Cycling | Evolving Consumer

Down and Dirty

DZR Shoes are meant to get down and dirty. The company has released a new line of dirt-focused cycling footwear for Spring 2014. This line includes SPD-compatible and flat pedal styles; where the flat pedal models feature an interchangeable flex system that gives riders the choice of either a soft or stiffer feel, as well as a gum rubber outsole with counter grips and sticky rubber that keeps feet planted on the pedals.

The new Terra model, which is DZR’s highest performance SPD shoe, was developed by the DZR Global Development Team on the UCI race circuit. It features a fiberglass shank and a form fit molded heal cup for improved power transfer and control, plus the Terra also gives added protection with leather in the heel and toe.

These are stylish shoes but that shouldn’t stop users from getting them dirty.

DZR Shoes Official Website

Tern’s Flying Suit

A folding bike is a great way to save space and take it on the go. Now Tern has introduced something that can allow a folding bike to truly go places. The Tern FlightSuit offers a protective cover that allows users to pack a Tern bike into a standard-sized suitcase for airline travel.

“For many, the idea of bringing a bike on vacation is heaven, but can be daunting,” said Dwight Jurling, director global marketing at Tern. “Dedicated cases are expensive, often incur oversize baggage charges, and take up valuable storage space when not in use. The Tern FlightSuit eliminates these concerns by letting travelers turn a normal suitcase into a bike travel case when one is needed.”

The Tern FlightSuit can be used with off-the-shelf large suitcases, and includes custom protectors for the bike’s seatpost, handlepost, pedals and dropouts. Pads are made of durable 240D nylon bonded with 5 mm, dual-layer padding, to protect the bike during transit. Instructions are printed right on the suitcase pad showing how to fit the bike into the suitcase.

Tern Official Website

Weekend Reading List (05.10.2014): Paying It Forward, Pro Set Up, High Water Bike

Paying It Forward

From Stuff: Champ sold surfboard to cover costs
Silvana Lima sold her surfboard to fund her trip to Taranaki. Yesterday it paid off for the Brazilian surfer, who defeated Australian Laura Enever in the final of the ASP 6 Star Port Taranaki Pro women’s qualifying series event at Fitzroy Beach. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (05.10.2014): Paying It Forward, Pro Set Up, High Water Bike

Giro Charges Up

Bakcountry.com has gotten charged up for its Whiskey Off Road event, and has unveiled a special edition cycling shoe, the Giro Empire MTB, which is available in Backcountry electric blue. It features the Empire’s lace up design, while the uppers are made of Tejin and have a microfiber lining. The sole is EC90 carbon fiber and these shoes are designed to tackle any mountain.

The shoes are available for pre-order online, and will be officially released starting on June 1st.

BackCountry.com: Giro Empire MTB Shoes

Tour Yorkshire

The Tour de France will be heading to the countryside of Downton Abby – namely Yorkshire, even if the show isn’t filmed there. And even if you can’t ride with the pros you can get a chance to head out on some of the same roads in a guided tour. Olympic silver medal-winner Lizzie Armistead will be leading tours of the Yorkshire countryside in advance of this year’s race.

[Via BikeRadar: Lizzie Armitstead to lead Tour de France fan rides]

Speed Machine

The above photo isn’t a pill you take to give you super speed – instead it is a concept bicycle that could enable a rider to break the record for the fastest non-motor paced bike. The ARION1 is now being developed by students at University of Liverpool and inside the bean-shaped shell is a full set of wheels and bicycle drivetrain.

With the ARION1 the University of Liverpool Velocipede Team hopes to break the world record of 83.13 mph, which was set last September. The ARION1 will gets its chance to try for the record at the September 2015 IHPVA event. Video after the jump

Upright Design

We’ve seen some attempts to reinvent the wheel, and this is sort of what Los Angeles-based engineer Garth Magee of Null Winds Technology has in mind with his new Kickstarter campaign. He isn’t looking so much to change the wheel itself but rather is looking to make it more aerodynamic.

His solution is to utilize Upper Wheel Fairings, which shield the spokes in the breeze, and he claims that this can enable the bike to go as much as 20 percent faster without extra effort. And unlike disc wheels this won’t blow over the rider in a strong crosswind. Video after the jump

School Commute

The nation’s largest bike-to-school challenge will start next Monday. The 7th annual Century Cycles’ Bike to School Challenge will see 4,000 students from six schools try to “rack up” the most bike rides.

