Whilst many athletes may enjoy a cold beer at the end of the workout there is the issue of calories. Those watching the waistline after the finish line might consider the Lean Machine, which is now being marketed as a “Fit Beer,” or sport recovery beer. The company touts this brew as being gluten free with just 77 calories. And don’t worry about drinking and riding. It has just 0.5 percent ABV. The company is now looking to generate funding for this line of sports beers through its website.
Take Two for the Fēnix 2
Garmin has athletes covered with numerous GPS sports watches and for 2014 the fēnix 2 will ensure that wearers find their way again. This new updated model has more focus on fitness and is designed to be paired with the HRM-Run monitor that tracks heart rate, cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time. This can be used to help trail runners and those looking to cross train.
The watch can also estimate a user’s maximum oxygen consumption to evaluate fitness level and even calculate the recovery time post workout.
New training modes for various sports are included and this includes those hitting the pool or the slopes. The ski-board mode can track speed, distance and vertical drop; while in the pool it can track stroke count, interval distance, pace and time. This durable watch is scratch and water-resistant, and can withstand pressure up to 50 meters.
Other features include an altimeter, barometer and compass.
Dear Abbey
The Stu Stick is simple but it gets the job done. Named for the famed cyclocross team mechanic and retailer Stu Thorne, this new aluminum offering from Abbey Bike Tools weighs just 44 grams, so it is lighter than steel rotor tools, but also includes a bottle opener. Not everyone might need a brake rotor straightening tool, but considering this one is so light there is no reason not to have it on race day.
Steal of a Steel
Steel is real, and the for those looking to get into cycling this season the steel framed New Albion Homebrew is a quite a steal. This traditional road bike with lugged high-tensile steel frame retails for $949.99. It features retro looks with small diameter tubing, quill stem and downtube shifters, and has braze-ons for rear racks, fenders, and front mini-racks.
In addition the fork has a lugged crown with double fork-end eyelets and mini-rack braze-ons, while the cockpit has a traditional bend drop bar and an alloy quill stem. The Homebrew will get in gear with a 9-speed Sunrace drivetrain.
Made in America: Wood Grain
Why knock on wood when you can ride it. We’ve seen some wooden bikes that have impressed us, but Mick Pecsok of Grainwoods has taken it up a notch with his bicycles that utilize African mahogany, yellow heart, walnut, maple and birch plywood. He is building truly “customized” bikes at his workshop in Camarillo, CA.
Dual Chambered
The human heart has dual chambers and that works really well – provided the person eats right, exercises, etc. Two chambers just works, so why hasn’t the concept been taken to bicycle tubes before?
Now Schwalbe and wheel maker Syntace have announced plans to create a new dual chamber tire that could provide greater traction and control or mountain bikes. This system is actually “tubeless” in that the tire has no internal inner tube, and instead has chambered that hold air. The inner chamber – that is the one closest to the rim – can be inflated to a high pressure to keep the tire tight on the rim and to provide a buffer from puncture-inducing hits. The outer chamber – the one that could have contact with the ground – only requires a low pressure, which means it can cut down on the rolling resistance over uneven ground and provide greater traction.
However, don’t expect to get rolling with it just yet. The system is still being worked out, and the companies look to present more details at Eurobike in August.
[Via BikeRadar: Schwalbe and Syntace unveil dual chamber tyre system]
Weekend Reading List (03.08.2014): Enough Already, Protesting, Tracking the Field
Enough Already
From Bicycle Retailer: U.S. Transportation Secretary says he won’t tolerate ‘crisis’ in bicyclist deaths
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday that he won’t tolerate an increase in bicyclist and pedestrian deaths. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (03.08.2014): Enough Already, Protesting, Tracking the Field
Titanium Printing May Revolutionize Bike Production
The above image may look like a piece of modern art, or perhaps the digestive system for a robotic man – but it is in fact parts for a 3D-printed titanium bicycle frame. Renishaw, an additive manufacturing firm based in the U.K., has joined forces with Empire Cycles to build a one-off titanium MX-6 mountain bike.
Empire Cycles already offers a production version of the bike but in aluminum, yet it has been long noted that titanium has a high Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) that is far greater than aluminum. One issue has been that titanium is also denser than aluminum, so the parts had to be altered and material not contributing to the overall strength removed.
Titanium is a perfect metal for 3D printing as it isn’t a traditional ore, and it now appears that the bike industry is looking to get rolling on this technology. The future could be printed bikes that can be faster to produce and likely even more affordable for the rider.
Press Release: First metal 3D printed bicycle frame manufactured by Renishaw for Empire Cycles
Protective Cap
In baseball the catcher is padded up, and the batter wears a helmet. However, the pitcher has generally been left with little protection. For the upcoming Major League Baseball season pitchers can wear a padded cap, which should provide increased protection from batted balls.
This cap will be optional however, so not every pitcher to take the mount will be wearing one.
The newly approved caps, manufactured by 4Licensing Corporation subsidiary isoBlox, have been made available to pitchers for the ongoing spring training. We’ll have to see if pitchers will sport them for next month’s opening day.
Olympus Toughen’s Up
This month Olympus shows that it is still going tough. The Olympus TOUGH STYLUS TG-850, which comes out this month (MSRP: $249.99) can record video with natural motion via 60p recording at 60fps in Full HD 1080p, as well as high-speed via 120 fps at 640 x 480 or 240 fps at 320 x 240.
But more importantly this one lives up to its name. It is waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof, and dustproof camera employs True-Pic VII processor and wide-angle 21–105 mm 5x optical zoom lens. Other features include 180 degree flip LCD monitor and 16 MP backlit CMOS sensor.
Paul Mounts Up
Paul Components has introduced a new bicycle Camera Mount that is designed to securely attach a GoPro camera to the top of a threadless stem. This mount is compatible with all HERO3, HERO2, and HD HERO Original GoPro cameras.
It is designed to replace the top cap of a 1 1/8-inch threadless stem and provides a way for the camera to view across the top of the handlebars and down the trail. The Paul Components’ Camera Mount can be attached directly to the camera’s case for a solid connection, or it can also be fitted with an articulated GoPro Pivot Arm for added adjustability.
The Grand Tour
Whether you’re looking to take a grand tour on your bike, or just like a bike bag with some style Arkel will have you covered. The company is now taking orders through March 15 for its custom Grand Touring Rear Panniers. Once all the orders are in the production will begin and the company has said bags will be delivered by May 1.
The hard part might be choosing from the six color options they’re offering. Continue reading The Grand Tour
Personalized Poles
Char Poles of Salt Lake City haven’t so much reinvented the ski pole, but it certainly has expanded the possibilities of what the pole can do. While these work like normal ski poles on the slopes these offer a variety of customizable options in the grips. This provides useable Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, while the end of the grip can be used as a monopod mount for a camera. The baskets at the end of the poles even offer a bottle opener.
Char Pole is now looking to a RocketHub crowd funding campaign to raise money. Now is your chance to get in a pole position. Continue reading Personalized Poles