Shimano’s new 'ecosystem' and Crankrother’s introduce its trail specific pedal

Our round up of the very best tech stories of the week

Rhian Atherton

Mar 5 2023

This week saw plenty of new tech launches with Reeb’s new enduro bike and Mondraker expanding its range to include e-gravel bikes. Some juicy components were revealed with a new pedal from Crankborthers and Cane Creek shrinking its air and coil IL shocks. Let’s delve right in.

Reeb’s steel ‘Steezl’ enduro bike

Created with steel goodness and paired with some 3d-printed components, Reeb Cycles' all-new Steezl is a stylish enduro bike with the performance to match. The brand says ‘the Steezl is stiffer, stronger, prettier and dripping with that handmade Reeb flavour. American-made, the bike is engineered using custom 4130 chromoly tubing, and with a rear linkage that is claimed to be its strongest and lightest to date. You can change from a 29-inch front/rear to a mullet set-up with the flip of a chip. The suspension has been fitted to get the best out of the 155mm of travel on offer.

The REEB Cycles STEEZL is a beautiful steel enduro mountain bike

Mondraker enters the world of gravel

The brand is known for creating an array of mountain bikes - including the Foxy, Raze, and the Summum - has entered the gravel market. This one is electrically powered and is the only one of its kind for the Spanish bike brand, especially for the gravel seekers out there. Say hello to Dusty. Perfect for long distances of up to 180km and technical terrain. This machine can easily carry your luggage for those long trips; suspension and dropper post features on the high-end model. The motor is Mahle's X20 with 55Nm of torque while the battery is rated at 350Wh.

Mondraker Dusty XR - First ride review

All-new Trail version of the Crankbrothers’ Mallet

Taking its place next to the wider platform DH and the E, the new Crankbrothers Mallet Trail pedal features an Eggbeater inner with a mid-sized cage on a long spindle. It offers a 57mm Q-factor for both shoe space and stability, plus a dual seal system for durability. This new piece of engineering also gets Traction Pad technology and adjustable pins.

Crankbrothers adds the Mallet Trail to the pedal range

Cane Creek makes its IL shocks smaller

The well-known Air IL and Coil IL shocks by Cane Creek have reduced their sizing for a stronger and more compact package meaning a better fit in more frame sizes. The technology remains the same as previously with an externally adjustable DB Twin Tube tech for the widest range of damping adjustability. What’s changed is the chunkier inner damper tube for added strength while the size of the valve body has been reduced by 17mm which allows for more frame compatibility. The Air IL’s 6mm reduction in the outer diameter helps it fit in tight spaces, and the Coil IL gets a reduction in body size for the same outcome.

Cane Creek makes Air IL and Coil IL shocks smaller to fit more frames

Shimano CUES consolidates below Deore groupsets into one

In an attempt to simplify things in the mid-range groupset segment, Shimano has introduced a new solution to the mid-level drivetrains out there. Shimano CUES - an all-new 'ecosystem' - will essentially phase out Altus, Acera, Alivio, and Deore (11-speed) groupsets, offering a fully cross-compatible system including cassettes, chains and derailleurs for 9-, 10- and 11-speed flat bar bikes.

What's the reason for this? Shimano has created CUES (which stands for 'creating unique experiences) to simplify both the life of a bike shop employee and the consumer. Currently, the many different groupsets with many different parts that are incompatible together are difficult to navigate and, as we've all noticed, specific parts can be tricky to source. CUES should make this easier because, for example, you can put a 10-speed shifter on an 11-speed bike, or vice versa. All of the CUES shifters use the same pull ratio and cassette spacing, which means you run an 11-speed chain across all the different level components... It's a lot easier to understand even for a beginner as you can just mix and match.

Shimano CUES should also offer a lot longer lifespan, as the cassettes in the range are the Linkglide type - Shimano's very robust cassette that is forgiving for gear crunchers. Check out the news piece below to understand CUES a little better.

Shimano introduces CUES, integrating mid-tier groupsets into one product family

Author block

Rhian Atherton

Found exploring new gravel routes around the Welsh border, with weekend trips to a
bike park shredding the trails and trying all the cake. Still keen to race after 29 years,
mainly having fun on a 4x bike with some enduro in the mix. I rock my ukulele in a
folk band when not on two wheels.