September 29, 2010 (Las Vegas, Nevada) – Interbike wrapped up on Friday, September 24 staging another successful show for the global cycling trade. Here’s our final look at some of the cool 2011 bike gear that’s coming to a bike shop near you next season.
Bianchi Infinito
Binachi had a large display at Interbike, but one bike that caught our eye was the Infinito road bike. Resplendent in its trademark Celeste paint scheme, the Infinito geometry is what Bianchi refers to as coast-to-coast, meaning it’s optimized for endurance racing; comfortable but still sporty. Available both in a Chorus 11-sp and Athena 11-sp group, the Infinito promises to be a go-to bike for Grand Fondo style rides. Pedal will be testing an Infinito in the near future for a more in-depth report.
Argon 18 Electron Pro Track Bike
The Argon 18 Electron Pro Track bike was on display in the Argon 18 booth. Developed in partnership with SpiderTech presented by Planet Energy track riders Stephane Cossette and Martin Gilbert, the Electron Pro is a no holds barred track race bike. UCI-legal and built in the same mold as their E-114 Tri bike, the aerodynamics on this frame are top-notch.
Arkel Randonneur Rack
Arkel was displaying their very cool new Randonneur rack. The new rack mounts to the bike via a quick release bracket on the seat rails. The front of the rack then rests against the seat post with minimum stress and the rack can quickly be installed and removed. A key feature is that the rack is mounted at two points and unable to rotate like traditional seatpost mounted racks. The Randonneur’s low 495-gram weight is icing on the cake.
Devinci’s Split Pivot Wilson, Dixon and Dexter Bikes
Devinci is making a big push into the US market for 2011 and presented three full suspension designs utilizing Dave Weagle’s new Split Pivot design which allows for the separation of braking and acceleration forces in the bike’s suspension. The Split Pivot line up covers DH with the 216mm travel Wilson, AM with the 145mm travel Dixon, and XC with the 110mm travel Dexter. If the continuous traffic in their booth was any indication, 2011 will be a good year for Devinci.
POC Helmets
Swedish helmet company POC is more known for its ski and downhill helmets but that’s about to change with the introduction of their new Trabec XC helmet. The Aramid shell on the Trabec Race is so strong that is allows POC to spec a lighter grade of internal foam. As with all POC helmets, the Trabec is available in three sizes.
North Shore Billet
North Shore Billet is a Whistler based company best known for making high quality CNC machined products for bikes. They were on hand with some very trick anodized aluminum cable guides to replace stock plastic guides. Available for Fox, Marzocchi and RockShox forks.
Viner
Viner Bikes are back in North America courtesy of Edmonton based SRI Importing. Viner has been making bikes for upwards of 60 years and their cyclocross bike, the Viner Perfecta Cross bike is the culmination of all these years of knowledge. Outfitted with Campagnolo, Deda and Fulcrum components, this bike wears it’s Italian heritage on its sleeve.
Enve Composites
Enve Composites had one of the nicest booths at the show. Highlighting builders such as Parlee, Independent Fabrications and Vanilla, there was no shortage of beautiful bikes. Of note was Enve’s Mountain AM series of rims which Steve Peat and the Santa Cruz Syndicate have been using all year to great success on the World Cup Downhill circuit. That’s correct, 405g carbon clincher rims on World Cup Downhill courses; it’s a brave new world.
K-Edge
K-Edge had their very popular lineup Chain Catchers in a wide array of different colours. The Chain catcher is available in both double and triple designs and can be affixed to the bike via a braze-on mount or clamp. Originally designed in the lead up to Kristen Armstrong’s gold medal TT ride at the 2008 Olympics, the K-Edge chain catcher has become popular among pro-teams as it’s only10 grams of extra insurance against dropped chains.
Octto Bar Tape
Octto Bar tape was on display in the Batavus booth courtesy of Fourth Floor Distribution. Octto Bar tape is extra long, extra stretchy, extra comfy and comes in a wide array of different colours.
Raleigh
Raleigh USA had some of the nicest bikes at the show including lugged steel frames with Reynolds tubing, Brooks saddles and colour-matched fenders and chain guards.
KMC 11 Speed Chains
KMC’s new X11SL, X11L and X11 chains are designed as a replacement chains for Campagnolo 11-speed drivetrains with several features – most notable is the use of a quick connect link for easy installation and removal. The X11SL chain weighs in a super lightweight 224 grams.
Sugino 10-speed Triple
Sugino was on hand with a very cool 10-speed compatible Triple Compact crank. The polished finish was super classy and the crank is a wonderful upgrade for any touring bike.
Beljum Butter
Beljum Butter is a natural chamois cream that is paraben-free, lanolin-free and petroleum-free. It contains vitamins A, D and E which aids in skin recovery during and after riding. It’s also contains no animal products – Vegan cyclists rejoice.