September 10, 2009 (Bromont, QC) – ExpoCycle 2009 kicked off on Wednesday in Bromont, QC, with their Demo Day where the cycling industry got a sneak peak and chance to test ride what’s to come for 2010. While the show itself will be held at Place Bonaventure in Montreal, from Sept. 10-12, Demo Day allowed visitors to take to the roads and trails around the Bromont ski resort, about an hour from Montreal. Over the course of a few hours, we tested four bikes covering just about every segment in the bike market.

Rocky Mountain Vertex 90
First up we tested a Rocky Mountain Vertex 90. This full carbon hardtail is meant for one thing – going fast. It’s a cross-country rig at its best and is incredibly light, stiff and agile. You wouldn’t want to ride an 80km enduro on this bike, but for a two-hour cross country race you’d be hard pressed to find a faster bike.



Trek Madone 6.9
Next up we switched to a road bike, the new Trek 6 Series. This top-of-the-line road bike series is available through Trek’s Project 1 ordering system in just about any colour, group and component set up. We tested the 6.9 with a full Dura-Ace group and Bontrager Wheels (designed by Hed).



Opus Nelson 1
Moving in a completely different direction, next we saddled up on a full-on freeride bike, the brand new Opus Nelson. This is a whole new segment for Opus as they’ve never previously made a 7″ travel bike. This was the result of two years of research and the outcome was outstanding – it’s a confidence-inspiring ride, even for a less than experienced freerider (like me).



Jamis XCR Race 1
The XCR name has been around for a while, but the 2010 Race edition might just be the best XCR ever released. This is truly a bike that captures the essence of mountain biking. If you can only afford to have one MTB in your garage, this might just do the trick.