Cycling | Evolving Consumer

Anti-Doping Goes High Tech

Discovery News is reporting that a new “biological passport” has been developed to keep pace (or is it pace line) with performance-enhancing drugs and those who use them. This new technology measures blood and body chemistry over time, and thus can help authorities monitor professional cyclists more closely.

Sadly, one rider Franco Pellizotti – who was a favorite for this year’s Giro d’Italia – has already been caught using performance-enhancing drugs from this new technology. The Italian rider was banned for irregular blood levels, which suggested he doped. Let’s hope this new biological passport will end doping and make professional cycling pure again.

[Via Discovery News: Biological Passport Nabs Cheating Cyclists]

Sunday Starts the Tour of California

A month until the Tour de France begins another picturesque race pedals down the state of California. Tour of California, an eight stage race from May 16 to 23, starts in Nevada City and ends on day eight in Thousand Oaks. Top teams include Columbia-HTC, Garmin-Slipstream and Team RadioShack. Lance Armstrong is among those favored to place.

We’ll be watching Versus Sunday to Sunday next week as the race goes on, and following some of the new cycling technologies used by the racers as well as the officials to time and judge the race.

The San Jose Mercury News has a handy fact sheet on the Tour.

Amgen Tour of California

Cast a Giant Shadow in Your Next Triathlon

Spring means that triathlon season is just around the corner, and if you’re looking to shave a few seconds on your time the Trinity Advanced SL from Giant could actually make a colossal difference. Of course this bike doesn’t come cheap, and dare we say that the starting price of $5,100 is large and with the addition of Shimano’s Electronic Shifting Di2 could go to a titanic $12,000.

The new shifters are just part of the cutting edge technology that makes the Trinity Advanced SL the triathlon bike of choice for serious competitors. While this system won’t actually do the shifting automatically, the electronic controls are extremely precise, which can make a huge difference when you’re racing against the clock. In fact, considering the sleek profile, and comfortable ride this bike has to offer you might not want to dismount and do the running part of that triathlon!

The Giant Trinity Advanced SL

On Your Bike

That’s the name of a bike store chain in the U.K. But now Cannondale has released OnBikemade using the case closed technology used in the ON Concept bike shown at Eurobike 2007. What’s ON? It uses the System Integrated Chain Case Technology where the chain case is a single sided, fully enclosed structural part of the frame. Benefits are many. Fewer moving parts means fewer parts to go wrong. The enclosed chain structure protects the parts that move from collecting dirt and grime, which can cause failure. Fewer parts and enclosed parts means fewer parts to steal if you lock your bike up on the street.

Cannondale OnBike Limited Edition

CannonDale OnBike

Minneapolis Rides to Top Spot in Bicycling Magazine Ranking

Minneapolis, Minnesota is the best place in the country to bike, at least according to the annual top 50 bike-friendly cities in America, as chosen by Bicycling magazine. This year’s list pays homage to cities that have shown solid innovation in making cycling better, and also looks at how local government support riding.

Interestingly, this list must be taken fairly seriously, as Miami has become one of the five up-and-comer cities, now ranking 44th on the best cities list; quite an improvement from 2008 when the city was on the “Worst Cities for Cycling” list! Miami now has added bike lanes, sharrows and trails in the works, but the city recently hired a bike-ped coordinator to make it even friendlier. As for Minneapolis, it was chosen as best for its thriving bike community, and the fact that it has 120 miles of on- and off-street bicycle facilities, plus indoor bike parking for commuters.

Here is a look at the Top Five Best Cities:

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Portland, Oregon
Boulder, Colorado
Seattle, Washington
Eugene, Oregon

The Top Five “Rising Stars” as cities that are improving:

New York City
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Long Beach, California
Cleveland, Ohio
Miami, Florida

And of course for everything good, there has to be the worst places to cycle. These cities include:

Birmingham, Alabama
Jacksonville, Florida
Memphis, Tennessee

For the entire list, as well as top foreign cities, go to: http://www.bicycling.com/topbikefriendlycities/

Tired Old Tires Turned in Bike Stands

If you have a high-end bike, then you probably have that sense of dread when having to use the typical a bike rack. There is the worry of scratching the frame’s paint or decal, and the fact that the wheel-in-first racks are designed for bikes from decades ago. Even the general “metal” loops are poorly designed to allow for adequate positioning, as there just isn’t enough space to lean the bike.

A Wellington, New Zealand firm may have the answer, and it is one that solves another problem in the process. Duncan Forbes and Matt Hammond of Bikerakk have created a cycle stand that has a solid steel core frame but has a softer outer layer made of recycled car tires. And to encourage businesses to adopt these stands, the rack is in the shape of a bicycle, allowing the rear wheel to be a glass disc that can light up at night for advertising and signage.

So far the Bikerakk is only available in central Wellington, but the company hopes to eventually get the stands throughout the island nation. Maybe it will catch on, as it is a great use of recycled tires and provides a bit of padding. Plus it could be just the thing to remind people that two wheels make a good way to get around.

Via Stuff.na.nz
Bikerakk Official site

Primal Wear Clothing For Rockers and Geeks

When you think of cycling attire, you probably think of team jerseys, cycling sponsors and equipment makers. This is all great if you like the team-look, but what if you want to break from the crowd and do the distance not looking like a pro-wannabe?

Over the years there have been plenty of eclectic fashion statements, but the attire from Primal Wear Clothing truly offers something different! The company offers a line of heavy metal and hard rock jerseys that would at first glance seem more attuned to a bunch of burnouts in a van at a concert, than on the mountain bike trail or on the long road ride. But on a closer look these offer riders to strut their stuff and prove their more than pedal gear heads. Inspiring the look of vintage concert shirts, you can get on your head banging with Metallica, feel the long and winding trip with some Pink Floyd, or always good for the long climb the Led Zepplin Stairway Bicycle Jersey.

