Interbike 2012 Coverage

Its that time of year: expo season! Seemingly every bike company under the sun is launching their new product lines and Interbike 2012 (the largest bicycle industry tradeshow in North America) is behing held this week in Las Vegas with about 1,200 exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest. Singletracks is

SRAM XX1: 11spd MTB Drivetrain

This year SRAM is introducing a new 11spd drivetrain that targets both XC and gravity riders alike, which seems like a crazy idea. But it turns out the company has done their homework once again and have put together a well thought out system called XX1. Im a solidly XC-rider myself

Interbike 2012: Yeti SB-95 Test Ride

My first taste of the dry, dusty desert singletrack of Bootleg Canyon was aboard the Yeti SB-95 and what a taste it was! With 29 wheels, 5 of travel front and back, and a 68.5 headtube angle, this is an aggressive bike that was ready to tackle the most technical

All-Wheel-Drive Mountain Bike Test Ride

Heres something you may not have considered: an all-wheel-drive mountain bike. The idea has been around for some timemost notably, Christini produces all-wheel-drive modelsbut its something most of us have never experienced. Thats why I had to test ride the Tretta 29er at Interbike. Looking at the photos you can see

Interbike 2012: Spot Honey Badger Test Ride

New this year to Spot Brand Bicycles is the Honey Badger. Based off of their classic Rocker frame, the new steel-framed Honey Badger features a very similar geometry (that has been slightly tweaked), butthere have beenmany significant upgradesthathelp providesignificant performance improvement. New to the Honey Badger is a taperedheadtubeandacrenelateddowntubegusset integrated directly

Interbike 2012: KHS SixFifty 608 Test Ride

Ive spent plenty of time riding a full-suspension 650b bike over the course of this summer, but I had yet to see how the tweener wheels handle in a hardtail package. So, when I wandered over to the KHS booth and noticed the beautiful carbon frames rolling on WTB Laser

Interbike 2012: Diamondback Test Rides

Ive always appreciated the unique look of Diamondbacks Knucklebox suspension, and having had a great ride on a 26 Sortie at Sea Otter a few years ago, I was eager to get on a couple more of Diamondbacks rigs. The Mission The Mission is Diamondbacks rendition of the all-mountain 26 wheeled bike.

The Surly Krampus: 29+

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the release of Surlys Krampus, and when talking about what this bike is, its probably best to begin by talking about what its not: It is not a fat bike with massive 4 or 5-inch tires designed for maximum flotation and slow

Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert EVO: 29er Trail Bike

I've ridden a few long-travel 29ers (5+ inches of travel) over the last 12 months and up until now, I haven't been totally impressed. Not only did the bikes seem to handle clumsily but none of them climbed very well--a big turn off for an XC guy like me. A

Turner Burner 650b Test Ride

I've been trying to steer clear of the 650b hype but sometimes it's almost unavoidable. Don't get me wrong--I have nothing against 650b bikes--but I'm more than happy with both my 29ers. Still, when I got a chance to demo the Turner Burner 650b at Interbike I figured, what the

Interbike 2012: NukeProof Bikes + Components

2013 marks a big push for NukeProof into the North American market. This year, NukeProof has a bunch of exciting (and good looking) new gear. At the show, four complete bikes were on display. Along with revisions to their existing bikes, there were two completely new rides as well as

Intense Spider 29comp Test Ride

While chatting with another reviewer at Outdoor Demo I asked which bikes he was stoked about and he mentioned the Intense Spider 29comp. Syd (element22) also recommended this bike to me before the show so I knew I had to check it out! The Spider 29comp is new for 2013 and

The 650b (R)evolution, Part 1: Jamis, KHS, and Tires

It's been all over the blog and the forums on Singletracks.com: the industry is quickly jumping behind the new 650b/27.5"/tweener wheel size, whatever you want to call it. This year at Interbike I was tasked with covering the new 650b products--quite a tall order! In this series of posts I'll

Funkier Apparel: Innovative Shorts and Jerseys for Mountain Biking

Corey (maddslacker) has reviewed a few items from Funkier apparel so I agreed to meet with Eli at Interbike to look over the latest and greatest. After telling me a bit about the company (it's the #1 cycling apparel brand in Israel and started out as a purely fashion brand),

Niterider: New 3600 Lumen System, USB Chargers, Tail Lights

With night riding season approaching, Niterider is ready to shine. The company continues to innovate with lighting solutions that cover riders from front to rear. At the top end, Niterider is releasing the Pro 3600 LED which blasts out (you guessed it) 3600 lumens of white hot light. That's 600 lumens

