Eurobike 2015 | An American Aimless Wandering around
What’s your strategy for visiting Eurobike when you have no agenda? What booths do you stop at if you don’t need to buy anything? Who do you talk to if nobody knows who you are? Those are all questions I pondered as I walked around the halls of Eurobike 2015.
It has been many years since I attended the bike trade shows in America and I was interested in seeing how the Euros do things, so I secured a pass for the event and took a day off of my regular job. Friedrichshafen is on the southern border of Germany and Switzerland on a lake called the Bodensee – but just to make things confusing, they also call it Lake Constance. Google maps told me that it would take a little over two hours to get to the Bodensee, so I set an early alarm clock and was on the road by seven in the morning. As I sat in traffic about a kilometer from the convention center, I watched smarter people than me ride past on bicycles as two hours turned into three.
Parking was orderly and my entrance was well organized. The only surprise was the vast sea of motor homes and tents filling the adjacent lots. It felt more like an AMA motocross race than a bicycle convention. As I entered the hall I decided that I would just make one full lap and take pictures of the things that caught my attention. I made no prejudgement about what companies I wanted to see or type of gear to review – just whatever caught my eye.
So here is my short list of things that grabbed my attention at Eurobike. These items probably say more about me than they do about the bike industry or valuable products, but these are the things that (for better or worse) seemed interesting to me:
Maybe this is better than tying a sock to my fork legs.
Bike Buddie
Don’t judge me, all I said is that these would be the things that caught my eye. Whenever I shuttle bikes or stack a pile of dh rigs in the back of my van, it seems like a game of Tetris. Nobody want to scratch their frame or fork stanchions, but we all try to play it cool. Now, I’d probably be one of the first to laugh at “the guy” who busts out a set of the Bike Buddie pads and protects his bike, but I’d also probably secretly wish that I had a set of those on my ride. Dork-factor aside, there are some legitimate uses for this product and even thought you could make it at home with some rags and a sewing machine, this may be a better way to go. It is painful to watch my kids yank their pedals from the back wheel of my bikes and this might address that situation.
More info: bikebuddie.com
Caption: Honeycomb protection that moves a lot of fresh air.
Smith Forefront Helmet
I tend to crash a lot and I tend to sweat a lot. This helmet from Smith may be able to help with some of that. This helmet has great coverage and is incredibly light. The honeycomb AEROCORE™ structure should vent heat from your head out of the helmet since there is nothing in the way. The shell is molded to match the shape of Smith’s riding sunglasses perfectly so that when you take them off, you have a secure spot to store your glasses. There is also an integrated attachment point on the top of the helmet to secure cameras. There are loads of features on this helmet which seem well thought out, but I have no idea how well the new construction will handle minor crashes or if you will need to replace your helmet every time you go over the bars.
More Info: smithoptics.com.
Propain makes kids bikes that take multiple wheel sizes.
Propain Yuma DH – Youth Bike
This bike just looks badass … but more than that, you can change the dropouts and move from a 24 inch wheel up to a 26 inch wheel. Those of us who are trying to convince our spouses that our kids NEEEEEEEED a high-end bike can lean on that justification. I’ve been working on a long-term test of the smaller Frechdax bike that allows for both 16 and 20 inch wheels and I am impressed so far. The Propain bikes are well made and designed specifically to match the crazy dimensions of little kids rather than just scaled down adult bikes. This Yuma is spec’d with quality parts and though I haven’t gotten my hands on one to test, it sure does look like it could make a kid happy.
More Info: propain-bikes.com
Why do my thighs always get wet in the rain?
Rainlegs
I’ve been commuting to work a lot since moving to Germany and I always carry a light rain jacket in my pack, but no rain pants. Inevitably, when it rains, I put on my jacket and the water dribbles down the front of me and saturates my legs. This is even a worse problem when on my motorcycle, but the Rainlegs should work for both. Yep, I’d be guaranteed to look like a jackass riding around in these bad-boys, but my legs would be dry and I wouldn’t have to change into a new pants upon arriving at work should I encounter a rain shower during my commute. I’m sure everyone else on the path would be eying these with some envy as I happily ride along nice and dry.
More Info: rainlegs.com
Like putting pizza into an oven.
Veloboy
I used to drive a Subaru Outback and it was a bitch to get multiple bikes inside of it. The Veloboy would have made that much easier. You place your bike on the rack and then roll it inside. If you have more than one bike, then you use the two bike version and mount the fork bracket at an angle so that the bars don’t touch each other. When you are finished with your trip, the whole thing pulls right out of the car and can go in your garage. It’s pretty simple and appears to be made fairly well.
More Info: veloboy.com
This DH rig is just damn sexy.
Scott Gambler 720
I’ve probably been watching too many of the clips of The Fest Series lately and bunch of those guys are riding Gamblers. I’m not really sure why, but this made me stop in my track and take a second look. I’ve never ridden this bike and don’t really know much about how the suspension works, but there is something attractive about the linkages. The bike just looks strong and aggressive.
More Info: scott-sports.com
Someone please tell me if they do this at interbike as well.
Nothing says “Bicycles” to me quite as much as a hip-hop dance show – three times a day. I couldn’t stop myself from pointing to the dancers and telling the intern that he needed to study hard and get good grades or he might end up down on the stage as well. That isn’t fair though since the dancers looked like they were having a great time and I actually appreciated the distraction. Somehow they all looked pretty good in their cycling gear as well, even though cycling and dancing is a not a match you find very often.
So did I learn anything new at Eurobike? Yep. I learned that the rest of the guys at ENDURO Magazine worked much harder than I did today. I’ve been checking out their reviews and they are both more insightful and more meaningful than mine. They also put out much more content that I do. One lap around the halls was clearly not enough to absorb much from the event, but I was able to get a taste of how the Euros do the bike convention … and I know that it is only a matter of time before I’m kicking myself for not buying a set of those Rainlegs.
Words & Pictures: Evan Philips
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