INTERBIKE DAY TWO - News of the Weird

The new treadmill by BCI

Vegas is known for oddities and freaks, but some of the wackiest things of all were right here at Interbike. Every year, strange innovations make premieres here in the desert. Some are an immediate success, some never make it to consumers and some are down right ridiculous. The thing is, the craziest ideas often turn out to be the best. So, take note, and when these products make it big, you'll have seen 'em first.

One idea making waves is BCI's bicycle friendly treadmill. Why waste time with confining trainers or dangerous rollers when you can just spin on a treadmill? Forget worrying about bad weather, enjoy yourself through the longest winters on this incline-adjustable beauty. It may take up an entire room and cost a fortune, but hey, sometimes you have to compromise for comfort.

The Body Bike

Some of the best ideas are the simplest--the Body Bike is not one of them. Using a complex linkage system, the Body Bike is powered by your legs and your arms. The sides of the handlebar move to create a sort of rowing machine on wheels that could potentially double your power output! They always say to keep your upper body relaxed for efficiency, but now you don't have to. The best thing about the Body Bike--steering's not effected. So when the handlebars are rocking violently in a sprint, you're not guaranteed to ride off the trail.

One of the hottest new products of the show is the Turbo Spoke. How many times have you howled-out motor noises while blasting down your favorite singletrack? Now you can let your spokes do the talking. The Turbo Spoke is a souped-up version of the old baseball ball-card-in-the-spokes trick, complete with a sound-enhancing chrome muffler and a highly visible red-light tip. It was developed in Ireland as a safety tool for children (the tail light doesn't need batteries and, of course, you can hear 'em coming), but the fun's not limited to kids. The Turbo Spoke mounts up to any bike and the sounds can be modified from throaty V8 to Two-Stroke to F1! Turbo Spoke is working on a board game to accompany the 20+ available trading cards, and I expect it to be a hit. Keep posted to bikemag.com for a review.

Turbo Spoke

The robots that build those parts that never receive the "handmade" label showed up, too. One of them sung in a beautiful voice and danced with passers-by at the Tire Fly's booth. They really ought to let those things out of the factories more often, they're loads of fun to hang-out with.

Colnago, the epitome of road bike style, pulled an especially weird move with a flat handlebared road bike. These bikes are becoming more and more visible in the market, but they're about as "cool" as throwing drop-bars on a full-suspension! Since it's Colnago, I may need to rethink it all, they are Italian and they do know best.

Over time we'll see how far these products go. Some may eventually end up on one of those "worse ideas" lists, but you never know. After all most cocky journalists like myself were convinced the mountain bike craze would never catch on...