The Boise, Idaho based cycling component brand, K-Edge Cycling Solutions, was created from a singular and focused ambition. The goal was to help an Olympic cycling athlete secure a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. To see how this happened and the resulting product we take a quick look to France, Austria, China, and return to the USA for how it all played out.
Tag: Olympics
Olympic Velodrome Completed and Green
Let the games begin! That’s the feeling we’re getting right now as it has been announced that the site of the 2012 London Olympics track bike racing events has been completed.
The Hopkins Architects-designed arena can seat about 6000, and is the last of four permanent venues in the London Olympic Park to be completed. It is however the first to be completed on time and on budget. The sinuous velodrome was also reportedly inspired by the lightweight and streamlined bikes that do the loops inside. It features a track with western red cedar timber as the main cladding, while the roof collects rain water, which can be resued and recycled. The curved cable net structure is also designed to reflect sun, and thus reduce the need for air conditioning. Continue reading Olympic Velodrome Completed and Green
Fitness on the Brain(Waves)
Some people just have fitness on the brain. We like those kind of people, but we understand that not everyone has mental concentration to get in the mindset to workout. But now B-Bridge International has unveiled the first brainwave athletic trainer. It is powered by NeuroSky, a maker of mass-market Brain Computer Interface technology.
The BrainAthlete system is designed to help consumers track their athletic level of concentration, and find the “zone.” It is built into a standard golf visor, and contains three non-invasive contact points in the headband. These monitor the EEG electrical activity from the wearer’s brain and determine the mental state, allowing users as well as trainers to track concentration levels during a workout activity. This can be later analyzed and to help training.
“When it comes to expert level players or athletes, the difference between win or lose, gold or silver is often the athlete’s mind,” says Dr. Lee, NeuroSky’s CTO.
NeuroSky has been already working with the technology with the USA Olympic Archery team for more than four years, and now the partnership is looking to take a swing at the golf market. Time to concentrate on the game, and see if your mind was really there when it counted.
Training Tech is Key for Pro Cycling
There is no denying that the British take cycling very seriously. Maybe not as much as the French or Spanish in the world of professional cycling, but when it comes to the Olympics, the British have done very well. And much of that begins long before the games begin. With London hosting the summer games in 2012 you know the British are going to try to have a strong showing, and thus they’re pulling out all the stops and taking it to the next level in their preparation.
While there remains strict rules and regulations with the actual equipment used in the Olympics and professional cycling, the real arms race is in technology used for training. British cycling pro athlete Sir Chris Hoy (above, photo: Getty) is employing new sensors and gear during the pre-season and for his training rides to get him ready for the 2012 Olympics. An article in The Telegraph this week hints at some of these technological advancements and the people behind these innovative training techniques. Continue reading Training Tech is Key for Pro Cycling
No Lasers for London Olympics
Sorry sci-fi fans there won’t be lasers at the 2012 London Olympics after all. This past August it had been announced that laser pistols – seriously laser pistols – would be used in the modern pentathlon. The event, which is actually a cross discipline sport, includes pistol shooting, épée fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping and a 3km cross-country race. The event was first held at the 1912 Olympic Games, but it was conceived of by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games.
The idea behind the modern pentathlon was to simulate the experience of a 19th century cavalry soldier (and officer at that); someone who could ride a horse, fight with a pistol and sword and be able to swim and run. For the 2012 games the organizers had looked to add a bit of the future into the mix by using laser pistols for the shooting events.
However, these shouldn’t be confused with the Star Wars style blaster weapons, but rather have are much more likely laser pointers – so sorry also to anyone who hoped light sabers would eventually be used in the fencing. The lasers will still be used for the junior competitions, which are more reported to be more “environmentally friendly” that traditional pistols. The lasers were used this past August at the Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore.
So clearly it is just a matter of time unlike the Olympics gets lasers, but we’re glad they won’t be used in London. It would be like if James Bond used a laser – which he did in the film Moonraker and look how that turned out.
[Via Inside the Games: Modern pentathlon drops laser gun plan for London 2012]
Consumer Electronics Show Releases More Info on Sports and Fitness Tech Summit
It seems we were just a year early. We launched KineticShift.com at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show back in January. Now for 2011, the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) seems to have technology and fitness on the brain as well. Continue reading Consumer Electronics Show Releases More Info on Sports and Fitness Tech Summit
Swimmers Lose Their World Record Suit
Banned: The full-length swimsuit worn in swimming competitions including the controversial Beijing Olympics. On the first of the year the Federation Internationale De Natation (FINA), the governing body of competitive swimming; water polo; diving; synchronized swimming and open water swimming, ruled that competitive swimmers must discontinue the use of the rubberized suits. Now the aftermath and controversy of so many new world’s records takes place.
