Hi guys! I'm moving some content off of the main site and into the most relevant categories of the forum. This post was originally made on September 24th 2012:
This is the second year for Electric Bike Review to be on site at Interbike in Las Vegas covering all things fun, interesting and ebike related. This year the show moved to the Mandalay Bay but the Outdoor Demo days (first two days of the week) remained at Boulder City. This is also the first year that bicycle fans were invited to participate by attending on the fifth day of the show, Friday September 20th, for an event called Interbike by Invitation!
Video from day 1 – Outdoor Demo Day, Interbike 2013
Started off with registration and badge-getting then hopped over to the bus lines near Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Half hour bus ride, arrived at Boulder City where exhibitors were setup. Checked out the Easy Motion Neo Jumpers and a prototype bike with Bosch mid-drive system. Cruised around, found the Felt booth and they also have several models that use the Bosch drive system. WD40 is launching a line of products for cleaning bikes including a protectant that will keep your paint nice almost like car wax.
Was getting hungry so I cruised by the Skratch Labs truck and got a veggie curry burrito and tried their electrolyte drink (loved it). Checked out the new Stromer bikes, ST1 Platinum and Elite, which only offer pedal assist mode but can go up to 28 miles per hour. Confirmed there are new signs at the Golden Gate bridge urging bikers to “turn off electric motors”. Cruised over to the Sea Sucker tent and ogled the suction cup bike racks they have (these are awesome! less wind resistance when taken off vs. regular racks). Made it to the Specialized area and asked about the Turbo… all bikes were checked out but I was told they made the bike weaker to be street legal in the US. Dahon has a new folding electric bike that’s powered by BionX motor, battery and controller. Met with the ProdecoTech guys and saw three of their demo bikes. Saw an Elliptigo (elliptical machine style stand-up bicycle). Finished the day at the Currie booth eyeing the Zuma which has upgraded battery positioning and is lighter overall than last year’s model.
Video from day 2 – Outdoor Demo Day, Interbike 2013
Started the day at 2am because the internet at the Excalibur hotel is so slow… decided to hit the hay. Woke up about four hours later and the video was done! 11 people had viewed it, worth it! Headed out for the show and got off the bus to find an awesome Toyota Tacoma tricked out for the Skratch Labs company (who I had seen on Day 1). Love it! even though it’s not electric… Spotted a remote controlled quadcopter, waiting for the Ride 2 Recovery race to finish. A bunch of people were hanging around to cheer these folks on. Many are veterans recovering from injuries and the race is meant to honor American armed forces. After 25 minutes of waiting however, I decided to get on with the show and ran into some folks from Bennett’s Bike and Fitness in Mason City Iowa wearing funky POC helmets (love their designs) we played around and I gave the cute girl a ride in the front basket of an IZIP Metro I borrowed from the Currie booth. PS. cute girl from the shop, call me! You’re awesome
A little while later I ran into Pete Prebus from Electric Bike Report and we chatted about past shows and his time working at bike shops as a kid. The wind started to pick up and dust was getting everywhere. I grabbed one of the new Felt Bosch powered ebikes and headed up the mountain where I saw a few riders catching air then I cruised down by the Power Bar tents and chilled at the BMX pump track sponsored by Bell helmets. I wanted to try it out but accidentally got on going the wrong direction and then Bell made me try one of their helmets… which was sweaty. I was still trying to avoid the wind so I cruised up to the Action Wipes booth and spoke with the founder Martha who told me a funny story about an old boyfriend who had purchased a great white shark, crashed his car then charged people at the boardwalk $1 to look at it. It’s what inspired her to become an entrepreneur. And yes, killing sharks is bad and Action Wipes are environmentally friendly. Win!
I cruised back down to the main show area and spoke with Frederick about the POC helmets and he showed me the super-aerodynamic model and explained how they made it for the olympic games in Beijing. They wind kept blowing and stuff was starting to fall over. I suggested he put the helmet on for safety. The day was ending so I started back for the busses and met the friendliest booth attendant ever, he was using a spray bottle to mist people as they walked by. Awesome. Got back in line and boarded the bus!
