Interbike Indoor 4-Classic Style

After being reunited with the Reverend, he explained how we had to go see the "Jacket." What "Jacket?" The "Jacket" at the Brooks Brothers booth.  Along the way, we ran into this guy, Bruce Horton (selling a 50th edition Campy Gruppo De Rosa for $2700...who cares what size), showing off his wife's custom mixte:

Before we noticed the crease:

Wooden rims, art deco lugs, FEA modeled by the folks at Specialized, the whole story and pics can be had here (it is stunning).  Occasionally the Rt. Reverend and I run across someone even more obsessed and  than ourselves, with answers to our every question. This is a difficult path to travel, because in the midst of describing their intricate process of  their creative genius, the Rev or I will usually pop out a "How about if you are 10 ft tall and on the moon?" type question.  These victims of Male Answer Syndrome are usually the sober, engineer, inventor types. In these instances distraction, humor, threats of mayhem, actual mayhem or shots will generally bring them down to our level. At Sea Otter, it was this guy, who knew that caulking the EBB on single speeds was an effective way to stop the creaks.  At Interbike, it was definitely Bruce Horton who had an answer to every nuanced question about wooden rim care and such, which we peppered him with, until we hit upon "the crease" in the fender which we pointed out, latched onto and, which he knew that we knew was killing him.  The first and last scratch this bike will have while with Bruce:

 After we noticed, the conversation turned much less jovial as we pressed for details on the crease and crease mitigation:

The Bennotto (which, today, is a poor plastic imitation of what it used to be) booth did not want our types around, so they hid the vintage stuff on the backside of the booth:

Walking into the Brooks booth you could see a stir in the sales force, one Brooks guy smiled and nodded then turned to his companions, continuing in hushed tones.  The Reverend said something about it being the fourth time he had been in the booth that day, as the sales force stood loosely semicircular (I believe to prevent escape) around the Jacket, the Reverend demonstrating the Jacket's features and finer points. Waxed cotton, rakish angles, a color that ages well, removable wool lining, internal suspenders, vents, gaskets, reflective bits: the Reverend was clearly staring down the seventh and tenth commandments pretty hard. Taking a softer approach to deterrence, one sales person offered that the Reverend was, ahhem, at least an extra-large, perhaps long; clearly he would need to order one:

The new 101 CEN Bicycle Standards will require the use of safety jackets, of which I believe this would qualify. Will the Revvy rock a custom long version?  Answer here, though it may take a bit to play out.

Despite a $1000 prize to the first Tour De France Champion to wear one, one thing that won't be playing out safety wise, is this product, the Halo Mirror:

Halo Mirror comes in different shapes and sizes and an arcing design that, in Fahzure's experience, caused one to be constantly staring at ones own face. I'm plenty ugly to rock a full face almost all the time and despite my protests, the rep claimed the product was ready to go...sort of.  This item had all of the classics of a garage invention: bandsaw cut plexiglass, shoelace attachments, no logo or stylistic cues, no brochures or pictures allowed, patent pending, trade secrets and such.  Well, not one to want to attract attention, I scurried along, but took this spy picture of the rep taking a picture of the Rev next to the product, which is clear. Double documentation of this non-happening:

When you text someone, in order for the text to be successful they must be able to understand the meaning of words you are texting.  Apparently, Circulus was not in the common Interbike parlance.

Cycling for everyone

So safe that everyone rides without a helmet:

SSSSS-Super Sick Sending Sunday, with Stacy

You my recall that Fahzure has predicted that mountain bike parks are the future of cycling.  Their ability to make fun for a wide variety of ages and abilities make them much like ski areas, complete with the lodge scene, though often relocated to the parking lot. Well,  the Wasatch front has been missing out on the bike park innovation for a few years with resorts slow to hop on board with served mountain biking and even slower to develop freeride trails.  This year, despite a late start, the Canyons has stepped it up and open real bike park style trails ($15 Lift Tickets!...next weekend is end of season).

Good rides often start with friends in the parking lot:

Although, there were long lines, I was fortunate to drop right in behind some Posse members and right next to Stacy.  You remember Stacy, who smoked Dirty in a throwdown DH race at Deer Valley in front of the Backcountry.com crew, don't you?:

The long lines made the trail that much more tasty, once rolling:

The crue (as we've been named) rolling the intermediate line:

Tice, first day back, pretty much, satellite out:

Classic Fahzure style off the big step down:

Tice big stepdown:

Little and big stepdown options.  Look ma, no hands:

No footer with partial crue watching:

Dishing it:

For some reason, almost nobody noticed the skills park, complete with wood chip stepup/ghetto foam pit.  Fahzure tried spinning threes and nailed crank flips:

Flo airing through the skills park on his way to the woodchip stepup:

Pavel has put together a nice vid of the day:

On the way down, through cellular magic, I spoke to Dirty, letting him know that I was sure to see his arch-nemesis, and what message should I deliver.  He claimed to have just podiumed at a race in CA (SS 29er) and is heading to St. George next weekend to ride, all-comers invited.  So, down in the parking lot,  I let Stacy know this and she was doubly surprised: 1. they have a class for those kind of bikes (no 26ers allowed?); 2. she also will be in St. George next weekend, for a wedding, and will be bringing her all-mountain bike.  So Dirty, here you go:

Interbike Indoor 3-Awkward Moments

So where last we left it, the Revvy and I had worn out our welcome at Slipnot, Kingcage and WTB Freedom and the Revvy had taken off with another green giant of the show, Ms. Soulcraft:

