Toning shoes from various companies including MBT, Sketchers, Reebok, Ryn and other manufacturers continue to grow in popularity. We know people who wear these types of shoes almost exclusively. These are the shoes with oddly-shaped soles that make walking on them just a little bit unstable so you have to work at balancing and moving. These shoes typically have a rocker sole or other topographic textures on the bottom of the foot to make your stride a little tougher. Continue reading Toning Shoes May Not Be All They’re Shaped Up to Be
Category: Research
Riding FASTER
When performance modifications are done to a car, a dynameter can be used to measure the horsepower and torque output at the wheels to analyze and further tune the vehicle. There is an endless number of changes that can be performed on a car that the dyno can measure, but it alone can not be used alone to analyze the effects of drag over the body and chassis without testing in a wind tunnel.
For years, top level professional cyclists have had access to equipment to gauge their power output and wind tunnels to analyze and improve their positioning while on the bike. They also had the deep pockets of sponsors to fund the use of this equipment, but the costs put the use of these facilities out of most amateur racers. Recently watt meters have become smaller and more affordable for the amateur cyclist, so why shouldn’t the wind tunnel be more accessible? That is all about to change.
Set to open in August, the FASTER Performance and Retail Center is finishing up the final touches on their new facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. Continue reading Riding FASTER
New Kind of Hybrid Bicycle
The original “hybrid” bicycle was one that was also called a “city bike” as it was part road bike and part mountain bike. Often described as a bicycle that wasn’t as fast as a road bike, or as reliable in terms of handling than a mountain bike, the hybrid has lost momentum. But the “hybrid” may be making a comeback – but this time it is a pedal/electric hybrid.
Bicycledesign first spotted Roy Prince’s latest concept design, the eCortina v2 e-Bike. Oxnard, California based Prince is an old hand to electric bikes and other vehicles, and this latest product is reportedly “designed so that one can pedal only (human power), motor only (electric power), or in hybrid mode both motor and pedal at the same time. Under hybrid running the distance one can ride under one charge is extended.” Prince explained the concept more on his RPEV.org website. Continue reading New Kind of Hybrid Bicycle
Flash Sonar Helps The Visually Impaired Lead More Active Lives
We came across this interesting story about an echolocation method called “Flash Sonar,” which essentially uses the subtle – yet seemingly effective – technique of tongue clicking to create sounds that in turn help blind and visually impaired people interpret their surroundings, and remarkably even at high speeds.
The process is the brain child of Daniel Kish, founder of World Access for the Blind, who devised it as a way to allow those with limited or even without sight to navigate the world through sound.
American Military Looks at More Padding in Helmets
ast week FoxNews.com noted that the researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Labs have been testing the current issue helmet, the MICH, which is used by the U.S. military. It was noted that just a quarter-inch, or even an eighth of an inch of additional padding would helmet greatly reduce the force to the skull when there is an impact to the helmet. The findings suggest this could be as great as a 24-percent reduction.
The researchers also looked to the helmets used by professional football players, as concussions are a big concern amongst the players. It was noted that a thicker foam system is used by the NFL players’ helmets than the spongier pads used in combat helmets, and that the NFL’s helmet padding worked better. Continue reading American Military Looks at More Padding in Helmets
Bike Stability Still Baffles Science
If you’re just learning how to ride a bike, you may be surprised at how stable the bike is once you start rolling. It turns out an academic team of engineers studied the physics behind cycling and still remain puzzled by a bike’s ability to be self-stable.
This group of academics with degrees in engineering wrote a paper published in Science Mag, “A Bicycle Can Be Self-Stable Without Gyroscopic or Caster Effects.” The group of four engineers studied the bike, its history, and built a bike absent of gyroscopic forces found on most bikes, and found the bike still remains upright. While the math works out, the physics remain a bit of a mystery.
via [ars technica]
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!
U.K.’s NHS Wants to Combat Tiredness
There’s an acronym, TATT, which stands for “tired all the time.” Does that sound like you? Or do you have strategies to combat tiredness? Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) wants videos from people, presumably residing in the U.K. explaining or demonstrating how to combat tiredness. It’s for use in a video wall.
The social media outreach is asking for user-generated videos that are factual, funny or professional. All content welcome. They’re asking for videos to be uploaded to the NHS Healthy Living Facebook page. The first video submitted is of a woman filming herself running up six flights of stairs to get a boost of energy rather than eating a bar of chocolate. It will be interesting to see what others come up with, and whether this helps those of us who are TATT.
Nike Tees Off With New Golf Balls
Can Nike do for golf balls what it did for athletic shoes? No doubt that is what the company is looking to it, as it unveiled its new 20XI premium golf ball franchise. And yes, there even a “swoosh” adorned on the side, but from the outside these new balls otherwise look just like every other golf ball.
What makes these balls stand out is what out is that these feature innovative golf ball technology that will reportedly dramatically enhance the performance of golfers around the world and, at the same time, propel golf ball manufacturing into an entirely new level of innovation. Those are big claims, but again this is coming a company that has delivered on its past bold statements.
The Nike 20XI golf ball features a combination of proprietary technology that has actually never before been seen in the golf industry, and more importantly is the result of four years of collaborative research and development between Nike Golf’s golf ball engineers and a team of material and science experts at DuPont. Together they went to the core of creating a golf ball, as in the actual core and opted to bounce out the old conventional rubber core with a radically new resin material. Rubber has been the traditional core for years, so the switch to resin is quite a big deal. Continue reading Nike Tees Off With New Golf Balls
Organix Integration of Mind, Body and Racquet
This week there was something truly “epic” in the world of tennis technology, or rather it sounded epic as it came from Epic Sports International, global licensee for Boris Becker Tennis and Volkl Tennis. The company has announced the release of its Organix racquet technology.
