Hello friends, the maelstrom of visitors has not yet really sucked me into the sacred Eurobike halls. But a first conclusion can already be drawn. It's the hottest Eurobike trade fair ever. The thermometer shows 22 degrees, and it's not even 9.00 am. A historic record. For loyal regular visitors like me, it feels as if there has been a shift in the earth's crust, as a result of which Friedrichshafen is now where Bogotá was until recently. But don't panic. Friedrichshafen is still on the lovely Lake Constance. Of course, there was no earth crust shift, but a date shift. This year, the biggest innovation show in the bike world will be celebrated two months earlier than usual. There is a lot of speculation within the industry about the exact reasons for this and the decision to cancel the public day also raises some questions. It's like celebrating a birthday too early and, to make matters worse, the guests have been uninvited. The decision-makers have now apparently realised this. According to the latest information, there will be a public day again in 2019. Very good news, in my opinion. So, I'll now throw myself into the fray to chase after new and interesting things in the finest reporter style.
Oh dear, did I get the date wrong? Did I end up at a trade fair for motorsport enthusiasts without a driving licence instead of the Eurobike trade fair? Mopeds everywhere! They're whirring and whizzing around everywhere with their electro-forced "fire chairs". The bike in the photo is an "urban city cruiser", I am told by a friendly trade fair visitor who has noticed my confused look. Minutes later, I catch sight of an even more blatant outgrowth of the "e-bike trend", the photo of which I will spare my sensitive readership. The shock would be too great. "Düsenspeed - Bike in a new dimension!", the advertising slogan hints at the extent of the madness. 100 km/h top speed! A range of 200 kilometres! Just like that, with a light and fluffy crank tap. My top three of the best e-bike names that I spotted in the first few minutes of my tour of the trade fair alone:
1st place: Jetspeed
2nd place: Wisper
3rd place: Overfly
For the sake of simplicity, I decided to enter the numbered ensemble of exhibition halls in Hall A1. However, I'm not sure whether this hall is also part of Eurobike or whether it's part of the International Consumer Electronics Fair, or IFA for short, which may be taking place at the same time. Nearly all the stands are advertising cable harnesses, battery packs, chargers, circuit boards, electric coils, motors and "software solutions". I'm just about to move to Hall B1, yawning, when a display case with lamps catches my attention. Small, brightly coloured sparkles in the shape of frivolously pursed, bitchy lips. In funny Chinese-English, the stand operator offers to take over the European distribution. At least that's what I understood. I tell him that I'll think about it. Okay, I get it: the story has little potential to be made into a film. But when you're in the dim light after work, you're glad to have such a slut lamp. And I'm glad to have finally found my first real bike part without any connectivity to motors. Phew. Off to Hall B1.
I've been standing at the "Recon" stand for minutes, wondering what the hell that thing is that's lying on the glass counter. The Chinese man at the stand wants to explain it to me, but I wave him off vigorously. No, no, no, I want to figure it out myself! A drone? An elbow brace? Some kind of accessory for marksmen? Oh God, no, I can't figure it out. I exhale in resignation, that's the sign for the Chinese man. Highly motivated, he rushes towards me, holds his smartphone in front of me and starts the PR film. Marvellous! I would never have thought of that. The thing that looks like a seagull sculpture by an artist with a tendency towards abstraction is a saddle. It protects the balls because they hang freely, the Chinese man explains. In addition, the power development in the legs is better. The item is said to cost around 150 euros.
It's not as if Cube, Giant, Canyon, Specialized and co. don't have interesting new things to offer. However, all of the aforementioned plus various others are unfortunately not represented at the Eurobike trade fair. More and more companies are focussing on in-house trade fairs, which has visibly decimated the density of high-calibre exhibitors in Friedrichshafen. The relevant models for 2019 have long been known anyway. My technology colleagues have been reporting on presentations and new product launches since spring. That's why I'll be focussing on the more specialised exhibits. The Trickstuff stand is known to be a reliable source of innovative, practical parts. And indeed, there is quite a lot there. A hardcore version of the legendary Direttissima power brake for unadulterated downhill racing, for example, or a carbon lever for the lightweight Piccola cousin. But it's the show bike on the stand that really piques my interest. It's called Grave Digger (like the 80s heavy metal warhorses) and is a showcase for the art of tuning. It was created by Tony Keller, whose company Keller Customs specialises in realising the wishes of particularly demanding customers.
