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Reflections on Interbike 1
The show was a little more low key this year and i would suspect that the economy kept perhaps 10- 15 less vendors from coming. Interbike will tell you that the numbers were the same from last year but i think that is creative counting to save face. There was a whole side wall empty and uninhabited. It actually became the testing grounds for strange "run to bike" bikes, skateboard variations, recubants and other oddities. There were less of the Stars and Signings. Only once or twice did we come across lines for autographs that stretched "around the block" as it were. In years past seeing that was a thrice daily thing.
On the plus side, There was no shortage of things to look at and be impressed by. 13 lb road bikes dont draw the oohs and ahs like they used to, but there were still many tech. advances that showed the bike industry is vibrant as ever. Although i will say that there are too many companies making shoes and carbon wheels. Only the top 10% of each catagory actually shows innovation and uniqueness.
Also on the great side were the races that were associated with the show. They were more popular than ever. Cross Vegas did not disappoint. It was probably the strongest field EVER at a cross race in the states. And show management did a good job of bussing everyone without a car out to the race locale. They just have to find a way to make the race more dirty and muddy. The crit at Mandalay Bay again was fantastic and a true spectacle to behold.
Next up is Interbike-East toward the end of the month in Providence. This will still be an industry only event, which means that companies will probably ease up a little with the “on-edge-ness”. If it were a public event, expect less reps and insiders and more bike shop people with less nice stuff to handle and show-off. The event will be mid-week, which may or may not be a good thing. And it will be outside in the October chill… I expect less people will be ready to tear it up out on the bikes.
Here are 3 things that can ensure that the east coast event is as successful as the west coast daddy:
1 Swag
2 Beer
3 Stars
In the next post, I will discuss the bikes ridden and the highlights of the dirt demo days while out in Vegas.
Number 16. . . . . . . . Interbike inside
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Some shots from inside the convention hall:
Scott's New Plasma.
Awesome....
The simple and to the point graphic
in the Da Kine bike travel bag.
A new system for inflating wheels utilizing the force of the
spinning hubs. The applications are many. Probably a great thing
for free-riders.
A\X Lightness ' s Road brakes. 96 grams for the pair. Unreal weight for
$1600... Performance is suspect of course. But Rockstars dont stop.
The Cervelo space is always a busy one.
Here is the new generation P4. Production models will differ a tad, but this is pretty much the bike.
An awesome paint job on a Chrome messenger bag. This is completely Rockstar in every wonderful sense of the word.
Look for a honest review of their Citizen bag soon.
Cinqo has been around for a couple of years. Their new Quarq power measurement system seems to hit the bull's eye.
It replaces your spider and only adds 150 grams or so. Works wirelessly with Garmin's and Powertaps too. Cost is considerably less than Powertap. Just under a grand is the "street price"
Showers Pass is a new clothing company from Oregon. These outer shells were very well recieved by attendees. They feature all the technical functions of top shelf shells, but sport tweed and houndstooth patterns that make them look like they are from Banana Republic. These will further erase excuses to not ride to work on a daily basis.
Yet another ex-Pro with a bike line named after him. At least this model has an interesting head-badge.
Rockstars need to listen to music 24\7 or their will to create and inspire slowly withers away. Enter this music system for your bike. Wireless transmitting from your ipod to speakers that sound pretty good. Hands-free calling too if you are using an iphone or other phone\music player.
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Some shots from inside the convention hall:
Scott's New Plasma.
Awesome....
The simple and to the point graphic
in the Da Kine bike travel bag.
A new system for inflating wheels utilizing the force of the
spinning hubs. The applications are many. Probably a great thing
for free-riders.
A\X Lightness ' s Road brakes. 96 grams for the pair. Unreal weight for
$1600... Performance is suspect of course. But Rockstars dont stop.
The Cervelo space is always a busy one.
Here is the new generation P4. Production models will differ a tad, but this is pretty much the bike.
An awesome paint job on a Chrome messenger bag. This is completely Rockstar in every wonderful sense of the word.
Look for a honest review of their Citizen bag soon.
Cinqo has been around for a couple of years. Their new Quarq power measurement system seems to hit the bull's eye.
