Made in America: SilverSport

Most of us who frequent the gym know that it can be a place with some ‘funky‘ smells. Not because the attendants do not keep it clean, but because some of the materials in the equipment like vinyl, rubber and plastics can be difficult to rid of smells. The warm and humid climate, along with the human contact is the perfect breeding ground for odor-causing bacteria to grow and thrive. This is where the company SilverSport saw a need and they have developed a line of products to help your workout be as clean and odorless as possible. Continue reading Made in America: SilverSport

Made in America: Lynskey Performance Products

2012 Lynskey Pro29VF - Painted Flat Black (optional)

Even though the company Lynskey Performance Products has only been around since 2006, the Lynskey name has been involved with the bicycle industry much longer. Back in 1986, David Lynskey merged his knowledge of exotic metals, gained through the years of experience that has family had in the metals industry, with his desire to build a lighter bike frame for competition. The result was the beginning of the titanium bicycle frame company, Litespeed. For the next 13 years, David Lynskey, along with other family members, were the faces behind the name ‘Litespeed’ until they sold the company to the American Bicycle Group in 1999. A few years went by and the non-compete agreements expired, but the desire to build titanium bicycle frames never did die. In 2005, with the encouragement of their mother, the Lynskey family decided to jump back into the bicycle business and Lynskey Performance Products was born on January 1, 2006. Video after the jump

SIA: Carbon Fiber Meets the Trail with the ‘Kilo’ from Crescent Moon

Skis, snowboards, poles and boots – these are just a few of the winter sport items that use carbon fiber in their construction. Carbon fiber has been the material of choice for higher end equipment due to its high strength to low weight ratio. Not only is it light weight and strong, but it is the type of material that can make an overall product stronger by adding additional layers in higher stress areas. Wanting to tap into the advantages of this material, Crescent Moon of Boulder, Colorado is in the process of testing their newest and lightest snowshoe, the Kilo.

The new Kilo is simply named after its weight – 2.2-pounds with bindings for both pairs, making them easily one of the light pair of snowshoes on the market. Crescent Moon is not new to the snowshoe market, they have been around since 1997 and primarily use aluminum in the construction of their frames. At the SIA show this year, they are showcasing the Kilo that is uses carbon fiber in the construction of the entire frame of this snowshoe. Continue reading SIA: Carbon Fiber Meets the Trail with the ‘Kilo’ from Crescent Moon

Made in America: LoneWolf Dogwear

If you are an avid reader of KineticShift, you know we love our gadgets. With the newest GPS ‘this’ and latest fitness tracking app ‘that’ always being showcased, it might seem that technology is the only thing that motivates us to stay fit; but sometimes it is something as simple as taking our friend’s dog on a snowshoeing adventure that gets us motivated for a workout in the snow. We can dress for the cold and add layers as needed, but not all dogs are properly equipped to handle temperatures well below the freezing point with just their fur coat. This is where LoneWolf Dogwear comes to the rescue and offers custom dog clothing to help keep your four-legged friend warm in the snow.

LoneWolf Dogwear, based in New Ulm, Minnesota, is a company that manufactures a line of products exactly as the name implies – garments for canines. They manufacture dog clothing to keep your pooch warm, dry and/or highly visible. LoneWolf Dogwear knows that not all dogs are created the same and that the only way to produce a properly fitted garment is to custom manufacture them one by one, so each garment is made ‘to order‘. With each garment being made to order, it only make sense that they are all made in America to guarantee the quickest possible turn around times. Continue reading Made in America: LoneWolf Dogwear

Made in America: Wintergreen Northern Wear

Minnesotans know cold, or so we’ve been told. So who better to design and manufacture cold weather gear? How about a husband and wife team whose expertise and experience includes dog sledding, expeditions to the North Pole, clothing design and living in Minnesota. For almost 20 years, Wintergreen Northern Wear has been designing and manufacturing cold weather outdoor clothing from the small town of Ely, Minnesota. Continue reading Made in America: Wintergreen Northern Wear

Velocity Rims Coming to America

(Click image for closer view)

Velocity Worldwide, Inc. has recently announced that it will shutter production in Brisbane, Australia by the end of November 2011 and by February 2012 will begin manufacturing its bicycle rims in Jacksonville, Florida. This move will allow Velocity to produce custom orders quicker and get them into the customer’s hands in a shorter amount of time. Along with speedier production times, Velocity will be the only U.S. produced aluminum rim in the cycling industry.

To oversee production at Velocity’s new manufacturing factory, Tom Black, the founder of Velocity, will be relocating from Australia to Florida, while Velocity’s distribution center will continue to operate out of its worldwide headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This won’t be the end of the line down under for Velocity either. The Australian facility will remain a distribution center for the Asian and Australian markets. Video after the jump