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Added a new video Dominik Raab LA 2013 3/18/2013 8:24 AM
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Not shot on RED, sorry.

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Added a new video Shredding White Ranch With Momentum Trail Concepts 2/12/2013 10:06 AM
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Trails bikes and White Ranch near Golden, Colorado are a splendid combination. Enjoy some summertime shredding with Matt Thompson and Steve Wentz of Momentum Trail Concepts.

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Added a product review for Kore OCD Handlebar 2/10/2013 1:51 PM
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Tested: KORE OCD Bars, Repute Stem, and Rivera Lock-On Grips - Back in the Game

Rating:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

by Kevin Shiramizu

KORE has been around for a long time and to be honest, I haven’t given them much thought since I was last shopping for a 120mm cross-country stem and some kinked bar ends, which was like two years ago. No wait, 12 years ago. But then these spiffy new bars, stem, and grips showed up for review and I realized, I should pay more attention to KORE because someone woke up something good inside those company walls. KORE looks to be back in a big way for 2013.

OCD Handlebar Highlights

  • AL7050-T6 Triple Butted
  • 31.8mm Bar Clamp Diameter
  • 5 Degree Upsweep, 7 Degree Backsweep
  • Zero, 20mm, 35mm Rise Options
  • 800mm Wide
  • HRT graphics
  • Bead Blast Black, White Powder Coat, Polished Ano Red, Grey and Silver Color Options
  • Weight: 285g / 20mm Rise

Repute Stem Highlights

  • AL6061 T6 3D Forged with Post CNC
  • CNC Center Bore to Reduce Weight
  • Cross Clamp Steerer Bolts
  • Zero Degree Rise
  • 35mm and 50mm Extensions
  • 31.8mm Bar Bore, 1 1/8-inch Steerer Clamp, 35mm Stack Height
  • High Polish Black
  • Laser Logos
  • Weights: 126g / 35mm, 163g / 50mm

Rivera Lock-On Grip Highlights

  • Super-Soft Pruven Kraton Single Density Rubber
  • Alloy Lock-On Rings with 1-Piece Alloy End Caps
  • Angled Mushroom Design
  • Medium Profile
  • 130mm Length
  • Black with Choice of Red, Blue or Gold Ends
  • Weight: 112g (Pair)

Initial Impressions

My first look at the bars was, "Dang, this has a wide booty. I like." And the stem has smooth edges that don’t look like they want to slice your knees open. Both feel light and the finish quality is good. The graphics on the bar are classy and clean.

Initial negatives are minor. The stem specs are printed on the inside of the bar clamp which is better than not having them at all, but you’ll have to remove the bars all the way to get to the torque specs unless you have a fabulous memory (6nm by the way). Oh, and you’ll want to use a torque wrench on these shaved down bolts because they are not going to take your ham fisted, ogre mechanic-ing. The other worry was how are these graphics going to hold up to crusty old tie-down hooks?

Grips are so subjective and personal that it’s hard to review them. For me, I don’t really like metal end caps (which are integrated into the outboard clamp on these) because after the first crash, they'll likely scratch badly, whereas plastic caps have less of this and are cheap to replace. These grips also have two different bolt sizes (2.5mm and 3mm), which is a peeve of mine. For reference, they do have a fit and feel very similar to ODI Cross Trainers, which are my normal choice of grip.

On The Trail

WIDE LOAD. Remember a decade ago when trail bikes had like 26-inch bars? Those days are gone and not missed. At 31.5-inches wide (800mm), these bars are going to give some users trail clearance issues if run uncut, so watch your pinkies on trees if you’re coming from narrower bars. These bars are probably 10mm wider than your current set up on each end and guess how wide your pinkies are? Yeah, about 10mm. All that width also adds a mighty amount of leverage on the bars, so some flex is noticeable in the parking lot. Down the trail, you’re not really going to notice this in a bad way. A little deflection like this is going to help you from getting jack-hammer-hands, which I appreciate.

People question whether or not there is such a thing as "too wide" when it comes to bars. Well, yes. There is. And these probably are too wide for most people, so give them a try and then snip a little bit off the ends until you are happy. Not everyone is Steve Peat sized so you probably don’t need these to be full length. To aid the process, KORE has nifty little markings indicating where to cut the bar.

The stem has a pretty wide clamp area, which likely helps keep stuff strong and stiff. A skip in my chain proved that the softly rounded edges on the stem are about as knee friendly as smashing your patella into a chunk of metal are going to get.

