Last weekend the 2010 Interbike Expo was held in Las Vegas. Each year the show highlights all the latest innovations and updates in the biking industry, with major players, such as Trek and Specialized, on hand to show off their latest models. But this year, it was a little known company called Fair Wheel Bikes, based out of Tuscon, Arizona, that made the headlines by introducing an incredibly lightweight, but incredibly expensive, bike.
The new prototype features ten speeds, both front and rear brakes, a carbon fiber frame, and titanium spokes. When fully assembled, the unit weighs in at a mere six pounds, which makes it the lightest bike ever built, but it just might come with the heftiest price tag. Fair Wheel has spent $45,000 building this particular model, and while it isn’t available to purchase yet, they hope to move it into production in the future.
As a point of reference, the bikes that are ridden at the Tour de France weigh in at roughly 15 pounds, which is the minimum accepted weight by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the governing body of professional cycling. This new design from Fair Wheel weighs in at less than half of that, and yet the company says that it remains durable and tough. The company has logged more than 20,000 miles on the prototype, testing its strength, and its still going strong.
While it may be some time before the technology behind the six-pound bike comes to market, there are already avid cyclists drooling over this machine. The thought of shaving ten pounds from their current rides probably has more than a few of them reaching for their credit cards and looking for a way to contact Fair Wheel to place their order.