Boost, part 2: How a new generation of bikes is being created

Stiffer wheels, space for plus-size tires, more space and stiffness at the rear end with shorter chainstays - these are the advantages that Sram cites for the brand new Boost system. As the technology is not backwards compatible, a whole bunch of new parts are required - and Sram is supplying bike manufacturers with them, with a new generation of bikes rolling out for the 2016 model year.

With the single-chainring concept, Sram has proven itself to be independent and innovative, and now the component specialist from Chicago is once again going all out to innovate the mountain bike with a development base in Schweinfurt. The features of the Boost system were explained by Ride in the first part, here follows the presentation of the matching parts:

Rock Shox is already pumping forks for the new system onto the market in summer 2015. The SID, Reba and Pike forks can cope with the 110x15mm axle width at the dropout. An additional factor is the Plus tire size with 3 inch width, a 27.5 Plus wheel at the front fits into a Boost 29" fork, only for the Pike Rock Shox builds its own 27.5" Boost model. The model designations are a little more complicated and read: SID 29" Boost/27.5" Plus, Reba 29" Boost, 27.5", Pike 27.5" Boost and 29" Boost, 27.5" Plus.

Sram builds cranks for the Boost format at XX1 and X1 levels and points out that these cranks are only compatible with 148mm Boost hubs.

When it comes to wheels, Sram is sending the Roam 40 model into the race, in 27.5 and 29 inch sizes. If you don't want to roll off-road on system wheels, you can build your own wheels with XO hubs or hubs from a so-called 700 series.

For the Boost components, Sram indicates initial availability from May to June 2015. In terms of bikes, the selection of Boost-compatible frames is extremely limited, so far only Trek's Remedy is designed for the standard.

www.rockshox.com