Interbike show shots - Let cheese reign
Encore, Encore!
Words by Ed Snyder. Photos by David Ferguson.
Interbike is good for a lot of things. You run in to tons of people you haven’t seen in a while, learn about what’s new and great and in the cycling world, have random celebrity sightings and see just how high you can push the oxygen level in your body before you spontaneously combust. While all of that fun stuff is happening your attention gets dragged away from your mission by random stuff you would only see at a bike industry trade show. Lots of people are trying to grab your attention and they have some creative and some not so creative (but just as effective) ways to do it.
What follows is a slice of Interbike life that happens in between all the things you are supposed to be doing. Stuart coined the term “Show Shots” and I like it, so that’s our story and we’re sticking to it. What happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily have to stay in Vegas anymore. We’ve got the internet…
The army of tiny saw people were here too.
Something about Vegas compels people to take perfectly good bicycle parts and hack them to bits. Stu mentioned an army of tiny people with saws and despite not seeing any of the lumberjack leprechauns in action, evidence of their presence was everywhere.
A host of grocery-getters at the ready.
It’s not just the high-zoot bikes that make the show in Vegas. All kinds of manufacturers bring all kinds of wheeled beasts. We saw a bike with a hinge on the seat tube that allowed you to kick out the back end of the bike and still continue to ride in a straight line, bikes to carry surfboards, three wheeled high performance carts from England, a bike powered by both pedals and by rocking the bars back and forth (via a separate chain drive), and the list goes on. If it’s human-powered and rolls you’ll probably see one at Interbike.
Ferguson showing off that irresistible photographer magnetism with the Tyr girl. Don't they make a cute couple?
David Ferguson is a force of nature. Not only does he flood this site with high quality images of everything from Crankworx to Interbike, he has charms that go unmeasured by most scales. Either that or we toss him like bait at every booth babe we see and snap a pic before they realize what’s happening. As with all things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Vicious Cycles threw us this year with a decidedly non-vicious paintjob to highlight its frames.
As Stu has shown, manufacturers will go way out of the box with paint schemes to grab your eye in what is already a dizzying visual event. Vicious cycles is no exception but this year they decided a kinder gentler approach would be apropos to catch the eye of the passerby. It worked, as Fergs thought the beautiful execution of this particular strategy was worth a shot, and it’s hard to argue with the guy holding the camera.
If you looked up “bicycle” in the dictionary you’d probably see a picture a lot like this: Rigid fork, steel frame and single speed. About as basic and simply beautiful in execution as you can get. Before you get too excited you should know that it's a 29er.
Formula's One Brake brings some glamour to big bike stopping duties.
Formula has a new contestant in the heavy duty brake market. They are calling it the “One” and it’s chock full of features that have hardcore users in mind. It houses a massive 24mm piston inside a single piece forged caliper to handle the dirty work of the stopping chores. They’ve also done a tremendous job at the lever incorporating several features that increase the survivability in the case of a major stack. These include breakaway fail-safe parts at several points along the lever and its connection to the caliper. All these improvements are aimed at keeping you away from a big crash in the first place but if it’s unavoidable making sure you can get home afterward without a complete loss of braking function.
Spyder was there and is intent on adding bling to your bike. Their red anodized bashguard was intricately decorated and the carbon fiber bottle holder was pretty slick… but who runs water bottles on MTB’s anymore?
Jelly Belly was at the show promoting its line of energy products. They decided this custom painted motorcycle and sidecar would be good for grabbing attention and they were right. If you got near it, it was hard not to take a gander at.
This is how their jelly rolls
Mini-Rant: Eating at Interbike is anything but healthy, balanced nutrition. If you can squeeze out the time there are good breakfasts to be had for sure, and decent dinner options are around if you don’t have more official engagements. However in the purgatory that is the middle of the show day at Interbike, eating is catch as catch can… and the catch is usually not good.
The food stands offer up basic concession grub just good enough not to make prisoners or conventioneers riot, but real food means leaving the show altogether and that is usually not an option during the busy days. That means you become and opportunity feeder snarfing up bits of Powerbars, sample slugs of Cytomax, gel cubes and whatever else you can get your hands on short of bits of carpet from the show floor.
This brings me to Sport Beans; the energy food offering from Jelly Belly. They of course had free sample packs available to the passersby and knowing we’d be hungry Fergs and I loaded up for later in the day. As the day wore on and the appointments ran together we reached for these packs of Jelly sustenance and chowed down. Turns out in our show-haze we’d grabbed the Extreme Sport Beans that have not only electrolytes, carbs and vitamins… but also caffeine. After a bag or two we were feeling ready to take on the world, if not a little rough in the stomach. I don’t blame that on the beans as mixing so many energy supplements in such a small space can only end in tears anyway.
Paying the piper; the price of admission for the photo opp. with the Look girls was being branded with a company tattoo.
As happens with all things caffeinated the ride ended abruptly and our rapid descent left us scrambling for some protein to avoid total meltdown. Lesson learned. Take a piece of fruit at breakfast, pack a turkey sandwich along or even make run for a hotdog if you must… but don’t rely on show samples to power you through the day. The rush is fun but the landing is tough to walk away from.
Big wheels keep on turning… just not on the Shore.
Despite having no traction (in a retail sense) on the Shore or in Europe, the 29’er movement rolls on in other segments of the cycling market. This full suspension example from Niner bikes was pretty to look at and later they rolled out a even swankier version with a liberal use of carbon.
Ed Snyder Stay tuned for even more goodies from Interbike as our own coverage keeps rolling along. In the meantime share your thoughts about what’s already on display by hitting the boards.
Fergs even got a smooch from the Marzocchi girl. It must be that 'nice guy' thing he's got going.