If I were asked how many bikes I've built up so far, I wouldn't have to think twice. Pretty much all of them, is the answer. I hear there are people for whom bikes are commodities, like trainers or fridges. For me, they are more. I would even go so far as to say that my bike is not a bike at all, but a part of my body. Okay, that might sound a bit lurid. But to a certain extent it is. I'm not alone in this, as Alex Clauss from the steel manufacturer Portus confirms. The man from Pforzheim customises frames for his discerning clientele with fetishistic dedication. Now he has treated himself to a bike. And what a bike! Because the Pforzheim region is one of the most storm-swept areas in Germany, he has built himself a trail bike with extensive special equipment. Chainsaw and axe are of course on board. And of course a lot more.
It was obvious: now I feel the flames of tuning lust blazing inside me again. On this current occasion, I would like to point out a product that I would vote into the top five in an "Innovation of the Year" poll without hesitation: "Spray.Bike", a kind of spray-on powder coating that allows you to really let off steam creatively. It doesn't drip, dries quickly and creeps into the smallest corners, such as those of disc brake mounts. I came across it a few months ago while surfing the internet. I could no longer bear the sight of my mass-produced frame built for marathon purposes. "Stop, stop!", I hear from the ranks of attentive readers: "I just heard that the author only owns custom bikes!" That's right, I reply. But I had bought this one frame, this one made of carbon, as an exception in the course of a financial opportunity. Anyway, I felt like customising it.
The tour continues through the bustling hulls of the exhibitor halls. Jens Jankowski from White Stone in Zittau shows what the customised production of the future could look like. Plastic frames from the 3D printer. Together with the Frauenhofer Institute, he is currently working feverishly on the manufacturing process. A first triathlon prototype should be ready to ride soon. However, it will probably be a few years before mountain bike frames come out of the printer.
There's nothing more taxing on the nerves than queuing at the bike wash after a marathon. It makes me really porous. They queue impatiently and then - as soon as they are at the trigger of the spray gun - suddenly get the cleaning bug. The solution is simple, at least in theory. You just have to finish before everyone else. Well, I'll probably have no choice but to buy the "Velo Sock" for 49 euros. You can ride your dirty bike straight to the ice cream parlour - and your car will still stay clean.
E-bikes everywhere, motorised stuff everywhere: it's nice to see that there's hardly a bike that makes visitors pause as devoutly as the stylish Moots "X RSL" at the Tune stand. Shimmering titanium, surrounded by a bold blue colour. Everything really fits. I really like the coloured, anodised decals that Moots has been offering recently. A few years ago, this was only available from Firefly. The colour is created by an electro-chemical process in which different shades and gradients can be created depending on the size and duration of the electric shocks. Unfortunately, the surcharge is many, many hundreds of euros.
Entering the Tune stand as a custom enthusiast is as solemn as walking through the shop door of Berlin record shop Core Tex as a vinyl collector. Parts on the verge of weightlessness suspend rational thought within seconds. It has already happened to me that a sparkling new pair of hubs heralded the start of an extravagant custom project. So I briefly shook the hand of the stand tour guide and scrutinised the new products with the greedy gaze of a junkie. Oops, what's that? Tent cords instead of spokes? "No, no," smiles the Tune man benevolently, it's the new wheels with fibre spokes. 990 grams per set with 32 spokes front and rear. If the weight is correct, this is probably a world record. The fibre spoke wheels from the Saxon newcomers Pi-Rope, also brand new, weigh around 1060 grams.
