Interbike 2002 OK, this just

Interbike 2002

OK, this just happened in mid October. I have to get out there sometime I think. Here is a quick report from some pretty good sites…

Speedgoat Report

The next set of stuff is coming out. Got to remember not to buy until it is fully stocked. Here is a good report from Speedgoat. Actually better than the various magazines. Points of note:

Eggbeater Pedals. I just bought an Eggbeater pedal for instance, but now I know why it is on sale at colorado cyclist. Here is the much-heralded next step in the evolution of the Crank Bros. Eggbeater pedal, the incorporation of titanium. There and three flavors, starting with a basic 230g ti spring model, and ending with the full Triple Ti at only 185g. The Triple uses a ti body, ti spring and ti spindle. And check out that slick new kit you get when purchasing a Crank Bros. Pedal. It includes all the little pieces and extra stuff you?ll need, all snugged up in that super fine case. Rats, I just bought the old aluminum one at 280 grams. I guess I’d better not eat anymore brownies 🙂
Mountain stems and handlebars are suddenly showing up with 31.8mm diameter, a size road bars currently seem to be painfully inching toward. For a while now we?ve had both 26.0mm and 31.8mm road stems and bars, and 25.4mm mountain bars and stems, but the potential move to a standard 31.8mm for both road and mountain would be nice
Titec Carbon Stem. One look at this cartoonishly massive Titec full carbon fiber (only the bolts and nuts aren?t carbon) stem and it?s grin-inducing 135g weight will make you a 31.8mm believer.
Salsa Campeon frameset. What?s unique about this? How about a frame that not only has carbon seatstays, but features a full 6-tube Scandium tubeset (every tube that isn?t carbon fiber is Scandium, people) and comes with a a price tag of under $800. Wow, maybe a low cost second frame for me in the era of Nasdaq at 1000
Mavic Speedcity. The most interesting development in wheelsets has to be this 700c Mavic disc-brake ready Speedcity. Mavic originally released these as a wheelset mountain bikers could slap on to go ride on the road, but they?re big overseas among the trekking crowd?people who usually ride a lot as a kind of utilitarian means of transportation over fairly demanding terrain that spans huge distances and often involves brutal climbing and inclement weather. Oh, and these people often use bikes that look a lot like full-suspension 29?er mountain bikes (29?ers are just mountain bikes with 700c wheels). Moots had already made the connection and was running these wheels on their 700c Mooto-X displayed at the show.
XTR 2003 is quite proprietary. Cranks and bottom-bracket are one-piece, the ultimate proprietary relationship. The cranks ARE the bottom-bracket, and this is actually our favorite piece of 2003 XTR equipment–assuming those outboard bearings last. At least the bearings are easily replaced with a standard cartridge unit all bike shops should be able to get you. But our concerns are definitely still there, and the replacement price tag of an individual shifter/brake unit will outright terrify you. In fact, it might be better to avoid riding your new XTR-equipped bike, lest you risk breaking a shifter unit. Based on pricing we?ve seen at this point, if you break just one of your shifters, you?ll find yourself spending roughly one suspension fork to get your bike up and rolling again.
. VPP Santa Cruz and Intense are great. Everyone appears to be saying this. See Mountain Bike for instance. Here come the VPP’s. The Virtual Pivot Point bikes from Santa Cruz are finally shipping, and having finally ridden a production model, I can safely say that yep, it’s every bit as good as they said it would be. It’s better. We had a chance to take the Blur and the Intense Spider VPP out for a spin around the nasty desert conditions, and came away sufficiently amazed. Will bikes like this take the place of XC racing mainstays like the Titus Racer X and Yeti ASR? Probably not. Anyone who lives in a heart rate monitor and couldn’t care less about comfort and nasty-stuff handling will likely stick with the lighter (about a half a pound) and less elaborate (one pivot) venerable old Superlight, or the Titus or Yeti, and plush-addicts are still going to love Ellsworth and Turner designs, but if you want a bike that does everything really well and is officially the best balance of efficiency and comfort I’ve ever ridden, this is your new bike. I think it’s the best all arounder I may have ever ridden.