Pastajet's Interbike 2010

Well, another Interbike show wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, and it was entertaining and tiring, but it was fun to catch up with old friends and meet a few new ones. It was hotter and windier than normal at the Outdoor portion, making for a couple of sand filled desiccating days. Indoors was the usual monstrous mess of booths, and I kept getting lost (as usual), and thank goodness for maps and overhead signage.

Bikes just keep getting better, both the frames and components. When comparing the same types of bikes (All Mountain, for example), the differences between them are becoming more subtle, as the manufacturer is building excellent product, that are functional and well engineered. It is hard to pick trends each year, but in general the direction is for more suspension, especially on a bike that can be ridden uphill. Components are getting lighter, with accompanying durability, and bike gearing has evolved (or devolved) to 10 speeds, although there's a large continuing renaissance for single speeds, with a lot of bikes using belt drive systems. Now that Europe has decided that 29er is not a lunatic North American biking variant, more 29er bikes, wheels, forks and tires are being released. A couple of the smaller helmet manufacturers, POC and Kali are morphing their full faced helmet technical protection innovations to their cross country versions, which is a good sign for continued helmet safety.


I compiled together a Top 5 list of products that I found interesting and innovative from this year show:

Nutrition - Honey Stinger Waffle

The Honey Stinger Waffle is tasty, good for you and are pretty darn addicting, and I can't wait to include one for snacking on bike rides. New part-owner Lance Armstrong, suggested the Waffles, after eating many Stroopwafels in the Netherlands, which are two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. The Honey Stinger version is organic, and substitute honey instead of syrup, for enjoyable 160 calories of edible goodness.

Bike - Santa Cruz Carbon Nomad

I first saw the Nomad Carbon at Sea Otter this year, and was impressed with the swooping lines and attention to detail that the frame displayed. Santa Cruz had recently revamped the Nomad slightly, and I liked the improvements to the suspension system, but the addition of a carbon frameset was a wholesale change for the Nomad line. It has a 67 degree head angle, 1.5" steerer tube, ISCG 05 tabs, a woven downtube protector (cosmetic only), and comes default with a Fox RP23 rear, although my test rig was tricked out with a TALAS 180 and DHX- Air. The Nomad Carbon is available in Black and Matte White.

It only takes a short distance down any sort of singletrack to feel the extreme stiffness of the Nomad Carbon. Superlatives like taut and muscular come to mind as you thread your way down the trail, being able to slice and dice wherever you want. The laser like steering qualities of this bike are pretty amazing, and when combined with the stiffness of the frameset, allow immediate changes and transitions in your direction, along with accompanying traction control. There is no need to recoil and load up the suspension, it reacts like clockwork and does exactly what you tell it to do (sit Nomad), like a telepathic twin. The damping qualities of carbon shine through every time you hit a bump, or toss yourself into some ugly terrain, and remove that slight edge received back through the handlebars. Much like the Ibis HD, the Nomad Carbon felt very firm in its feel, although in comparison it does have more plushness than the HD. Pedaling gave great feedback, and produced prodigious traction for a 6" travel bike. I could pull off some technical moves, that more nimble bikes only get, which was a welcome surprise, especially considering I was riding a 180mm fork.

Santa Cruz has a real home run on their hands with the Nomad Carbon, and it's a great all around bike that can pull off most anything!

Tools - Prestacycle Prestainflator

Prestacycle makes the very functional and useful Prestaflator, which is basically a trigger operated air chuck with an air pressure gauge, that makes for easy bike tire fillings from an air tank or compressor. Their new product is the Prestaflator 2go, which is a portable high pressure Nitrogen tire filler. You load the unit up with Nitrogen, and with a simple preset of the desired pressure, it loads each tire up without any fuss. With a full load, it can fill 40 road bike tires to 120psi, though a slightly fewer numbers of mountain bikes, due to the larger air volume. The unit retails at $129.99. Filling tires with Nitrogen gives more consistent pressures (temperature fluctuations exacerbates the problems), they stay inflated longer, and tires don't heat up as much. Downhill racers have confirmed tire heat is also a problem for them, not just road riders, so the use of Nitrogen can give a beneficial time advantage.

Components - Shimano XTR bakes

The totally redesigned XTR brakes are incredibly innovative, and come in either Race and Trail version. The Race version has a shorter lever, an integrated barrel and reservoir, a split clamp, non slip dimples on the lever face, and uses alloy backed resin pads. The Trail version uses the same barrel and reservoir, but has longer dimpled levers, a short stroke Servo-Wave mechanism, and metallic pads with a finned radiator plate (I.C.E).

The brakes use the trick I.C.E rotors, which feature a three layer construction, which uses an aluminum core and an outer steel facing for better heat dissipation. The forged calipers are oversized, and use ceramic piston's, which helps absorb the heat from the oil, and dissipate it outwards. Pads are available resin with aluminum backing, metallic with titanium, and metallic with I.C.E. (finned).

Apparel - Gore Bike Wear's Fusion AS Cross jacket

Gore Bike Wear's new Fusion AS Cross jacket was pretty sweet looking, and had plenty of innovative and functional features. The first one that captures your eye, is the wear resistant stripes on the shoulder area and the outer arms. The patches protect the outer fabric, from abrasion, tears and scratches, greatly helping the longevity of the jacket. The outer material is the light windproof and water resistant Windstopper Active Shell, which has excellent breathability. Stretchy sections of Windstopper are added on the sides and elbows for comfort and maneuverability. Other features are underarm vents, front zipper, Napoleon pocket, and an adjustable hem. The Fusion AS Cross jacket should be an excellent cool weather and transitional season product, that is comfortable, durable and functional.