About a month ago, my wife and I sat down and watched the Race Across the Sky 2009 movie from Citizen Pictures featuring Lance Armstrong’s win of the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike race. We both enjoyed the 2009 movie, not because we are huge Lance fans, but because the footage allowed my wife to finally see the course. She has been my number one supporter during each of the five Leadville 100 Mountain Bike races that I have competed in during the past 10 years. I had recently finished race five, so the course was fresh in our minds when we sat down to watch the film. The 73 minute film offered a complete and concise look into not only the racers, but the vast number of volunteers and supporters that it takes to make this event happen.
Author: Brian O'Connor
Single Cell Lightform
This year at the 2010 Veloswap, Amoeba was showcasing their newest LED light, the 2x Cree XP-G R5. The name makes this system sound complicated, but it really is not. The company’s name is derived from the amoeba, the simplest life form on Earth. They follow their name and design their lights to simply have one mode – on and off.
The 2x Cree XP-G R5 is a dual spot beam, 600 lumens lighting kit that features an anodized aluminum housing offered in matte silver, bright silver or dark bronze; and the lens is made from optical grade Lexan. The battery pack is a 7.4 volt 2400mAh Li-Ion that is capable of a 3-1/2 hour runtime with only a 3 hour charge time. With a total weight of less than 6oz., this kit easily mounts to your helmet with industrial strength Velcro, Amoeba is a very small operation and each lighting kit is hand built at their facility in Colorado. Continue reading Single Cell Lightform
Hands On: Check Your Balls
You might be a competitive cyclist who obtains new equipment each year, an avid cyclist who keeps their equipment for many years or a bit of both; but either way you roll, you would probably benefit from having your balls checked out. The balls I am referring to are the ball bearings in your bicycle – mainly the hubs and bottom bracket; but also the pedal, rear derailleur pulleys and headset bearings. Bearings are one of those items that is not sexy and is rarely thought about since they are out of sight; but often instead of being filled with grease, they can filled with dirt, water or rust. This in turn will reduce the results and efficiency of each of your pedal strokes. Continue reading Hands On: Check Your Balls
Rocking and Driving With the RockyMounts DriveShaft
RockyMounts, based in Boulder, Colorado, has been making bike and ski mounts that fit Yakima, Thule and other roof racks for years. They offer the same quality as the two big names, but at a lower price point and with a vast array of colors. 
New for 2011, RockyMounts has introduced the DriveShaft, which is not a complete bike mount, but rather an adaptor to fit bikes with 15mm and 20mm thru axles to the standard 9mm bike mount. They are not the first to introduce this type of mount, but the RockyMounts model offers a level of security that the others do not. Continue reading Rocking and Driving With the RockyMounts DriveShaft
Hands-on: Boo! Freighting Good Ride With Bamboo
While visiting the Gates Carbon Drive System booth at the 2010 Outdoor Demo in Boulder City, NV, there was one bike the jumped out as being completely unique from all of the other manufacturers using the belt drive system. That manufacturer was Boo Bicycles from Ft. Collins, Colorado. The feature that really made this bike stand out was the use of bamboo as the main tubes and stays of the frame. Bamboo is one of those materials that has picked up steam as a building material in the mainstream recently due to its beauty and more importantly its sustainability as a building material.
Unlike traditional lumber, bamboo can be harvested for use as a building material in a few years as opposed to a few decades. For centuries, Eastern cultures have used bamboo for everything including building shelters, weapons, food and textiles. Boo is certainly not the first manufacturer to use bamboo in a bicycle frame, but they are one of the few to use the material in every single frame they produce. Continue reading Hands-on: Boo! Freighting Good Ride With Bamboo
Hands On: Shhh! I’m Trying to Ride Here
While at Interbike this year I had the pleasure of riding a 2010 Wazee, offered by Spot Brands from Golden, Colorado. I was interested in riding this bike not because it is a fixed gear bike, but because it is a belt drive, fixed gear bike. Spot utilized the Gates Carbon Drive System with this fixed gear bike and came up with what might be the quietest bike on the market.
I was amazed at how quiet the ride of this bike was and the positive feel of the belt drive system. There was no slop in the chain when backpedaling and after being ridden by countless people at Interbike, the belt was clean. The frame uses track geometry, which made the bike handle very quick and nimble. Continue reading Hands On: Shhh! I’m Trying to Ride Here
Tired of Greasy Hands and Pant Legs?
The Gates Carbon Drive system debuted back in 2008 based on 25 years motorcycle and dragster CDS technology. The Gates Carbon Drive System was developed to offer cyclists a lighter weight, lower maintenance, quieter ride and cleaner drive system than the current chain system on the market. The no-stretch Carbon Drive belt is embedded with carbon fiber cords and requires no lubrication, but the system does require a frame designed around the CDS.
Continue reading Tired of Greasy Hands and Pant Legs?
Interbike 2010: Let the NiteRider Pro 1400 Light Your Way… on Your Terms
As you are browsing through the accessory section your favorite bike shop, you will probably notice that most of the large bike companies have their own headlights on the market. These headlights are perfectly fine for commuting and bike path rides, but rarely do they offer enough light for a fast descents or tight single track. If you find that you are riding slower during the night or you are planning on entering a 24-hour race, you need to invest in a good lighting system.
One system that may interest you is the Pro 1400 system offered by NiteRider based in San Diego, CA. As the name implies, this dual LED lamp system produces 1400 lumens when set to the ‘high’ mode. The 1400 lumens is achieved during the ‘high’ mode by both the spot and flood light being fully illuminated to 700 lumens each. Though this will offer plenty of light for the trail you are blazing, your run time will only be 2:30 hours. For a longer night ride with these light right out of the box, all you have to do is switch to either the flood or spot lamp when the full 1400 is not needed. Continue reading Interbike 2010: Let the NiteRider Pro 1400 Light Your Way… on Your Terms
Fitness Journal: Pedal Talk – To Clip or Not to Clip
There comes a point in a cyclist’s life when they decide to make the move from platform pedals to a system that connects them more with the bicycle. This is sort of a “Zen-like” experience of being one with the bike. This attachment is however more mechanical than metaphysical. Continue reading Fitness Journal: Pedal Talk – To Clip or Not to Clip