Lizard Skins Helps You Express Yourself

Personal expression. We do it through the clothes we wear, the style of our hair, the trinkets on our desk. In just about every part of our lives we are expressing who we are. Now, for about 40 bucks, you can show a little more personal expression through the bicycle you ride – just as long as it is a ‘clean’ expression.

Lizard Skins of Orem, Utah has an online program for ordering custom mountain bike grip lock-on rings that can be mixed and matched with different color grips and even different color rings. Not only can you select from 10 different grip styles and 9 lock-on ring colors, but you can also have custom text laser etched on each of the rings. The text is limited to 14 characters and it must be ‘clean’ for Lizard Skins to produce your design – they are located in Utah after all. Continue reading Lizard Skins Helps You Express Yourself

Made in America: Wickers Undergarments

During the winter months it’s best to dress in layers to keep in the heat, but did you know that a base layer can also help keep you cool? Firefighters often wear a base layer of fire retardant clothing below all of their other gear to keep from burning up and athletes sometimes wear a base layer to help wick away sweat. Wickers, based in New York, manufactures undergarments for all walks of life. From rock climbers to the military; kids to women experiencing menopause; and motorcyclists to hikers – Wickers makes an undergarment for literally anyone, and for any time of year. Best of all the garments are made in America.

Anthony Mazzenga founded Wickers in 1981 originally under the name Anrotex Inc. Fabric was the main focus of business back then. After Mazzenga saw an opportunity in the performance underwear market in 1990, the Wickers brand was born. Since that time, the Wickers product line has grown to include an enormous offering of  undergarments and base layers for any season. The line not only includes shirts and pants, but also gloves, socks, boxers, briefs, balaclava and neck gators. Continue reading Made in America: Wickers Undergarments

Made in America: K-Edge Cycling Solutions

The Boise, Idaho based cycling component brand, K-Edge Cycling Solutions, was created from a singular and focused ambition. The goal was to help an Olympic cycling athlete secure a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. To see how this happened and the resulting product we take a quick look to France, Austria, China, and return to the USA for how it all played out.

Continue reading Made in America: K-Edge Cycling Solutions

Velocity Rims Coming to America

(Click image for closer view)

Velocity Worldwide, Inc. has recently announced that it will shutter production in Brisbane, Australia by the end of November 2011 and by February 2012 will begin manufacturing its bicycle rims in Jacksonville, Florida. This move will allow Velocity to produce custom orders quicker and get them into the customer’s hands in a shorter amount of time. Along with speedier production times, Velocity will be the only U.S. produced aluminum rim in the cycling industry.

To oversee production at Velocity’s new manufacturing factory, Tom Black, the founder of Velocity, will be relocating from Australia to Florida, while Velocity’s distribution center will continue to operate out of its worldwide headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This won’t be the end of the line down under for Velocity either. The Australian facility will remain a distribution center for the Asian and Australian markets. Video after the jump

Made in America: Tazi Ultimate Hydration Bottle

Most of us are fully aware of the need to stay hydrated in our daily lives, even while not engaging in a physical activity. We have to drink water to stay alive. There seems to be a countless number of companies making water bottles. Participate in any sort of  organized sporting event and you are bound to find a bottle or two in your goodie bag. So why are we mentioning another water bottle? Because this one has a twist, or should we say ‘bend’, to the design – and you probably guessed, it is made in America.

The Tazi Ultimate Hydration Bottle has unique design. The base and the cap resemble a typical water bottle, but the body has a bend towards the top. This design allows the user to not have to turn their head while taking a drink and keep their eyes focused in the direction they are traveling. It is a simple as that – a bottle with an angled top, but it was not originally designed for that purpose as explained on their website.

The angle was originally designed to facilitate an accessory that would allow the bottle to be hung from different health club equipment and still maintain a perfectly vertical disposition. More recently, the angle has proved itself to be an ergonomic feature that allows runners, skater, cyclist, and those who carry bottles to hydrate without cocking ones head. Continue reading Made in America: Tazi Ultimate Hydration Bottle

Drink up! It’s for a good pawse

(Click image for a closer view)

Are you looking for a unique holiday gift for the pet lover in your life? The Boulder, Colorado based company, Product Architects, Inc., may have the purrfect idea for you! Product Architects is the maker behind the Polar Bottle insulated water bottle and they have recently announced a new promotion. Through their website, customers can upload and order a Polar Bottle customized with a photo of their pet.

Product Architects is offering this promotion from November 1 through December 22, 2011, with the idea of providing consumers with a unique holiday gift option. For those who choose to order a customized Polar Bottle with a photo of their pet, not only will you be buying a well made insulated water bottle, but you will be supporting a good cause. Product Architects will be donating $5 from the sale of each bottle to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley (HSBV). Continue reading Drink up! It’s for a good pawse

Hold onto your iPhone or iPod with the iCat

“It just slipped out of my hand.” Most of us have heard this line after watching someone drop their iPhone or iPod. Usually the results are the same, a cracked screen and a very sad owner, especially if they did not purchase the insurance. A replacement iPhone or iPod can be expensive and dealing with a cracked screen can be annoying or even dangerous. EK Ekcessories of Logan, Utah has a product to help you avoid even dropping your iPhone or iPod – the iCat.

