#1361

INTERBIKE ( Thursday )

Thursday is the busy-man's end to Interbike. Friday tends to be low key in comparison and a lot of exhibitors like to get a jump on the packing up process a day early. Here are some highlights from the day:

Sadly, this bad boy was not available to demo.

Scott's new Vanish R helmet is lighter then the current one and features a floating inner cage system that keeps your head a bit more protected from the damaging "bouncing" or one-hops that occur during an impact.

Here is a picture of the cage.
The yellow is the cage and it moves independently of the helmet shell about 1-2 cm all around while not affecting the way the helmet sits or feels on your head.

Scott is finally bringing the Syncros brand from out the ashes and they displayed a full assortment of support parts. While a lot of the cockpit parts (stems and H-bars ) are very much Ritchey's in disguise, a couple of parts seemed like winners. For example this carbon rail saddle, is under $200 retail and comes in a few different shapes to match the discipline.

Little known fact.... The Giro d'Italia made 2 trophies for the 100 yr anniversary race in 2009. Menchov got to keep one and the other makes the rounds. It was here at Interbike and fans got to hoist it, champion style, for photos.

Muscle tape everywhere!!!
Last year there was one company selling it. In 2012 there were at least 5.|
It is cheap to produce and easy to sell at a premium so it makes sense there will be companies trying to take advantage of the trend.

This glossy hoop was by far the craziest wheel seen all show long.

This was a close 2nd. Although this Madfiber wheel no doubt is a better riding one. The engineers at the carbon mill that Madfiber uses sent them this colored kevlar right before the show. It's not carbon, it's kevlar. This wheel has not been ridden and the Madfiber boss couldn't even say for sure what it weighed ( We are guessing 800 grams for the set ). It is a prototype-like product that is said to be very possible for the real world.

A new company to Interbike was Opus. It is a Canadian brand that will be available in the States for the first time. They showed a comprehensive and complete line-up of bikes for the whole family. It will be interesting to see if they make space for themselves in an already crowded market.

Also new to the States will be the Diadora brand name on a bike. It's parent company merged with a bike distribution company in Washington state and so the brand gets a decent sized line-up of bikes.

One company that was getting plenty of press was Wahoo. Many were excited about the Bluetooth controlled RFLKT computer. In a nutshell, it displays the info that your Iphone is capturing while it is running a GPS app in your back pocket. You can even control music playback with it. Downside: It requires Bluetooth 4.0 ( which is new Iphones only ). Android is not currently available and a specific date for Android could not be given. It is also $100 for the basic unit, which seems like a high price tag.

 

Custom printed bar-tape is very hard to do. Durability is the biggest obstacle of course but Zevlin Cycling and Fitness are looking to change that. Look for a review soon.

interbike ain't Interbike without some nostalgia

Thule made news with its new roof rack systems. Designed to be ever more easy to mount onto factory racks this model will cost $159 when it goes on sale.

It's $259 priced big brother features a rear sliding tray that will make accommodating all different types and sizes of bikes much easier.

A beautiful gravelroad \ CX cruiser from VeloOrange

The shortest Chewbacca you will ever see.