Eurobike round up, part two

Giant
We could have headed straight for the flagship Giants that will receive the lion’s share of the media attention, but on noticing a much expanded women’s catalogue, these column inches will belong to bikes such as the Envie, as well as the Thrive Composite, Obsess and Lust mountain bike lines.
The highlight was a limited edition version of Marianne Vos’s Envie, for which only 100 will be shipped worldwide. Claiming to be the world’s first women’s specific aero bike, the Envie sports a tidy collaboration between TRP and Giant, which sees the brakes tucked into the frame and fork’s construction as a single flush unit.
Giant also showed what it believed to be the world’s first integrated seatpost road bike for women, as well as the new Brava SLR2 – a disc clad women’s specific cyclocross bike, available with spec ranging from Shimano 105 through to SRAM Red.
On the components front, Giant’s Contact Switch remote post has been revamped so that cable routing works either internally or externally.

KHE
Having appointed Avocet Sports as its UK distributor, KHE is back in Britain after a brief absence.
The 2014 line makes use of the firm’s latest innovation – the Affix Rotor – or Gyro 2.0 as many will see it. The system allows unlimited bar spinning without cable binding thanks to a proprietary dual rotor design which sees the frame’s headtube modified to allow for all the internal goings on. It’s up to 300 grams lighter than the Gyro in its current form and requires no ball bearings and less cable work that required by the original detangler. All but one 2014 complete bike will feature the system, which KHE says is cheaper to produce and now open to other bike manufacturers for license on their jump bikes.

Ison
As you may have read earlier this month on BikeBiz.com, the big news from Ison’s stable relates to MRP’s acquisition of Elka Suspension and the merging of the White Brothers label into MRP.
The results of the company’s business is already evident in products such as Elka’s Stage 5 coil-spring shock now branded as an MRP product, as well as each fork in the catalogue no longer carrying any White Brothers livery.
There is a new fork for both 26 and 27.5 inch wheels too in 15mm axle only. Geared toward the endure and all mountain riders out there, the Stag line offers 150,160 and 170mm of travel. The travel on each fork is able to be adjusted by 10mm internally if desired.
For the those retailers with customers contemplating road discs, Halo’s new Carbaura RD wheelsets are a disc-ready clincher in 38, 50 and 58mm depths – each tubeless ready and with a 23mm wide section.
Another of Ison’s in-house labels, Society, has a new dropper post on the market for riders with a 30.9 seat tube diameter. The £150 sealed cartridge unit has the necessary damping control to ensure you’ll not get any surprises when the post returns and the rider can make use of 125mm of drop.
Ison also debuted a new helmet label, for which just one lid is currently available. This brand is Dux Helm and the Eurobike debut was based around a lid so light that it was floating on a magnet. With integrated eyewear, customers will be able to buy single lense units for £125, or a helmet, plus a trio of lenses for £150 at retail.

SKS
Chuffed to be on the receiving end of yet another Eurobike award, SKS gave the new Airmenius track pump pride of place on its stand. Capable of producing up to 174 psi, the pump’s handle is made from an eco-friendly cork grip, while the base sports an enormous 100mm pressure dial, making it ideal for workshop use.

Schwalbe
Plenty of fresh rubber on the never-quiet Schwalbe booth. The Schwalbe One, as used by Jens Voight, becomes the firm’s range topping tyre. While offering more meat on the shoulders of the tyre than the Ultremo, we’re told it has a lower rolling resistance and makes use of a new compound. Expect these to come in 23, 24 and 25c in either tubeless or handmade tubular versions. For the serious athletes out there, Schwalbe now has an ‘Ironman official’ 22mm wide clincher, also available as a tubeless or handmade tubular. As far as aerodynamics go, this is the tyre for your time second shavers.
Eurobike also saw the debut of an ‘Insider 29er’ turbo trainer tyre for big wheels, as well as a range of eight 27.5 tyres with various treads on offer.
The popular Marathon Plus line is largely revamped with new tread patterns. Having gone a decade without too much change, the sidewalls have been upgraded with an anti-aging rubber. Expect stock of the new Marathon Plus in March.