It replaces your spider and only adds 150 grams or so. Works wirelessly with Garmin's and Powertaps too. Cost is considerably less than Powertap. Just under a grand is the "street price"
Showers Pass is a new clothing company from Oregon. These outer shells were very well recieved by attendees. They feature all the technical functions of top shelf shells, but sport tweed and houndstooth patterns that make them look like they are from Banana Republic. These will further erase excuses to not ride to work on a daily basis.
Yet another ex-Pro with a bike line named after him. At least this model has an interesting head-badge.
Rockstars need to listen to music 24\7 or their will to create and inspire slowly withers away. Enter this music system for your bike. Wireless transmitting from your ipod to speakers that sound pretty good. Hands-free calling too if you are using an iphone or other phone\music player.
Number 15. . . . . . . . Vegas day 3
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Inside Interbike...
Fuji's new TT bike
Rear brake is hidden away. Safe from the wind.
A new saddle bag from Serfas that needs only one strap around the seatpost. ( great idea)
A witty putt putt game from SRP...
New carbon Cranks from Look. (very light)
The first time up the barriers during the crazy Pro\Elite Cross race. Fans 4 deep all around. Notice the guy riding ( he hopped em, and went on to grab many dollar bills from the fans everytime he hopped em )
Oh and hey Lance showed up to race. Probably only his 3rd or 4th CX race ever. He finished pretty decently, top 25...
Lance finishing up. The 10,000 plus fans were very happy to see him out there.
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Inside Interbike...
Fuji's new TT bike
Rear brake is hidden away. Safe from the wind.
A new saddle bag from Serfas that needs only one strap around the seatpost. ( great idea)
A witty putt putt game from SRP...
New carbon Cranks from Look. (very light)
The first time up the barriers during the crazy Pro\Elite Cross race. Fans 4 deep all around. Notice the guy riding ( he hopped em, and went on to grab many dollar bills from the fans everytime he hopped em )
Oh and hey Lance showed up to race. Probably only his 3rd or 4th CX race ever. He finished pretty decently, top 25...
Lance finishing up. The 10,000 plus fans were very happy to see him out there.
Number 14. . . . . . . . Vegas day 2
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Some shots from outdoor day 2...
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New lightweight brakes. $200+ less than Zero Gravity and supposedly as much stopping power as Dura-Ace.
Really thin Carbon tubes from Storck
And they layer the clamp zone on the fork with kevlar.... Smart
Thomas Friscknecht's full carbon Scott Carbon Cross bike
A pro DH chick.... ouch... She was shopping for new headphones from Skullcandy
Tested... The new Felt AR. Everyone wanted to ride it....
More on the ride later....
Also tested with the AR was a set of this German Lightweights...
Carbon clinchers than weigh around 1050 grams.... More on these as well later on.
Big Cheese with a beer 'stache
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Some shots from outdoor day 2...
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New lightweight brakes. $200+ less than Zero Gravity and supposedly as much stopping power as Dura-Ace.
Really thin Carbon tubes from Storck
And they layer the clamp zone on the fork with kevlar.... Smart
Thomas Friscknecht's full carbon Scott Carbon Cross bike
A pro DH chick.... ouch... She was shopping for new headphones from Skullcandy
Tested... The new Felt AR. Everyone wanted to ride it....
More on the ride later....
Also tested with the AR was a set of this German Lightweights...
Carbon clinchers than weigh around 1050 grams.... More on these as well later on.
Big Cheese with a beer 'stache
number 13. . . . . . vegas day 1
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Oakley's new toy
Dillon on the new Scott Genius... Sweet bike.
Best of day award... Perhaps best of show... More on that later....
Scott's new rear shock and linkage
Outside the Camelback tent.....
the view from atop the DH shuttle. Vegas in the distance.
Looking down on the outdoor demo. (ziplines in foreground)
The new SRAM Hammerschmt semi auto shifting front crankset
Tested... The new Ridley Noah.
It had new 2009 Dura-ace on it.
Head Honcho getting some air off the drop-off ( riding a new Norco Fluid )
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Oakley's new toy
Dillon on the new Scott Genius... Sweet bike.
Best of day award... Perhaps best of show... More on that later....
Scott's new rear shock and linkage
Outside the Camelback tent.....
the view from atop the DH shuttle. Vegas in the distance.
