EVENT: Interbike 2018 - EXPLORING ELEMENTS

2018 was my first adventure at Interbike, the annual US gathering of the cycling industry. This was also the first year the show was in Reno. While it is a shell of what it once was, there are still big players in attendance and lots of cool stuff to check out. E-bikes for sure ruled Interbike 2018. Besides the strong e-bike showing, new cycling helmets seemed to dominate the new gear headlines.

Gear Junkie

This year I was there mostly representing GearJunkie.com. I’ve linked all the stories I wrote for them about Interbike 2018 below:

Interbike 2018: The Latest Gear From the Cycling World

Interbike 2018: 6 Helmets That Crashed The Show

E-Bike Showcase: Electrifying Tech From 2018 Interbike

Can Thule ‘One Up’ The Competition With the Helium Platform?

Hydration Wars: Osprey Revamps Cycling Pack Line For 2019

My favorite pice of of new gear from the show has to be the Stompump. This little machined aluminum bike pump is just an impressive and smart piece of engineering. I’m looking forward to trying one sometime soon, and seeing how well it might work for motorcycles as well.

The Lizard Skins Charger Evo came out last year, but I’m personally just discovering them. I’m impressed with the multi-directional textured grips, for optimal comfort and control on your bike.

Through imbedded heating elements the Reform Saddle is able to custom form to your specific body shape. The road bike carbon saddle is coming in early 2019, with a mountain bike version soon after.

Demo

The highlight of the show for me had to be the demo day up at Northstar Resort. I was able to throw my leg over five bikes during the day. The analog bikes I rode the lift with, and most of the e-bikes I pedaled up the mountain myself. Lines were long and there weren’t enough bike companies in attendance, but there was some really fun stuff to try and some really fun trails to rip.

Sadly on my second big lap down the mountain I came around a banked turn and my front tire hit some super deep soft silt. The front wheel turned 90 degrees, I went over the handlebars, my knee impacted the ground and then my body folded over head. Somehow I escaped with only a crunchy neck, scraped up and badly bruised knee and being completely covered in fine silt. The bike held up fine, my LEM Helmet did its job and I was able to get a few more laps in, albeit quite a bit slower and more cautious laps.

At the media preview I was able to try the Inmotion X-1 hover skate things. Not sure what they have to do with bicycles, but they were for sure a good time. I think they’d be truly terrifying on anything but the smoothest surfaces.

At the demo I was able to ride the Pivot Mach 5.5, Xerode Taniwha, Fantic XF1 e-bike, M1 Sporttechnik Spitzinger Plus e-bike and the Mondraker Duner 27.5. The Taniwha and Duner were by far the fastest down hill. Both liked to stay planted on the ground and go fast. I was not a fan of the Pinion gearbox on the Taniwha, but it is a really cool concept. The XF1 and Spitzinger Plus e-bikes provided VERY different rides. The XF1 offered impressive assist, okay ergonomics and a smooth ride. The Spitzinger Plus was insanely fast up hill, but wasn’t much fun on the downhill. The Pivot Mach 5.5 was for sure my favorite of the bunch. It offers a plush ride through truly gnarly terrain and is still lively and playful.

The Haro Master is a bike that I would have killed for in my younger years. I wouldn’t however been able to pay the $1K+ price for it.

Interbike’s Future

Sadly I don’t see the cycling industry re-uniting at the Interbike trade show. Most of the big bike brands now do their own retailer summits and product launches. They also sell to the international audience at Eurobike.

I do personally hope to get more involved in the cycling industry, as I’ve got the mountain bike itch bad. I see a new trail/enduro full suspension bike in my near future.