ION Products 2017 Eurobike
Features / Thu 1st Sep, 2016 @ 12:30 am
ION burst onto the scene a few years ago with a strong heritage from the watersports world and carried that over to the dirt with their motto “surfing trails”. Each year their products have been innovative and functional, there is a strong core of mountain bikers at the brand, who are always evolving and steering the direction the range takes. Last year they launched the impressive Transom Pack, a large volume bike bag for long all day rides that had the ability to be “lifted” away from you back to allow greater airflow on the climbs while being cinched down when gravity started to take over.
This year there are four new product lines featuring shoes, kneepads and clothing. In addition to that, the whole range gets new colours with some style tweaks here and there too. The shoe project is the big news, though, and two styles have been launched, the Raid_Amp, a flat pedal design and the Rascal a clipless design with a recess for your cleats. Shoe design is a tricky business, so while ION spent a year and a half working on the project, they also enlisted the help of Swiss cycling shoe manufacturer Suplest. Suplest makes some of the best shoes in the business and ION collaborated with them to create a product they are proud of and that they feel fits their heritage.
For the clipless Rascal design ION have opted for a stiff sole with a stiff upper as well, this will help power transfer when clipped into the bike and also create a stable platform from which to launch your assault on the trails. The shoes feature a Velcro locking strap which locks your foot in place and ensures no energy is lost in your power stroke. As ION realise you aren’t always on your bike the heel and toe area of the sole feature some useful grippy sections to keep, you planted no matter what you are standing on.
The Raid_Amp takes many of the features of the Rascal but tailors them into a flat pedal design. The team spent a long time testing lots of different prototype sole designs to come up with what they are heralding as the perfect combination of both grip on the pedal, and on the trail when you are off the bike. The sole of the shoe is stiff to aid the power transfer, while the uppers are a little softer, allowing the foot to roll and move while still maintaining good contact with the pedals at all times.
Both shoes feature custom rubber developed by ION to provide the grip.
There are two new clothing ranges in their line up too, the Seek range harks back to their surfing roots with a casual vibe, mellow colourways and surfing inspired features like split hems on the shorts and also a drawstring waistband. All the fabrics are highly technical, breathable and designed to be comfortable both on the bike and in the pub…
The Paze range is their performance product line featuring the lightest materials and most aerodynamic fit, aimed at the XC racer and also the hardcore enduro rider out on training rides or looking for that competitive edge where baggy clothing might become a hindrance.
Lastly, there is the Richie Rude developed knee pad. ION have always had a great line of protective gear, by working with the 2015 Enduro World Series overall winner and current series leader they say they have developed the ultimate kneepad. ION usually use the industry renowned Sas-Tec material for their protective range, this material is flexible but hardens on impact to offer excellent protection. However Richie felt the material wasn’t quite flexible enough, so inside his signature pad is a new memory foam, which ION are keeping under wraps. It offers better flexibility and more range of movement while providing even better impact protection against multiple hits.
The rest of the range oozes the usual ION class and looks great, expect to see it on a trail near you soon!
By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.