Video from day 3 – Exhibition Hall, Interbike 2013
I arrived at the show, stopped by the Pedego booth and saw the new Ford Supercruiser Electric bike then cruised over to the Joshua Tree skin care booth and tried on some face stick sunscreen stuff… cool. Took a lap around the showroom floor and saw the media booth (which probably has good WiFi) and decided to keep exploring. After a bit I saw a unique bottle cage designed to fit between the seat post and downtube and be super aerodynamic called the Wedgie.
A bit later I ducked into the “Women’s Lounge” area and met with an endurance athlete brand called Coeur which just launched out of LA. They have stuff designed for long distance bicycling. A bit later I stopped by the Easy Motion booth and saw the new Neo Jet which is a stepthrough version of the Neo Cross presumably for women or smaller riders, it looked great. Easy Motion is also working on a few bikes that will utilize the Bosch mid-drive motor system and have 27.5″ wheels. I kept cruising and met Dwayne from Blue Monkey Bicycles which is the first Pedego dealer out of Utah. We talked about putting skis on an electric bikes and ironically just after this I discovered Grip Studs which are tiny metal bits that screw into bicycle tires to give them more traction on snow and ice. I was told that larger tires like those on the Trail Tracker also help… awesome! Then I saw the razor scooters booth and a bigwheel tricycle for adults. I also passed by the Brompton folding bicycle booth, while I did not see any electric bikes being showcased there I do know that NYCeWheels offers some converted Brompton ebikes.
A bit later I cruised over to the ProdecoTech booth and saw the new Oasis, several Outlaw models, a full sized folding electric bike and the Scorpion which uses water-bottle sized batteries. Apparently these are being used by police forces and can come with two hub motors (front and rear). ProdecoTech also has a new Rebel bike with oversized tires that can be built with two 750 watt motors!
I discovered a new company called CycleDog which is an earth friendly pet company that offers some neat chew toys. They use old tubes to make some of their plastic and rubber stuff. Kept exploring and found Hi-Power Cycles which has a bike called the Revolution offering a 5,000 watt motor with air cooling and regenerative braking. I saw the new IZIP E3 Peak on display with custom mid-drive motor system from Currie.
Jumped outside to check out the outdoor test track. Back inside I saw a new hub motor by BionX which was super wide and narrow. The Cyclelogical booth had some cool t-shirts and racks for tablets and stuff. They also have a cool spoke reflector thing which makes you much more visible at night. By this time I was getting hungry so I decided to keep walking and find the cafeteria. I met an interesting fellow who was eating a banana and asked if I had seen Pulp Fiction.
Back on the test track I made friends with the security guy named Bob and offered to let him ride the new Electra Townie Go! bike. He said he’d get in trouble so I just kept riding. For some reason they were doing jackhammer work outside which was very loud. I found the Onda Ride booth and checked out some of their neat lockable bike boxes and trailers (they even have one that glows in the dark!) The Clif Bar booth had a neat flower setup with fun egg beater chandelier hanging above (and free samples, yum). Discovered a new company called Rocket 44 which has a portable bicycle pump with pressure gauge and high pressure and high volume setting for road vs. mountain bikes. They also offer a hydration pack with two reservoirs (one for sports drink and one for water). Back on the show floor I found the Basil booth and saw a few new bags and a fun bell!
I floated back outside and found a company called Real X Gear that makes cooling hats and towels, you just get them wet and wear around your neck or on your head, neat. PowerBar has some new “real fruit” gu stuff that I tried out, actually tastes pretty good and they told me it was magic
Video from day 4 – Exhibition Hall, Interbike 2013
I’m dubbing this day “Cute Girls at Interbike”. Started things out with some $17.00 sunscreen then a long walk to the tram followed by a long walk to the Mandalay Bay convention center. Was enjoying a Pro Bar for breakfast and avoided the long line at Starbucks. Spent a little bit more time at the map this time figuring out who I hadn’t seen.
Had plans to meet Jason from e-bike kit but we missed each other.. in part because we’ve never met in real life and don’t know what each other look like. Spotted one of those huge tired bikes and found out Old Man Mountain makes heavy duty custom racks for them. The GoPro booth had a Porsche rally car setup and just a bunch of neat extreme stuff.
