2011 Preview

2011 is being touted as being the biggest year for new bikes since carbon first arrived. This year we have new models in many categories, new technologies and production bikes that are lighter than ever before.

Canberra September 2010

Once I arrived at Canberra it was on the bus and straight into an auditorium where we recieved speeches from John Burke (Head and CEO of TREK) and Gary Fisher (one of the people who have most influenced Mountain Biking to this day), great guys and really nice to hear what they had to say. After presentations were all done with we proceeded to view all the new bikes for the 2011 as well as loads of accessories that fingers crossed we will soon have on our shelves.

There are quite a few new models for the 2011 season that we are recieving in store already. Day 2 was a great way to spend the day in Canberra, riding high end bikes in the sunshine! Riding from the bottom of Stromlo climbing my way to the top I thought to myself, "This is my kind of work" I rode as many bikes as my legs would allow. Notable mentions for the Top Fuel 9.9, Remedy 9.9 and the all new Speed Concept 9.9 TT bike. All these bikes were absolute weapons in there own right.

Most of the road range of bikes for 2011 have been updated with new frames and paint work.

 

 

I have read many articles and reports recently about new top end road bikes that are sub 6 kilos! It makes me wonder, How light is too light? We know that as far as the UCI is concerned that 6.8kgs is the legal minimum, but this is just to try and keep everyone on a level playing field. At some point bike will get too light and will cut out weight in favour of retaining stiffness or good handling and ride feel. I guess only time will tell.

We have many new gear systems to ride on new bikes. Both Shimano and SRAM are investing heavily in 10spd MTB gear systems and Shimano have just released the update 105 group set which has been getting great reviews online.

There are quite a few high end bikes that are getting me really excited for the new season and I can't wait for the opportunity to get on them and go for a ride, but even at the other end of the scale, increased production efficiency has brought better features to lower level bikes and once again we have seen prices coming down.

For instance one of the big changes for the new season in TREK will be the 'Madone 5.2' over the past 5 years although the bike has been upgraded year after year it has hovered from as low as $5999 to as high as $6999 and been everywhere in between. For the new 2011 bike we see new Technologies flow down from the top of the line 6 series frameset into the 5 series and the pricing has come down significantly to $4299.

The Merida City 3.0 Bikes will be a new addition to bikes available at Gran Prix Bicycles, available in Mens and Ladies frames, these are a simple 3 spd cruser at $549.

Also from Trek the long standing entry level hybrid/fitness bike is the Trek 7.0FX, it is simple, light weight, durable and best of all fun to ride. A new Colour for 2011 and a new price down from $499 to $399.

Our Most popular brand for kids bikes for the previous year have now expanded their range to include the balance bike below $169 and some geared bikes for older kids.

As more bikes and products information comes to light I will post more information up.

Happy Riding and Enjoy the Sunshine.

Raenier