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PRO - Vanderham gets a go!
by superfly
Posted: Oct 31, 2009
Being British I had to leak the Atherton PRO range first. After all, all us Europeans know how to go fast. It seems the other side of the pond you know how to go big, skinny or trick it up. Good job Mr. Vanderham is on your team and backing you up with the latest range of PRO kit with his name all over it.
Will you be joining him? Come inside and let us and him know!
Will you be joining him? Come inside and let us and him know!
-Grips $26.99 / £17.99 / 18.50 euros
Are these the best looking grips you have ever come across? The polished end caps almost blind you. These go beyond bling.
-Dual density tribene freeride grips.
-Only available in white
-Length 135mm - Outer diameter 31.5mm
-Alloy lock rings have cromoly bolts.
-No claimed weights, these come in at 106grams a pair, that's lighter than the Atherton ones which weighed 125grams a pair.
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| So tasty you could eat them. |
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| Not quite sure what the slots are for, anybody know? |
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| The last time I saw something as good looking as this it was this morning in the mirror. |
VANDERHAM STAR SERIES BARS
-Riser Bars $79.99 / £54.99 / 69.95 euros
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| Thomas Vanderham in the house |
-Low rise weighed in at 322grams, the claimed weight was 315grams.
-High rise weighed in at 321grams, the claimed weight was 315grams.
Work that one out! Why were the low rise heavier than the high rise? When we looked at the Atherton bars the high rise were 9grams heavier.
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| The Atherton range was lacking this vital info. Do we need this on bars, I like it, do you? Answers below please... |
-Both come up with a 4degree up sweep and an 8degree back sweep which is perfect.
-740mm wide with cutting instructions from 700 to 720mm wide so you can still make those x-ups.
-Made from AL-7050-T76 DB Alloy.
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| Checkout the TV logo, expect to see that on a POD near you |
VANDERHAM STAR SERIES SEAT
-Seat $69.99 / £49.99 / 58.95 euros
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| 7mm Titanium Rails |
-Claimed weight 230grams, actual weight 241grams. Dimensions are 260mmx135mm
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| Your running an embossed microfiber cover |
VANDERHAM STAR SERIES SEAT POST
-Seat Posts $84.99 / £54.99 / 59.95 euros
-Claimed weight from 225grams. PRO make two sizes in this, 30.9x350mm and 31.6x350mm.
The one we have here is the 30.9 and actual weight is 279grams.
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| Forged from 7050 Alloy with a CNC Machined Head |
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| Didn't Funn have a splined seat post 4 years ago? Were the Athertons originally sponsored by Funn? Yes. Sherlock can you see the link? |
That said, the splined idea is a great one. It means when you come up short and don't make the down slope, or worse: Slip or miss your pedals, the seat will stay in place. None of that "Bwaaarpp" and the seat pointing to the sky. The only downside is you may well wreck your seat as the rails may well bend or even pop out of their sockets on a super big case.
-$119.99 / £79.99 / 84.95 euros
-Claimed weight 195grams. Actual weight 200grams with fixing hardware.
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| Available in 35, 50 and 65mm extensions |
First glimpse and you see a big block stem. "Transformers, robots in disguise". Upon picking one up in your hands it's super smooth, angled beautifully and a pleasure to hold. With the big PRO logo on the side this will be the badge to run in 2010.
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| TV usually describes the Pinkbike Canadian Crew set up on a Friday night (Transvestites). |
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| Color: Shiny Black |
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| Available for 31.8mm Oversized Bars Only |
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| Only in 1 1/8th, now where is the 1.5" option. That should certainly be an option for all you Josh Benders out there. |
-CNC Machined from the super light and strong AL7050.
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| When I say Flip Flop I'm not talking about your summer footwear. Having a flip/flop stem means you get two stems in one and double the potential customers. |
BONUS FEATURE - NOTHING TO DO WITH VANDERHAM BUT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE THIS!
PRO MINI TOOL 6
-Claimed weight 69grams. Actual weight 69grams. Yes they got it right!
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| Alloy body with nickel plated steel tools |
-2,3,4,5 and 6mm Hex Keys plus Philips screw driver. Who is Philip, because I've got a couple of his screw drivers in the bottom drawer in the kitchen?
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| Sizes are etched, good work guys! |
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| Inch and centimeter ruler on the side |
Want to know more about PRO, click here
Hats off to Albert at Madison the U.K distributor for PRO in sending this through for you to see. He's the man who furnished you with the U.S Dollar, U.K Sterling and Euro pricing so many thanks.
If you are U.K based and your bike shop sells Shimano then they should be able to get ahold of this.
Click on this - Madison
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| Buzz Paton |
Here is what Buzz says, "Not only will these products appeal to the DH fraternity, the real audience is the Big Mountain riders out there. That includes all you French Alp Warriors, Whistler Wannabes and Glentress Mincers. Don't forget you slope-stylers and I'll even throw this range down to the dirt jumpers.
The grips really stand out and the seatpost with the splined clamp is bombproof, or should we say Vanderham proof?
Last but not least, either Si or PRO need a new set of scales.
Stay Unclipped!
Si Paton..
