| Interbike 2007 - Day 1 at the Convention Center |
Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan
Bell Bike Helmets
Things at Interbike 2007 moved indoors to the Sands Convention Center for day three of the show, and there was plenty to see, starting with new helmets from Bell. The Bellistic full-face helmet has been a staple of the freeride scene for a while now, but it lacked the style factor and some of the features of higher-end helmets on the market. Bell has addressed those issues with the new Drop full-face helmet, a new lid that will be launched in '08.
The new Drop helmet, in the black / white crest colour scheme.
The Drop comes with seven vents and a buckle closure instead of a D-ring. Padding on the inside of the helmet is very comfortable, and is nicely contoured. It's available in a variety of colours, including matte green / black crest, matte black, blue / blue, red / black and white / green. MSRP is US$130, and it's due to be released to the public in March '08. |
 A cobra fighting a mongoose - it doesn't get more rock star than that. |
The blue / blue Drop helmet is a big step up from the Bellistic.
All-mountain is getting a lot of play at Interbike this year, and the Variant helmet is Bell's contribution to that new marketing niche. This is the second year for the Variant, and colour choices are definitely fancy.
Mavic Wheelsets
Mavic's Crossmax SX wheelset is a modified version of the XL wheelset. It's designed to be a freeride wheelset for lighter riders or an all-mountain wheelset for bigger riders, and you can run tires up to 2.5" wide on them. The SXs are tubeless out of the box, and it comes ready for a 20mm front axle but can be reduced down to 9mm. MSRP is US$775. |
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The next step up is the Deetrak wheelset, which is a freeride-specific set of hoops. Unlike the Crossmax and the high-end Deemax, it's not tubeless compatible as it uses standard spoke lacing. Price is only $400 for the wheels, though. |
The mac daddy of Mavic wheels is the yellow Deemax wheelset. These are the top-of-the-line wheels are tubeless out of the box, and are available in either standard QR 135mm or 12mm thru axle x 150mm rear. Interestingly, they use the same freehub body and cartridge bearing system as the two other wheelsets, all of which are designed to be user serviceable and easily replaceable. MSRP is $700 for the 135mm size, and $800 for the 150. |
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Azonic
Azonic was showing a bunch of cool things in its booth, including full-face helmets and components. A couple of things stood out...
The Fury helmet is available in white or black, and retails for $90.
The Havoc is a DOT helmet that comes in at only $150, and is available in black, tan, silver and this floral women's version.
Azonic also does components, and they were showing off their bars. There were plain black or white bars, but also a checkered version looks carbon but isn't and one with skulls on it.
If you get the bar with skulls on it, you have to get the skull crankset as well.
Cateye
Cateye introduced its Triple Shot and Double Shot LED lights a couple of years ago, and this year they've made changes with a new lithium ion battery pack for both lights.
The new Triple Shot and Double Shot Pro are black, instead of the silver colour of the originals
Run time for the Double Shot Pro is claimed to be up to two hours on the high setting and up to four hours on the low. That's down from five-and-a-half hours for the Double Shot with the Ni-MH battery, but you get the choice of two power settings and weight drops from 645g to 400g.
Run time for the Triple Shot Pro is up to three hours on the high setting and up to six hours on the low, versus up to three-and-a-third hours for the Triple Shot. Weight drops from 710g to 497g. There's a significant pricing difference between the Pro and regular models, with the Double Shot selling for US$270 and the Triple Shot for $320, while the Double Shot Pro is $400 and the Triple Shot Pro is $450. |
 The Triple and Double Pro Li-ion batteries in the foreground, with the Ni-MH Double in the back |
Giro
Giro helmets have been a fixture on the Shore and Whistler for some time now. The Remedy full-face lid was introduced in 2004 to replace the Mad Max, and it's still the centre-piece of the line. This year, Giro made significant changes to the styling of the helmets, and introduced some great new graphics.
The new Giro Remedy CF, with its stunning new graphics package
| Functionally, the Remedy stays the same, with 14 vents, adjustable visor, and washable lining. It comes in two colour choices - matte coal / carbon and the Titanium Raven model pictured here. MSRP is $270. |  |
The fiberglass model of the Remedy also gets a colour / graphics upgrade as well. It's available in matte black, blue / white, red / black, gold / black, Matte Smog Cityscape (pictured below), and Matte Titanium Cityscape.
The Xen has been a hugely popular all-mountain lid for Giro, and it also gets a fashion upgrade this year. Colour choices include matte sepia, matte titanium digi camo (pictured below), matte white digi camo, matte olive fade, and matte black. MSRP on the lid is $130.
True fashionistas in the crowd should pick themselves up the Matte Fabric 'G' model of the Xen, pictured below.
Giro was also showing off its new sunglasses in the booth. There's a full range of performance / road type glasses as well as the fashion-oriented glasses pictured below. The Instigator and Convert models are available in a range of colours, with pricing at $89, $119, and $139 for the polarized version.
Lizard Skins
Lizard Skins continues to do what they do best - make protective gear for bike and body. This year, they're offering new colours of chainstay protectors, in case you need to coordinate with your hubs. Or socks...
T.H.E. Industries
T.H.E. was showing a few full-face lids at the show, including these three models. The fiberglass F18 model below has an MSRP of $200.
The Camo graphic below is also $200...
while the carbon fiber Legion helmet is $300.
Want to see what the other guys saw at the Convention Center? Stay tuned, because there's lots more to check out. We'll be posting as we go along...
