Theo bring us the highlights from 2008. The people, the girls, the XC and the DH. The best shots collected in this wrap up video.

 

A cool new addition to this year’s Sea Otter expo was the demo area, which had dirt jumps, pump tracks, and workshops by the Bike Skills guys. It was a little hard to get to so a lot of people may have missed it. Hopefully, next year it will be placed more prominently. In any case, it was cool to have a place where people could demo bikes, play on some jumps, and generally polish their mountain bike skills. And the pump track pulled in some dirt jump and gravity pros, including Intense pro rider JD Swanguen (see photo directly below), who beat Brian Lopes at the Ray’s indoor pump track competition this past winter.

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Riding the trails is hungry work and most of the energy bars on the market today taste horrible. Sally, founder of Simbree, felt the same way and wanted to provide a healthy energy snack that tasted like real food. So, Sally got busy in the kitchen and created some wonderful and tasty munchables that are ideal for the trail and for people who are constantly on the go.

These bites (or bars) are wheat and dairy free, are 70% organic, and hand-made by Sally in Seattle. Sally tried using ingredients that are 100% organic, but it drove costs too high and shelf life was too short. Three different flavors (almond pistash, maple walnut, and cashew coconut) are available in either 12 ounce bags of bite size cubes or bars that are individually packaged. Look for them at your LBS. If your local bike shop doesn’t carry Simbree, ask them to order you a bag or two.

My favorite was the maple walnut flavor bites. Much easier to pack than a PBJ sandwich and much less perishable than a banana (my other favorite trail snacks). Very soon the bars will be packaged in a foil wrapper. This should make it easier getting to your snack and extend the shelf life of the energy bar.

Navigating the expo area at Sea Otter practically takes a GPS unit with the large number of vendors that setup every year. Hence, I wandered into the Garmin booth and got an update on a couple of Edge GPS units - the 605 and 705 - from Brandi.

Both the 605 and 705 Edge models automatically record your ride and measures your speed, distance, time, and calories burned. The Virtual Partner® feature lets you race a virtual competitor over a specified distance and speed.

The cool new feature for the hardcore trainers and riders who like closely monitor their progress is the ability of the 705 to interface with ANT + Sport™-enabled third-party power meters along with the navigation features of the Edge 605. The 705 allows you to track your heart rate, cadence, power, climb and descent when interfaced with the right power meter. The 605 has limited amount of memory, but the 705 can store up to 50 routes.

With a combination of all these features built into a single unit, recording your rides can provide you with a lot of data. Data which can be used to improve your fitness, be shared with others, and add a little fun to your routine training rides.

Chris Cocalis shows us the brand new 29er from Pivot Cycles....the Mach 429 with DW-link rear suspension:

Peter, who used to distribute Planet-X bikes in the US, got my attention and dragged me over to see this pretty bike. Last year at Sea Otter he had only road stuff and it looked like he was getting out of the mountain bike business. But apparently, he can’t stay away. Because he’s now distributing Orange bikes in the US. Including this CroMo Orange P7 hardtail , set up with a carbon belt drive, and internally geared rear hub.

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Most of you probably know about the accident Tara Llanes had in Colorado last season. If you don’t, check out Tara Llanes MySpace blog. She was out at Sea Otter this past weekend and looked really good. They were having a raffle to help raise money for her recovery with $5 tickets and prizes from Manitou, Santa Cruz, Thule, Smith, Giant, and Michelin, to name a few. The main prize was a trip to Costa Rica.

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The Canfield brothers, Chris and Lance, were showing their 2008 bikes next to the Sea Otter demo area. At Interbike they introduced their new "Perfect Suspension" concept, which is supposed to pedal the same regardless of the chainring, standing or seated. It's one basic bike design in four configurations, the Sauce, One, Can-Can, and the Can-Diggle. The Canfield Brothers One linkage (below) is shared among all four "Perfect Suspension" bikes. The complete One bike is pictured at the top of the page. An extra mini Canfield Brothers Can Can bike (below). The Can Can features the "Perfect Suspension" design in a dirt jump and park-friendly frame. Note the super short seat tube post and low top tube. The Canfield Brothers Can Diggle (below) is a sturdier, 7 to 8-inch version of the One. Being intended for more serious terrain, it has a 1.5-inch headtube and Maxle rear axle. The Jedi (below) is the Canfield Brothers latest, updated version of their classic Formula 1 frame. It has a rearward travel linkage system, short chain stays, and it's made for the most punishment. For more information on Canfield Brothers bikes, visit their Web site: http://www.canfieldbrothers.com/

Neil from Rohloff USA shows off the most current offerings from the German outfit, specifically the Speed Hub.

Lewis from GT Bicycles took time out of his busy Demo schedule to show off two bikes, the Sanction 1.0 and the Force 1.0.