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Mountain Bike Action is digital. The print mag that’s been around for ages has made a step towards embracing digital delivery. Starting with the November 2005 issue, Web heads can read and search the latest issues of MBA online. Annual subscription rates are priced at $14.99 (usd) and you don’t need to wait for the thing to show up in the mail. You can check out the first 30 or so pages of the November issue online to see what MBA’s digital format will look like.
I make no bones about being a fan of digitized content, but I must admit that I’m not a fan of the Zinio reader being employed by Mountain Bike Action. While it’s obvious to me that MBA went with a format that minimizes ‘pirating’ of copyrighted content (and that’s fine), I do feel the system will put off web users who are used to the type of quick-loading, plain text documents used on most websites. Publications like the Wall Street Journal and The Economist offer paid access to their archives but they’ve taken a path that, in my opinion, is more user friendly than that of MBA.
Will the delivery format chosen by Mountain Bike Action be successful? I think it depends on a number of things, including price point, ease of use, and accessibility. Also, how will readers of digital content react to the pages and pages of ads that grace the insides of print magazines?
It’s an interesting move by MBA, and I encourage you to check out the digital version for yourself.
Source: Mountain Bike Action / Zinio
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Interbike is over for another year and, while most observers feel that the cycling industry as a whole is healthier than it has been in ages, the same commentators felt there was less innovation on display this year than in the past. From what I saw of the show I’m inclined to agree, but it’s also important to remember that most of the ‘06 product was leaked well in advance of this year’s trade shows…
After Interbike: The Flood is Upon Us
Anyways, this section will be updated a couple of times with links to sites that are updating with Interbike-related stuff over the next week or so.
Mountain Bike Action: While the MBA website leaves something to be desired, when new content is posted online, it’s usually of decent quality. Richard Cunningham's Interbike wrapup covers some good stuff: the Ibis Mojo, a new seatpost and chain guide from Race Face, a hint about some new downhill tires from Michelin, and a number of words about the Hayes gearbox derailleur system. There aren’t a whole lot of details in the first writeup but all of you gear freaks out there will enjoy the images.
MBA’s second writeup on Interbike has some interesting insights into the activities both of Shimano and SRAM. Both arch-rivals look poised to introduce some slick looking gear in 2007 and beyond. I know, that’s all we need to hear about during the coming year…
Bike: Bike was the other ‘biggie’ that didn’t post anything online during the actual trade show. There’s definitely nothing wrong with this, and the first in a series of updates on their time at the big show is now on the website. In the first part of their recap, Vernon Felton discusses the finer points of the numerous carbon fiber all mountain bikes scheduled to hit the market in the coming year. The writeup also includes some decent shots of the new rides in the Giant lineup.
Bike Magazine’s second Interbike 2005 update discusses new rides from Cannondale and Rocky Mountain and gives some details on the new forks from Manitou (the Intrinsic and the R-Seven). It’ll be interesting to see how well the Intrinsic single crown forks do — there still aren’t that many bikes equipped with 1.5″ headtubes out there…
NSMB.com: NSMB jumps back into the fray with a scathing criticism of Shimano’s recent dual control ad campaign. It’s a perfect way to move into a description of Shimano’s new Saint SL trigger shifter. Also featured in this writeup are new bags, shorts, and helmets from Fox Racing, in addition to the new Race Face chain guide mentioned above.
Blue Collar Mountain Biking: The guys at the Blue Collar weblog started putting words to the insane number of photos they snapped in Vegas. There’s some seriously cool gear on display at their site, including some crazy handlebar contraption that allows you to work those pecs while riding. I need to get RIPPED like that dude.
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Yesterday was the first official day for the exhibitors at Interbike 2005. Following two solid Demo Days, manufacturers and journalists alike moved indoors to talk shop, grab as many photos as possible, and engage in other forms of activity made famous by the city of sin.
Interbike - Inside the Sands Convention Centre, day 1
BikeMagic: The team at BikeMagic has done a great job keeping their site up to date with tonnes of photos and solid writeups. For their first day inside, BikeMagic devoted space to Ellsworth Bicycles, which introduced the Rogue (the replacement for the venerable Dare) and a prototype version of a new downhill bike, using a drivetrain design that’s similar to the Honda ridden by Greg Minaar on the World Cup circuit.
