I attended the 2008 version of Trek World, where Trek brings out all of its new goods for its dealer base to check out. Amongst the surprises was Bontrager’s (Treks component arm) entry into the shoe and apparel market. I’ll cover that here plus a few other newsy tidbits.

With Trek and Nike breaking fellowship, Trek thought it time to revamp and streamline its apparel offerings. It used to be that Trek offered Nike alongside of its own Trek branded apparel, but now there will only be Bontrager branded apparel going forward.

Offerings will include shorts, jerseys, gloves, outerwear, and other niche products. The Bontrager mantra, “Best in Class Engineering” will become more and more evident as time goes on. If the baggy mountain biking short I examined is any reference, we can expect to see a marked improvement across the board along with prices to reflect that. There will be different levels throughout the range, of course, so don’t go away thinking you won’t be able to afford any of this, just think instead that you will be (hopefully) getting best in class value too.

As mentioned, Bontrager also is tackling the shoe arena. I was able to check out this Bontrager RXL shoe and the next down the line, RX shoe. The shoes are very well thought out. There is much going on inside and out on these kicks. I was really impressed by this first time effort. It is obvious that Bontrager engineers did their homework.

The outers are designed in such a way as to maximize ventilation. The upper end shoe really goes all out to get air over and around your feet. Does it work? Well, I have not had a chance to wear one on a ride, but the technology looks very promising. There is the usual two velcro straps with an upper buckle that ratchets much like you are probably used to. I am a Sidi veteran, and I took to it like I had been wearing them for years. The material construction looks top notch and feels soft and flexible where it should. The sole shows the usual center channel from toe to heel with room for two toe spikes and a surprising tread on either side in that it was less aggressive than I am used to seeing on a mountain shoe.

The insole has a removeable foot bed that has a customizable arch area that can detach and be replaced with another size/shape. Additionally, the shoe can work with other orthotic footbeds that are customizable. Once the shoes were on, the arch area of the footbed sort of acted like a wedge to press my skinny, ski like feet into a comfortable position in the mid shoe area and the heel. I felt securely attached in these areas. What was really nice was that the toe box area was roomy and I felt as though I had alot of “breathing room”, if you will. Normally my very narrow feet do not work in many shoes, but my impression is that the Bontrager shoe would do me right. Apparently this is all due to their extensive research and the design of the footbed. I was told that it was a goal to fit a wide range of foot types. I would say, “Mission accomplished”.

The excellent Bontrager Inform saddle line up is now complete with the final additions of the WSD (women’s) line and the high end men’s RXL Inform, both shown above. The WSD Inform was said to have been redesigned from its first generation before they ever were shipped to retailers. The shape was slightly tweaked and a “depression” in the soft tissue area was added. The WSD is now getting “rave reviews” from its first owners and is being shipped now to Trek and Fisher dealers.

In other Bontrager news, there are now a couple new additions to the seat post line. The new Rhythm seat posts now feature larger, longer clamping plates and a strengthening ‘ribbing” inside the main shaft. This main shaft features a different ribbng shape for the two different diameters in the seat post range and runs all the way around the inner diameter of the shaft, not just in the fore and aft sections of the tube. These new posts are 3D forged and have the head as an integral part of the forging, which lends strength to the design as well. As one Bontrager engineer put it, “We don’t want you to break off your seat post when you fall over sideways”. Makes sense I suppose! These posts will be available in 330mm and 400mm lengths in 27.2mm and 31.6mm diameters.

We have all seen road tires with colors before, but Bontrager has put a new “slant” on the use of color on some of their new road tires. Check out the following images. Probably not recommended if asymmetry drives you nuts!

Now you see it……

Now you don’t!

And finally, I couldn’t help but post these cute little balls of color. They are the new Trek Time watches and computers for adult and kid’s bikes. Watches, you say? Yeah, jewelry for your rig, or your kid’s rig. The watches and computers feature a rubbery ball that has the shape of the handle bar molded into the bottom. The computer or watch body then fits into the face of it. The units slip around the handle bar and have mounts that fit either 31.8mm or 25.4mm standards. (You get each with a purchase of a Trek Time computer or watch) The different colored ball/mounts are available separately and can be easily changed out. You can get one to suit your mood, match your bike…..whatever!

The watches just tell time. The computers just tell you speed, distance, and time. The computer is wireless. Look for these at a Trek or Fisher dealer near you soon.

Additional coverage on Trek World can be found at Twenty Nine Inches and Commute By Bike.