Plus new carbon 29er hardtail and cyclo-cross bikes
Image 1 of 15
Redline showed off its first dual-suspension mountain bike, the D880, at this year's Interbike show.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline's Conquest 24 is an appealing option for junior-sized 'cross racers.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline says the RA1 is the company's first road bike that was wholly designed in-house.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Tucking the rear brake inside the rear triangle on Redline's Metro Sport leaves enough room for double eyelets.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline's Metro Sport is essentially just a repackaged version of the company's older Conquest Classic model. Slapping the 'urban' label on to the bike, however, has apparently done lots of good for sales.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
New for Redline are 142x12mm thru-axle dropouts on some 29er aluminum hardtails.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline has also tweaked its aluminum 29er hardtails for 2013.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Press-fit cups, and extra-wide bottom bracket shell, and internal cable routing for the Redline D680 carbon 29er hardtail.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The D680 is Redline's top-end 29er carbon hardtail with a retail price of US$5,000.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline's Binary Link rear suspension design supposedly provides the proven ride characteristics of a good single-pivot design but with the stiffness advantages of a full enclosed rear triangle.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline has built the new D880 full-suspension 29er with a new short dual-link design called Binary Link.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline's carbon fiber, disc-compatible Conquest Team is thankfully ready and available in plenty of time for 'cross season.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Linear-pull brakes and S-bend stays for Redline's pint-sized Conquest 24.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The new Redline RA1 uses a new carbon-bladed fork from Kinesis.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Redline is a company best known for its cyclo-cross models but 2013 will see attention paid to two all-new 29er mountain bikes: an aluminum dual-suspension chassis with a novel rear end designed in-house and a full carbon frame upgrade to last year's D680 aluminum backbone.
The new D880 full-suspension bike features 110mm of rear wheel travel achieved through Redline's own Binary Link design. According to Redline, the twin short links – both of which are located very close together just about the bottom bracket shell – mimic the proven performance of a good single-pivot design but with the increased stiffness of a fully enclosed rear triangle that doesn't require pivoting dropouts.
Additional features include 142x12mm thru-axle rear dropouts, a tapered head tube, a direct mount front derailleur, Kashima-coated Fox suspension components, and a competent Shimano XT/SLX component mix for US$3,500. Target weight for the complete production bike is around 12-12.2kg (26.5-27lb) and retail price will be US$3,500 when the bike becomes available next spring.
Meanwhile, the current D680 29er hardtail gets a major upgrade for 2013 with an all-carbon frame that drops a big chunk of weight from the old alloy chassis and also supposedly improves the stiffness and ride quality. Key features include an extra-wide bottom bracket shell with press-fit bearing cups, a tapered front end, 142x12mm thru-axle rear dropouts, a dropped driveside chain stay to reduce chain slap, and internal derailleur cable routing.
Suggested retail price for the D680 is US$5,000 complete with a SRAM X9/X0 2x10 transmission, Ritchey Vantage II alloy wheels, a Fox 32 Float 29 FIT CTD Adjust 100mm-travel fork, and Ritchey cockpit components.
Redline has even added a proper road bike to its range with the new RA1 – supposedly the first Redline road bike completely designed in-house – the new disc-compatible Conquest Team flagship is ready for purchase in stores, and for up and coming CXers there's the Conquest 24 with 24" wheels to cater to the junior crowd.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Linear-pull brakes and S-bend stays on the junior cyclo-cross bike
