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Tradeshow Randoms: Part One – CarboCage, ZenCranks, Ryde, Pinhead, iBike & More!

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CarboCage-carbon-steerer-caps-derailleur-pulley-wheels

We’re on the home stretch now, with a few final collections of things that mostly didn’t have a home in any particular category. Everything from lights to electronics to single components to new pedal/cleat systems that claim to increase your power output. It’s all fun to look at – here we go!

Carbocage had their usual assortment of super light carbon fiber bits and pieces, with a rainbow of colors for the anodized bits. Above, their steerer tube top caps, and below are derailleur pulleys and chainrings…

CarboCage-carbon-steerer-caps-derailleur-pulley-wheels

Nothing really new from the brand this year, we just like looking at the parts.

marbled-carbon-fiber-road-bike-rims

Spotted these marbled carbon rims at a wheel brand who’s name escaped me. Upon asking what was special about them or if there were any tech details worth mentioning, we got a nonresponse so there were no notes taken. Pretty, though.

Ride-260g-alloy-road-bike-rim01

Netherlands-based Ryde showed off their 260g road bike rim prototype. While they wouldn’t disclose the material, Scandium is a good bet. They also have a new 27.5″ mountain bike rim available in their Edge extrusion.

Samox Road 2-in-1 one piece chainrings

Samox appears to be mainly a private label manufacturer, of which many set up at the trade shows to show off their capabilities. Their new Road 2-in-1 chainrings look an awful lot like Cannondale’s SpiderRings by combining numerous thin arms with single-piece double chainring designs.

Samox Road 2-in-1 one piece chainrings

Pinhead-bicycle-axle-seatpost-and-accessories-locks01

Pinhead introduced new all-in-one Ultimate Security kits that include a small U-lock with locking axles/pins for both wheels, your saddle, seatpost and headset. It’s keyed the same, so you only need one key to secure it all.

Pinhead-bicycle-axle-seatpost-and-accessories-locks05

The saddle one (bottom left) was something we hadn’t seen before and a nice bit of additional security if you’ve got a really high end Brooks’ style saddle.

Zen-Cranks-offset-pedal-with-longer-crankarm

ZenCranks PAS (Power Acceleration System) has an interesting take on crankarm and pedal setup. The crank arms and a pedal adapter have been around for a few years, but these pedals are new and make for a more streamlined appearance. Essentially, they use crankarms that are ~15mm longer than normal (175mm riders would run a 190mm ZenCrank) with offset pedal spindles.

Zen-Cranks-offset-pedal-with-longer-crankarm

The pedal sits higher than normal, and the combination supposedly gives you more leverage on the downstroke and throughout the most powerful part of your pedal stroke, then feels like a normal crank on the upstroke because the pedal is sitting closer to the BB.

Zen-Slip-pedal-cleat-positioning-spacer

The ZenSlip pedal cleat spacers attempt to mimic some of those benefits without replacing your entire crankset. These seem to still be a work in progress…or their website is very much out of date since neither of the new products are listed yet.

Orontas-natural-bicycle-lube-grease-and-cleaner

Orontas is a Canadian maker of bicycle care products that are all naturally, sustainably sourced. Honestly, I thought this was a body care line when I first walked up, the packaging is very much like a line of lotions and such. Should stand out in a shop.

Orontas-natural-bicycle-lube-grease-and-cleaner

Click to enlarge for easier reading.

Syntace-C6-triathlon-aero-bar-extensions

Introduced earlier in the year, the Syntace C6 clip on aerobar system streamlines the entire assembly for a more aerodynamic package. Foam grips on the ends make them a bit safer but still work with bar end shifters. The center fairing smooths air along the bottom and over the stem, gently leading it into the frame for less drag compared to traditional clip ons.

Syntace-short-deep-drop-stem01

The also had this extremely low drop stem for 35mm OS handlebars. Top tube says “ouch”!

iBike-Newton-Plus-powermeter-cycling-computer03

We first spotted iBike a couple years ago with their all-in-one iSport power measuring cycling computer. It’s come a long way since then, with the introduction of the Newton version and, now, the Newton+.

The iBike Newton+ has more features, like built in wireless, 4x the memory and a claimed power data measurement that matches units from PowerTap, SRM, etc. In their tests, they’re within 3 watts average of standard strain gauge power meters.

The Newton+ Power Stroke adds left/right power balance and body movement. It does this by using the cadence sensor to tell it which pedal stroke is happening, and an accelerometer in the computer tells it how much the bike is swaying back and forth or front and back. That takes energy, which the program shows as wasted energy. It also graphically animates your pedal stroke and bike movement so you can see just how good or bad your form is. There’s video of it on their website.

