Trail riding encompasses all of the sweet spots of mountain biking— getting outdoors, climbing with friends, and descending amazing trails that put an ear-to-ear smile on your face. We’ve lived the trail riding life since we released our first trail bike in 1981, and the feeling has never been lost. Over time, that feeling has come to be shared with more than just bikes. After all, the equipment you use while riding is just as important as the steed you throw a leg over. We’re excited to announce two trail-focused products: the much anticipated 2FO ClipLite shoes & the all-new Camber.
2FO ClipLite
FOOT OUT, FLAT OUT — ON A DIET
Easy out of the pedals, protection, and comfort — the addition of an all mountain/gravity shoe to our line opened our eyes to what riders really wanted. We leveraged that insight to build a new shoe that’s focused on the trail rider, specifically in these three areas: Connection, Comfort, & Light Weight.
CONNECTION: The outsole of the original 2FO is amazing, it’s easy to engage and disengage the pedals, they’re walk-able, and they feature a flat surface to interact with the pedal. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The new 2FO ClipLite uses a slimmed down version of this sole, with the Landing Strip to aid engaging the cleat, paired with Slipnot rubber to grip the pedal body.
COMFORT: Trail shoes are put to task, sometimes being worn for long stretches of trail and time. So they’d better be comfortable and durable.
- 3/4 Lollipop nylon shank – Stiffness makes for an efficient pedaling shoe, ClipLite is made stiff by way of a 3/4 Lollipop nylon shank in the sole. But this trail shoe also needs to be comfortable while walking, so the heel zone of the sole remains flexible. ClipLite also has a slimmer profile and snug, standard-sized fit, as opposed to the more relaxed fit of the original 2FO.
- Body Geometry – The same as every shoe that bears the Body Geometry emblem, the ClipLite has 1.5mm of varus wedge built into the sole, while arch support and the metatarsal button are built in to the interchangeable Body Geometry footbeds.
- LIGHTWEIGHT: How many pedal strokes do you make in a three-hour trail ride? As many as 10,000 or even more! We wanted to save every gram possible to help lighten the load. Which is why ClipLite has a new thermo-bonded upper structure, optimizing lightweight construction, while also employing easy-to-adjust S2 Boa dials. The shoe still provides good foot protection, especially in the toe area, and clocks in over 50 grams per-shoe lighter than the original 2FO.
2016 Camber
Confident trail bike, built for speed.
When creating these new dirt machines, we were so excited that it was hard to stay focused. Hopefully all the tireless details are self-evident upon first look, but there are three key areas that work in unison to create the fastest trail bikes out there:
SPEED: While Camber has always been a blast to ride, the standout feeling of the new Camber is how quickly the bike accelerates, tackles climbs and bursts out of corners.
Concentric Link FSR: To keep your tires in contact with the trail, our fully active, fully independent linkage keeps the suspension moving at all times. By directly connecting the FSR to the shock through the Concentric Link, we achieve a stiffer and lighter seatstay providing a crisp feeling. We also further refined the FSR for all-around trail performance, while keeping our hallmark, easy-to-service hardware and fully sealed cartridge bearings at every pivot.
Position-Sensitive Micro Brain: When it comes to blending shear speed with active suspension, there’s nothing better than the Brain. It’s the only shock that knows the difference between the rider and terrain inputs, so it’s firm when you’re on the gas and active over the bumps. The position-sensitive portion of the new Micro Brain is the latest to come out of our in-house Suspension Team. It’s a novel approach to creating a Trail Brain, and it has many of the features that you know and love from the Epic Brain, only with one major difference, catered directly to the trail rider’s needs: The inertia valve doesn’t engage until the sag point, which leaves the first 25% of the travel open for an enhanced trail feel. Basically, it creates the perfect blend of speed and efficiency for trail riding
CONFIDENCE: Trail bikes have to do it all, and do it all well. And while Camber has a touch more speed built into its DNA, it still needs to tackle singletrack with the total confidence that trail bikes are known for.
- Geometry – Built from the ground up for 650b and 29” wheels
- Confident wheelbase @ 1,119/1,135mm
- Slacker headtube @ 67.5/68°
- Shorter chainstays @ 420/437mm
- Same low bottom bracket height @ 329/335mm
UTILITY: It’s more important than ever to be prepared for what the trail might dish out. Most of the time, it comes down to the performance of the bike, but other times it boils down to what you bring along to fix it when things go sideways. We first introduced the mind-blowing SWAT Door on the completely redesigned Stumpjumper FSR and Rhyme, and now we’ve adapted the same feature to the Camber.
- FACT carbon Trail Chassis – built with storage in mind from the very beginning, meaning the performance of the frame remains intact, incurring only a small weight penalty, while the entire frame remains as torsionally stiff as its predecessor.
- A SWAT cradle holds your EMT tool under the top tube.
- On the down tube, a SWAT door unhinges from the frame to reveal a storage compartment inside the downtube.
- A Bulkhead, as well as SWAT wrap, keep tubes, pumps, and CO2 cartridges held safely in place and rattle-free.
- Molded carbon tubes protect cable housings, so there’s no tangling with stored items.
- SWAT Door available on all carbon models. *Not all models come standard with the tool/wraps.
Other Cool Details
We love the details, and there are so many cool things to talk about. As follows:
- The Camber line has been simplified — no more standard or EVO models. Now, there are just slack head tubes, low bottom brackets, and short rear ends across the line.
- Most models come with the new Command Post IRcc.
- Most models come with full internal routing and Shimano brakes.
- Every model is two-by compatible with our optional Taco Blade front derailleur mount and our new seatstay & shock extension design. Also, most models come standard with 1×11 drivetrains.
- Most models come with wide Traverse rims, the higher-end models getting full Roval Traverse wheels.
These new trail bikes took over two years to develop, while the new SWAT Door has taken almost five years to fully realize. Over all that time, though, the goal of making the best riding trail bikes for the rider has never been lost. We hope you’ll take the new bikes out on your favorite trail to see what they can do.
