Category: Cycling

Interbike 2010: Looking Mod and Stylish While Helping the Planet

Looking good and doing so while wearing recycled water bottles isn’t really a stretch, and you don’t even have to be Lady Gaga to pull it off. Modrobes makes it easy as the company is set to launch a new line of urban cycling apparel made from recycled water bottles.

Toronto designer Steven Sal Debus spent five years cycling in some truly lovely locales including Amsterdam, Zurich, Portland, Vancouver and New York. He hit upon the idea to create a “new school” of cycling attire, and came up with an idea to use a product that typically is used once and discarded. The result is a line of products that looks good, feels good and is also good for the planet. Continue reading Interbike 2010: Looking Mod and Stylish While Helping the Planet

Interbike 2010: Look Out, Kéo Power is Coming

There is an old saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely. That probably isn’t a concern however with Kéo Power, a new pedal from LOOK and Polar. This new technologically advanced cycling pedal is much more than the place where you foot goes.

The pedal actually measures an athlete’s power output, as well as left/right balance. You do the pumping, and sensors integrated with the pedal and crank accurately measure the results, sending the data directly to a Polar cycling computer on the bike’s handlebars.

The Kéo pedal is also the lightest clipless pedal in its class, made of injected carbon with a stainless steel 17-4PH axel. While we don’t think it will corrupt anyone, it will make training as absolutely effective as possible.

LOOK Official Website

Polar Official Website

Interbike 2010: Ready Steady, Rack ‘Em Up

Bikes are great when you’re riding them, the rest of the day these two-wheeled machines are just in the way. And that’s true whether you’re a hardcore racer or just a causal rider. Most of us don’t have a team trailer to store a bike either, and whether the ride is kept in the garage, basement or in an apartment it takes room.

This week at Interbike new start-up Steadyrack is showing its innovative solution that can allow for keeping the bike off the ground and getting some valuable floor space. The system was invented in Perth, Australia by cyclist and homebuilder David Steadman and inventor Ron Collicott in 2000, and the pair have been tweaking it over the years to come up with a thoroughly thought out product. Continue reading Interbike 2010: Ready Steady, Rack ‘Em Up

Interbike 2010: Contour GPS Video Camera: Look Mom, No Hands

Take this for a ride. The Contour GPS camera shoots high-definition, 180p video while the built-in GPS tracks your trip in real-time. And then there’s the bonus that the camera mounts to a helmet, goggles or other article of clothing so your hands are free to grip handlebars, poles or a steering wheel. What would be the point of built-in GPS if you weren’t on the move while filming?

The Contour GPS films what you see. It also takes data on the map, terrain, and gives you a hybrid view. So when you play back the video on your computer, and especially when you post it for your friends to see, a ticker on the map follows the action on trails, ski slopes, roads, rivers, or wherever you filmed. There’s no limit. The camera is just about to hit the market for $349.99.

Just keep in mind. The video is 1080p high definition. However expect a little jerky camera syndrome. If you have a camera mounted to your helmet, it sees what you see. And if you’re riding your bike on rocky, uneven terrain, the video will likely bounce around a little. It’s still exciting that you can film high-definition to show your friends that daring descent on a black diamond slope.

For some really amazing mountain biking, check out this video and make sure to watch the GPS tracking on the right.

Contour GPS official website

Interbike 2010: Rotor Cranks It Up

Rotor hopes to help riders get pumping with its new line of 3D Cranks, Q-Rings and other products this fall. At Interbike The company is also introducing several bottom brackets that can be used with standard cranks in any BB30 frame, as well as their own 3D cranks of course.

Among the interesting new products are the 3D Aero & Track cranks, specifically designed for time trial and track bikes. These feature a “closed spider” design, and are made with an ultra-light, yet aerodynamic reinforced structure. The idea is to provide increased overall stiffness compared to an open spider crank, so as to help riders keep it turning on the track or during a time trial. Continue reading Interbike 2010: Rotor Cranks It Up

Interbike 2010: Ridekick – More Than a Bike Trailer

While cycling no doubt is a great way to get to the store, it isn’t always the best way to get the stuff you buy back home again. There are plenty of options for trailers, which are great for hauling stuff, but when filled with stuff it can make the ride home seem like quite the haul!

At Interbike this week Ridekick introduced its new trailer system, which not only provides extra space to store stuff, but it also includes a power assist of up to 19mph (the legal limit is 20mph for bike trails). This batter powered device can help for short commutes and jaunts to the grocery store, running up to 15 miles on one charge. The hard shell casing provides weatherproof and lockable storage, and the trailer system is designed to make for stable turns. The Ridekick is designed to hitch and unhitch to a bike in seconds, and first-time installation can be accomplished in just about 10 minutes.

The Ridekick will be available at retail next spring.

Ridekick Official Website

Interbike 2010: KineticShift.com is Heading to Vegas

Check back all week as we’ll be reporting from the 2010 Interbike International Trade Expo in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. This event brings over 1,000 brands to Sin City, and we’ll report on the latest and greatest new products from the bicycle world.