Looking down on the outdoor demo. (ziplines in foreground)
The new SRAM Hammerschmt semi auto shifting front crankset
Tested... The new Ridley Noah.
It had new 2009 Dura-ace on it.
Head Honcho getting some air off the drop-off ( riding a new Norco Fluid )
Number 12
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Just two more days till interbike... Check back here for photos and updates from "America's Playground"
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Just two more days till interbike... Check back here for photos and updates from "America's Playground"
Number 9
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This is an awesome idea. An awesome segway into CX season. CT\NY area needs one. Racing on grass and dirt is very rock star.
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This is an awesome idea. An awesome segway into CX season. CT\NY area needs one. Racing on grass and dirt is very rock star.
Number 8
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I think it is pretty much understood that Scott pulled out of title sponsorship of the new team because team "Scott-American Beef" just didnt sound right.... Not exactly a good connection there... Too bad it wasnt "Giant-American Beef" or "LeMond - American Beef"
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I think it is pretty much understood that Scott pulled out of title sponsorship of the new team because team "Scott-American Beef" just didnt sound right.... Not exactly a good connection there... Too bad it wasnt "Giant-American Beef" or "LeMond - American Beef"
Number 7..........Wednesday, still the 17th
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I thought this may be of use.... I know more than once my jersey zipper has gotten scary stuck...
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I thought this may be of use.... I know more than once my jersey zipper has gotten scary stuck...
Product Review - Skins' Recovery and Travel Tight
by Hunter Pronovost
When a serious new type of product hit’s the sporting market ( especially in cycling ) you can guarantee a couple of things:
# 1 Its going to claim to make you go faster.
#2 It will have a heritage of Professional use and backing before hitting the selves for public use.
High-tech compression clothing falls right into these categories. At the forefront of compression garment technology are SKINS and 2XU. Both companies surprisingly have Australian roots, but those details I suspect could make for another story all together. This review is for SKINS Recovery + Travel Tights. While SKINS makes a full range of active clothing wear, what I imagine most appeals to cyclists are the claims that SKINS ( and 2XU for their part )make regarding faster, better recovery thru use of their products. It was the pro's use of the recovery products that first piqued my interest maybe a year and a half ago. When you race ( and train ) hard for weeks on end, 200+ days a year, maximizing the time you have to recover is an issue I would venture to say that every pro team has addressed. I have also seen reports of teams using electric leg compression systems to rest and sleep in. These systems costing thousands of dollars. So there has got to be something said for the technology of recovery wear.
Why should YOU care about recovery wear? After using the SKINS Recovery tights for a couple months, my 2 reasons would be: #1 They make you a better rider when you are off the bike ( I’ll explain that in a bit ) and #2 They make air travel more comfortable.
These are the tights I am talking about today.
And while I have been using them for a while after the longer base mileage days, I didn’t want to write about them till I had a chance to wear them on a plane. If even a tenth of the traveling population, athletes or not, bought these to be better off after any flight over 2 hours, SKINS would be on the way to attaining Fortune 500 status. No one is comfortable for such amounts of time in plane or car, and as far as making that time better, these work…. Plain and simple. But I digress…..
SKINS work using a technology called “BioAcceleration”. It’s complicated to explain yes, maybe even just as complicated to manufacture. SKINS has a killer website that has a F.A.Q. section that goes on as long the winter Olympics opening ceremonies. I recommend sucking some their servers bandwidth for a spell to find out all about the tech. But basically, the tights use varying direct compression on the skin to put just the right amount of pressure on the vascular system to maximize blood flow and therefore… aid recovery. Regular lycra, yuck, squeezes skin circularly like a tight fist. This harder to make lycra (cant we come up with a better word for this yet?! ) presses down on skin more like a bear hug, uniformly and direct.
The Recovery tights cost approx $119. Pricey yes, but as soon as you take them out of the box, you know you are dealing with a superior product. For a seemingly simple tight, they have a couple of intelligent features that you will appreciate. The bottom of the tights actually go around a heel loop. This and slightly greater compression is what makes these different from the regular SKINS long tights. The heel loop keeps them in place and because it feels different from anything else you wear, reminds you what they are doing…. Basically squeezing your legs in the right spots. All in all, these end up feeling quite different from a standard tight, especially when you figure in the snugness. The foot loop also keeps them from bunching up, which of course adds to their effectiveness. They also have an intelligently designed seam sewed right down the middle of the leg. This is a good feature. Without this it would be easy to have the tight twisted on your leg. How much less effective at recovery a twisted tight would be is probably debatable but these details at least make you think that the tights are working well.
