Author: Peter Suciu

Turning Tricks with Pedro’s Trixie

The “fixie” bike trend shows no sign of letting up. The bikes are lightweight, and without complex gearing fewer things can actually go wrong, making these ideal for short jaunts around town or as an alternative to driving to work. But the downside to these fixed-gear or track bicycles is that the wheels typically don’t have a quick release. This can make changing a flat tire annoying on a causal ride and a true disaster if you’re rushing to get somewhere, like commuting to work. Accessories maker Pedro’s has stepped in with a nifty multi-function tool called the “Trixie,” and this handy-dandy pocket-sized wrench is easy to carry for commuters, messengers, and racers alike.

The Trixie has a 15mm box-end wrench to get the wheel off, plus it includes a rock ring hook, which can come in handy for resetting the chain, so your hands don’t get greasy. In addition, there are 8-, 9-, and 100mm box-end wrenches, which you’ll probably never need, but having extra features isn’t something to complain about. Also included are a bottle opener, possibly something no one should be without. Best of all the Trixie can even mount directly to the frame’s water bottle cage using two butterfly screws (included), which makes accessing the Trixie a snap. So, while changing a tire is never fun, fixing it on a fixie with this tool makes it a bit easier, and with its extra function it has the tricks that we like to have turned.

Newton Almost Defies Gravity

 

What goes up, must come down. And when it is your foot hitting the ground while running, it can come down extremely hard, especially on your heels. The makers of the Newton Running Gravity know they can’t change the physics of actual gravity, but they did change the way its neutral trainer running shoes hit the ground. These shoes feature carbon rubber heels with impact absorption to reduce the shock with each stride, as well as a biomechanical forefoot plate and flex grooves to provide smooth cushioning while you run. All this even helps improve your form by encouraging you to land on the ball of your foot, for a more efficient and healthy way to pound the pavement. And at just 9.4 ounces these add practically no weight, almost like they’ll defy Newton’s law of gravity.

Note: We also thought this would be a good day to post this, as January 4 was Sir Issac Newton’s birthday!

Welcome to the Kinetic Shift

It’s the dawn of a new decade – well, technically the new decade begins in 2011 but the media rushed the whole “new millennium” thing in 2000 so we’re stuck with a new decade. The last 10 years were spent playing with some really cool technology. But while the TVs were able to slim down the viewers didn’t!

In fact, technology shouldn’t be something that makes movies buffs aspire to look like Harry Knowles and Kevin Smith. While we enjoy home theater, video games, remote controls, we also know that there is a whole world out there that can be enjoyed.

So while Web 2.0 made it possible to do the tech blogs, now it is time for the tech blogs to go to the next level and report on the technology that can help us make the shift to better health, through fitness and dare we say even greener living. Think not of what technology can do for us, but what we can do with this technology.