Zerode Announces Sponsorship of Sam Shaw for 2018 10
Zerode Bikes, in partnership with Pinion Drive technology and Wide Open Distributors, are pleased to announce they have signed Sam Shaw for the 2018 race season.
Sam is an extremely well-rounded rider who has racked up impressive results in multiple disciplines. He had a solid EWS debut season in 2017, claiming top 50 results as a part timer while finishing his university degree.
For 2018 he is focused on racing full time and already shown the benefits of a new approach with a world single speed title, national XC podiums and has mixed it up with the DH rigs with a top 10 in pro elite DH on his Taniwha.
"Sam showed last year that he is competitive and with very little preparation mixed it up with the best derailleur bikes the world has to offer. He now has a taste for what a gearbox bike has to offer and there is no going back. With better preparation, a stronger team and more experience he is going to make an impression this year, turn some heads and put some gearbox myths to bed." - Rob Metz, Zerode Bikes
Sam’s Taniwha will be equipped with the latest gearbox technology from German manufacturer Pinion Drive Technology.
"Sam Shaw is an outstanding talent with extraordinary potential. We're strongly convinced that our C1.12 gearbox will be his faithful and trusty companion for the 2018’s race season. Sam is the perfect athlete to show the potential of Pinion gearbox bikes for the use on mountain bikes. Sam, rock on!" - Andrea Escher, Communications & Marketing, Pinion Drive Technology
With support from Wide Open, Sam’s Taniwha will be outfitted with ENVE, SDG and ODI, and in the unlikely event of an emergency, Sam will be well looked after by POC protection.
The head offices of Wide Open and Zerode are a short bike ride from each other in Rotorua; Sam grew up not far from either.
"It’s cool to be able to support a locally based rider and bike brand. Sam’s race diversity is very unique so we are stoked to have him flying the ENVE and POC flags both locally and overseas." - Matt Whitaker, Wide Open Distributors
Suspension duties will be looked after by Cane Creek. Sam's Taniwha will be outfitted with the highly adjustable DBAIR rear shock and Helm fork to make sure that his bike can be dialed in to excel on any race course.
"We're looking forward to having Sam riding Cane Creek suspension this year. Several of our most aggressive riders have been on the Taniwha since the fall and we've been super impressed with the suspension performance of the frame. We design our products for top level performance, and combining our suspension with class-leading frame performance is a winning combo!" - Luke Bukoski, Marketing Director, Cane Creek Components
Sam continues the "keep it local" theme by choosing to ride in NZ-made Ground Effect cycle clothing. Shorts, tops, jackets and rainwear from Ground Effect to keep him purring in hot, cold or wet conditions.
Included in the team backing Sam this year is the coaching support of Adrian Armstrong, the man instrumental in the development of many of NZ’s top DH professionals.
"I was lucky enough to race on the Taniwha at six rounds of the Enduro World Series last season, I'm really liking the bike and am extremely grateful for this opportunity to race for Zerode/Pinion/WideOpen. The suspension performance of the Taniwha gives me a leg up over my competition, and the Pinion gearbox removes any concerns about a damaged drivetrain during a race. The Taniwha combined with products from WideOpen finish offer a dream race rig that I am super excited about. It's going to be a big season racing all eight rounds of the Enduro World Series and I couldn't be more stoked to race them on the Taniwha!" - Sam Shaw
Follow Sam's season on Instagram and at www.zerodebikes.com/riders.
Keep up with exciting developments from Zerode on Instagram and www.zerodebikes.com.
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nzl62
4/4/2018 5:17 AM
Some pretty ignorant comments below. I have owned my Taniwha since August last year. Like all new tech it took a little while for the shifting to become second nature. Its not as intuitive as the trigger shifter but everything works well. I'd say if anything - the grip shifter is a little harder on descents rather than climbs. When going up the gear range is ridiculous and you only have to take the weight off the cranks a moment to grab another gear. But then consider the fact you can shift whilst free wheeling or static or shift multiple gears up or down prior to a climb or descent and you have some pretty powerful arguments for the pinion. But frankly all of this misses the point - this bike rips downhill. Its insane the grip the composure the silence. It absolutely destroys the Nomad 3 I had before it. Its not even close. The uptake of this bike is quite something too...seeing more and more of them pop up. Add to that pretty much zero maintenance and I say who gives a shit about how it shifts whilst climbing.
Hollywood Gainey
4/3/2018 5:32 PM
I'm guessing the complainers probably can't double clutch a truck either but s*** if they could they would have a rig that can tow your mom's house over a mountain pass.
bizutch
4/3/2018 12:35 PM
Zero ability to panic shift on sudden uphills. For everything else, works.
Hollywood Gainey
4/3/2018 1:31 PM
sounds perfect... 98% of people dab even after a panic shift when coming upon an unexpected uphill steep, 1% break their chain. So for the 99% of the time its irrelevant I would consider the maintenance free possibilities here in the PNW
bizutch
4/3/2018 2:03 PM
You should read the article on Pinkbike about how it shifts and it explains it better. I found myself stuck like a statue on a bike in a track stand with NO ability to change gears. As long as you have a decent load on the pedals going uphill the easiest 3-4 gears aren't accessible at all. You try to turn the shifter and NO amount of force will shift it. You have to pre-shift well in advance, meaning you have to KNOW what gear you want, not just pedal and continue to downshift as you find what gear your legs can handle. You can't feel out the torque needed on a Pinion gearbox like you can with a standard drivetrain. I can't stress enough that pedal pressure going uphill at slow speeds on this bike is a virtual LOCKOUT at the shifter. You can't turn the shifter at all until you float a pedal backwards (because you can't COAST UPHILL).
Picard
4/3/2018 2:57 PM
How many rides did you do on it?
bizutch
4/3/2018 6:56 PM
A single 2 hour plus ride with tons of short switchbacks and up and downs all over a place called Bent Creek. I fully understand that you might can figure out when to guess to pre-shift that tranny, but no one actually knows for sure exactly when they need to shift. You can successfully actively pedal and downshift on any modern drivetrain EXCEPT this one. I didn't say "Nobody buy it". You wanna ride or race on that tranny and guess the right upshift before you need it without putting pressure on the pedals, go for it.
Sure, I got back to the shop and said "only gotta lube the chain" but I'll take any other shifting option and whatever flaws it has OVER this with what is a massive issue. ZERO ability to upshift into easy gears while pedaling.
F1234K
4/3/2018 2:29 PM
Mike Levy was clueless on how to properly use the gearbox. I shift going uphill all the time. There is a rather simple technique to it but if you are hell bound on trying to find flaws in the system then I guess you will nitpick it to death.
I’m super stoked for Rob on this news with Sam!!!
bizutch
4/3/2018 2:36 PM
Oh so you're saying I made the article about me and my experience, Mike Levy's experience and every other person that was at the bike demo with me's experience instead of The Stoke for this kid. My apologies. But if anybody is going to spend that kind of Loot on that bike all of them need to put in way more time to make sure it's actually worth way more money
Picard
4/3/2018 3:21 PM
Couldn't agree more F1234K!
I shift my Pinion gearbox all the time! Uphill, downhill, in the air... any gear is available as fast as I want it. The only thing holding people back is a preconceived notion of "This has to shift exactly like a derailleur or else it must not be good!" See Levy's review for evidence of this outlook.
This is great news for Zerode! Zerode and the world of gearbox bikes needs someone to prove that these bikes can in fact compete at the international level. Two EWS rounds in, and it's looking like they can!