Searching for that perfect gift for the roadie who seems to have everything? Chances are, if they own a Moots titanium road bike frame, they don’t have one of these – a Moots silver head badge. Moots Cycles, located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has commissioned their head badge artist, Michael Cherney, to create a limited production run of just eight Moots modern-era head badges. Each of these one troy ounce, Sterling Silver head badges is created by hand using an investment cast and lost wax process, a technique long used by jewelry makers to create intricately designed pieces. Continue reading Holiday Gift Guide: Ti One On With Moots
Author: Brian O'Connor
Holiday Gift Idea: Straitline Seatpost Collar
Looking for a stocking stuffer for that cyclist on your list can sometimes be difficult. How many pair of socks or water bottles can someone use? Straitline Components, of British Columbia, Canada, can help you add a touch of color and style to their bike for just under $30. Continue reading Holiday Gift Idea: Straitline Seatpost Collar
Ever Spoke’n Belgium?
As simple as they look, there is a lot of considerations when lacing up a bike wheel. Beyond selecting the brand of hub and rim, a lot of focus also needs to be placed on the spokes and nipples. Not just the number, but material, butting, length, tension, and weight all need to be factored along with color. In the U.S., DT Swiss and Wheelsmith have been the longtime favorite of wheel builders, but there is a Belgium manufacturer who has been making spokes for decades longer than both companies combined. Started in 1918 by Herman Schoonhoven, Sapim (Société Anonyme Pour l’Industrie des Métaux) has been making spokes and nipples in Belgium for well over 90 years. Continue reading Ever Spoke’n Belgium?
Take the sting out of your eyes with Sweat GUTR
One of the most annoying and sometimes dangerous situations that can occur will cycling is to have sweat, laced with sunscreen, drip into one or both eyes. This is especially true while descending some of the canyons around Colorado at over 50- miles per hour. Just that split second of time not focusing on the road can mean the difference between riding home on your bike and never making home again. The pads inside a helmet do a decent job holding the sweat back to a point, but once they become saturated, the sweat just continues to run down the forehead and into the eyes. A terry cloth and bandanas can also be used, but they too will become soaked with sweat leading to the same problem.
There exists another solution for managing the sweat that doesn’t involve a fabric band that can ultimately become saturated with perspiration. The Sweat GUTR is an ingenious little invention that does exactly as the name implies – it acts like a rain gutter for sweat. The thin, non-absorbent band is worn across the forehead, just as a terry cloth sweatband is worn; but instead of soaking up the sweat, it channels the sweat from the forehead to fall down the face between the ears and eyes. When a workout is over, simply remove the Sweat GUTR, wash it with soap and water, and let it dry. Continue reading Take the sting out of your eyes with Sweat GUTR
Made in America: Bag that Phone – Jersey Style
Most cyclists ride with their cell phone, usually stashed in the jersey pocket if it is not being used on the handlebar as a cycling computer. One ride is all it usually takes to realize that sweat builds up on the phone and regardless of the chance of rain, the following ride usually sees the phone placed in a zipper closure plastic bag before being put in a jersey pocket.
This is exactly the scenario that played out when I first purchased my iPhone. Since the replacement cost of that phone can exceed $600, every following ride saw the iPhone being protected by a Ziplock bag. Over time the zipper usually stops properly sealing and the bag breaks apart. While at Interbike this year, the crew from the 2013 Amgen Tour of California was giving away JerseyBins, the vinyl zipper pouch used to protect cell phones, cash, or anything else that may need to be protected while out for a ride. This little pouch seemed like the perfect solution.
The JerseyBin is a heavyweight zipper closure pouch that is available in four different sizes. The 10-gauge vinyl is cold crack tolerant to below -10 degrees Fahrenheit, yet it allows the use of a touch screen without removing your phone from the pouch – that can be difficult to do through a normal Ziplock bag. Continue reading Made in America: Bag that Phone – Jersey Style
How can 14.3mph set a Cycling World Record?
Take a look at the stats for the most recent Tour de Frances and you will find that the average speed for the entire 2000+ mile race is between 24 and 26 miles per hour. So how is it possible that a new World Record for the relatively short distance of 100 kilometers (62 miles) was just established at an average speed of 14.3 miles per hour? Well, it is possible through the efforts of a Frenchman, Robert Marchand, who will turn 101 on November 26. That’s right, 101 years old, nearly four times as old as the average age of the Tour de France winners. Continue reading How can 14.3mph set a Cycling World Record?