Cruised by the Ortlieb booth and called out some of the neat panniers they have with quick-lift release systems. I went back to the Electra booth and tried to ask a rep where to buy them but he basically referred me to the website, meow. Found the Dahon booth and saw their folding ebike along with a new prototype that the rep didn’t know about. Saw some of the new Timbuk2 backpacks then cruised over to the Burley area where they were showcasing the Flatbed, Nomad and a seat-post rack carrier.
Strider had a huge booth setup with two sizes of bikes for teaching kids how to ride (they don’t have pedals, just coasting and foot rests). I snuck into a high-up booth for a better view then bailed. Found a new company called HyBikes with scooter-esque ebikes using Lead Acid batteries, they were inexpensive but heavy. Kept exploring and found the e-joe booth which had a few models out for show (but not testing). I met the founder who told me that e-joe is for “everybody joes” which made me smile.
I met back up with the girl at EPik bikes (out of Canada) which I had tested during Outdoor Demo Day, saw a new model with a built in basket. Just after this I ran into Turbo Bob who runs a bicycle blog! We chatted about the industry a bit and then parted ways. Picked up and saw a tandem called BuddyBike which looked neat and is actually designed to take kids with special needs out for rides! So cool.. There was an interesting bike setup called “purely custom” for dialing in seating and stuff.
Thule has a couple of rack systems designed to fasten directly to bike frames (no braze ons required) and they felt really solid! I also checked out the EasyFold rack which is capable of carrying electric bikes. It can carry 130lbs of bikes and has a little ramp and also folds so you can open your tailgate. Yakima also has a platform bike rack called the Hold Up capable of holding 120lbs of bikes (but has no ramp) and another rack called the Rack and Roll for towing several bikes.
I was hoping to speak with the Chamois Butt’r folks about their creams and powders for helping to avoid chafing when riding bikes but I went to the wrong booth, oops! Finally fond the right one and saw a new product “for her” designed for women with lavender scent, yum. Kept exploring and saw lots of candy, shiny colorful stuff and these cute little light up squids. I also met the dudes at rimskin which can print custom stickers for deep dish rims or glow in the dark stickers which look awesome. Saw some fishes at the LifeProof booth where they make waterproof cases and stuff.
I met a nice lady at the Peg Perego booth which has seats for kids that attach to bikes, seemed legit and also had thermo-form padding for comfort and is weather proof. I saw a few ladies riding on rollers which was pretty cool. Later I found the Pedal Pushers Club booth with lots of fun t-shirts. One had a bicycle and lots of little hearts. Suddenly there were people cruising around on Yike Bikes and they now have a two wheel rear so you can carry a second passenger. Out in the lobby I saw a cute girl who looked like Taylor Swift so I asked and yes, she gets that all the time..
Video from day 5 – Exhibition Hall, Interbike 2013
Final day of interbike! and the first year of a special program called Interbike by Invitation that let shops bring their most loyal and interested customers (who still had to pay $50 to get in). Not sure how successful it was as I didn’t see one person who came for this program?
Made my way through the lobby of the Excalibur, past the inactive people movers.. taunting me. I tried the buffet at the Excalibur and Luxor and the Luxor is way, way better.. but still not that great. On the walk to the show a guy named Richard showed me the Cheribim which is a Japanese bike company, it had a fancy pair of tubes acting a the downtube. I have no idea how that makes it better or lighter or what?
Got into the event center right when it opened so things were very quiet. Found a booth for Sevenstar Cycles, a new ebike company I haven’t heard of, then went outside to the test track. I met with a rep from Optibike and learned about their new mid-drive motor and battery system. Met with the founder of High Roller tricycles for adults. He excitedly gave me a product overview and pulled a power slide on his way out.
I kept doing rounds at the outdoor track and visited the Currie tents including IZIP, eFlow and Haibike. Hopped on the “Green Bike” from Pete’s Electrics and then spoke with Dean about their rental offering and the different shops across the US including Boulder, CO. Was really impressed with the lights that run off of capacitors and work even if the main battery is out. They also stay lit for five minutes after the bike is parked.
Saw a band playing at the outdoor event, ran back into Turbo Bob who was also having slow internet at the Travelodge. Then I spent some time with the founder of Juiced, Toro, who told me about their newest model which has a 48 volt 22 amp hour battery along with lights and hydraulic disc brakes. They have new colors including black, gray and blue. He also showed me the Yepp baby seat, box and a food container that work with the rack.
