KineticShift | Evolving Consumer

Steal of a Steel

Steel is real, and the for those looking to get into cycling this season the steel framed New Albion Homebrew is a quite a steal. This traditional road bike with lugged high-tensile steel frame retails for $949.99. It features retro looks with small diameter tubing, quill stem and downtube shifters, and has braze-ons for rear racks, fenders, and front mini-racks.

In addition the fork has a lugged crown with double fork-end eyelets and mini-rack braze-ons, while the cockpit has a traditional bend drop bar and an alloy quill stem. The Homebrew will get in gear with a 9-speed Sunrace drivetrain.

New Albion Official Website

Made in America: Wood Grain

Why knock on wood when you can ride it. We’ve seen some wooden bikes that have impressed us, but Mick Pecsok of Grainwoods has taken it up a notch with his bicycles that utilize African mahogany, yellow heart, walnut, maple and birch plywood. He is building truly “customized” bikes at his workshop in Camarillo, CA.

Grainworks Wood Art Official Website

Dual Chambered

The human heart has dual chambers and that works really well – provided the person eats right, exercises, etc. Two chambers just works, so why hasn’t the concept been taken to bicycle tubes before?

Now Schwalbe and wheel maker Syntace have announced plans to create a new dual chamber tire that could provide greater traction and control or mountain bikes. This system is actually “tubeless” in that the tire has no internal inner tube, and instead has chambered that hold air. The inner chamber – that is the one closest to the rim – can be inflated to a high pressure to keep the tire tight on the rim and to provide a buffer from puncture-inducing hits. The outer chamber – the one that could have contact with the ground – only requires a low pressure, which means it can cut down on the rolling resistance over uneven ground and provide greater traction.

However, don’t expect to get rolling with it just yet. The system is still being worked out, and the companies look to present more details at Eurobike in August.

[Via BikeRadar: Schwalbe and Syntace unveil dual chamber tyre system]

Weekend Reading List (03.08.2014): Enough Already, Protesting, Tracking the Field

Enough Already

From Bicycle Retailer: U.S. Transportation Secretary says he won’t tolerate ‘crisis’ in bicyclist deaths
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday that he won’t tolerate an increase in bicyclist and pedestrian deaths. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (03.08.2014): Enough Already, Protesting, Tracking the Field

Titanium Printing May Revolutionize Bike Production

The above image may look like a piece of modern art, or perhaps the digestive system for a robotic man – but it is in fact parts for a 3D-printed titanium bicycle frame. Renishaw, an additive manufacturing firm based in the U.K., has joined forces with Empire Cycles to build a one-off titanium MX-6 mountain bike.

Empire Cycles already offers a production version of the bike but in aluminum, yet it has been long noted that titanium has a high Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) that is far greater than aluminum. One issue has been that titanium is also denser than aluminum, so the parts had to be altered and material not contributing to the overall strength removed.

Titanium is a perfect metal for 3D printing as it isn’t a traditional ore, and it now appears that the bike industry is looking to get rolling on this technology. The future could be printed bikes that can be faster to produce and likely even more affordable for the rider.

Press Release: First metal 3D printed bicycle frame manufactured by Renishaw for Empire Cycles

Protective Cap

In baseball the catcher is padded up, and the batter wears a helmet. However, the pitcher has generally been left with little protection. For the upcoming Major League Baseball season pitchers can wear a padded cap, which should provide increased protection from batted balls.

This cap will be optional however, so not every pitcher to take the mount will be wearing one.

The newly approved caps, manufactured by 4Licensing Corporation subsidiary isoBlox, have been made available to pitchers for the ongoing spring training. We’ll have to see if pitchers will sport them for next month’s opening day.

[Via MLB.com: MLB approves padded cap for pitchers]

Olympus Toughen’s Up

This month Olympus shows that it is still going tough. The Olympus TOUGH STYLUS TG-850, which comes out this month (MSRP: $249.99) can record video with natural motion via 60p recording at 60fps in Full HD 1080p, as well as high-speed via 120 fps at 640 x 480 or 240 fps at 320 x 240.

But more importantly this one lives up to its name. It is waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof, and dustproof camera employs True-Pic VII processor and wide-angle 21–105 mm 5x optical zoom lens. Other features include 180 degree flip LCD monitor and 16 MP backlit CMOS sensor.

Olympus TOUGH STYLUS TG-850 Official Website

Paul Mounts Up

Paul Components has introduced a new bicycle Camera Mount that is designed to securely attach a GoPro camera to the top of a threadless stem. This mount is compatible with all HERO3, HERO2, and HD HERO Original GoPro cameras.

It is designed to replace the top cap of a 1 1/8-inch threadless stem and provides a way for the camera to view across the top of the handlebars and down the trail. The Paul Components’ Camera Mount can be attached directly to the camera’s case for a solid connection, or it can also be fitted with an articulated GoPro Pivot Arm for added adjustability.

Paul Component Official Website

The Grand Tour

Whether you’re looking to take a grand tour on your bike, or just like a bike bag with some style Arkel will have you covered. The company is now taking orders through March 15 for its custom Grand Touring Rear Panniers. Once all the orders are in the production will begin and the company has said bags will be delivered by May 1.

The hard part might be choosing from the six color options they’re offering. Continue reading The Grand Tour

Personalized Poles

Char Poles of Salt Lake City haven’t so much reinvented the ski pole, but it certainly has expanded the possibilities of what the pole can do. While these work like normal ski poles on the slopes these offer a variety of customizable options in the grips. This provides useable Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, while the end of the grip can be used as a monopod mount for a camera. The baskets at the end of the poles even offer a bottle opener.

Char Pole is now looking to a RocketHub crowd funding campaign to raise money. Now is your chance to get in a pole position. Continue reading Personalized Poles

Shot at Survival

Those preparing for the end of the world know to stock up on ammo – because once it is used up there won’t be more. As a backup there is always the Survival Slingshot, a multipurpose weapon that can shot slingshot balls and arrows. It features a whisker biscuit that allows a variety of arrows to be used.

It also has a rail system that can also hold a flashlight; while a compass will let you know what direction you’re headed. This certainly isn’t Bart Simpson’s or Dennis the Menace’s slingshot! More like something Rambo might use.

Survival Slingshot Official Website

The Other 1%

There is much hatred of the 1%, but at the same time 1% has seemed to be the default. No, we’re not talking about politics or economics. We’re actually talking about how there has been a long standing debate as whether 1% should be the default setting on a treadmill incline to simulate outdoor running. The idea is that running on a treadmill with a slight incline simulates the need to displace the air in front of the runner.

Casey Kerrigan, founder and president of Oesh Shoes, says that there is no science out there to support this theory.

In her blog she writes:

“What many people don’t realize is that in that same study, there was no difference in energy between running outside and on a treadmill with 0% incline for speeds up to 7.5 miles per hour (equivalent to a 8 minute mile). In any event, if you feel like it’s easier to run on a treadmill, all you have to do, is increase the speed.”

[Via Runner’s World: Biomechanics Expert Debunks Treadmill-Running Myths]
[Via Oesh: My Scientific / Personal Advice for Treadmill Training]

The Bicycle Game

If you can’t get out and ride you can still enjoy bicycles on the table. The Schwinn Biking Game allows two to eight players – ages four an up – to race around the board and be the first cyclist back to their parking spot to win the game. If a player’s bike lands on a Schwinn Bike Shop square, the player immediately moves his or her piece to the bike shop and reads a Fun Fact card aloud, ending his turn.

The game is being produced by Michigan based board game company Education Outdoors.

Education Outdoors Official Website