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.
Category: General
GoPro Introduces HD HERO2 Camera
Many of the point of view videos you see from outdoor sports enthusiasts are taken with a GoPro camera. I’ve been using one for several years now and the image quality and ease of use are fantastic. There is a vibrant user community for the GoPro HD HERO camera and members have pointed out improves that would be useful. It appears GoPro has been listening with the HD HERO2 release. If you want to capture your sporting activities in video or pictures, take a look at this new camera.
Medical ID Bracelet Goes High Tech
httpv://youtu.be/vqAzSTs6jG8
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.
Stick it to the Cold with Joshua Tree
As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, cyclists and runners who still want to get outside to ride or run are always looking for ways to keep warm. Shorts have given way to tights to keep the legs warm, but there might be a base layer that you are missing – embrocation. If you are not familiar with this product, embrocation is a cream that is rubbed onto skin, particularly the legs, before going outside for a sports activity. This cream has a warming sensation that promotes the blood circulation to the extremities, which in turn keeps you feeling warmer and helps stave off the mental toll on your workout due to the cold temperatures.
There are quite a few companies making embrocation, but they all come in a cream form that needs to be applied using your hands and fingers. This is not a big deal until you rub your eyes without washing your hands or having worn gloves, just like rubbing your eyes after cutting a hot pepper, they will burn.
The Joshua Tree Skin Care of Pinckney, Michigan has announced the release of a new line of embrocation in a stick form. Similar to a deodorant stick, this new line of organic embrocation should be easier and safer to apply. This new line of embrocation has three levels of ’heat’, referring to how hot your skin will feel – similar to the feeling of being in the sun for an extended period of time.
Hands on: Elite Pro Cycling Jacket by Showers Pass
Showers Pass Elite Pro Cycling Jacket Review
The weather in Colorado can be unpredictable. Sunshine, hail, high winds, and snow can all happen within a few hours even on a summer day. With this kind of variability you learn to carry a jacket at all times while on the bike.
The Elite Pro jacket is made with a three layer proprietary fabric and is highly waterproof. The wind-blocking is exceptional. Beyond the basics, the jacket is loaded with features designed specifically for cycling. The Elite Pro is light, form fitting and doesn’t flap in the wind. At the waist, it is short in front and ultra-long in the back. This feels a bit awkward when you try on the jacket, but once on the bike, it is spot on. The sleeves have the same style. They feel freakishly long when standing and perfect when on the bike. I’ve learned to cinch the wrist up when off the bike, positioning the sleeves at the wrist to keep them from falling over my hands.
The jacket has tremendous ventilation. There are two core zipper vents that replace armpit zippers on previous models.
Continue reading Hands on: Elite Pro Cycling Jacket by Showers Pass
Are You ‘Keen’ on Recess?
httpv://youtu.be/MUn3-rqsdcw
Coffee and smoke breaks – both of these are acceptable time periods during the day that employees take from an employer with no cost benefits in return. Frankly, the opposite is true. Hypertension, high blood pressure, cancer and death are all side-effects that drain our healthcare system and add increased costs to an employer’s balance sheet. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t feel just a little bit better after a stretch or walk around the block during the day and KEEN footwear thinks that getting away from your work area for just 10 minutes a day to do a little physical activity is worth making into a new ‘company’ policy.
Continue reading Are You ‘Keen’ on Recess?
Lose Your Nuts
httpv://youtu.be/8EH-5Ss3R8g
Are you tired of having to grab a wrench each time you need to remove the wheels from your bike since it does not have quick release levers? Would you ride more often if only you could get your bike in the car to take to the park, but it is so inconvenient due to bolt-on wheels? Is your kid’s bike sitting in the garage with a flat tire due to you not being able to remove the wheel?
Coombs Cycling Technologies of Heber, Utah now offers a quick-release option for solid axle wheels: the Axle Release.
(More video after the jump)
Continue reading Lose Your Nuts
Hands On: PUR One-Click Faucet Mount Water Filtration System
Everyone knows that the key to good health is to stay hydrated—they don’t call it the “source of life” for nothing. Recommendations vary, but you should drink at least 16 ounces of water an hour or two before an activity, and then drink more afterward. (Water is the best source for hydration. Experts will recommend a sports drink to replenish sodium and potassium after an intense workout, but that’s a story for another day. We are talking strictly water here.)
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re lucky enough to have water accessible at all times; if you want a drink, you can pour yourself a glass from the kitchen faucet. People who dislike the taste of tap water will hit bottled waters. More than $100 billion U.S. dollars is spent on bottled water worldwide and people consume around 50 billion bottles a year in the U.S. alone, but bottled water is environmentally unfriendly and a big expense to produce and consume. Despite having some of the cleanest tap water in the world here in the U.S., people still hit the bottle.
