Shimano | Evolving Consumer

Kid of the Road

While kids can’t get behind the wheel until they’re 16 years old they can still feel like they’re a kid-sized king of the road with the new Farrier 24 kid’s road bike from Swobo. Peter Disco, owner of Swobo, has launched Farrier Bikes as a separate brand that makes road bikes especially for junior sized rides.

These include 24-inch wheels – as well as the slightly larger 650c – along with 6061 butted aluminum frames and forks and Shimano Claris 8-speed STI shifters. At $750 these are aimed at those serious young riders, and yet aren’t meant to be the final bike for anyone – and that makes sense as most kids might outgrow it in a season or two.

Farrier Bicycles Official Website
[Via BikeRumor: SWOBO LAUNCHES FARRIER BICYCLES W/ PREMIUM KIDS’ ROAD BIKES]

Shimano Gets in on the Action

This month Shimano announced that it was entering the action camera market. The CM-1000 Sport Camera (MSRP: $299) will be available in May and is the first product from the company’s Lifestyle Gear Division, which targets both the fishing and cycling markets, and will be able to be integrated with existing Shimano electronics.

This HD camera can record video and stills, and features an F2.0 lens that will be good for low-light conditions, and offers dual, standard angle 135 degree and super wide 180 degree modes, while also providing a 90 degree increment auto-image rotation. That feature will allow users to flip the camera and still maintain a horizontal image plane.

The CM-1000 weighs in at 86 grams and will be waterproof to 10 meters without an external case. It offers ANT+ wireless connectivity as well as Wi-Fi and works with its own Android and iOS apps.

Shimano Official Website

Shimano Cuts the Cord

Shimano announced this week that it has cut the cord on its electronic shifting system. The company has introduced a new wireless device that will connect its Di2 groups, and this will sync with the new Shimano PRO computer via ANT+.

The Di2 Wireless Unit (Shimano product SM-EWW01) will be compatible with Dura-Ace 9070, Ultegra 6870 Di2 and Ultegra 6770 E-tube road shifting systems. This Di2 Wireless Unit is powered by the same Di2 battery that powers the Di2 shifting system.

Shimano Official Website

Weekend Reading List (11.16.2013):

Social Olympics

From Sport Techie: Reviewing the New Olympic Athletes’ Hub App for Sochi 2014
On November 3, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) launched a new Olympic Athletes’ Hub app in order to connect fans with Olympic athletes like never before. With a searchable directory of all athletes and their various social network feeds, fans can find their favorite stars on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Another unique feature within the app is the ability for verified athletes to text each other or the IOC from within the framework of the app. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (11.16.2013):

In the Click

Clipping into bike pedals is something that seems quite unnatural to many people at first. To this end Shimano has expanded its Click’R pedal line, which are aimed at beginner cyclists as well as commuters. These feature revised SPD clipless technology with a lighter spring and elevated catch that allows riders to be engaged more easily.

The PD-T420 is dual-sided, with the Click’R SPD binding on one side and a flat pedal on the other; while the PD-MT50 is designed as a recreational mountain bike style that features a wider integrated cage for mud shedding with traction spikes.

Shimano Official Website

Serious Ride to Work

If you’re commuting to work on BMC’s ACO1 then you are riding in style. The company introduced the redesigned urban commuter for 2014 and the AC01 borrows aero technology from BMC’s timemachine aero road bikes, and geometry from the company’s gran fondo bikes. Other features include a cutaway seattube to allow the same chainstay dimension as the BMC grand fondo GF01 (412mm) while still allowing room for fenders and wider tires. Up front, the fork is deisgned for minimal length while accepting fenders and wider tires.

The AC01 is slimmed down from last year and is 500 grams light, while the lateral and torsional stiffness was increased. Accessories also include BMC’s proprietary Curana fenders, which can be installed in seconds. Lighting and anti-theft devices also are even available from BMC. The bike is available in four colors and seven component packages, ranging from a Shimano Alfine 8-speed internal drivetrain with Gates belt drive to an Alfine Di2 group or SRAM XX1 group. It won’t come cheap to ride this one to work, and you may be brown bagging lunch as a result. The complete bikes range in price from $1,499 for a Shimano Soro-equipped model, up to $4,999 for the Alfine Di2 or XX1 bike.

BMC Official Website

Grand Fondo Pedal

Gran Fondo mean big ride in Italian, but the Fondo from Sampson Sports is one grand looking cycling pedal. Deisgned for ease of use while still providing high-performance, the pedals feature a large shoe/pedal contact area for comfort, a very thin profile with chamfered outer edge for added cornering clearance, and a cold-forged and CNC-finished axle that spins on a sealed bearing system.

