COMPLIES TO STANDARDS: CPSC, CE: 1078, AS/NZS 2063
mega am frame
DESCRIPTION
MEGA AM 275
“Go places, Win races”
Born on the infamous Alp D’huez mountains, the Mega AM has grown and matured alongside the racers and evolved into the ultimate ‘do it all’ race bike. At home on today’s Enduro World Series and thriving in events such as the Megavalanche and Mountain of Hell where performance and reliability are a key factor among race winners.
CUSTOM HYDROFORMED FRAME WITH EROSION LINKAGE SUSPENSION
The Mega AM frameset is engineered from custom hydroformed double-welded T6 6061 aluminium, with our Nukeproof ‘Erosion’ linkage giving a smooth progressive suspension action with a well controlled mid-stroke to avoid wallowing under pedal loads.
Oversize main pivot bearings stradle a bespoke CNC-machined Bottom Bracket assembly to ensure alignment, durability and precision, while an asymmetric chainstay design gives clearance for a front derailleur and compatibility with all leading models of ISCG 05 – mounted chain retention systems.
Geometry is based around a slack 66deg head angle and steep 73.5deg seat angle, with a long wheelbase keeping the centre of gravity low for optimum stability at speed.
Friday 10 October 2014
P.SLOPE
If rippin' it up slopestyle or goin' huge at the local dirt jumps is your thing, P.Slope is your bike. Featuring a tough, single pivot full suspension chassis, concentric around the BB, the P.Slope offers enough travel up front and out back to take the edge off the big hits while still riding like a hardtail. The P.Slope includes a RockShox Pike DJ 26 fork, Monarch RT3 shock, and PF30 Descendant cranks for re-entry back to Earth.
A true all-mountain machine, the top-shelf S-Works Enduro 29 has 155mm of rear wheel travel, a FACT IS-X 11m carbon front triangle, a Custom Cane Creek Double Barrel air shock, RockShox Pike RCT3 fork, SRAM XX1 11-speed drivetrain featuring XX1 carbon crankset, and thru-axle Roval Traverse SL 29 142+ wheelset for an ultra-lightweight ride.
FACT 11m carbon frame w/ All-Mountain geometry and 155mm travel for pure capability
Custom Cane Creek DB Inline shock for tunability and control over challenging terrain
Custom RockShox Pike RCT3 160mm-travel fork w/ 15mm axle is tuned to charge technical terrain
Roval Traverse SL Fattie 142+ carbon wheelset for durable and tubeless-ready performance
Aggressive tread and lightweight Specialized Butcher Control front tyre
Specialized Slaughter Control rear tyre for fast-rolling performance on challenging terrain
SRAM Guide RS Carbon brakes w/ metallic pads and reach adjust for premium stopping power
SRAM XX1 11-speed rear derailleur for high-performance XC racing componentry
SRAM XX1 11-speed trigger shifter for efficiency and simplicity on the trail
Specialized Command Post IR w/ remote lever to adjust saddle height on-the-fly
specs
FRAME
FACT IS-X 11m carbon, 29" geometry, FACT IS construction, FACT carbon front triangle, M5 alloy rear triangle, tapered headtube, PF30 BB, internal Command Post IR routing, 142mm dropouts, full cartridge bearing pivots, replaceable derailleur hanger, 155mm travel
REAR SHOCK
Custom Cane Creek DB AIR Inline, high/low-speed compression and rebound adj., w/ climb switch, 8.5"x2.25"
FORK
Custom RockShox Pike RCT3 29, Solo Air spring, tapered alloy steerer, w/ lockout, compression, rebound adj., 15mm thru-axle, 160mm travel
HEADSET
1-1/8 and 1-1/2" threadless, Campy style upper with 1-1/2" lower, cartridge bearings
Body Geometry Henge Expert, hollow Ti rails, 143mm
SEATPOST
Command Post IR, 3-position height adjustable, alien head design, bottom mount cable routing, w/ remote adjust SRL, 30.9mm, 125mm travel
SEAT BINDER
Specialized 7050 alloy, single bolt, 34.9mm
geometry
Size
M
L
XL
Seat Tube Length - Center to Top
445mm
470mm
520mm
Top Tube Length (Horizontal)
594mm
617mm
640mm
Top Tube Length (Actual)
557mm
577mm
602mm
Chainstay Length
430mm
430mm
430mm
Bottom Bracket Height
351mm
351mm
351mm
Seat Tube Angle (Actual)
69°
69°
69°
Seat Tube Angle (Effective)
75°
75°
75°
Head Tube Angle
67.5°
67.5°
67.5°
Wheel Base
1159mm
1183mm
1209mm
Standover Height
777mm
783mm
789mm
Head Tube Height
110mm
120mm
135mm
Handlebar Width
750mm
750mm
750mm
Stem Length
60mm
75mm
75mm
Crank Length
175mm
175mm
175mm
Seatpost Length
425mm
425mm
425mm
Stack
632mm
641mm
655mm
Reach
425mm
445mm
465mm
Wednesday 8 October 2014
Scott 2015 UK road range - gallery
We've covered Scott's 2015 MTB line-up, now it's time for the road. The headline is that Scott has entered the road disc market with the introduction of the Solace Disc.