Other brands covered by BikeMagic include GT, Giant (there’s a good shot of the revised shock mount for the Reign), Titus, Ventana, and many others.
Cycling News: CyclingNews.com takes an interesting approach to their first day inside, focusing less on what everyone else is covering (ie. big name bike manufacturers) and more on other brands. Companies covered include Louis Garneau, Felt, Foes Racing, and cowbell.com.
Pinkbike.com: Back at the Sands after a couple of days in the sand and rock at Bootleg Canyon, Pinkbike.com focused more on component manufacturers for their first report. Product lines under the microscope include components from FSA, Syncros, Deity Components, and SDG. In addition to the information on the component manufacturers, there are some great shots of the Intense 6.6 and the 2006 Transition Bikes lineup.
NSMB.com: NSMB came in a little late with their wrap up of day one, but they devote a good deal of space to gear not covered elsewhere. There’s some coverage of Northwest bike company Transition Bikes, helmets by Bell and Giro, tires by Maxxis, a great looking light from Cat Eye, and a revised DRS chain guide from e.thirteen. Check out the writeup — there are some great photos too!
Interbike - Day 2
There was more bike gear from the regulars today, although it seems to me as though the excitement is wearing a little thin. I guess there’s only so much bike-related gear that the brain can take in over a five day span.
BikeMagic: For Day 2, BikeMagic focused on ‘the cool and the crazy‘. As we all know, one man’s cool is another man’s crazy and the team at BikeMagic devoted space to things like a bamboo tandem cycle from Calfee Design. Other space covered more conventional product from high-end manufacturers like Foes Racing, Storck, Bionicon, Intense Cycles, and Merlin (a gorgeous looking titanium hardtail). There are a whole lot of product shots on the BikeMagic site, so head there if you’re looking for more.
Pinkbike.com: The Pinkbike.com crew comes on strong again in Day 2, with yet another closeup on the 2005 Foes Racing lineup, soft goods from Dakine, great shots of the new 50/50 platform pedal by Crank Brothers and a number of other images from multiple manufacturers.
A special mention goes out to their coverage of the Mountain Cycle. The company’s prototype Slopestyle bike looks hawt and the upcoming 9.5SL has some amazing looking lines (especially without decals). The photos of these bikes make a trip to Pinkbike well worth it.
Others: A number of other sites are doing their best to provide a different take on the entire Interbike ‘experience’. The boys over at Blue Collar Mountain Biking have a prodigious photo gallery, even if many of the photos do indeed look to be snapped by a cheap camera phone. Guys! If you read this entry, snap some shots of the Giant Reign and the Giant Trance!
Go Clipless is spending some quality time with a number of different manufacturers’ products but the best Interbike-related entry on the site so far is a story about how site contributor J. Vicious was turned away at the doors of a nightclub for wearing his comfy Asics sneakers. Good stuff!
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The Interbike trade show is the bike industry’s last hurrah before it officially releases the product that this site has been documenting for the past few months. I took a pass on this year’s show because I had other commitments and, to be frank, didn’t feel up to the trip.
That being said, many other industry insiders and observers made the trek down to Vegas and I’ll be using this section to send you in the direction of their websites. Check back frequently for the next week or so for all of the Interbike mayhem.
Interbike Day 1 - Dirt Demo 2005
The first day at Interbike is devoted to getting participants out on the bikes that will be on display during the rest of the trade show. Typically, members of the media get time on bikes they’ve drooled over for the previous few months and this year is no exception. Here they come:
NSMB.com: NSMB took a smart approach to the demo day, choosing bikes that are well suited to their area of expertise (freeride, light freeride, trail, downhill). Bikes on display at the NSMB.com website include the Yeti 303, the Santa Cruz Nomad, the Rocky Mountain Slayer, the Scott Ransom, the Turner RFX (ex 6 Pack), and the Surly Pugsley.
BikeMagic: UK-based BikeMagic previews six new rides in their Dirt Demo writeup. There are some closeup shots of the Turner Five Spot (with the non-Horst link suspension platform), the Giant Anthem cross country bike, the Kona King Supreme, Mountain Cycle San Andreas DNA downhill rig, the Maverick ML7/5, and, yet again, the Surly Pugsley (featuring 4″ tires).
