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Eurobike Confidential 2008

Wow. Eurobike. What an experience. It truly puts Interbike to shame. It's not often someone outdoes Vegas in the bigger-better-faster-more department, but Eurobike pulls it off with major Euro-style. Far bigger show, better food, better scenery, faster Autobahn, and more Lolitas (ever seen Run Lola Run?)

Naturally though, the bike is front and center -- a microcosm of European culture. Eurobike takes place in the town of Friedricshafen, Germany, not too far from Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy. While the exposition center, Messe Friedricshafen, is vast and well organized, it's a bit of a head-scratcher why it was built where it is, as there's no formal infrastructure to support it. Like many others, we stayed about 35K from the event due to the lack of accommodations. The first day of the show we spent an hour-and-a-half in our auto staring at the fields of hops, watching the cyclists pass us on the bike paths that cut through the fields and forests adjacent to the A14 on which we were parked. At that moment it was clear what the priorities are for the area -- accessibility by bike first, by car second. It was that way most everywhere we went.

Cycling is entrenched in the European culture whether it's for sport, commuting or utilitarian needs -- it's in the European DNA. Kids are taught young, and riding quickly becomes a way of life in some form or another. It's only fitting that they host such a spectacular event. With so much to see, we've assembled the highlights for you below:

POC

POC is a young Swedish company that is clearly onto something. Their focus is to engineer the best quality product in each category they enter -- helmets, protection, gloves, jerseys, shorts and casual wear. Their revolutionary VDSAP (Ventilated Double Shell Anti-Penetration) helmet design offers prpotection premiums in safety and two-way ventilation. VDSAP utilizes two ventilated offset shells to maximize penetration resistance, channeling air between the shells to ventilate heat, moisture or water. For the body, they've designed a new compound, VPD (Visco-Elastic Polymer Dough). It's highly shock absorbent and incredibly comfortable. Dough-like in consistency, it stiffens on impact to absorb the energy of the crash. VPD has earned the highest safety certification available -- CE-1621-2, a motorcycle standard.

Each piece in their line is finished with a crisp, clean aesthetic giving us confidence that they've left no stone unturned along the way.

Magura rises to the top

Magura brakes and suspension recently flew to Olympic Gold under Sabine Spitz, who commanded a throng at their booth Thursday afternoon. Spitz is reportedly a stickler for the lightest equipment available so it's no surprise that she joined forces with "The Passion People." They are, after all, near the release of their 295g Marta SL Magnesium disc brakes -- music to the ears of any weight weenie. We spotted them spec'd on numerous bikes at the show, but they are reportedly still a few months away.

The 2008 UCI World Championships in Italy also paid dividends for Magura, sweeping the Women's Elite XC podium -- 1/ Marla Fullana (ESP), 2/ Sabine Spitz (GER), and 3/ Irina Kaletieva (RUS). To commemorate this achievement, Magura plans a worldwide release of less than 200 special edition Durin SL fork/Marta SL World Championship sets graced with the coveted rainbow stripes.

Scooters?

Wasn't the Razor scooter craze over and done with a few years ago? Someone forgot to tell Europe.

Pimp My Ride. Yumeya Style

Shimano's dream workshop, Yumeya, has produced a number of hop-up options for XTR-equipped bikes. Aimed primarily at shaving weight, customization, and performance enhancements, the components are a distinctive white, gold or combination of the two. Installing all 15 Yumeya components to your bike will reportedly shed 63.5 grams. No word yet on pricing.

• YM-RD81 Rear Derailleur Pin -- 7g lighter
• YM-RD82 Tension & Guide Pulley set -- 1g lighter, white
• YM-RD83 Cable Fixing and Pulley Bolts for Rear Derailleur -- 2.8g lighter, gold
• YM-CS81 Cassette sprockets -- 15g lighter, gold
• CN-YM81 Chain -- 10g lighter
• YM-SP81 Greased Outer casing -- 10g lighter
• YM-BH81 Brake Hose -- 39% more rigidity
• YM-BH82 Connecting Bolt for Brake Hose -- 3g lighter, gold
• YM-SL81 Shift Lever Bracket Band -- Silver/Gold finish
• YM-SL82 Outer Adjust Plate for Shift Lever - Silver/Gold finish
• YM-SL83 Clamp & Unit Fixing Bolt for Shift Lever -- 4.2g lighter, gold finish
• YM-FC81 Fixing Bolt for Left Crankarm -- Silver/Gold finish
• YM-BL82 Lid for Disc Brake Lever -- 3.5g lighter/pai, white/gold finish
• YM-FD81 Clamp & Cable Fixing Bolt for Front Derailleur -- 2.4g lighter, gold finish
• YM-BR81 Caliper Fixing Bolt for Disc Brake -- 4.6g lighter, gold finish