A ‘Slick’ Chain Lube
Stroll into any bike shop looking for a chain lubricate and prepare to be inundated with numerous choices. From synthetic to ‘biodegradable’ options, picking a lube usually comes down to a recommendation from a shop mechanic or a friend who works on their own bikes. Each year at Interbike there seems to be a new lube making its debut, but is there really any need to change from what already works? This year there was one company bringing a lube to market that maybe worthy of trying something new. Slick Lube of Newark, Delaware has a product line with a laundry list of features, some of which have not appeared in any other chain lubes. Continue reading A ‘Slick’ Chain Lube
Squeaky Brakes Get the Spray from SwissStop
The modern disc brakes used on bikes today have dramatically improved performance and safety. In conjunction with those improvements, disc brakes have also freed rim makers to push the envelope regarding design since that do not have to incorporate rim brake surface anymore. With the abandonment of the rim brake design, mechanics have lost the ability to adjust the angle in which the brake pad hit the braking surface, referred to as ’toe’. Adjusting the toe was how the mechanics were able to quiet rim brakes that would squeal – this is not an option with disc brakes.
So what is a mechanic to do if they have properly installed disc brakes and they still squeal?
SwissStop has an answer. Developed for use in the railroad industry, the SwissStop Disc Brake Silencer is a metallic-based release agent with a biologically degradable carrier fluid that is very sparely applied to disc brake pads to stop the squeal. It is not an oil, but a liquid that dries. What is left behind is an agent that reduces brake dust and polishes the braking surface to minimize brake chatter – the chatter is what can cause the squealing problem.
Along with reducing brake squeal, SwissStop claims that their Disc Brake Silencer also dissipates heat better than none treated brakes, prevents non-uniform wear, and eliminates vibration – all while not impairing brake power. The Disc Brake Silencer is compatible with all disc brake systems on the market and brake pad types, including both organic and metallic. SwissStop states that one half-second application per pad will last well over 1000 miles. This should mean many happier miles for you and your friends! Video after the jump
Interbike 2012: Elite Rolls Into Wireless Control
Training rollers used by cyclists have remained largely unchanged for years. Set your resistance, hop on, and ride. With most rollers, the resistance unit, whether it was a fan, magnetic unit, or simply the diameter of the roller drums, can not be adjusted while riding. To make the workout harder or easier, changing to the next gear was pretty much to only option while in the saddle. The Italy manufacturer, Elite, has changed all of that with the introduction of their Arion Digital rollers for 2013. Continue reading Interbike 2012: Elite Rolls Into Wireless Control
Interbike 2012: Purely Custom(ize) Your Bike
You’ve just bought or finished building your new bike and it is just about perfect. The weight is where you want it and the positioning is spot on, but there just is something that doesn’t make it feel like your bike yet. A splash of color or some custom engraving can often be that ‘cherry on the top’ to finish off your ride and really make it feel like yours. Purely Custom, of Twin Falls, Idaho, is in the business of manufacturing and customizing anodized aluminum parts for the bicycle industry and they are doing it in America for a very reasonable price. Video after the jump
Interbike 2012: PocketFuel Natural ‘Concoctions’
The words ‘whole food’ are not just reserved for the name of a grocery chain, but is a term referring to food that is eaten in its purest, unprocessed form. Without ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, or many of the chemicals that we can barely pronounce, the body can digest whole foods much easier than those containing processed ingredients. As a bonus, whole foods often taste much better than their processed counterparts and are much easier to stomach during a physical activity lasting several hours.
There are many solid, whole food type of energy bars on the market that can be carried easily in a pack or cycling jersey pocket. There are even unprocessed drink options. But when it comes to gels, there are not many choices for those wanting a compact, easy to carry, quick energy boast. While strolling the floor at Interbike this year, I was able to sample a number of different flavors of the whole food type of energy ‘gel’, PocketFuel, a 100% all natural energy product. Video after the jump
Interbike 2012: Chris King Presses Further into the Bottom Bracket Market
For years Chris King of Portland, Oregon has been producing some of the finest cycling components on the market. Sometimes they are at the forefront of a new idea and sometimes they choose to wait on the consumer to see which new innovation they will embrace. Up until recently, the only bottom bracket shell “standand” that they have supported has been the ISO/English or BSA threaded 1.37 in x 24 TPI in the widths of 68mm and 73mm – the U.S. standard for decades. It looks like that is about to change. Continue reading Interbike 2012: Chris King Presses Further into the Bottom Bracket Market
Interbike 2012: Roll it for Recovery
Have you ever finished a run or ride and your legs feel heavy or sore? That feeling is due to the breaking down of the muscle tissues and ‘toxins’ like lactic acid that build up inside the muscles. A massage is one of the best ways to flush those toxins and improve circulation which in turn will speed recovery and rebuilding of those muscle tissues. Unfortunately not everyone can afford their own personal masseur, the cost of paying for a daily massage, or they simply are not close to a Massage Therapist. There are a number of different devices on the market to help an athlete perform a massage on their own aching muscles when they can’t get a massage. While down at Interbike this year, we had a chance to checkout a new entry in the personal massage market – the R8 from Roll Recovery is a roller type of device that is designed specifically for use on an athlete’s legs. Continue reading Interbike 2012: Roll it for Recovery