Hot gear seen at the 2017 Interbike Dirt Demo

In Boulder Canyon, about 42 km east from the Las Vegas strip, bike brands set up their gear under the hot sun. It’s the place to preview and try out bikes and more before the Interbike trade show, a completely indoor affair, gets underway. Here’s some cool stuff we caught in the desert.

Shimano XC5 shoe

The XC5 shoe is from the Japan-based company, but was developed mostly out of the U.S. Midwest. It’s a shoe for riding various surfaces, from pavement to gravel. The laces allow you to tune the fit for long, long rides. That strap in the middle lets you keep things loose at your toes and snug at the top of the foot. On the bottom, the outsole is the same as that of Shimano’s full cross country shoe, the XC7. It’s single density and has a little flex (7/10 on Shimano’s scale), which is great if you are hopping off and on. If you want to race cyclocross with these shoes, you can and even run long spikes beneath your toes. At the heel, there’s a reflective material to help with your visibility as the sun goes down on your long ride.

Cannondale Trigger 2

The Trigger 2 is Cannondale’s second-tier all-mountain rig. It’s outfitted with SRAM Eagle. The bike soaks up bumps well with its 145 mm of rear travel from the Fox Float 34 Performance Elite shock and the 150-mm Fox Performance Elite 34 FIT4 fork. The Trigger features Cannondale’s Hustle and Flow geometry. With the flick of a switch, you can set the bike in Hustle mode, giving you a configuration that maximizes your pedalling power on climbs. Flow mode slackens the head- and seat-tube angles to help you take the machine down the trail.

Continental tires

Continental has its tires on display both road and mountain. On the mountain side, there was the Der Baron Projekt for enduro riders. Also, the Der Kaiser Projekt, for DHers, was on hand. They both use the German-based company’s top compound BlackChili

Shimano Evolve line

Following the release of S-Phyre, Shimano has launched the Evolve line. While S-Phyre is aimed at racers, Evolve is for a wider range of riders: those tackling gran fondos or long rides on rough roads. The jersey has an integrated base layer at the back and front panels for drawing sweat away from our body. The bibs have a more refined chamois than that on the S-Phyre. It features a split in the 12-mm padding near the back for the best on bike fit.