Welcome to Interbike
Triathlete takes you inside North America's biggest bike show
By Brad Culp and Jay Prasuhn
Sept. 26, 2007 -- Interbike officially kicked off today at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, with literally thousands of companies showing off their 2008 products. After day one (of three), we have a good idea of who will be making heads turn next year.
Among our editors, the unanimous vote for "product of the show" is the Argon 18 E114. The Toronto-based bike builder gave the triathlon world a first look at the bike that Tobjorn Sindballe will be bombing down the Queen K in three weeks.
The E114, which is the evolution of the Mercury (that Sindballe rode to a Kona-course record in 2005), is an aerodynamic gem. The rear wheel doesn't just tuck up close to the seat-tube, but it actually can be pulled inside a fraction of the frame, thanks to the engineers hollowing out a one centimeter section of the carbon. The tubing is big and stiff enough for a big rider like Sindballe, but the frame still maintains a ridiculously low weight (under 16 pounds for a complete medium bike). The geometry is pretty standard for a super-aero frame (76-78 degree seat angle), but the highlight of the bike has to be the super-aero front end, which seemingly disappears when you look at the bike head-on. The E114 comes with Argon's own aerobar, Dura-Ace group, FSA's SLK crank and your choice of Zipp Wheels. The complete bike (with a Zipp 909 set) will retail for $7,850. So the price is steep, but their recent wind-tunnel tests with Sindballe prove it's worth the price and then some.
The flash bulbs were also flickering as many got their first chance to see Normann Stadler's complete Kuota Queen K. Expect Stadler and Sindballe to have a fierce battle through the lava fields on their new rides.
The highly anticipated SRAM Red Group was also on display. We got a chance to do a 30-miler with it yesterday and the shifting is truly the smoothest we've ever tried.
Giro was in Vegas in full force to show off their new line of cycle-specific eyewear. Alberto Contador rode the Havik shades to a yellow jersey in July, so they must be good.