Mavic, not just spinning their wheels

Drawing on the experience of their parent companies, Salomon and Adidas, Mavic's new Fury MTB shoes impressed. They're extremely lightweight and comfortable with a super-stiff Energy carbon outsole. The top buckle uses a ratcheting closure to ensure precise fir, while a unique two-strap aramid/Kevlar lacing/Velcro closure system makes the Fury easy to slip on or off. Because the laces don't have memory, it won't loosen like Velcro over time -- you can expect a snug fit every time. Mavic will also release a lightly insulated water proof shoe cover that interfaces precisely with the Contagrip tread of the shoe. With a retail of $299 for a shoe of this caliber, we'll most definitely feature these, and we expect them to grace our shelves towards the end of October.

But shoes are hardly the sole Mavic story as their MTB wheel lineup sees a considerable, and impressive shake-up.

The Mavic CrossMax SX goes on a 165g diet, tipping the scales at a svelte 1755 courtesy of ISM (Inter Space Milling). A new four-pawl freehub design translates to much quicker engagement, assuring quick accelerations in difficult, technical terrain. As we received a set to demo the day we left for Eurobike, we'll be reporting back soon. Mavic finished the CrossMax to a "T" -- grey anodized rims and spokes with white hubs and killer graphics on the rim. Suffice it to say, we're pretty fired up for this offering.

Also seeing changes is the SLR -- 3D ISM work removes material from the side of the rim between spokes, not just the top. Doing so shaved a few precious grams. The SLR will now have options for 15QR and 20mm Thru Axle to compliment the usual QR and Lefty options.

Perhaps the biggest weight loss occurred in the redesign of the DeeMax wheelset, which shed hundreds of grams, bringing them to a claimed 2160 grams. They're still as tough as ever and easy to spot despite losing their trademark yellow finish. They're now polished top to bottom.

Firin' up the zeppelin

We had the opportunity to see Zeppelin between halls at Eurobike. Like super close. No, not that Zeppelin. A LeMans LMP car in a booth only added to the experience.

Hammer Time -- TruVativ Hammerschmidt

Courtesy of SRAM's impressive marketing machine, you're probably familiar with the Magic Mechanics' new gearbox crankset, TruVativ Hammerschmidt. We've been following this story for quite some time, but we were finally able to lay our grubby paws on a set at Eurobike.

The crankset comes in two configurations -- all-mountain or reeride, the later of which is defined mostly by it's additional girth (and additional 165mm length). Both use a specific TruVativ Hammerschmidt bottom bracket and TruVativ-branded X.0 (or X-9) front trigger shifter. While it was spec'd on numerous show bikes, SRAM had test bikes on trainers set up -- shifting proved to be buttery smooth. Anticipated delivery at this point is November/December.

Ergon

We're always excited to see what the innovative Ergon crew has up their sleeve. They've revolutionized the grip and pack categories in their short existence, but the ideas continue to flow. Focused on ergonomics, they earned a Eurobike Gold Medal for their new Pedal Cleat Adjustment System, enabling riders to swap cleats with precision and ease every time. Admittedly, we'd probably change ours with more frequency if we didn't have to tweak on them the first couple rides after doing so. For now, it's SPD only, but expect a Look road cleat model in the near future.

In the next few weeks, we should finally have our Ergon BC-3 packs in hand. The 25 liter pack is fully waterproof -- materials, seams and zippers alike -- and it uses Ergon's Flint Link Ball Joint to allow the pack to follow your every move on the bike (or on fot). It's design makes it ideal for everything from Trans-Alp epics to regular commutes, given its ability to carry (and keep free from the elements) a full-size laptop computer.

Ergon will also introduce the GA1 Grip -- a scaled down version of the GE1 Enduro aimed at the all-mountain crowd.

Turner goes dw-link

Number one on our Eurobike hitlist was the Turner booth. Once we fought our way through the door, we made a bee-line for it. We knew big changes were in store, and couldn't wait to see Turner's latest creations. The switch to dw-link certainly qualified as big news, and we're super stoked. The anti-squat characteristics should transfer well to Turner's designs, enhancing traction stability and small bump sensitivity along the way. We had the opportunity to interview Dave about the change, and we've also prepared our 2009 Turner bikes product presentation, making the bikes available for presale.