Like I said at the outset, if these tights succeed only in making you more aware of the efficient recovery that should take place after a hard workout, then they still are probably worth it. I found myself reminded to drink a little more water than I usually might have. And the urge to stretch a couple of times was there when in the past it never comes to mind. I attribute this thought process to wearing the tights. But alas, they do indeed do more than simply feeling a little strange on the skin. There is a reason why the pro’s wear them.
My Legs were slightly warmer then if I had just a pair of standard tights on. This is probably due to the increased circulation the compression provides. It wasn’t anything that was unbearable in normal conditions, but a quick stroll thru the airport terminal made me a little warm. Unless you absolutely can not deal with warm legs and waist, it’s not a deal breaker.
Nothing will completely take away the bloated, dead feeling in your legs that the stale air, pressurized cabin, and long times in small seats of air travel hits you with. However, these helped. Notably, my feet felt better and less swollen. In my opinion, feeling better after a flight is reason enough for a frequent traveling athlete to buy a pair of these. Really, any frequent traveler will see real benefit from them.
As far as what they did for me bike-wise, I am not about to proclaim they made huge changes to my overall performance. There are so many things that make up quick, quality recovery. But I am certain they were doing something to ease dead legs the next day. The changes were no doubt minor, due somewhat to the fact that my endurance pace isn’t extremely hard. Interestingly, I can ABSOLUTELY say there was less soreness after a hard day snowboarding. I wore these after getting home every night from the steep slopes of Utah and whereas in the past I’d be hurting the first runs of the next day as my muscles warmed up and I worked thru the soreness, this trip I was feeling the previous day’s effort much less.
It’s proof to me that smart skin compression aids in the muscles natural ability to start rebuilding as soon as the workout is over. Save up your pennies and get a pair. If you are like me and like to stack hard spring workouts back to back, these will DEFINITELY make you a stronger, smarter rider.
UPDATE: For some more on this subject and a look at a Louis Garneau's leg recovery tights, see here
When a serious new type of product hit’s the sporting market ( especially in cycling ) you can guarantee a couple of things:
# 1 Its going to claim to make you go faster.
#2 It will have a heritage of Professional use and backing before hitting the selves for public use.
High-tech compression clothing falls right into these categories. At the forefront of compression garment technology are SKINS and 2XU. Both companies surprisingly have Australian roots, but those details I suspect could make for another story all together. This review is for SKINS Recovery + Travel Tights. While SKINS makes a full range of active clothing wear, what I imagine most appeals to cyclists are the claims that SKINS ( and 2XU for their part )make regarding faster, better recovery thru use of their products. It was the pro's use of the recovery products that first piqued my interest maybe a year and a half ago. When you race ( and train ) hard for weeks on end, 200+ days a year, maximizing the time you have to recover is an issue I would venture to say that every pro team has addressed. I have also seen reports of teams using electric leg compression systems to rest and sleep in. These systems costing thousands of dollars. So there has got to be something said for the technology of recovery wear.
Why should YOU care about recovery wear? After using the SKINS Recovery tights for a couple months, my 2 reasons would be: #1 They make you a better rider when you are off the bike ( I’ll explain that in a bit ) and #2 They make air travel more comfortable.
These are the tights I am talking about today.
And while I have been using them for a while after the longer base mileage days, I didn’t want to write about them till I had a chance to wear them on a plane. If even a tenth of the traveling population, athletes or not, bought these to be better off after any flight over 2 hours, SKINS would be on the way to attaining Fortune 500 status. No one is comfortable for such amounts of time in plane or car, and as far as making that time better, these work…. Plain and simple. But I digress…..
