Author: Peter Suciu

Carbon Fiber Headset Offers Style and Balance

We at KineticShift love carbon fiber. It is the space age material that just makes everything better, lighter and stronger. OK, maybe not everything can benefit from carbon fiber, but we like it with bikes, tennis racquets and other sports and fitness gear. We also see that what works for fitness is translating into other sectors as well.

We also like Bluetooth, the wireless technology that is great for near area communications. So this week we saw something that turned our heads, namely a Bluetooth carbon fiber headset!

At the Hong Kong Electronics and Global Sources Fair this week Bluetrek Technologies introduced the CARBON, the world’s first Bluetooth headset made of carbon fiber. It promises to be equipped with the best in class audio enhancement technology so both the user and receiver can have crystal clear audio. . In addition, the patented mechanism embedded in the carbon fiber tube allows extended talk time, yet reduces weight to less than 6grams while retaining a slender aesthetic to the ear piece, warranting long time wear with superb comfort.

While CARBON might not be the most ideal fitness headset, we hope that this will just be a proof of concept. Bluetrek are you listening? If you had CARBON as a headset we think you’d hear us loud and clear.

Bluetrek Official Website

SpeedSuit Up From Castelli

This past weekend Johan Van Summeren won the famous Paris-Roubaix road race. No doubt he won it with his legs and his absolute effort, but as our friends at BikeRadar.com noted this week the suit may have made the man in the famous race on French cobblestones.

And obviously this wasn’t a suit and tie, but rather a SpeedsSuit from Castelli, which is the uniform material of choice for the Garmin-Cervelo riders, who first wore it in last month’s Milan-San Remo. As BikeRadar noted, “Castelli claim the suit can save 10-15 watts at 40 km/h, and it seemed to do the trick for Van Summeren. It’ll be used exclusively by the peloton this season, but is set to be made available to the masses in 2012.”

So in other words most of us will have to settle to seeing others wear it this season, but next see it will time to SpeedSuit up!

[Via BikeRadar.com: Did Castelli SpeedSuit help Van Summeren win Paris-Roubaix?]

Cycle Goes Round

Bicycles have lots of round parts. There are obviously the wheels, but there are the chain rings, cassette, hubs and in many cases, even the tubes are round. But Lou Tortola, an avid cyclist who put in more than 3000 miles on his road bike last year, has another idea. The inventor and entrepreneur from Windsor, Canada has created a revolutionary bicycle frame design that he says will increase comfort, while retaining lateral stiffness and pedaling efficiency of the standard diamond frame bicycles.

The result is the Roundtail, which he says should provide more shock absorbing than traditional straight seat stays.

Tortola uses his computer to draft up a prototype of the twin ring design, and with his years of experience in metals and fabrication produced tooling to test his concept. Custom bike builder Paul Taylor helped bring the Roundtail to life.

The bike made its debut at the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show this past weekend. Titanium and carbon fiber versions, with mountain bike and hybrid models will be available later this year at Interbike.

Roundtail Official Website

Will the Machines Take Over… the Ice?

We continue to have fears that our reliance on technology could lead to the machines taking over, but maybe that is because we watch too many Terminator and The Matrix films (even the bad ones). Now there is news that the machines might not actually be in the process of taking over all mankind, maybe they’re just focused on the ice. Hockey Robotics is a newly created company born out of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and they specialize in hockey stick design, performance and durability testing.

Thus they haven’t actually created a robot hockey player, but rather the first very dynamic hockey stick testing robot, which is reportedly capable of properly mimicking the professional hockey slap shot. The company plans to launch this robot testing tool this summer.

So far Hockey Robotics has garnered the support of SBK Hockey, a leading Quebec-based hockey brand, and the company offers standardized hockey testing services to other brands, manufacturers, leagues and teams. But hockey players should worry that the robots will take them off the ice… at least for now!

Hockey Robotics Official Website

Is Fitness Headed to the Cloud?

Not everyone has time to head to the gym, and many business travelers know it is even hard to squeeze in a good workout, let alone make the time to meet with a trainer. But is it possible the fitness could be heading to the cloud, as in cloud computing?

