Interbike show

Foot Fitting

The air cushion

The information is recorded

Feet are one of the most important parts of a cyclists body - the part that is the closest to the actual power transfer to the pedals. While many shoes are on display here in Vegas, one company new to Interbike, Arizona-based Foot Fitting, creates super-custom insoles for top athletes. No stranger to cycling, Foot Fitting has created custom orthotics for Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis and David Zabriskie. The beauty of the design is the measurement technology. Unlike other orthotics that use a plaster mold, Foot Fitting uses a laser and a pillow of air. The foot rests on the air cushion in the most neutral position while the laser scans a map of the foot into a computer.

The information is then fed into a CNC machine and the insole is cut perfectly. Even more exciting is the fact that the technology is portable, with the Foot Fitting crew able to come to your local bike shop, scan your foot and turnaround a custom insole in about four days four around US$199. The crew even found a new customer at the show last Thursday when they wheeled the scanner over to the Hincapie booth to get a scan of George's feet.

Rocket 7

Rocket 7 makes shoes

The new Rocket 7

More custom foot products come from the nice folks at Rocket 7 which will create a custom shoe that weighs only 175 grams. A host of athletes ride their shoes including Geoff Kabush, Julian Dean and Saul Raisin. Their shoes are used by a number of top athletes in road, MTB and multi-sport and can also be custom color coordinated to match your team kit or bike.

Argon 18

Argon 18's new cyclocross bike,

Argon 18 built a "special-show-stopper-light" bike

Back to bikes, Canadian company Argon 18 had an impressive display of bicycles, including a "stupid-light" bike with all sorts of carbon goodies. The Galliium-S3 is a monocoque frameset that uses the 6009 high modulus carbon fiber material. The Arsenic cyclocross bike turned a few heads offering an all-carbon frame, fork and wheelset - a rarity in the 'cross world.

Carbon Sports: Lightweight wheels

The new low-profile Ventoux wheels

The new Ventoux low-profile wheelset was finally on display in the U.S. aboard a VERY light Javelin Torgiano. Combined with the new Lightweight rear derailleur, the bike weighed a little more than ten pounds! A free five-pound weight is included with your purchase to bring the bike to the UCI legal limit.

Speedplay

Speedplay even gives a history lesson

This 1986 Puma shoe

Old-school was a feature of the Speedplay booth, with the president of the company showing off his personal collection of pedals from the late 1800s to more recent times. The 1984 Puma shoe and pedal was a particularly interesting design.