After a long weekend of racing, we were able to swing by the Philadelphia Bike Expo for the afternoon to check in with some of the brands in attendance. We’re still working on getting all of our coverage from Interbike out, and we’ll add in a few articles from the Expo as well.
For now, here is the quick recap.
Lone Wolf Cycling
If the ride and the experience are what you’re after, and you are looking for an understated and subtly fun kit, the guys of Lone Wolf Cycling have plenty for you. They brand was born form a desire of kits devoid of sponsor logos. The designs and graphics are taken from inspiration they find out on the lonely trails and roads they ride. LWC offer kits, accessories and casual clothing, and are sure to be waiting with a beer hand up, whether on the trail, or at the show (thanks for the beer guys!). We’ll have more on their story, and their gear in a future article.
Thomson
Carbon may be king in cycling these days, but beautiful aluminum will always be in style too. Thomson had examples of their carbon, aluminum, and titanium bars, along with aluminum stems and seat posts at the booth. New for 2017 is a new aluminum seat post with a new style head. We’ll tell you more about that, and their Covert dropper seat post in the full article in the coming weeks.
NixFrixShun
NixFrixShun’s Ultimate Lube is just that, the ultimate lube. The small bottle it comes in is 100% lube, with no fillers or solvents. NFS founder Josh Simonds was in search of the perfect lube, and he thinks he has found it. He also claims that one bottle will last you 10,000 miles. We’ll tell you more in the upcoming article.
Also on-hand were their new grease, a bio-degradable chain lube, and a high performance handlebar tape that comes in at a very economical price.
Green Guru Gear/Alchemy Goods
We didn’t have a chance to stop by Green Guru Gear and Alchemy Goods at Interbike, but we knew we’d see them in Philly. Earlier this year, Green Guru Gear purchased Alchemy Goods to expand their line of utility focused goods made from upcycled materials to now include more fashion forward items also made from upcycled materials. We’ve been testing some bike related and travel items from Green Guru Gear this year, and will have those reviews coming up.
Another interesting item we saw at the booth was their toiletry bag made from heavy duty truck tire tubes. Each tube has a unique pattern that creates an interesting pattern on each bag. We’ll have more on the 2017 lines for each brand coming soon.
http://www.greengurugear.com http://www.alchemygoods.com
Altor
What if I told you there is a bike lock out there that offers top of the line security in a sleek and compact size that fits in a jersey pocket or in place of a bottle on your frame? Altor’s 560G lock checks off both of those boxes. The 560g, which refers to the weight of the lock, is made out of solid titanium rods, titanium washers at the joints, and steel expanded pins, with a six-disc detainer lock. We have a sample, and will be breaking out our bolt cutters to see if the lock holds up to their claims.
Eliel Cycling
Eliel Cycling is a custom cycling apparel brand based in California. The brand uses Swiss and Italian fabrics to create custom and their house designed styles in their California shop.
At the show, they had some of their collaboration designs with Squid bikes, that featured similarly funky designs to what you see on Squid frames. Also on hand were some of Eliel’s house kits, including the bright Rincon jerseys and Laguna Seca bibs. The navy bibs will match fuchsia, navy, or orange Rincon jerseys. They also had one of their speedsuits on display with unique side entry pockets on the back to hold some gels, bars, or a smaller multitool. We’ll have more about their line in a future article, and hope to have a few pieces to review
Von Hof
When you start to talk about aluminum and steel bikes, Von Hof is a brand you should be thinking of. They are a small batch builder out of Hoboken, NJ with a line of road, cross, mountain, and now a women’s specific road bike. Kathryn Cumming has been representing the brand in the cyclocross world, riding in events from the US to Europe to China, and collecting podiums and UCI points along the way.
Their new women’s specific road bike, named Dia, blends Columbus Spirit steel tubing with women’s specific geometry and space for up to 28mm tires (with plenty of room to spare). The modern features and classic materials creates a bike that is eager to go while remaining comfortable and stable.
Bkool
Spanish trainer maker, Bkool, had their Smart Pro and new Smart Go trainers on display. Both trainers fold down and disassemble into a small, portable size. The high level differences between the two are the methods of connecting to your bike, and the amount of resistance they offer. Both are very affordable, compared to other smart trainers out there.
Bkool is more than just a trainer though. They also offer their Simulator software, which adds an interactive experience with the trainer. You can load 3D rides from their data base of over 500,000 (and growing) rides, your own routes, structured workouts, and even race in a virtual velodrome. The Simulator is offered free for one year (Smart Pro), or three months (Smart Go) with the purchase of the trainer, or you can use it with your existing smart trainer, just without some of the special features you get with a Bkool trainer. We are hoping to get a Smart Pro in, and are looking forward to trying it and the Simulator out. Look for the full article with more info on everything from Bkool coming.
Selle Anatomica
If touring is your type of riding, or you just appreciate a fine leather saddle, Selle Anatomica provides a classic look with modern day performance. Their X-Series saddles provide a specially designed cut out to relieve pressure from sensitive areas and a shell that creates a comfortable hammock shape once broken in. Unlike other leather saddles out there, Selle Anatomica form their saddles in a special way that helps them break in much quicker than others on the market.
The US saddle maker is also entering the carbon market with their C-Series saddles. Based on their exterior appearance, the cut out is similar to the X-Series, but there is more to the saddle underneath. A leaf spring design under the shell helps provide additional comfort. At a claimed 190 grams, the C-Series is a viable option for racers and touring riders alike. We’ll have more about both saddles soon, and hopefully reviews as well.
Silca
Ever since Silca was purchased from it’s Italian owners, the brand continues to innovate, while keeping their heritage in perspective. At the show, they had their two range topping floor pumps, their new lines of tools, and even newer bags and wallets.
The Seat Roll Premio is a saddle pack that uses something new to this area of the bike, a Boa dial. The samples at the show were about 95% complete, with final production pieces shipping at the end of November. The roll is large enough to hold a large volume road tube, a few CO2 tubes and head, and a multi-tool and levers. We’ll have more on the Seat Roll Premio, the tools, and pumps from the show in a future article.
Orange Seal
Brands like Stan’s might control a large part of the tubeless market, there are many other players out there offering sealant, tapes, and valve stems. Orange Seal uses a proprietary premium latex formula with “nanite” particles that help plug the hole when a puncture occurs. They offer three different blends, the original, endurance, and subzero. Each offers different formulas with specific benefits for different applications.
Along with sealant, Orange Seal offers tape in different widths, valve stems in various lengths, and have branched out into chain lube as well. We happened to have some of their tape at the east coast service course, and picked up some long valve stems to run with a set of Boyd carbon clinchers we have in for review. Orange Seal was kind enough to send us home from the show with a bottle of their Endurance sealant, so we’ll have more on their products and a full review of their system coming soon.
Ritchey Logic
Ritchey is truly a brand that can equip your bike from front to back. Beyond brakes and drivetrain parts, you can buy one of their bikes fully equipped by the brand, or upgrade your bike at home with a full build.
At the show, we were introduced to new saddles, bars, wheels, and tires for road, cross, mountain biking, and commuting. For the gravel scene, their new VentureMax off-road drop bar features a wide flair in the drops, along with a dramatically shaped lower drop for better grip when you leave the tarmac. Also shown was a clever mount GoPro mount that installs on the front of the stem using the stem’s bolts on C220 and other Ritchey stems with the 4-Axis face plate. It can be placed low or high depending on where you want the camera. The metal mount is also available for Supernova lights. We’ll have more on everything we saw at the booth coming soon.
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