Interbike... Grab Bag II

Well, continuing in the tradition of grabbing-whatever-photos-haven't-been-posted-yet, I'll start out with the mega-conglomerate that is SRAM:

Firstly, we have the all-new SID (pre-production, of course). I'm excited to give this one a try as I've long felt the previous SID behaves much like a soggy spaghetti noodle would if mounted to a bike.
By now, you've probably heard of the new cassette for SRAM's Red group, and here's a nice cut-away of it. Truly, it's an ingenious design--something both light-weight and long-lasting. Hopefully, that little engagement point won't dig into the free-hub as much as current offerings do.

Next we have a concept bike built by Cannondale in the SRAM booth. As you can see, that fork isn't a Lefty, but a Righty. There's nothing particularly clever about that, and I'm sure it didn't take a lot of effort to make the switch. However, take a look at the next photo.
Using an internally geared hub (built by SRAM--hence its location in the SRAM booth) this particular bike is a "Righty" in the rear, as well. It would certainly make changing tires easier, that's for sure.
At the other end of the spectrum, we find here a nice-looking traditional townie-type bike by Seven--including a very nice titanium rack up front for all your trips to the store. My favorite part, I'd have to say, is the titanium shallow mustache bars. Can I get a set of those?

An old classic reborn is the new all-carbon GT Zaskar. I remember really wanting one of the old aluminum Zaskars back in the day. I hope this one can live up to the name.

Interbike... Grab Bag

This post will give me some space to post images that I haven't posted in previous posts. This will also wrap up my coverage of IB, but Jon might have more to share later.

One of the more surprising bikes I rode was the Iron Horse MKIII.

I've always thought of them as a budget brand, but budget or not, the bike rode very well.

I also spent some time on Giant's Anthem -- Giant named their demo bikes so that they could keep track of them. Most other companies numbered their bikes. That's the reason for the "Allison" on the bike's top-tube.

I actually rode the Anthem twice... I liked it that well. The shorter travel worked very well on the smooth-ish trails at Bootleg Canyon. In fact, I preferred the Anthem to it's longer legged sibling, the Trance.

Cane Creek had this Data Acquisition system set up on a Morewood -- the red arrow is pointing to a potentiometer.

The POT feeds data to this PDA using a serial interface.

This enables the engineers to look at shaft speed, position, damping profiles, etc. helping them fine tune the shocks for the best performance -- and back it all up with hard numbers.

We got to ride Cannondale's Super6 road bike. I normally ride a Cannondale aluminum frame and I found that the fit was different on this bike. The top tube was noticeably longer. Longer TT notwithstanding, this was one fast, responsive bike. I cannot comment on it smoothing out the road because the course they had us on is some of the smoothest road around. It's not very enlightening.

Fox was showing off it's F29 fork. As the name implies this is an air fork with longer legs for the bigger 29inch wheeled bikes.

Giro was sporting this new look for it's popular Xen helmet. The cover is fabric and the beak/bill/visor is covered with a rubbery material. Very trick.


Look was showing off it's new Quartz pedal line up. Not only is the design very, very open -- good for getting rid of mud -- but even the cheapest ($99) is pretty darn light, at 230g per pair.


And that's -- as they say -- a wrap. Check back in later this week for more light-related news, and, hopefully, a preview of some upcoming reviews.

Interbike Day 3 - Continued

Though the normal stress of running from appointment to appointment was gone, on Day 3, it was replaced by the stress of making sure we saw everything. It seems every year I get back from Interbike only to see something on some website that I missed. I really didn't want that to happen.

One of the cooler single-speed innovations I've seen was at the Spot booth--their new belt-drive.

In order to have a continuous belt, however, Spot has put a removeable slot in the rear drop-out. (A note to builders: they're selling this drop-out so you can put it on your own frame.)

Another neat idea came from this novel approach to stowing a spare derailleur hanger for emergencies. They carry replacements for most frames.

They also have a generic hanger that bolts on with the QR skewer--it wouldn't shift well, but it'd get you home.