Fi’zi:k
Another firm branching out beyond its traditional territory, Fi’zi:k introduced a new category based around what it calls the ‘Spine Concept’, which has been present within the saddle catalogue for the past five years.
There are now a series of handlebars, stems and seatposts to sit alongside a customer’s saddle, which is paired to them based on their posture. Using a simple posture test, a dealer can now determine whether a customer is a ‘Bull’, ‘Chameleon’ or ‘Snake’ – or in plain English, whether a rider is loose in the saddle, or has a more rigid posture.
There are now a selection of handlebars, for which you’ll find a low, mid and high-end price point. The latter two handlebars – the R1 and R2 – will be carbon fibre constructed.
Two seatposts and two stems will also be sold, with the stem offering a 20 degree incline, making it flipable as a riser or dropper. These will be available in 80 to 130mm reach.
Fi’zi:k also debuted its first ever noseless saddle in the Tritone. The on-piece body offers a deep channel for perennial relief and comes n men’s and women’s versions, both of which are UCI legal. Supplied with the saddle is a carrier unit for two water bottles and an inner tube shelf.
Saving the best until last, the label has produced what it calls a 29er specific saddle. Dubbed the Thar, the saddle’s rail is in a different location on the saddle body, which sports a shortened nose, allowing for better positioning than would be possible from a non-29er specific mold.

Vee Rubber 
Remember Vans ‘waffle’ grip, first brought to market in collaboration with BMX and then later as a lock on grip for the mountain bike market? Well there’s soon to be a tyre from Thailand’s Vee Rubber. Once more a collaboration with Cult, the tyre will sport Van’s notorious Waffle pattern and we’re told, could eventually carry the chequered print so popular on Vans as a sidewall. Expect to see the first sample at Interbike.
With the Vee rubber label now making its way back into the UK market through agent BicycleBitz and its sub-distributors, the label has rebranded its image from Europe.
There’s a wide selection of premium and entry level products, many of which will be extremely competitive at retail price, despite having a minimum 100 tpi casing.

Lapierre
There was plenty to ogle on the Lapierre stand, though it wasn’t just pedal cycles catching the crowd’s attention.
Lapiere introduced the €4,200 Overvolt – a 27.5 wheeled, 140mm travel electric mountain bike based around the brand new Bosch 400W pedal-assist motor. There’s a hardtail version too, with the difference around €1,200 euro.
Utilising a high single pivot with linkage driven shock, the ride shouldn’t feel too dissimilar to that of a proper mountain bike. The weighty components are kept low on the frame to maintain a low centre of gravity. A series of three sensors track cadence, speed and pedal force, with input readings taken some 1,000 times per second. The battery is removable for off the bike charging and should assist the rider for 30 to 90 kilometers, depending on usage.
Look out for the new XR929 too. This 1×11 build utilises the Ei shock technology, and as such is programmable from the handlebar via a stem mounted computer that details the shock’s current status.

Knog
When Eurobike rolls around you know that Knog will have a few surprises up its sleeve.
First up, we’ve the introduction of the seriously bright 550 lumen Blinder Arc. It’s a USB rechargeable unit, perfectly capable of seeing you through the woods at night and has indeed been tested on night time enduro’s by Knog’s team. A single LED projects light through an elliptical beam.
Back on the road, if you prefer something a little brighter than the standard road light, check out the 300 lumen Blinder Road 3.
Hugo Davidson told BikeBiz: “The output of our road lights is increasing. In fact next year we will potentially see a 1,400 lumen light join the catalogue. Each of these new builds are seriously waterproof and can be USB charged.”
There’s also a 170-lumen Blinder Arc joining the catalogue, simply packing a smaller battery than the big brother and thus, coming in at a smaller size. Both Arc’s swivel on a silicon strap, allowing the cyclist to adjust the beam’s direction on the fly.
2014 will also see the introduction of combination clad sausage locks, though we were not allowed a sneaky pik of the prototypes at this stage.

 For our complete Eurobike photo gallery, including more from the above brands, see here.