The Polish BMX/MTB company Dartmoor Bikes has recently launched their 2012 product range – Once again they look to have gone from strength to strength, by launching new products and fine tuning their existing range (all of which can be seen in the Dartmoor 2012 Catalogue). On a personal level, I can attest to the high quality of Dartmoor components – Every Dartmoor product from the first Dartmoor Product Review I undertook remains sound, even now, 14 months on!
After recent talks with Slam69 I was flowed some more products for review – The 2012 ‘Thorn Cranks’ and the ‘Fatty Seat/Post combo’…
- THORN Cranks (2012)
The new Thorn cranks can be considered Dartmoor’s TOP OF THE RANGE bmx crankset – They are a two piece crankset and ultralight at that! The crank arms are made of a fully HEAT TREATED (strength!) 4130 Cr-Mo steel. The right crank arm is welded to a 22mm hollow axle, which has 48 splines for the left crank arm – I’ve been told that a higher number of smaller splines will work more effectively than a lower number of bigger splines (I guess this is why other crank specialists opt for smaller splines). The inner side of the crank arm features a small gusset, which aims to make the pedal assembly area stronger. The inner side of the cranks also features sprocket assembly holes (both LHD/RHD). There are two arm bolts included, one steel, one alu. The second sprocket hole you see if for the use of 23t sprockets. There are also two sprocket bolts (one is hollow). The kit is completed with the inclusion of both assembling and disassembling tools.
I nearly forgot, the cranks were issued a death sentence by Marek Lebek who held them captive prior to mass production – However, the thorns fought back with an almighty Houdini grind to freedom!
Turns out Marek Lebek can bust some jail breaking moves himself…
Marek Lebek at BURN Dirtpark on pinkbike.com
I’ve just got to reiterate how light these cranks actually are (750g) – I’ve done my homework and can confirm these are some of the lightest cranks (for BMX/Free-riding) on the market, even when compared to some of the biggest names in the crank business.
To conclude, once I’ve installed these cranks I imagine they will last the long haul – However I will be making a test video in due course to show the cranks in action. Keep your eyes peeled for some big drops and gaps!
Personal product photography…
Few more details:
– Arm length/ 170mm
– Axle diam/ 22mm
– Total weight/ 750g
– Available in Black or Chrome
- FATTY SEAT/POST combo (2012)
One of the latest evolutions in the BMX/MTB industry is the introduction of seat/post combos – Yes, that’s right, a seat which is firmly attached to the post. The main advantages of the seat/post combo are weight and simplicity – You simply chuck it in (with a small smidge of grease!) and tighten up the seat clamp. Weight is saved by the lack of guts/rails on the seat itself.
As you would expect, Dartmoor Bikes are at the forefront of the industry with the introduction of their Seat/Post combo – The model here can be described best as a comfy fat saddle with integrated aluminium post. The seat comes complete with an embossed Dartmoor logo, which remains subtle on the eye, which keeps things simple. The seat itself is constructed using thick foam to either sides – This will make barspins a doddle (and I’ve now got a good reason to get an up to date barspin shot!). The frame of the seat is plastic and shows the ‘VELO’ trade name – VELO are one of the biggest manufacturers of bike saddles in the industry – And this is perhaps one of the reasons why Darmoor/Slam69 can set their price so low! At £22.00 this seat/combo is £13.00 cheaper than some of it’s rivals in the BMX sphere. Finally, the seat covering, I have no idea what material it is, but it looks/feels strong!
Few more details…
– Seat post diam.
– 25.4mm, 27,2mm.
– Seat post length: 160mm, 200mm.
– Saddle length: 230mm.
Saddle width: 143mm. Weight: 356g.
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- Front ‘Razor Street’ Hub (2012)/’Raider’ Rim (2012)/Coloured spokes
First impressions – Nice colour balance, modern, light and appears to be robust. Right, let’s get a little more technical…
Let’s start with the ‘Razor Street‘ hub – It’s a newly released BMX hub designed for 10mm dropouts.
It has a ‘male>female’ axle system – The female part consists of a 15mm (dia) 7075 aluminium axle, with internal threads. The ‘male’ part of the hub is the two 3/8 bolts which then screw into either end of the female axle. To tighten up the 3/8 bolts there is the option of using either 17mm wrench or an 8mm Allen key.
Next up we have the Hub Body – The hub body is made from 6061 aluminium, this is standard practice across the BMX industry at present. The hub features push-in (no thread) cones made of 7075 aluminium. They have opted to use 7075 for the cones as it is slightly harder than 6061, this means it’s more appropriate for the axial tensioning it will be subjected to. The hub features low flanges, this keeps them tucked away from rails/ledges during grinds – There is still a risk of bending them if your a ‘grindaholic’, but fear not, because Dartmoor make a hub guard which you can purchase for a competitive price. The hub comes with solid bolts, the Slam69 website advises they are used for heavy street use.
Tech…
– Hub Size: 100x10mm,
– Holes: 36, 32,
– Weight: 179g,
– Good choice of colours.
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Next we have the ‘Raider‘ rim – It’s a light rim available for both MTB and BMX.
The BMX version is available to fit 32 or 36 holes.
In terms of construction we have a double walled rim made of 6061 aluminium. The spoke holes have eyelets, which add to the rims durability against the elements. It also features some cool graphics which I was really into. We also have a light rim (20″ = 405g).
Dimensions…
– Outer width: 31.4mm.
– Inner width: 24mm.
– Height: 21mm.
– And plenty of colours!
Finally we have dartmoors new ‘coloured‘ spokes…
What we have here are strong, cold forged spokes made of the highest calibre Swedish Sandvik T3o2 stainless steel – These spokes do what they are supposed to do! And they do it well! You get 36 spokes in a packet and they are available in a range of sizes and colours – Perfect!
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