SOC16: A closer look at new goods by e*Thirteen, KS, Thule & Yakima

In this post, we’ve rounded up several items we’ve covered at launch to provide a closer look at some of the details or just recap if you didn’t see them the first time around.

Starting with the new road bike dropper post from KS, they’re certainly taking the slow route to production, having first shown a prototype at the 2015 Taipei Cycle show and then at that same show again earlier this year. But, it’s coming soon, and it’s a unique solution for putting a dropper seatpost on a road, gravel or cyclocross bike. Check out why, plus lots more, below…

Because road bikes see a massive difference in post heights between riders, it’s tough to offer enough travel or post length options to suit everyone, particularly for something we’re guessing will be a niche product. So, they simply made the upper shaft out of carbon fiber and topped it with a seatmast. That lets them make a single lower length to fit everyone and fix the drop length at 35 and 50 millimeters. To get the saddle fit at the correct topped out height, you simply cut the carbon tube to the desired length, affix the top mast and install the saddle.

The lever may see a few different options, but this one sits right next to the stem for easy operation from the drops. It’ll be available for 30.9 and 31.6 diameter posts, check the link to 2016 show coverage above for full tech details. Production started in March, so units should start shipping very, very soon. Check them out at KSsuspension.com.

E*THIRTEEN

While e*thirteen may have picked the worst day ever to launch their new tires, they are indeed no joke. There’s some serious tech involved in the design, but the tread siping is perhaps the most interesting. We’ve seen and heard from many brands that they “sipe” the tread blocks to improve their ability to morph around the terrain for better grip, but e*thirteen took the time to actually show us how it works.

All of the tread blocks use central sipes, or grooves, cut into them. They act to control the direction the knobs deform under cornering, braking or acceleration, which lets them dictate handling characteristics to a much finer degree.

The side knobs have the most aggressive siping, using cuts on the top to control rotation. Notice how pushing back and out on the knobs twists them until the sipe is parallel with the sidewall…compared to the diagonal position in the unaltered knob.

And on the side of them is a stacked series of cuts that causes the knob to deform at a particular angle. Check the intro story on them for a deeper dive into the rest of their tech.

THULE

Thule’s T2 has long been one of the benchmark hitch-mount, tray-style bike racks. At Interbike, they unveiled the all-new T2 Pro, which introduced a host of upgrades and welcome new features.

Things like wider tire hooks and trays allow it to work with everything from road bikes to fat bikes, and everything in between.

The rear tire tray is more substantial and slides easily to accommodate various wheelbase lengths.

The hitch post uses a new twist-to-tighten knob that makes installation quicker and also keeps the rack from being stolen. Then, the tray section sits higher up to improve departure angles in steep driveways and such.

The original version carries on, now called the T2 Classic, and gets a few tweaks to bring the price down to $399 for a two-bike versions. The original had a cable lock integrated into each arm, now they’re external and separate, and they use loop with a “mushroom” cap on the other end to lock the cable into the arms’s handle. Once inserted and locked, the cable can’t be removed and the lever can’t be operated, preventing anyone from lifting the tire hook.

YAKIMA

Yakima showed off some of their new racks at Interbike, but details weren’t as complete as they are now. Shown above, the Spare Time spare tire mounted bike rack (left) gets Zip Clips to hold the frame on the arm, and the design is updated for a more secure fit against your spare tire. Retail is $229.

The Hold Up tray-style rack (right) gets improved an hitch receiver design that fits more vehicles better, particularly the Toyota Tacoma, where you can now open the tail gate with the rack down.

A new spring loaded pin snaps into place when raising and lowering the rack to catch it into place automatically. No more reaching down there while also trying to lift or lower it. It’s $449 for two bikes, with another two-bike extension available separately.

New Fullback trunk (right, Spare Time shown again on left) rack gets all the bells and whistles and an all-black look. It folds up very compact, and the mounting adjustment dials have numbered clicks with a vehicle guide so you know where to set it for best fit on any car.

It goes down to just four attachment straps rather than six, making install quicker. Zip Strips make bike mounting quicker. There’s a built in cable lock for security, which locks only the outside bike, and a strap that closes into the trunk to prevent rack theft. An integrated bottle opener is included. Two and three bike options, retail is $209 and $219.

A lower priced Half Back loses the locks and trunk strap and only gets two metal buckles, not four. Retail is $169 or $179 depending on how many bikes you want to carry.

A new Wind Shield fits the recently launched new aero base bars. Retail is $89. The Wheel House gets a universal fit mount with updated zip strip wheel lock. It’s $59 and comes with a trigger release to fold flat when not in use. The thru axle adapter comes with different sleeves to fit modern hubs.