Mtbr went on a field trip this week and we broke in to the X-Fusion headquarters to see some new product. We stealthily snuck in through the back door to get the scoop before the Sea Otter wave of product introductions begin.
Here's the new Mtbr contributing editor Don Palermini taking the lead.
Unfortunately, our forward progress was thwarted by their security system aka 'jenny the attack dog'. She sniffed us to death and rolled over and all was good.
My partner Don distracted John Hauer and John Valera while I snuck in upstairs to photograph their new seatpost. The seatpost is the follow-on to their Hilo and it is called the Hilo SL. Big changes are a two-bolt head system and drop in weight of about 100 grams.
The stanchion looks to have a nice gold coating as well but final production color has not been finalized yet. The local lever option is now gone as it takes too much room with the two-bolt clamping system. One bolt clamps really cannot compare to two-bolt seat rail clamps in terms of adjustability and reliability.
Some Details:
The internals and seals have been reworked for performance and durability. Hauer also told us there is no play on the seat to post at all. We tried to wiggle the clamping mechanism and could not detect even a hint of side to side movement.
The remote cable is attached to the to top clamping mechanism so there will be cable movement when the post is dropped down. Frames are starting to accomodate for this extra cable movement as dropper posts become more common. Fancier cable routings are internal in the Reverb Stealth and the lower at the frame clamp like the KS Lev and the Crank Brothers Kronolog.
Like their old post and others in the market today, the post is not locked in the down position. So the post can be extended if you lift the bike up by the frame. But like the Rockshox Reverb, there is a bit of resistance to the upward pull so it does not get in the way of riding at all (if you you snag your shorts on the post for example).
Media samples will be available in two weeks so expect mtbr to be riding them and giving impressions by end of February.
Here are the basic specs for the Hilo SL:
Here's the new Mtbr contributing editor Don Palermini taking the lead.
Unfortunately, our forward progress was thwarted by their security system aka 'jenny the attack dog'. She sniffed us to death and rolled over and all was good.
My partner Don distracted John Hauer and John Valera while I snuck in upstairs to photograph their new seatpost. The seatpost is the follow-on to their Hilo and it is called the Hilo SL. Big changes are a two-bolt head system and drop in weight of about 100 grams.
The stanchion looks to have a nice gold coating as well but final production color has not been finalized yet. The local lever option is now gone as it takes too much room with the two-bolt clamping system. One bolt clamps really cannot compare to two-bolt seat rail clamps in terms of adjustability and reliability.
Some Details:
The internals and seals have been reworked for performance and durability. Hauer also told us there is no play on the seat to post at all. We tried to wiggle the clamping mechanism and could not detect even a hint of side to side movement.
The remote cable is attached to the to top clamping mechanism so there will be cable movement when the post is dropped down. Frames are starting to accomodate for this extra cable movement as dropper posts become more common. Fancier cable routings are internal in the Reverb Stealth and the lower at the frame clamp like the KS Lev and the Crank Brothers Kronolog.
Like their old post and others in the market today, the post is not locked in the down position. So the post can be extended if you lift the bike up by the frame. But like the Rockshox Reverb, there is a bit of resistance to the upward pull so it does not get in the way of riding at all (if you you snag your shorts on the post for example).
Media samples will be available in two weeks so expect mtbr to be riding them and giving impressions by end of February.
Here are the basic specs for the Hilo SL:
- Travel: 125mm
- Weight: 450 grams
- Sizes: 30.9, 31.6mm
- Remote: BAT Remote Activation
- Length: 422mm
- Insertion Depth: 217mm
- Price: MSRP- $319.99