Sea Otter is done, but here’s a lot more cool stuff we came across.
The Gates Belted Purse, which will award $100,000 to the first winner of an Elite Downhill World Cup race using a Gates belt drive is just plain awesome — we need more fun stuff like this in the bike industry. With only two teams (Zerode and Gamux) currently using a belt drive it will be interesting to see if this prize will entice other teams into belt drive development.
When Noble Tools out of London shuttered their doors, Abbey Tools was able to pick up some of their designs, including this beautiful wheel lacing jig.
DT Swiss introduced a new 240 hub with Ratchet DEG technology. The new larger diameter ratchets have 90 teeth for a tight 4º of engagement — this is the smallest engagement angle ever offered by DT Swiss. DT says the DEG rear hub comes at about a 40-gram weight penalty over the 240 EXP.
WTB’s new Rocket Plug Kit looks like a clever take on tire plug kits, using reusable aluminum anchors that stay on the inside of the tire for as long as the tire is in service. When the tire wears out, simply remove the anchor and put it back in the kit. WTB claims this plug design can even repair bead tears. I have a kit to test and if this turns out to be true it will quickly replace the other plug kits in my tool kit.
Spank has a fun collaboration with Rainier Beer. They’re currently offering stems and pedals but more components are coming soon. Who doesn’t like a beer collab?
