2007 already? It is at the Taipei International Cycle Show

By Matt Pacocha

In its 19th year the Taipei International Cycle Show opened on Wednesday, offering product managers from around the globe a four-day opportunity to put the finishing touches on their 2007 product lines.

Held in the Taipei World Trade Center, the show’s first day offered many of us a look at some interesting new items. Here are some of the highlights.

SRAM
Though the SRAM PR machine has been carefully doling out bits of information regarding its new road group, it seems SRAM has been using the new group’s release to divert attention from the rest of the line.

The mountain components appear to have gotten almost as much attention as the hyped road counterparts. The road stuff continued to make waves and though competitors have kept their poker faces on, they must be at least slightly concerned as the reality of its release grows near. Campagnolo’s North American general manager, Richard Storino remained confident that the SRAM release will, if anything, strengthen the U.S. market.

“I don’t know how much it’s really going to affect us,” said Storino, “It seems it’s aimed in a different direction. I certainly think that there’s enough room in the marketplace for all of us.”

SRAM was also displaying, but not talking about, the off-road offerings ’07. A quick run down:

We saw the X.9 leak last week and not much more is known. The company promises that Sea Otter is on tap for the release of more information. The old X.9 has been relabeled as X.7, definitely an upgrade for the economy group. Along with the familiar shifters and derailleurs, the X.7 level receives an addition of a new brake. the Juicy three. The three looks similar to the Juicy five, which received an update on its finish. A 140mm disc rotor was on display provoking questions of a new cross-country specific stopper. SRAM’s Art Director turned ’07 product tour guide, Brian Pettit, assured me that the rotor would not be an option to the Juicy Carbon, and that it represents the release of a whole new stopper.

On the RockShox side, we spied three new longer travel forks. “Domain” is a new value freeride fork and features a 20mm Maxle and oversized stanchions. “Lyric” is a new light freeride fork, which sports a new damper system called Mission Control offering external high and low compression damping.

Finally” Totem” is the new top end freeride fork for ’07, first seen at Interbike, the platform looks to have stanchions in the neighborhood of 40mm. Both high and low speed compression feature external adjustments, and the new lowers look to be triple butted externally.

Deda Elementi
The Electa is Deda’s newest carbon bar featuring an enclosed under-bar cable guide, which eliminates the need for handle bar tape on the tops of the bars. The newly shaped carbon bar is also one of the lightest that Deda has ever produced.

Deda has long used Campagnolo shifters as a template for cable routing and shape on its handlebars. The new Super Natural bar is Deda’s first handlebar to be designed specifically for Shimano shifters. The new alloy bar features an ergo bend designed to accommodate the Shimano Dual Control lever. Its dimensions place it between the super shallow bend and the shallow bend, offering a 80mm reach and a 132mm drop. The Super Natural has one groove in which Shimano’s brake cable fits quiet nicely.

Shimano
Speaking of Shimano, the company reps were quite tight-lipped on the show floor. Only the new 105 group, currently available mountain groups and a few wheels and shoes were on display. We were, however, able to spy a pair of Shimano’s new deep-dish carbon wheels displayed on another manufacturer’s show bike. The deep wheels sport retail based feature explanation stickers, which make it hard to believe the wheels aren’t a 2007 product. Shimano created quite a buzz with product managers within the walls of a heavily guarded invite only conference room. An experimental version of Dura-Ace, with electronic shifting, has already been spotted, but we’re not sure if that’s what they were showing off behind closed doors.

Selle San Marco
Italian saddle manufacturer Selle San Marco had the final revision of the Magma MGC metal saddle on display. The new seat features a bare magnesium base, hollow titanium rails and carbon accents. The seat is described as being remarkably supple, and more comfortable than San Marco’s coverless carbon model.

That comfort is the result of flex built into the saddle through Tisso injection molding, which allows the placement of different thicknesses of metal to create a flexible pattern. The 130 gram saddle costs 170 euros, compared to an estimated 280 euro price had carbon been used instead of magnesium. For those who can’t fathom sitting on bare metal, San Marco built the Magma MG, a padded version of the MGC. It starts with the same metal base, but incorporates solid titanium rails, nylon accents, EVA foam padding and a synthetic leather cover. The MG retails for 140 euros and is said to weigh 185 grams.

American Classic
Company president Bill Shook took a huge chunk of time to explain the reasons behind last years hub recall. Apparently a discrepancy betweena recent increase in size of a spring used in the proprietary freehub was out of spec when matched with an existing cam plate. Shook said that the spring and plate pockets were meeting off center causing the mechanism to fail. Since the cam plate has been upgraded, all is sound, important because the proprietary system is used in all of the company’s wheels.

The upgraded system features wide deep pockets for the spring creating a more forgiving interface. The new cam plate is also available for existing hubs. The patented design synchronizes the engagement of all six pawls (each with two tips) at the precise moment ensuring that all 12 teeth are engaged into the aluminum freehub body under load. The 12-tooth engagement is the reason American Classic can use an aluminum cassette body and ratchet teeth in its 220-gram Disc 225 rear hub, which is found in the company’s 1395 gram MTB Disc 26 wheelset. Since Interbike American classic has upgraded the to stainless steel bearings in all but its OE wheelsets.

Knog
This company from Australia has been producing a little light called the “Frog” for slightly more than a year now. The creatively styled, 12-gram, $10 dollar, single LED light affixes neatly and quickly to just about any handlebar. If you’re racing the sunset on after-work training rides, this little bugger could be the difference between having a safe ride and being squashed like a frog trying to cross a road.

Besides the Frog, Knog has been working on a five LED vertically oriented light, named Toad, and a five LED horizontally oriented light named Bull Frog, both cost $34. These two are just like the Frog, but pack a little more punch. Making them ideal for a commuter or town bike. Besides the little guys, Knog has been working on a serious light called – Gator. This light is for racing and serious night riding. It comes in a number of configurations with the least expensive, under $100, being a single bulb handlebar mounted light with seat pack mounted Lithium-Ion battery. The top end offers three bulbs and a frame mounted Nickel Hydride battery. Both feature a remote with a backlit battery indicator. The top light offers between eight and 10 hours of runtime and should cost around $400.

Quality Bicycle Products has signed up to carry the lights in ’06 so your local shop should have no problem finding them.