Highlights from Eurobike 2012

By Jeff Lockwood,

Thousands of bike industry insiders, retailers, and media poured through the aisles of the Messe in Friedrichshafen, Germany this past weekend to see what’s new for 2013. Attendees chowed on some true Bavarian meals and downed many hefeweizen beers. The cold rain may have dampened the farmlands around the convention hall, but it definitely didn’t ruin the atmosphere of the show. Here are some of the more interesting items we gathered over a few days.

Lots of potatoes, sauerkraut and sausages all happily fry next to each other in a very large pan.

White Industries

The still-developing belt-drive scene will soon have one more proponent when a belt drive singlespeed freewheel from White Industries hits the market in time (hopefully) for the 2013 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. The belt drive freewheel shares the same reliable internals as its popular original White Industry freewheel siblings, and is certified by Gates. The prototype pictured here is the equivalent of a 22-tooth cog, and production models will come in other tooth options. 

Endura

Mountain bikers who like to wear baggy shorts on top of bib tights will appreciate the MTR line of shorts from Endura. One of the hassles with wearing baggies over bibs is that the outer shorts always seem to slip down no matter how tight you can get them around your waist. To solve this problem, Endura added a patch of grippy material onto to the back of the bibs and the inside of the baggies. The result is just enough friction between the two to keep your baggies from constantly falling down and catching on your saddle. 

Fox iRD App

In an effort to significantly help riders accurately set up their suspension, Fox has released the iRD app (Intelligent Ride Dynamics), a smartphone app to remove all of the guesswork.

You’ll now start seeing an alpha numeric code included on all the 2013 shocks and forks. This code is tied to a database, which stores all of the info for each product and to which bike brand/model that product is attached since the relationship between a particular bike and shock is critical to proper set-up. Users will enter this code into the app, and follow about eight steps. Simple questions like rider’s weight, etc. are calculated to determine the proper sag for the fork or rear shock.

To ensure you have sag properly set, the final screen of the process uses the phone’s camera and a overlay image of the fork stanchion or shock. You get close to the fork or shock, aim the phone’s camera and a line appears on screen where you will want the o-ring to appear on the shock. Make sure everything is plumb, and you’re good to go.

You then have the ability to save and name the setting for future use without having to go through the whole process again, and you can store multiple set-up profiles for however many bikes you have.

The memory and storage footprint for the app is very small, so you won’t be taking up tons of space on your iPhone. You will need to be on a wireless system when you first set up a bike so it can access the remote database. But once you save a profile for a bike, it’s stored on your phone for set-up in even the most remote internetless areas.

The Fox iRD app should be available this week, and is available for Anroid, iPhone, iPod and the iPad.

Lezyne

Lezyne has a new dual LED light that throws a full 1,000 lumens on the trail in front of you. Encased in the CNC’d aluminum body is a proprietary replaceable battery. While the light also features a micro-USB port inside the sealed body for recharging, the replaceable battery will be a nice touch for 24-hour racers coming in for a lap—they can just swap to a fresh battery.

Today’s bicycle lights are more than just a bulb and battery inside a box, and the Magna Drive is no different. Instead of your typical reflector and bulb lens, the Mega Drive has a unique lens that is able to cast more light where it needs to go: forward. The chipset allows the light to function at the 1,000 lumen setting for 1.5 hours; 500 lumens for three hours; and 200 lumens for seven hours. There’s a flash mode, too.

Ever get sick of switching through three or four modes to get to your desired brightness? Lezyne also added a “race mode” that allows the light to quickly switch between only the 1,000 and 200 lumen modes. No need to cycle through all modes.

The Mega Drive will ship at the end of October for $200. For $250, the light will come packed in a plastic storage case, which will include a second battery and two extra mounts. 

Mavic

Mavic made some changes and additions to their 2013 mountain bike line of shoes, helmets, and clothing. The trail-specific Notch helmet comes in the three Mavic standard colors (yellow, white and black), and offers full coverage for the back of the head, on the fly adjustability and a removable visor.

Mavic adds some color to the Notch Jersey, by offering it in red, blue and green. Flatlock stitching and a zippered chest pocket compliment this loose-cut trail jersey.

All-weather, waterproof protection for your feet comes in the form of the new Scree mountain bike shoe. This mid-ankle shoe is completely waterproof thanks to a full Gore-Tex lining. Four Velcro closures and quite an aggressive tread look to make this a great winter shoe for the trail.