Here is the generic hanger mounted on a frame.

We stopped by the Rotor booth to see their recent foray into light-weight components. Here's their stem.

The face plate of the stem.

In addition to some beautiful machining, they use an interesting approach to bolts. By using a dual-threaded bolt, they can eliminate the head. Not only does this lead to a very clean appearance, but it also saves a tiny bit of weight. If you're the kind of person who doesn't use cable end-caps to save weight, you'll relate to this approach.

We just had to swing by the Jelly Belly Sport Beans booth and shake things up a bit. Eventually they caught up with me when I got lost and couldn't find my way out of the convention center. I had to return the motorcycle.

Interbike Day 3

This was the last day of the show, and the least hectic. We kept our schedule light on Day 3 so that we could wander a bit -- instead of running from one appointment to another -- and see what we would have otherwise missed.

But first, we stopped by USE/VDO to check out their new stuff... like the Exposure Maxx lights. Here are the Joystick Maxx and the Enduro Maxx:

If you look closely, you can see they they etch the output right on the front of the Enduro Maxx... 720 lumens. The little red knob on under the Enduro is the release that allows the light to slide off the mount. A tremendous improvement over the previous mount.


As I've mentioned elsewhere, the batteries are not user swappable. Now, you charge them in place -- as before -- and if you need more run time, there is an external battery pack that can be plugged in. I'm looking forward to trying them out on the trail and road.

Calfee had this trick carbon fiber spring on display:

Supposedly, he's used it, too.

Purely Custom -- known for custom bits like top caps, valve stem caps and bar end caps (not to mention some of the coolest yo-yo's) -- have this little do-dad to help get more stuff on you bike.

We actually left with one of these, so I'll be reporting back on how stable it is. It looks like it a novel solution to the accessory mounting dilemma.

We stopped by Ritchey to see what they had on display and were shown this rigid mountain bike fork -- sorry big-wheel guys, this one is for the 26" variety.

It is full carbon... and I mean full. The only metal on this thing is at the canti mounts. And those are removable. Check out the dropouts and disc tabs:

Interbike Day 2 - Continued

Day Two Continued ... It seemed like it lasted longer than one day...

As you might have read elsewhere (as if you ever look to other websites for information...), Crank Brothers had a lot to say. Surprisingly enough, though, they didn't have much to say in regards to pedals. For the most part, they only had some color changes.

The most interesting to me was their wheelset.

They have aluminum "nipples" that extend half-way across the radius of the wheel to meet up with a steel spoke which then connects to the rim in a very unique way.

Their stainless-steel and aluminum bonded cranks, Cobalt, are now offered in a outboard bearing design.

They also introduced this strange quick-release wheel skewers which offered two levers that can be closed--or opened--separately requiring less force or together for a traditional skewer feel.

Crank Brothers will also begin to use Maverick American's height-adjustable seatpost, the Iodine.

Their headset, the Directset--not pictured, sorry--is an interesting idea for saving weight. Traditionally, A headset has the outer shell, the outer race, the bearings, the inner race, and the inner shell. Basically, Crank Brothers has made the outer shell of the headset the outer race. Though this saves a bit of weight--and they are quite light--if you neglect your headset, you won't be able to just replace the bearings, you'll have to replace the whole thing.

Besides the Fulcrum wheels, Campagnolo had little else of note for this year. Next year, however, they'll be celebrating 75 years, so look for a number of changes and interesting developments. Here pictured is the cool reflective logo down the leg of their bib shorts.

Besides the carbon cranks, Shimano has a new carbon-reinforced aluminum Dura Ace wheel.

As you can see from this cross-section, the carbon is to stiffen the wheel, but there is aluminum throughout. Retail should be around $1200.

My feet ache, I'd better sign off for now.

Interbike Day 2

Day two...

We hit the many of light companies on the second day of the show, but you've seen what they have, for the most part. NiteRider did have a new computer on display. It appears that they are expanding into other bicycle electronic areas.

