Our very first Interbike Outdoor Demo left us dusty, drained and drunk. As we started our hike up the hill towards the venue, we were handed the first of many freebee's - SportLegs (with calcium). Just like a tall glass of cold milk, these little pills claim to boost performance by "taming lactic acid burn". We're not sure how it works, but the ladies agree, you'll go longer and harder. It gets Marla Streb, Willow Koerber and Gale Dahlager to the finish line.
Our second stop was at flybar to demo this cool contraption, which is basically a handlebar with bounce. For more info, check out Gman's article, "A bike with no wheels?".
Finally, the part you've all been waitung for.....[drum roll, please] the Interbike 2005 Outdoor Demo......
Once inside the gates, we were immediately drawn to the joint forces of Pearl Izumi/Crank Bros, where Gman smelled something funny...a logical merger, perhaps? We were both quickly fitted with a pair of the "blue shoes," which were a bit uncomfortable and never resulted in a sale. Nevertheless, we were impressed with the Pearl Bros. tent and their hospitality. We've got a lot of good (and some bad) to say about these two, so check back soon for more details.
Now on to the bikes...it was a virgin day all around.
We started off riding a Cannondale Rush and Ellsworth Truth. Our impression of the booth organization and ride on each of these was inversely proportional - each with Clippy potential in different categories. Stay posted.
Next, we decided to take out two Niner one9's, if that ain't a mouthful of numbers. These gave us a taste of 29ers and single-speeds all at once. It was immediately apparent that we were onto something sweet as the founder, Chris Sugai, greeted us and explained the beauty of mountain biking's future. His enthusiasm for this combinaiton pierced our 26-inch universe even before we hit the trailhead...we were enamored. These behemoths of the mountain bike world come with one caveat that still didn't burst Gman's bubble: the sheer force required to turn this rubber, combined with aluminum bolts and the G's massive mashing power, taco'ed the single chainring. It was a cyclo-cross-style clamber back to Niner central.
I was so enamored that I had to try a geared 29er for comparison. I went to the Moots tent and rode off on a titanium Mooto-X YBB, one of the employees' own pride and joy, who was kind enough to demo the bike for this event. Wow, was I impressed!! This bike tracked better than any I had ridden, until popping the tube on trail 2. Now it was my turn to do some cyclo-cross training. I raced Gman, on his Titus RacerX, back to the booths and the call of free-flowing beer. Nothing more needs to be said about the Titus and it's aging 4-link design, although it did beat an aging J Vicious pushing a flat.
We ended our day sucking suds, first in the Pearl Bros. hospitality tent, which hit the spot with their misting fan on the way in and white leather sofa's once inside - I'm not sure what felt better. After a few Foster's, we were off to the Desert Dust-Off, sponsored by Bike Magazine, Fender Guitars and Hayes Disc Brakes. It was "damn good music" by Willy Porter and endless kegs of New Belgium's Fat Tire Ale. Damn this week is going to kick ass!!
