GT
The most eyecatching bike on the GT stand was the all-new Fury downhill bike. It'll be campaigned on the World Cup circuit by freshly-signed Marc Beaumont, and will be one of the few carbon fibre bikes in the paddock. With any luck it'll be as fast as it looks...
Likely to be of more interest to most riders, though, is the new Force Pro. GT debuted its Force and Sanction bikes for 2008. Both had 6in of travel, but with the Sanction pitched at heavier-duty applications. The 2008 Force arrived with a 140mm Fox QR fork, which didn't seem like quite the tool for the job - 2009 bikes have 150mm QR15 forks which should balance things up nicely. The Force Pro is a fantastic-looking carbon fibre version, although cheaper bikes will still have aluminium frames.
The Sanction also returns for 2009 with a mildly reworked aluminium frame. Also largely unchanged is the the carbon fibre Marathon 4in bike. And we don't know if the shiny CX bike on the GT stand will make it to the UK, but we like it anyway.
Chumba
Chumba Racing is best-known for full suspension bikes, but it's now branching out into XCish hardtails. The HX2 frame mirrors the hydroforming of Chumba's new VF2 FS bike, with a nod to the previous generation of Chumba bikes in the shape of the forged yokes and square-section stays out back. The HX2 will be available in 26in or 29in versions.
Ibis
Ibis had wheeled in a super-shiny Airstream caravan to act as the centrepiece of its stand. The most prominent bit of newness was the return of the Hakkalugi CX bike, now in - of course - carbon fibre. It's an appropriately green colour, and being designed to run cantilever brakes it also marks the return of the Hand Job cable stop.
Also coming back is the legendary Ti Mojo hardtail, with updated geometry but a classic look. You'll have to get your name down quick, though, as there'll only be 150 of them. We couldn't resist running a pic of the orange Tranny - several colour options are available for Ibis's carbon hardtail, but this one is far and away our favourite.
No changes to the Mojo and Mojo SL full suspension bikes, although new, stiffer, Lopes Links are now available should you wish to beef yours up. The new links only add 18g, so there's not much of a compromise to be made.