And if hard rocking isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other options including those for the armed services that will show that you support our troops and more. Primal Wear even has a line of Star Wars themed jerseys instead, and these feature the original movie posters of the first trilogy of films. Let’s just hope they make those in Jabba the Hutt size for the hardcore fans.

Garmin Offers New Edge for Tour of California

Going off for a long bike ride can be enjoyable, even if you’re not sure of your final destination. But there are times when knowing where you are going is crucial, and for those times a reliable GPS device is a must. To help you on your way Garmin has introduced the new Edge 500, a new nuvi navigation device that features designed inspired by the iconic orange and blue patterns of the Team-Garmin-Transitions.

The new Edge 500 in both argyle and black and white versions will be introduced at the Tour of California this year, while the argyle nuvi models will sold exclusively during the race from May 16-23. The Edge 500 ($349.99 MSRP from the official site) is ideal for racers or just those who want to keep their bikes as light as possible. The device is a mere two ounces, but still features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver that needs no calibration, and thus can be easily swapped between bikes. It connects wirelessly to third-party power meters, and can track speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, and even climb and descent. This info can be displayed and reviewed post-ride at Garmin Connect.

The device further uses a barometric altimeter to pinpoint changes in elevation, and it can further be paired wirelessly with Garmin speed/cadence sensors. It features 18 hours of battery life, so it will probably be going long after most of us have called it a day as well!

And finally for the pro wannabes, in April Slipstream Sports and Felt Bicycles will be giving subscribers to Garmin’s fitness newsletters a chance to buy a team replica Felt F1 (the model the pros will be riding this season), completely built by the team mechanics and packaged with the argyle Edge 500.

Team Garmin-Transitions
Slipstream Sports

Garmin-Transitions Turns to New Leaf for Training

garmin-slipstream-transitions — Team Garman-Slipstream at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, February 2010

International cycling Team Slipstream, which rides under the sponsorship name Team Garmin-Transitions, known for its voluntary testing practice is adding metabolic and endurance training to its regime. Through a partnership with Angeion, the team will get the cardiorespiratory diagnostic systems company’s New Leaf metabolic assessment and training equipment.

Team Garmin-Transition’s president, Matt Johnson said, “We are focused on expanding our family of technology-driven partners, so adding New Leaf technology is something we’re incredibly proud of.” New Leaf will get to display its technology to a worldwide audience of potential customers and sports enthusiasts by association with the team.

The New Leaf metabolic assessment and training program is based on decades of medical research and learning. It’s New Leaf Active Metabolic Training System is available at some fitness clubs, corporate wellness programs, and sports training centers to measure human performance and how efficiently a person’s body burns calories.

Team Garmin-Slipstream

Team Garmin-Slipstream trains and races all over the world. Angeon

New Leaf Fitness

Google Maps Clears a Path for Biking

google-maps-cycle — Map your bike route on Google Maps.

We applauded Google years ago when it added walking directions to Google Maps. Public transportation directions are also helpful. The newest addition to Maps is Bicycling directions. Now in beta (what at Google isn’t?), you can look up the bike routes you take, and learn about new ones. I just mapped a ride I took a few times last summer, Manhattan to Nyack, New York. It suggested two routes that differed even a little from the two routes I’ve ridden in the past. Now I’m looking forward to a nice enough day to take the new routes.

For discovery, Google highlights streets by bike friendliness. Dark green lines on the map indicate dedicated bike-only trails. Light green lines mark streets with a dedicated bike lane along the road. Dotted green lines indicate roads without bike lanes, but still appropriate for biking based on terrain, traffic, and intersections. In hilly cities such as San Francisco Google Maps will plot out a course that’s less hilly. Of course you can always drag and drop your route on the map to adjust to your specifications.

Google partnered with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit that creates a network of trails from former rail lines, to build the data in over 150 cities for this project. To get biking directions you can go to Google Maps and select bicycling as your mode of transportation, or go to the specific page for bicycling.

Check out Google’s video on its new maps for bicycling.

Retro Jerseys Offer Refreshing Style for a New Season of Cycling

As an avid cyclist in New York City, this reporter knows that biking in the Big Apple is as much about fashion as actually training. But seeing one too many Team Astana jerseys (which I expect will be retired to never see the light of day again), not to mention a decade or more of “world champions” doing a slow lap in Central Park, it is refreshing to see Retro’s newest line. Based on the Horton Collection – the personal treasure trove of cycling related artifacts from Brett Horton, the foremost authority on bicycle racing history – these jerseys are truly “retro” cool. Instead of just mere “team” jerseys for the wannabe rider, these are inspired by hand-selected vintage posters from Brett’s massive collection of vintage cycling memorabilia.

And if old school cycling isn’t quite your thing, but you still want to evoke something unique, Retro also offers numerous eclectic jerseys such as “Bauhaus exhibit” for the lover of 1920’s German modernism, and a Peking Opera poster for the chick who desires to be a dragon lady on two wheels.

Retro Official Web Site

The Horton Collection Web Site

Sanyo Introduces Electric Bike

For $2,300 you could buy a very nice carbon fiber road bike, but then you’d have to actually pedal to work – not that we have a problem with that. But if you’re looking to commute on your cycle a good option is the Sanyo CY-SPA600NA Synergetic Hybrid Bicycle, which features a dynamic motor power system to help with hill climbing and lets you go the distance.

More impressively the bike essentially breaks the rules of perpetual motion, by utilizing a loop charging option that recharges the battery while you ride. So while we’d still recommend a road bike or mountain bike for serious riding, we like that someone is talking about electrical technology that takes advantage of human power too!