By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher
As we do each year, we’ll be covering the massive Interbike trade show to see what’s new, exciting and potentially game-changing in the world of road bikes, cycling gear and apparel.
A couple of noteworthy things we’ll be paying close attention to this year include:
SRAM’s new wireless shifters and derailleurs. There aren’t many products that come along in cycling that really represent a paradigm shift, to borrow from the business world. Electronic shifting not so long ago was one of those, and now comes wireless shifting. From what we’ve seen already, it will be quite interesting to check out not only what SRAM has done, but what Shimano, Campy and others have in the works.
The PowerBeat power meter from WattTeam. It’s basically a new plug-and-play approach to the burgeoning power meter market. But it’s a system that fits on any bike, and any crankset – because the sensors are held in place between the pedal and the crankarm. The pedal is effectively the bolt that attaches the unit. The PowerBeat also works with any head unit that works with power. Should be interesting to see it live.
New and updated MIPS and similar helmet technology. Last year ushered in the MIPS revolution, but not all of the major helmet makers opted to buy into MIPS. At least a couple told us they were working on their own proprietary helmet safety technology. We’ll be checking back on that and keeping our eyes open for anything new that helps keep roadies safer.
Those are just a few of the big-ticket items we’ll be covering. As always, we’ll work to line up multiple product tests for the rest of this year and into 2016. And we’ll spend much of the two post-Interbike issues of RBR Newsletter featuring our best-of-show coverage from myself, tech guru Jim Langley and Review Crew member Paul Smith.
John Marsh is the former editor and publisher of RBR Newsletter and RoadBikeRider.com. A rider of "less than podium" talent, he brought our readers consistently useful, informative, entertaining info that helps make them better road cyclists. That's what we're all about here—always have been, always will be. Click to read John's full bio.
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