Tag: Cycling

400-Mile Bicycle Tour Along Historic Erie Canal

While it might just seem like much today, the Erie Canal was a true innovation in the early 19th century. Without it the “west” might not have opened up as soon as it did, and New York City might not have developed in the major seaport that it did. First proposed in 1807, the Erie Canal was constructed from 1817 to 1825 and officially opened on October 26, 1825. It was the first transportation system between the eastern seaboard and the Great Lakes that didn’t require draft animals. It also cut transportation costs to the American interior by 95 percent.

Cyclists will have the opportunity to appreciate the wonder of the canal in the 13th annual Cross-State Bicycle Tour that runs from July 10-17. Cycling the Erie Canal is an eight-day, 400-mile recreational bicycle tour from Buffalo to Albany along the legendary Erie Canal. Last year’s Cycling the Erie Canal drew 550 riders from 35 states. Over one-third of the riders were from New York State. Continue reading 400-Mile Bicycle Tour Along Historic Erie Canal

Will State Law in New York Kill Cycling?

KineticShift's Enid Burns rides along the Hudson River

The Big Apple can be rotten to the core when it comes to cycling. While Central Park is a gem, and is one of the things this reporter misses from his time in New York City, little else can be said about biking there. The city had in recent years attempted to put the best wheel forward – but then last month City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) suggested that all cyclists in NYC get license and register their bikes.

Now not to be outdone, State Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Queens) had introduced legislation in the state assembly that would require every bicycle in the state to have a license plate reports Gothamist. A license plate! Yes, a license plate, which would no doubt look great on those $3000+ bikes regularly ridden in Central Park and across the George Washington Bridge. DenDekker has since backpedaled and withdrawn the bill, but could future bills be in the works?

This also begs the question what would it mean for those from New Jersey who ride into New York City, as well as anyone who brings their bikes to the Big Apple to ride.

While this is a dead issue now, let’s recap what DenDekker actually suggested, which included two bills. The first would have required “annual registration of personal bicycles and provides for a license plate fee of $25 for the first year and $5 for every year thereafter,” and to get the plate, riders would need to have their bikes inspected! By whom we don’t know of course. The second bill sounded just as Draconian. It would required every commercial cyclist in the state to carry identification and have insurance, with an initial fee of $50. Continue reading Will State Law in New York Kill Cycling?

Craft’s New Bib Shorts use 3D Construction

Bike shorts are a very sensitive issue. They need to conform to the body and allow for a wide range of flexibility. They also need ample yet not bulky padding in the saddle area. For its Elite Bib Short, Craft used 3D construction and compression fabrics to make an even better short.

Compression fabrics apply pressure to muscles to keep them from fatiguing as you hammer your ride. 3D construction means the fabric panels designed specifically for the forward-leaning position on the bike. Yes, you can still stand up straight comfortably, but the shorts are somewhat molded to their purpose of time on the saddle.

Continue reading Craft’s New Bib Shorts use 3D Construction

North American Handmade Bicycle Show 2011: Innovation on Two Wheels

This past weekend proved that it could be a very good year on two wheels, as the world’s largest show for handmade bicycles took place in Austin, Texas. The National American Handmade Bicycle Show 2011, which ran from Friday to Sunday, saw the event set a new exhibitor record.

“After all the hard work over the years it is rewarding to see the show continue to hit new highs,” said Don Walker, founder and director of the annual bicycle show.”And being a former resident of Texas, I am deeply pleased to bring the show back here, to the state where it began. Six years later, there is not a bicycle show on the planet that matches NAHBS for sheer quality, and precious few shows of any type present such a smooth interface between art and engineering. This is the largest presentation of the best in the custom bicycles industry anywhere, period. In the cycling world, it’s worldwide news. In Austin, we see great potential for this show to bring together the sporting, artistic, health, transport, and engineering communities.”

A total of 172 exhibitors from more than 20 states and four continents were reported to have signed up for a booth at the show, with international exhibitors coming from Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. These included the finest examples of manufacture, design and style in the world of handmade bicycles – and the show reported to attract more than 7,000 members of the public, as well as 100 journalists.

While mass market bicycles continue to dominant the industry, it is still refreshing that so much innovation is taking place in the world of handmade bicycles.

North American Handmade Bicycle Show Official Site

Cycling Shoes For City Slickers

If you’ve ever commuted by bicycle in the big city you know there are a few issues to overcome. The first is making sure you actually make it to work safely, the next is making sure you’re not a huge sweaty mess when you arrive, and finally be dressed in the proper clothing for a day at the office.