We’ll be on the look for the most innovative products, new trends and just about anything else on two wheels.

Interbike Official Website

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

Running on a Moving Treadmill?

When we first heard about the Treadmill Bike we were convinced it was a joke. After all, why the need to combine a treadmill with a bike? Couldn’t you just run outside? Running on a tread to move a device not only seem counter productive but it sort of seems incredibly silly too. But in fact it is a real device, and one that has been getting a fair amount of attention lately.

The truth is that most stories about it ask the same exact questions we’re asking, which is why you couldn’t just go running instead. Apparently the benefits of the device are that it offers (according to the official website) “the benefits of running on a convention treadmill but outside.” The Treadmill Bike thus further protects “your feet from dirt and other contaminants commonly found on the earth’s surface.” Continue reading Running on a Moving Treadmill?

Trek to Sponsor New Pro Cycling Team

This week Waterloo, Wisconsin based Trek Bicycles announced that it would sponsor a new pro cycling team for next year’s Tour de France. This new, to be named team, will be led by two-time Tour runner-up, and white jersey (for best young rider) winner Andy Schlek.

Schlek and his brother Frank, who was unable to finish this year’s Tour de France after crashing out early in the multi-stage race, had previously announced that they would be leaving the Saxo Bank team to start their own team based in their native Luxembourg for the upcoming season. This team has yet to announce its full roster or title sponsor.

Trek will join Specialized Bicycles in being a company that will provide cycles to more than one team, as this year Specialized had provided the bikes for Alberto Contador’s Team Astana. Contador, who won the tour, has made the move to Saxo Bank, which was the other team riding Specialized this year. It was also the first time that a Specialized bike was used by a tour winner. Contador and Team Astana had previously ridden Trek, but the company followed Lance Armstrong to the Radio Shack team for this season.

It was announced that Trek would continue to provide bikes for Radio Shack next season, despite the fact that Armstrong has announced that he will be retiring. It isn’t clear if Astana will be in the Tour next season, or if the company will be using Specialized bikes.

Trek Bicycles

Specialized Bicycles

Garmin Once Again Gives Cyclists a Real Edge

This week cycling in unfamiliar territory may have just gotten a little easily thanks to the newly released Garmin Edge 800, a feature-packed touchscreen GPS device that builds on the industry-leading Edge 500 and Edge 705 models. In additional to tracking statistics for riders, the Edge 800 adds an intuitive touchscreen interface, allowing users to pull up the Garmin BaseCamp route planning, and get access to its BirdsEye Satellite Imagery. The BaseCamp functionality allows users to plan and even preview routes, including elevation changes along the way, and this information can be sent to Edge 800, Edge 705 and Edge 605 devices – meaning you’ll never have to pass out a ride map ever again.

The Edge 800 is truly a biking computer that will appeal to cyclists of all levels, from the casual riders looking for a new route on their weekly group ride, to those who like to go cycle touring and explore distant roads and trails far from home to those looking to wear yellow on the podium. Continue reading Garmin Once Again Gives Cyclists a Real Edge

Book Review: Bicycle Technology by Rob van der Plas & Stuart Baird

There have been dozens of books on bicycle maintenance, riding techniques and even the history of the sport, but little has been written that actually describes the technology around a bike – at least not in a way for the average rider. Authors Rob van der Plas and Stuart Baird, who both share a lifelong passion for bicycles, have finally addressed this and have written a concise book that examines everything you’d ever need to know about the two wheel contraptions.

This effort, Bicycle Technology: Understanding the Modern Bicycle & Its Components will appeal to the hardcore gear head as well as the causal rider. It offers 28 chapters, beginning (fittingly enough) with a short yet thorough history and development of bicycle, its accompanying technology and finally to what the future may bring for riders. Additionally, this book offers detailed information on practically every single component and materials used in bike construction, and while this isn’t meant to be a study on maintenance, it will help anyone who tinkers with their cycles have a better understanding of how the specific parts work. Other key topics such as different types of bicycles, as well as information on design are all presented over the course of the 320 pages. Continue reading Book Review: Bicycle Technology by Rob van der Plas & Stuart Baird

Interbike 2010: U.S. Rep Earl Blumenauer to Open 2010 International Bicycle Expo

With the Interbike trade show just three weeks away, it has been announced that U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will serve as the keynote speaker at a special press conference. Blumenauer is founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, and he will speak on the state of cycling legislation and future government activity on behalf of cycling.

According to the official press release from the International Bicycle Expo organizers this visit from the congressman comes at a critical time as the U.S. government continues to work on the next transportation bill, which could set the tone for cycling infrastructure investments during the next six years.

Rep. Blumenauer will outline where bicycling stands in this matter, and where it is going. He will further pinpoint what the industry can do to support these efforts.

Congressional Bike Caucus

Interbike