Here are a few dodgy i-Phone pics of the freshly assembled Santa Cruz Butcher. It’s not 100% in its final build state but it’s pretty close. Since I took these photos I’ve had the Butcher out for its maiden voyage, and it’s now sporting an attractive smattering of Wainui mud. The first ride was pretty positive; I felt comfortable on it straight away, although I’m still getting used to the extra width in the ABD bars.

Straitline Silent guide, Easton Haven wheels, & Schwalbe Fat Albert 2.35 tyres

ABD Sniper bar, Straitline stem, ODI Ruffian grips, & Elixirs brakes (we’ll be swapping these out for something else very soon).

I’m definitely looking forward to getting to know the Butcher better over the next six months or so. Caleb will be setting up a specific page on the website where you can check progress on our long term tests. More details soon.

DIY robotic bike contraptions, graffiti, and rainbows. Seems like a logical mix to me.

Nice edit, and sweet little concept.

MUSIC VIDEO RIDING SEPTEMBER from Hush on Vimeo.

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

Hot off the wire, Kelly McGarry is one of the finalists at Crankworx this weekend.

If the weather is crap in your part of the country (it is in mine) then here’s the live feed to keep you entertained. http://www.crankworx.com/webcast/

Results here: http://www.crankworx.com/whistler/images/stories/result_slopestyle%20qualifications.pdf

Just in case the guys and girls at the water cooler forget about the rugby and want to talk about that cycling thing they saw on the tv-thing instead, here’s a quick summary…

- Armstrong is out of contention for the overall. Three crashes in one day put paid to that..

- Greg Henderson isn’t riding. Team Sky decided to aim for the overall with Wiggins rather than go for any stage wins, yup, that certainly worked well… NOT.

- Hayden Roulston isn’t riding either, he’s been riding support for some guy with a euro-sounding name in a euro-sounding race.

- Julian Dean is kicking arse, so much so he’s getting headbutted for his troubles

- Last year’s winner, Alberto Contador is looking pretty good heading into the hills, especially with recovering EPO-junkie Vino helping him out.

There you, the kiwi layman’s tour in five bullet points.

Pink Bike has a 15 minute interview wih Cedric Gracia from Sea Otter. CG fills us in on his new team ‘Racing Brigade’, updates us on his recovery from injury last year, and talks us through his V10 & Nickel 4x bike. Did I hear him say that the new V10 is going to be a different material? Hmmm . . . . finally a carbon V10?

The 150mm travel APP Butcher

The big deal is that those two linkages have been carefully engineered to produce a variable shock rate that is claimed to closely mimic the shock rate achieved by the fabled VPP technology; a slightly falling initial rate for great small bump absorption, followed by a flattish stable rate in mid travel, and finally a rising rate near bottom out. This suspension rate characteristic combined with a carefully refined single pivot location promises to deliver a bike that is lively to pedal, offers plush and responsive suspension, and that is relatively neutral under braking.

Of course Santa Cruz are keenly aware that the best suspension theory in the world means nothing if not delivered well and they appear to have worked hard to ensure that this latest offering is both robust and reliable.  The linkages are forged aluminium and the major pivots run on angular contact bearings and are held together with 15mm axles.

The 125mm travel APP Nickel

Initially this new suspension platform will be available in two models of bike; the 150mm travel Butcher, and the 125mm travel Nickel. It seems that both are squarely aimed at the trail/all mountain portion of the market and appear to have all the necessary attributes to ensure that they are competent all rounders. Santa Cruz have a knack for producing bikes in this genre that punch well above their weight; satisfying those who like to go up, and surprising those who like to go down. On paper at least both the Butcher and the Nickel look set to impress. We look forward to seeing if that is the case.

To download the full release PDF from Santa Cruz click here

The drive side APP (Butcher)

Non drive side APP (Nickel)

Tapered headtube (both Butcher and Nickel)

Angular contact pivot bearings (Butcher and Nickel)

Cable routing for dropper posts (both Butcher and Nickel). One of Santa Cruz's close collaborators may in fact be making your choice just a little harder (or easier) at Sea Otter

Hydroformed tubes

And the all important Santa Cruz bottle opener

And the Nickel even sports TWO bottle cage mounts

Check it.

The big story so far has been Mark Cavendish; when it comes down to a sprint no-one seems to be able to get near him.  What makes this even more confusing is that despite the fact he’s been dominating in the last couple of stages he’s waaaay down at #142 in general classification because he had an average day on the first stage.

Being able to perform brain surgery could come in handy when working out how the results work. No simple gold,  silver and bronze system here. There’s sprint aces, hill climbers, and most aggressive rider jerseys, plus the race itself is a bit like a chess game with riders being moved to certain spots around the peloton. How anyone can watch this stuff on TV in the early hours of the morning and understand what’s going on is a mystery to me.

Standings here.

Here’s some pictures of Cav’s bike: ugly or cool? Your thoughts readers.

San Rafael singletrack

Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to have some spare time in the city of San Francisco. A visit to this part of the world wouldn’t be complete without an excursion to check out the riding in the area that is generally regarded as the birth place of mountain biking, Marin County.

Local riders, film makers, and good friends; Jason Watkins and Wendy Todd were kind enough to lend me a bike and show me around the trails on their back doorstep in the city of San Rafael .

The weather was scorching. The trails were dry, fast, and flowing.

Thanks Jason and Wendy

Jason and Wendy of Poison Oak Productions. Mt Tam in the background.

Release follows:

Edewecht, Germany (June 3, 2009) – Felt GmbH regrets to announce its immediate sponsorship discontinuance with the Felt International MTB Team, owned and operated by AB ProCycling
and managed by Dr. Antonio Brozzu.  Recent financial problems between AB ProCycling and the team left riders partly paid and the program in operational distress. “We regret this early cancellation but under the circumstances it was unavoidable.  Once it was clear that AB ProCycling had stopped contributing to the team every attempt was made between Felt and other industry sponsors to salvage the program and make up the difference. However, despite our best efforts we simply could not make it happen. We wish all of the team members the very best for the future.” says Michael Muellmann, CEO.

It is Felt’s hope to return to the professional mountain bike race circuit in 2010 with a suitable
high-profile program.