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

Backcountry Access Offers Potential Lifesaving Avalanche Kits

While deep snow is reportedly good for business at ski resorts, there was a downside to it. The Kirkwood Mountain Resort reported the 500 inches of annual snowfall and high base elevation make for some of the deepest, driest powder conditions in the Sierra. This is good for skiing, but it can create a dangerous situation – namely avalanches.

This season the resort purchased a fleet of 42 Backcountry Access Float 30 avalanche airbags and Tracker 2 beacons for use by the ski patrol. These products actually improve the survival rates for those unfortunate enough to be caught in avalanche conditions. The technology is still in its infancy, and it is a physical, not electronic, weapon against the avalanche burials.

The concept of the Float 30 is simple: if caught in an avalanche, pull the t-grip and a 150-liter airbag deploys out of the backpack and essentially “floats” the skier, now with increased mass, to the top of the slough as smaller debris fills in underneath. This decreases odds of a full burial and response time of potential rescuers due to increased visibility. BCA reports that in 98% of the recorded Float 30 deployments, the avalanche victims survived. Continue reading Backcountry Access Offers Potential Lifesaving Avalanche Kits

GU Has a New Brew

The sports nutrition company behind energy gels, GU continues to bring out new ways to deliver electrolytes for those of us who sweat. One of GU’s new products is GU Brew. An electrolyte tablet, GU Brew gets dropped into 16 ounces of water and gives your liquid more energy.

GU Brew is sweetened with stevia leaf extract as instead of sugar or other substance. Stevia is a plant, a natural sweetener said to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. The South American natural sweetener is said to have some health benefits, though some find it to have a licorice-like aftertaste. It’s worth a try.

Each tablet is 10 calories, zero fat, one gram of carbohydrates and provides 55 mg of potassium to restore your electrolytes. GU Brew  comes in 12-count tubes that cost $6.50. Three flavors include Lemon Lime, Orange and Peach Tea.

GU Energy

Style, Streetwear and Skating – All With Shoes from Spartoo

Style and performance improvement. That’s exactly what this year’s line of streetwear shoes have in mind. Shoe retailer Spartoo is rolling out shoes fit for skating that offer style to boot. These include the DC shoes that reads the line between extreme sports and fashion waves. This season’s footwear goes back to the basics and classics with reliable shoes that look the part.

There is also the new collection of DVS shoes, which is often considered the essential skate shoes thanks to their shock absorbing technology. These shoes were conceived, tested, and approved by the entire DVS team to satisfy skaters looking for the best performance as well as all those who just love the style!

These are just two new offerings from Spartoo that offer good performance and style TOO!

Spartoo Skate Shoes Official Website

DVS Shoes

DC Shoes

Hands On: CamelBak Groove Puts Filtration in the Bottle

Before a ride, run or other outdoor activity, I often fill a bottle or two with water from my filter at home then set out on the road. If I need a refill I either buy a bottle of water, defeating the purpose of bringing bottles, or fill from the tap and don’t always appreciate the taste.

CamelBak has taken its Better Bottle design and added an internal filter to create the Groove. This bottle is made of CamelBak’s BPA-free Tritan plastic, and also available in stainless steel. The Groove uses the CamelBak Big Bite Valve where you bite down on a silicon seal and sip from the straw inside. It doesn’t let water out if the bottle falls or is left on its side. The filter is a cylinder of charchoal that’s placed in the straw. Continue reading Hands On: CamelBak Groove Puts Filtration in the Bottle

Helmets for Urban and Even Non-Urban Commuters

Everyone who rides a bike on public roads probably knows that having a light isn’t a bad thing. You can’t always count on being home before the sun goes down, and a blinky can help let the cars – as well as other cyclists – know to share the road.

And for commuters, there is a good way to make sure you’re seen as well. Lazer, the maker of cycling and motorcycle helmets, has a line of bike hard hats in its Urbanize line that include integrated lights. Among the helmets offered by the company are those that include a light rig with front and back lighting for optimal visibility for the rider – so you can see and be seen as well.

The helmets are available in models that are rain protected, meaning water won’t cause damage, while winter padding and insect nets are also available. There are helmets that look good for race day and for long daytime training rides, but for the daily commute to the daily grind, the Lazer will help point the way.

Lazer Urbanize Helmets

Sketchers Enlists After-School All-Stars for Design

Students participating in the national After-School All-Stars after-school program will learn shoe design from Sketchers. The athletic footwear brand will teach classes about the creative process and mechanics of footwear design in a curriculum developed by the Sketchers fitness Group design team. Continue reading Sketchers Enlists After-School All-Stars for Design

UCI Provides List of Approved Cycling Equipment

What defines a bicycle? Let’s see, two wheels, seat, chain, pedals, frame, fork? Actually that might describe the parts on a bicycle, but it doesn’t mean those parts will be legal when it comes to international racing. This week our friends at BikeRadar UK noted that the UCI (International Cycling Union) have published its latest list of new items that a “legal” for racing this season. The two lists show which frames, forks and wheels have been authorized for road, track and cyclo-cross competition under the latest approval protocol.