The 650b (R)evolution, Part 2: The 650b Godfather, (R)evolution, and 650b Sales

Click here to read "The 650b (R)evolution, Part 1: Jamis, KHS, and Tires." The Godfather of 650b Mountain Bikes: Tom Ritchey While most of what we've been writing here on Singletracks refers to 650b as a new mountain bike trend, if you look at the history of the sport this wheel standard

Pearl Izumi's X-Project: A Lightweight and Flexible MTB Shoe

This big news from Pearl Izumi this year is the X Project MTB shoe, a lightweight and comfortable--yet high performance--set of kicks. MTB hall-of-famer Brian Lopes and Ross Schnell helped Pearl Izumi shape and test these shoes and I have to say, the team hit this one out of the

Interbike 2012: New Products from Shimano

Zee has arrived: finally, a drivetrain for the gravity rider that won't drain your bank account! Shimano's 2012 offerings don't stop there. With the new Saint group also on display and the new SLX making a showing, there was a lot to see at the Shimano booth. Shimano also introduced soft

Thomson: Bars, Dropper Seatpost, and More?

Dustin is set to review some of the new handlebars from Thomson this fall but I thought I'd give a preview based on what we saw at Interbike last week. Most folks know Thomson for their highly polished seatposts and stems but this year the company is set to stake

MTB Products on the Fringe: Shocking Interbike Finds

This has to be my favorite post from Interbike each year because I get to highlight some of the strangest, most interesting products seen at the show. To be honest we didn't have much time to just look around this year but we still managed to find a few oddities

Electronic Gadgets for Mountain Bikers

These days we're living in a digital world and like it or not, digital technology is creeping onto the mountain bike trail. Here are a few interesting electronic gadgets from Interbike: JVC Helmet Camera You may remember JVC from the old days of handheld camcorders and the company is building on that

Ultra-Lightweight 29ers from Niner, Pivot, and Breezer

In the early days of 29ers one of the big tradeoffs with bigger wheels was increased weight, particularly the added rolling weight in tires and rims. With few component choices available, early adopters were forced into sometimes clunky builds that weighed much more than their 26-inch equivalents. But that was

Interbike 2012: New Wheels, Bars, Stems, and Seatposts from Easton

Easton is a brand name that everyone knows, even if they're not into cycling. This year, Easton is releasing some really interesting products, as well as cleaning up the rest of their line with fresh graphics that match throughout the entire product range. As usual, the hoops are a big deal.

Interbike 2012: POC Helmets and Soft Goods

For 2013 POC is adding a few more items to their growing line of protective gear. Hailing from Sweden, POC spends a considerable amount of time developing and improving safety gear for both mountain biking and skiing. Both sports produce a similar accident pattern: heavy oblique forward collisions with immovable

The 650b (R)evolution, Part 3: Rocky Mountain, Scott, Norco, and Intense

Click here to read "The 650b (R)evolution, Part 2: The 650b Godfather, (R)evolution, and 650b Sales." While it seems that some companies have jumped into the 650b movement headfirst, other companies are testing the waters with just a couple of models. Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Altitude With 150mm of travel, they call the Altitude

The Mountain Bikes of Interbike (Photo Heavy)

Each year we go to Interbike for just one reason: to see the latest and greatest mountain bike gear. Admittedly the whole thing can be overwhelming and it's even tough to keep up with the coverage (we've posted 25 articles about the show already with several more on the way).

Interbike 2012: New Products from Giro

This year, Giro has decided to up their game yet again. In fact, they had so much going on in their massive Interbike booth that it made my head spin! So, to keep it simple, I am cutting straight to some of the key features that I found most interesting. Giro

Interbike 2012: New Products from Leatt

One thing I can never stress enough is personal protection on the trail, and Leatt has it going on this year. The really big news with Leatt is the price drop on the Leatt brace. Yes you read that right! Now there shouldn't be any excuses for not getting one

Womens Mountain Bike Products from Interbike

As if a trip to Las Vegas doesn't provide enough sensory overload, strolling the aisles of Interbike brings the added experience of testosterone overload. Just picture this--a sea of guys with facial hair and tattoos and/or piercings blinded by the closest shiny object on two wheels, loud music blaring, and

Cool Threads from Interbike 2012: t.h.e, Dakine, Bell, Five Ten, and Osprey

There were plenty of cool helmets and other gear to see on the Interbike showroom floor. Swinging by t.h.e., Bell, Five Ten, Dakine, Osprey, and a few others, I had a chance to see what's new and exciting for 2013. t.h.e. t.h.e. has revamped their entire line up this year and introduced