Well the Taipei Bicycle came to an end yesterday, a few new products of interest were shown, but the majority of the interest revolved around the folding bike designs and an interesting Bamboo Fibre bike.
Here are a few more of the items us mountain bikers will appreciate:
Sram
Sram had a new handle bar on display named the Boobar. They also had the Argyle jump fork in purple and white surrounded by color coordinated stems and pedals. This reminds us of the mid 90’s when Rockshox made the Judy in ‘Judy Yellow’ and ‘Judy Red’ and other component companies would make parts to match.
RST
Here’s a better look at RST’s Storm Lux with remote travel adjust. RST also had a new pair of cross country forks on display as well as a revised version of the ‘The One’ downhill fork.
Innova Tyres
Innova are trying to make a name of themselves in the highend tyre market and were showing off their new line of Innova Pro high grade tyres. The model shown here is the ‘Mr Diablo’. It’s a folding tyre that is said to feature a ’special’ tread ‘for a major step in running performance and drainage ability’. We can’t really tell what the pattern is like from this image, but we hope to get better photos soon. Expect to see more from Innova in coming years.
Kenda Tyres
Kenda were showing off their signature tyre ranging. With tyres designed with input from Tomac, Juarez, Rey, Lopes and Carter theres sure to be a bit of rubber to suit all riding types in the Kenda stable.
Kin Lin Rims
Kin Lin have recently stopped production of all low end bikes rims to focus on the performance end of the market. In mid 07 they launched a new MTB product line with their own unique designs, one of which is their bonded downhill rim. The rim uses a special bonding technique to make a seamless rim for improved vibration, absorption and durability performance.
Cat Eye
Cat Eye must have heard about us starting the night rides this week and exhibited the Single Shot (HL-EL600RC) and Single Shot Plus (HL-EL610RC) lights. These LED lights feature original ‘Reverse Offset Lens’ technology and efficient condensing. They also feature selective ‘low’ and ‘flashing’ modes.
Awise
Awise had a frame and handlebar fabricated from bamboo fiber, the ‘Bamboo Bike ‘08′ became a talking point at the show. Bamboo bikes are not a new technology and seems to be gaining popularity every year, one of the reasons is the excellent strength to weight ratio, which makes it a perfect material for mountain bike frames. Awise are also tackling the development of road bikes and MTBs with carbon frames using cutting edge technology.
Bengal Brakes
As promised last week here is a better picture of the Bengal Helix 1.1 hydraulic disc brakes that weigh in at an amazing 120 grams per set!
KMC Chains
Also here’s a better look at the KMC Tank chain, with its ‘Armour Plating’. Looks tough as anything perfect for your street ride and we imagine excellent for grinding.
Folding Bikes
There were loads, it seemed every company had at least on folder on show. Great for the congested cities.
The Macmahone sword has always impressed us as a fine looking, lightweight and well handling hardtail. The geometry is set between race cross country and all mountain so great for getting your head down and riding up and not so scary when the going gets vertical! Just recently I was asked to find a frame for a single speed build that was light and had horizontal dropouts. I was so tempted to introduce the Sword, but didn’t as the dropouts were vertical.
) so we’ll find out how they perform in the near future.
