A Full-Face Helmet From the Future, Tiny Hope Disc Brakes, and Feathery Pedals - Interbike 2017

It's the year 2090, and we're living in a dystopian future where the rebellion wasn't able to quash an ordinance governing all singletrack be built to green and blue difficulty levels. The government's tactical troops, wearing Sena full-face helmets, roam the country's few remaining forests, looking for trail builders who dare to defy the law by constructing unauthorized black-level trails that include "unacceptable" obstacles like roots, rocks, and even gap jumps. The future of mountain biking looks bleak, but camps of two-wheeled rebels are ready to fight to the death for singletrack that offers even a crumb of a challenge.

That's what comes to mind when I see Sena's prototype full-face helmet that they had under protective plexiglass in their Interbike booth.




Sena offers two road helmets, both with Bluetooth built-in communication, and one with an integrated camera, but it was their yet to be named downhill lid that was getting the most attention. To be fair, this is just a mock-up of what the production version will look like, and you can expect it also to have Bluetooth capabilities. You know, so the tactical troops can talk to each other and whatnot.

So, what say you: is the Sena prototype a winner or a binner?






Xpedo's CX range includes two versions: a steel spindled CXR model that weighs a reasonable 295-grams, and the ultra-light CXR Pro that sports titanium axles and a scant 240-gram claimed weight. A lot of feathery pedals on the market employ bushings, at least on the inboard side of the body, as they save weight, save room, and save money, but both of these Xpedo models spin on three cartridge bearings per pedal that are pressed into forged aluminum bodies.

Color choices include black/gold, black, gray, red, team orange, and the blue that's pictured above.





UK brand Hope didn't have anything in their booth that we haven't already shown you, but I had to stop by to take a look at their gorgeous HB160 all-mountain bike. While there, Hope's Woody Hole pulled out these equally stunning brake calipers that are much smaller than what you see on a mountain bike. The road and gravel segment, while still much more modest than the demand for mountain bike parts, is growing, and Hope's starting making these tiny four-piston calipers for the skinny tire crew.

While chatting with Woody about Hope's road and gravel offshoots, he also mentioned that they've manufactured disc brake calipers and five-speed transmissions for classic Austin Minis many, many years ago, and even made parts for MotoGP and Formula One teams. Can you guess the Formula One team that they built some parts for?