SKINS work using a technology called “BioAcceleration”. It’s complicated to explain yes, maybe even just as complicated to manufacture. SKINS has a killer website that has a F.A.Q. section that goes on as long the winter Olympics opening ceremonies. I recommend sucking some their servers bandwidth for a spell to find out all about the tech. But basically, the tights use varying direct compression on the skin to put just the right amount of pressure on the vascular system to maximize blood flow and therefore… aid recovery. Regular lycra, yuck, squeezes skin circularly like a tight fist. This harder to make lycra (cant we come up with a better word for this yet?! ) presses down on skin more like a bear hug, uniformly and direct.
The Recovery tights cost approx $119. Pricey yes, but as soon as you take them out of the box, you know you are dealing with a superior product. For a seemingly simple tight, they have a couple of intelligent features that you will appreciate. The bottom of the tights actually go around a heel loop. This and slightly greater compression is what makes these different from the regular SKINS long tights. The heel loop keeps them in place and because it feels different from anything else you wear, reminds you what they are doing…. Basically squeezing your legs in the right spots. All in all, these end up feeling quite different from a standard tight, especially when you figure in the snugness. The foot loop also keeps them from bunching up, which of course adds to their effectiveness. They also have an intelligently designed seam sewed right down the middle of the leg. This is a good feature. Without this it would be easy to have the tight twisted on your leg. How much less effective at recovery a twisted tight would be is probably debatable but these details at least make you think that the tights are working well.
Like I said at the outset, if these tights succeed only in making you more aware of the efficient recovery that should take place after a hard workout, then they still are probably worth it. I found myself reminded to drink a little more water than I usually might have. And the urge to stretch a couple of times was there when in the past it never comes to mind. I attribute this thought process to wearing the tights. But alas, they do indeed do more than simply feeling a little strange on the skin. There is a reason why the pro’s wear them.
My Legs were slightly warmer then if I had just a pair of standard tights on. This is probably due to the increased circulation the compression provides. It wasn’t anything that was unbearable in normal conditions, but a quick stroll thru the airport terminal made me a little warm. Unless you absolutely can not deal with warm legs and waist, it’s not a deal breaker.
Nothing will completely take away the bloated, dead feeling in your legs that the stale air, pressurized cabin, and long times in small seats of air travel hits you with. However, these helped. Notably, my feet felt better and less swollen. In my opinion, feeling better after a flight is reason enough for a frequent traveling athlete to buy a pair of these. Really, any frequent traveler will see real benefit from them.
As far as what they did for me bike-wise, I am not about to proclaim they made huge changes to my overall performance. There are so many things that make up quick, quality recovery. But I am certain they were doing something to ease dead legs the next day. The changes were no doubt minor, due somewhat to the fact that my endurance pace isn’t extremely hard. Interestingly, I can ABSOLUTELY say there was less soreness after a hard day snowboarding. I wore these after getting home every night from the steep slopes of Utah and whereas in the past I’d be hurting the first runs of the next day as my muscles warmed up and I worked thru the soreness, this trip I was feeling the previous day’s effort much less.
It’s proof to me that smart skin compression aids in the muscles natural ability to start rebuilding as soon as the workout is over. Save up your pennies and get a pair. If you are like me and like to stack hard spring workouts back to back, these will DEFINITELY make you a stronger, smarter rider.
UPDATE: For some more on this subject and a look at a Louis Garneau's leg recovery tights, see here
The fall shuffle... Teams and bikes and sponsors oh my
Rock Racing on Fuji's for 2009!?
An interesting article hereFuji seems to making all the right moves for an up and coming full-line bike builder. Last year's collaboration with the OBEY brand resulted in one of the most sought after bikes. The last TT bike design lived for just 2 years, thats it and now they have a radical new one.....
Bottom line, they are also doing their research and homework, in addition to making prudent business moves. Are they cooler than Specialized? Cannondale? Def better than Giant..... Gotta be, right......
Kick-off !
Welcome to C.A.N.R. - The official blog of the soon to be site, Cyclistsarenotrockstars.com
You will find that soon enough, this blog will be one of your go-to sources for news related to the fabulous lifestyle that is the amateur and wanna-be professional cyclist. Please beware that we will venture into many other topics besides bikes...
Cause even bikes can get pretty boring sometimes...
You will find that soon enough, this blog will be one of your go-to sources for news related to the fabulous lifestyle that is the amateur and wanna-be professional cyclist. Please beware that we will venture into many other topics besides bikes...
Cause even bikes can get pretty boring sometimes...
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