Walking through the hall I saw a guy who I met on day 4 who had a neat scooter thing for his broken ankle. I swung by the Stinger booth and got some honey snack samples. Cruised back over to the indoor Currie booth and saw some new colors for the IZIP bikes. I also spoke with the president of Currie about the new eFlow Fit folding bike. It features regenerative braking and a battery built right into the seat post.
I went back to the BionX booth to look into that wide hub motor I saw on Day 3. It’s a new “D” series motor that offers 25 newton meters of nominal torque. It also has a peak of 50 newton meters. It’s more efficient and can be used with a rear cassette and disc brake. Drifted around at the Topeak booth and even spoke with a product manager there who covered the new mountain bike fenders which are AWESOME! They beak away, adapt to multiple wheel sizes and are adjustable to different seat post sizes as well.
Back outside I visited the A2B booth and learned about how Hero Eco was formed. The reps told me about the new names for their bikes (Metro is now the Octave, Velociti is now the Alva) and the key fobs that start the bikes which are pretty cool. I also checked out the Kuo folding ebike from A2B. I met back up with a friendly security guard outside who liked the pretty A2B Alva I was testing.
At the test track I saw some guys speeding around on the Stealth electric bike.. going way too fast for the safety of other riders, and I Saw Turbo Bob AGAIN testing out a custom chopper style ebike. I also discovered a solar powered electric scooter that is made from a solar panel! To ride it you stand on the solar panel, it was pretty neat. A little while later I found the EcoReco scooters which almost looked like tiny regular razor scooters. I met a guy from TheChallengeSite.com which is a site designed for companies to do marketing by creating challenges, the guy at the booth had some scratches on his hand from crashing on his longboard.
At another booth I met this very sexy girl wearing waterproof socks by SealSkinz. She explained that they can be used for biking in wet conditions and come in several sizes. Even though they are waterproof she said they are still breathable.. and she winked at me, yay!
At another booth some guys were showcasing LED light strips to make bicycles more visible at night. The strips can be set to pulse slowly and greatly increase visibility for riders. That was the last thing I saw before rushing off to the airport! Great times at Interbike, hope to see you there next year
This is the second year for Electric Bike Review to be on site at Interbike in Las Vegas covering all things fun, interesting and ebike related. This year the show moved to the Mandalay Bay but the Outdoor Demo days (first two days of the week) remained at Boulder City. This is also the first year that bicycle fans were invited to participate by attending on the fifth day of the show, Friday September 20th, for an event called Interbike by Invitation!
Video from day 1 – Outdoor Demo Day, Interbike 2013
Started off with registration and badge-getting then hopped over to the bus lines near Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Half hour bus ride, arrived at Boulder City where exhibitors were setup. Checked out the Easy Motion Neo Jumpers and a prototype bike with Bosch mid-drive system. Cruised around, found the Felt booth and they also have several models that use the Bosch drive system. WD40 is launching a line of products for cleaning bikes including a protectant that will keep your paint nice almost like car wax.
Was getting hungry so I cruised by the Skratch Labs truck and got a veggie curry burrito and tried their electrolyte drink (loved it). Checked out the new Stromer bikes, ST1 Platinum and Elite, which only offer pedal assist mode but can go up to 28 miles per hour. Confirmed there are new signs at the Golden Gate bridge urging bikers to “turn off electric motors”. Cruised over to the Sea Sucker tent and ogled the suction cup bike racks they have (these are awesome! less wind resistance when taken off vs. regular racks). Made it to the Specialized area and asked about the Turbo… all bikes were checked out but I was told they made the bike weaker to be street legal in the US. Dahon has a new folding electric bike that’s powered by BionX motor, battery and controller. Met with the ProdecoTech guys and saw three of their demo bikes. Saw an Elliptigo (elliptical machine style stand-up bicycle). Finished the day at the Currie booth eyeing the Zuma which has upgraded battery positioning and is lighter overall than last year’s model.