The grips didn’t slip and I could see getting used to them, which is a high compliment from me about grips since one bad contact point on a bike can ruin the whole ride. Having the same size bolt on both clamps would assuage the nit picky though.

Long Term Durability

Use a torque wrench and re-plasti-dip your tie down hooks and you will absolutely be happy with these new goodies from KORE. They're solid.

What's The Bottom Line?

So this is just another pair of bars and a stem, who cares? Well, considering there is no good way to break a set of bars, you should care. There are a jillion choices out there for bars and stems, but once you rule out all the rebranded catalog junk, you don’t have that many options left. My policy on bars is the same as underpants: throw them out after you crash them or annually, whichever comes first. I cherish my face since it’s how I make my comically ample piles of money, so I’m not going to gamble on a bars and stem. With that being said, I have no reservations about the KORE OCD Bars, Repute Stem, and Rivera Lock-On Grips making up the cockpit on my bike.

For tech specs and more, visit www.kore-usa.com.

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Tornado16 left a comment 11/29/2012 3:07 PM
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http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Morohai-Ilie-Street-Mtb-2012-edit-Romania-Fireeye-Bikes-Nike-6-0-BikeDistrict,16465/Tornado16,5713
Added a new video Trek World Racing DH 2012 || Hafjell 10/4/2012 8:07 AM
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As the sole competitor racing for Trek World Racing at the World Cup finals here in Hafjell, Norway, Neko Mulally showed great pace in both qualifying and the final race to demonstrate he's fully recovered from the injuries suffered earlier in the season. Unfortunately a hand injury sustained in practice forced Aaron Gwin out of the event. It was the same hand and injury location as that suffered in Val d'Isere at Round 6, but this time the bone was heavily bruised. Team mate Justin Leov was unable to attend the finals due to the unexpected loss of his best friend James Dodds, a pioneer in New Zealand mountain biking who was being remembered by many of the Kiwi riders here this weekend.

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Added a new video Meet the Next Danny Mac - Matty Turner GETcreative 9/27/2012 12:49 PM
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Mini-MacAskill is at it again and he's killing it.

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Added a new video 2013 Santa Cruz Bicycles Nomad C - Smooth or Chunky? 9/27/2012 9:17 AM
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Josh Kissner & Matt Thompson choose chunk over smooth on Jamison Lake trails near Graeagle, California on the 2013 Santa Cruz Bicycles Nomad Carbon. Matt went on from Graegle to win the Masters DH World Championships in his age group, while Josh is recovering from a major crash in Whistler - rough with the smooth indeed! If these trails make you want to go shred, please help the Sierra Butes Stewardship maintain and build more like this by purchasing raffle tickets of per foot of trail for $5 at santacruzbicycles.com/5bucksafoot You could win a top spec Santa Cruz Bicycle with Enve wheels, Shimano components and Fox Suspension worth up to $10,514.00 US, and help build amazing trails in Downieville and the Lakes Basin area!

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Added a new video The History, Testing, and Development of the Specialized P.Slope 9/24/2012 11:07 PM
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Between the chit chat behind-the-scenes story and development of the P.Slope, there are a bunch of tasty clips of the Specialized riders putting it through the paces. To learn about some of the more technical details, check out Vital MTB's P.Slope First Look, or visit www.specialized.com.

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Added a new video Gilles Coustellier - Trial Pro Series 2012 - Martigues 9/22/2012 10:16 AM
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Pogo stick riding is on another level these days thanks to Gilles Coustellier.

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Added a new video 'Carpe Aestatem' 9/20/2012 10:06 PM
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Translation: 'Seize the Summer' This summer I broke away from my norm so I could gain a new perspective on life... and ride a lot of trials. A huge thanks to all my friends and family for housing, feeding, supporting, and putting up with me. Thanks to team Dorse for the inspiration (seriously). Thanks Ian, Stew, Matt, Chris, Ross and anyone else who helped film. And last but not least, a massive thanks to Northwest Trials for helping me out! NWTrials.com Facebook.com/Robbieprotrials Ripstoke.com

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Added a new video Noble Canyon 9/20/2012 8:11 AM
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We start with a peek inside Ibis along with a quick run through a bunch of the bikes we've built in the last 31 years. After that, we quickly get out of the shop and onto the trail. Follow Brian Lopes, Anne Caro Chausson and Andrew Whiteford as the have their way with Noble Canyon, near San Diego California. No massive hucking (or any hucking for that matter), but a whole lot of excellent quality singletrack.