So how important is this list? Well, so far five new frames (as well as their respective forks) have been approved, but one has reportedly met the criteria but not been added to the list. This is important to note as race bikes tend to go into production just after the first of the year, and must be submitted for testing. Consider that as we head to the second half of March that means bikes could already have been in production for nearly three months – and if not passed, they aren’t legal for any UCI sanctioned race! While this shouldn’t be an issue for the Scott Plasma 3 – the bike that is pending at press time – we can imagine it is a concern over at the bike manufacturer’s offices.

List of Approved UCI Frames and Forks

List of Non-Standard Wheels in Conformity

What the Fiik Skateboard

Sometimes you just have to say what the Fiik. Well, actually you never really need to say Fiik at all, but then again maybe you will – at least if you like to skateboard and ever considered taking it off road. We’ve seen a lot of supposedly “off road” skateboards – including a couple that have been designed with military needs in mind.

But now comes the Fiik Street Surfer, which was designed by two brothers from Queensland, Australia. It features a digital wireless throttle control system, ABS braking system big wheels that can handle most terrains. The Fiik (Future Is In Knowledge) also has a bit of retro appeal – it looks like a classic “sidewalk surf deck” with red strips. But unlike those retro boards, this one has a maximum speed of 23 mph/37 km/h. While the board comes with a sealed lead acid battery, users can also upgrade to the optional lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, which also offers a range of 22 miles or 1.5 hours of runtime. The board further includes three speed settings, including a setting to limit the top speed for newbies.

Given the rising price of gasoline, maybe decks like this could help you get to and from the office. At $1600, with the lithium iron phosphate battery upgrade, this deck could help you commute and even take you off the beaten path to get there.

Fiik Street Surfer Official Website

[Via Gizmag: FiiK electric skateboard – wireless control, ABS braking system, ton of attitude]

MayaFit: A Personal Trainer for Everyone

Ready to get fit but need a little bit of coaching, yet don’t have the time to actually hit the gym. How about a digital fitness trainer? Respondesign, which introduced its Maya system in 2005, will now offer this digital trainer to individual’s TVs and PCs.

The company, which is the original developer of Yourself Fitness, My Fitness Coach and Your Shape, has announced the release of the consumer version of its MayaFit software. This is the first shipment to feature the PrimeSense Open Natural Interaction (OpenNI) solution. The software is designed for TV and PCs, and adds to the existing MayaFit Training Station deployments in U.S.-based gyms and fitness centers that have been in production since late 2010. MayaFit software leverages the OpenNI framework to support motion-based fitness training for individual and group workouts.

“OpenNI provides a structure for us to incorporate gesture recognition into our line of digital fitness products. Fitness is a natural category and PrimeSense is providing a great enabling technology that allows us to build next-generation fitness experiences for our broad range of consumer and corporate clients. Motion tracking provides our trainer intelligence with real-time user feedback and makes the interaction easier, more fun and more effective,” says Ted Spooner, CEO of Respondesign.

This fitness training with motion tracking can now be utilized via home TVs and PCs with in-living room equipment such as the WAVI from ASUS. Together with the MayaFIT training system, the ASUS WAVI Xtion solution combines full HD wireless media transmission with the world’s first PC motion-sensing interface to transform existing PC’s and televisions into in-home gesture-controlled entertainment areas.

So how are you going to respond?

Respondesign Official Website

Earthmate PN-60w Gets Back(Packer) Award

The DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w has your back, and more importantly it has earned the Backpacker magazine Editors’ Choice Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the outdoor industry, given annually to products in recognition of their outstanding innovation in design, materials, and/or performance.

The Earthmate PN-60w is a rugged, waterproof handheld GPS offering full navigation capabilities, along with the unique ability to create custom Type & Send text messages for delivery via the SPOT Satellite Communicator. It allows users to explore and stay connected with family, buddy lists, social network sites, and emergency responders, even when far beyond the reach of cell phone service. It has earned the award after extensive, rigorous testing in the most challenging conditions imaginable. Continue reading Earthmate PN-60w Gets Back(Packer) Award

Total Eclipse of the Blade

Winter shows no sign of letting up, but for those looking to hit the ice that might not be a bad thing. Riedell Skates has launched Eclipse Blades, an all-new line of ice skate blades. These are designed to offer competitive skaters an attractive blade that provides true edge consistency along with improved rake engagement.

The blades are also American made, created by master craftsman using the best combination of tradition and technology to create the most consistent blades and edges available on the market today. Each is made with 1075 High Carbon Steel making for a blade that is both strong and resilient. Computer-controlled laser cutting, soldering and stamping result in consistent, precision edges. Eclipse Blades’ chrome relief rakes offer better ice engagement. The new blades are available in four models. Eclipse Infinity: advanced freestyle skaters; Mist: freestyle skaters; Volant: advanced instructional or beginning competitive; Dance: ice dancers. Continue reading Total Eclipse of the Blade

Microsoft Moves 10 million Kinects

 

Move over Sony PlayStation Move, the Xbox 360 Kinect motion control system is seriously moving. This week Microsoft announced that it has sold more than 10 million Kinect motion-sensing game system units worldwide in just the four months since it was released.

That makes it the fastest-selling consumer device on record. The infrared camera add-on for the Xbox 360 game console is priced at $150, and has steadily outpaced Sony’s competing Move device. But let’s not move too fast.

Sony had previously noted sales of 4.1 million units of the Move in its first two months, and still has not taken into account holiday sales. So what is clear is that consumers are looking to get moving with video games and for that we can’t complain.