Here is our final recap from Interbike, but don’t worry, we have a number of full articles on all of the cool things we saw and product reviews as they arrive at our offices In case you missed them, here are the links to our previous coverage of this year’s show. Outdoor Demo Day 1, Outdoor Demo Day 2, Interbike Part 1 Interbike Part 2 Interbike Part 3
Crank Brothers
Crank Brothers had a number of items on display, some new, some from their existing line. For tools, the new F-series come in three options with varying lists of tools and are targeted as a thin, lightweight premium tool. They also had their full line of pedals with improved bearings and seals on all models, and traction pads for some Mallet and Candy pedals. Add in their Highline dropper post, new Zinc cyclocross and gravel wheels, and Klic pump, we’ll definitely have a lot more to tell you in the full article.
Tetra Bike
A relatively new name in the lube and cleaner world, Tetra Bike is making headways into the market. Drawing from their background in gun cleaning and lubrication, they have a full line of cleaners, lubes, greases, and cleaning tools on offers. The brand sponsored the Colavita|Bianchi Pro Women’s team, along with the Farm To Fork Fondo cycling events. We’ll get into the science behind their products in the full article.
Phunkshun Wear
Now that we are getting into the fall, it’s time to don warmers and neck gators. If you ski or snowboard, you probably already know about Phunkshun Wear. They have been producing their Neck Tube, Ballerclava and Headbands for a few years now out of REPREVE, a fiber made from recycled water bottles. While they enjoy winter sports, they are also mountain bikers and knew there was an opportunity to bring their phunky designs to the cycling world in the form of arm and knee warmers. We’ll be getting some samples in and will have more on the brand and the review in the future.
Giro
For shoes and helmets, Giro had some cool things on display, including their new Prolight, Factor, and Sentrie shoes, all with the new Techlace closure. A mix of hook and loop closure and laces, the new system is said to provide the comfort and adjustability of laces with the ease of hook and loop closures. We are hoping to get a pair of the Factor Techlace in for review, and we’ll keep you updated on a review.
Giro also had some new helmets on display, including the Aerohead Ultimate MIPS and the Cinder MIPS. The Aerohead Ultimate MIPS uses TeXtreme carbon fiber for the shell, the same light weight material that has been seen on Felt’s range toping bikes in recent years. The Cinder MIPS can be mistaken for the more expensive Synth in many ways, except for the price. It looks to be a solid helmet for budget conscious riders.
BMC
Along with Greg van Avermaet’s gold Teammachine, we were excited to see BMC’s CXA01. An aluminum version of their CX01 in many ways, the CXA01 features bosses for racks and other accessories that make it a much more functional bike over its racing focused carbon brother. If cross is not your main focus, this bike could be a versatile bike for the offseason and the inevitable cross race that you will decide to do. Just be careful, you might get hooked on racing between the tape.
http://www.bmc-switzerland.com/
Club Ride Apparel
For 2017, Club Ride Apparel is launching their Tour, Train, and Trail lines. Each focuses on a different area of a cyclists life, while all pieces remain functional for riding. Tour is more day to day pieces, with a fashion forward style. Train includes technical pieces like base layers, tech t-shirts, and shorts that are focused on the hard efforts you put in at they gym or on the bike. Trail includes the kit you’ll be using for ripping down the trail, things like baggy riding shorts and half zip riding shirts and loose jerseys. All three lines feature men’s and women’s gear, and don’t worry, the signature flannel prints you love from Club Ride Apparel are still a big part of their collections.
http://www.clubrideapparel.com/
FSA/Vision
FSA and Vision had what seemed like ever part they make on display, which makes it hard to narrow down the list of new items to talk about. Their new K Force WE electric drivetrain, Power Box power meter cranksets and mountain wheels were on display, along with new wheels, and integrated handlebar/stem combo, and TT/Tri specific items from Vision. There was definitely a lot to be excited about for 2017, and we’ll have some product reviews coming this spring.
Pioneer
Building upon their impressive power meter line, Pioneer has added the new 9100 cranks to their list of dual sided power meters. The Japanese brand has also branched out from Shimano to include other brands like FSA, Cannondale’s Hollowgram, and Campagnolo in their single sided power meters.
Additionally, they had an interesting demonstration of another project they are working on, the Expanded Sensor Network. Sensors on the stem, seat post, shoes, and the back of the helmet, along with their dual sided power meter, track things like weight distribution, head angle, and foot angle, with a display showing a vast array of information. As of now, it is more of an experiment, but that’s also how their power meters originally started.
http://www.pioneer-cyclesports.com
POC
Swedish helmet, sunglass, and clothing manufacturer POC had a rather large layout at the show, highlighting the wide variety of products that they have on offer. Some of their highlights included the new Octal X and Coron mountain biking helmets. The Octal X takes the standard road Octal, and adds additional wrap around of the outer shell over the foam core. The Coron full face helmet features a new M-Forge advanced fiber material that is light weight and out performs other shell materials when it comes to multiple impacts.
We have an Octal MIPS at the eastern service course, and will have a review coming in the future.
Shimano
Shimano’s big announcements all came a little bit earlier in the year, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t exciting to see the new Dura-Ace 9100 and 9 Series S-Phyre and 7 Series shoes in person. The R9 and XC9 S-Phyre shoes stood out the most in their bright blue color way. With their Boa IP1 dials providing a comfortable and lightweight closure and the efficient Shimano Dynalast shoe last, the 9 series should prove to be an incredible shoe.
Knog
Knog lit up the show with an updated Blinder line, and made some noise with the Oi bell. From the last time we reviewed it, the updated Blinder features a new interchangeable strap to alleviate any issues of the strap braking, which happened to one of our three samples we had from back in 2014. The Blinder Mini, which they sent us home with packs 20 lumens for the front, 11 for the rear, into an 18 gram package. And if you are the type of rider that could use a bell, but don’t want to look like a dork with one, the Oi is for you. After a successful crowd funding campaign, the bells are now available. We are testing them out now on our road, cross, and mountain bikes, and will have more for you soon. Ding!
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
~Veggie Powered Athlete~
Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
Dream Bike – I’ll tell you when they make it
Discipline – Cyclocross, gravel, road and duathlons (ride/run)
Favorite Rides – Quiet country roads of Amish Country, some of the best roads around.
Food of Choice – Sweet potato roll
Beer of Choice – Unibroue Grand Reserve 17, aged four years
Bourbon of Choice – Widow Jane 10 Year