There were two of them, one more pedestrian and one more feature rich -- heart rate, etc. -- and both will be back lit, as you'd expect.

Ellsworth was at Interbike with a new set of wheels. These have a carbon fiber clincher rim.

Rim close up:

The wheels aren't tubeless, nor are they particularly light. Tony wanted them to be stiff and roll well, so, to that end, the rim is designed for stiffness, and the bearings are full contact sealed cartridges. They are trick looking and will cost an arm and a leg -- around $1900.

Speaking of trick and expensive, Shimano had their much anticipated carbon fiber Dura Ace crankset on display.

The arms are hollow, so it is slightly lighter than the aluminum version, and it's stiffer than the aluminum one as well. Staying with the expensive theme, this bad boy will set you back a cool $1200. Fortunately, the aluminum one will still be available for those of us who's wallets aren't quite that fat, but if you want to be on the bleeding edge of technology, this is it.

Shimano has had their Custom Fit shoes for a little while now, but they've been expensive -- $399. Now, on the road side at least, the technology is trickling down to more affordable shoes, for both men and women.

The soles are still full carbon -- there seems to be pattern here.


The new shoes should retail for around $300, so while they aren't cheap, they aren't outrageous, either -- and remember, you get a heat and vacuum moldable upper and insoles, for a shoe that is fit to your foot. If that is too much -- and for most people it will be, still -- Shimano is now going to sell just the insoles. These can be used in any shoe, to give you a semi-custom fit. The insoles will retail for a very reasonable $35. We've got some, and will be reporting back on how well they work.

It wasn't all carbon fiber, though. We did see this trick Waterford at the Reynolds booth. Reynolds was showing off it's 953 stainless tubing.

The lugwork was incredible.


Well, that's it for today, but we're not done with Interbike, not by a long shot.

Interbike, Day 1 - Continued

Well, we are back from Vegas and have a ton of images to weed through, so our Interbike coverage will continue this week. Let's dive right in!

Last time we showed you the ridiculously light Topolino wheel. After that we swung by the Fulcrum booth. We rode their top-of-the-line mountain bike offering at the Dirt Demo, and wanted to see what the road wheels were like.

The upper end wheels use aluminum spokes similar to those used by Mavic. However, rather than use a constant cross section, Fulcrum's spokes start out narrow and oval but as you get toward the rim, the spokes grow wider with a more pronounced blade cross section.

Blackburn has updated their X3 and X6 lights -- now they are a little brighter (based on their specs) and they have redesigned their battery (thank goodness) to be much more compact. This should bring the weight of the system down as well as making it easier to mount on your bicycle. The names have been changed to reflect the update -- the X3 is now the X4 and the X6 becomes the X8.

The big news out of SRAM was their new RED group -- the new top-of-the-line road group that slots in above Force and Rival. But, they also had some very trick flatbar 10-speed shifters on display. These use the same Double Tap technology as the road shifters, eliminating the need for two shift paddles.

You shift by pushing the thumb lever to shift up and pushing the same lever further to shift down. It is very slick. Hopefully, they carry it over to the mountain side of things. As is it is only 10-speed only -- and not compatible with the SRAM mountain derailleurs -- so unless you are manly enough to push road gearing -- 25 tooth low gear and no triple crankset -- forget about using this on the dirt.

Finally, for today, American Classic has a pretty darn cool seatpost. The clamp is infinitely adjustable and uses a single bolt to clamp it all together.

This aluminum seatpost felt lighter than most carbon posts.

Interbike, Day 1

Today we hit the show floor, and found ourselves in a sea of new/improved/modified/re-invented product.

Right away we stumbled upon CST -- the parent company of Maxxis -- and their new tire offerings. Maxxis is their higher end offerings, and the self branded CST tires are the lower end, affordable tires.


These should be well made tires for the budget minded, or for training -- any time you wouldn't want to wear out more expensive rubber.

We also paid a visit to Ergon to check out their new pack. This pack is unique in that it uses an articulated mounting bracket for the shoulder straps and a plastic frame to transfer the weight of the pack to the wearers hips.