Which left Mr. Soul(craft) and I standing around awkwardly...better talk bikes.  As you may know, Soulcraft is one of the most experienced of the second generation mtb handbuilders with ties to Bruce Gordon and roots at Salsa, where Mr. Soul(craft) was in charge of building some 10,000 Salsa stems, you probably have one. Soulcraft frames feature the same precision mitering and tig welding honed on those stems, available in all sorts of wheel size configurations. Coming full circle, Soulcraft is now doing full custom tigged cromo stems featuring Paragon bits.:

                                                       Photo: CRC Hurl
They also make the best single speed tension converter on the planet, the Convert:

 Hey if they're good enough to build a frame for Evgeni Plushenko maybe they're good enough for you. After all this Soul, Fahzure was eager to find some other prime goods.  Where's the Duke?!?! Well you may remember from Spoke(n)'s OR coverage that 5.10 has come out with what promises to be the hottest shoe of 2012, the Duke.  This guy, a big galoot named Kevin (!), was surely accommodating to my enthusiasm for the Duke and suggested that I let Chuckie C. know of my need: 

 Ladies and gentlemen, the Duke (Budweiser courtesy of King Cage):

According to legend, Chuckie C will be flying back 2 pair, size 13 back from Asia on his next get, for Fahzure to test and appreciate.  Look for the report. Certain that I lost the Revvy, I proceeded to his likely lair, the Surly booth which featured Pugsleys, or were they Moonlanders, on log rollers.  SLC represent!:


This guy is the real champion, someone throw a beer to (at) him:

The Revvy was not be found, but Big Galoot bikes were. Fahzure rode these at the Demo and they are super fun, love the tire roar in compressions:

I saw this guy trying to make a quick exit and decided to follow:

Where did he me lead me?:

The Revvy trying to start a fight about the lack of beer stops at SSWC (in Ireland!).

Stay tuned for more Interbike coverage, including Circulus!

Interbike Indoor 2-Some Really (really) Cool Stuff

While Fahzure does appreciate all of the novelty acts in Vegas (the Revvy and I did try to see Bridget the Midget...Revvy, you have got to get your stuff straight otherwise its a nonstop goose chase...Strider!), there are some real gems at the show.  Here are a few:
Moulton stainless steel space frame dually:

 Moulton stainless steel NOT space frame dually:

 Copenhagen Parts Handlebasket:

Bonelocker super secure hitch mount bike rack:

Fahzure used to have a pair of Pitbulls, which work way better than studs, but these Slipnot chains come in 26" and 29" sizes and are width adjustable via a turnbuckle, which also means you don't have to remove the tire for installation:

A rubber chicken is always good for a laugh, in this case, a well placed one by the Revvy gets you a t-shirt, as well:

These sweet little Ti toeclips from Ron Andrews at King Cage were Best of Show material, so little material and so strong and so light.  Almost makes me want to ride clips, again.  No word on an XL model:

Ron also makes chainguards in Ti, stainless and galvy (for the truly HVAC look):

A Send(ing) Off for the Chowdah Fam

You may have seen zen master papa Chowdah around Spoke(n) before and recognized just how core he has been to our scene around here. Well Chowdah, Momma M and Little N have decided to move almost to Canada, heck they're even bringing Sister L, so we decided to throw a party.  The first part of any good party is to build a trail (at Broniel's, of course), nice work Flo.:

Next ride bikes:

Fahzure had to get some:

Then comes a fire:

And, after everybody is well satiated, leave it to the kids (Griffy) to rip it in the dark:

Thanks Broniel, you're a real great host.  Love to the Chowdah fam, SLC will miss you.

Interbike Indoors 1

There are many Interweb sources out there where you can find info on the latest carbon, TT or electronic gizmo found at Interbike.  Fahzure won't bother you with a rehashed product literature feature; at Spoke(n) we'll focus on the truly new and the the dreamers. Nowadays, the upstairs at Interbike is reserved, for the most part, for those renewing their presence at the show.  There will be an occasional newbie upstairs, usually making a big push to enter the U.S. and, sometimes, someone falls through the cracks, like these folks:

That's right RRG-Road Rash Guard-is place-able protection for the lycra (criterium?) crowd.  You might have seen this technology applied to guy mounts for your tent or tarp (yes, I'm speaking to the homeless Spoke(n) readers). Two plastic parts sandwich fabric to create an external skid plate.  The Rev and I were interested in the upcoming dermal patch enhanced model.  4 for $28.95.

Continuing the trend of poorly and obviously named products, the Axle Release (arrgh) converts solid axles to QR by simply threading a QR dangle on both ends of the axle:

 Apparently "Quick Nuts" is already taken, so lets go get a squirrel:

Words can be tricky.  Nowhere is that more obvious than in the Taiwan sector, now pitching high tech manufacturing with 3rd grade English (click to enlarge, read carefully):

Or maybe you need a lower tech solution to carry all your junk, like this (formerly) Great Gatsby goes India model:

At least they remembered to put brakes on both front wheels:

For around $1000 you can get the ultimate training device, the aptly named Slowwheel (1-800-GET-SLOW) adds resistance to your hub at three different levels:

The rep kept saying something about "riding with your wife" which didn't help matters much:

 Not slow enough? Get the Powerwheel with 7 levels of resistance and professional (slower?) quality bearings. I want one for each of my friends along with a bluetooth controller that I will keep.  Apparently, the all-time unemployment levels have hit mechanical engineers hard.

While some engineers are working to make your bike slower, others are working to make any bike faster.  Quite possibly the Best of Show, the RideKick (again with the names) is a powered trailer turning any bike quickly into a sport ute.

 That's right, motor battery and room for an 18 pack make it a party saver.  Can I get one with a mini fridge for Moab trips?  How about a fleet, to be used as shuttle vehicles? When this thing goes Bluetooth/ANT I'll be first in line.

More from Interbike, soon.