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Words and Photos Cam McRae (unless noted)
A new communication company was handling press releases and managing media types at Interbike this year and they just sent me a press release. It turns out this 25th anniversary edition of Interbike was the largest ever - in terms of attendance and exhibit space. There were 22,000 industry types milling about in the Sands (an increase of 12% over 2005) and 310,000 square feet of exhibitor space occupied in the 600,000 square foot hall - the other 290,000 feet are all the walkways between the booths. Basically it was maxed out from what I saw. The Outdoor Demo set records as well with 6000 folks coming out to try bikes and 61,400 feet of exhibitor space occupied. Basically it's a gong show - but it's always a good time.
Here is my final installment of stuff that caught my eye in Vegas - the nuttiest place on earth.
There's not much new in the Fox
Forx line up - except the 36 Float. Fox calls this air sprung beaut the
"lightest, strongest fork made for heavy-duty trail and Free Riding."
The RC2 model allows high and low speed compression damping adjustments at the
botttom of the right leg (extrernally) as well as rebound damping adjustment
at the top of the right leg. The RC2 weighs 5.05 lbs. The R lacks
the compression damping adjustments but it's also a little lighter at 4.97 lbs.
It lacks the travel adjustability of the Talas 36 which tips the scale at 5.27
lbs in RC2 trim and 5.19 in R.
Even when very little changes Fox makes their forks look fresh
every year. The 40 gets a new bottom out control that engages in the last
1.5-2.0" of travel.
Manitou has completely
revamped their Intrinsic damping system. The "floating piston is
now air backed and can be charged via a sunken Schrader valve in the top cap."
Manitou figures you'll find it "more adjustable, more speed sensitive,
more durable, and more bottomless than ever before." I think
they were actually trying to tell us riders will have more bottom out control.
It sounds like Manitou has been working hard to perfect their Intrinsic
damping system and bang it out of the park with their Travis forks. You
can get a single crown Travis with a 1 1/8" steerer with 150mm of travel
or with a 1.5" steerer with either 180 or 203mm of travel or with both
of those travel options again in a 1 1/8 dual crown.
Bike manufacturers have been telling me that Manitou rear shocks have been some of the most reliable over the past year. The Evolver is designed for long travel applications. The bottom out volume can be adjusted without tools and most Manitou rear shocks are now available in SPV or shim based damping configurations so manufacturers can choose the system that works best for their bikes.
We first saw the Marin Quad design last year. It's interesting to be sure but I find it hard on the eyes. Of course no one will care if it rides well and based on the results Mike Jones and Shaums March posted at the Masters DH worlds they are ripping rigs indeed. Racing against riders with more bounce (the Quake frames have 6.8" of travel) they managed 4th and 1st respectively with Shaums taking the World Masters title for the 30-34 age cat. Congrats Shaums! For the full story click here.
It was great to see the good people from Loeka Clothing down in Vegas. Loeka is doing a great job at designing mtb threads that fit women's bodies and tastes.
Here's a version of Felt's new take on 4-bar - or rather 6-bar suspension - in freeride trim. They call it Equilink. There is a fifth bar behind the seattube (it's red) that is said to counteract pedalling forces. It attaches to a rocker link that mates the chainstays to the bottom bracket. The Redemption provides 6.5" of rear wheel travel. Photo ~ David Ferguson
Hayes has been making disc brakes for mountain bikes for 10 years now. This polished brake with a a carbon lever celebrates that milestone. You'll likely have to ask your shop to special order to get your mitts on a set. Now that Hayes has purchased Sun Ringlé you can expect to see some sweet wheels hitting the market. Their freeride model is called the ADD - which pretty much fits - and the All Mountain Charger set weighs in at 1890 grams
Mavic's new wheels were damn cool. Here is the hub for the Crossmax SX front wheel. With hollow Zicral spokes and a straight pull lacing pattern these things look freaky and freaking fast. There are only 24 spokes front and rear and a set will add 1950 grams to your ride. When unlaced the hub also doubles as a hand grenade. DT Swiss' Freeride all mountain wheels - the EX 1750 - are the lightest of the bunch at a mere - you guessed it - 1750 grams.
My old buddy Sully was wheeling around his proto Rotec RL9 internal transmission bike. Looks pretty cool but I didn't have a chance to talk to him about it. Sully also passed me a disk which had a cool teaser on it and a url for the Web site where the teaser resides. Hit artbarnfilm.com and Right click 'save as' on 'Watch the new promo.'
Posting a funny shot of Geoff Gulevich is becoming a tradition. Here he was explaining that he wasn't out drinking the night before and that he was feeling as fresh as a spring daisy. Photo ~ David Ferguson
