|   99gm EC90 Easton bar | scc
Nov 6, 2001 11:48 AM | | mountainbike.com daily:
http://www.mountainbike.com/bread/burbank/bbk_20011106-13254.shtml |
| Text for the lazy- Easton goodies | Coolhand
Nov 6, 2001 11:50 AM | | Easton in the Hay-ouse
Another big bright batch of pictures for you today, this time kicking off with the lovely new Easton MonkeyLite SL riser with MicroWeave finish. Available in a low-rise 24-inch-wide version only, the 135g SL is made from a material with an incredibly light 65-70 FAW. Don't know what "FAW" means? Well grab my hand, friends, and follow me into our own little composite rabbit hole.
FAW stands for Fiber Arial Weight, or the mass of a single square meter of carbon fibers laid into a sheet. The standard bicycle grade carbon, according to Easton, uses material with a 240 FAW, meaning that one square meter weighs 240g. One of the factors that gives Easton a supreme amount of confidence in their product is that they use a base fibrous material (before resin is added) that has a low FAW. .
The standard MonkeyLite XC (160g) and new MonkeyLite DH (220g in a 28-inch width) are made from a 120 FAW material, meaning they can have almost twice as many layers as the industry standard for the same weight. Even more incredible is that the new SL and 99g EC90 flat bar are made from a 65-70 FAW material. Using lighter material means that Easton's bars can have more layers and less resin than if they were to use cheaper processing methods or a material with a higher FAW. Having more layers roughly equates to having more resistance to failure since if you start cracking layers, the bar begins to lose its strength.
Time to wake up now, Alice; we're moving on to stems. For 2002 the 175g Mg60 XC stem (pictured), the MG60 VRS DH, and the EM 90 road stem all get a more-costly, less corrosive, ever so classy black finish.oh, and they are expensive. Everything we've talked about so far is expensive, as good carbon and magnesium products tend to be. The more cost effective aluminum stems start with a redesigned 215g EA70, still featuring a hinged faceplate but with four pins holding the links in position rather than two. Like the EA70, the sensible EA50 is shot-peened for strength, but the 50 is cheaper, lighter at 175g, has a lower stack height than the 70, is possibly stiffer than the MG60, and is arguably better looking than the whole lot. Look for these Easton products and more to start showing up at your local bike shop in the weeks to come.
Still in the works for Easton is a new seatpost head (reportedly designed to have more tilt adjustment than you can shake a stick at, available sometime in the spring), a forged road stem, a more traditional road fork, carbon hubs, a carbon road stem, and a new tubeset "possibly of a new material" for 2003. Check out www.eastonbike.com for more. |
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