The dust starts to settle and the leaves start to fall

Well it’s been a month since my trip out to the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas and there’s been a good deal going on at Erba since then(saw dust, hemp, yada yada).  It’s obvious that I’m going to have to be more diligent about tweeting and blogging. With that said, here’s the start of my highlights from the show.

Interbike definitely lived up to my expectations. There’s a ton of innovation going on in the bike industry and  if you are making bikes (as I am) then, clearly, this is the place to be. Alternatively, this is not the place to be in Vegas.

One of the first cool concepts that I found relevant for Erba is a new locking system developed by the ironically-named, clever minds at Pinhead Components.  I don’t know why they refer to the themselves as pinheads – they are very clever. hahaha.  Basically, their product  replaces the standard bolts and hex screws (which are easily undone with any basic tool) with a unique dome shaped nut with strategically placed divots.  To unlock your wheel/seatpost/lock you simply use  a unique tool that is designed to specifically interface with the divot pattern on the head. If you don’t have the correct tool, you are going to have a really hard time getting a conventional tool to grab the smooth, rounded head.

Very clever stuff…. and provides a bit more protection if you are leaving your city bike out for an extended period of time.  The pinhead system is also extended to a kryptonite-style lock so if you carry the one key it works for all of the different uses on your bike.

Coming up from my massively-delayed Interbike reports: Belt-drive systems, new gearing systems, racks & bags, colorways and more – stay tuned.