With RedBull Racing's headquarters as a backdrop, we gave it the once-over, and also took the opportunity to get up close and personal with the new Plasma TT/triathlon machine and the rest of Scott's road range.
Solace
The Scott Solace 15 Disc
Featuring thru-axles and clearance for at least 28mm tyres, Scott is initialing offering just two models of the Solace Disc. The Solace 15 with Shimano Ultegra and hydraulic disc brakes will retail at £2,599, while the flat bar Solace 40 FB Disc costs £1,899.
The rest of Scott's road range remains largely unchanged aside from some new paintjobs and some shuffling of the specs. We're big fans of this year's Team Issue models which use the colours of IAM Cycling UCI Pro Continental team, which Scott sponsor along with World Tour team Orica-GreenEDGE. Young roadies aren't left out, with the Speedster Junior 24 available in the same livery.
Plasma
The Scott Plasma Team Issue
We covered the new Plasma in some detail already, but we couldn't resist the urge to take a few more pictures of the formidable Team Issue version which uses the top of the range Plasma 5 frameset.
This TT/triathlon beast uses a host of wind-cheating technologies and looks fast standing still. Retail price is £8,499 but the more modestly specced Premium shares the same frame and costs a mere £5,299. If that's still too much, the Plasma range starts at £2,399 with the slightly less advanced Plasma 20.
Scott 2015 road gear
Scott offers a full range of riding gear, the most intriguing of which was the latest RC series kit which makes use of 'ITD Protec-Technology' fabric, designed to resist abrasion in the event of a fall. We're not exactly looking forward to putting it to the test, but anything that might reduce the severity of road rash has to be worth a look.
Merida 2015 line up
We took the opportunity to head down to Nottingham to see Merida’s 2015 line up, there’s a very positive move towards trail orientated bikes that are looking to offer good value for money.
Both the One forty and One Sixty ranges are designed around virtual pivot points with longer top tubes and short stems/wide bars, good standover height and hydroformed tubing.
One Sixty
Proper popping colour scheme
Heading up the range is the One Sixty 900 which as the name suggests is a 160mm travel bike that looks destined for privateer enduro duties. The bike has a SRAM X01 1×11 drivetrain, Rockshox Pike and Monarch Plus suspension, a stealth Reverb and Shimano 203/180 XT brakes which means it should be good to race straight out of the box. All for £3250.
Debonair Monarch Plus
Stealth 700
For anyone who’s not feeling quick enough to carry off the 900′s colour scheme the One Sixty 700 is much more stealthy. £2,600 gets you a Marzocchi 350CR, Monarch RC3 Plus, Reverb, SRAM X1 1×11 and SLX brakes.
With espresso forks
One Forty
Two tone One Forty
More trail orientated is the One Forty range which is available at three price points. The top of the range 900 comes in at £3000 and has a 150mm Rockshox Pike, Fox Float CTD boost valve shock, X01 1×11 drivetrain and Shimano XT 180mm brakes.
700
The 700 model gets 150mm Fox 32 Floats and Float CTD shock, 2×10 Shimano XT drivetrain and XT 180 brakes and retails at £2,350.
500
There’s also an entry level bike; the 500 for £1600. This comes complete with a 140mm Rockshox Sector TK fork, Fox Float CTD, 3×10 Shimano deore drivetrain and Tektro Auriga brakes.
One Twenty
One Twenty 900
The One Twenty range has a more tradition XC or marathon focus. If you’re into long all day rides this is probably where you should be looking. The One Twenty 900 heads up the range with full Shimano 2×10 XT drivetrain and brakes and a 130mm Fox 32 Float CTD and Float CTD shock. Retail is £2,700
One Twenty 800
For £2,200 the 800 model sees a full SLX 2×10 drivetrain and 180mm brakes. The fork is a 130mm Float 32 Float Evolution with the same shock as the 900.
