Looks like those boys and gals in the ACG team at Trek have something cooking in the oven and it smells like carbon. The Trek newsletter, Exit 180, has a mystery photo of a tubeset for a new bike. No details are given other than it will be lighter and more efficient than its predesessor and that a built up bike will be shown in next month's newsletter. Looks definitely like a revamped Fuel bike, probably using a new mix of carbon formula seen it's road counterparts. Possibly even a new suspension design that will be more "efficient".

Kinda late, but nonetheless... the Lemond website has been updated with their 2007 line. As per previous reports, the road racing bikes include the all carbon Triomphe series (Victoire, Zurich, Buenos Aires, Versailles), Aluminum/carbon spine (Chambery, Alpe D'Huez), aluminum (Tourmalet, Reno, Etape), and steel (Sarthe). There are additionally triatholon specific bikes (Rennes, Limoges), cross (Poprad), and track (Fillmore). Where's the Tete de Course with the Bontrager XXX?! Check out the website at lemondbikes.com.

Related articles:
Lemond 2007; Triomphe and Aluminum/Carbon spine
Lemond Triomphe: Compfortable, Stable, and Plenty Stiff
Lemond Triomphe - full carbonb sub 1 kg

Hmm, what's missing here on this bike? The Dekra D-Drive bike has its transmission inside the chainstay, doing away with that 140 year old chain. Shifting through the bevy of all three gears is accomplished though an internally geared hub (what did I tell ya?). This little bit of comfort-tech is quite similar to (if not the exact same) as Biomega's Shaft-Drive system on their Coppenhagen bike, or Incline Sport Comfort Cross 3 Bike, or Bike Valley Co.'s Tara. These bikes would be great for commuters - no more tucking the pant leg into your socks! That's hot. The bike is being imported to the US by Dynacraft.

Have you ever wanted to upgrade to 10 speeds but just could find the bones to afford it. Well, your wait is over. Bike Sport News has details of Campagnolo's 2007 entry-level group, the Xenon - now a 10 speed group. The group will feature Campagnolo's new Quick Shift technology that apparently helps with shifting under load. The new 'escape mechanim' allows the "component [to become] weight-related easier and absolutely maintenance-free." (Huh?) The Xenon group will sport only a compact crank.

Also featured is the 10 speed Mirage group that will get the uber-cool Ultra Torque crankset in both standard and compact setup. Quick Shift and the escape mechanism are new to this group as well.

Pricing has yet to be announced.

Related Articles:
Campagnolo 2007: completely in the indication of 10 speed (Bike Sport News)
Campagnolo: 2007 All at 10 speeds (PPol: News)

Exciting times at Kona bikes right now. Singletrackworld.com has a vlog recording the Kona 2007 Launch across the pond. 15 new bikes. Great names. Lighter frames. New logos. Check it out. To subscribe to singletrackworld.com's podcasts for iTunes, here's the link. For pictures, see this post. For the video, click the picture above.

Niner Bikes has fully disclosed info on their new full-suspension 29er offering, the R.I.P. (Roll In Peace) 9. Frame weight is 6.5 pounds for a medium. 4.5" of travel. Custom butted and drawn 7005 aluminum. Read more here, here and here.

I completely missed the boat on this one. This post made more than a week ago over at Brickwheels.com highlights the changes going on within Lemond for 2007. Aside from the much talked about Triomphe and Triomphe Ultimate, Lemond will do away with (sit down and get ready...) the titanium and steel spine bikes in place of aluminum and carbon spine bikes. Also gone for 2007 are the beloved panel paint scheme, to the dismay of some Lemond fans. The new aluminum spine bikes are reportedly the same weight as current ti/carbon spine bikes but stiffer. There will also be three all carbon models, the budget friendly Versaille, the Triomphe and the Triomphe Ultimate, differing by type of carbon and method of lay up. These bikes will also have integrated headtubes, headsets and forks.

Read more here and here.

Bianchi released details of their 2007 lineup in a BianchiPressEvent in Treviglio, Italy. There will be a few changes to the 2007 line. Trying to make it easier for the consumer to choose a bike, they have re-categorizing all their bikes: road into HoC, B4P, and C2C; mountain into Racing, Performance, and Leisure. Right...easier. Anyhow, Bianchi's 2007 lineup will incorporate carbon Nanotechnology, developed in-house, to their flagship HoC line of bikes, including the 928 SL seen previously. As stated by Bianchi's R&D Manager:

"The inspiration for a new frame can be provided by a sudden idea while you are riding. We are able to turn this fantasy into reality thanks to technology."