An alternative is to implement some sort of filtration system at home, either a water pitcher with filtration or a unit that can be attached to a faucet. They utilize filter cartridges that must be replaced every few months, and they aren’t inexpensive (think of it like razors or inkjet printer cartridges). (There are also even pricier units built into your sink or water cooler-style units). But compared to bottled water these systems are convenient, easily accessible and much more affordable. The folks at PUR recently sent us their One-Click Faucet Mount Water Filtration System to try out. PUR states that the One-Click filters out 99 percent of lead, trace pharmaceuticals, and microbial cysts, as well as reduces taste and odor of chlorine and other contaminants. Here’s our 3-month experience with it. Continue reading Hands On: PUR One-Click Faucet Mount Water Filtration System
Re-Cycling Your Old Bike Gear
Cleaning out the old bicycle parts bin always seems to start as a simple task, but can often turn into quite a dilemma. What should be kept or pitched? What has value, and what might be worth the hassle of selling on eBay or Craigslist? What has no real monetary value, but is still a functioning part that could have some use? Even for the latter, there may be an option other than the trash can for those parts and bikes that are still good, but not worth the hassle of selling. In a word: donation.
FitPro Launches Natural, Powder-free Protein Shake
What you put into your body after a workout is just as important as the workout itself (especially if you’re trying to gain muscle). But not everyone has the time or patience to concoct their own protein shake after every workout. For on-the-go athletes, FitPro offers its new ready-to-drink real milk protein shake.
Available in Chocolate Milk Shake or Vanilla Milk Shake, the all-natural drink is made with real milk instead of powders and it’s the only ready-to-drink protein shake to carry the “Real Dairy” seal, providing all nine essential nutrients found in natural milk. It’s special packaging also gives it a 12-month shelf life with no refrigeration needed.
Nutrition-wise, the 14-oz. lactose- and gluten-free drink contains 250 calories, 32g of protein, 6g of fat, and 13g of carbs. (By comparison, CytoSport’s 11-oz. Muscle Milk Chocolate packs 230 calories, 22g of protein, 11g of fat, and 11g of carbs.)
FitPro Milk is currently launching in gyms, clubs, and retail channels across the country.
Celtek Let’s You Use Your Digits to Text
Touchscreen devices may rule our gadget world, but when it comes to outdoor sports, they’re the bane of our existence oftentimes forcing us to expose our digits to the harsh cold as we skip a track or answer a text. Fortunately, Celtek’s new line of Touchscreen Gloves will keep your hands warm while letting you fiddle with your favorite touch-sensitive devices. The company’s 2012 lineup, which promises to work with all touch-enabled devices, will offer gloves that come in three varieties: acrylic blended with silver, rip-stop nylon blended with silver, and leather with built-in nanotechnology — the latter of which will provide the most conductivity.
Celtek estimates pricing will range from $24.99 (youth size) to $59.99 (men’s size), with many models coming in at $49.99. The gloves will be targeted at all users from the snowboarder, to the runner, to the urban dweller who just wants to keep their hands warm while updating their Facebook status.
Celtek Official Website
[via Transworld Business: Celtek Broadens Its Horizons With Touchscreen Glove Technology]
Interbike 2011: Tern Folding Bicycle
Enid Burns of KineticShift talks to Joshua Hon VP of Tern Bicycles about the features of their Eclipse model. This folding bicycle has a unique dynamo hub switch that allows the rider to turn off electric power production. The bicycle also has other characteristics to fit an urban life. The stem height and reach can be adjusted by hand in about 2 seconds while the entire bike can be folded and bagged up for storage in around 15 seconds. It also sports a peculiar chain cover that will shield your body and clothing from grease.
Wenger Commando blends grunt-like build with sophisticated style
Going “commando” has a whole new meaning as Wenger has introduced a stylish new sports watch. While most sports timepieces dominate your wrist with their bulky design, Wenger’s Men’s Commando Patagonian Expedition Race Watch successfully walks the fine line between athletic and sophisticated. For the adventurer, the shock-proof watch features a thick rubber wrist strap, stainless steel case, and scratch-resistant crystal face.
Like most sports watches, it’s also waterproof to 330 feet and sports a built-in tachymeter along the bezel. And it is Swiss made with a full weep second hand so it doesn’t lack in style – after all, even a would-be commando has to look good!
In fact, appearance-wise the Commando has all the traits of an everyday watch with a clean analog face that lets it easily blend in from the great outdoors to a more intimate setting. And if the watch’s $450 price tag makes you hesitate, fear not for a quick Google search shows this watch for as low as $207 via Amazon.com. Continue reading Wenger Commando blends grunt-like build with sophisticated style