On Wednesday, I went to the Anchor and Shimano new product exhibition!
The venue was the familiar Fukiage Hall, where it's held every year. It’s close to our current shop, but since our old location is practically right under my nose, it reminded me of the time before we moved. How time flies.
In December, Circles will reach its 8th anniversary, and Earlybirds Breakfast will hit its 2nd. By the way, we have a rush of events coming up: SSJ and the Social Tower Market in October, the main Chari-ken Great Nagoya Bicycle Culture Exhibition in November, and Nobeyama CX at the end of November, so we hope to see you there. Stay tuned as we'll share details on each of these later.
Now, getting back to the exhibition.
Anchor is releasing a disc brake version of their aluminum frame cyclocross bike, the CX6, for 2015.
The complete bike is only available with disc brakes, but for the frameset, you can choose between cantilever or disc brake versions.
The top tube, which previously had a flattened section to make it easier to carry, has been updated to an oval shape. This makes it easier to grip the top tube when getting on and off the bike, even for a rider like me with small hands, without sacrificing its ease of carrying.
It’s perfect for CX racing, of course, but I think it would also serve well as a bike for gravel rides or for exploring new routes during the winter.
The Neocot 650B mountain bike, the XNC7, is one I'd recommend to anyone looking to start enjoying mountain riding.
Previous Neocot MTB models included V-brake bosses, but starting with this version, they are disc brake only, which keeps the rear triangle looking clean.
Then, onto the Shimano new product presentation.
As expected, all eyes were on the new XTR. In addition to moving to 11-speed, they finally announced an electric mountain bike groupset. There’s some surprising news about the electric components—thanks to a technology called Synchronized Shift, you can control the front derailleur with just one of the rear levers—but...
Moving on, I checked everything out while thinking, "ALIVIO really is great."
It’s affordable, and if you can really make the most of it, it might just be enough. We can put together great builds for things like a Surly Straggler or Disc Trucker, or a Salsa Vaya, so please feel free to consult with us.
Oh, but I did properly check out the XTR, too.
By slimming down the axle, the pedals not only shed mud better but also become lighter. The contact area with the shoe has been widened, allowing for more stable pedaling.
Regarding the hubs, the freehub body dimensions haven't changed with the shift to 11-speed MTB components; they are compatible with both MTB 10s and 11s cassettes. Please note, however, that 11-speed road cassettes cannot be installed. Still, for those of you who have 10-speed road components, it looks like you could build some interesting wheels for CX or gravel bikes.
Also, from this model on, the front is only compatible with thru-axles; the front quick-release type is no longer available.
HB/FH-M980 32H
Front ¥13,373
Rear ¥23,576
I had a feeling that might happen, and it turns out they are still out there in some places.