Outdoor Retailer New Products Report 2- 5.10 Super Stealth!

5.10, where they are literally promoting running with the bulls, was the first company to take freeride cyclist's footwear needs seriously.  Back in the mid 90's they encouraged Fahzure to develop an early freeride shoe, prototype seen here:

The Maltese Falcon has been in the line for awhile, but it still looks good:

At Outdoor Retailer, 5.10 showed off their new lineup.  One of their shoes, the Chase has been popular amongst the urban crowd, so it gets new colorways:

 

But, as Fahzure likes to say, "New colors are new, but not news."  The news from 5.10 comes in the form of a couple of Karver inspired shoes with lace covers in both high and high/low formats:

And, here is the Fresh Produce.  Talk about Stealth.  This shoe looks like an Air Jordan mid combined with an SR-71 Blackbird. Ladies and gentlemen, the Duke. Black...check, Mid top w/ lowered rear for walking down steep pitches when building...check, Powersling heel lock...check, Scuff bumpers...check...yes, it has it all, especially if you tend toward the urban end of things:

5.10 Duke

With a little work to the sole, midsole and stabilization, in addition to its street/park/urban applications, this could become the best FR/DH shoe ever built. Looking forward to long term testing these pups.

Outdoor Retailer New Products Report 1-Bicycles (?) of the show;Transalp, Brah

The Outdoor Retailer show is a good opportunity to guage the health of the industry, get a few fashion cues, and find a few wacky bikes.

What do Euro Randonee types do in the summer time?  According to the folks at Ortovox, rather than ride up, they prefer to backpack up and scooter down on these:

The whole shebang fits into this goofy looking backpack (hydration provisions, anyone, cause you're gonna need it with 10+ Kilos (euro!) on your back):

 Adjustable length footpeg support, two different size wheels (shown with 20/16 in wheels... Bighit, anyone), single pivot suspension:

24 in wheel fork and 100mm spacing hubs front and rear mean you can upgrade it to the "extreme" version by putting a 24 in wheel up front and the 20in. in the back:

Yes, Fahzure rode it, and while riding anything in the trade show aisles is fun, my ankles scuffed on the sharp edges of the foot peg extension, the stance was quite narrow and this shock with an MCU (see last week's Humpbike) spring/damper left much to be desired. In a word Jibskate:

 

This Swiss Army bike is more form than function:

A nice Ti bike with S&S couplers:

Big rear cogs mean big front chainrings.  The Timbuktu booth, of course...Jordan you copping to this bike?:

Fillet brazed and clear coated Bromptom provided by our local Saturday Cycles in the Po Campo booth (more on them later):

Bikes on racks:

Why are these bikes so popular? Is it a coastal thing? Custom in the Keen booth, love the rear disc...solid:

This Nirve (the only bike company with an indoor presence at the show) bike had classic lines and colors:

Dealer Camp New Products Report 7- Dealer Camp odds and ends

Campagnolo had these cool TT brake levers, they'd be great for that townie with a Marybar:

Also return to position TT shifters, uhh where do I measure to Mr. Commissioner?:

Lizard Skins has DH bike protectors in clear and carbon:

And a new 29er stay protector:

Carbon 29er from Rocky:

Yep, 29ers are coming in pretty light these days:

This bike rode great.  What is the deal with falling rate linkages?  Nobody wants to cop to them.  Nobody except Dave Weagle and Chris Cocalis, who recognize that a falling rate linkage/rocker combined with the progressivity of an air can equal nearly coil like performance:

Name this (mountain bike legend) guy:

Dealer Camp New Products Report 6- Total Newness Suntour, TRP, Cane Creek

While Interbike and, increasingly Eurobike, are the places to see tons of new stuff, Dealer Camp was super good this year with respect to the Fresh Produce.  We've already looked at the Intense Carbine, Ellsworth Slopestyle and the Yeti SB66, freshies at Dealer Camp this year, but there were many other new products, especially in the component and accessory realm.

First up, TRP is manufacturing a hydraulic converter and caliper set, to be used with road shift/brake levers from any manufacturer. Avid BB 5/7's pretty much suck as compared to hydraulics, with small pad contact, limited pad compound choices, and constant adjustment (after every lift served run?) necessary to keep them working properly.  This conversion unit, named Paradox,brings heal disc brake caliper power and modulation to road and cross bikes. Retail is about $450 with calipers and the setup weighs in at 250g. :

On a bike it's pretty unobtrusive.

Daryl "Big Bunny" Voss, former pro for Klien in the late '80s/early'90s has been at SR Suntour for 15 years and had this to show, the Axon Carbon, a 3lb (!) carbon lower, 100mm travel, tapered steer,  QR 15 fork: 

This WAS a top secret item. New from Cane Creek, a Double Barrel air shock, which was stored in a secret Pelican box off in a corner.  The stanchion shaft is prototype and will ultimately have a hardened finish.  All the same adjustments (low/high speed rebound and compression) as the coil, 500g or so lighter, eye to eye lengths same as the coil except the air can will go one shorter, and one less long (whatever that means):

 Spy quality photo:

For all you all who work in shops, I gave the Cane Creek folks a little ribbing on the Angleset install process.  They told me to watch the vid on their website. I suggested a guage to aid in orienting the cup.  They gave me a Gary Guage, which you should pickup at Interbike for the shop.  They also promised to work on an Angleset tool and gave me a beer, everyone happy.

These are real spy photos.  The folks at Troy Lee follow a Moto product release schedule, so this stuff won't be available until after Interbike.  DG BMX anyone?:

 Voodoo style graphics:

Snowboard and MX inspired graphics: