September 11, 2006 (Montreal, QC) — ExpoCycle 2006, the Canadian cycling industry’s annual trade show, opened yesterday at Place Bonaventure in Montreal. The show runs from Sept. 10-12, and attracts bicycle shops from across the country who were also able to test ride 2007 products at the show’s Demo Day held on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Ski Bromont.

Hundreds of shops from across the country are in Montreal to sample what’s new for 2007 from almost every company serving the Canadian market. Here’s a look at some of the hot items on display. The show wraps up tomorrow.

Scott
The recent returnee to the North American market continues to impress with its carbon offerings in both the road and mountain bike segments. Drawing some major attention in the Scott booth this year is the Scott Spark 30, a ridiculously lightweight full-carbon all-mountain bike retailing for $4,399. Also on display are the his-and-hers duo of Scott Plasma time trial bikes. There’s the Plasma LTD for him at $8,899 and the Contessa Plasma TT for her at $5,799.

SRAM
Making its Canadian production debut, SRAM’s new road grouppos introduced last year, were a hot item at the show with the top-end Force and its sibling the Rival on display. At 2,111 grams, the Force grouppo will retail for around $1,800US and has already been well-received and tested by numerous pro race teams. One of the other highlights at the SRAM display in Montreal is an oversized copy of SRAM’s doubletap shifting system, which gives showgoers a better understanding of how the system works.

Shimano
Shimano, the Japanese component giant, unveiled its newly engineered, top of the line XTR mountain bike grouppo on display in its own booth for the first time. This marks the first complete rebuild on the XTR line since 2003, and it includes everything from new wheels to a new front derailleur. The 2007 XTR parts are lighter, stiffer and more functional than their predecessors, but the new technology doesn’t come cheap. The XTR crankset with an outboard bearing bottom bracket carries an MSRP of $896. The dual-control shift/brake levers with hydraulic brakes are $679.

Specialized
Few companies offer as complete a line up of products as Specialized. The buzz in the Specialized booth this year included their Tarmac SL road bike and 2007 Enduro mountain bike. The carbon Tarmac looks fast even standing still with unique Noval star wheels and your choice of a SRAM Force or Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrains. The $8,000 SRP very cool Enduro has six inches of travel in the back and front via Specialized’s new rear shock system and dual crown fork. The full-carbon bike weighs around 27 pounds, allowing it to climb like short-travel bike and yet descend like a downhill bike.

Cat Eye
Canada’s largest parts distributor (Cycles Lambert) has an assortment of new product offerings for 2007 including Cat Eye which has taken major leaps with its LED commuter light technology by increasing the light output by 100% across the board. Cat Eye also has a new cycling computer called the Strata, which uses a unique setup allowing the entire head unit to act as one large button. It also uses the company’s new Flex Tight mounting bracket which eliminates the need for handlebar spacers by using a completely adjustable bracket.

Northwave
The Italian shoe and apparel maker has introduced a number of new products including the $400 Aerator3 SBS road shoe. It’s a slightly scaled down version of the $500 Aerator Racing shoe worn by Road World Champ, Tom Boonen. Northwave also has the Vertigo carbon soled road shoe, which is available in either a buckled or a three-strap Velcro version. The Lizzard is a mountain bike version of the same shoe with the addition of an aggressive tread.