Ashima at Interbike 2010

Wayne over at the Ashima booth had a couple of interesting new toys on display. The D-Matrix rotor (still in design) uses an aluminum core surrounded by a steel braking surface. The aluminum dissipates heat extremely well, and the steel is durable, and they work in concert to create a fade and warp resistant system, with good bite. It's a pretty trick rotor, that is light, with a lot of functional design features, and I can't wait to try one of these suckers out!

Easton and Giro at Interbike 2010

Easton has always had a pretty extensive cross country product line, and for 2011 the Haven All Mountain group (wheels, bars, stems and seatposts) gets some additions and redesigns, as does the Havoc Gravity group, which in their own words is "Strong like Bull".

The Havoc bars are 750mm in length, with a 9d bend, 5d sweep, and 20 or 30mm rise (carbon only 20), and come in an aluminum version ($75) and carbon ($150). Both bars use their TaperWall technology, and the carbon's come in at a light 235g, while the aluminum is 315g. The carbon bars have a nice feel to them, are light and look pretty decent.

GoPro at Interbike 2010

GoPro always has some wicked new toy's at Interbike, and their new Wearable 3D capturing system was quite a treat. The 3D HERO Housing and Sync Cable kit, uses a dual enclosure, that holds a set of HD HERO 1080p cameras (not included with the kit), with an internal camera genlock cable for synchronizing them. Once the footage is captured, you then use a 3D editing software like Neo3D from Cineform, or some other software vendor.

Hayes Brakes at Interbike 2010

Hayes had on display their brand new Prime brakes, which is a completely new system, with a new caliper and master cylinder. The new brakes were designed with more power and adjustability in mind. Their new pop cam system will give the user more adjustability, in both stroke and reach. The dead stroke adjustment, which is the lever stroke where the brake pads come in contact with the rotor, is done with a small dial that can be changed with an index finger on the fly. The tool free reach adjustment is up in its usual spot by the pivots, and is supposed to be easier to use with gloved fingers. Something unique is that the dual pivots are not two fixed points, but have a constant pivot point so that the lever advantage doesn’t change with reach changes. This pivot system should give the same feel, responsiveness and performance with any stroke or reach combination.

Formula Brakes at Interbike 2010

While I was at Sea Otter, Formula showed me early prototype's of a new fork and wheelset. They are now much further along with the designs, and they have continued with the development, and they had their latest beta specimens on display. The Thirty3 fork is a cross country fork (80/100/115mm travel), that uses 33mm 7000 series Aluminum stanchions (hence the name), QR or 15mm axle, straight or tapered steerer, in comes black or white. The air sprung fork, has a closed cartridge damping unit, with compression and rebound damping adjustment and has a lock out. A future model will most likely have 150mm of travel. Prices, weight and availability are not known.

POC at Interbike 2010

The Swedish based POC company was predominantly a snow sport protection company, that has been delving into the bike protection world, and they have always had safety at the forefront of their research and technology. They were showing their very trick Trabec mountain bike helmet, which comes in two flavor's, the Trabec Race and Trabec. The helmet extends down the back of the neck, and it uses Aramid combined with EPS foam for protection. They borrowed its construction from how the human skeleton is built, which is spongy and resilient, but it works in a synergistic manner to offer strength, resistance and durability. The outer polycarbonate shell has optimized sections that don't have seams in the most vulnerable areas, and its bonded to the reinforced core, for strength and lightweight. Retail for the Race version is $175.

Contour at Interbike 2010

Contour just introduced their ContourGPS, which is a sports video camera that incorporates real-time GPS data. Basically, it is the ContourHD with a GPS chipset built into the unit. The GPS receiver tracks and captures your location, speed, and elevation while recording in 1080 HD. Contour provides a Storyteller application to download the videos from the camera to the local computer, where you can watch your ride via an interactive map and video player who allows you to see and control the action. They are also launching a location-based video community that allows users to share their stories, track adventures and discover new places. Retail is $350.

Camelbak at Interbike 2010

The new Charge 450 pack is a direct cousin of the infamous Mule, but it uses lightweight fabric and materials to keep the weight down to a minimum. Picking the pack up, it is immediate evident how light it really is, and the soft fabric feels nice to the touch, and is comfortable on the back.

