Interbike 2012: Time for Some Dirt...

I must admit to being more than a bit negligent with checking out the mountain bikes at this years show. The fact that my trail riding has slipped to almost non-existent, may have trickled down and impacted my choices on where to spend time. That said, when I did manage to focus my eyes on the knobbies and suspensions, there was plenty worth seeing. The following are some of what I liked.

The bikes by daVinci Designs made an impact last year, and they were back to do the same this year. If you are into tandems, and especially mountain tandems, the da Vinci line should be a must see on your shopping list. I imagine that as far as riding tandem in the dirt goes, the company's Symbiosis is about as close to ideal as you will get. I have never been able to completely wrap my mind around, and thus commit, to the whole idea of tandem riding. We have a local couple here in town who completed the Leadville 100 this year, on tandem, and had a mostly fun time doing so. The only way I would even consider something like that, would be if I were riding something like this:

Opus is one of those companies making a complete line of bicycles - road, mountain, cx, urban, commuter - you name it, they seem to have a model. Sometimes that can be good, other times it can be bad. From what I saw, Opus is doing it right. So, why had I not previously heard of their name? Turns out they are just now set to make their debut into the US market. Established in the year 2000, Opus is a Canadian company, their bikes designed and assembled in Montreal. I can't attest to the way they ride on the trails, but they certainly look worthy enough - light, nimble, built for speed. When I get around to the road bikes, I will show you some more:

Niner is the undisputed leader of the 29er realm. Hands down, I won't take any argument on that point. Amongst their showings at Interbike were the latest two award winners - first, the Air9 RDO, and second the Rip9:

For overnight touring in the backcountry, or longer expedition rides, it would be hard to find a more compatible ride than the Surly Ogre. Even without racks, this thing is fully loaded and ready for a week in the woods:

Lets scale that steel expedition ride back. A quality steel bike you can thrash all day long, but return to the comfort of home in the evening. For that, maybe you look to one of the originators, maybe you look to Ritchie. Maybe you look to the new P-29er: