Upon purchasing a new bike or gear, you often have to make room in your stable (garage, basement, attic, closet, etc.) to accommodate the new acquisition. This can either mean taking it to a used gear store to have them sell it, you doing the work to sell it yourself through an online outlet, giving it away or throwing it in the trash. We have mentioned the donation option of your cycling gear in the post Re-Cycling Your Old Bike Gear, but what do you do with your other outdoor gear? There are non-profit organizations that will redirect your old outdoor gear to new owners in need. One such organization is Gear to Grow and they need your help. It appears that some companies have already helped Gear to Grow substantially with donations of tents during the 2011 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Show, but there seems to be some missing poles. In what seems as an almost comical problem, Gears to Grow has a new gear drive, “Calling All Poles”, with the sole mission of getting poles for these tents.
Author: Brian O'Connor
Keeping it Real While Golfing
With the Christmas shopping season around the corner, you might be tempted to save a few bucks on a gift for the golfer in your life. There are a number of online retail websites, auction sites and classified sites that list new golf equipment at a substantial savings, but are you really getting a good deal if they are fakes? The U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group has developed a website with tips to help you avoid buying a fake.
A Single Speed Solution for the Masses
In a previous post, we mentioned the Eccentric 46 Bottom Bracket for use with PressFit-30 (PF30) bike frames. This aftermarket accessory allows you to be able to purchase a geared PF30 frame or bike and easily convert it to a single speed. But what about those of us who do not own a frame with a PF30 frame? Are we left out in the cold? Nope! There are solutions out there for those of us with the standard bottom bracket shell. Continue reading A Single Speed Solution for the Masses
A Bamboo Bike That You Can Build
Pottery, sewing, knitting and jewelry making are just a few of the weekend workshops that are available to people wanting to learn a new art or hone a skill. Now bicycle frame building can be added to this list. Bamboo Bike Studio is offering a multi-day, hands-on class in the art of building a bicycle frame and best of all you’ll bring home your very own frame or bike!
Made in America: Tazi Ultimate Hydration Bottle
Most of us are fully aware of the need to stay hydrated in our daily lives, even while not engaging in a physical activity. We have to drink water to stay alive. There seems to be a countless number of companies making water bottles. Participate in any sort of organized sporting event and you are bound to find a bottle or two in your goodie bag. So why are we mentioning another water bottle? Because this one has a twist, or should we say ‘bend’, to the design – and you probably guessed, it is made in America.
The Tazi Ultimate Hydration Bottle has unique design. The base and the cap resemble a typical water bottle, but the body has a bend towards the top. This design allows the user to not have to turn their head while taking a drink and keep their eyes focused in the direction they are traveling. It is a simple as that – a bottle with an angled top, but it was not originally designed for that purpose as explained on their website.
The angle was originally designed to facilitate an accessory that would allow the bottle to be hung from different health club equipment and still maintain a perfectly vertical disposition. More recently, the angle has proved itself to be an ergonomic feature that allows runners, skater, cyclist, and those who carry bottles to hydrate without cocking ones head. Continue reading Made in America: Tazi Ultimate Hydration Bottle
An Elegant PF30 Single Speed Solution
Eccentric bottom brackets (EBB) have been used for years on single speed bikes to make the job of tensioning the chain easier than using horizontal rear dropouts. This solution allows the use of vertical dropouts in the frame and a quick release skewer to secure the rear wheel – a feature that anyone who has been miles away from home with a flat, but no wrench to remove the wheel would appreciate. With the advent of the oversized PressFit-30 (PF30) bottom bracket shell used in all types of bikes to provide a stiffer, more efficient power transfer from the pedal to the rear wheel has lead to an unexpected aftermarket part for those wanting a single speed bike – the Eccentric 46 Bottom Bracket from Problem Solvers of Bloomington, Minnesota.
