Go Clipless

Interbike Outdoor Demo day one preview

Moblogging here on the shuttle bus to Bootleg Canyon, home of the Outdoor Demo. Perusing through the daily show newspaper plotting out a plan for the day. They're expecting 5000 attendees today and tomorrow so I better get the jump on them if I want to try all the really good stuff first.

Apparently Cannondale will only be showing its bikes at the Outdoor Demo and not in the main expo hall. I better get my butt on the new Caffeine 29er and the Carbon Rush.

Maverick's got some new frames it will be debuting. Thought I'd check them out...I've always liked the look of their inverted forks. They also have a new remote operated drop seat...lots going on there.

Diamondback wants to be taken seriously with an all new high end mtb line. The Mission 3 is it's new 30 pound 6" travel all mountain bike.

Pearl Izumi bailed out of its shoe partnership with Crankbrothers. This year Scott will step in with its new to the U.S. line of shoes, sharing booth space and sponsorship with Crankbrothers.

Hutchinson will be launching its new Python 29er cross country tire.

Kona will debut its new Hei Hei Sureme cross country race bike...hope its available for rides.

I'm hoping Ellsworth will have its new full sus 29er on hand.

I'll see what's doin' in the Surly tent. Last year there were a train of Pugsleys riding all over this place.

Well I'm sure I'll get in lots of trouble these next few days. I may post a few random things using the Treo throughout the day but look for the serious posts in the evening or early morning. The quality photos from my digital camera are usually too large to upload on the old cell network. Plus I'll be too busy riding...haha.

Welcome to Vegas

 

Land where everything's done in a linear fashion. I'm here standing 5 people deep waiting for my bag. It's been about 30 minutes already and it still looks like I'll have time to finish this post.

Just got a message from Jvicious...looks like he'll be delayed a day. Something about having too much fun riding in Moab and wanting to check out Durango. Yeah...whatever buddy.

Can't wait to ride some bikes tomorrow at the OutDoor Demo. The best part of Interbike if you ask me.

Venue selected for the Interbike Blogger Meetup

Event: 2nd Annual Interbike Blogger Meetup
Date: Thursday, September 28
Time: 8:00pm
Location: Mist Bar at Treasure Island

It looks like we've got some good representation at the Interbike Blogger Meetup. Here's whose rsvp'ed so far:

Dirt Rag (Jeff Lockwood)
altBike (James Asher)
MTBikeAZ.com (Mike)
MessNYC (Bill Dozer)
G-Ted Productions and TwentyNineInches (Guitar Ted)
Crooked Cog Network (Tim Grahl)

I think/hope Tim will bring his Colleague's from Blue Collar Mountain Biking and Commute by Bike as well.

Feel free to bring your spouse or significant other if they are traveling with you...this is mainly a social gathering. I'm thinking we can gather at the Mist bar (they have couch lounge areas and some long tables where we can gather - see the 360 degree view on this page). Treasure Island is pretty centrally located and not too far from the Sands Convention Center (relatively speaking) so it should be fairly easy to get to for most. Its an upscale casual place but they don't enforce a dress code until 10:30pm. Still I'd suggest a decent pair of jeans, shoes (not sneakers - see this debacle from last year), and a collared shirt. My experience is that this is the ideal Las Vegas get-up for most venues anyway.

Ok...now your job is to spread the word. We need some more road cycling bloggers and some women bloggers too. Bill D will represent the messengers, but unfortunately all-around road riders Fritz (Cyclelicious) and DL Byron (Bike Hugger) won't be able to make it (guys I'd still like to meet you during the show...I'll shoot you an e-mail with my contact info).

So we're all set. Can't wait to get this party started.

Crankbrothers Interbike Edition Pedals

Once again Crankbrothers will be holding its popular pedal demo at Interbike's OutDoor Demo starting tomorrow (did I mention I'll be there?). I have to tell you Crankbrothers really goes all out for Interbike and makes the most of their time there with great promotions. You can't miss them at the OutDoor Demo and you'd be a fool if you did. First, they hook you up with a sweet pair of pedals for the day, next they outfit your shoes with the proper cleats (if you don't already have them), and finally, they invite you back to their mist-cooled VIP lounge tent for lunch and drinks. At the end of the day you can buy the pedals from them for a song. You can't beat that.

Check it out...looks like red will be the new color for 2007.

Why ride a rigid, single speed, 29er?

Snot-rocket nails it. Enough said.

Specialized's "special" Interbike booth

I thought this was a strange headline from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRaIN):

Specialized Focuses on Dealers, Media at Interbike

Huh? Isn't that the whole point of Interbike? Ok...so I chalked it up to just a standard press release by Specialized announcing their attendance...companies sometimes find the need to do that. But, when you actually read the article it turns out they really do plan on excluding certain audiences. Namely their competition and other distributors. Most companies dislike when their competition "shops" them, however, everyone knows it will happen at a trade show. It seems that Specialized will be going to unusual lengths to be sure this doesn't happen.

If their plans are similar to those of Eurobike, it is expected that the booth will be enclosed. Only retailers and media will be allowed inside. Once inside the layout is expected to be similar to that of one of Specialized's new "Concept Stores" (see photo above). It's a cool enough idea, but what's with all the secrecy?