Magura at Interbike 2010

It was nice to see the new Storm and Storm SL rotors, and they are light (especially the SL's) and pretty trick. They kept the thickness at 2mm, since they functioned their as best at that thickness. The Storms come in 160, 180 and 203mm sizes (114, 146, and 177 grams respectively), while the Storm SL's come in 140, 160, 180 and 203mm (75, 95, 124, and 147 grams respectively).

Prestacycle at Interbike 2010

Prestacycle makes the very functional and useful Prestaflator 2go, 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 exacerbate 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.

Five Ten at Interbike 2010

Five Ten had a couple of interesting new shoes that should hit the market later this year. The high top Cyclone really caught my eye, since I like a shoe that has ankle protection. The Cyclone is a high top SPD compatible shoe, that is comfortable, easy to walk in, and has the sticky 5.10 Stealth rubber. They should be an excellent shoe for all sorts of gravity types, from All Mountain riders to full on Downhillers, and could be used with flat, clipless and hybrid pedals. They even look like a normal shoe.

American Classic at Interbike 2010

The American Classic All Mountain wheelset that I reviewed a couple of years back, has now become their Downhill set, with the only change being the graphics, a 20mm front hub and 150mm spaced rear. It turns out they were being used by European Pro riders on the World Cup circuit, which is a testament to how tough their wheels are.

Syncros at Interbike 2010

Syncros had a couple of interesting product that are new to 2011. They have added a truly unique freeride stem aptly named the FRIC, or FreeRide Intelligent Clamp. The stem uses a 260 degree wrap around clamp for the bars, and compresses around the steerer tube with a set of center bolts. The unit is cold forged, instead of the usual industry standard of CNC, which means a stronger and lighter weight product with additional clearance. To insert the bars you have to pop in the narrow part of the bars first, since the oversized section won't fit

-124 grams / 45mm extension

MSRP: $79.95 (Black)/$89.95 (White)

DT Swiss at Interbike 2010

DT Swiss is revamping a good portion of their product line, and they are sweeping in wheelsets, hubs and forks that have price points that more consumers will find acceptable. They have always been known for their quality and Swiss craftmanship, but the uber pricing structure made their products unattainable for a good deal of the buying public. They have added a new hub family known as the350-series, and it still retains most of their technology, like the star ratchet and alloy body, but it's heavier and sourced elsewhere.

Nomad Carbon - Ride Impression at Interbike 2010

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.

Interbike 2010: 2011 Yeti ASR 575 – Ride Impression

Yeti has redesigned their venerable 575 for 2011. They have tweaked the rear triangle, and have borrowed technology learned from the ASR 7 for the chainstays, and have mated it to the 575 carbon seatstays. The new chainstay mounted E-Type front derailer, helps with smoother and snappier shifting. It has been upgraded to include a tapered headtube, ISG mounts, an adjustable seatpost cable guide, two double row main pivot bearings for durability, and uses a chip styled dropout for the versatility of using either 135 or 142mm axles.

ContourHD 1080p Review

The ContourHD 1080p is a small, light and compact video camera, that is easy to use. It has an excellent usage factor, combining a mechanical start/stop recording slider, loud and distinct indicator beeps for mode changes, a 180 degree rotatable lens and a superb dual Laser leveling feature for horizontal alignment. The camera records in a vast array of high definition video resolutions up to 1080p, and has proven itself to take excellent footage with great clarity and realistic colors.

Velocity P35 Review

At the 2009 Interbike, I was highly intrigued by the Australian rim maker Velocity P35 or Pacenti 35 rims. The ultra wide 35mm rim, is 22mm deep with an inside width of 29.5mm, and seemed ideal for fat tires and brutal All Mountain riding. The rim was co-designed by Kirk Pacenti, who is also well known for his development of the 650b wheel size for mountain bike use. The P35 is available in 26”, 650b, and 29” sizes, drilled with either 32 or 36 holes, and comes in black, silver, white, electric red (shown) and antifreeze green.

Specialized Command Post Review

I am really liking the Specialized Command Post adjustable seatpost, which uses a mechanical system with an adjustable air spring, and has three locking positions, and a simple one bolt saddle clamp that is easily to install and tune the saddle's position.