Last year 108 world records were broken, and nearly 30 so far this year, cites an article on Canadian radio site CBC. A second article mentions other sports associations enforce an 18-month waiting period when revolutionary technology is introduced to equipment. These suits were embraced after just three months of testing. And not all competitors had access to the suits during training and competitions. Continue reading Swimmers Lose Their World Record Suit
BMW Drives Multi-Year Olympic Sponsorship
Years ago it was BMW Films. Short pideos of theater-quality storylines that highlighted the auto brand and were fun to watch. Now BMW is putting money behind the United States Olympic Committee.The six-year deal makes BMW the Official Mobility Partner of the United States Olympic Committee and of four National Governing Bodies: USA Bobsled & Skeleton, U.S. Speedskating, USA Swimming and USA Track & Field. This is multi-million dollar agreement isn’t just a monetary commitment. The sponsor will provide the USOC with fundraising opportunities and the four NGB groups will gain access to BMW Group technical expertise. BMW group will use its experts, deep technology base and facilities to help the Olympic and Paralympic Teams improve their training and performance. Teams will get to use the auto manufacturer’s facilities including the wind tunnel to test aerodynamics.
via: MediaPost
TYR These Goggles on for Size
Seeing isn’t merely believing, seeing is what allows you go from competitor to winner – at least when it comes to swimming.
And whether you’re hitting the pool, or getting wet and wild in a triathlon, the TYR Sports Nest Pro Nano will let you see clearly.
These performance goggles are inspired by the unique bird nest architectural design of Beijing’s main stadium that was used in the 2008 Olympics, and this nest design provides intertwined support to give a more open field of vision. That can be good in a pool or in open water. The Nano also features a nice and compact frame, along with smaller gaskets so it is ideal for smaller faces and children. And at $24 these goggles are affordable enough as well, allowing you to see your way to victory.
Building Women’s Rugby Teams
Women are flocking to join rugby teams now that it is an Olympic sport. The United States will play this August in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England. A recent New York Times article talks about college and youth teams, and how women are migrating from sports such as basketball, volleyball, and softball to the contact sport of Rugby.
Coaches have to get their teams in competitive form to play in these competitions. One men’s team in the U.K., Mike Ford, uses his laptop to view video clips and select the highlights to go over with the team rather than have players sit through playback of full games or even full plays from numerous videos. This maximizes training time giving players a chance to see the moves that work, and the ones that don’t. It also gives them more time on the field to get into condition.
Rudy Project Supports Olympic Medalists
As the Olympics close, the Rudy Project reports it had a hand in 18 medals, internationally. Before the torch was lit, Rudy Project said it would supply eyewear to a number of Olympic athletes. The round-up of athletes that placed on the podium included gold for women’s biathlon competitor Anastazia Kuzmina from Slovakia, who also won a silver medal. German cross country skier Claudia Nystad won gold in the team sprint. Johan Olsson from Sweden took gold in the cross country 4 x 10 relay.
Kinetic Shift congratulates all the athletes who competed in the Olympics. And kudos to Rudy Project for supporting so many winning athletes.
Curling Goes High Tech
Today marks the beginning of the action sport of curling in the 2010 Olympic Games. 
OK, we’re joking about the action, but the truth is that the sport has also gotten some high tech aids this year. The Edmonton Sun ran a feature this week that notes how the Canadians are using various advances such sensors, along with high-speed cameras to help.
Clearly even a sport using nothing more than a “rock,” brooms and ice can go high tech in the new millennium.
Wind Simulator Helps Skeleton Riders Fly
Riding a thin board down a track made of ice, and doing it headfirst would be enough to scare the life out of you (And we say this with absolutely no disrespect to Georgian luge racer Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was tragically killed last week at the end of a training run. Our condolences go out to his family and his 
teammates).
Maybe that is why this sport is called the “skeleton,” which was permanently added to the Olympic Games in 2002. The sport evolved from a form of tobogganing called cresta sledding, and dates to the 1880s. The difference today is that riders only use their bodies to guide the sled, instead of using skates to help steer. The U.S. Olympic skeleton team prepared with help from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York where engineering professor Timothy Wei and his team built a special custom-made simulator to help understand wind resistance. But they should know against a highly trained athlete, resistance even of the wind variety if futile.
We wish all the skeleton and luge riders safe runs!