The Most Conspicuous Absentee / Cool Kids Award
A tie between Cane Creek and Enve. There I’d be, looking at a bike by Turner, by Mountain Cycles, by anybody, and there they’d be: a Cane Creek headset slyly hidden on a shiny full build, or an Enve wheelset proudly displayed on a DH rig. And those Cane Creek Double Barrels were on all the hot bikes (see above). AND they’re dropping the DBAir this year. Both companies were everywhere, without actually being there. No booths, no marketing people that I could find. But it’s almost more classy that way. Kind of like, “We’re here, but don’t even really need to be. You guys do all the hard work, and we’ll just steal the show.” Too cool for school.
The Favorite Ladies Award
The security ladies. (You thought I was going to say something different, didn’t you?) This was one of my favorite discoveries from the show. Around four every afternoon, the beer would start to flow from various booths (sometimes it was slightly earlier, say 3, 3:30) and the party vibe would start to swell. Unsurprisingly, a bunch of non-badgers (you need a badge to get in and wander around the show) would show up and start double fisting plastic pints. These ladies were on the ball. They’d herd bunches of five hip youngsters at a time out the nearest exit. When cries of “I need to go see my friend,” would arise, the ladies would head them off like bullfighters and push for the door. I watched and laughed for a good while.
The Most User-Friendly Award
Fox. They have the money, they have the riders, and they have the technology to branch out wherever they want. Their push to make things easier for the average rider should pay off in spades. Multiple folks from Fox told me that the average Joe is afraid to mess with his suspension setup. To remedy this, Fox is pushing to make the setup as simple as possible. An Autosag button will be featured on all 2012 Specialized Stumpjumpers. It’s a four-step process that takes about 30 seconds. They’re also working on a Smartphone/Ant1/Garmin concept that walks riders or bike techs through sag and rebound setup. For more info on both of these technologies, take a look at our Day 2 coverage.
The Challenger to the Throne Award
Both Cane Creek and X-Fusion. X-Fusion is offering Vector and Vengeance Air Shocks for 2012. X-Fusion claims their new Vector is half the weight of a coil shock at 450 grams and über-adjustable with bottom out pressure, reservoir air volume, high and low speed compression, and rebound damping. They’ve also added more adjustability to the Vengeance.
Cane Creek, as mentioned above, is so hot right now. Their original Double Barrel was everywhere this year. Their DBair is sure to make a splash this season. We’ll get our hands on one this season and let you know what we think.
Best Asian Guy on A Unicycle / Segway
This guy.
The Most Quiet Country Award
China. I don’t know if it was the segregated booth setup where different countries were in different places, but China seemed quiet. Maybe it was because it was hidden away in the back of the second floor. Maybe it was the language barrier. Or maybe it was just the production stigma (a lot for a little) that China has. Either way, it wasn’t bustling on the Chinese section of the floor. That wasn’t the case with Italy and North America.
The Best Protection Award
POC. POC has been popular for a while now, but it looks like they’re not going to sit back and chill. New for 2012, they’ve got VPD2.0 for their armor. This stuff is soft and comfy to the touch, but hardens upon impact. (Technology similar to this has been on the market for a while, and it’ll be interesting to see how POC measures up.) It’s an upgrade from the original VPD which had hard sections and soft around it and allows for greater range of motion. 2.0 is multi-density for added protection in key areas and has raised bumps for improved ventilation. They’ve also added MIPS technology to their already popular all mountain Trabec helmet line.
On the softer side, POC has new colorways for their jerseys, helmets, and gloves so you can always match. Because that’s oh-so-important. And don’t forget their new sunglasses. They’ll match, too.
It would be uncool not to mention Giro and Kali here. Their stuff looked good, but I didn’t feel like they were pushing it as hard as POC was.