Tag: Cycling

USA Cycling Seeks to Ban the Helmet Cam on Race Day

We’ve written about several helmet cams, cameras that mount on your helmet while you ride on some precarious single track, capture footage of daring maneuvers in traffic, or film the race while you’re riding. That last one may be off limits depending on upcoming revisions made by the USAC Board of Trustees to the rules for 2011.

There are a handful of proposed changes, which will be open to a period of feedback from the community, but the camera is the use of technology while riding, so we’re looking at that. It’s also one of the big items mentioned in an article on VeloNews.

The article states, “This rule would ban the attaching of any non-stock items — including cameras, visors and fairings — to helmets during a race.” Cyclists can still attach a camera to the bike itself during a race. The argument is that when you attach a camera to the helmet it doesn’t necessarily make it unsafe, but if there is a crash the helmet won’t behave as it’s intended to in protecting the head.

We’ll dig a little deeper into the proposed changes and follow the discussion period.

via [VeloNews]

The Revolution is Here

Say you wanna Revolution? If you’re talking about the Revolution Bike Trainer from LeMond Fitness you’re in luck. We saw this trainer at Interbike back in September and it has take notice. It is a true example of the evolution of the traditional bike trainer, and dare we say revolutionary? With winter just around the corner this trainer will keep you in your bike seat until spring – and by that we mean you’re actual bike seat, rather than having to make due with a stationary bike.

Rather than resting the rear wheel on a metal disc like typical trainers, which can be quite loud and has anything but smooth resistance, this device ditches the rear wheel completely for smooth consistent training. Basically you ditch your traditional rear wheel, and connect your bike to this trainer, which works with nine speed and even the new 10-speed cassettes. It allows you to use any bike you’d ride outside, so no worrying about adjusting the stationary bike. Bikes connect and disconnect in minutes – the latter comes in handy for those warm days when you just have to get outside. But with the Revolution Bike Trainer you might be tempted to stay indoors and still put in the miles.

Revolution Bike Trainer at LeMond Fitness

Hands On: Redline Conquest Team Cyclocross Bike

Over the years I’ve had about a half a dozen road bikes, and at least an equal number of mountain bikes. But a recent move from New York City to Michigan opened up new possibilities for me. Not only could I buy more bikes since I have a garage to fill, but there were now a far great number of options with places to ride. With the change in venues also came a change in attitude. In the past few years I’ve opted to do more road riding, and far less off-roading.

To that end I decided that my middle aged body just wasn’t up to the hard core mountain biking any longer. I’m not alone, as many of my old riding buddies have moved on as well. That said, I still like to ride through the woods and trails, especially in the fall as the colors of the leaves change. But hitting the more technical trails, riding complex single track and choosing the right line were in the past for me. I might still head out for some mountain biking, yet what I really wanted was to enjoy the road style riding but on dirt paths, fire roads and other non-technical type trails. Thus it was time to get a cyclocross bike. Continue reading Hands On: Redline Conquest Team Cyclocross Bike

Cycle the World Virtually

There are so wonderful places to ride a bike, but the problem is that it is really not all that easy or affordable to take a bicycle on a globetrotting trip. The next best thing might be to virtually ride the world. That’s where Virtual Active comes in. The company, which has a partnership with IndoorCycling Group (ICG) has announced the release of MyRide Version 3.0, which promises to be the next-generation media console for indoor cycles. It utilizes content from Virtual Active via a 17-inch touchscreen high-definition display.

This includes more than 60 hours of entirely of entirely new media content, with more than one million different workouts and plenty of variety to keep users riding through the winter and other bad weather. Locations include the Rockies, the Swiss Alps and even the Mojave desert, and each is available for a variety of workouts that include warm-ups, intense spinning and cool downs. The coached content is also available in English, German and Spanish. Continue reading Cycle the World Virtually

Single Cell Lightform

This year at the 2010 Veloswap, Amoeba was showcasing their newest LED light, the 2x Cree XP-G R5. The name makes this system sound complicated, but it really is not. The company’s name is derived from the amoeba, the simplest life form on Earth. They follow their name and design their lights to simply have one mode – on and off.

The 2x Cree XP-G R5 is a dual spot beam, 600 lumens lighting kit that features an anodized aluminum housing offered in matte silver, bright silver or dark bronze; and the lens is made from optical grade Lexan. The battery pack is a 7.4 volt 2400mAh Li-Ion that is capable of a 3-1/2 hour runtime with only a 3 hour charge time. With a total weight of less than 6oz., this kit easily mounts to your helmet with industrial strength Velcro, Amoeba is a very small operation and each lighting kit is hand built at their facility in Colorado. Continue reading Single Cell Lightform

Cycling Fusion Gets Heart (Zones)

As the old Peanut Butter Cups commercial suggested some things go very well together, and we expect that to be true in the world of indoor and offseason training on exercise bikes. This week Cycling Fusion, the developer of indoor cycling programs, announced that it has purchased Heart Zones, USA, the company that created the first heart-rate training systems.

Cycling Fusion founder Gene Nacey had already established a relationship with Sally Edwards and her company Heart Zones. “After being certified by Mad Dogg and opening a dedicated Spinning studio, I quickly began to understand why the outdoor cyclists were not coming to class,” says Gene Nacey. “I raced MTB for 10 years and had a few years of road riding under me as well. The cycling community needed a lot more science and sport specific training than what they would normally find in Spin class. That lead to my work with Sally Edwards and Heart Zones. The heart rate training began to bring them in, but I have to say, it wasn’t until the Keiser power bikes arrived that they began to take us seriously. This combination became quite compelling.”