The latter can be addressed by leaving a pair of shoes at the office and wearing cycling shoes for the commute – but what happens when you think you have shoes at the office and don’t? This happened to me personally once, and I spent the day wearing cycling shoes. While a good look on the bike, these don’t exactly work well the rest of the day. But Italian bike maker Cinelli and skateboard clothing company DVS are teaming up to create a urban cycling shoes reports our friends at BikeRadar.

The shoes are based on the DVS Luster skate trainer and will be available in two versions. One will be based on the Cinelli Pro Best of Italo 79 road bike, whilt he other will be based on the Vigorelli track racer. Either way the upcoming Luster Cinelli, which will arrive stateside in July (MSRP $68), will reportedly feature a high-abrasion rubber sole, full grain leather upper, stiffeners to aid efficient pedalling, reflective detailing, and a hidden tongue panel that also serves as a lace protector. These shoes look like they’ll be good for urban commuting, and look good off the bike.

[Via BikeRadar.com: Cinelli release urban cycling shoe]

Cinelli Official Website

DVS Official Website

Wired Calls This Bike Ugly – Yeah We Agree

While quite worthy of a Kinetic(Mis)Shift the new “Only the Brave Bicycle” is indeed one only for those brave enough to be caught dead riding it. The bike, which was reviewed recently by Wired.com, is the result of a collaboration between clothing company Diesel and bicycle maker Pinarello.

As Wired noted, it features something that has become all too common in hipster friendly fixies, namely odd-colored wheels, but this one takes it a step further and mismatches them to boot. We also don’t get the bent frame either… maybe that is to make it look like it was already in a crash, and thus matches the pre-worn jeans for its urban dweller rider.

And then there is the kicker… namely the price. While there is no shortage of fixies in all price ranges, this one comes in at $1,200, which is a lot of money for an aluminum frame bike that just says “fail” all over it. It also seems that Wired isn’t the only ones that think this bike is an eyesore. The “negative” reviews are piling up.

Diesel and Pinarello Team Up to Make World’s Ugliest Hipster-Bike [Wired]

Diesel/ Pinarello urban bike [Bicycle Design]

Pinarello for Diesel: Only the Brave Bicycle [Prolly]

U.S. Paralympic Track Gets Lightweight Front Wheels

The U.S. Paralympic track riders have a new weapon in their arsenal – an extremely lightweight front wheel from Phil Wood & Co. that weighs less than 1-1/2 pounds. This wheel uses all of the latest innovations from both Phil Wood and ENVE Composites to deliver a wheel that will hopefully help sprint our team to the top of the podium.

There are two main components that make up this wheel – the hub from Phil Wood and one of the lightest weight rims on the market from ENVE (formerly Edge). This hub may look like an normal Phil Wood track hub, but that is where the similarities end. This LF Track Hub features an alloy axle, titanium end caps, titanium washers, titanium bolts and Phil Wood Carbonyte bearings. These Carbonyte bearings are designed for speed and offer a very low rolling resistance, but the downside is that they are not built for longevity or endurance. Continue reading U.S. Paralympic Track Gets Lightweight Front Wheels

Convert Your Old Road Frame Into a Single Speed With Wood (Phil Wood)

Do you have a spare bicycle frame that you would love to turn into a single speed or fixie, but the frame does not have horizontal dropouts? Do you want to avoid running a singulator chain tensioner especially in a fixed gear setup? The innovators from San Jose, California, Phil Wood & Co., have come to the rescue. Phil Wood recently announced the upcoming release of their Square Taper Phil Centric bottom bracket to solve this problem.

The Phil Cetric’s center point of the spindle on this bottom bracket pivots closer or further away for the rear dropout where the rear wheel mounts allowing the chain to be properly tensioned. There is currently not much information released about this bottom bracket yet, but from the photos it looks as if there is about 3/8″ – 5/8″ of adjustment in the chain tension. This should be enough adjustment to allow proper tensioning of a chain in almost every frame. Continue reading Convert Your Old Road Frame Into a Single Speed With Wood (Phil Wood)

Pedal Power to Purify Water

Over the years we’ve heard of how bicycles can generate power for lights (on the bike and off), but how about purifying the liquid needed to cool down the rider? That’s the idea of a new bicycle that could soon be mass produced for the developing world. Nippon Basic Company announced a new bike system called Cycloclean that needs only manpower to help run a motor to pump water through a series of filters, purifying five liters (1.3 gallons) of water in about a minute.