Does this involve some sort of “unobtainium” or other super space-age composites? Actually it is nothing so complex nor does it involve heading to another planet to obtain the material. Instead it is base cellulose as a base material, but has been utilized with carbon nano tubes, making for racquet that provides improved sensation and power for all levels of tennis players. The Organix technology is now available in five racquet types, which were developed by Volkl, along with Munich-based Frauhofer Institute. The result is that three technologies are incorporated into the racquets, and include the Bio Sensor Handle System, Organix and Optispot. Bio Sensor Handle System offers dynamic dampening to minimize shuddering by 15 percent, while the Organix is used for enhancing vibrant power by 30 percent and it is a combination of organic cellulose substances and DNX carbon nano tubes. Finally, the Optispot offers players the capability to strike 40 percent additional balls in the sweet spot.
“Organix is the next generation technology platform which gives Völkl customers a comprehensive, highly technical and superior performing racquet to fully connect the players’ mind, body and racquet,” said Brian Dillman, vice president and general manager of Epic Sports International. “We look forward to another year of fast growth and high-level consumer visibility with Völkl on track to be the fastest-growing tennis brand worldwide.”
We’ll leave that to the court – the tennis court to decide.
Nylon Bike Made From Copier Technology
When we think of “carbon copy” technology we think of the old days when carbon paper was used to make multiple copies of a document. This technology is still used (albeit less and less) with some rental agreements and other business contracts. However, when we think of “carbon copy” for bicycles, we tend to think of how a line of bikes all looks the same.
The truth is that all bikes are still somewhat made individually, even if the parts are more or less the same. No two bikes are truly “copies.” But British engineers Chris Turner and Andy Hawkins may have developed a bike that could very well be the first of a line of copies – bikes that are so much alike they could be considered clones! Their Airbike is made entirely of nylon – yes nylon – but it is supposedly as strong as steel. What is more interesting is that the bike has been created using a process called additive layer manufacturing (ALM). Continue reading Nylon Bike Made From Copier Technology
New Brain Bucket Developed for Little League, Introduced at “The Dome”
For years batters have walked up to the plate whilst wearing protective headgear. Now soon pitchers may be required to take the mount with helmets on as well. This wee Easton-Bell Sports announced the development of new headgear at the Helmet Technology Center, internally known as “The Dome.”
Easton-Bell Sports CEO Paul Harrington, along with Little League International President Stephen Keener, California Interscholastic Federation Executive Director Marie Ishida and Marin County high school baseball player Gunnar Sandberg in Scotts Valley, introduced a new helmet prototype. The Easton-Bell Sports pitching helmet prototype uses lightweight energy managing materials to provide protection to the most vulnerable areas of the head, without compromising comfort or performance. The helmet is made of expanded polystyrene polycarbonate, which is attached to a comfortable liner and elastic strap. Continue reading New Brain Bucket Developed for Little League, Introduced at “The Dome”
Melting Plastic Concerns
For the past several years we’ve been warned about plastics. Studies and other sources say plastics made with a BPA material can produce chemicals having estrogenic activity (EA) that can leach into foods. A whole industry of BPA-free plastics was created and now thrives, while justified, on our fears.
A new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the U.S. National Instutute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health and Department of Health and Human Services. The study’s objective: “To determine whether commercially available plastic resins and products, including baby bottles and other products advertised as BPA-free, release chemicals having EA.”
The study finds that “Almost all commercially available plastic products we sampled, independent of the type of resin, product, or retail source, leached chemicals having reliably-detectable EA, including those advertised as BPA-free. In some cases, BPA-free products released chemicals having more EA than BPA-containing products.”
Before you go buy a stainless-steel canteen and figure out how to incorporate it into your workout, there are a few facts to make clear. The study, as published, is credited to CZ Yang, SI Yaniger, VC Jordan, and GD Bittner. NPR published an article on the study, which offers a history that George Bittner is a professor of biology at the University of Texas, Austin. Bittner also founded the company, CertiChem, that did the testing for the study. That starts to raise a red flag, but it’s not uncommon for professors to be involved in outside companies that are ancillary to their academic work. So we should be concerned about all plastics again, regardless of whether they contain BPA or are free of the substance.
Wait. The graphic in the NPR story is a photo of two bottles from a company called PlastiPure. The caption says “PlastiPure manufactures water bottles that it says have no estrogenic chemicals.” No other mention of PlastiPure occurs in the story. Two days later a follow-up story on NPR titled “Plastic’s New Frontier: No Scary Chemicals” touts PlastiPure for its efforts in manufacturing plastics that have no EA properties, unlike ALL other plastics. The article mentions “This week, scientists from Plastipure and its sister company, CertiChem, published a study of more than 450 plastic products, including many labeled BPA-free. It found that more than 90 percent released chemicals that mimic estrogen.”
Wait! The company that conducted the study is so closely tied to the company claiming to be the savior of plastics. Both were founded by George Bittner, Ph.D. and share several other executives, as does the contributor list on the study.
While the research is important, its validity is in question here. Independent research should be done before we worry about all those BPA-free plastics. It’s easy to pull 450 plastic products for testing and still purposely avoid some candidates because you know they’ll be free of EA, so that your study can pave the path for your PlastiPure company. It’s also astounding that PlastiPure’s web site makes claims such as “PlastiPure is the first and only company developing plastic materials, processes, and products that are safer both for humans and the environment.”
While the study has to be observed, and now we don’t know which plastics are safe and which are not, there are safer bets than others. Companies do test their products rigorously, which the study tries to negate. Check out our water bottle round-up, and read about the research and development behind Specialized’s Purist bottle made from silicon dioxide.