The concept of the cloud is that data, information and even software isn’t locally stored or accessed, but rather connected to via the Internet. Thus the information and software lives in the “cloud.” Now some companies are looking to bring this type of off-site connectivity to fitness. Among these is Core Performance, which was recently profiled in NetworkWorld. As the story notes:

“Core Performance is using business rules software from IBM to automate the application of expertise gleaned by training elite athletes. The company is an offshoot of Athletes’ Performance, which provides training, nutrition and physical therapy programs to professional athletes. While Athletes’ Performance focuses on training its pro sports clientele, Core Performance is creating fitness programs and equipment geared for everyday people. Using IP-enabled exercise gear and cloud-based applications is key to its delivery model.” Continue reading Is Fitness Headed to the Cloud?

Fitbit Partners With New API

This week Fitbit announced the availability of its beta API, along with new key partners that include RunKeeper, Microsoft, About.Me and others. The Fitbit Tracer device and companion web-based data aggregation technology can be used to track weight, nutrition, exercise, sleeping schedules and more. It is a wearable device that clips onto clothing or slips into a pocket. It features accelerometer technology to help track daily health activities including steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and even sleep quality. This data is then wirelessly uploaded to the Fitbit website.

This company has announced that it has raised $9 million in new funding led by The Foundry Group. The big news this week is that the new Fitbit API will allow third-party developers to integrate Fitbit data in their own applications, products and services and also to read and write data for users’ Fitbit activities, food logs and other data in real time. Users can thus connect with fitness and weight loss apps such as RunKeeper and Lose It, and import and publish data into into their apps. About.me users will be able to display real Fitbit stats on their profile through use of the API and Microsoft HealthVault allows users to upload daily activities and sleep sessions into HealthVault. And Last Fall, FitBit announced an integration with Google Health.

We’ve long said that fitness is good when it is done with a partner, and apparently Fitbit thought the same thing.

[Via Techcrunch: Fitbit Partners With RunKeeper, Microsoft, About.Me And Others With New API]

FitBit Official Website

Self Balancing Skateboard Arrives

One problem with learning to ride a skateboard is simply maintaining balance. Staying on the board is the other problem, but again it comes down to balance. If you could solve the former problem, the latter one would be less of an issue.

Now it seems that a few people have tackled the problem by incorporating the same technology used in the Segway scooter into a deck, which was unveiled at Maker Faire 2011. The question here is whether this things is technically still a skateboard or just a revised Segway with a flat board?

Orange is an Apple to Our Eye

While Americans may know British autos such as Mini Cooper (now owned by Germany’s BMW), Land Rover and Rolls Royce, most probably don’t know Orange Bikes. Over the years I’ve spent enough time in the UK to know and appreciate the company’s dedication to unique hand built bicycles.

Orange has not made much – if any – impact in the United States and that’s a shame. So it is unlikely that any Yanks will be among those riding the (very) limited edition Five Pro Blackout. With only 25 reportedly being made, the Blackout is a true black beauty that might just seem mythical – even in the UK, most riders will probably never see on. The bike will come outfitted with Hope Tech X2 components, with an option to upgrade to Hope Tech M4 SE. Neither option will come cheap, and the bike will reportedly retail for around $4900.

But more importantly, will the bike make its appearance on this side of the Pond? Only if someone here is very lucky.

[Via Bike Rumor: ORANGE BIKES (VERY) LIMITED EDITION FIVE PRO BLACKOUT]

Orange Mountain Bikes Official Website

Pedal Power Gets Boost From Powerpedals

Going out for a spin can mean a good workout, but if you’re spinning to work sometimes you can use a little help with the pedal power. To that end Powerpedals is on the way. Enter the Tonaro electric bicycles, which feature a revolutionary central drive technology that makes electric cycling more efficient and gives riders more freedom when shifting and when choosing how to ride.

