September 04, 2009
Comments Off

Photos

By Zack Vestal

2009 Eurobike Day 2: The new Fuji SST carbon road bikes have stout construction to boost stiffness, but are as light as before.

Photo: Zack Vestal

Eurobike 2009 is as big as ever. Occupying more than ten huge halls, the show dwarfs almost anything in the industry for size, scope, and attendance.

Many European brands produce goods not even distributed in the United States, so for now we’ll focus on what looks good, what’s new, and what could be hot for 2010.

Fuji

Fuji showed several models, including the carbon SST line of road bikes. The top of the line bike weighs about the same as the SL-1 team replica bike raced by the Fuji-Servetto team this year, but uses an integrated seatmast, BB86 press-in bottom bracket bearings, and a tapered headset to improve stiffness by 35 percent. This new flagship bike also has internal ribs in the downtube and fork to aid torsional rigidity. The SST will be available in three models, with varying grades of material and parts spec.

Look

Just a few minutes after TIME presented a new pedal (the I-clic), French competitor Look unveiled a new pedal that also relies on a gently curved carbon fiber spring. It’s the second pedal introduction for Look this year, after showing the Keo 2 Max at the Tour de France (notably under winner Alberto Contador, marking the brand’s first Tour victory in years).

2009 Eurobike Day 2:Look’s new Keo Blade Carbon Ti pedals use a carbon spring rather than coiled metal for retention force.

Photo: Zack Vestal

The Keo Blade Carbon Ti bears resemblance to the Keo line, and uses the same cleat, but the pedal body is different, as is the retention mechanism. The carbon fiber “springblade” (my term, not Look’s) is compressed and flexes (bows) when the retention arch is moved back (as if clipping in or out). It looks like pinching the ends of a business card between thumb and forefinger, and squeezing to bow it into a curved shape. The release tension is not tunable, but two different carbon blades are available, a “12” and a “16,” which roughly correlate to the amount of torque in Newton-meters required to twist a cleat out of the pedal.

Look says that the carbon blade spring reduces weight and provides for more even and progressive release tension. A torque curve for release tension shows higher torque (twisting force) required early in the motion, but about the same end torque as for the original Keo. It means that despite requiring the same force at exit (15 degrees of rotation), the pedal is actually tighter than a Keo at 8 degrees of rotation.

Other aspects of the new pedal include a wider cleat platform for better lateral stability and power transfer, plus larger overall platform surface area. The pedal body itself is made of “long” carbon fiber, which means the molded fiber strands are 1 cm in length (opposed to 1-2mm in most molded carbon parts). The pedal axle is oversized titanium, and supports three bearings. The new company says the pedal weighs around 185 grams per pair.

Trek

Trek has already shown new product on the grandest stage of the Tour de France. The 2010 6-series Madone road bikes are already in production and should be in stock within weeks. In the USA, Trek relies on a huge presentation in Waterloo, Wisconsin, to show dealers the new lines. But in Europe, Trek took the chance to show as many products and explain as much technology as possible.

2009 Eurobike Day 2:The lug molding for 6-Series Madone road bikes is intricate.

Photo: Zack Vestal

Notable from Trek is their new Project One Web site, which makes purchasing a 6-Series Madone as fully customizable as ordering a Dell computer online. Everything from frame color, graphic scheme, wheel decal color, and shifter cable color to drivetrain parts, saddle, stem, and bar can be built to order.

Also on show from Trek were displays showing frame construction, lug shape, and tube internals. The push is part of an effort to differentiate the company’s bikes in the growing ocean of high-end carbon fiber frames.

Mavic

Mavic continues to push their product line beyond wheels and into pedals, shoes, and clothing. The massive, mostly yellow booth has a distinct style and eye-catching presentation. On display were shoe lines, including new colors and styles, plus revisions of existing clothing.

2009 Eurobike Day 2:Stylish clothing displays staffed by mannequins wearing Mavic yellow, plus some trendy white.

Photo: Zack Vestal

We also caught a quick look at a new mountain bike wheel, labeled the CrossMax Ultimate. The booth was packed and we couldn’t get the full story, but we’ll have it before the week is over.

Look for more from Eurobike in the days to come, and check Singletrack.com for upcoming photos and stories on mountain bike products.