September 12, 2007 (Montreal, QC) – Canada’s annual bicycle industry trade show, ExpoCycle, was held over the past three days at Place Bonaventure in downtown Montreal (Sept. 9-11) and an endless supply of cycling eye-candy was available for attendees. Here is the first part of our show round up with some of the new goodies coming to a local bike shop near you soon.

Shimano
The powerhouse drivetrain and components company has made some major changes for 2008. On the road side, the company was showing off its new Ultegra SL drivetrain, which is meant to bridge the gap between standard Ultegra and Dura-Ace. The SL lineup is lighter, slightly more expensive and comes in an Ice Grey colour scheme.

Meanwhile for the top-end Dura-Ace lineup Shimano’s booth had one of the new ultra-bling carbon cranksets. It’s meant to be the company’s most exclusive product with a weight around 40 grams lighter than standard Dura-Ace and a price tag that is more than twice the price. That’s an $1,899 MSRP on just the crankset, but if you have to ask how much it costs, chances are you’re not going to be riding these.

On the mountain side, Shimano was displaying the 25th anniversary Deore XT group. The lineup has been completely revamped with upgraded derailleurs, shifters, cassette, cranks brakes and even a new XT-labelled pedal.

Also big for Shimano this year is their Pro lineup. The component brand has been in Europe for years, but it made it’s Canadian debut quietly in 2006. Now, Shimano is pushing the brand heavily and has many new products in both parts and accessories. Among the highlights are Pro Vibe series of handlebars, which are designed specifically to work well with the Shimano shift levers. Also new is the gorgeous Stealth Eagle one-piece road bar/stem.

Argon 18
After teasing the cycling industry with it’s prototype Element E114 time trial frame at Interbike last year, Argon 18 had the full production model on display in Montreal and the final result is nothing short of stunning.

The E114 is a completely new design with an integrated stem/fork/heattube and a remarkably aerodynamic design. It’s available starting at $3,750, which includes the frame, fork, integrated stem, aerobars, brakes and seatpost. All that’s needed are the wheels and drivetrain. There’s also a scaled down version called the E112 with a traditional fork/headtube/stem design. It retails for $2,200 with the frame, fork, headset and seat tube.

Watch for a full test on the Element E114 in a future issue of Pedal Magazine.

Scott
While it’s focus has tended to be on lightweight road and mountain bikes, Scott has retooled its big hit sled with the brand new Gambler lineup. Although the frame is the same across the line, it comes in a variety of builds for freeride or downhill use. The frame itself offers 7.5″ to 9.5″ of adjustable travel, massive reinforced tubing and an adjustable head tube. Prices range from $3,300 to $5,900 for the freeride version and $3,800 to $7,500 for the downhill version. Scott is also introducing both a shoe and helmet lineup to the Canadian market.

Magura Front Shocks
Although they’re known for brakes, Magura has launched a full line of front suspension forks. They range from a 3″ travel XC fork to a 6″ travel freeride fork. Every model has a dual arch to make them extra stiff. The prices range from around $700 to around $1,300.

Pinarello
Uno Imports, the Canadian distributors for this Italian brand, were showing off the brand new Prince road bike in Montreal. Considered to be at the top of Pinarello’s carbon line, the Prince will be available as a frameset for $5,499. Also new this year is the FP5, which is a completely build of popular F4:13. The full carbon FP5 with a Dura-Ace kit retails for $4,399. Pinarello has also released the FT1, a time trial and triathlon bike designed to compete directly with the Cervelo P3. It will retail for $4,999 with a Dura-Ace group.

Swagman
Bike rack maker Swagman had three new models of hitch-mounted racks at ExpoCycle. The XTC is a two-bike holder that secures the bikes using sliding wheel racks and ratcheting arms that come down from the top to allow it to hold any style of bike. It will retail for $200 and will work on both standard hitch sizes. The XT4 for $160 and XT2 for $150 are also hitch-mounted racks that hang the bikes from their top tubes.

Colnago
As if Colnago wasn’t an exotic enough name, the company has joined forces with another famed Italian brand – Ferrari – for a limited edition run of bikes. The Colnago for Ferrari Extreme Power comes with a custom hand-painted design and the best and most expensive parts available. There are 199 of one design being produced for $14,000 and 60 of another design being produced featuring the ultra-expensive Lightweight wheels for $18,000. Both will be custom built based on the buyer’s size.

Colnago also as the standard Extreme Power road bike with the new C75 fork it’s available starting at around $5,600. The Extreme bikes are hand built in Italy using the same Italian carbon fibre as Ferrari

Trident Sports
This BC-based company is distributing Manitou, Banshee, Answer, Formula, WTB and other products. Drawing attention to its booth was the new lineup from Banshee, which includes the 7-8″ travel Scythe Freeride and DH bike, the Wildcard Slopstyle rig and the Rune 6″ travel enduro bike. All are new bikes for 2008 and feature Banshee’s beefy, yet relatively lightweight designs.

Also drawing plenty of attention was a Manitou Dorado triple crown fork. Sales Manager Dalen Stanley told us the mostly-carbon Dorado will be released as a 2009 model. Despite its 8″ of travel and massive 34mm stanchions, it weighs less than many all-mountain forks.

Finally, Trident was showing off the new Formula disc brakes called the One and Mega. Both are designed for the freeride market. The one has on-the-fly reach and caliper adjustments, a one-piece CNC’ed caliper and a $420 per wheel price tag. The Mega is a slightly scaled down version and retails for $340 per wheel.

Oval Concepts
Distributor Great Western Bicycle Company had on display the wild new Oval Concepts A900 Jetstream aero fork. Designed for time trials and triathlons, the fork has jet-like aerofoils to help direct the wind. The fork retails for around $510 and is said to save 55 seconds per hour at 50 km-h.

Swisstop
This European brake pad brand continues to grow in the North American market. The company’s yellow compound road brakes for carbon wheels now come OEM with numerous high-end carbon hoops. They also have a full lineup of road brakes for aluminum braking surfaces, and disc brake pads for 22 different models.