I was looking at the pretty stuff from interbike and didn’t see anything that was really that amazing. The P2C was a great reworking of the P2K and Litespeed bikes can be used as paper wieghts on your desk but was there anything really new?
Yes. And evidently, carbon is This season’s Black.
“Is it just a fashion show?”
Sadly, no.
yeah, the gel-bot at the show was very, very clever:
Strange, but there were all kinds of pictures of stuff up here on this site and others, but ironically there was very little true fashion. I mean I saw almost zero information about apperal for next year from the key players in that area( Sugoi, Hind, Pear Izumi Louis Garneu . . etc . .) Doubly strange, because this is one thing that retailers, if they are smart and know what they are doing can really make some good money on. There are great margins on apparel.
Fleck
Very true. Is there an inovation shortage there too?
No, not really. Just an obsssion here and elsewhere with hard-goods and a neglect of the things that can really take a shop from being good to great - which is a great selection of apperal that is well mechadised with knowledgeable staff etc . . And as I said, it’s an area of a shop that can be very profitable if it is done right. Problem is very few bike retailers know how to do it right! It’s actually been a massive missed opportunity for many bike retailers. The #1 growth area for the past 5 year or more has been with women, but your typical bike shop is very un-friendly when it comes to women and how they like to shop for apparel. So, they have gone elsewhere - to running shops and tri shops and elsewhere that also sell some cycling apparel( the running shops, get it!)
Fleck
Innovation that can’t necessarily be seen, but is readily apparent to his fan-base. His tubesets prove what can be done with stock geometries and close interaction with the tubing manufacturer to produce bikes with remarkable ride characteristics.
They look bitchin’ too. If Gerard is the Ozzy of the cycle industry and ABG are the In Backstreet Sych Boys, Dario is Dylan.
I have read wonderful stuff about his stuff but is there performance advantage beyond a soulful ride?
If you want steel that performs, jumps and climbs as good as any aluminum bike out there yet doesn’t weigh much, then he’s the man via his Marcelo. If you want slightly less with a better all day ride (again, still focusing on ride quality and low weight in steel), then the Duende. If you want old school soulfulness, the Luigino is your steed.
Likewise, he’s got a range of scandium bikes. Mr. Ves Mandaric once told me that he thought Dario’s scandium road bikes among the very best in the world in terms of the tubing manipulation he has developed in conjuction with Columbus. …Not all tubes need to be shaped like stealth fighters (…ABG!) to have remarkable ride characteristics. *Disclaimer…I’ve never ridden scandium, so I’m relying on the testimony of others. Still, even Ves said that Dario’s aluminum/scandium rigs ride like steel.
Things don’t have to have odd shapes or easily noticeable design characteristics to be innovation, IMHO.
Did I mention his bikes look bitchin?
Someone wrote that you couldn’t throw a dead cat without hitting something made of carbon fiber.