Bike Show Hits and Misses

Eurobike's ending and Interbike's start have inspired the annual what's new, what's hot, and what's not lists. All of the usual media outlets have taken their cracks, and a few things stand out and give us the warm fuzzies about some decisions we've made.  Here are some greatest hits.

Non-Standard BB Standards: Trek, Specialized and Cervelo have each done a variation of Cannondale's BB30 concept, bringing us ever closer to a world where each part is connected to the bike through some proprietary attachment means, locking you in to that manufacturer's parts or sentencing you to a lifetime of kludged adapters. What happens in three years when your BB is shot and everyone's moved on to the new new thing is anyone's guess.

Integrated Seat Masts: Dead. It seems that the impracticality of ISMs has trumped their bling factor. The particular issues with them are many: difficulty in packing a bike, the ability to destroy your frame with a badly placed or badly executed cut, lack of adjustability, and the total impracticality of reselling a bike that fits no one but you.

Internal Cable Runs: Winner!  They're clean, keep the cable protected better, and look flash. Slight penalty in installation hassle, but most systems are engineered to work pretty darn well.

Carbon Clinchers: Flavor of the year. Weight penalties and braking surface issues are being addressed, while the convenience of clinchers is obvious. Tubulars still have a way nicer ride, though. We're working on this flavor.

Future Bust Of The Year: (tie) Monolink seat rail system and 35mm bar/clamp standards. Classic examples of answers to questions that no one ever asked. 


Does Anybody Actually Buy This Stuff Award: Sub-1000g carbon wheelsets.  Color me way too poor and WAY too scared for my teeth to try this flavor. 

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.