Video from day 2 – Outdoor Demo Day, Interbike 2013
Started the day at 2am because the internet at the Excalibur hotel is so slow… decided to hit the hay. Woke up about four hours later and the video was done! 11 people had viewed it, worth it! Headed out for the show and got off the bus to find an awesome Toyota Tacoma tricked out for the Skratch Labs company (who I had seen on Day 1). Love it! even though it’s not electric… Spotted a remote controlled quadcopter, waiting for the Ride 2 Recovery race to finish. A bunch of people were hanging around to cheer these folks on. Many are veterans recovering from injuries and the race is meant to honor American armed forces. After 25 minutes of waiting however, I decided to get on with the show and ran into some folks from Bennett’s Bike and Fitness in Mason City Iowa wearing funky POC helmets (love their designs) we played around and I gave the cute girl a ride in the front basket of an IZIP Metro I borrowed from the Currie booth. PS. cute girl from the shop, call me! You’re awesome
A little while later I ran into Pete Prebus from Electric Bike Report and we chatted about past shows and his time working at bike shops as a kid. The wind started to pick up and dust was getting everywhere. I grabbed one of the new Felt Bosch powered ebikes and headed up the mountain where I saw a few riders catching air then I cruised down by the Power Bar tents and chilled at the BMX pump track sponsored by Bell helmets. I wanted to try it out but accidentally got on going the wrong direction and then Bell made me try one of their helmets… which was sweaty. I was still trying to avoid the wind so I cruised up to the Action Wipes booth and spoke with the founder Martha who told me a funny story about an old boyfriend who had purchased a great white shark, crashed his car then charged people at the boardwalk $1 to look at it. It’s what inspired her to become an entrepreneur. And yes, killing sharks is bad and Action Wipes are environmentally friendly. Win!
I cruised back down to the main show area and spoke with Frederick about the POC helmets and he showed me the super-aerodynamic model and explained how they made it for the olympic games in Beijing. They wind kept blowing and stuff was starting to fall over. I suggested he put the helmet on for safety. The day was ending so I started back for the busses and met the friendliest booth attendant ever, he was using a spray bottle to mist people as they walked by. Awesome. Got back in line and boarded the bus!
Video from day 3 – Exhibition Hall, Interbike 2013
I arrived at the show, stopped by the Pedego booth and saw the new Ford Supercruiser Electric bike then cruised over to the Joshua Tree skin care booth and tried on some face stick sunscreen stuff… cool. Took a lap around the showroom floor and saw the media booth (which probably has good WiFi) and decided to keep exploring. After a bit I saw a unique bottle cage designed to fit between the seat post and downtube and be super aerodynamic called the Wedgie.
A bit later I ducked into the “Women’s Lounge” area and met with an endurance athlete brand called Coeur which just launched out of LA. They have stuff designed for long distance bicycling. A bit later I stopped by the Easy Motion booth and saw the new Neo Jet which is a stepthrough version of the Neo Cross presumably for women or smaller riders, it looked great. Easy Motion is also working on a few bikes that will utilize the Bosch mid-drive motor system and have 27.5″ wheels. I kept cruising and met Dwayne from Blue Monkey Bicycles which is the first Pedego dealer out of Utah. We talked about putting skis on an electric bikes and ironically just after this I discovered Grip Studs which are tiny metal bits that screw into bicycle tires to give them more traction on snow and ice. I was told that larger tires like those on the Trail Tracker also help… awesome! Then I saw the razor scooters booth and a bigwheel tricycle for adults. I also passed by the Brompton folding bicycle booth, while I did not see any electric bikes being showcased there I do know that NYCeWheels offers some converted Brompton ebikes.
A bit later I cruised over to the ProdecoTech booth and saw the new Oasis, several Outlaw models, a full sized folding electric bike and the Scorpion which uses water-bottle sized batteries. Apparently these are being used by police forces and can come with two hub motors (front and rear). ProdecoTech also has a new Rebel bike with oversized tires that can be built with two 750 watt motors!
I discovered a new company called CycleDog which is an earth friendly pet company that offers some neat chew toys. They use old tubes to make some of their plastic and rubber stuff. Kept exploring and found Hi-Power Cycles which has a bike called the Revolution offering a 5,000 watt motor with air cooling and regenerative braking. I saw the new IZIP E3 Peak on display with custom mid-drive motor system from Currie.