Hmm...BMC uses Easton carbon Nanotechnology. Let's use it too! I kid. Price for a 928 SL is a cool 9000 EU (that's $11, 383.20 USD - gulp). Weight for a 55cm is claimed to be 900 grams. The moutain bike range has yet to be announced, but I suspect their inspirational Nanotechnology to be used here as well, in their full-carbon frame and Al/carbon frame. Also new next year is the option of a SRAM Force 10 group. No mention of the Campagnolo UltraTorque integrated BB/crankset.

This event also marked the departure of Bianchi's product manager, Sky Yaeger. She has been with Bianchi for 17 years. Her last project involved designing the graphics for the 2007 29er SS Rita bike. Sweet, panels.

Related articles:
2007 Bianchi 928 Superlight
BianchiPressEvent: Bianchi Presents the 2007 Reparto Corse Road and MTB Range (bianchi.com)
Bianchi Unveils 2007 Reparto Corse Road and Moutain Bike Range (bicycleretailer.com)
Sky Yaeger to Leave Bianchi (bicycleretailer.com)
Behind Bianchi Lines (cyclingnews.com)
Bianchi 2007 Sneak Peak (pezcyclingnews.com)

Singletrack.com published a spy shot taken of a fixed bicycle running 2 gears on a Surly hub. Kinda looses the simplicity of a fixed geared bicycle, don't you think?

Read more.

Pez Cycling has some photos of the new full carbon Bianchi bike, the 928 Superlight. Superlight, meaning 900 grams for an unspecified size. The frame appears to be highly shaped and was built up with SRAM componentry. Official release of the 2007 line will be next week and should include the highly anticipated 29er mountain bike. Read more.

Related articles:
Bianchi 2007 Sneak Peak (pezcyclingnews.com)

On devil's day, Stan's Tubeless tire conversion kit, "NoTubes" gets patent #7055569. The abstract:

"The present invention provides a compound, system, and method for retrofitting and converting standard bicycle rims and tires having tube to be tubeless. Standard tube tires are retrofitted by installing either rim tape or a rim strip with integral valve stem around the inner channel of the rim, mounting the first bead of the tire, injecting a liquid sealing compound into the tire cavity, finishing mounting the tire, inflating and installing the tire on a bicycle. The sealing compound may additionally contain propylene glycol or an aggregate material to encourage the sealing of the tires as punctures occur when the tire system is placed into use."

In case you've been living under a rock for the past 6 years, Stan's NoTube rim strip and tire sealant system has been converting weight weenie's tubed wheelset and tires to run tubeless. What are the advantages of this, you ask? Besides being able to run lighter wheelsets and tires, you can run your tires at low pressures, thus gaining traction and loosing rolling resistance. You are also immune to such annoyances as puctures and pinch flats. The NoTube website has some impressive pictures of poor tires resembling Hellraiser's Pinhead. Here's a great overview at TheBikingHub.com.

The tubeless sealant craze began with the weenies over in the Save Some Weight forum at mtbr.com. Like any new product, it had some hiccups. Criticisms were equal to the praises back then. After some fine tuning, however, Stan has produced a fine product that many racers and weekend warriors now swear by.

Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Since Stan's NoTubes, other tubeless tire sealants, or parts of it, have hit the market: Eclipse Tubeless kits, Flat Attack, Maxxis TS rim strips, Bontrager Super Juice, just to name a few.

NoTubes has expanded their product range to include wheelsets, disc rotors, and even a tire, to satisify the weight weenie bug in all of us.

Related articles:
Inner Tubes? We don't need no stinking inner tubes! (cyclingnew.com)

No surprise here. Cannondale has opened the doors to the System Six bike on their website. All details about the bike are laid out, with various pictures, as well as a couple interesting videos that delve into the frame and its manufacturing details. Cyclingnews.com also covered Gord Frasier's System Six prototype as seen at the TdG. Doesn't the '6' badge on the headtube remind you of Lance's '7' bike?

Related articles:
More 6, Less 13; Cannondale System Six
Bigger and Better (cyclingnews.com)
Born in Bedford; Meant for the Peleton (cyclingnews.com)