R O A D T E S T

BRIDGESTONE MB-1The mountain bike's ability to conquerterrain previously inaccessible to cyclistsonly partly explains its popularity . Manyof you, our surveys say, also see the ATBas an attractive alternative to drop handle-bars, narrow racing saddles, and toe clipsand straps .

Bolstered by this fact, many gonzo-come-lately manufacturers are profitablyproducing cosmetic ATBs with fat tires andflat handlebars . These bikes are about aswell-suited for the rigors of off-road cy-cling as a Schwinn Varsity would be for theCoors Classic .

At the other extreme is the $880-$925Bridgestone MB-1, which at first glancelooks more like a sporty road bike than ahigh-performance off-road machine. It hasthe narrow Turbo saddle favored by theTour de France gang, featherweight, 335-gram XC-Compe pedals with toe clips andstraps, and (here's the real shocker) a drophandlebar.

Bridgestone isn't the first to put drops on

Fat Tires Meet Drop Bars

an ATB. This and Wilderness Trail Bikessell off-road drops, and many riders havesimply installed road bars after bendingthem to a more suitable shape. But otherthan the MB-1, we're aware of only oneother production bike, REI's mountain/touring model, which is spec'ed with dropbars .

The Case for DropsI've had drops on my ATB for a year. I

think they're superior to flat bars for all buttechnically demanding trials riding, whereslow-speed control and frequent lifting ofthe front wheel is necessary. Otherwise,the variety of hand positions that drops af-ford makes long rides on any terrain morecomfortable .On rocky descents, drops help spare the

upper body from jackhammer-like jolts .Your wrists won't flex as much, and yourbent elbows will serve as shock absorbers.You can damp shock even more by paddingthe upper half of the whole bar with foam

By John Kukoda

grips split lengthwise and wrapped withtape . This cushions your hands withoutmaking the bar too fat and squishy. TheMB-1 comes with unwrapped bars so cus-tomers can pad as they wish .Drop bars work better on ascents, too.

Seated climbing is less tiring because whengripping the drops your wrists are in linewith your pull on the bar, thus reducingstrain on your chest and arms . For lessstrenuous climbing, placing your hands onthe brake lever hoods or bar tops allowsyou to sit up and breathe freely, just as itdoes on a road bike .When out of the saddle with hands on the

drops, the slight outward flare of theBridgestone (and most other) off-road barsprovides adequate wrist clearance. As withseated climbing, the upper body is in amore comfortable position than with flatbars, and the wrists are aligned with thedirection ofpull . Stand and climb on a roadbike with your hands on the tops and you'llsee what I mean . It's not as natural or com-fortable as gripping the hoods.

Unlike a road bike's bars, which are setlow for aerodynamics and often grippedabout the hoods, off-road drops are highand close to the rider. This allows you tocycle for long periods on the drops withoutstrain . If you find yourself searching for al-ternate hand positions during most ATBrides, you're a good candidate for dropbars .As opposed to road bike position, the bar

top should be about 2 inches higher and 1-2inches closer. (For extended road riding onan ATB, lower the bar for a more aerody-namic position .) To attain the correct barlocation, use a stem with a high rise andshort extension. Simply installing dropsinto a stem made for flat bars will result ina low, stretched-out posture that's inappro-priate for anything but time trialing .

Until this year, there were 2 stem

96 BICYCLING

Slightly flared heat-treated drop bars on the Bridgestone MB-1

climbing efficiency.

choices: the high-rise Nitto Technomics,which provided the correct position butlooked delicate and inappropriate on aburly off-road bike, and the costly chrome-moly models made by Cunningham, Ibis,and others .The MB-1 goes a different route . A col-

aid comfort control, and

laboration between Bridgestone and Nittohas resulted in an affordable, alloy"DirtDrop" stem for the equally newNitto (or Ibis or Cunningham) drop bars .According to Bridgestone USA's GrantPetersen, the DirtDrop stem and bar willalso be sold retail .