Jumped outside to check out the outdoor test track. Back inside I saw a new hub motor by BionX which was super wide and narrow. The Cyclelogical booth had some cool t-shirts and racks for tablets and stuff. They also have a cool spoke reflector thing which makes you much more visible at night. By this time I was getting hungry so I decided to keep walking and find the cafeteria. I met an interesting fellow who was eating a banana and asked if I had seen Pulp Fiction.
Back on the test track I made friends with the security guy named Bob and offered to let him ride the new Electra Townie Go! bike. He said he’d get in trouble so I just kept riding. For some reason they were doing jackhammer work outside which was very loud. I found the Onda Ride booth and checked out some of their neat lockable bike boxes and trailers (they even have one that glows in the dark!) The Clif Bar booth had a neat flower setup with fun egg beater chandelier hanging above (and free samples, yum). Discovered a new company called Rocket 44 which has a portable bicycle pump with pressure gauge and high pressure and high volume setting for road vs. mountain bikes. They also offer a hydration pack with two reservoirs (one for sports drink and one for water). Back on the show floor I found the Basil booth and saw a few new bags and a fun bell!
I floated back outside and found a company called Real X Gear that makes cooling hats and towels, you just get them wet and wear around your neck or on your head, neat. PowerBar has some new “real fruit” gu stuff that I tried out, actually tastes pretty good and they told me it was magic
Video from day 4 – Exhibition Hall, Interbike 2013
I’m dubbing this day “Cute Girls at Interbike”. Started things out with some $17.00 sunscreen then a long walk to the tram followed by a long walk to the Mandalay Bay convention center. Was enjoying a Pro Bar for breakfast and avoided the long line at Starbucks. Spent a little bit more time at the map this time figuring out who I hadn’t seen.
Had plans to meet Jason from e-bike kit but we missed each other.. in part because we’ve never met in real life and don’t know what each other look like. Spotted one of those huge tired bikes and found out Old Man Mountain makes heavy duty custom racks for them. The GoPro booth had a Porsche rally car setup and just a bunch of neat extreme stuff.
Cruised by the Ortlieb booth and called out some of the neat panniers they have with quick-lift release systems. I went back to the Electra booth and tried to ask a rep where to buy them but he basically referred me to the website, meow. Found the Dahon booth and saw their folding ebike along with a new prototype that the rep didn’t know about. Saw some of the new Timbuk2 backpacks then cruised over to the Burley area where they were showcasing the Flatbed, Nomad and a seat-post rack carrier.
Strider had a huge booth setup with two sizes of bikes for teaching kids how to ride (they don’t have pedals, just coasting and foot rests). I snuck into a high-up booth for a better view then bailed. Found a new company called HyBikes with scooter-esque ebikes using Lead Acid batteries, they were inexpensive but heavy. Kept exploring and found the e-joe booth which had a few models out for show (but not testing). I met the founder who told me that e-joe is for “everybody joes” which made me smile.
I met back up with the girl at EPik bikes (out of Canada) which I had tested during Outdoor Demo Day, saw a new model with a built in basket. Just after this I ran into Turbo Bob who runs a bicycle blog! We chatted about the industry a bit and then parted ways. Picked up and saw a tandem called BuddyBike which looked neat and is actually designed to take kids with special needs out for rides! So cool.. There was an interesting bike setup called “purely custom” for dialing in seating and stuff.
Thule has a couple of rack systems designed to fasten directly to bike frames (no braze ons required) and they felt really solid! I also checked out the EasyFold rack which is capable of carrying electric bikes. It can carry 130lbs of bikes and has a little ramp and also folds so you can open your tailgate. Yakima also has a platform bike rack called the Hold Up capable of holding 120lbs of bikes (but has no ramp) and another rack called the Rack and Roll for towing several bikes.
I was hoping to speak with the Chamois Butt’r folks about their creams and powders for helping to avoid chafing when riding bikes but I went to the wrong booth, oops! Finally fond the right one and saw a new product “for her” designed for women with lavender scent, yum. Kept exploring and saw lots of candy, shiny colorful stuff and these cute little light up squids. I also met the dudes at rimskin which can print custom stickers for deep dish rims or glow in the dark stickers which look awesome. Saw some fishes at the LifeProof booth where they make waterproof cases and stuff.