The green ball in the image is the articulating pivot that enables the user to have full range of motion. Very cool.

Next up, we swung by Topolino. When we reviewed their original clincher wheel, we found the wheelset very lightweight -- and it spun up faster than any wheel we have ridden. They've been improving their design and had a prototype front wheel on display that weighed an astounding 363 grams.


FSA had some new components on display, including this trick dual-ring mountain bike crankset. It has a 44 tooth big ring and a 29 tooth small ring, using a 94mm bolt circle diameter.


On the tubeless front, more and more manufacturers are building pseudo-tubeless tires. These have the UST bead, with a casing that is not quite air tight. This type of tire requires a sealant like Stan's or other latex based goop to seal up the tire.


That's a wrap for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll be on a night ride with Cannondale--testing out the new Scalpel--so we might not get anything new posted. But, check back anyway, because you never know.

Dirt Demo, Day 2

Day two is done, and we've ridden some pretty cool bikes. There are a few standouts, and we'll be hitting them today and later on... there is too much for one post.

As I said last time, today we were going to focus more on the road side of things. The day started with Tour de Lake Mead -- formerly known as the "hangover ride" because it takes place Tuesday morning before the Dirt Demo starts. Moots hooked us up with a couple of their Compact bikes -- kitted out in Shimano Ultegra with Reynolds wheels. These are standard looking bikes, but built with some of the most beautiful welds in the industry. I'll let the images speak for themselves:


The bikes rode well, as you'd expect from a nice Ti frame. Thanks, Moots!

The day wasn't entirely on the road. Jon took out Orbea's Alma -- both the 26" and 29" versions -- and came away impressed.

Though we weren't planning on much mountain biking today, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to ride an Orbea Alma 29er. This bike was light and tight. It was definitely set up as an XC race bike.

Of course, it has that unique carbon seat/chainstay with the drop-outs and brake mounts riveted on.

It also has a beautifully sculpted downtube--which would have been great in less dusty and more muddy conditions.

Of the 29ers I rode, this one stood out. It was more agile than most 29ers, but wasn't quite as tight and twitchy as a normal XC race hardtail.

Now, back to the road...

Sampson has been making some components for a while now -- like cranks -- but now, they'll be selling an entire road group. And a really light weight saddle.


There's just the minimum padding... where you need it and not where you don't. The rear derailleur uses sealed bearing pulleys and is lighter weight than Shimano's Dura Ace model.

The shifters utilize two smaller levers behind brake lever that do the shifting.

The lower lever moves the derailleur to a larger cog, and the smaller, upper lever moves the derailleur the other way. All of this should hit by the end of the year. Competition is good, so I like seeing new entries in the component arena.

Dirt Demo, Day 1

I'm burnt, and tired... it was a good day.

Today we focused on the off road side of things, and started the day with a couple of 29er's from Specialized -- the Stumpjumper FSR 29er and the Stumpjumper 29er.

Stumpjumper on the left and the Stumpjumper FSR on the right:


I haven't spent much time on 29er wheels, so I thought I should give them a go. The ride was good, but the bigger wheels seemed odd. The FSR was rolling with the Brain shock -- Specialized's inertial damper-equipped rear shock. I really liked the performance of that rear shock, it worked well.

Next up, the Pugsly:


This is Surly's BIG tired bike. These tires are 4" wide. They roll over anything. Even though the tires don't look that aggressive, because they are so big, they don't slide around corners, and there was traction to spare... regardless of the surface, be it sandy, loose rock, gravel, you name it. All that traction does come with a significant weight penalty. But, then again, this is a -- capital F -- fun -- bike.

Finally, for tonight, new brakes from Formula, The One.

This is their newest downhill brake. But, and I find this amazing, it's not much heavier than their K24 brake, but its much more powerful. Frankly, I'd like to run them, and I don't even downhill. Brakes are one area where I think that adequate is not sufficient.

Tomorrow, some more mountain bikes, with some road bikes thrown in.