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Interbike Outdoor Demo 2018

The once grand and all-encompassing Outdoor Demo at Interbike has been reduced to a very small E-Bike dominated abbreviation of what we saw five years ago. The venue that the demo switched to is better than Bootleg Canyon, but I’m reminded of way back to 1988 when west coast influence took over the reins of mountain bike design and innovation. The result of that influence moved the rear brakes on mountain bikes from the seat stays to the chainstays. Great for dry California singletrack and yet horrible for any environment that has mud. I’m not sure how relevant Interbike is or will continue to be to the plus and fat-bike market. One thing for sure…it’s very clear that the bicycle industry wants (you) and the cycling community to buy an e-bike.

The first thing fat related that I saw at the OD were these two fat e-scooters. I consider this to be an abomination. This is much worse than a U-Brake mounted on the chainstays of an MTB. Who would spend their hard earned money on something like this and why is this at a bike show? I think it’s time for e-bikes to hold their own show, but I doubt that the bike industry will agree.

KHS had a full fleet of their fat-bikes equipped with Wren Suspension Forks. Right after taking these shots a rider returned from a demo run. A KHS rep asked the rider what he thought about the bike and he replied with one word – Fun!

I would have never thought that KHS would be the flag bearer for fat-bikes, but they were the only booth at the demo that had fat-bike without pedal assist.

I got to talk to Kevin Wren from Wren Sports about a variety of subjects. Look for some great news from the Wren camp coming soon.

Kuat has redesigned the NV 2.0 and introduced the Sherpa 2.0 which are both fat/plus compatible. They’re offering a one piece longer wheel strap that eliminates the strap extensions that had issues in the past.

The Gate Carbon Belt Drive booth had this sweet looking Carver Plus bike in their booth.

WTB had a whole rack of new sub-plus tires on display. This is the trickle down effect of fat and plus bikes into the mountain bike world.

Continental was showing off their 2.6″ Der Baron and Mtn. Kings

Yes Yes – CBD Oil for all

This was sitting on the side of one of the booths. Super Hawt!

Alta Racks had this innovative hitch rack system that carries bikes and can be configured to assist in a multitude of ways.

This was the dominant species at the 2018 Outdoor Demo at Northstar Resort. It was Interbike with an E all day long. So now we move indoors to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center for the next couple of days. Hopefully, there’ll be something to erase the memory of that fat-e-scooter from my mind and something cool for us to share with our readers.

4 Responses to Interbike Outdoor Demo 2018

  1. Erv Spanks September 18, 2018 at 12:56 pm #

    Wow! Sorry you had to wade through that muck.

    I’ve noticed manufacturers are starting to spec tires up to 2.6 and most of the “big guys” will set their plus bikes up with 2.8s. I got to wonder why they are so scared of 3.0s. When the plus size bikes first started coming out a lot were @ 3.0 or more, now it’s like they all regressed. Is it Q-factor? Perceived weight vs performance? Dude’s just like to ride pizza cutters?

    The lack of Fatty representation is a bit of a downer, wonder if everyone is holding back waiting for their smaller, brand specific shows and the like.

    Eh, what do I know. I know I like fat tires and I cannot lie…

    I hope it’s a better show inside for ya, if anything – STICKERS!!!!!!!!

  2. Brent September 18, 2018 at 3:59 pm #

    I am speechless when it comes to marketing and pedals assist. Unfortunately, something that could enhance the riding experience for a select population (I suppport for disabilities) will likely turn into a big part of the market. It is only a matter of time before gear heads figure out how to take it from pedal assist to full assist (think Tim the tool man Taylor). That is when I fear access will be an issue.

    Recently a friend returned from outerbike and talked about how great they are…….it is a matter of time before we are saying “how did we get here?”

    • Erv Spanks September 19, 2018 at 10:44 am #

      The on-trail wars have already begun. I read through a FB thread with an e-biker on a well known local trail system vs the trail stewards. The e-bike is illegal on the trails but the local law enforcement won’t enforce the law, so the e-biker flaunts that. Thread reminded me of Mike Vandeman all over again.

  3. Allroy September 18, 2018 at 5:34 pm #

    I agree. E-Bikes should be reserved for people with physical ailments or older folks who still want to rip it up with the young punks. They should rename them “Get Fat Bikes “😁. Good on KHS for keeping it real.

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