I made a trip to what I like to call the belly of the beast, Schaumburg, Illinois, yesterday to browse groovy cycling wares at the CABDA Midwest Expo. CABDA has been around for a long, long time. Way back in the last century, the shop that I worked at (ABC Cyclery) used to prep and assemble all of the Miyata display bikes for the CABDA Show. Back then, the show was at a place called Pheasant Run. CABDA’s current venue is exponentially better than Pheasant Run or the Rosemont location that they’ve engaged in the past.
After the demise of Interbike, CABDA expanded its show schedule to three regional shows that span across the US from Coast to Coast. The big three brands don’t come to CABDA, but there’s always something good to see at a bike show and this one was no exception! I got to see one of my oldest friends (NORM!) and even saw Crazy Chris Daisy there. This is what caught our eye and perhaps even tickled our fancy at this year’s CABDA MidWest!
Lezyne showed me a cool tubeless tire repair kit that allows you to repair and re-inflate a tubeless tire in a single process. The CO2 is injected into the tire through the repair needle (that also holds the repair bacon strip). This could be the racers’ dream set-up for tubeless tire repairs out on the trail.
Gravel is the new Fat. There, I said it. Sram has a full gravel group and after you read the rest of my report, you may have to comb the gravel out of your hair. It’s that gravely.
The Pivot Vault with ISO Flex Technology to dampen road chatter looks like a race machine!
Ortlieb bags are totally smurfy. They had a couple of cool innovations in their Booth. Commuters will definitely dig these integrated lights and get ready to get organized with packing cubes for panniers.
Do you know what would be really nice after a long dusty gravel ride? A hot shower! It sort of looks like a torpedo or a giant fire cracker and has be pretty heavy when filled to the top. The road shower 4 from Yakima!
The Masi CXGR Expert is one hawt little gravel crusher for the steel is real crowd.
You wanna know what else takes the edge off of class five gravel. Carbon bars and Lauf Forks.
Thomson showing some 48mm flared carbon drops along with Carbon and Titanium risers – giddyup!
Niner knows gravel is en fuego. Check out the MCR 9 RDO!!
The Jamis Renegade C1 adventure bike in the hot new colorway that seems to taken hold for 2020 – Like the Tacoma Tan Rasta combo. Are the adjectives adventure and gravel synonyms in bike-speak?
Sidi had two pairs of Zapatos that looked cool. That bottom pair is especially interesting for warmer weather. Probably great for….gravel.
Feedback Sports has a really nice assortment of tools for the home mechanic. The portable stand and tool roll below would be a great resource to have at gravel races or bike festivals of any sort.
Let’s take a short break from our gravel cavalcade to allow me a shout-out to my amigo Destro! Do you see that shiny gold platform pedal (upfront and far right)? You need those on your Chumba. Xpedo Pedals
I so want to take this thing off some sweet jumps! Someone please send us one. We’ll launch that sucker like a rocket, n’stuff. The Sun Baja Trike (or as I call her ‘the temptress’).
KHS Kids Roadie, or dare we say….gravel?
The Best cut-away award goes to Onyx Racing! I’ve ridden a set of these hubs for the last 5 years and I give them a solid 5 gnome salute for totally maintenance-free buttery smooth smiles.
KHS actually had one of these fat-gravel bikes hanging in their booth (weird)
Nobody does the matching sock and glove thing better than Tasco Double Digits.
Studded Johnny Fives!!!
I went rim shopping. I think the Krampus will be rocking a set of Stans Sentry MK3 rims laced to a set of White Industries Hubs with either 29×2.8 Terevail Coronados (for dirt, chunck or gravel) or 29x 2.5 Surly Extraterrestrials (for regulation class five gravel)
Summer weight merino wool ride tops from 100% (2020 Tacoma Tan) #gravelicious
Old Man Mountain Racks are back! The Robert Axle Project acquired the company last summer and they’ve relaunched the most versatile rack design on the market.
What exactly makes the KHS fatbike a gravel bike?. On the KHS site it’s listed as a fatbike. Am I missing something?.
Super top secret, Embargo type stuff.
That KHS is a Fat-Bike, It was just an attempt at humor based on the trendy nature of cycling sub-genre. It’s somewhat of the ‘punch-line’ in my attempt to create a slightly humorous thread that does reflect our interest in gravel bikes, events, and culture. I’ve been known to ride gravel – Los Graveleros
Unlike the battery bikes. Fat bikes are long haul race/gravel/down hill/fun machines powered by coffee and beer. While the other is a heavy/ugly over priced eyesore. Unless you have only one leg or a heart condition or are 80years old then you are welcome to use them without penalty.
This thing – https://www.norco.com/bikes/2019/e-mountain/e-fat-bikes/bigfoot-vlt/bigfoot-vlt-1/
Oh yeah Gomez. It has infected every bike manufacturer even Santa Cruz! Noooooo!????