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Marc began test riding the 20millimeter front end at his regular training grounds in Perris, California, several weeks ago. On his first ride Marc said he noticed a marked improvement in the handling down the straights and through the corners.

"It's a huge improvement over regular axles. It's stiffer and straighter. On the gate, I noticed that it's easier to balance because there's less twisting. And there's a corner at the Perris track that I usually have to touch my brakes to get through. With the 20-millimeter forks, I can just power through it at full speed," he said.

Arielle Martin also raced the 20-millimeter fork and wheel for the first time in Papendal where she picked up a 5th in the Superfinal Time Trial and, despite suffering the lingering effects of a bad crash, easily made it through the semifinal and picked up the sixth overall in Elite Women.

Arielle Martin also rode the Sinz Elite 20-millimter front end for the fist time in Papendal, taking 5th in the Superfinal Time Trial and 6th in Womens Elite SX.

After just one day of comparison testing with a standard Sinz Elite CFC fork and the 20-millimter setup Arielle was convinced the fatter axle was the way to go. "I love it. It corners amazing. I'll never go back," she said.

"For me the biggest difference is turning and pumping at the bottom transition of a three-story start ramp. It holds the acceleration better and I find I don't lose energy to lateral flex like I would with a 10-milimeter axel. I instantly liked it better. I had no idea how much a regular wheel flexed until I started riding the 20-millimeter setup," she added.

Marc and Arielle have also tested prototype 20-millimeter rear wheels. Both said the ride is noticeably different and felt advantages pulling down the straights, cornering and even jumping. "I was getting backside on jump out of the first turn in Chula Vista. I've never gone that far on that jump," she said.

VSI, the parent company of Sinz Elite, Intense BMX, Speed Bicycles, ITS and THE, will begin selling 20-millimeter front-end kits (Sinz Elite iHub front wheels and Sinz Elite Carbon Pro CFC forks) for 20- and 24-inch bikes to the public in early-July. Rear wheels will be available soon afterward.

Sinz Elite Carbon Pro CFC forks come with 10- or 20-millimeter dropouts for 20- and 24-inch bikes.

VSI currently offers 20- and 24-inch Speed frames built to work with 10- or 20-millimeter rear hubs and 20- and 24-inch Sinz Elite 20-millimeter forks and will add new limited edition 20-millimeter compatible Intense Podium frames later this month. Production delays with the wheels, however, have held up introduction of the system.