No photos for the GoGirl article, because I’m just not going to go there.

What had to have been one of the most intriguing products at Interbike was something called the GoGirl. Their catch phrase is “Don’t take life sitting down”, so a female friend of mine assumed they were some sort of women’s empowerment group. Was she ever wrong! Whenever I walked by their booth, I saw plenty of women smiling, some of them even giggling. And more than one guy that got dragged over there ended up blushing.

GoGirl is the great equalizer, because it allows women to pee like men. Yup, you read that right. With GoGirl, they can “go” standing up. I’m sure that next to equal pay and representation, this is every woman’s dream. OK, maybe not. But for any woman that enjoys the outdoors, or ever has to use a gas station bathroom, this may just be a must-have item.

I’m going to relieve myself of the trouble of describing how it works, and just let you click on the link and whiz over to their site to check it out. If you’re not a woman, you probably know one or two. Send them over to the site as well. Or better yet, order up a half dozen GoGirls, and hand them out as Christmas gifts this year. What a perfect stocking stuffer!

And for the record, I did get one. Once my fiance’ has tried it out, we’ll go ahead and share the results. Without photos.

My very last stop before I left Interbike was at the Boblbee booth. They make the really strong and futuristic-looking backpacks seen in movies like Charlie’s Angels, The Fast And The Furious, and The Italian Job.

I spoke with Jaan, who explained to me that their backpacks were so tough, they met the stringent European standards for safety equipment. Rather than just being a soft backpack  with some closed cell padding to protect your gear, the Boblbee has a hard ABS outer shell. While this is obviously going to protect your gear far better than your average backpack ever will, it also provides an extra measure of safety for the wearer. That may not be a big deal for your average weekend hiker, but I can see this as an added benefit for cyclists, skiers, and motorcyclists.

At that point, Jaan offered to show me just how durable the Boblbee is:

It took me three tries to get that shot, since he was swinging pretty hard. Here’s what it looked like after:

Needless to say, I had to have one. Look for a full review in an upcoming post.

At Interbike this year, there were plenty of bikes with electric assist, and a few that seemed to be all-out electric scooters. And then there was the SBU.

It’s a self-balancing unicycle. Those are footrests, not pedals. To go forward, lean forward. I guess you lean back to stop. It’s like a Segway for people with balance. It’s definitely not a bike by any stretch of the imagination, but as far as distribution goes, bike shops would be the most logical choice. Oh, it weighs almost 25 pounds, and sells for about $1,500.

So, which is it?

In the cycling industry, small company owners always seem to have a really good vibe about them. You know they’re not in it to get rich, they’re in it to offer cool stuff, and share in the fun of cycling.

Nick, at fyxation, is one of those guys. His website currently has a single offering - 700×28 foldable tires, in a wide variety of colors. With Kevlar protection and 120TPI construction, they not only look good, but roll fast. They also offer pinch flat protection and an attractive diamond tread pattern that runs from bead to bead.

Not only are they quality rubber, but when you buy from fyxation, you’re buying from a cyclist, not some giant corporation that has to answer to their shareholders.

So check them out. I’m hoping to put a set on a winter single speed / fixie project myself.

Ritchey recently updated its Fit Logic poster for dealers, and debuted it at Interbike last month. (Clicking on the link will take you to a low resolution PDF of it) While it’s obviously a valuable tool for any bike shop interested in selling more of the exceptional line of Ritchey components, it’s equally valuable for cyclists, regardless of what brands they’re riding.

With the wide range of bars, stems, and seatposts available today, there is no reason for any cyclist to suffer with a poorly fitting bike. Sure, the frame needs to be properly sized, but once that is done, components should be chosen to fit the bike to the cyclist, not the other way around. The poster does an excellent job of illustrating stem reach and rise, (which can be positive or negative) as well as handlebar reach and drop, and seatpost setback. There’s also a little graphic for handlebar width.

Some cyclists may have no issues with fit, even with an “off the rack” bike. But most of us will need to tinker with one or more components to get things just right. And the poster is a great place to start. So whether you’re new to cycling, or have been riding for a while, it might just pay to have a peek. And props to Ritchey for making it possible for cyclists to achieve a more efficient and comfortable riding position with their incredibly wide range of components.