We’ve been sifting over a ton of photos from Madison’s iceBike* house show and here are some of our favourite new bits and pieces from the day:
Pro bike bag
Pro is Shimano’s own-brand that makes components, clothing and accessories for road and mountain bikes. It has come out with its own take on the ‘hold the frame securely inside the bag’ semi-rigid style of bike bag. It apparently will take a downhill bike or a full-suspension 29er with only wheels and seatpost out and bars off. There are velcro pads to protect the frame and to hold seat post and bars – and the fork and rear triangle have their own ‘dropouts’ to fit into. It comes with nearly all the different size of dummy-axles too. Price £299
Pearl Izumi X-Project 2.0
We’ve looked at the Pearl Izumi X-Project shoes in the past, but we think that UK riders in particular will like the second-from-best 2.0 models that have perforated synthetic leather instead of mesh panels, making them far more suitable for autumn/spring use. £169.99
Shimano Hotaka bag
Shimano released its range of hydration packs at iceBike* a couple of years ago and keeps on adding to the range with smaller, and bigger, bags. Rudy from Shimano here is modelling the Hotaka, which is the big bells and whistles pack for Trans-Alp type events. There’s a 24L (£79.99) and a huge 32L (£89.99) version.
Lazer Helmets
Lots in the works from those kerayzee Belgians!
Cappuccino lock
Lazer’s Cappuccino lock was one of our favourite gizmos from Eurobike. It takes up little room in your pocket and clips in between the two bits of your helmet strap when you stop for a coffee and it’ll stop people either stealing your £200 helmet, or if you’ve ‘locked’ your bike with your helmet straps, as many riders will do outside a cafe, it stops someone unclipping your lid and making off with your bike. £12.99.
Lazer’s Genesis Lifebeam
Many riders don’t like the constriction of a heart monitor chest strap and there aren’t many other alternatives (earlobe clip anyone?). This clever helmet from Lazer has a recessed electrode in the inner lining that measures the pulse across your forehead, giving a universally recognised ANT+ signal out that can be picked up by heart monitors or the Garmin on your bars. A battery charge will last 15 hours and there’s a cool blue glowing LED at the rear of the helmet to show that you’re transmitting. It’ll be out in July and should cost £199 for the helmet.
Lazer Z1
The new Z1 helmet is a road helmet, but it has some good features for mountain bikers that like a road helmet, such as extended temple protection, very rare in a road lid, and called ‘T-Pro’. There are minimal weight buckles and a scooped front over the forehead that’ll let you wear your favourite cycling cap under it. Weight is a minimal 210g and price is £199 including a free aeroshell that clips in place.
Truflo
Over at the more mountain biking end of things, TruFlo was showing off a neat CO2/pump combo called the T10 Mountain CO2 (there’s a road one too) which is a regular mini pump, but also a CO2 dispenser. It’s not a new idea, but this one is a reasonable £29.99
M-Parts tools.
Madison’s own brand, M Parts makes just about every little tool and spare that nobody else does. It’s new range of mini tools aren’t just me-too products and have been designed to solve a few problems that the engineers have found out on the trails. Take this chain tool that also has a Shimano crank-arm tightener – it’s one of the few things that’s hard to bodge while out on the trail if you don’t have the proper too. So, now you have. It’s part of the £29.99 top-end tool.
Gamut
Not just chain devices no more! Gamut has been working on chain guides, chain rings, stems – both XC and DH and more that they promise to show at the Sea Otter. Here’s where they’re up to so far.
Continental
Conti has all sorts of new stuff that we’ve been mostly keeping on top of recently, but this is a new development. With Conti’s Black Chilli compound appearing only on German-made (i.e. expensive) tyres, there was a big gap between grippy, expensive tyres and cheaper tyres with harder compounds. Now, Continental’s wholly-owned Chinese tyre factory has produced ‘Pure Grip’ which is a softer compound for the more economical tyres. You’ll be pleased to hear that this new compound will be available in all three wheel sizes and the tyres will be tubeless-ready. Here’s a Mountain King, which’ll be £32.95
Madison Clothing.
Madison’s clothing range has exploded in the last couple of years. This year it launched three (three!) road lines aimed at commuters, beginners and full-on pro riders. On the mountain bike side there are the Madison/Saracen-inspired downhill kits, new colours, affordable soft shells and some great colours.
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Ooooh, things. Shiny things! I have questions:
1. Do you have pics of that Pro bikebag showing where the wheels live?
2. How do those new ‘budget’ Conti tyres compare weight-wise?
1. The wheels live in their own pockets on each outer side of the bag.
2. I didn’t have my gram-scales with me, but I’ll find out.
Whats the weight on the bag? As some of us have to work with 20/23kg weight limits it’s a bit more of an issue. Evoc + trail/AM bike and a couple of bits extra comes in around 23kg making it a tight fit.