Interbike 2009 – Keen Cycling Shoes and New Steel Bridge Back Pack

INTERBIKE 2009 – Keen introduced two new casual cycling models, the Coronado Cruiser (above, men’s colors shown) and bicycle-oriented versions of their Austin (men’s) and Presidio (women’s) shoes.  Each has been modded with features to make them a little more pedal friendly.

They also had new colors in the Springwater SPD-compatible cycling shoe (which we reviewed favorably here) for both men and women, and a sweet looking new urban backpack called the Steel Bridge.

Lots of colors, cool features and almost all of it’s made from recycled and recyclable materials!  Hit ‘more’ to see the full lineup…

The Coronado Cruisers feature a canvas mesh on the outer side and sueded leather on the inner side facing the cranks.  Men’s above, and the next two photos below are the women’s models:

Not to emasculate myself, but I’m diggin’ the blue/beige version of the women’s…maybe Keen will lighten up the colors for Summer?

The soles have internal shanks to stiffen them up a bit and have a grippy black rubber section to hold the pedals better.

They use natural, vulcanized rubber for the sole, and the insoles are made from recycled polyurethane and cork with a natural canvas cover.  The eyelets are recycled aluminum, and they come with two sets of lace colors so you can put a different color in each shoe and get attention without having to actually be cool.  All this feel-good-ness is yours for $80/pair come January.

The Presidio (womens, top) and Austin (mens, bottom) now come in Pedal versions.  Both will retail for $120 and have full leather uppers.

They come with stiffer soles and removeable SPD plates, so you can run them with cleats or without, just like the Springwaters.

Interior has leather insoles with a moisture wicking textile liner.  Available in January.

The new Keen Steel Bridge backpack brings a true commuter / urban pack to their line.  All of their previous and current backpacks were designed more around sports and adventure, but the Steel Bridge brings some more work-oriented features to the gang.  The zippered pocket on the top flap provides quick access to small treats without having to open the whole bag up.

Lots of organizational pockets make it easy to put your laptop, books, folders, TPS reports and Dilbert comics safely in their place.  The interior and hood have a waterproof lining, too.

The bottom panel has abrasion resistant padding made of recycled rubber inner tubes.

The hood flap secures with recycled aluminum hooks.  At first glance, they seemed like a little more work than typical plastic clips, but having just received their Commuter Bag messenger pack to review that uses the same hooks, I have to say they’re pretty nice.  Quieter than velcro or snaps and they seem to hold securely.  And they definitely won’t wear out like velcro can.

Three colors will be available when they hit retail in January.  MSRP is $130.