0 CommentsWhat's missing from that title? Bikes! I spent 2 days travelling and 4 at the show. No bikes! Darn it anyway.
Eurobike was amazing this year. Attendance was way up and I got a kick out of all the reasons that folks came up with to explain the increase. My favorite was this spoken by Klaus Wellman, the shows CEO;“Bikes are becoming a more sexy and desirable product in society,” I think this person was talking about our new Salsa stuff!
Two thing stood out this year at Eurobike, 29er stuff and carbon fiber everything. Let's just say that the Germans and the Europeans markets haven't welcomed the 29er movement like the US. Last year, I think only a couple of booths had 29er stuff. This year, there were lots of folks testing the waters. Marin, Fisher, Kona, Ellsworth, Specialized, & Bianchi are just some of the folks that showed 29ers this year. The biggest news though was that a Schwalbe, a German company, showed some real 29er tires becoming the first German based company to actually acknowledge the 29" bikes. To top it off, they even produced products that weren't me too or boring. In fact, I think they jumped right to the top of the tire market with the 2.4" Racing Ralph. It is amazing.
Regarding carbon fiber. Again, wow. I can't believe how technology is changing the sport. I once again pondered what this means for Salsa's future. One thing I'm concerned about though are all these carbon bikes, both mtn and road, that have seat tubes that you cut to length. How would you like to buy a $6500 bike and then two years later not be able to sell it for the next wonder rig because you have short legs and a long torso? I know they may make sense from a design perspective. I just hope folks are educated on what it means.
Cosmic Sports, the Salsa distributor in Germany, showcased a few of our products. We've got a lot more planned for Interbike. Here were two of the Cosmic booth favorites.
Both of these bikes got lots and lots of attention. The Moto Rapido has always been a strong seller in the European markets and this new one should make it even more popular. The color is so perfect. The Casseroll was not shown last year and for many, it was the first time seeing this lovely bike. Two different German trekking magazines took this bike for photo's. Our distributor also sold this bike in the first few hours of the show. Pretty cool if you ask me. I think he would have sold the Moto too, but this Moto is a personal bike of Cosmic's General Manager.
Well, that's it for today. Check back later this week for more details and pictures from the show.
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