“Every so often a radical new design comes along and changes everything. So it is with Tonaro’s patented central drive technology and electric bicycles,” said Philip Hughes of Powerpedals. “The entire drive system is housed within the pedal cranking system and the bracket mount motor enables the bikes gears to be used with the motor. This allows you to down shift for hills and to shift up to higher gears as you gain speed.” Continue reading Pedal Power Gets Boost From Powerpedals

Hoops You Don’t Jump (or Cycle) Through

Normally we think of “hoops” as something you jump through, but usually not in a circus kind of good way, but rather as a tedious task. However the UK-based designed firm Cyclehoop is actually looking to utilize hoops in a non-tedious way. The award-winning designers and architects specialize in producing innovative indoor and outdoor cycle parking solutions, and they’ve developed a new way to transform existing street and sign posts into bike parking. The Cyclehoop can even be used with existing parking meters, essentially making the posts able to do double duty.

What is great about this is that many sign posts, and especially those parking meter posts aren’t really ideal for chaining a bike. The former lacks coating to protect against scratches to the bike, while the latter isn’t ideal as many bikes with chains could be forced over the top of the meter. The Cyclehoop further allows riders to know that the posts are for legitimate bike use. It is a simple way for buildings and cities to work together to quickly provide an alternative to bike racks. In the end it is one less hoop to jump through.

Cyclehoop Official Website

Catch Some Air or a Wave

We’ve heard of surfing, where you basically ride on the water; we’ve heard of windsurfing, where you ride on the water propelled by the wind; and we know about para sailing and para gliding, where you ride over the waves propelled by wind. So it was just a matter of time until someone came up with kite surfing.

This is part para sailing and part surfing. It is now an adventure sport that is being encountered in off the Venezuelan coast, but it probably won’t be long before it catches the trade winds and makes its way through the Caribbean.  It also seems to be gaining popularity in Australia and New Zealand.

This sport is a hybrid of surfing and kite flying, and uses both the waves and the wind to propel the rider. The surfer uses a standard board, reportedly with or without footholds or straps, and apparently hangs on to a kite. So you hang ten while hanging on.

[Via Mid Day: Have kite, will surf]

TIME to Ride with StemCAPtain

We’ve seen no shortage of cycle computers, and today these feature GPS in addition to tracking distance, calories burned and of course speed. But a pair of Colorado mountain bikers, Graeson Lewis and Mike Hogan, have opted for a more retro and stylish approach with their StemCAPtain clocks.

Essentially, the device replaces the generic – and frankly boring – handlebar stem cap with a timepiece or other similar round gizmo. These include waterproof thermometer or compass (think of that as old school GPS). The installation is simple enough. Remove the old stem cap and replace it with the aluminum base of the StemCAPtain and then snap in the clock or other insert. A silicone gasket at the bottom reportedly keeps it snug and rattle-free.

So do these caps do anything that a cycle computer doesn’t do? Not really, but it is a sort of nifty and easy swap out, and can add a bit of individuality to a bike. The StemCAPtain is available directly from the company, with prices ranging from $19.95 to $26.95 US. Time to ride.

[Via Gizmag.com: StemCAPtain – not a bike lock, but a bike CLOCK]

StemCAPtain Official Website

Artificial Clouds to Beat the Heat

While no one wants it to rain on game day, too much sun can be a real pain – and actually a health hazard for those in the stands. There are indoor stadiums of course, but that’s not the same. And even retractable roofs don’t always shield everyone away from the glare of the sun’s rays.

This is no doubt a concern for the 2022 World Cup games that will be played in Qatar, where extreme summer heat is something that can’t be easily beat(en). The solution, according to The Daily Mail is a cloud. We’ve heard of the digital cloud – as in online hosting of digital data – but this is actually an artificial cloud. And least you fear that this is some of gaseous creation, it is actually lightweight carbon structures carrying a giant envelope of material containing helium gas. In other words, large balloon like objects. So maybe a retractable roof would be the better idea?

However, because of the region has so much sun, organizers are looking to power the artificial clouds via solar power, as well as the air conditioning in the stadium. Hopefully as this will let spectators beat the heat.

[Via The Daily Mail: Pie in the sky! Qatar invents artificial clouds to beat the heat at 2022 World Cup]