These new pedals, which weight just 143 grams each, feature Sampson’s new GripStrip, which helps grab the cleat so you can pedal and not lose balance or forward momentum. The Fondo is compatible with its own recessed cleat but will also work with Shimano’s SPD cleats. These further off adjustable entry and release tension and an alloy body that is open to allow mud and debris to pass through.

Sampson Sports Official Website

Shimano Feeling Blue

While every rider in the Tour de France may want to be in yellow, the Shimano limited edition R320 cycling shoe may have some feeling the need to be in blue. In fact, a group of selected Tour de France riders, including Edvald Boasson Hagen, Simon Gerrans and Marcel Kittel have been spinning through France in these special blue shoes. These offer the same features and technologies as the high end racing shoe R320, including Custom-Fit and Dynalast but has a special blue design.

These limited edition shoes are not only made for professional riders, but are also available for consumers. Shimano produced a limited number of shoes which are exclusively available in United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Slovakia, Poland and Israel. Race to the shop to pick up a pair.

Shimano Press Release: Shimano launches a limited edition R320 shoe during Tour de France

Toyota to Sell Road Bike with Car Tech

Toyota is making a limited edition bike under its Lexus brand that will use materials that the auto manufacturer uses for its Lexus LFA sports car model. Toyota will limit the road bike to 100 units, and reportedly sell it for 1 million yen, or about $10,000 USD. Shimano, a Japanese manufacturer of bike components and parts, will manufacture the Lexus bike line. Continue reading Toyota to Sell Road Bike with Car Tech

Dab It

Clipless pedals are a misnomer because these are the ones you clip into – but are called clipless because these lack the cages for the shoes. With that in mind clipless pedals can be a problem because if you don’t have cleats for the shoes it can be hard to ride on the pedals.

Kurtis Meyer of Ohio had another idea and he created the Bike Dabs, which turn a Shimano SPD-SL clipless pedal into a flat platform pedal. Next up will be KEO, Speedplay and even Crankbrothers. These can come in handy for those times when riding the bike is necessary – such as to the store – but wearing cycling shoes isn’t a possibility.

Bike Dabs Official Website

Shifting Gears

When Shimano released the STI (Shimano Total Integration) shifters/brake levers for road bikes nearly 20 years ago it was a game changing moment. Why would anyone go back to the old school thumb shifters that Retroshift has created? Well, the answer is that cyclocross – the off-road racing that occurs in the fall and winter – can benefit from having shifters that can stand up to mud and abuse and keep shifting. Retroshift has introduced its new 9- and 10-speed shifters, which are compatible with Shimano style derailleurs.

The Retroshift shifters do have some advantages, mostly for those who race cyclocross but it is unlikely this type of shifter could ever edge out STI or other similar systems. However, these do have a look that suggests this is where shifters might have headed had STI not come along. Oh what might have been. Video after the jump

Automatic Shifting Via an App

There are cycling apps that allow riders to track distance, speed, calories and much more, but now the UK-based Cambridge Consultants are looking to allow an app to do the shifting for you. In essence this app, when paired with electronic shifters such as Shimano’s Di2 will great an automatic transmission.

The data is reported transmitted by the sensors using low-power Bluetooth Smart and then processed by an algorithm on the handset. This does some quick math, determines the rider’s current pedaling speed to preferred cadence and then instructs the Di2 to shift according. Continue reading Automatic Shifting Via an App

All-City Bike for City Riders

Cyclocross bikes were developed for cyclocross riding of course. This is the late-fall and winter sport that takes roadies off-road. It isn’t mountain biking, as there aren’t usually single track elements or a lot of overly technical riding. But the bikes still need to be tough, durable and can stand up to the elements – this is winter riding for one thing.

All-City Cycles understood this and introduced the Macho Man, which the company rolled out this fall. This steel frame bike features the new Shimano top-pull cyclocross specific CX70 derailleur, 105 STI shifters, FSA seatpost and crakes and Continental Cyclocross Race 700 X 35c model tires that can grip the road as well as the mud. It arrives in time for cyclocross season, which is now underway, but as the name of the company suggests this is one that commuters and road riders could enjoy in the “off-season.”

So hang up the road bike, and check out a durable cross bike that can handle those bumps in the road, the leaves on the streets and be ready for a little rain or snow.

All-City Cycles Official Website