Advertisement

2010 Redline Conquest Team. photo: courtesy

2010 Redline Conquest Team sheds some serious weight. photo: courtesy

Tim Rutledge and the cyclocross diehards at Redline unveiled some of their 2010 ‘cross bikes at Sea Otter, and we documented the company’s new 20″ wheel kid’s Conquest but didn’t get to see the full 2010 line. They’re now out, and the Conquest line expands to seven bikes, from the 20″ and 24″ wheel youth-oriented models, to the Conquest Classic, a steel framed, Shimano Tiagra and Avid disc-brake equipped do-it-all bike, and ending with the top-of-the-line Conquest Team.

The 2010 Conquest Pro gets a new blue color scheme but stays with SRAM Rival, and the Conquest model returns with a striking yellow and black scheme and a Tiagra/105 drivetrain with a ‘cross-specific crank. But the Conquest Team may have received the biggest upgrades of all Conquest models. While the frame changes from Scandium to 7046 aluminum, the bike went on a crash diet, shedding a whopping 1.25 pounds from the 2009 model with the new SRAM Force gruppo (instead of last year’s Shimano Ultegra) and an A-Class EXA tubeless-ready wheelset.  A stock 52 cm bike, without pedals is listed at 17.25 pounds…which may make it the lightest production bike around $3k.

But the bike’s not just a light bike. It has some nice, hidden features that makes it race-worthy and ready for serious mud. The bike exchanges the TRP CR950 cantilevers for an exclusive to Redline custom black alloy TRP EuroX brake with red hardware and adjustable pads. With that change, the bike gains some serious mud clearance in the process.

The 36/46, 11-28 gearing  is a super-versatile and ready for a heavy, muddy race, adding lower and taller gears over the 2009 model by swapping the Ultegra 12-27 cassette for SRAM’s new PowerGlide (not OpenGlide) 11-28 cassette.

Another small, but nice feature is the ability to run full cable housing along the length of the bike for a completely sealed (but heavier) cable system for mucky conditions.  It’s a poor man’s Gore RideOn cable system, and may save the home mechanic time or dollars after a muddy race.

And while we have yet to try the A-Class EXA wheels, the tubeless option is attractive for those leery of making the jump to tubulars.

Stay tuned as we line up to get our hands on an early Team model to test.

For more info: Redlinebicycles.com