28 Mar 2016
Words by Joey Spinoza
Spring has sprung and we've got some fresh wares to show you. This week in Productivity we've got Merritt and it looks like they've had purple on the brain because you can now deck out your bike with Prince's favorite Pantone section. And it's not just that, make sure you get a look at the new Begin Pentaguard, SL1 Slim seat, updated Inaugural stem and more.
A fresh new one from Merritt and resident hippy goth sprocket abuser Brandon Begin. CNC machined from 7075 aluminum and rotatable to five different positions means you've got a tough, long-lasting guard sprocket to keep your chain nice and safe from the concrete offensive. Available in black, silver and purple and 25 tooth only. No need for the Weight Watchers to freak out too at just over 5oz.
What's more important than the thing you're holding onto? Well, probably the thing that's holding onto that thing! Here we have an updated and higher rise version of Merritt's Inaugural top load stem. Made from CNC'd 6061 aluminum with a 50mm reach and a 30mm rise. Get it in black and polished.
Weight: 11.1oz
Reach: 50mm
Rise: 30mm
If the Blue Falcon runs it then it's good enough for you! Designed for modern hard packed trails, featuring a smooth and fast center section with a pattern of slightly raised micro-knobs on the sides to increase grip when turning. The last thing you want is that squirm when you're leaning through a berm! Since these were designed with hard packed trails in mind they also work great on other hard surfaces like asphalt and concrete. Originally made in 2.25" but they work so well on street we added a larger 2.35" size to the line up. Both sizes are available in black, blue and purple.
Weights: 2.25" - 23.2oz / 2.35" - 25.1oz.
Colors: Black, blue and purple
The last thing you want to be doing is be raking through your local bike shop's supply of old spacers to go with your shiny new headset. Merritt have you covered with their Hightop headset which comes with the spacer and cap in one. Available in black, silver, red and purple for the more colourful out there. You can also buy the headset caps separately in the same colour options.
Headset weight: 2.9oz
Headset cap weight: 0.9oz
Colors: Black, silver, red and purple
There's a lot less slim style seats out there these days but Merritt are keeping the (less-comfortable but nicer looking) dream alive with this version of their kevlar SL1 Pivotal seat. Includes a leather center patch for access to the Pivotal bolt and comes in black only, tipping in at 9.6oz. Let's never go back to the Hemorrhoid days and awkward seat rail days!
Space Ghost Purp and Merritt Goes Purp too. The new purple colorway has been added to the tire they've been focusing on to be their go-to street rubber. The Option tire features a fast, smooth center section that is also thicker for increased cushioning and made up of connected tread blocks to maintain a responsive and stable tire. They also developed a compound for their Slidewall Technology to reduce drag on the side of ledges and rails when grinding. Now that's smart! Available in 2.35".
Weight: 27.4oz
Sizes: 2.35"
Charlie Crumlish and Pete Sawyer both have their names on Merritt grips and now they've updated the color options to fit into line with the rest of their parts. Pete's are a mushroom style grip made with a soft kraton rubber compound with easy to remove flanges, measuring in at 150mm long. Charlie's grip comes in the same kraton material but has a flangeless design that’s long and thin. 160mm long to be precise. Both come with the Insert barends.
No more scooping out old barends with your pokie little lemur finger. A super durable press fit barend with a molded in steel washer that keeps your handlebars from cutting through your barend, that's what you need! Available in black, red, blue, gum, and now purple.
Weight: 0.8oz per pair
Looking back ten years ago and i'd never ride plastic pedals but how times change. Pedals amongst other metal to plastic transplant parts are now common place and often make a lot more sense that their harder and heavier counterparts. Trails rider may say otherwise though. Anyway... Merritt's P1 pedal is comfortable and grippy with a low profile design that uses a special nylon/fiberglass blend that increases strength and extends pedal life. Also now available in purple to match everything else from Merritt.
Weight: 12.9oz
Colors: Black, red, blue, gum, purple
