Welcome to TriRig.com

Kona 2011 Expo
images by Nick Salazar
Oct 6, 2011  hits 73,430

Fuelbelt product - I think it's obvious which color is the winner here.
Fuelbelt product - I think it's obvious which color is the winner here.
Previous Photo
Next Photo

One of the most exciting components of the Ironman World Championship event is seeing the collection of vendors who take the effort to make an appearance at the Ironman Village expo in downtown Kona. The event seems to be growing more grandiose each year, and is a ton of fun to experience. The thrills are as large as the Specialized castle and the 57 Shiv models available for demo, and as small as the single plastic prototype parts that Cervelo brought to tease us about their next generation bike. Enjoy the supersized gallery (you can switch to viewing small images by clicking the center link above).



Tags » hawaii2011
  • It's like Interbike, but set in a tropical paradise. I'll take this over a smoky casino seven days a week!
  • K-Swiss had a large presence at the show, including a large showroom floor and a virtual reality treadmill setup.
  • The K-Swiss virtual reality treadmill setup let you go for a run on the busy streets of Manhattan. Personally, I prefer Actual Reality, and usually a nice quiet trail in the Rocky Mountains.
  • Hang around long enough, and you'll bump into some pros. I saw Heather Jackson bumming around the Bontrager booth, and she was only too accommodating to have her photo taken.
  • Bontrager had some Aeolus D3 prototypes in hand, including the 90mm and 50mm versions.
  • The Aeolus D3 wheels have blund inner diameters, much like Zipp's Firecrest series.
  • The Aeolus 5 here is a carbon clincher, and will be among the first of these wheelsets available. The deeper rims won't all be out until April or May.
  • Bontrager has also released a new Race XXX Lite aerobar that is basically a clone of the Speed Concept's bar, but with a round clamp for standard stems.
  • The Race XXX Lite aerobar is based on the UCI-legal version of the Speed Concept bar, so it has a truncated Kammtail rear profile.
  • Another new bonty offering is their XXX Brake Lever. It features an integrated barrell adjuster at the front, and reach adjustment via the 2mm hex bolt underneath the lever body.
  • Bontrager is also offering a new Race Lite alloy bar with an aero profile, for $79.
  • Fuelbelt product - I think it's obvious which color is the winner here.
  • Mirinda Carfrae was on hand with former 5430 race owner Barry Siff for a Q and A session.
  • Carfrae discussed K-Swiss product, and her hopes to defend the 2010 Kona title on Saturday.
  • This is a pretty neat product - the K-Swiss Kwicky QT2 - it has bungee ties on one side ...
  • ... and is totally smooth on the other side. It's meant to be a lightweight trainer/racer, and quick to use in transition.
  • These daily kicks/recovery shoes look comfy too.
  • I saw these toenails and had to take a picture - people definitely go all-out for Ironman.
  • Trek didn't bring any new product, but definitely showed off some unique color schemes for their Speed Concept bikes. Tony Kanaan is one of Trek's new poster boys - the Indycar star loves triathlon, and Trek has been painting special bikes just for him.
  • Tony's bike gets a lot of custom accents with his Brazilian national colors.
  • Here's the signature - no mistaking who that is.
  • Even Kanaan's saddle gets the custom treatment from ISM.
  • Raynard Tissink had a mostly standard colorway, but Trek added his South Africa national flag on top.
  • Joe Gambles gets national colors too - red white and blue for the Australian.
  • Julie Dibens' colorway is a subdued white and pale blue, just like her old prototype Speed Concept.
  • Some hibiscus flowers let you know she's racing in Kona.
  • Chris Lieto has a nice color scheme as well. Almost an inversion of Joe Gambles' bike.
  • With such fast riders aboard, it's no wonder these bikes have had so much success.
  • Following the launch of the Shiv, Specialized set up an enormous booth with no fewer than 57 test bikes available for demo. It's good to be in Kona!
  • For those wondering, this is the cavity where the Fuelselage bladder system goes. It's basically just a hole, into which you put the bladder. Super easy to remove and clean.
  • Here's the bladder itself. It's just like a Camelbak - easy to use and easy to clean.
  • Here's a tiny part of that collection of 57 demo Shivs.
  • Specialized hopes to add more of these crowns to its collection.
  • At the Ironman Village, you'll also see things like this wacky knee brace recovery system. But that's nothing compared to ...
  • The Sleep Center of Hawaii's zany face apparatus. I don't want to know what this is.
  • Headsweats brought these so-called Super Duty hats, with an extra-tall sweatband.
  • Ceepo keeps showing off their wacky Climax bike. It looks closer to production-ready, though I'm starting to think it'll be VERY old news by the time it's released.
  • The bike is built for Di2, and hides the batery behind the seat tube.
  • The front end of the Climax is fairly integrated, but still uses a standard fork. Looks potentially tricky to build.
  • Terenzo Bozzone knows what a good color scheme looks like!
  • I'm not sure about checkered flags, but it's hard to complain about Terenzo's Zipp Firecrest 808's.
  • This is kinda neat - the flip-flop paint scheme. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
  • Terenzo continues the orange-and-white color scheme all the way from tip ...
  • ... to tail.
  • Every once in a while, you bump into a legend like Phil White. Check out my video interview with him about the P5/PX pre-prototype he brought..
  • This is what I call the Aloha spirit!
  • And finally, I noticed this floating aid station out in the middle of the swim course. Barely visible to the eye, I had to zoom and crop just to get this much detail.

Related Articles
Check out this supersized gallery of images from the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Ben Hoffman is one stout biker, and he knows his gear. I saw down with him for a chat about its role in his racing life.
Here are a few final bits and pieces we took on the Big Island on Friday, just before the athletes took to the course. Enjoy!
What I love about this year's Kona Championships is that both winners - and the bikes they ride - have taken titles in the past. And that story is intriguing.
Crowie just won his third Kona title, ripping up the bike course on his new, state-of-the-art steed. Performance Advisor Mat Steinmetz gave me the scoop.