As always, Interbike was a whirlwind of awesome bikes, gear, and people. This year we also attended Outdoor Demo, their 2-day pre-show test ride event. Outdoor Demo needs to go on the road, to make it possible for customers to demo as many bikes as Interbike attendees were able to. It was really too many bikes to test in the 2-day period. The demo area was a park near Vegas, with paved bike paths, killer single track trails, and some serious downhill stuff we didn’t even try. It was a great way to get to know the bikes in their natural environment, and we certainly think the brands would do well to partner with area stores to make this happen all over the country.
Check out Interbike’s highlights video here…
Interbike also had the usual test track set up in the parking lot at Mandalay Bay, but this year the only bikes involved were electric. It was fun to try the different ones, but it would’ve been nice to have pedal-only bikes available for those who couldn’t make it to Outdoor Demo. However, the best electric bikes we saw weren’t available on the test track, as they were one-of-a-kind prototypes.
Ace Electric Motorbikes is a new company out of New York building spectacular electric board track racers. We got to take one for a short spin on the show floor, but would much rather sneak this bad boy onto the boards at Carson to see what it can really do.
We also got to sneak a short ride on the Zehus-powered Rizoma. You can’t even tell it’s electric, right? The Zehus Wize hub has it all, even the battery. More about both of those awesome bikes in later stories. There were lots of cool retro-style city bikes, from many different brands. Clearly, more urban cyclists want to be as cool and dapper as Gary Fisher…
