Interbike '17 Outdoor Demo Finds

The last time I visited the Interbike Outdoor Demo was in 2015 and this year had quite a bit fewer vendors to visit.  Despite the smaller size, I did come across some cool finds that I wanted to share with you.

Skratch Labs is my favorite hydration mix for my water bottles and hydration pack and I was pleased to find that they have added two new flavors as well as a new package design.  I got a chance to try both of these new flavors in their Exercise Hydration Mix line.  They include Hydration Drink Mix with Strawberries and Hydration Drink Mix with Passion Fruit.  The Strawberry mix is light in flavor and sweetness but the Passion Fruit flavor is the one I liked and could see myself sipping on during an all day gravel or mountain bike ride.  Both flavors are now available from your LBS or from Skratch Labs in 16 oz. resealable bags, single serving 20 packs and single serving.

The Henty Enduro Backpack immediately caught my attention as I walked past the booth at the Outdoor Demo.  I saw multiple possibilities for this pack for use during mountain biking, gravel riding and especially winter fatbike riding.  This pack sits on the lower back close to a rider's center of gravity.  It is made from a tough Cordura 500D nylon to be lightweight (550 gr.) and for strength.  It provides lumbar impact protection and the molded foam used in this area is designed to have improved air ventilation for those hot days.

Not only does this pack hold a hydration bladder up to 3L. (not included) but has a bunch of  pockets for things like tools, tubes, nutrition and any other gear you need to bring along for the ride.  I see this as being a great pack for the fatbike crowd during the winter.  It can be worn underneath a jacket to be insulated from the outside cold thus using your own body heat preventing the bladder and water line from freezing up.  Comes in colors Black for $110 and Camo for $130 available direct from Henty.

Minnesota brand Otso Cycles was at the Outdoor Demo with a couple of new Voytek builds to choose from for 2018.  Co-owner Dan Dittmer took some time to tell me about the new Voytek Expert and Voytek Ultimate (shown in the picture above) models available.  These new 2018 models get a cool new paint scheme and can be upgraded to include a carbon wheelset (Voytek Expert), Rockshox Bluto, Lauf Carbonara or Fox F34 Factory (27.5 only) fork.  The Otso Voytek Ultimate is their top of the line build with a Shimano XX1 Eagle drivetrain, HED No Big Deal carbon wheels, Magura MT8 hydraulic disc brakes, Race Face Next carbon crankset, Race Face Next carbon seatpost and a Race Face Next carbon riser handlebar.  List price for the Voytek Ultimate is $8,099 and the Voytek Expert $4,099.  Available in October from Otso Cycles and look for them soon at Penn Cycle stores in the Twin Cities.

One thing I noticed in the e-bike class was camouflage fatbikes geared towards hunters.  These bikes included a camouflage paint scheme, racks or rack mounts to carry gear and have top speeds of 20 mph.  The Surface604 Boar Camo Fat Bike (pictured above) is budget friendly with a 750W (peaks at 1000W) rear hub motor and a torque sensing pedal assist with a throttle (range 35 miles), Tektro Auriga hydraulic disc brakes, a SRAM X5 10 speed drivetrain with a 11-36T cassette and Kenda Juggernaut Sport (26x4.5) tires.  Comes in sizes S/M 17.5" & M/L 19.0" for $2199.