Interbike 09 – What will you be riding next season?

It seems as though us Americans are just about alone in the world still thinking of the bicycle as nothing more than transportation for children and spandex-clad fanatics. Truth is, the bicycle is not only a great transportation alternative, but also an amazing form of exercise, even for casual riders. If you look at the fitness regimen of top racecar drivers, besides karts and supermodels, the next most common piece of training equipment will be a bicycle.

We recently published a cycling 101 guide that would let the average car guy walk into a bike shop without feeling completely out of place. To expand on that, we attended the Interbike Show in Las Vegas. Interbike is the largest bicycling trade show in the States. Think of it as an Auto Show of human powered vehicles. The top manufacturers of bicycles, components and associated accessories all turn up to show off their newest wares to industry insiders and media. As with most trade shows, you find products that are outliers. We stumbled on an electric unicycle that self balances; think one wheeled Segway of death, a few skateboard manufacturers and even a few things that defied description. The show filled the Sands Expo Center to the absolute limit, luckily, several brands of energy drinks; chews and powders were all on hand giving out free samples to keep show-goers moving.