Hands On: Bollé Tempest with Modulator Lenses
Since the early 1990s, I have been an avid user of the Oakley Mumbo and M-frames with the Sweep lenses for all forms of cycling. They have protected my eyes from tree branches, sun, snow, mud, rocks, flying insects and anything else thrown my way. I never ride without them. They fit my head well and provide excellent coverage keeping the wind out of my eyes during fast descents. I have tried many other types of glasses and yet I keep grabbing my M-frames every time I ride… until now.
At Interbike this year, there were numerous eyewear companies and a number showing off photochromic lenses. Photochromic lenses darken when exposed to ultraviolet rays (UV) and fade back to lighter tint in low light areas or indoors. Shortly after the show, I received a pair of the Bollé Tempest glasses with their version of a photochromic lens, the Modulator, to try myself.
Continue reading Hands On: Bollé Tempest with Modulator Lenses
Keeping Man’s Best Friend Fit
Earlier today we mentioned the Polar Bottle pet photo promotion and figured it would be the perfect time to mention another product – the Bike-a-Buddy. The Boulder, Colorado based company, afitdog, has a very simple to use and simple to install product that allows a dog owner to safely bike with their dog.
Drink up! It’s for a good pawse
Are you looking for a unique holiday gift for the pet lover in your life? The Boulder, Colorado based company, Product Architects, Inc., may have the purrfect idea for you! Product Architects is the maker behind the Polar Bottle insulated water bottle and they have recently announced a new promotion. Through their website, customers can upload and order a Polar Bottle customized with a photo of their pet.
Product Architects is offering this promotion from November 1 through December 22, 2011, with the idea of providing consumers with a unique holiday gift option. For those who choose to order a customized Polar Bottle with a photo of their pet, not only will you be buying a well made insulated water bottle, but you will be supporting a good cause. Product Architects will be donating $5 from the sale of each bottle to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley (HSBV). Continue reading Drink up! It’s for a good pawse
Hold onto your iPhone or iPod with the iCat
“It just slipped out of my hand.” Most of us have heard this line after watching someone drop their iPhone or iPod. Usually the results are the same, a cracked screen and a very sad owner, especially if they did not purchase the insurance. A replacement iPhone or iPod can be expensive and dealing with a cracked screen can be annoying or even dangerous. EK Ekcessories of Logan, Utah has a product to help you avoid even dropping your iPhone or iPod – the iCat.
Continue reading Hold onto your iPhone or iPod with the iCat
Made in America: Buck Knives
Back in 1902, Hoyt Buck was a young blacksmith apprentice in Kansas who was seeking a better way to temper the steel used in knife blades. A tempered blade will hold a sharp edge for a longer period of use and ultimately produce a knife that will have a longer life. Hoyt’s unique approach resulted in the first Buck Knife. Many years had past, and though Hoyt continued to make knives using his tempering technique and worn-out files as the basis of his blades, it was not until 1947 that the modern Buck Knives company was born. That year Hoyt and his son, Al, moved to San Diego to start the company named H.H. Buck & Son.
Kick Your Office Chair to the Curb
A desk job – is there no worse curse in the world? If you live an active lifestyle and have worked a desk job you know that itching feeling that can come over you after sitting for hours or not getting to workout at all. You have to stand up and walk around just to get the feeling to dissipate even a little. Stand up desks have been around for decades and a few are even paired with fitness equipment. The folks from Kickstand Furniture LTD have designed a desk for cyclists to allow them to ride and work, all at the same time.
Medical ID Bracelet Goes High Tech
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Medical ID bracelets are an old brand of jewelry. For years bracelets existed for seniors or someone with a condition, to assist first responders when they arrive on the scene of an emergency and find the victim unconscious. In recent years we’ve seen a push for ID bracelets designed for athletes – specifically designed for those people whose activity or training program often takes them hours and miles away from home. Now there is a new ID bracelet that not only provides your invaluable medical information for first responders, but also allows you to travel cash-free. Nathan Performance Gear and VITAband have teamed up in a long-term partnership to bring the Nathan VITAband to the masses. The Nathan VITAband is the first ID bracelet that combines the information needed by first responders and a debit card all electronically on your wrist.