At last year's Interbike, I noticed that Specialized was the only one of the major manufacturers (maybe even the only vendor of any kind) that tried to prohibit photos of the items in it's booth by way of signs it posted. According to one of Specialized's personnel in the booth the reason for the "no photos" policy was to ward off counterfeit manufacturers from China, Taiwan, and other locations. Are they really worried that in the time it takes to introduce a new model year product at Interbike through to when they can finally produce and distribute it to retailers themselves, one of their competitors or a rogue manufacturer will have beat them to it?

Maybe it's the concept store model itself that they are trying to protect. Perhaps they need more time to get retailers on board with this new model before their chief competitors begin to do the same.

Whatever the reason, it seems a bit paranoid to go to such lengths and then to promote it in the media. If they are that worried about something truly innovative, then maybe they should hold a private event at the show or even follow Trek's lead by having a show of their own.

Either way, I guess it's no big deal since the people who should see Specialized's offerings will still be able to do so. Hopefully, photos will be allowed. I should think that the Specialized marketing department would understand the viral power of the Web by now. Clearly the extra publicity would outweigh the risk of counterfeit. No?

Kerry Litka throws down the booth babe gauntlet

That's what I'm talkin' about - a woman with real confidence. The contest may be over before it begins. Kerry Litka has declared that she is going to Interbike and when it is over she will be leaving with the Go Clipless Booth Babe tiara (wait a minute...do we have a tiara to give?)

Gwadzilla voted for Kerry last year as a "write in" so I'd say she's got a good shot.

Kerry...we'll look for you on Wednesday in the Terry booth, so wear your most flattering duds. Can't wait to meet you and that spunky little puppet.

Interbike booth babes - if you have been preparing all year for this contest, things have just risen to a new level. It's time to adjust your strategy as the competition is serious this year!

Interbike blogger meetup

Event: 2nd Annual Interbike Blogger Meetup
Date: Thursday, September 28
Time: 8:00pm
Location: To be announced (most likely a bar or restaurant)

Calling all cycling bloggers. It's time that we organize the second annual Interbike Blogger Meetup. Since he was a big part of last year's meetup and is bringing a gaggle of bloggers with him to this year's Interbike, I hooked up online with Tim Grahl (from the Crooked Cog) to discuss the best time for the meetup.

We agreed that Tuesday night would not be good as not all would be attending the OutDoor Demo and may still be arriving for the start of the exhibition. Wednesday night had too many pre-scheduled after hour meetings and events (last year this was the night that Unchained premiered). Given this we thought a meetup on Thursday night would be best. If we meet at 8:00pm this would give people time to get back to their hotel rooms, post up the days news, and grab some dinner before socializing with some drinks and meeting their blogosphere brethren.

All cycling bloggers are welcome whether road or mountain; corporate or amateur; come one, come all. Even you mainstream media types...we love you too! Have an e-zine type site that's not quite a blog, you're welcome as well.

So how do you RSVP? Either leave a comment here or post up on your site that you are attending and link to this post. I'll find you and keep a running list of links to all of those that are attending. I'll leave this post on the top of my page for the next week so you can track who is attending and stay abreast of the updates.

Drop me an e-mail (link on the right) if you have any questions or suggestions for where to meet.

Ellsworth to debut full suspension 29er at Interbike

Single speed, steel, hard-tail 29ers are a dime-a-dozen, so it's great to see some more manufacturers pushing the boundaries a little by stretching the format beyond it's roots. Ellsworth Bikes has announced that it will debut a new full suspension 29er at the upcoming Interbike show. The company will join the ranks of only a handful of manufacturers, such as, Niner, Intense, and Ventana (read my first impression of the Ventana El Capitan) that have dared to push the 29er into the dualie realm.

Ellsworth's new "Evolve" will sport 4 inches of travel and will use the company's Instant Center Tracking (ICT) suspension design, promising an efficient, yet plush ride. Unfortunately, few other details are available so I'll have to follow up on this once I get to Interbike.

What I found interesting was this quote by founder Tony Ellsworth:

"I would rather be late to the 29er party with a more efficient ride than any bike in this class,"

Late to the party? Well in the world of specialty bike manufacturers and 29er crazed bike bloggers, maybe? But to the rest of the world, I'm not so sure. Aside from Gary Fisher Bikes, I don't believe that there is a single major manufacturer out there that has developed a full-suspension 29er. Few have even dared to build any kind of 29er, although that is changing this year.

So Ellsworth, no need to apologize. You're right where you need to be.

Oh, and it looks like Ellsworth has been quite busy as a look at their Web site reveals several additional bikes in development including, two cross country hard-tails (one geared, one single speed), two all-mountain bikes (one for endurance, one for more freeride type applications), and a trials bike.

New bike

Here are some oft heard and goofy phrases that describe my new bike:

Brown is the new black.

One gear, no fear.

Nothing finer than my brand new 29er.

The opposite of flaccid.

This bike is just the best buy going in mountain biking right now. I've only had a chance to ride it once. I had a blast, but not enough time to give you the true first impressions.

Maybe some of you can guess, but I'll give you an update when I get back from this current business trip and get another ride in with it.

Meanwhile, I'll get back to regular programming shortly. Oh, and I have confirmed that I will be at Interbike again this year. J-Vicious will join me again as well so booth babes rejoice.