The stuff of Interbike: part two

Interbike’s indoor show is truly overwhelming; getting lost and being late and forgetting to eat are par for the course, as is the feeling that you can’t possibly cover everything. Here we bring you the most interesting things our editors saw from each day of the indoor show.

Crank Brothers pump and pedals

Crank Brothers has been working on more than just its new dropper post. This is the Klic, a new pump with some nifty features. The hose stored inside the handle and pulls on and off easily due to the magnetic connection.  There are both high-volume and high-pressure for road and mountain bikes. In person, the fit and finish of these pumps is impressive. This is the most expensive of three models, and had a CO2 cartridge stored in the end of the T-handle. Retail starts at $37 up to $56 for the model shown.

Mallet E pedals now come in an LS version, meaning long spindle. This came about due to requests from sponsored racers and consumers to widen their stance on longer-travel bikes.

And for those of you who need the lightest enduro pedals for a weight-weenie Nomad build, you can pick up these Mallet E pedals: 11.4 grams of titanium-riddled goodness can be yours for $350.

Finally, Crank Brothers presented a new series of multi-tools, the F-series. Simple and complete, there is a basic tool with 10 functions, the same tool with an magnetic alloy case with a bottle opener, and a final option that adds a chain tool and spoke wrenches.

Leatt Enduro 3.0 helmet

Leatt, which specializes in protective armor is releasing a new enduro helmet aptly called the Enduro 3.0. Internally it features the brands unique take on MiPS technology with 360 Turbine and Armourgel. Armourgel stiffens on impact and the 360 “turbines” deform and rotate 360 degrees to absorb both vertical and rotational impact forces during a fall to help prevent concussions, unlike MiPS, which only rotates fore and aft.

The chin guard is removable via two small buckles and the helmet also features a cool magnetic chinstrap buckle. Retail price is $240.

Bolle The One helmet

Bolle’s new entry into the helmet market is The One, named as such for its versatility. It comes standard with a summer liner and also includes a winter liner. Since you remove the summer padding before installing the warm winter liner sizing and strap adjustment doesn’t change. The back of the helmet has a covered port that can be removed and fitted with a small taillight and the front has a custom shaped “sunglass garage” to easily and securely stow your glasses should you want to remove them. Retail price for this 280 gram helmet is only $130. The glasses shown here are Bolle’s new B-Rock mountain bike shade with a Trivex lens. The nose piece is multi-plane adjustable and have wire core temples for custom fitment. Prices range from $160 to $200.

Orbea Alama M-LTD

New for 2017, this is the bike that Catharine Pendrel won an Olympic bronze medal on, albeit her’s had a Fox Step-Cast suspension fork. This production model is made from carbon with a rigid Carbo fork (both the frame and fork are Boost spacing). It comes with a gold SRAM Eagle drivetrain (34 tooth chainring), Avid Ultimate Carbon hydraulic disc brakes and carbon FSA accessories. It’s a looker and undoubtedly very fast in the right terrain.

Otso Voytek

Otso Cycles is a new venture started by the people who bring you Wolf Tooth Components. The Otso Voytek is a carbon fat/plus bike that can run 26 fat (up to a 4.8-inch tire on a 100 mm rim), 27plus or 29plus tires. It has 20 mm of chainstay adjustment (430-450 mm) via a Wolf Tooth flip chip on the rear dropouts, and narrower-than-typical Q-factor achieved by an 83 mm bottom bracket width. Head tube angle is 68.5 degrees with a 120 mm fork and the rear spacing is 177 mm.

Five Ten shoes

Five Ten launched two new pairs of shoes at Interbike for mountain bikers, the Freerider Pro and Hellcat. The other news is that the company will be rolling out more women’s models and colors. The women’s shoes are indeed different in that they have slightly tighter heel pockets and less volume. Five Ten is talking about itself as a rubber company that happens to make shoes: the sole rubber is proprietary and is made in California.

The Freerider Pro is an evolved Freerider with a low, tougher toe protection, increased outsole stiffness and a full-dot outsole. Extra cushion was added to the toe box and mid-sole area for increased shock absorption. The shoe weighs around 13.6 ounces and comes in four colors for men, two colors for women.

Also new is the Hellcat Pro, a “gravity clipless” shoe featuring a Velcro straps to secure the laces, a perforated weather-resistant s upper, a vibration damping shank allowing for off-bike flex and on-bike stiffness and a full-dot sole. The shoe weighs around 12.8 ounces and comes in three colors for men, one for women.

DT Swiss wheels

DT Swiss updated its 1501 line of mountain bike wheels to include more widths and more sizes. You can now get either 27.5 or 29 in these widths: 22.5 mm, 25 mm and 30 mm. Additionally, you can get 27.5 wheels in 35 and 40 mm. The 1501 is DT Swiss’ high-end aluminum wheel, with sets retailing for around $1,200. There’s too much variation across the different sizes and applications to detail everything here, so check out the DT Swiss site if you need to update your ride.

Pearl Izumi X-Project shoes

Pearl Izumi has new and updated mountain shoes with a renewed focus on sole grip and additional flexibility for hike-a-bike situations. The new X-Project Elite and X-Project Pro shoe models feature a three-quarter length carbon plate in the soles that provide stiffness at the contact point but allow for additional shoe flex at the toe box and heel. Pearl found that the shorter carbon plate was just as effective as a full-length one, hence the reduction. The idea behind better walking performance is to make this shoe useful in multiple riding applications, from mountain biking to cyclocross to touring.

The shoes also have rubber on the sole lugs, rather than just plastic, for improved surface grip. They also feature seamless uppers (the only seam is up the back of the heel). And by integrating the BOA closure in the shoe tongue area, the chance of clipping it on an object is reduced.

The Elite model (green and black) will retail for $275 while the Pro model (orange) will retail for $350. Both shoes also come in black and the Elite comes in two colors for women.

Rocky Mounts hitch rack

Rocky Mounts launched a swing-away platform hitch rack that would be perfect on the back of your truck + truck bed camper shell. The MonoRail Swing fits a 2-inch receiver and holds bike wheel sizes from 20-29 inches. It provides clearance for fat bikes (including those with 197 mm rear spacing) and eliminates frame contact. The rack will sell for $530 (for two bikes–add a third bike tray for an extra $150) and comes with a lifetime warranty.