Traction: the defining performance characteristic of a full suspension bike; the ability of the bicycle’s contact points to adhere to varying terrain.  Eminent’s Active Float System suspension provides consistent, unbiased traction, irrespective of competing terrain, speed, braking and pedaling forces.  Head here and learn more about AFS.  

 (photos by A.J. Allen)

Taking our traction obsession further, we’ve looked to those “contact points”: the wheels and tires, for further gains.  Often weight and strength are where the product dev team’s list of deliverables ends.  Both are tangible, quantifiable, and ultimately easy market.  Traction, ride feel, the ability to inspire confidence…. these qualities are not as easily digested in a few glossy bullet points.    Synthesis Wheels and Graphene Tires were developed prioritizing traction, ride experience, and the resulting “ear to ear reverse bell curve” (yep, smile).  That’s what makes a product stand out and that’s why we are thrilled to announce exclusive Crankbrothers Wheels and Vittoria Tire spec on Eminent bikes. 

… And because form follows function, we’re kicking things off with a special “Ongold” themed, Onset MT.  The bike is spec’d with custom Crankbrothers Synthesis Enduro 11 wheels with custom gold Industry 9 hubs, wrapped in Vittoria Mazza 2.6 & 2.4 tires.  To keep the gold flowing we’ve also collaborated with Absolute Black and Cane Creek to add a few tasty bits.

Onset MT Ongold Specs:

 

Crankbrothers Synthesis Wheels take a tuned approach to wheel systems by combining a compliant front wheel with a stiff rear wheel to achieve optimal ride characteristics for each. The compliant front wheel improves handling and control in turns, while the stiff rear wheel enhances stability and tracking at speed. Synthesis Enduro 11 wheels use different rim thicknesses, unique inner rim widths, and variations in spoke tension, spoke weight and spoke count between front and rear to optimize the performance characteristics of each. To learn more, head here.  

Vittoria developed Graphene: GRAPHENE 2.0 with the aim to always push the boundaries of what is possible. The new generation 2.0 Graphene is functionalized to enhance specific tire performance characteristics.  Where first generation of graphene compounds raised the bar evenly, Graphene 2.0 pin-points each performance metric, and increases it disproportionally to the rest. Vittoria is now able to apply Graphene in such a way that it can achieve a performance boost specifically for speed, wet grip, durability, and puncture resistance.  To learn more, head here

Thanks to the brands that contributed to the Ongold build:

Crankbrothers

Vittoria

Cane Creek

Absolute Black

Industry Nine

Shimano

WTB

Protaper