I met a nice lady at the Peg Perego booth which has seats for kids that attach to bikes, seemed legit and also had thermo-form padding for comfort and is weather proof. I saw a few ladies riding on rollers which was pretty cool. Later I found the Pedal Pushers Club booth with lots of fun t-shirts. One had a bicycle and lots of little hearts. Suddenly there were people cruising around on Yike Bikes and they now have a two wheel rear so you can carry a second passenger. Out in the lobby I saw a cute girl who looked like Taylor Swift so I asked and yes, she gets that all the time..
Video from day 5 – Exhibition Hall, Interbike 2013
Final day of interbike! and the first year of a special program called Interbike by Invitation that let shops bring their most loyal and interested customers (who still had to pay $50 to get in). Not sure how successful it was as I didn’t see one person who came for this program?
Made my way through the lobby of the Excalibur, past the inactive people movers.. taunting me. I tried the buffet at the Excalibur and Luxor and the Luxor is way, way better.. but still not that great. On the walk to the show a guy named Richard showed me the Cheribim which is a Japanese bike company, it had a fancy pair of tubes acting a the downtube. I have no idea how that makes it better or lighter or what?
Got into the event center right when it opened so things were very quiet. Found a booth for Sevenstar Cycles, a new ebike company I haven’t heard of, then went outside to the test track. I met with a rep from Optibike and learned about their new mid-drive motor and battery system. Met with the founder of High Roller tricycles for adults. He excitedly gave me a product overview and pulled a power slide on his way out.
I kept doing rounds at the outdoor track and visited the Currie tents including IZIP, eFlow and Haibike. Hopped on the “Green Bike” from Pete’s Electrics and then spoke with Dean about their rental offering and the different shops across the US including Boulder, CO. Was really impressed with the lights that run off of capacitors and work even if the main battery is out. They also stay lit for five minutes after the bike is parked.
Saw a band playing at the outdoor event, ran back into Turbo Bob who was also having slow internet at the Travelodge. Then I spent some time with the founder of Juiced, Toro, who told me about their newest model which has a 48 volt 22 amp hour battery along with lights and hydraulic disc brakes. They have new colors including black, gray and blue. He also showed me the Yepp baby seat, box and a food container that work with the rack.
Walking through the hall I saw a guy who I met on day 4 who had a neat scooter thing for his broken ankle. I swung by the Stinger booth and got some honey snack samples. Cruised back over to the indoor Currie booth and saw some new colors for the IZIP bikes. I also spoke with the president of Currie about the new eFlow Fit folding bike. It features regenerative braking and a battery built right into the seat post.
I went back to the BionX booth to look into that wide hub motor I saw on Day 3. It’s a new “D” series motor that offers 25 newton meters of nominal torque. It also has a peak of 50 newton meters. It’s more efficient and can be used with a rear cassette and disc brake. Drifted around at the Topeak booth and even spoke with a product manager there who covered the new mountain bike fenders which are AWESOME! They beak away, adapt to multiple wheel sizes and are adjustable to different seat post sizes as well.
Back outside I visited the A2B booth and learned about how Hero Eco was formed. The reps told me about the new names for their bikes (Metro is now the Octave, Velociti is now the Alva) and the key fobs that start the bikes which are pretty cool. I also checked out the Kuo folding ebike from A2B. I met back up with a friendly security guard outside who liked the pretty A2B Alva I was testing.
At the test track I saw some guys speeding around on the Stealth electric bike.. going way too fast for the safety of other riders, and I Saw Turbo Bob AGAIN testing out a custom chopper style ebike. I also discovered a solar powered electric scooter that is made from a solar panel! To ride it you stand on the solar panel, it was pretty neat. A little while later I found the EcoReco scooters which almost looked like tiny regular razor scooters. I met a guy from TheChallengeSite.com which is a site designed for companies to do marketing by creating challenges, the guy at the booth had some scratches on his hand from crashing on his longboard.
At another booth I met this very sexy girl wearing waterproof socks by SealSkinz. She explained that they can be used for biking in wet conditions and come in several sizes. Even though they are waterproof she said they are still breathable.. and she winked at me, yay!
At another booth some guys were showcasing LED light strips to make bicycles more visible at night. The strips can be set to pulse slowly and greatly increase visibility for riders. That was the last thing I saw before rushing off to the airport! Great times at Interbike, hope to see you there next year
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