Specialized Command Post
The Command Post (CP) is a mechanical 3-position locking height adjustable seatpost, with a 100mm range, a handlebar mounted remote, a single bolt keyed saddle clamp system, and is available in 31.6mm x 400mm and 30.9mm x 400mm size options. The three height settings are the Power position or full extension, Cruiser, which is 35mm below Power, and the Descender, which is 100mm below Power. The remote lever comes as a left handed version by default, but a right one can be ordered. The CP weighed in at 525 grams, not including the remote.

Contour Introduces the World's First GPS Hands-Free 1080p Video Camera

Contour Introduces the World’s First GPS Hands-Free 1080p Video Camera
ContourGPS to usher in new era of location-based video

September 13, 2010 (Seattle, Wash.) – Contour, a market leader in the hands-free video camera category, introduces ContourGPS, the first hands-free video camera to incorporate real-time GPS data while shooting high-definition, 1080p video. To complement this new GPS camera, Contour is launching a unique location-based video community that allows users to share their stories, track adventures and discover new places.

Vapor Trail 125 - 2010

The ultra-endurance Vapor Trail 125 race started at 10PM on Saturday night in Salida Colorado at an elevation of 7,000 feet. The 125 mile course spends most of its time in the mountains of the Sawatch Range, and once it hits the first singletrack, it never drops below 9,000 feet until the last 8 miles. For most of the course, the elevation varies from 9,000 to a staggering 12,600, usually averaging around 10,500 feet. When the riders are done, they will have completed around 20,000 feet of cumulative climbing. I have ridden a good deal of the trail, and it can be taxing and difficult in daylight, and would be very ugly at night with lights.

Gore Bike Wear Freeride Shorts Review

I have been enjoying the 2010 Gore Bike Wear Freeride Shorts, as they are a nice set of baggies that are comfortable, with excellent ventilation, and a Uber plushy padded removable inner chamois liner.

The shorts are cut with a long 12.2 inch inseam, have stretch inserts, abrasion resistant material at wear spots, an elastic waistband with drawstring and Velcro closures, two pockets, reflective piping, front and zippered side ventilation mesh, and come in five sizes. The removable inner shorts use a mesh elastic, with gripper material at the hems, and a padded chamois insert.

Prestacycle Prestaflator Review

I have been slowly tweaking my home shop, to make it a more useful and functional environment, and this last winter, I got a small air compressor from Sears. The Craftsman 1.5 gal. 150 PSI Air Compressor ($100), is light and portable enough to move it around where it's needed, and has adequate pressure and capacity for most situations.

However, all the tire attachments that came with the compressor, and other ones that I could locate in the marketplace, are for the Schrader valve (American valve), while most bicycles use the Presta (Sclaverand or French valve). I have used the small threaded brass Schrader to Presta adapters you'll find at any LBS, but they don't seal well, and are a pain to use, especially since most pump heads (or is that air heads?) lack threads.

I was finally able to locate a product that was made specifically for Presta valves, named the Prestaflator. It uses a pistol grip trigger with an attached pressure gauge, a screw on inflation hose with a threaded Presta chuck, and has a quick connect coupler for hooking up to the air compressor. The unit is made by Prestacycle based out of Waterford, New York, and they are cyclist's making tools for cycling.

Syncros FL Series Review

Syncros started out as a small, high end component company based out of Vancouver’s North Shore, and was purchased by Ritchey Design in 2003, but it's still managed as a separate brand, catering more towards the gravity crowd. The Syncros Freakin’ Light (FL) series, is their cross country oriented product suite, and covers their stems, handlebars, seatposts, saddle, rims, wheelsets and headsets. Of course, you can also replace call F###in' Light if you wish, but I will remain PC in cyber space. I tested their FL stem, bar, saddle and seatpost, and I'm happy to report they all worked and functioned quite well.

Marzocchi 55 RC3 Titanium Review

For the last several months, I have been bashing the new 2010 Marzocchi 55 RC3 Titanium through the wringer, and the titanium coil fork, with its shiny Nickel coated stanchions, has the legendary Zocchi buttery feel, and the fantastic linearity of a coil, and the apply named Bomber certainly fits the bill.