The best part is all that info is available to current owners as a firmware update.

iBike-Newton-Plus-powermeter-cycling-computer02

Other improvements on both the Newton and Newton+ include a fin at the front of the air intake that significantly improves performance in crosswinds. Both new units have a built in rechargeable battery and quicker, easier set up on up to four bikes.

They also have the new Newton Tracker app that tracks GPS data from your ride, sends the data to the cloud and automatically syncs that data to your ride data when you upload the ride info from the Newton to your computer. And all if the ride data can be easily sent to Strava and Training Peaks from within the program.

If your unfamiliar with iBike, they measure wind speed against forward motion and slope (incline) from the accelerometer to determine power. Set up on the new units takes just a few minutes by simply doing a short back and forth ride and inputting your body information.

Lastly, they also have a new TT Mount that’ll put the Newton on aero bar extensions.

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mudrock
mudrock
10 years ago

Lennard Zinn doesn’t own the rights to that name? He has been making oversized cranks for years.

Jip
Jip
10 years ago

The marbled carbon rims are from the brand EDCO. A Dutch brand which hubs are custom build in Swiss which the highest precision. 2 years warranty on spokes failure and 8 years on hub failure. Absolute high-end wheels with big service from a small brand.

Ventruck
Ventruck
10 years ago

Zencranks =/= Zinn Custom Cranks. If I remember right Zinn only sampled those Zencranks. Interesting system although I’d think simplicity of regular design would reign above its benefits.

Jeroen
Jeroen
10 years ago

Carbon rim with marble pattern is a clincher 29er from Edco (www.edco.ch).

mudrock
mudrock
10 years ago

Yes but Zinn’s books are all have Zen in the title. Easy to see how customers would confuse the two.

mudrock
mudrock
10 years ago

my bad, just looked it up.

Ajax
Ajax
10 years ago

I thought the idea was to decrease the pedal spindle distance, not increase it.

jimmythefly
jimmythefly
10 years ago

I call bullsh*t on the Zen cranks. They are essentially dyna-drive pedals, but upside down.

Unless I am completely mis-reading things, all they are is a riser that sits your foot higher above the spindle than normal. Without an eccentric or other mechanism that alters the relationship depending on crank arm location, all this riser does is move the circle that you pedal upwards in space. You are still pedaling a perfect circle, it’s just not centered on the BB. But it’s still a circle.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2046/2474321144_579b8f760e_o.jpg

The only thing they do is make you slightly less stable, because you are balancing your foot on a platform 32mm (or whatever) above the spindle height, essentially using your muscles to keep your foot from rocking toe-down or heel-down, which is a bit more effort than when your foot bed is right at spindle centerline.

James
James
10 years ago

Interesting how Zencranks are advertising more pedal stack while the rest of the industry seems to go the other way.

Mindless
Mindless
10 years ago

Zen cranks is the same voodoo as Z-torque cranks? Otherwise knows as the most stupid idea that does not work?

How can you “offset” pedals to get any sort of an advantage?

Ham-planet
Ham-planet
10 years ago

@Mindless
‘Z-torque’ cranks and the like can be dismissed out of hand because the BB to pedal distance (c-c) is fixed in exactly the same way as a normal crank. With Zen Cranks, that distance changes significantly through the pedal stroke, due to the high stack height of the pedal. Whether this is in any way advantageous has yet to be demonstrated.

mike
mike
10 years ago

zen cranks have it backwards. the most powerful part of any pedal stroke is from 3-6 o’clock. more pedal stack makes the crank shorter in this phase. also, the highest level of braking force is applied from 9-12 O’clock more stack height increases the leverage and braking input.

Mindless
Mindless
10 years ago

High stack height? Foot will move in a circle of the exact same shape (circle) and diameter. Just shifted higher, which raises your center of gravity and should be avoided.

It is not like Rotor cranks, which change your gear ratio as you rotate.

NASH
NASH
10 years ago

@ Mindless, Mike and Ham-Planet. The cheapest thing to do would be to grow your toenails extra long as this pushes you heal and ankle away from the pedal spindle increasing the leverage that your foot has on the down-stroke. Maybe shoes with a cleat at the very front would also be a good idea.

lonefrontranger
lonefrontranger
10 years ago

as a small rider who already has near-lethal amounts of toe overlap on my cheap commuter frame, even after swapping it to 165s, the idea to add over a cm of crank length sounds positively insane unless you’re only ever going to ride in a straight line.

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