Pinkbike.com: Pinkbike opted to take big bikes out for their test runs down the trails. The crew focused on bikes like the Specialized Demo 8 Pro, the Cove Peeler and Shocker, the Santa Cruz VP-Free and Nomad, the Cannondale Prophet, the Kona Stinky Primo, the Yeti 303, and more.
Interbike Day 2 - Dirt Demo 2005 continued
Like the first official day of Interbike, the second day is again devoted to bike demos. And like the first official day, there are another batch of test ride stories posted on various websites.
Go Clipless: One of the first mountain biking weblogs to post material from Interbike online, Go Clipless took a smart approach to their go-round at the Demo Days. Instead of jumping on the bikes from the larger companies, the guys plowed headlong into unfamiliar (for them) territory: the 29ers. Among the 29″ bikes that they tested out were the Ventana El Capitan, the Niner One 9, and a couple of others that will be posted online when they get up to speed.
BikeMagic.com: As they were on day one, BikeMagic was at it again on Tuesday for day two. The real coup for the BikeMagic crew was to be one of the first batch of journalists to spend some trail time on the Scott Ransom. Other bikes demo’d by BikeMagic during day two included the Specialized Epic Marathon, the Cannondale Rush, and the venerable Slingshot. You read correctly, the Slingshot is still in the building.
Pinkbike.com: Pinkbike followed up their Day One demos with more of the same — big bikes best suited to freeride and downhill. On Day Two, the Pinkbike riders saddled up on bikes from Norco, Intense, Voodoo, Cove, Giant, Iron Horse, and Mongoose.
Update (30 September 2005): One last item of note to post before I move on. Dave Tolnai has what’s probably the most refreshing take on the Dirt Demo over at NSMB.com. It’s well worth the read, if only because the author isn’t immediately sold on the necessity of, well, the entire idea of the show.
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Expocycle is the Canadian version of the Interbike and Eurobike. Held annually in Montreal, Quebec, Expocycle is the place for Canadian retailers and industry insiders to get the scoop on upcoming bicycle products.
A couple websites are offering up-to-the-minute coverage of the event and posting up their takes on the show. Eastside Freeride sent a rider to the BTAC Demo Day and they’ve got some words to say about a number of bikes, including the 2006 Norco Six, the Brodie Nemesis, and the Commencal Absolute. As for the actual trade show, Dropmachine.com posted a significant image gallery (34 pages) of pretty much every item on offer at the show. Ok, I write that in jest but you will be able to find what you’re looking for if you dig deeply enough.
Highlights from Expocycle 2005
Update (26 September 2006): Eastside Freeride finishes up their coverage of Expocycle 2005 with a brief writeup about some of the highlights from the show. The ESFR team seems particularly impressed by a few bikes, namely the Specialized SX Trail, the Giant Glory and the Specialized Demo 8 Pro. While I’d argue that there were more innovations this year than ESFR gives bike manufacturers credit for, the article does provide a couple of interesting insights.
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Hot on the heels of the controversy surrounding L’Equipe, Lance Armstrong, and alleged EPO use comes news that Canadian National Team cyclist Chris Sheppard tested positive for EPO and has been suspended from competition for two years.
According to the Canadian Cycling website:
Mr. Sheppard was subject to an out-of-competition urine test at his home in Kamloops, BC, on May 29, 2005; the presence of rEPO in his A-sample was communicated to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport on June 15, and confirmed in his B-sample on July 4.
The matter was referred to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada as provided for in the Canadian Anti-Doping Program rules, and the final decision of the arbitrator was handed down yesterday. In accordance with CCES and WADA rules, Mr. Sheppard was given the minimum two-year suspension for a first-time doping offence. In addition, he is now permanently ineligible to receive financial support from the federal government.
The Canadian Cycling Association is firm in its commitment to the fight against doping, and is satisfied the CCES and the SDRCC fulfilled their roles in an exemplary manner during this process.
I understand that the pressures associated with being a professional athlete are great but there are so many things that a positive test destroys: credibility amongst your peers and colleagues, financial and material sponsorship opportunities, your place as a role model for youth. While I’m not naive enough to think that Sheppard is the only pro mountain biker to test positive for drug use, it certainly is disappointing to see cycling’s image tarnished in the press once again.