So far the company has sold about 300 bikes since launching the system in 2005, and soon the bikes could be mass-produced in Bangladesh, where demand for the cycles has increased. The only drawback could be the cost – currently the bikes sell for about $6,600 – making this a rather expensive glass of water. But if costs can come down, this could be a way to have clean, safe drinking water for those long rides.

[Via Bangkok Post: Japan touts pedal-powered water purifier]

Hands on First Look: Louis Garneau T-Flex 300 Cycling Shoes

Truth be told a lot of cycling shoes look about as stylish as bowling shoes – sorry bowling fans but in the fashion department you’re left at the discount bins. Fortunately, Louis Garneau has stepped forward with its line of cycling attire that includes footwear.

We just received the new T-Flex 300 shoes and nothing could make us more upset to see the snow and mud still covering the ground. These shoes are so pretty that we can’t imagine taking them out in these conditions – and that could be about the only bad thing we have to say about these shoes right now. In a few weeks when the conditions permit we’ll be sure to put these to a true test, but for now we’re impressed with the look and more importantly the feel of these shoes. Continue reading Hands on First Look: Louis Garneau T-Flex 300 Cycling Shoes

Helmet That Senses a Crash

There’s been a lot of attention given to head injuries on the football field and the development of better helmets that can prevent concussions and other injuries. But that’s on a field with other players, coaches, spectators and plenty of people who can dial 911. What happens if you’re biking alone and crash?

In the case of cyclist Leigh Fazzina, she posted messages to Twitter to get help after not getting a signal for voice. That’s just not always possible with a head injury. That’s why we’re looking forward to the release of SenseTech, a helmet-mounted sensor that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and contacts emergency services in the case of impact. “Ours is a device which would help the athlete and his (or her) family to be better informed on the level of impact they are taking, and which oens are of concern,” said Biju Thomas, designer of the SenseTech.

Still under development, the sensor’s designer is Biju Thomas, a team cook who has served meals to Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, among other pro cyclists.

The SenseTech is “a system of sensors embedded in the fused fabric (pad inserts), and a tiny sensor Bluetooth Relay, which transmits activity to a cell phone, which most every rider has in his pocket,” said Thomas.

SenseTech is currently in testing and will likely be released in the fall for use on the field and hopefully on the trail soon after that.

via [Medill Reports Chicago]

iPhone App to be Black Box for Bikes

We’ve long heard about the importance of the black box for airplanes – even if the box isn’t technically black. And we’ve been hearing that following Toyota’s ongoing accelerator problems that there could be a move to put black boxes in cars, but what about bikes?

Well, don’t look for a fancy piece of hardware in the frame, but our friends at BikeRadar.com are reporting that a new iPhone app has been released that works much like the airplane version of a black box, which in the unfortunate event of a crash could store video footage of the collision and other data.

The iCar Black Box app from 21pixel is available now in the UK, with a free download for trial. It can be used to monitor speed, location and g-force. It isn’t mean to be a training aid or even a video camera, because while it does film on a loop it only records in the event of an impact. Like a black box for planes it is something you likely hope you’re never going to use, and this is where we see a small problem.

There are many iPhone apps available as training aids, and unless the mobile handset can do double duty we feel most riders aren’t going to want to put the app on their bike when it could be used for something else instead.

[via BikeRadar.com: New iPhone app works like black box for cyclists]

Pixel21 Official Website

London 2012 Cycling Road Race to End at Buckingham Palace

Back in 2007 the Tour de France started things off in London – sort of a “Tale of Two Cities” theme going on – with the prolog as well as the first stage heading from the Mall. Now the Mall will be center stage again for cycling as start of the men’s and women’s 2012 Olympic cycling road race, which see the finish in front of Buckingham Palace.

 Our friends at BikeRadar.com reported this week that the riders will likely be a figure-eight course that will take them out of London to the southwest and then back to the city. The reported men’s race will cover 265km, whilst the women’s race will be over 140km. The mostly flat terrain around London, and especially the final stretch, will prove to make a day for the sprinters, suggesting that Mark Cavendish could feel like a king for a day as he goes for the gold.

 [Via BikeRadar.com: London 2012 Olympics road race route details emerge]