Once upon a time this was the season that bike geeks turned their attention to Interbike, where the latest and greatest in bike porn was revealed to the trade, who in turn revealed it to the masses. Now The Interwebs and the decline of traditional model year sales cycles mean that what’s new is actually pretty old by the time it appears on the floor of the show.
If you want the full round up there is already plenty to read and watch. A couple of things caught my eye:
Camelbak podium bottle. After living with worn-out, dribbling valves on Brand-S bottles the Podium comes off as a product of genius. Can’t wait to try one, and if they work as advertised I’ll junk my stock of old-school water bottles.
Jones bicycles and handlebars. The bike industry gets a bad rap for me-too products. Jeff Jones designs mountain bikes that won’t be mistaken for any other manufacturer’s. I really…no, really…want a Jones Spaceframe.
If you get tired of the endless product news, you might also want to see what Brendan at Competitive Cyclist has to say about Interbike. The gossip, as it were. Here’s a choice bit:
“…what blew us away was the chatter of Pacific Cycle buying Cannondale. Perhaps you’ve never even heard of Pacific. They own Schwinn, GT, and Mongoose. Rumor is that they’re buying Cannondale, shutting down the US factory and turning it into a warehouse, and shifting the production of America’s best big bike manufacturing company to Asia. It gives Pacific a high-end performance offering in their portfolio of generally dumbed-down (albeit highly recognized & profitable) brands. Sounds like a smart strategic move to us, though it’s sad to see America’s final sizeable maker of bikes go offshore.”