Descent-Gear.com
Element Nickel Wide Bars Instock 760 and 780mm 44.99GBP Posted
62 Comments
- + 0
bikesineed
(Nov 2, 2009 at 0:04)
that is sick..
i bet that phillips abit pissed that youve got his screwdrivers...
i've got some of his screwdrivers aswell, i think he keeps breaking in and forgetting to take his screwdrivers home
slots in the grip clamps are so that they can act as clamp as well as bar end plug in one, by letting clamp flex relative to end face.
hmmm i actually preffer some of this stuff to the athertons, more my style 1.5 stem is worth considering, prefer the colour schemes looks much less tacky, those bars look sweet as. i think the slots in the grip-cap ends are to allow a little flex if you have to bin it off a drop or jump so they can absorb it al little bit instead of just popping off (like my sunline ones) haha
LOL.. the gear is nice but this guy's whit is cracking me up hahah!! He should write more reports for Pinkbike LOL!
[Reply]
Now there is an dea for a competition! The weight of Buzz.
I'll get some prizes together and come back to you..
I'll get some prizes together and come back to you..
[Reply]
I expect much more, only innovative product is the sloted bar clamp/cap, the rest is pathetic with their kinda R&D budget, the little guys are the rightfull owners of this market anyway.....this is just shimano failing at attempting to put the sqeeze on the smaller sucessfull indipendent component manifactures.
but i don't know who would buy shimano bars and stems? i wouldnt, shimano brakes maybe. Shimano are just too common, they try to make everything but by doing that they loose the attention to detail and end up replacating what has been made 100 times before. id much rather buy parts from a company that focuses on more certain parts, such as sunline.
[Reply]
[Reply]
"Not quite sure what the slots are for, anybody know?"
the slots are there for you to be able to tighten the grip.
if it was not there.... you wont be able to tightn it :-) becouse it's closed end.
the slots are there for you to be able to tighten the grip.
if it was not there.... you wont be able to tightn it :-) becouse it's closed end.
i really like those grips but how long do you think those bar ends will last before they are all scratched and ruined ?
yeah brown within hours from dirt and gloves, not good, also think they look quite delicate anyone else get that feeling? basically theve got what looks like an ODI ruffian grip with ODI style clamps and then sunlines built in bar end . . .
Not too stoked on their "claimed vs actual" weights. Usually companies have a pretty small margin of error for that type of thing, but I guess Shimano is too arrogant for that.
This pro-designed series..is really getting cheezy, I understand that fashion is cool and it is cool to support your favorite riders and have respect for them, but, components with their names all over them...what happened to supporting Bike brands and labeling yourself as a bike company supporter, honestly all these pro's ride brands ect. why not let them help in design and development more!...not that they aren't fully engaged already but really, another persons name on your bike isn't going to make you faster or better...its just going to make your bike look like its theirs.......just an opinion? anybody share it? and I think the Atherton's and Vanderham do rock by the way but this is getting silly, I want to see some proven stats that these components are better than competitors parts or make you faster! lol!
yeah man you got a good point, agreed! stuff should be good with the COMPANIES name on it not another riders . . .
I expect much more, only innovative product is the sloted bar clamp/cap, the rest is pathetic with their kinda R&D budget, the little guys are the rightfull owners of this market anyway.....this is just shimano failing at attempting to put the sqeeze on the smaller sucessfull indipendent component manifactures.
that's true Dazem - where is the innovation in this Pro range? how have Shimano used their advanced manufacturing technology (i.e. Hollowtech II cranksets) to make the Pro stems and seatposts better? The range looks dull and generic...
If you look at Thomson's X4 stems and Elite seatposts, they are lighter than this Pro range, and knowing the reputation and background of LH Thomson (aerospace - former Boeing contractor) you just know Thomson is stronger despite being ligher - as well as looking a sh*t load sweeter too
there are small companies like Thomson making THE best finishing kit - sorry Shimano, you failed with this Pro range
that's true Dazem - where is the innovation in this Pro range? how have Shimano used their advanced manufacturing technology (i.e. Hollowtech II cranksets) to make the Pro stems and seatposts better? The range looks dull and generic...
If you look at Thomson's X4 stems and Elite seatposts, they are lighter than this Pro range, and knowing the reputation and background of LH Thomson (aerospace - former Boeing contractor) you just know Thomson is stronger despite being ligher - as well as looking a sh*t load sweeter too
there are small companies like Thomson making THE best finishing kit - sorry Shimano, you failed with this Pro range
The PRO logo with the arrow in it is weak....they could have come up with something better looking than that
I'll never buy any of it, or need it. But business is business... there's signature equipment for just about any sport out there.
i havent herd anything about vanderham in the longest time, why all of a sudden does he have his own line of over priced stuff?
[Reply]
Im sure all these are solid, it's Vanderham people....... come on!!!! Its gotta be good stuff, or else he wouldnt run it!
A little North Shore Birdy just told me that Envy have been running those sliced bar caps for at least 5 years.
i cant beleive how ugly this stuff looks, the seat looks like its from a walmart bike, and the logo just looks very simple and unstylish. stem didnt look to bad. but the rest just a little to much, the bar design with the black etches everywhere is pretty ugly in my opinion.
the stem looks rather nice but nothing new and at £80 wouldnt you rather have a thompson or a hope stem ?white grips ?not for long ,and there are better looking bars that probably perform at least just as well
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