As with any tradeshow, there are the items that stand out. Roc d’Azur was no exception. Some are unique takes on existing tech. Some are far out designs that almost seem to be more design study than practical application. And some are quite obviously just for fun. For all we know the products could be excellent, and without actually testing it, we’ll reserve judgement, but the generally unifying feature is passionate people behind them. Say it with me: Aaaaaahhhh, cycling.
Above are Ogival ovalized chainrings that come to a dramatic point. They claim to be Bernard Hinault’s chainring of choice, applying 21.4% more force during the stronger part of your pedal stroke and 42.8% less during the weak part, keeping your effort even. With the mountain bike rings, a 38T has the effort equivalent range of 33T to 44T.
More pics and “interesting” items past the break…
Rings are available for road and mountain bikes and come in a variety of sizes. They also make an extended mount to raise the front derailleur to accommodate the increased height of the rings.
If you have to ask… Velo Bois literally translates to Wooden Bike, and if you search the term you’ll find plenty of galleries and this blog with some pretty interesting wooden (and other materials) bikes.
Ingeartec was showing off their internal gearbox drivetrain on a belt drive equipped downhill mountain bike. The claimed benefits are instant shifting regardless of pedaling or movement (ie. you can shift when you’re coasting or stopped), lower center of gravity and reduced unsprung weight. The latter comes from removing the cassette and derailleur from the hub.
Putting a Gates belt drive on it further reduces weight and maintenance. The suspension design, while not the highlight of the system, is interesting in that the rear triangle is bolted together around what appear to be pivots, yet it’s pretty much a solid triangle. Seems like they could have dropped a bit more weight and improve stiffness by simply making it all into a single piece since none of the pivot-looking parts aren’t actually pivots.
The other benefit over a single chainring and standard cassette set up is an improved gear range, jumping from a standard 216% up to 299% to 440% depending on the model.