Update (15 September 2005): The cards began falling today for Sheppard. According to Pinkbike.com, Sheppard was formally released from his contract with Haro. To be fair, Haro was classy about the dismissal, reminding everyone that they believed Sheppard simply made a big personal mistake…
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This post is a little off topic for this site (it covers a BMX dirt jump competition), but the subject matter is worth it. Check out the video footage gathered at the event (link below).
Red Bull has been at the forefront of the field of ‘extreme sports’ for some time now, sponsoring events like the Red Bull Rampage and the Red Bull District Ride.
Recently, the company put on a dirt jump competition up at Whistler Village. The event — called Red Bull Elevation — brought together some of the top BMX dirt jumpers in the land on a course that featured HUGE jumps for the riders to strut their stuff. For spectators the event was a blast, even if many of the people watching weren’t familiar with the particular names of each rider’s moves and tricks. Check out this video footage of the event.
At the end of the day, veteran Ryan Nyquist took home first overall, followed onto the podium by Corey Bohan, and Luke Parslow in second and third place respectively.
To view the video, you’ll need to have Quicktime 7 installed on your computer. If I knew how to convert the file back to an older version of Quicktime I would but, unfortunately, video manipulation is not my forte. If you’re interested in downloading a version of the video clip with a higher resolution, drop me a line and I’ll hook you up.
Note : Most of the content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons License. However, the contents of the Red Bull Elevation 2005 video do not fall under CCL licensing. All footage is property of Brent Tahk and can not be resold, reused, or redistributed without the written permission of Brent Tahk. The music is from Molotov’s Donde Jugaran las Niñas?
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For a limited time (1 September 2005 - 23 December 2005), Chris King Precision Components is making available to the public pink Chris King headsets, hubs, and accessories. Part proceeds from the sale of these components will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, an international organization devoted to the eradication of breast cancer.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of handling or riding with high end components like Chris King hubs or headsets, you should do yourself a favour and have a look, even if you can’t afford them. In addition to being some of the nicest bike parts on the planet, the Chris King Cycle Group is a socially and environmentally responsible manufacturer.
And even if you can’t afford to purchase one of the pink Chris King headsets or a pair of hubs, consider making a donation to a local breast cancer organization.
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Marzocchi suspension technology has long been at the forefront of the ‘freeride’ scene — partly because the other majors dropped the ball early in the game, but more because Marzocchi forks in the field were very reliable and low maintenance. I’ve owned my fair share of Marzocchi forks, starting with the old Z2 Bomber and moving on up to the superb 2002 Monster T and have been more than happy with the products’ performance.
Marzocchi recognized that Canada, and specifically British Columbia, plays an important role in maintaining the ‘mythos’ of the company and recently opened a Marzocchi Canada service centre. Marzocchi-equipped cyclists can visit the centre to purchase Marz-related gear and, more importantly, have their fork serviced. NSMB.com has an interview with Marzocchi Canada General Manager James Durand that gives some insight into the company's motivation for moving into this market.
So the question is this: Is this the beginning of a trend towards ‘personalized’ factory service centres for mountain bike products? Can I expect to see a similar Manitou / Answer service centre set up shop some time soon?
Aside: The Marzocchi guys gave me some great service up at Whistler a few weeks back. Somehow, a bolt worked its way out of my fork’s upper crown and I asked which bolt I could reposition to keep the fork safe. The guys spent a few minutes digging around and came back with the proper part for my four year old fork. At no charge, I might add.
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The past couple of years has seen the introduction of a bunch of female-specific mountain biking gear into the marketplace. As cycling becomes more popular among women as a fun and easy way to keep fit, movers and shakers have started to notice the potential for the biking industry. Companies like WTB produce popular female-specific saddles while larger firms like Cannondale have entire bike lines for women. Other majors in the industry are taking similar approaches to the market, and are designing and creating apparel intended specifically for women.
In this vein, UK-based publisher Magicalia has launched SheCycles, a website devoted to women’s cycling. Magicalia is responsible for the popular mountain bike website BikeMagic.
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