No more Horst link for Turner.
Nightpro – They have a new high end HID system out called the Extreme EVO. It is a HID light with their standard polished aluminum casing and a LiIon battery. They position themselves as the lower cost alternative to the "other guys" and they also aim to offer a complete portfolio. In an interesting twist their design and development is done in Taiwan and their manufacturing in the US. Go figure. They have a nice feature in the remote control on the light, so you can attach the switch to your clothing or to your handlebar if running it on the bars. If you run a helmet light it allows you to keep the switch accessible. The mounting bracket allows you to pull the light off the helmet and snap it onto the bar right away if the fog rolls in.
NiteRider - There is a lot to write about here, check in tomorrow for more info. I'll tease you with a few photos.
Adidas – The Adistar XC Race shoes has a full carbon sole, for those of you who might be interested in a really stiff shoe. They have a single buckle and double Velcro closure, although the Velcro straps are a hybrid in that they also feature the "Boa-like" cords. The buckle does not have a single notch release, so if you go to loosen the shoe while riding you might have it pop loose 2 or three notches and then retighten it. This is a very common shortcoming in shoes, the only guys I have seen who get it right are Sidi. The Carnacs also have the hosed up ratchet. Why can only one company figure this "technology" out?
Speaking of Sidi I spoke to Matt and cleared up a misconception that I (and apparently many others) have. The Dragon shoe does not have a carbon sole. It is different, and stiffer, than the Dominator, but it is not carbon. I spoke to the Veltec importer (they carry Look, Sidi, and a few other lines) and the Look version of the Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedal will not be imported to the US, so if you were hoping to take advantage of Look's superior bearing design and product warranty, you gotta talk to your uncle Francois across the pond.
Fizik – Two off road saddles utilize the wing flex design, the Gobi is the high end version and the Nisene the lower end. They both utlize the same rails, polycarbonate shell, and the Wing Flex technology, the main differences are weight (~60 grams) and the Gobi has a hand made genuine leather cover. I vote in favor of the Nisene, no point wasting a fancy cover on a saddle for a MTB. I might get one in time to test at the Whiskeytown 9-5 so I’ll write up a report on it if I do.
Independent Fabrications – These guys do amazing work, I consider them some of the true artisans of the bike business. This year their top of the line FS bike is the Tungsten Electrode, which has a titanium front end attached to a Dave Weagle designed ("dw-link") rear triangle which also appears in Iron Horse production bikes. The basic idea behind this linkage is that under the influence of acceleration the suspension does not get actuated, and that because the suspension is designed to minimize chain torque induced actuation the shock unit needs less low speed damping, so it responds better to small hits. IF also makes the main seat tube pivot so that it does not go straight through the seat tube, so they can make the design into very small frame and let the seatpost run down to below the pivot. The hardware on the linkage is also Ti. I gotta say this was one sexy bike. Iron Horse uses the DW design in the Azure and may other bikes in their line, but the Azure is the XC bike. They implement the DW link slightly differently, as you can see below. The shock unit is mounted up high under the top tube. IF wanted to keep the shock down low so they could use a butted titanium top tube and lighten it up. They also have a custom made PVC insert in the seat tube which prevents any potential corrosion between the seat tube and seatpost.
Industry Nine – This Asheville, NC company makes robotic equipment and several other random types of product. What you need to know is that some of their employees are cyclists who apparently like to work extra hours. They have their own hub/spoke design which they are mating up to a DT Swiss rim. The spokes are 12 guage aluminum and are straight. They thread into the hub and the interface is straight, as you would see in the photo below had it not turned out all blurry. Anyways their XC wheelset comes in at 1360 grams for the pair (no skewers) which is pretty darn light.
Formula – This is an Italian disc brake company that is just now getting their US distribution up & running. Their Puro is a very light brake, with an easily adjustable lever engagement point and a reversible lever. They also have a nice feature in that you can simply remove a screw and swap out the pads without having to remove the wheel from the bike. Could be useful for a midnight pad change in bad weather when your pit crew had lots of other things to worry about. This design also has Kevlar cables to save weight.
Ritchey – I'll have more opportunity to get the scoop on new Ritchey products when I get back to the Bay area but I can tell you that they are upgrading their top of the line wheels on both the road and MTB side to utilize a DT Swiss hub. Sweet. They are also lightening their already very light WCS road stem and they have a new polished titanium MTB pedal.
Lake – Last year I raced cyclocross on the Lake MX 165 and I have to say that with their Vibram sole they were clunkers - very heavy. A well made shoe but just too much mass to keep rotating for hours on end. Lake now has a carbon soled MTB shoe that besides being wicked light & stiff is also cool looking and has a customizable fit through the use of thermosetting carbon in the upper part of the shoe. Everything above the flat part of the sole is moldable to your foot. If you want more customization you just go buy a custom orthotic from any one of many vendors in that space. The shoe utilizes the Boa closure that is in use on Specialized and other shoes. Very slick looking, but not exactly cheap - $469 retail. And you would not want to walk far in these shoes. They also have a lower cost poly soled shoe with the Race tread design so it is lighter than last year's Vibram version, and also more suitable for walking.
Rocket 7 is going away from their full custom shoe lineup and is now basically offering shoes in an amazing array of lengths & widths – 47 lengths and 8 widths, to be exact. Their business model is to stock your LBS with maybe 3 widths and the others will be available within a couple of days if you need something unusual. They still make custom carbon orthotics if that is what you need. So in some sense their offering looks very similar to what Lake is now doing. In any case I have to wonder how many shops will stock even 3 widths of such an expensive shoe. Their MTB shoe was not ready for the show but they said they would have something new soon, so if you are interested in crazy expensive carbon MTB shoes check back in a month or two for an update.
Blackburn has a ton of new goodies out. Lights, computers, HRMs, even a nifty CO2 device. I'll get to that later. Here is a shot of their System X light, which is LED and NiMh based and is really targeted as being a smarter, longer life Halogen replacement, at a very reasonable price point. They have also put a lot of thought into durability & usabilty, with a smart charger that you can leave plugged in for months and will keep the battery optimally charged. The battery pack is good to submergence of 1 meter deep.
You can learn more at the System X site.