This past Saturday was the 18th running of the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike race in Leadville, Colorado and the 6th time that I have partaken in the race. This event has really grown in popularity and size during the past few years due to the highest level of professional cyclists like Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer showing up to compete. Along with the professional racers, larger corporate sponsors are becoming involved with this race and the whole Leadville race series, especially after Life Time Fitness took over the reins from Ken Chlouber and Merilee Maupin. As a racer, we have to be up in Leadville early on Friday for our medical check in which gave me a few hours to walk around and chat with the sponsors. Here are some interesting products from a few of the Leadville Trail 100 MTB sponsors.
In the United States when we hear the name Adidas, we think of soccer or running, but Adidas does so much more. Last year they reintroduced their eyewear line into the U.S. with some innovative features. Adidas was showing off their ‘performance’ level at Leadville and specifically the cycling and running lines. The cycling line includes features such as ClimaCool for better ventilation; Sweat Blocker removable pads to keep forehead sweat out of your eyes; TRI.FIT adjustability featuring three-level height adjustment; Double-Snap Nose Bridge to allow a true custom fit on your nose; and much more. Knowing that most riders wear a helmet, the temples are designed to fit comfortably with a helmet, offer flexibility, be easily removed and also be replaced with an elastic strap if desired. The Adidas Eyewear line has many more features and options so that you can purchase the best pair to fit your needs. The Adidas ‘performance’ eyewear line start at $120 and tops off at $305 depending on the style and features that you order. Most styles are also available in either a small or large frame depending on the size of your melon. If cycling is not your activity don’t despair, Adidas also offers specifically designed eyewear for golfers, snow sport users, outdoor adventurers and casual users. The Adidas eyewear line is made in Austria and comes with a two year warranty.
Soon to be followed by a number of other manufacturers, Koobi has been producing saddles for years featuring their “Personal Ride System” (PRS). The system loosely follows the concept of the springer seats that you might have had on your bike as a kid. The Koobi PRS saddles feature 4/10-inch of travel to smooth out the ride of your bike through the utilization of varying durometer elastomers customized to the weight of a rider. Each saddle is manufactured in Italy, but when an order is placed, specific questions are asked regarding your weight, number of hours that you ride and primary use. Once Koobi has that information, they will assemble a saddle customized for you. The leather used in Koobi saddles are a little harder than normal saddles, and like a good baseball glove, require a few hours to properly break in. Over time, the elastomers will breakdown from use, but new ones can be ordered and installed fairly easily by the end user. Koobi saddles that feature the “Personal Ride System” range in price from $180 to $240. These saddles are recommend for most bikes except those with full suspension. The 4/10-inch travel is negligible when used on a bike with many inches of travel so the rider will really not benefit from the PRS.
A few weeks ago, we featured Platypus in our Made in America feature on Fridays and it was a pleasant surprise to find one of their 1.0 liter Soft Bottles in our racer packages. This year at Leadville, Platypus was showing off their new Origin hydration packs. The new Platypus Origin packs feature a premium, Big Zip SL reservoir at their core, offering the elite performance of super-light, uncluttered design, weatherproof protection and superior fit. The Origin family of hydration packs features include multiple hose routing and access, on-the-go pockets, fit-focused Bio-Curve construction and reservoir storage that doesn’t steal gear capacity. The Origin line ranges from $79.95 to $159.95. The reservoir is made in the U.S.A. and the pack is made in Vietnam.
Just as important as the equipment is to an athlete, so is the nutrition. Technology throughout the years has helped the athlete fine tune the food and drink they ingest into their bodies improving their performance and health. Herbalife has introduced their Herbalife24 line of products designed to offer the first comprehensive performance nutrition line empowering athletes 24-hours a day. The seven-product line is customizable so you can determine your day-to-day needs based on activity levels and training demands. Herbalife24 is based on the latest proven science and every product batch they produce is third-party tested for substances banned by sporting regulations. This due diligence assures the athlete that what is listed on the label is exactly what is in the product. All products serve a specific nutritional purpose and contain all-natural colors, flavors and sweeteners. At their Leadville booth, Herbalife24 was offering taste tests of their Prolong and Rebuild products. Both products had a good taste and were not too chalky. The chocolate Rebuild was actually one of the best tasting, after-workout drinks that I have tried – very smooth and easy to drink. Herbalife24 products are sold exclusively through Herbalife Independent Distributors and are not available in stores. Checkout their website to customize the Herbalife24 products for your fitness goals.
Launching their product at the Leadville Trail 100 was the Dutch company, Buddies. This new snack food resembles what most Americans might recognize as a corn dog, but this deep-frozen snack is being advertised as a healthier treat. Buddies is the sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Champion, Bart Brentjens and his team (Bart actually finished the 2011 LT100 in 6th place). Buddies essentially is a Dutch roll with a hot dog, apple filling or pear filling inside. They are “produced with all natural ingredients containing just the right nutritional values.” This was an odd product to launch at a sporting event which is so focused on nutrition, but truthfully after racing 100 miles you can pretty much eat whatever you damn well please. As for nutritional value, I have no idea since I could not find that information anywhere.