Most bikers will probably break out in a cold sweat at the thought of sitting on this little carbon corner. I think my many years as a marathon rider have turned me into something of a fakir. Hard saddles don't bother me. My pain receptors on my bum have given up complaining. It's no use. I only ride sleek saddles anyway, if only for the looks. From this point of view, I could well imagine riding the new lightweight saddle from Tune. The risk of defects is supposedly minimal with this part, as the saddle is manufactured as a whole piece in a kind of high-pressure process. At 300 bar and 400 degrees. This avoids air pockets, which should make the 69 gram saddle (actually designed for racing bikes) as stable as possible. However, I don't know what the small pad at the top is supposed to do. Protects the "balls", the Chinese with the strange swingarm saddle would probably say.
Hang a Lupine Betty in every corner of a football stadium - and the floodlight system is ready. With up to 5000 lumens, the lamp burns away the darkness like a lightning bolt. This has a marvellous effect on the biorhythm during 24-hour races, because even at night it feels like a summer afternoon. I have no idea what reason the Lupine people saw for a further increase in light output. Perhaps it is intended as a greeting to the astronauts on the ISS space station, who are supposed to see the cone of light from space. Whatever the case may be. The latest headlamp offers an incredible 7000 lumens. The model is logically called "Alpha". However, because such a dazzling light has the effect of a laser beam on other road users, its sale is prohibited in Germany. Interested parties must therefore travel to Austria, for example, where the legal situation is probably a little softer. It should go without saying that 7000 lumens will keep you on a 24-hour race track anyway. When fully switched on, the lamp burns for one and a half hours in combination with the largest Lupine battery.
Sparkle, glitter: Andreas M. Dammann's stand looks like a jeweller's shop. Of course, with his Leichtkraft brand he not only satisfies the greed for parts of weight fetishists, but also that of the style-conscious. In order to optimise production processes and keep the price structure as low as possible, he has set up his own production facility in Taiwan. The new hubs are also manufactured there: Boost axles, straight-pull flanges, aluminium freewheels, top sealed bearings, all of the finest quality. The coating on the bearings is the same as that used on weapons, Andreas explains. The bearings are said to be particularly resistant to rust. A bank robber's pistol won't rust, even if he sweats in fear, grins Andreas. My goodness, what a lot there is. Oh yes, the weight of the hubs: 214 grams (rear) and 104 grams (front). Tune level.
A little nod to the analogue age: the GPS speedometer from Omata displays speed, distance, incline and time in the traditional way. According to the manufacturer, the analogue display is designed to reduce the "cognitive load". To put it simply: the pointers are not as annoying as the digital flickering numbers. Nevertheless, the data can be easily transmitted to Strava. Open Cycles will be presenting a special gravel bike model with an Omata display at the trade fair. I'd love to have one of these on my bike. Looks kind of cool, like a submarine.
Earlier I discussed the topic of "frames from the 3D printer". I have just received the good news that the birth of a particularly racy bike is imminent. Austrian Roland Froschauer has been expressing his passion for bikes with perfectly shaped titanium bikes for some time now. His brand is called Rocket Titanium Bikes. However, the sharpest bike in his fleet is made of carbon. For now! Because the prototype of his sharp-as-a-rat model "Marcus Maximus" is soon to see the light of day in titanium. And with the help of titanium parts from the 3D printer, because there is no other way to realise the flowing look. Roland does not have a stand at the Eurobike trade fair. This top news item here is the result of tireless, investigative reporter work on the pulse of international mountain bike events.
As a biker, you're used to a lot by now. I already mentioned the rocket bike called Düsenspeed at the beginning. One hundred kilometres per hour - you remember. The tireless e-bike industry now finally has the right product for the next generation to get them used to life on the edge of physics at an early age. A turbo wheel for action-hungry three-year-olds. I'll say goodbye with this photo for now. Part 2 will follow soon. Until then. Relax and go full throttle!
