It's hard to get a feel for how big Interbike really is.  I can tell you that it's 660,000 square feet but that's pretty tough to visualize - unless you are the Sultan of Brunei checking the plans for his new shack.  If you are a farmer 15 acres might help you some.  Suffice to say that getting lost is a snap even though the major players tend to be in the same spot year after year.  The exhibitor space was sold out this time around and there were 1010 businesses plying their wares.  The overall attendance (including the Dirt Demo) was 21,077 folks. Given those numbers it's not surprising that 4000 thirsty folks showed up for free beer at 'Interbash' - the first annual industry gathering and beerfest which raised $30,000 for Bikes Belong. Unfortunately the thirst generated by a day on the show floor was underestimated and the kegs were empty in about 45 minutes.  It's always like that at Interbike

The final day of the show is always something of a blur - especially considering the NWD premiere is the night before. This year my flight was Friday afternoon so I was moving even faster than usual.  Most folks find three days too long but we never manage to get to see everything we want to see in that time.  I was hoping to check out Dark Cycles who are headquartered near the North Shore, as well as Danger Boy components from Victoria (I believe) to name just a few.  We didn't even get over to Shimano this year.  I think we'll do more dividing and conquering next year to bring you even more goodies.

The folks from Magura, the German company with the Japanese-sounding name, have been really twisting the throttle in the freeride cat. Their Mojo Extreme team (they really call it that) includes B.C. residents Tyler Klassen and Gareth Dyer and Frenchman Cedric Gracia has been using Maguras to control his descent for some time. It used to be that the only place you would see their stoppers was on trials bikes but that seems to be changing fast.  I have been testing a set of Louise FR brakes since the spring and I think they are the nicest brakes I have tried.  On top of that they are shipped directly to Canada so they should be priced very competitively. More on that in my complete test but suffice to say they are cooking up some sweet parts. Magura also makes forks, wheelsets and even some really nice tools. Germans really know how to build it right.

People have been raving about the new Fox rear shocks.  In fact some companies are saying that some models seem to only perform the way they should with this shock. Last year people were shaking their heads, wondering when Fox was going to respond to the emergence of Progressive and then Manitou in the rear shock sweeps.  There have been some startling failures, particularly with forks in recent years, from manufacturers who rushed products to market.  I have finally learned that Fox doesn't do things that way - they wait until the new produce is ripe before plucking it from the vine. Look for these shocks spec'ed by Norco, Kona, Santa Cruz and Scott USA for 2005 to name just a few. 

The disc brake market has suddenly become much more competitive. You'll still see Hayes Mags on most bikes thumping down the North Shore trails but Shimano has made some inroads and competition from Magura and Avid is just around the corner.  For the most part the brakes on the market today have ample power, particularly when paired with 8" rotors. Modulation remains the Holy Grail and Hayes has been knocked in the past for the distinctly on/off feel.  The El Camino sets out to address that problem by making lever feel and thus modulation adjustable - without tools. The 'Power Adjust Dial' shown atop the lever above, moves the pivot point of the lever in or out thus adjusting the mechanical advantage.  Recent Hayes levers have been hampered with reach adjustment screws that creep inward as you ride.  A drop of locktite fixes this issue but you still need to find a long handled 2mm Allen when you want to adjust the reach.  With the El Camino this becomes a tool free operation nudging Hayes momentarily ahead of the charging competition.

Fox continues to move away from mx flash for their mountain bike line.  You'll find this ninja shade wipe (made out of the same material as those bags your Oakleys come in) inside many jerseys at the least sweat soiled location.

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I always found it pretty funny that Scott USA bikes weren't available in America - or Canada for that matter.  That all changes this year and they are poised to make a triumphant return, with Scott Montgomery formerly of Cannondale, at the helm.In Europe Scott has been a big deal for a long time and their technological prowess leaves many companies in the dust. An example of that is their carbon XC duallie with 3.5 inches of rear wheel travel and 4" up front.  It tips the scales at 22.6 lbs.  They also make a carbon road frame that wieghs only 1.93 lbs.  They know a thing or two about bikes is what it comes down to. Despite this I'm a little sceptical about the Hi Octane, pictured below.  In some ways it's a relatively conventional single pivot frame, with multiple shock positions that allow you to adjust the rear travel and bottom bracket height.  A closer look at the front end reveals concentric rings that hold the head tube in place. When these rings are rotated the head angle moves from between 65.5 and 68.5 degrees - and this is the source of my scepticism.  If it works great but dh bikes are notorious for ovalized head tubes and this system adds complexity to that area of the bike.  We'll have to wait and see.  In the shot below the seat angle looks to be too relaxed for anything but downhilling but the carbon seat mast can move between 67¾ and 73¾ making the HO a viable freeride machine - even one you could climb with a long enough post. The Nitrous bikes with 6 or 7" of travel look pretty nice as well. We'll try and get our hands on a tester as soon as we can.

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Truvativ continues to push ahead with new products and you can expect that to continue with an injection of cash from SRAM.  Following the trend started by E 13 they have produced the Shift Guide; a chainguide for those of us who would like to be able to climb with our big bikes.  They also have a couple of cool cranks for the street set - one that incorporates a grind plate. As of yesterday (Sept 12th) the sale to SRAM is finalized so Shimano better keep an eye out. We have more to come from Interbike from Stuart 'Doc' Kernaghan so stay tuned.

Truvativ's dual ring chain guide The Shift Guide.