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Interbike
LAS VEGAS -- The bicycle industry’s epically huge, fluorescently lit, yearly hype-fest is an assault on the senses. Every inch of Mandalay Bay’s sprawling convention center here is covered with people using all manner of trickery to make you notice them and check out their products. I saw a Delorean towing a tiny trailer, more blinking lights than the runway at McCarran airport, and an army of women whose only job seemed to be to riding rollers with their jerseys unzipped. There were more than 1,200 vendors to see, hear, and smell.
As I sit at the airport headed home, bleary eyed and exhausted after two days of this insanity, I try to parse all I learned, comprehend all I saw and, in the end, figure out why the hell WIRED was at Interbike.
I get this question a lot at car shows, music shows, and comic book shows. The majority of people out there think of WIRED solely as a tech publication. The fact is, we like cars, music, comic books and bikes as much as we like smartphones and laptops. And if we like it, that makes it WIRED. And there was a lot to like at Interbike, even though the big industry trade show has grown a bit long in the tooth. It used to be the event where all the fancy brands unveiled their latest whips. But I wandered the floor for two full days and didn’t see anything new from the major players. Specialized, Cannondale and the other heavy-hitters all launch their new products at tightly managed, big-budget events at places like Copper Mountain.
Still, the trends are palpable. The biggest: Fat is where it’s at. Every single aisle had at least one vendor showing off a fat-tire bike. Everyone is on the tubby train -- Salsa, 9:Zero:7, Felt. My favorite was the sub-22-pound Yampa from Borealis. If you live where the snow falls early and often, but can’t bear the idea of only riding in the basement, it looks like this is the year you get to fatten your quiver. See what I did there?
Another thing I noticed: The sheer number of companies trying to sell you energy bars, gels or electrolyte beverage mixes has officially become ridiculous. Who knew we were all so hungry and dehydrated? Gels, blocks, bars -- most of them still only taste good mid-century. But the good news is that I stayed hydrated and energized during my first day on the floor, even though I missed lunch.
Just as many companies are making attire to compress every part of your body. To hear these folks tell it, we absolutely, positively must pull on super-tight socks, pants, shirts, knee pads and arm-sleeve-things to hasten our recovery or improve our endurance or ease our pain. I make fun, but I am about to call in some compression wear for review. The whole phenomenon still has the whiff of hokum, but we'll see.
Is your company lacking something new to talk about at Interbike? Fear not -- just introduce a new "colorway." Interbike was full of new paint jobs. Some of them are downright blinding -- bright green and safety orange were everywhere. If 2013 was the year everything was "murdered out," 2014 looks like somebody murdered the '80s and let it bleed everywhere.
Oh and in case you haven't heard, gravel bikes have become A Big Thing. Everyone is scrambling to introduce a bike that is not a road bike yet not a ‘cross bike and definitely not a skinny-tired mountain bike, but an honest to goodness all-day adventure bike. If you’re struggling to understand just what a "gravel bike" is, the key criteria appear to be a bottom bracket lower than that of a cross bike but higher than a road bike, with a wheelbase a little longer than both. Gravel bikes also have quick handling and plenty of provisions for racks and fenders. I want to give a special shout out to two I liked in particular, the Giant Revolt, the HED Black & Tan, and the Raleigh Tamland.
The biggest takeaway is this: The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well within the bicycle industry. That’s most apparent at the edges of the convention center, where you'll hear the sweetest, and saddest, stories from the people WIRED most loves to root for. It’s where you find those mom-and-pop companies (though often just pop) who have designed their own bikes or lights or panniers. They’re eager, almost desperate, to get a little media attention, to convince a shop to carry their goods, or to make a quick sale on the show floor. My wallet fell open for a sweet t-shirt from the folks at Handlebar Mustache, a bag made from recycled bike tubes at Green Guru, and some extra fancy pants at Makers & Riders. You can see what the big boys have to offer simply by opening a magazine or browsing a website, but Interbike is the only place you can see what’s coming from the other end of the industry. Viva Las Vegas.
Another thing I noticed: The sheer number of companies trying to sell you energy bars, gels or electrolyte beverage mixes has officially become ridiculous. Who knew we were all so hungry and dehydrated? Gels, blocks, bars -- most of them still only taste good mid-century. But the good news is that I stayed hydrated and energized during my first day on the floor, even though I missed lunch.
Just as many companies are making attire to compress every part of your body. To hear these folks tell it, we absolutely, positively must pull on super-tight socks, pants, shirts, knee pads and arm-sleeve-things to hasten our recovery or improve our endurance or ease our pain. I make fun, but I am about to call in some compression wear for review. The whole phenomenon still has the whiff of hokum, but we'll see.
Is your company lacking something new to talk about at Interbike? Fear not -- just introduce a new "colorway." Interbike was full of new paint jobs. Some of them are downright blinding -- bright green and safety orange were everywhere. If 2013 was the year everything was "murdered out," 2014 looks like somebody murdered the '80s and let it bleed everywhere.
Oh and in case you haven't heard, gravel bikes have become A Big Thing. Everyone is scrambling to introduce a bike that is not a road bike yet not a ‘cross bike and definitely not a skinny-tired mountain bike, but an honest to goodness all-day adventure bike. If you’re struggling to understand just what a "gravel bike" is, the key criteria appear to be a bottom bracket lower than that of a cross bike but higher than a road bike, with a wheelbase a little longer than both. Gravel bikes also have quick handling and plenty of provisions for racks and fenders. I want to give a special shout out to two I liked in particular, the Giant Revolt, the HED Black & Tan, and the Raleigh Tamland.
The biggest takeaway is this: The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well within the bicycle industry. That’s most apparent at the edges of the convention center, where you'll hear the sweetest, and saddest, stories from the people WIRED most loves to root for. It’s where you find those mom-and-pop companies (though often just pop) who have designed their own bikes or lights or panniers. They’re eager, almost desperate, to get a little media attention, to convince a shop to carry their goods, or to make a quick sale on the show floor. My wallet fell open for a sweet t-shirt from the folks at Handlebar Mustache, a bag made from recycled bike tubes at Green Guru, and some extra fancy pants at Makers & Riders. You can see what the big boys have to offer simply by opening a magazine or browsing a website, but Interbike is the only place you can see what’s coming from the other end of the industry. Viva Las Vegas.
CrossVegas
There's a giant race at Interbike called CrossVegas. It's the largest cyclocross race in America, and it takes place at a huge outdoor soccer complex near the Vegas strip. It's the only time any of the Interbike attendees actually go outdoors, smell the fresh air, and feel grass under their feet. The fields did not disappoint, with Katerina Nash winning the Elite Women's race, Sven Nyes taking the elite men's title, and an impressive showing for the big "Wheelers and Dealers" shootout. I want to offer props to Christopher "Smithers" Smith of Lazer Sports, who finished in the top ten of the manufacturers' field. Woot.All photos: Jim Merithew/WIRED
