10/06/2008

Interbike is about a lot of different things: flash, bright lights, girls in skimpy outfits, carbon components... Oh, yeah. And bikes. Bikes, bikes, and more bikes. Road, recumbent, BMX, cruiser, choppers, dirt jumping, cross country, freeride, all-mountain, downhill, and the one-off show pieces. It can be a little overwhelming for media types there to cover the whole show.

Thankfully, Cam and I were purpose-driven, photographing, interviewing, content-generating machines on a freeride / all-mountain / DH / DJ mission. Sometimes we travelled in a pack (of two, but a pack nonetheless), and others we went it alone. Here's a sampling of what I saw when I was walking the convention floor on my own.

Giant Bicycles
Giant Bicycles is just one of the companies that's changed its line-up for '05 to include a wider selection of big-travel bikes, but it's not just new bikes - it's a new suspension design called Maestro. Giant's goal is to produce efficient power transfer through floating pivot points while still remaining sensitive to small bumps, active during braking, and resistant to ramping up with a linear spring rate.

Maestro is incorporated into the 8" Faith freeride bikes, the 6" Reign all-mountain bikes, and the 4" Trance XC bikes. There are three models in the Faith and Reign lines, and four in the Trance.

The Faith 1, with a Marzocchi 66RC and Fox DHX 4.0 rear shock, LX/XT drivetrain and Race Face components

Giant's version of floating pivot linkage, on the Faith

Highlights on the Faith bikes include 7" Marzocchi single-crown forks (66RC, Junior T, and Drop Off), 8" Hayes brakes, and Shimano / SRAM drivetrains. The Faith 1 (the top model in the line) is available as a frameset only if that's what you're after. An interesting note - all three bikes are spec'd with Kenda's 2.5" Nevegal and Blue Groove tires, which are serious tires when it gets steep and slippery. A nice choice, indeed. Prices for the Faiths are US$3,500 for the 1, $2,500 for the 2, and $2,000 for the 3.

The Reign uses the same floating linkage concept and same lower rocker arm, but accomplishes it in a different fashion by moving the mounting point for the rear shock. Reigns are priced from $3,300 for the top of the line to $2,200 for the 2, and $1,600 for the Reign 3. These 6" bikes offer enough suspension for most people to go out for an all-day ride, or to cover pretty much every base if you've only got enough cash for one bike. In an attempt to keep the weight down, Giant spec'd Manitou long travel forks on the Reign series - Nixons on the top two bikes, and a Splice on the 3 - and Swinger air shocks on the rear. You're still getting a largely Shimano drivetrain, and a respectable 2.3" tire if you want to rip it up on this bike.

The Reign linkage - lots of tubes, pivots, and welds

The Reign 1, ready for your all-mountain adventures

Much to many people's delight, the DH is back for another year. In '05, the $5,500 Team is joined by the $3,000 DH Comp for those with less-deep pockets. Things like a Dorado DH versus a Boxxer Race and Mavic wheels versus Alex wheels are what separate the two bikes. But other than that, the specs are fairly similar - 8.25" of rear travel, 203mm of front cushion, Race Face Diabolous cranks, and a Giant-brand chainguide.

Cannondale Bicycle Corporation We've already covered the biggest news out of Cannondale for the upcoming year - the Prophet - but one thing I saw that really blew me away was the galvanized finish that's an option with the Prophet frame. C'dale uses special beads to get a really unique finish on the bare frame, then clear-coats it, applies the decaling, and finally, throws on another clear coat. Pretty damn cool, if I do say so. There were a few things other worth mentioning as well, not the least of which was Cedric Gracia, whose segment in NWD 5 was outstanding. Ripping it up on a trike with that much style takes something special. And he looked good on his full-sized bike as well. Cedric's head-wear fashion sense at the Cannondale booth on Friday a.m. may have left a little bit to be desired, but it was the morning after the big poolside NWD premiere at the Palms, so we'll give him a break. The whole Cannondale line for '05 shows real growth along with amazing graphics, well-thought out specs, and the company's trademark innovation. Bouncing back from bankruptcy can be difficult, but Cannondale seems to be reborn and is jumping into things with both feet with a strong line of DH and all-mountain full squish rides, and DJ / urban hardtails.

6-pack case? Hat? Both!

Cedric's custom pink Gemini for Red Bull, complete with pink forks and saddle

The Chase 3 urban hardtail bike, with a 100mm Stance (OnePointFive steerer)

Knolly Bikes
After a lot of talk and much waiting, the Knolly MkIV V-tach freeride frame is here. The production version was unveiled at the DT Swiss booth at Interbike, and it is one sweet looking ride.

I spent some time talking to founder and designer Noel Buckley to get the low-down on this frame, which has been dreamt up with seriously aggressive riders in mind. Knolly Bikes was born in Vancouver, and Noel had a bike in mind that could take on the Shore. Or Whistler. Or Kamloops. Or wherever else you want to go large.

The Knolly V-tach, turning heads and breaking hearts at Interbike

The patent-pending linkage on the V-tach

The V-tach has been in development for two-and-a-half years, and over that time it's gone through extensive testing. It's also garnered quite a following - all 40 bikes in the first production run were pre-sold before they were even built. So what makes this bike desirable by in-the-know freeriders?

For starters, the V-tach is well engineered. Noel went with a OnePointFive headtube to increase the welding surface for the headtube and eliminate ovalization, made the frame front derailleur-compatible, threw on a ISCG mount, incorporated several adjustment options that will dramatically change the bike's handling, and developed his patent-pending 4 x 4 linkage.

You don't have to be a genius to see that the Knolly linkage looks a lot like the already-patented Horst pivot. Specialized owns that patent in the U.S. and, according to Noel, is aware of the V-tach, but he didn't want to get into discussions on what that means for his patent-pending linkage design. What he did say, however, was that Knolly is planning to make this frame available internationally. Stay tuned for more details on how this situation plays out. We'll let you know if and when we hear something.

Back to the frame... Headtube angles are adjustable from 66° to 68°, but will sit at 67° with a 7" fork. The 68° setting enables you to run a 24" rear wheel without raking out the bike too much. Chainstay length can be adjusted from 17" to 17.8" as well thanks to a specially-constructed rear dropout, and there's room between the stays for a 3.0" tire.

Adjustable dropouts on the V-tach

Unlike a lot of other frame manufacturers, Knolly will be offering kits to go along with the frames. You'll be able to choose from any combination of DT hub and wheel sets, Magura brakes, e13 chainguides, FSA headsets, forks from Marzocchi or Manitou, Race Face components. The only things not available are drivetrain, rubber, and a saddle.

Frames will be available in sizes ranging from extra small to large, with the MSRP ranging from CDN$3,900 / US$2,900, and Noel is hoping to ramp the production numbers up in the new year. Weight will be about 12.5lbs. with a full build coming in between 40 and 50lbs. We're hoping to get our hands on a bike to test, so watch for that on the site.

I want more '05 goodness! - page 2