These hubs caught my eye at Interbike:



Now, they look relatively standard, but there's something special inside. These hubs are supposed to have zero backlash -- the quickest engagement of any hub on the market. Ordinary hubs, even I9 and King's hubs, freewheel with ratchet pawls, which work just like a ratchet to allow you to pedal in one direction and coast in the other. No matter how many stop points you have on the pawls, you'll still need to pedal foward a tiny bit before the hub starts driving. On crappy hubs, you'll have to pedal up to 12 degrees before the hub engages. On Chris Kings, 6, and on Industry 9's, 3 degrees. The Stealth hubs claim to engage in 0 degrees.

True Precision's hubs come in a whole array of axle sizes and hub types. BMX, DH, Singlespeed, Disc, Non-Disc, 12mm, 15mm, 20mm, QR, Bolt On, you get the idea.

Having picked these hubs up and held them in my hand, I should note that they are a little heavy. I don't have numbers, but I immediately noticed that they weigh more than a standard mountain hub, at least for the rear one.

I think these are cool because the technology is proprietary (they own and probably invented it) and because it offers something that no other manufacturer has figured out how to do. For that reason, I'll try to get some numbers and info on these daddies. I do know a hubset can be had for about $550. Pricey, but that's what you pay for quality (I9, C.K., Profile will all run you about that).

Here is an interesting thing: True Precision and Industry Nine are not specifically mountain bike or even cycling companies. No. They're both high precision machine shops who use their machinery to make bad ass bike parts. Word up.

-Mark

Alain from Dobermann sent over a few shots of one of their production-run dual suspension slopestyle bikes. If you saw any coverage of the Highlands event this summer, you saw Clinton riding the prototype of this frame.

Notice that the rear end pivots around the bottom bracket. That and the lack of a derailleur hanger should scream "Dual Suspension Singlespeed" in your face! I love how the shock goes through the seat tube. It obviously limits your seatpost depth, but a long seatpost is just extra weight anyway. I don't think these are supposed to be ridden up hills anyway.

That's all the info I have on it for now, as it isn't up on their site yet. Their blog has some pertinent info though. For now, some photos ought to do. Click 'em to pick 'em.







-Mark

Alain from Dobermann hooked me up with a Dobermann Pinscher frame when the Brooklyn Banks Thrashbike Jam came around. It took me a while to get built, and while it does roll (very well), it still isn't done. Done or not, I had to finally post some shots of it. The final addition will be an Atomlab/Industry Nine wheelset in some neat colors. I can't wait to pull the I-9 hubs apart and see what makes them work so flawlessly.

Back to Dobermann -- If the Brooklyn Jam and the Dirty Mitten Jam didn't prove that Dobermann has its head in the right place, then I don't know what will. I don't think I've ever seen such a large and talented team consistently show up at events like that. I imagine that such a large team serves as a huge and thorough R&D department for Dobermann, which explains why my frame kicks so much ass.

The bike weighs as shown at 27.5 pounds. The frame constitutes a slightly lighter than average 5.5 pounds of that. It's tough to see, but my serial number is printed on the dropout. "NJ DIRT" Good luck stealing my rig!! Once I get some time on the bike, I'll put a more thorough feature up about it. For now, some pics...

Oh yea, Alain also makes beer at their shop. Gotta love it!








-Mark

Nick has spent a nice chunk of time riding and testing the Anson City Limited frame from Brooklyn Machine Works. After all was said and done, he says the frame held up and kicks ass. Check out the rest of his review by clicking on the photo below.



-Mark

Nick just passed the word on to me that Eastern Bikes is working on a plastic bottom bracket. If I wasn't an engineer, I'd scoff at such a thing, but since I am, I know better. They're using some kind of high strength plastic as the casing for the new bottom bracket bearings, which will apparently be much lighter and cheaper than ordinary metal bearings.

There isn't too much out in the open about them yet, except that a few prototypes are out in the streets. I'm glad to see that they've put some useful engineering into this part, rather than thinning tubes and making ridiculous holes in things. That's evolution!



Keep your eyes open for some more info on these as soon as it becomes available. We'll be watching too.

-Mark

My review of the AtomLab Trailking pedal is up. I've been riding them since this year's Supersession and so far they've proven themselves as the best pedal I have yet to ride. Click on the pic to see the review.



-Mark

A little insight into the new Animal Sprockey Balboa sprocket from NJ Dirt. Click the pic to check it!

We've all been rolling around on AtomLab wheelsets for the summer, and our final words have come to print. Click the pic to go there!



Congrats to Nick, as you may realize how many photos of his Atom Lab has on their site. Sorry they botched the spelling...

- Mark

Alec has been rolling on the Molly McGuire from Union Street Bikes for some time now, and the review of it is fit for all to see. You can see it by clicking here, or from the menu on the left.


Click it for the full size

- Mark

Mutiny bikes is soon releasing a video that looks like it will definitely be a good watch. The vid is called, as the post title suggests, Stoked on Being Pumped. If the riding can compensate for the title choice, then you know there will be some bangers in there. Check the trailer, which is available in HD as well.



- Mark