The new partnership will hopefully see even greater innovation in the world of indoor cycle training. KineticShift.com will follow the developments from Cycling Fusion and Heart Zones in the months to come.

Cycling Fusion Official Website

Bicycle Briefcase

There have been a lot of folding bicycles, including several that are small enough to fit in a suitcase, so when we heard that there was a briefcase bicycle we quite expectedly got a little excited. But in fact the bike doesn’t fold up to a size small enough to actually fit inside a briefcase, and instead the carbon fiber bike comes with a carbon fiber briefcase that helps maintain the rigidness of the frame while riding. The bike was designed by Marcos Madia, a finalist in the Seoul Cycle Design competition.

It is an interesting concept, and it is just in the concept stage at this point. The biggest downsides we see to the bike is that it is still likely to be too big to bring into most offices (those building managers have something against bicycles), and the briefcase is too small to transport much. Likewise, there is the fact that this could be a tricky bike to lock up too – and it has “steal me” practically written on the side, even if it isn’t quite stable enough to ride without the briefcase. Now if only there was a way to get a folding bike that could actually fit inside a briefcase. George Jetson had his aircar that folded up, so a bike should be a no brainer.

Microwaves Change Lights for Cyclists

Any cyclist will tell you that stopping at a red light is a drag. And when that light stays red because it needs the weight of a car to turn it green, it really puts a damper on your cardio workout. Most often lights that need to be triggered by cars are controlled by an inductive loop, a sensor embedded in the pavement that flips a switch on a computer to turn the light green. Cameras are increasing in number, but are subject to environmental conditions such as ran, twilight and wind.

Cycellicious reports that the city of Pleasonton, California is experimenting with the use of microwaves to trigger traffic lights to change. This method is more reliable than cameras, can distinguish vehicle types and give cyclists more time to get through the intersection than cars, and works with lightweight travelers such as cyclists. You may still have to wait at a few traffic lights, but the time will be reduced. About enough time to practice your track standing skills.

[Via Cyclelicious: Microwaves, bikes, and traffic lights]

Hands On: Check Your Balls

You might be a competitive cyclist who obtains new equipment each year, an avid cyclist who keeps their equipment for many years or a bit of both; but either way you roll, you would probably benefit from having your balls checked out. The balls I am referring to are the ball bearings in your bicycle – mainly the hubs and bottom bracket; but also the pedal, rear derailleur pulleys and headset bearings. Bearings are one of those items that is not sexy and is rarely thought about since they are out of sight; but often instead of being filled with grease, they can filled with dirt, water or rust. This in turn will reduce the results and efficiency of each of your pedal strokes. Continue reading Hands On: Check Your Balls

Say You Wanna a (Bike) Revolution: Kryptonite and Bike Revolution Gear for Bike Registry ID

Last month during Interbike, we posted about the partnership between Kryptonite and Bike Revolution that provides a 2D barcode to register and identify bikes. The service, expected to be available soon, keeps getting better, especially for anyone who worries about their bicycle. Bikerevolution.com has now redesigned its site with more facts and included new pages of information on this helpful service. There are now detailed pictures and written steps that take you from going to the store to get your 2D bar code to registration and playing bike detective with your cell phone out on the street. There will always be bicycle thieves out there, but this is one way to help you get back your ride after the worst has happened.

Bike Revolution

Gates Takes CenterTrack

We’ve heard about the Gates Carbon Drive Systems and their new centralist position. And no, we’re not talking politics but something far more important, namely bicycle technology. This is specifically the CenterTrack System, which was invented by cycling innovator Wayne Lumpkin.

The new drive train technology has the promise of being the lightest, strongest and cleanest – not to mention best performing belt-drive system – yet created for a bicycle. So what does this mean? For one the CenterTrack should offer up 20 percent greater tensile strength while still offering a slimmer profile. The whole belt-drive thing is pretty innovative and CenterTrack could be a major leap forward, offering a clean, quite ride and now with a greater level of performance. The CenterTrack utilized front and rear pulleys that feature a narrow track that runs around the center of their circumference, rather than the raised flange that we traditionally see with belt-drive bikes. Continue reading Gates Takes CenterTrack

London Calling: New Bike Show for January

After the surprise announcement that Interbike would be staying put, comes word that the Cycle Show, the former London Cycle Show, would move from London’s Earls Court to NEC area in Birmingham. Our friends at BikeRadar.com reported that the organizers are looking to make this move as Birmingham will allow for a “significant expansion.”

The event, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary will take place just weeks after Interbike, and run from September 29 to October 2. Meanwhile BikeRadar also announced that London Town won’t be without a bike show.

In a (confusing) twist, the London Bike Show will take place from January 13-16. We can hope this will mean lots more bicycle tech for us to report on, and for all of us to ride on next season and beyond.

London Bike Show

Rocking and Driving With the RockyMounts DriveShaft

RockyMounts, based in Boulder, Colorado, has been making bike and ski mounts that fit Yakima, Thule and other roof racks for years. They offer the same quality as the two big names, but at a lower price point and with a vast array of colors. New for 2011, RockyMounts has introduced the DriveShaft, which is not a complete bike mount, but rather an adaptor to fit bikes with 15mm and 20mm thru axles to the standard 9mm bike mount. They are not the first to introduce this type of mount, but the RockyMounts model offers a level of security that the others do not. Continue reading Rocking and Driving With the RockyMounts DriveShaft