Interbike 2009: Here We Go!

By Charles Manantan On Sep 29, 2009

So we’re back from Interbike 2009. The hangover is very nearly gone, the feet are not close to normal, the back is still sore, but nothing itches and no rash! Here are a few of the neat things…

Dogs Barkin?
One thing I would have loved at the start of the show comes from The Soze Group in the form (or many forms) of formed insoles.

You’ll notice lots of colors above and it’s easier to see below that these soles come in a number of pre formed bed types for running, cycling, treking etc… Some stiffer and or more padded than the next and built to suit.

They’re formed well to start (I could wear em right out of the box and like em) but a very nice (and VERY retailer affordable) feature is actually a simple to use heater that’s about the size of a PC…

The black forming pads are also included.

Flip up the flap and toss em in slots, turn it on and zap em…

Put them on the black pad and step on em, and your done…

They also have a full custom formable sole.

As well as a much larger machine to form fit them to a full form foot bed…

Bottom line is the semi form beds work well and frankly your foot beds are a more critical part of your shoe fit. That doesn’t mean the fit of your shoes uppers are not also important (and frankly a full custom shoe is my choice). Your entire shoe is important but this is a very economical choice for a better than average foot bed and the system is something that most higher end shops could both afford and have room to use.

Bite Me
Remember when your on-bike nutrition was actually fun to eat? Me neither, until now… The guys at Clif keep pushing the envelope in on-bike (and on-activity) nutrition with concentrated doses of electrolytes (carbs) and protein in shapes that’ll remind you of being a kid in a candy store, only there’s no post sugar-high crash after these tastey bits.

The Clif Shot Bloks are squishy but solid cubes that allow easy intake of the stuff you need to keep the power on while training or racing. The tube-style packaging makes for easy access without gumming up the inside of your pockets.

The brand new Clif Shot Roks protein bites are exactly that – measured doses of protein, perfectly sized for consumption in the heat of battle.

The crunchy shell keeps em from melting, and easy for transpo – just drop a few in your jersey pocket. Each ball contains 2 grams of protein, so tracking your intake is easy – provided you passed 3rd grade math.

Both come on a variety of flavors, and pretty much eliminate any excuse for bonking.

From Feet to Head…

Fairwheel Bikes again came with a display crammed full of more high end, slobber worthy parts per square inch than any other booth at the show…

More later from them, but this little baby is a very tight head set that tips the scale (or, er well, fails to tip the scale) at 40 Grams…

KCNC make it and they come in either stainless (60 gram) or ceramic bearings.

Ceramics are $350 and Stainless roll at $110, or $12 bucks savings per added gram…

Another Teeny Treat

KNOG bring a few new reptiles to the show, starting wither their latest version of the Frog. Still in loads of colors…

New shape all the way round with a bit more squared look, as well as an integrated rubber catch and an easier battery change set up.

The business end now has a MUCH improved lens…

The new lens spreads the beam for a lot more light at the source and better visibility all round…

One More Midget
Cateye’s new Strada multi-function Cyclometer…

The thing is very slight of stature… So is the mounted wireless sensor.

This one is the basic, so 8 functions (the ones you would expect)… But they have a few more gadgets with added features that are also small and also have universal mounts available that will let you stick one of these on your stem… Given stem sizes lately, this is likely a thinner face than the stem you would mount it too.

It also has a pretty neat push-click action meaning you push the whole unit to change function. That’s way easier than trying to find what would be a VERY small button…

Rounders in Vegas?

Easton Bicycle Products brought a few new things to the floor, including their new EC90slx fork that jumps from inch and an eighth to the fat bottom that seems to be spreading in cycling.

But their new rings are the product that stopped me walking.

The new EC90 SL Carbon Clinchers tip the scale at 1465 grams, spoked 18/24 with Sapim blades and have a new brake track (Thermatec) treatment that helps reduce heat at the side walls.

The brake track is molded in one shot with no after machining necessary, meaning the carbon fibers run without being cut and give this wheel a stronger bed than they otherwise would have had in addition to a uniform, pulse-free surface.

Easton have pretty solid hubs and that continues, with the addition of Ceramic, grade 3 bearings and a few other tweaks…

All together this is a pretty darn attractive set up from a company that’s been building nice wheels for a while now…

Speaking of Attractive
Another gift from Fairwheel Bikes was the display of the 2010 Cycle Passion Calendar.

People were climbing over the incredible parts bin that is Fairwheel to get at these. And this isn’t simple eye candy but rather a host of cycling’s best athletes… Case in point, Norway’s Lene Byberg who not only makes a valve stem bracelet look like something from Bvulgari but made the competition look a bit slow at the Canadian round of the World Cup…

More later…

Have Fun,

Charles Manantan

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