Bike Hugger 

St. Anke's!
Originally uploaded by andrew_f_martin

No - really it's Fat Tire. Thanks to the guys at Kickstand Magazine for making the Beer happen for the evening (and the after-party).

Keen new Kicks
Originally uploaded by andrew_f_martin

"Brown Shoes" on the right in mens and womens (SPD capable). To the left is more of an urban street shoe.

http://www.keenfootwear.com/

Rahsaan Bahati
Originally uploaded by andrew_f_martin

Crit Racer Extraordinaire Rahsaan Bahati and a fan favorite dresses it up for the final day of Interbike.

Jamis Track
Originally uploaded by andrew_f_martin

~$1800 retail. It looked fast for an off-the-shelf track setup.

http://www.jamisbikes.com/

MoSo Interbike 09.

Boo launched at interbike, focusing on building bamboo-based frames with carbon lugs for both road and cross racing. The bikes are nice and similar to Calfee's line. I spoke with the founder of Boo who mentioned the Bamboo is harvested sustainably in Vietnam by a Boo employee, who then oversees the hand building of frames.

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Schwalbe makes some great tires, especially the Ultremo road tire. At interbike they were showing the new "Ultremo Aqua" for winter training in the rain. That sounds like a perfect tire for Portland and Seattle riders and these just might replace the Vittoria Pave tires I run in the winter to prevent flats, get a little extra traction, and get some more comfort.

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Momentum Magazine mostly focuses on commuting and a car-free lifestyle and for the second year in a row, they threw a fashion show at Interbike. Most of the clothing designs were interesting and functional, but this outfit looked amazing AND looked like it was easy to bike in. The rest of my photos from the fashion show are here.

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Remember that little bike race Le Tour, where über-sprinter Mark Cavendish trotted out a bike with a headtube paint job modeled on a WWII-era bomber? Well it's prettier in person. Much prettier.  (Click for full-size view.)

It also has details on the inside of the fork, it's designed to look like part of the interior of a airplane.

We thought that the Puma booth at Interbike would have been filled with new cycling shoes. Boy, were we wrong. Puma has instead come out with a line of bikes that are really other people's bikes, painted other-worldly colors. I'm not exactly sure what to make of this new colorway (possibly the most overused phrase at the show, btw.) but it's, uh, different.

In a bit of reverse-stereotypicality, the folks from Luna turned the tables and brought a collection of what I'm hereby naming Booth Bobs and paraded them around the floor. Pointing out the oddness of the oft-encountered booth babes, these scantily clad fellas looked as out of place as the highly-coiffed babes do. Take that sexism!

Dahon after-party house

You should see the POOL!

Sunset at USA Crit finals

Bring on the MoSo!

USA Crit Finals pass

7:10 - Bike Hugger Mobile Social hot lap!

Rock Racing Knock-Offs

I've seen at least 4 different kits based on Rock Racing in the first round of the USA Crit races.  White is the new black (still).

Planet Bike had a longtail bike that could take Surly's mondo Ectomorph tires (3"+ wide).

Poster spotted

Riding in Vegas.

The Cannondale Animal is one hot looking downhill ride. This has more suspension than my first four cars.

Focus' time trial bikes are designed by the legendary German aero meister Walser. This is the slick rear dérailleur cable routing.

Mini velo "Dutch bike". More manueverabilty and doesn't weigh 50 lbs.

Even if small builders aren't displaying at Interbike, they still go to see what's new. Jeremy will be in Portland for the Oregon Manifest show next week.

Some frame builders stand above the rest. Tall man Leonard Zinn also is a technical editor for VeloNews

This very new all-carbon clincher from Easton took an enormous amount of development. It's very hard to make carbon that can not only resist the forces of the tire and tube on the sidewall, but can resist the heat and keep form deforming.   

These guys seem to be riding bmx bikes heavily modified for street riding. Stem risers and really long seatposts. It's always interesting to see what attendees ride to the show.

As a native New Yorker, I have a soft spot in my heart for anyone who tries to make a living from the bouroughs, but even before I knew the zip code of Morpheus bikes they had caught my eye. Easily the most impressive looking bike in the New Exhibitor section, Morpheus has an interesting philosophy—they craft complete bike builds without compromise.

While many of the big companies cut corners with parts to hit certain price points, this company specs bikes to be not only completely functional but beautiful as well, opting for a kit that's as pretty to look at as we're betting they are to ride.

Take for example the Oracle World Cup, which comes with a full SRAM X-0 kit, Industry 9 wheelset and a custom built anodized swinger arm connected to a Rock Shox Monarch 2.4 shock. Morpheus specs the hi-mod carbon frame set to their design from the same Taiwanese factories that the big boys use, and they craft and anodize the swinger arms themselves. A complete full-suspension cross country bike weighs around 21 pounds and comes in around $4100. The "bailout" model with an awesome (though not as chi-chi) of a build is under $4000.

We were especially impressed with the little touches—the sparkle coating in the frame matches the color scheme of the bikes and the head-tube badge is made from 6061 aluminum.

We'll throw our legs over some of these bikes soon for test rides of the Oracle, the Cyclops hardtail and the Hermes road bick soon—the guys will be coming up to ride with us,so look forward to a full test.