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Added a new video Does My Horn Work? 9/19/2012 8:00 PM
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(Update as of Wednesday Sept 19th: The Colorado State Patrol is involved and we've found others who have had similar run-ins with this driver. Stay tuned for more updates) Here is what was supposed to be my relaxing Sunday morning ride with my teammate until things became a bit unsettling when an older male driver came up behind us in his Ford Explorer (license plate Colorado 893 EKG). This guy obviously doesn't like seeing bikes for some reason since he sat behind us for more than five minutes blaring his horn. What's even worse is we saw him approaching from behind and to be polite we ride single file to give him as much road as possible, as we did with every other car we encountered on this road east of Longmont, CO. This guy was so intent of bugging us that he backed up traffic behind him and cars had to pass him on a double yellow line. It seems he was the one obstructing traffic, not us. We ended up slowing up in order to force him to pass us and go on with his day. Insane. Hopefully this is the worste thing this guy does to cyclists. As a Founder of TrainingPeaks.com I encourage everyone to get out and ride bikes as part of a healthy lifestyle. Everyone no matter what their age or where they may live should have the right to feel safe when riding whether it be for health, fitness or simply commuting to work.

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Added a new video Ali's GETaway 9/19/2012 7:21 AM
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Roadtrips to a foreign country - although fun - are always a step into the unknown. From not knowing the local language to not knowing where the good spots are, they're a gamble in terms of producing a usable video. Modern cameras at least offer some comfort in the form of being able to record crisp, high definition clips with a huge amount of control over the image itself. As soon as the rider's pulled the line you can check over your footage and make sure everything's worked out OK. However, what happens when you take away that safety net? When the trusty 550D gets replaced by a camera 40 years it's senior, shooting on inconsistent film that costs £0.20-per-second and takes 3 weeks to process, there's no choice but to get creative with the standard filming procedure. This video isn't a standard blow-by-blow trip video, rather an insight into what happens when you head off into the unknown for a few days. It may not feature the latest footjam whip variation, but it does feature having fun on a bike in its purest form. Camera: GAF 64 R Film: Kodak Ektachrome 100D Editor and Autistic Director: Ali C

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Added a new video Norway with The Athertons 9/18/2012 7:20 AM
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A lot of things lay on the final World Cup of the season for Team GT Factory Racing. Would Rach finish first overall? Would Gee get second or third? How was it going to be racing on a new World Cup track? We wanted to capture it all.

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Added a new video Andrew Dickey- Black Bike vol. 2 9/18/2012 7:15 AM
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Andrew Dickey is absolutely slaying it, finding amazing new ride spots, and doing some downright dangerous things in this video.

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Added a new video The Collective - Seasons (2008) 9/15/2012 6:09 PM
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In honor of Steve Smith getting to the top step of the world cup, here's his section from Seasons so you can look back on where he came from. He's been a fast kid for a long time but now he's a winning man. Congrats.

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Added a new video SAALFELDEN 2012 TRIAL 26" FINAL 9/14/2012 2:41 PM
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Gilles Coustellier racks up another victory, becoming the undisputed world champion pogo stick jockey yet again.

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Added a new video TRA Back to 2012 9/14/2012 2:26 PM
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The sequel to Back to 2001 and TRA's third video on Inspired. This video features TRA's trademark mix of style and huge moves on the Inspired Hex, showing that it can be used for both flowy street riding and more 'traditonal' trials, as well as standing up to just about anything you can throw at it! inspiredbicycles.com/ inspiredbicycles.com/blog/ trarider.com/ breclothing.com/ allsportdynamics.com/ florenceandthemachine.net/ islandrecords.co.uk/

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Added a news story Steelhead Superstition with Travis Lucas 9/14/2012 12:08 PM

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Added a new video Steelhead Superstition with Travis Lucas 9/14/2012 11:57 AM
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Travis Lucas, Professional World Cup Downhill Mechanic and Fly Fishing Guide from Bend, OR. Corresponding to the Emergers article in the Fall 2012 issue of The Drake magazine. Filmed, Edited and Directed: Amado Stachenfeld Featuring: Travis Lucas Sound Design: Sam Owens Still Photos: Ian Hylands + Colin Meagar Super 8mm Processed + Telecine: Pro 8mm

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