Interbike -- wha?

Interbike is happening in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. The bike industry's miniature rumor mill had been buzzing that there were competing bike conventions in the works -- especially through the largess of Bikes Belong, the multi-million dollar non-profit to which most retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers belong. But that speculation is all shot to hell now, because Bikes Belong and Interbike have signed a mutual back-scratching agreement. Interbike gives money to Bikes Belong, Bikes Belong sponsors a couple of projects in Las Vegas during Interbike.

Why should you care about any of this? Uh, we're working on that.

Interbike has always gotten its fairy dust from the industry itself, which for some reason likes to withhold big announcements and new products for Nevada in September. The convention itself is owned by Nielsen -- a monstrous publishing company that quite honestly has shit-all to do with bicycles. They don't even publish one bike title.

More to the point, though, most of the industry has grown so rabidly competitive, that -- like Apple and Microsoft -- the Treks and Specialized of the world are beginning to host their own showcases and rollouts.

That said, we've got a room in Las Vegas and we're putting the champagne on ice... and we're hoping to find a few marginal stories that will interest you, constant reader. Ultimately, Interbike is a party the industry throws for itself. And we mean to crash that party this year.