Neat routing
Big Nine
Pro and fast as..
In the hardtail range it’s possible to get a team spec carbon 29er that’s handily known as the, erm, Team. It’s kitted out with SRAM XX1, a SID XX 100mm fork and XX brakes. All this comes in at £4000.
Nearly as fast
The Big Nine 6000 is the more reasonably priced carbon hardtail in the mid pack of the range at £1850. A Shimano XT/SLX mixed 2×10 drivetrain, SLX brakes and a Rockshox SID RL 100mm fork make up the components.
Big Seven
27.5 hardtail
The 27.5 carbon comp range hits three price points at £1500, £1850, and the 7000 here £2,250.
DVO Emerald inverted downhill fork $2200
Does the US-designed Emerald live up to years of hype?
Since DVOannounced the Emerald downhill forkat the end of 2012, the latest offering from the US-based suspension company has been surrounded by hype.
The Emerald is firmly marketed towards riders who want highly adjustable suspension with performance that’s second to none.
The Emerald has 203mm travel and is available in 26in and 650b (27.5in) sizes. The key difference between the two is in the crowns and offset (the 26in model offers 44mm offset, while the 650b model offers 49.92mm). We tested the 26in model, bolted to ourSpecialized Demo 8 long-term test bike.
Fit and setup
The Emerald’s steerer is tapered, which is pretty unusual for a dual crown fork, and will mean you’ll probably need at least a new lower headset cup assembly to accommodate the larger steerer.
By riders, for riders. You'll need to be experienced or patient to set these up to their best
Fitting the fork is not the simplest process – expect to refer the manual quite frequently, and bear in mind you’ll need to take a number of measurements to make sure the crowns are clamping in the correct areas. There are no markings on the legs to help with this, so you’ll definitely need a tape measure on hand.
Adjustability
Both the range of adjustment and number of increments within that range are huge. The air-spring is adjustable between 60 and 100psi, while the OTT (off the top) knob adjusts the preload on the negative spring, allowing for small-bump sensitivity even with harder spring rates. There are 15 full turns of the OTT adjuster, with six clicks per turn – so 90 clicks of overall adjustment. This, along with 40 clicks of rebound adjustment, 33 clicks of high-speed compression adjustment and 27 clicks of low-speed compression adjustment, make for a complicated setup process.
Luckily, the DVO Website has a detailed setup guide to start you off and give you some base settings for your weight.
The Carbon Torsion Arch is a thing of beauty. The sticker let us keep track of our settings
Should you really feel the need to take tuning the fork to the next level, the compression shim stack can be removed via the bottom loading system. We wouldn’t recommend doing this unless you already have a great deal of tuning experience though – there’s a good reason that DVO spent the time to get the stock shim stack as refined as it is.
The ride
Before fitting the fork we were concerned that the Emerald’s 3,490g weight would have a negative effect on the way the bike rides. Our fears proved to be unfounded on the track. We tested the fork on the downhill tracks of Fort William. With the base settings for our weight dialed in, the fork still felt relatively dead and unresponsive as we rode it around the car park, but came alive once we hit the trail.
The unique inverted chassis is a big selling point for DVO. For one thing, there’s the upside down arrangement, and then there’s patent-pending Carbon Torsion Arch (CTA) bolted-on to add stiffness in exchange for a minimal weight penalty.
Although the Carbon Torsion Arch does increase stiffness, the fork still feels a bit more flexy than it should in certain situations, for example really fast, rough flat turns. However, that compliance has a positive effect on the ride the majority of the time.
The compression adjusters are arguably prone to damage, however remain unscathed after months of smashing down trails
Although the damping feels somewhat unresponsive in the car park, on the trail it’s the opposite. We’d guess the unresponsive feeling can be rooted down to the unrivaled amount of support the Emerald gives through the stroke, while still remaining sensitive and supple over smaller stutter-bumps. This supportive yet highly sensitive damping, combined with the chassis’ compliance, gives a lot of confidence when riding fast into extremely rough sections of trail.
We did some back to back runs with the Emerald, a RockShox Boxxer R2C2 (2014) and Fox 40 Float (2015) down the infamous Val di Sole downhill track, and the Emerald gave us noticeably less arm fatigue than the other forks, while providing noticeably better grip than the 40.
It did take us a fair amount of time and adjustments to make the Emerald feel this good, and we were helped out with some setup advice from DVO at the Fort William World Cup.
The bottom line
The Emerald is definitely a finely-tuned ride, ideal for experienced riders who want the very best out of their suspension. Unfortunately, the price is high and the fork is heavier than we’d like