The program is sponsored by local retailer Century Cycles with support from Raleigh Bicycles, and this year each rider is eligible to win daily prizes from PeopleForBikes and other gifts from Century Cycles. At the end of the challenge, students are entered to win grand prizes including new bikes from Raleigh. Raleigh is donating one bike per week, either a Talus 3 or Retroglide, to each of the six schools. Raleigh also is hosting a water bottle day with Century Cycles, giving away 700 bottles to participants.

Last year the participating middle school and high school students rode more than 57,627 combined miles, which reportedly added up to 975,000 calories burned as well as $10,125 in saved gasoline. Last year’s participation in the three-week program was up 11 percent of the prior year.

[Via Bicycle Retailer: Nation’s largest bike-to-school challenge starts Monday in Ohio]

Put on the Brakes

Younger riders can’t always be seen in traffic and they might not always see what is coming at them. Even on bike paths parents often need to tell their children to slow down or stop. Now the MiniBrake, which was designed by a team of inventors in Hungry puts the brakes on the kid’s bike.

This is an easy to attach braking unit that is being developed through an Indiegogo funding campaign, and the idea is that it lets parents control the brakes and stop a child’s bike remotely. It can also be automatically activated should a child be more than 50 meters away. Continue reading Put on the Brakes

These Shorts Shine

Chrome Industries has introduced a new line of cycling shorts for the season. The Spring Riding Kit includes the slimmer Folsom urban cycling short, which is made from water-resistant Everest four-way stretch fabric with a seamless gusseted double-layer crotch for durability and includes a U-lock holster. Reinforced flat-felled seams prevent chaffing, and floating rear pockets with flat seam openings provide comfort for long stints in the saddle.

The shorts retail for around $120, and Chrome’s Spring Riding Kit also includes the 90 percent Merino wool Mason Riding Jersey ($70), De Haro Windbreaker ($95), Chuey Cycling Cap ($30), Cardiel ORP pack ($110), Kursk Pro SPD shoe ($$95) and Merino Ankle Socks ($12).

Chrome Industries Official Website

NOAH Where to Go

NOAH the movie didn’t exactly make a splash at the box office, but NOAH the bike could be the next big thing. NOAH – or Normally Operated Articulated Hybrid suspension system – made its debut at the recent Bespoked U.K. Handmade Bicycle Show in London. It was developed by U.K.-based COFA Engineering.

This is a unique full-suspension system for a bicycle and instead of utilizing the usual rear and shock and front suspension fork it offers two midships-mounted rear shocks. In its current form it provides 230 mm of front travel so it can more than a mere bump in the road.

The bike does weigh in at 40 pounds, so it isn’t exactly light. However, in its current form it is still a proof-of-concept bike not a production model. If the designers can get it to lose some weight they could completely change the traditional dual suspension mountain bike. Video after the jump

Color of Controversy

This week the Giro d’Italia kicks off in Northern Ireland and begins surprisingly on a Friday – not a Saturday. The biggest controversy however could be off the course as Rapha has launched a memorial jersey in honor of Marco Pantani. While a percentage of each jersey will go to the Pantani Foundation, which encourages troubled teens to get into cycling, the choice of jersey still remains a bold choice – given that Pantani was disqualified from the 1999 Italian classic for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

However, some are seeing that Pantani still brought a certain level of panache to the sport, and through the foundation could perhaps some youngsters to steer clear of trouble.

[Via BikeRadar: Commemorative Rapha Pantani Jersey launched]

Eye of the Cat

The CatEye Rapid X safety light won’t leave you in the dark. It can switch from steady mode to flashing mode automatically when the battery power decreases by 20 percent while the flashing mode can provide riders with a full extra hour of light.

Both the front and rear modes are USB-rechargeable and offer Lithium Polymer batteries to go the distance. The lights feature a total of six modes, and will run in high mode for about one hour, low mode for about five hours and in flashing mode for about 30 hours. There is a “Rapid” flash mode will run for about 16 hours, “pulse” flash for about the same amount of time and even a “vibration” flash mode will run for about eight hours. CatEye claims that the pulse mode is “peloton friendly” so fellow riders won’t be blinded by the light.

CatEye Official Website