One is a new high end clothing brand from the parent company of SixSixOne. It’ll focus on soft goods with light armor base layers. The big item will be the pants on the left, which come from their Moto line but won’t have the leather on the inner knees since they don’t need to protect against exhaust. It’ll make it’s formal intro at Interbike. Close up of the armor after the break, along with fresh goods from Walz Caps, Lifeproof, Manitou, Skin Sake and Bikase.
And maybe some other stuff…
Walz Caps has some new plaid patterns in their classic cycling caps.
Lifeproof’s waterproof iPhone 4 case, which we reviewed here, will be getting three new colors soon. Blue, green and red will join purple, pink, white and black. The orange floaty jacket is available now and adds about two stories of height protection for those of you prone to dropping your digital companion. And it floats.
If you want a case that’s not waterproof, doesn’t float but also doesn’t cost $80, check out Bikase’s smartphone case. It’s lightly padded, has a touchscreen compatible clear window and some Velcro straps to attach to stems, bars, shoulder straps, etc.
Skin Sake was at DealerCamp last year and gave me a sample. I’m embarrassed to admit I still haven’t written up a review, so here’s the short of it: It’s thick, smells a bit like a fish oil capsule tastes when you burp it up (it has cod liver oil in it) and actually reminds me more of leather, and it works really well. If you’re old enough to remember Zink sunscreen, it’s about like smearing that on your special parts. Their rep said it also works great to protect road rash, and I’m thinking it could be good for triathletes since it repels moisture like a champ. I’ve used it on super long rides and had no chafing.
Manitou has updated the graphics on their Circus DJ fork. Less clowns. Well, on the fork anyway. In the booth was another matter.
Now, for the other stuff. Haro and Masi, owned by the same company, have some new bikes. Below is limited information on them. I’d love to tell you more and show pics, but about halfway through, they just stopped talking to me and started a (very long) conversation with someone else. This isn’t the first time this has happened covering these brands, so, well, ya get what ya get…
HARO
New Flightline Carbon 29er is their first carbon mountain bike frame. It’s a hi-mod T700 carbon fiber hardtail that uses tech borrowed from sister brand Masi. It has a tapered headtube, PF92 BB and internal shift cable routing through the headtube. They’re not introducing any groundbreaking technologies on the bike, but the news is that they’ll have a range of three models starting at just $1,900.
The alloy Flightline gets different tube profiles and drops 6-8 ounces out of the frame. They’re getting spec’d with lighter wheels and tires, with some models coming in as much as 2-1/2 pounds lighter.
MASI
The Evoluzione has been their aggressive crit racer, but they knew they needed to offer something for the MS charity rider that’s looking for something more comfortable. Their new Premaire bike has… fork has a straight steerer… (conversation stopped here).
