For building a picture of the year ahead, there's nothing quite like Eurobike. Sure, it's a massive trade show that wears out the feet and gradually erodes the patience, but nowhere else will you see so much new stuff all in one place. Here are seven of the bikes, components and accessories that we're most excited to get our hands on in 2017.
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- Interbike 2016: what to expect from this year's show
Most Anticipated 2017 Road Cycling Tech
1. 3T Exploro do-it-all road bike
Even though there are about 300,000 sub-genres of cycling now, our videographer Reuben Bakker-Dyos really likes the idea of one bike that can do it all. So he's picked the 3T Exploro, essentially a road bike that can also accept 650b wheels with nice, chunky mountain bike tyres for some off-road fun.
2. Sportful R&D Cima jersey & bibs, eVent rain jackets and other new road clothing
There's a heck of a lot of clever stuff happening in the world of cycle clothing, and our US editor-in-chief Ben Delaney appreciates it. He singles out the clever fabrics like eVent going into rain jackets and the growing variety of clothing styles available, but his favourite is the new R&D Cima range from Italian masters Sportful. It's ideal summertime kit with thin mesh on the sides, no grippers or silicone bands, and cleverly made from one single piece of fabric. Which means no seams.
3. Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 groupset
It was one of our biggest stories this year, and it's easy to see why. Shimano's Dura-Ace 9100 is a major update to its top-flight road groupset, with integrated power meter, hydraulic disc braking and synchro-shift just some of the highlights. Our Senior Technical Writer Matthew Allen has finally got his hands on it, and he's beyond excited.
4. Wilier Triestina Jaroon
Described as a "great big gravel bike packing monster" which looks fantastic and isn't going to be too expensive, it's fair to say that Cycling Plus magazine's senior technical editor, Warren Rossiter, is excited by the new Wilier Triestina Jaroon . It's got an internally brazed steel frame that's then polished for extra lustre, it runs on 27 tyres, and Warren is smitten with this monster truck.
5. Northwave Extreme RR road shoes
Coming in fluoro yellow for those that want to look like a Power Ranger and weighing just 220g, these are some sweet new kicks from the Italian brand. Our videographer Joe Norledge particularly appreciates the closure that relies on just one Boa dial, for fewer pressure points. Woah.
6. Luck in-sole power meter
We've seen power meters in cranks, wheels, pedals — now Spanish brand Luck has managed to squeeze one inside a pair of shoes, in the sole. This was a pre-production model on show, but they're due to land very soon, priced at a very reasonable €200-300.
7. Hero VR cycling experience
We know this will be sacrilege to many people — praising a piece of technology that actively encourages you to stay indoors, rather than get out into Mother Nature — but bear with us: our UK deputy editor Jamie Beach was talking about this very topic back in springtime when motivation for his turbo trainer was running low.
The idea of wearing a virtual reality headset sounds claustrophobic, but also much more interesting than a simple screen. VR technology is improving all the time, so could this be the Next Big Thing for turbo trainers, or will it be a blind alley? Watch this space.