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ZAP: ZAP'S (NOT A BLOG) SEA OTTER BLOG
April 25, 2010
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It's amazing how much Sram has got it all going on these days. Not only do they have title sponsorship of one of the biggest & best cycling festivals in America, plus a lock on the best Pro riders in the world, and not only are they covering their product bases and driving new technology with everything from Apex to Red, but more significant still (at least for all of us industry losers at the Sea Otter) is that they served up hot coffee and freshly made waffles at their booth as well. Perhaps their best move was when they skipped the burritos for lunch idea (as used last year which resulted in more than a few journos getting sick) and instead served up traditional sandwiches at the media presentation.
The boys at the shared DT/Schwalbe booth had these super-duper wheels made up with the new DT Swiss RRC 525 tubular rims mounted with some handmade Schwalbe Ultremo tubulars. Light, expensive and very trick. Head to both www.schwalbetires.com and www.DTswiss.com
As always the Sea Otter pits were
brimming with lots of cool bikes, but the crown jewels of the weekend
assuredly belonged to the beautifully hand crafted wood bikes built
by Renovo.
www.renovobikes.com
You say you've been looking for a classic city bike made from bamboo that uses a Gates belt drive? Renovo delivers on that as well.
One of the better stories I heard at the Sea Otter was from 1990 DH world champ Greg Herbold who after finally getting so fed up with paying exorbitant airline fees to have his bike shipped to the race where it's really only used to ride to and from the hotel, he devised a new strategy – fly to the race and buy a bike! “HB” flew to Monterrey, where he promptly headed to Wal-Mart, bought a $150 Schwinn mountain bike, threw on some old Onza bar ends and called it good. What did he do with the bike after wards? He rode to a coffee shop on Monday morning, handed it over to a homeless guy then took a cab to the airport to fly home. Bravo Herbold!
The Team Tibco girls ride Look 585 frames...well that is unless you're reigning national champ Meredith Miller who gets a sweet Stars-n-Stripes upgrade with the Look 595. www.lookcycle.com
Amidst all the plain black carbon components out there (at least unidirectional has replaced the outdated 12k weave) and all the aluminum painted black to mimic carbon, Ritchey has broken out from the crowd not only with their own wet white look, but also a sweet Classic bar & stem combo with a natural brushed aluminum finish. Very nice. www.ritcheylogic.com
As foreboding as it must be to look back and see Alberto Contador riding up from behind, it must also be a bit intimidating to watch him as he rides by with his Grand Tour triad graphics off the back of his Giro Ionas. The only thing missing is a rainbow stripe. www.giro.com
If you ride in the anywhere within the Malibu mountain range it's a good chance that you've been beaten, squashed and humiliated by this man. Soren "Samson" Krebs . Soren is one of the (three) key people behind the launch of BMC America and he's one of those type of riders who refuses to be beaten by anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Don't forget kids, 'cross season is just around the corner....these are the new Avid Ultimate shorty
brakes as used by Zdenek Stybar to win the 2010 'Cross Worlds.
www.sram.com/en/avid/
The Clean Bottle which twists off on
each end for easy cleaning made it's debut at the Sea Otter and it
had plenty of people asking, "Gee, why didn't someone think of
that before?" www.cleanbottle.com
As always, the Sea Otter was full of Nor.Cal. cycling industry celebrities. Here Scot Nicol (founder of Ibis Cycles) and Gary Fisher (need I say more) convene a quick meet, greet and remember the good ol' days moment before pedaling off to push their wares and spread the gospel of cycling - something they are both very capable of.
Recently hired Tom Kuefler (l) is the
new Bontrager Brand Manager and the Sea Otter was his first big
public gig. Tom quickly learned two things: 1. Being the BMOC
doesn't prevent you from doing early morning scrub work and 2. It's good to have
friends willing to help out.
Specialized has not only been having a
very good Spring season thanks to Fabian Cancellera, in fact, the
powerful Swiss rider has been having a great year.
Fizik was showing off their new Versus
channeled saddles next to the proven standards which the Versus are
based on. www.fizik.com
You might be asking yourself, "I
wonder what this tray of scrumptious hots dogs has to do with the Mark Cavendish?" Well, stay tuned and soon enough it will all become clear.
JUST TO DIGRESS A MOMENT....
Now while normally I'm not the sort of person to laugh at others or make light of things important to them, this one time I really couldn't help myself. Just as back-in-the-day Tea Partier Abbie Hoffman was often heard making light of hippies for their self-indulgent moments, this Hippie Video I caught the other day just plain left me howling and having a good idea why the "Mad Hatter" Hoffman tried to differentiate himself from segments of the hippie movement. Hey, we all have our own moments to be made light of....this is that moment for this passionate group.
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