Redefining Intense

We are days away from receiving our highly-anticipated first shipment of Intense Tracer VP frames. We've already had one through our doors that we built and delivered to a happy customer. His bike was one built first for all-mountain durability, yet it still weighed-in at a lightweight 27.5 pounds on our Ultimate scale. This bike marked the first in a new generation of Intense bikes highlighted by a newly positioned, easy-to-maintain VPP link that both minimizes chain growth and improves what was already a firm pedaling platform.

Next up on the Intense hit list is a new Uzzi VP, an adjustable travel Freeride/Slopestyle/ready-for-a-brusing machine. It too will be the beneficiary of the new VPP link configuration. While it's still very much in the formative stages, it's coming together quickly -- quickly enough that we should see it well before Sea Otter 2009. It has similar lines to the Tracer VP, but will offer more travel (currently 6.75/7.5") and there's talk that it will ultimately feature dropouts options that allow for different axle locations. This would enable riders to tweak the bike's geometry for the given course or terrain.

A new Tazer hardtail is also due in the same time frame, designed to handle the rigors of dirt jumping and 4X racing.

Fresh Air

Here's something you don't see in Vegas -- the outside of the building. The layout of the Messe consists of a dozen or so hanger-like convention halls centered around a large courtyard of sorts. Beer and food vendors, more display booths and Nissan's 4X/Dirt jump course kept things hopping. Felt had a street freestyle area sectioned off complete with a DJ spinning tunes. It sure was nice to get some fresh air, have a bier and take in the action.

Light, Lighter, Leichtbau

One thing for sure, things just keep getting lighter and more colorful. Germany's Tune was on hand with their kaleidoscope of über-light products -- headsets, carbon/titanium saddles, seatposts, hubs, headsets and more. They've been at it a while now, and with the precision engineered, lightweight and colorful designs, it's a wonder their presence in the US isn't stronger.

The race car industry using full carbon rotors to dissipate heat faster and allow the brakes to remain responsive. We've long thought it'd be great if someone could find a cost-effective way to capitalize on that technology for MTB disc brake rotors. Enter Carbon-Ti, a brand under the wing of LLS (Lavoralione Leghe Speciali), a company with a long racing lineage. They've designed 140 and 160mm disc brake rotors with a carbon spider and titanium braking surface with weights from 68g. Wow. We've still got some legwork to do here…

The Complete Package

There are a number of really cool brands that we may or may not ever see in the US. Canyon and Endorfin are two favorites because of their dialed rides. Their passion for cycling oozes from every pore. They place a premium on everything from engineering, to quality production, to flawless finish. They innovate because they're curious, and they tend to details because they understand the power and importance of their brand in everything they do.

One of our business professors once told us, "If the bathroom on the plane is dirty, it's going down." Admittedly extreme, his point was received -- if the airline isn't taking the time to clean/stock the bathroom (what you do see), then how can you expect that they're properly checking/maintaining the plane (what you can't)? To be a great company, all details must be tended to with the best of its ability. These guys get it.

X marks the Titus

Titus has been hard at work, unveiling two new models and redesigns of the X Carbon and El Guapo models.

New for 2009 will be the X and FTM models which feature 4 and 5 inches of travel respectively. Each receives a new Light Rail carbon rear triangle, which through new shaping and a one-piece carbon swing link, has enhanced the stiffness of the rear (over the former rear), and shaved a precious few grams.

They've removed the intermediary bridge on the upper as well, which allows for more tire and mud clearance. But the real story is the front triangle of each -- again through new tube shapes and butting profiles, the Titus X front triangle is better than 100 grams lighter than the current Racer X. The shaped tubes provide better fork clearance on the downtube, and an ovalized profile near the bottom bracket provides additional stiffness and minimizes deflection.

The El Guapo was also the beneficiary of new tube shaping, using a new process called Advanced Thermal Forming which helps them achieve consistent tube shapes with their desired butting profiles. El Guapo receives a 1.5 headtube and ISCG tabs to accommodate chainguides or TruVativ Hammerschmidt. All said and done, Titus believes they've taken close to a half-pound from El Guapo!

Ausfahrt

It made us chuckle every time we saw this sign -- a sign that adorned every exit on the highway and the doors leaving the Messe. It is German for "exit", and it's time for us to do exactly that. As we say "auf wiedersehen", we leave you with some images of our self-guided auto-tour through the Tirol region of Austria, not far from Eurobike. If only we'd had our bikes with us …