Positive PerformanceEven without its drop handlebar, this

Bridgestone demands attention . The steep,tight frame geometry makes it look morelike a road bike with fat tires than a typicalATB. But improved performance, not cos-metics, is the purpose of the design . Ultra-short, 16'/8-inch chainstays position therear wheel under the rider for superior trac-tion during standing or seated climbing . A73-degree seat angle puts the rider in thesame efficient position over the pedalsthat's typical of a road bike . In front, asteep, 71-degree head angle combines with2'/8 inches of fork rake to provide both sta-bility and maneuverability at speed. Thebike willingly stays on course during fastdescents, although it demands more of therider than "Marin style" ATBs with 68- or69-degree head angles .At slower speeds, our test riders liked

being able to steer around obstacles with-out experiencing wheel flop-a commonproblem with slack-angled ATBs . On tight,single tracks, the MB-1's precise handlingmade it easy to stay in the tire tracks of therider ahead. Thanks to the tight wheelbaseand relatively light weight, lifting the frontwheel and jumping the bike was easy .The lugged MB-1 frame features forged

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front and vertical rear dropouts and is builtof heat-treated Tange Prestige off-road tub-ing .Prestige has 25 % more tensile strength

than other chrome-moly, which allows fortubes with thinner walls . This reducesframe weight to 4.95 pounds (without the1 .85-pound Tange chrome-moly fork), orabout 3/4 of a pound less than a typicalchrome-moly ATB frame. Our completetest bike weighed only 27.4 pounds, due inpart to light wheels built with Araya'shard-anodized, 485-gram RM-20 rims andRitchey's Force wire-beaded tires (675grams front, 725 grams rear) .

Unlike a heavy-gauge chrome-moly orfat-tube aluminum frame, the MB-1 flexesnoticeably during hard pedaling, althoughthis doesn't seem to detract from its climb-ing performance . On the contrary, theframe's resilience may aid control on roughtrails, since the rider is less affected byeach jolt . The springy frame also meansyou don't have to reduce tire pressure toimprove shock absorption, so snakebiteflats and dinged rims are less likely .

Bridgestone obviously labored over thedetails that distinguish a great bike from agood one. Slotted cable stops are one ex-ample. This feature becomes a godsendwhen cables seize after a ride in the slop .

Without it, relubricating the cables is anhour-long chore that requires disconnectingthe brakes and derailleurs, then readjustingthem . With slotted stops you simply slipthe cables free, slide the housing down,and lubricate. Five minutes, no tools, nosweat.Another example: What part of an ATB

wears out first? No, not the rider. It's theheadset, but the MB-1 has a TangeG-Master roller bearing model that virtu-ally eliminates pitting in the lower bearingraces . The top locknut even includes a rub-ber gasket to keep sweat from entering andforming a bothersome chemical element,11 neverbudgium," between the aluminumstem and steel steerer tube .

Clickless ShiftingBecause it has SunTour bar-end shifters,

which aren't indexed, the MB-1 is one ofthe few '87 ATBs that doesn't click. Itdoes, however, use an AccuShift-com-patible XC-9000 rear derailleur, which,thanks to the tight tolerances necessary towork well in index mode, also shifts ex-tremely well with the friction lever. Thefreewheel is a narrow-spaced 13-28 Ultra-6, necessary because the rear wheel is builtwith minimal dish to maximize strength .The freewheel/chainring selection is

geared toward the fit and fast . The 26-inchlow gear can be softened to 22 inches,however, by replacing the 28-tooth grannyring with a 24, the smallest size acceptedby the SR crank. The 100-inch high gearresults from pairing a standard 13-toothsmall cog with a 50-tooth outer chaining .

Bridgestone also bucked a trend by fit-ting the MB-1 with cantilevers instead ofthe more popular roller cams or U-brakes .We appreciate the greater mud clearancecantilevers provide, although we wishBridgestone had spec'ed a different model.The Dia-Compe 982 cantilevers are easy toadjust, look great, and stop okay in dryconditions . But replacing the wimpy cablesand housings with serious off-road materialwould improve performance considerably,and cable adjusters should be added to thebrake levers .When these brakes get wet, beware . I be-

gan to administer my own last rites whilewaiting for the brake pads to take hold onone particularly nasty descent. Brakes arenot a trivial part of a bicycle . Fortunately,lousy pads are easily and inexpensivelyreplaced . Petersen assures us that duringthis model year the MB-1 will switch toDia-Compe's 1-piece shoe/pads, which area great improvement. Meanwhile, westrongly suggest replacing the stock pads

)sitivefat is ensured by our Velcro" ankle strapandTsetlacing.

uroutsole'sdesirp, r/iqsto dirt andgripsepedals like'ue, while thee bumperTers superioripandstraprotection .

