallboy will have 100mm of travel. The lower link features the same 15mm aluminum pivot axles, titanium hardware, angular contact bearings, grease ports, durability and ease of maintenance as found on our Blur LT. There’s also a carbon fiber upper link, with the same trick hardware and angular contact bearings on the big axle. Clean, neutral pedaling without bob or feedback, and plush bump eating suspension performance across the board.

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The ever popular Rize is now called the RZ. New for 2010 is the RZ 120 (120mm of rear travel) and the RZ 140. Why the name change? It was actually due to a trademark issue that involved another company outside of the bike biz (note: the change came very recently so you will hear and see these bikes referred to as the Rize in the videos and these photos). The name may be changed, but everything you loved about the Rize is back and even better.

Ride Impression:
I personally tested at length, a Rize 1 last year ( http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/cannondale-rize-pro-review/ ) and I got to test the RZ 120 at River Run in Sun Valley, ID. The RZ 120 rides as if it were 140. I didn’t get a chance to ride the RZ 140, but I’m sure it also rides as if it has more travel.

The rear suspension is now better matched to the plushness and stiffness of the Lefty Carbon Max (one of the lightest and best tracking forks ever). The rear stays efficient on the climbs and still plush on the descents, even under braking.

In these two videos, Double D (aka Doug Dalton, Cannondale R&D) shows us the highlights of the RZ 120 and RZ 140:

Info about the 2010 Cannondale bikes coming soon.

website: www.cannondale.com

Blue Competiton Cycles is more well known for their high end carbon fiber road bikes, than for mountain bikes. But that may soon change. In addition to their carbon hardtail (the XC Carbon), Blue has a full carbon full suspension bike called the Ryno.

In this video, Chance Regina (National Sales and Marketing Manager) shows us the highlights of the Ryno:

Info about the Ryno from the Blue Competition Cycles website:

RYNO CARBON FULL SUSPENSION MTB -2200g