Continue reading Hold onto your iPhone or iPod with the iCat

Made in America: Buck Knives

Back in 1902, Hoyt Buck was a young blacksmith apprentice in Kansas who was seeking a better way to temper the steel used in knife blades. A tempered blade will hold a sharp edge for a longer period of use and ultimately produce a knife that will have a longer life. Hoyt’s unique approach resulted in the first Buck Knife. Many years had past, and though Hoyt continued to make knives using his tempering technique and worn-out files as the basis of his blades, it was not until 1947 that the modern Buck Knives company was born. That year Hoyt and his son, Al, moved to San Diego to start the company named H.H. Buck & Son.

Continue reading Made in America: Buck Knives

Made in America: Iverson Snowshoes

With so many products now made of carbon fiber and plastics there is the concern on how these materials will eventually be recycled. Products should be made to last, but that doesn’t have to be last forever in a landfill. Fortunately, there are still items that are made to last from natural materials. These items allow you to think about which grandchild might be inheriting them instead of how will they be disposed. The people at Iverson Shoenows believe in making a product that will last – not one season or even a few seasons, but a lifetime. Since 1954, Iverson has been crafting some of the finest quality snowshoes and they are still making them in America.

Based in Shingleton, Michigan for over 50 years, Iverson has been making their snowshoes from premium Michigan White Ash, full grain rawhides and pure copper hardware. The consumer side of the business was started by Clarence Iverson after word got out about his design and construction of snowshoes for the State of Michigan. His design solution was simple – create a snowshoe to walk on top of the snow instead of through it, there by reducing the energy expended and provide maximum weight distribution for optimum flotation. All while making a product that would withstand the brutal backcountry of the Upper Peninsula. Continue reading Made in America: Iverson Snowshoes

Made in America: Slastix by Stroops

(Click Image for Closer Look)

Resistance bands are a great way to build strength or aid on the road to recovery from an injury. These bands are typically made of rubber, similar to Latex, and can sometimes break during use causing additional injury. This is counter productive especially if they are being used for rehabilitation. Since the mid-1990’s, Stroops has been making a safer resistance band under the name Slastix Technology – designed and manufactured in America.

(Video after the jump)

Continue reading Made in America: Slastix by Stroops

The Best of Both Worlds?

(Click Image for Closer Look)

On a bicycle built for two, either your partner and you work together or not at all. There really is no in-between on a tandem. It is a team effort, not only requiring both of you to pedal together to get over a mountain pass, but also work as ‘one’ negotiating turns and technical sections. Usually couples either ride on the road or on dirt trails, but seldom both due to limitations of the bike or rider comfort level. A road tandem, with its 700c wheels and larger gearing, is much faster on the road than a mountain bike tandem. A mountain bike tandem, with its 26-inch wheels and smaller gearing, is much stronger and is geared to make it easier to climb – especially while riding trails. My wife and I are in-between… we want the speed of a road tandem, but be able to ride some trails on a whim. Our 1998 Cannondale MT1000 mountain tandem has served us well for five Triple Bypass tours, but we both are looking for something that will roll faster on the road and yet still handle the trails. We just do not want to own two different tandems. Enter the 2012 Java from Co-Motion.

Continue reading The Best of Both Worlds?

Made in America: TwentyTwo Designs Telemark Ski Bindings

Named after Wyoming Highway 22, which travels over the 8,431-foot Teton Pass a favorite spot for backcountry skiers, TwentyTwo Designs is dedicated to producing some of the best telemark ski bindings in the world. Started in 2004 by two mechanical engineers, Chris Valiante and Collins Pringle, TwentyTwo Designs inherited the HammerHead binding design from Rainey Designs and continued to improve upon it along with creating their own bindings.

Continue reading Made in America: TwentyTwo Designs Telemark Ski Bindings

[UPDATE] Moots FrosTi Titanium Snow Bike Frame

 

[UPDATE] Moots extended the order deadline on the Moots FrosTi Titanium Snow Bike Frame to November 1, 2011 to accommodate more orders.

While on the subject of snow bikes, it should be mentioned that Moots of Steamboat Springs, Colorado is producing a very limited production run of their own snow bike frame, the FrosTi.

The FrosTi is a titanium frame specifically designed for snow riding. The rear spacing is 170mm, the bottom bracket is 100mm, the cable guides are designed for the shifter cables to be fully enclosed and the frame is made to accommodate a 3.7-inch tire. The geometry of the frame is designed to handle a Salsa Enabler fork and even an 80mm travel 29er fork for use in the summer. Unlike other frames from Moots, the FrosTi has very few custom options. No slider dropouts, no YBB rear suspension and no couplers for traveling… just an additional water bottle mount, rack mounts and different color decals are available. But heck, with only 20 or less being produced how likely is it that you will ever see another FrosTi?

Continue reading [UPDATE] Moots FrosTi Titanium Snow Bike Frame