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when it comes to dirt,these doggies are abso-lutely ruthless .

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The Specialized Fibre(' : tge''2-1(10 .A bottle cage so advanced, it leaveseverything else in the cold . Builtfrom carbonfiber, the revolutionaryFibreCage 2400 is the lightestand most resilient you can find .It's also absolutely corrosion-resistant . And it locks onto yourbottle every time .

"Any equipment I usehas to meet thetoughest qualifications :my own . Wheelsmithpasses the test . Inflying colors :"Joanne Ernst1985 Ironman Winner

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It doesn't surprise us thatjoanne Ernst is speakingup aboutWheelsmith'" We offer precisely what shestrives to achieve every time she competes . Strength .Quickness. Durability. And an unwavering attentionto detail . The kind of qualities that have put her atthe head of her field. And us at the head of ours.So if you want to knowwhyourwheels and spokesdeliver such sterling performance, askJoanne Ernst . Outstanding athlete .Outspoken Wheelsmithsupporter,

with Aztec, Kool-Stop, Mathauser, or thenew models by Dia-Compe and Shimano.All have superior pad compounds thatwork well when wet.

Finally, if the MB-1 sounds like yourkind of ATB, act fast . Petersen saysBridgestone plans to offer only 300 thisyear.

HIGH SPEED STABILITYLOW SPEED MANEUVERABILITYCLIMBINGCOMFORTFRONT SHIFTINGREAR SHIFTINGCONTROL LEVERS

BRIDGESTONE MB-1

Distributed by :

Country of origin : JapanBridgestone Cycle (USA), Inc . Suggested retail price :15003 Wicks Blvd .

$880-$925San Leandro, (A 94577Sizes available : 45, 50 (tested), 53, 57 cm, center-to-topWeight : Frame, 4 .95 lbs. ; fork, 1 .85 lbs .; complete bike,27 .40 lbs.Frame : Tange Prestige heat-treated chrome-moly main tubes andstays ; Tonge chrome-moly fork blades ; lugged construction; verticalrear dropouts; 2 pairs of downtube bottle mounts; slotted cablestopsWheelbaseSeat tubeTop tubeHead angleSeat angle(hoinstaysBottom bracket heightfork rakeTrail -WheelsHubs -

SpokesRims -Tires -

DrivetroinDemilleurs

Freewheel -ComponentsPedals

105 .4 cm; 41 112 in .- 50 cm; 19 5/8 in .- 56 cm; 22 in .

71 degrees73 degrees

42 .9 cm; 16 7/8 in .29 .2 cm; 11 1/2 in .- 5 .49 cm; 2 1/8 in .- 5 .57 cm; 2 .19 in .

SunTour Cyclone, sealed bearings, low-flange,quick-release, 126-mm rear axle

36, 14-gauge stainless, 4-crass front and rear- Araya RM-20, 26x1 .5 in ., hard-anodizedRitchey Force wire-bead : Racing, 675-g front ;

Duro, 725-g rear

SunTour X(-9000 rear, XC-9000 front(reverse-action XC on test bike),

with ratchet-action bar-end shiftersChain

DID LannerCmnkset

SR FXC-T310, 28/38/50T round chaimings ;115-mm crankarms

SunTour Winner Ultra-6

SunTour X(-(ompe, black cage,with nylon clips and straps

- Tange 6-master alloy, roller-bearing, blackSR MTE-300, 330-mm, 1-boltSella Italic Turbo, black suede

Nitto/Bridgestone DirtDrop, heat-treated alloy,

HeadsetSeatpostSaddle -Bar/stem

43-cm width at curve; Nitto/Bridgestone high-rise DirtDropBrakes

Dia-Compe 982 cantilevers front and rear,with Royal Compe racing levers