New from two members of the Rollapaluza crew is FIXED, a “high quality photo-driven book about the fixed wheel bicycle, unlike other fixed culture publictions and blogs it has a lot on the history of the bicyle and racing as well as the modern trend of fixed wheel riding.”
It’s available on Amazon.com for $16.47 (MSRP is $24.95). Check out some of the pages after the break…
NY TIMES: On the hour they come, great clouds of cyclists pulsing between classes along the street called Serra Mall — the main axis of Stanford University — like so many slowly charged particles in a physics experiment.
Campus is flat enough — and large enough — and the weather so brilliant that nearly everyone cycles. And whoever all these cyclists are, as individuals, their individuality is burnished by the bikes they ride and by the way they ride them. It’s as though the bikes are only partly transportation, as though they were really machines for differentiation.
And what aids the differencing is that few people wear helmets, and everyone is wearing ordinary clothes — none of the sleek and gaudy costumes you see on cyclists pumping through the peninsular hills and whistling down Sand Hill Road to the Caltrain station. They are themselves on wheels.
There is a deeply pleasing randomness about the campus cyclists… read the rest at NYTimes.com
Industrial designer Pablo Lopez from firm DIBRUTAL came up with the Pardo, short for guepardo (Spanish for cheetah). Designed for Innovar, an Argentinian innovations contest, it’s a recumbent of sorts in that you are mostly horizontal and there are pedals. That’s where the similarities end.
The rider lies prone, face down, and pushes on the pedals simultaneously…like doing a frog leap…to propel the bike forward. Not content just to make these pretty concept renderings, Lopez actually built one! See it, and a usage diagram, after the break…
Halo Rims‘ 7075 anodized colored fixed gear track rings are CNC machined and made for left hand thread, 24T cogs. They come in blue, purple, red, black, gold and green and retail for £6.99.
They also have some “V” shaped freestyle fixie rims that are wider and stronger than typical road hubs and made to take the abuse of trick urban riding. Hit ‘more’ to see them…they come in colors, too!
PRESS RELEASE: BOULDER, CO USA. Ciclosportivo N.A. announced this week their Gran Fondo and SuperCorsa™ events to the cycling blog community. Ciclosportivo N.A. events scheduled for 2010 include Gran Fondos and SuperCorsas Boulder, Steamboat, Taos and Vail; New Mexico events are tentative.
Gran Fondo is a cycling phenomenon that has taken Italy by storm. The sporting cousin of marathon, Gran Fondos are long distance, mass-participation bicycle rides that welcome riders of all types and riding abilities: recreational, amateur and professional.
Click ‘more’ for more information about the SuperCorsa and Ciclosportivo N.A.
PRESS RELEASE: San Diego, Calif. Hundreds of underprivileged children will be pedaling brand new bicycles thanks to the generosity of art collectors who attended the 2009 Bike Art Spectacular reception on Saturday, November 7th. The Bike Art Spectacular raised over $14,000 during the event’s reception.
“It was a great evening,” says Dan Gindling, president of Kimberlee’s Bikes for Kids, and Kimberlee’s husband. “People came to celebrate bike art, to celebrate Kimberlee. We had great food, two barbershop quartets, a caricature artist, and of course the stars of the evening: The bicycle art, which was all donated. I can’t thank the artists enough for their donations.”
The most expensive piece, “Tour de France”, a 6’ x 3’ hand-painted aluminum wall sculpture by Israeli artist Dave Gerstein, was sold to a New York collector for $6,600. The collector also bought the gallery-framed Leroy Neiman “Indoor Cycling” limited edition print for $2,575.
“I am so pleased to be able to contribute to your wonderful and worthy cause,” the collector said.
“The bikes are still there!” by simondbarnes.
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Alberto Contador and his current team, Astana, have reached a preliminary agreement to fulfill the remainder of the contract that binds them until the end of 2010.
The agreement reached by both sides includes a number of prerequisites in order for Contador to continue with Astana during the 2010 season. Essentially, they are:
• The team retains its ProTour license
• Strictly complies with the code of ethics
• Maintain an internal doping control system that will be implemented by the new leadership of the team
Contador decided to fulfill this agreement with Astana once he found that both Yvon Sanquer, the new team manager, and Giuseppe Martinelli, primary director sportif, ensure the reliability and competitiveness of Astana’s new project, since they have managed to gather, despite the short time span, a group of high-quality riders who are sure to be capable of successfully facing next season’s goals.
The contract to be signed will be for one year only. Since it is a new project for Astana, Alberto Contador wants to reserve the option to decide about his future in the longer term, and be fully free to choose at the end of 2010.
INTERBIKE 2009 - Nalini introduced a few new items with some snazzy tech features, like the new Protega line that infuses vitamins into your skin while you ride!
Nalini’s new 2010 Protega line of clothing includes the Oliva Jersey (above) and Bibs (after the break). They incorporate a special treatment based on “basket-molecules nanotechnology” and are treated with nano-particles that can absorb substances then release them in a predetermined time period. Nalini provides vitamin packets that you put in your wash with the garment, and the vitamins are absorbed into the nano-particles. Then, when you wear it, they’re released into your skin.
They also have some sweet new jerseys made from recycled materials, and the Mango jacket with sleeves you grip ‘n’ rip to remove while riding.
Infuse that and more into your brain, right after the break…
BIKERUMOR REVIEW: We received a set of Continental’s Race King tires shortly after Sea Otter, just in time to get a couple of rides in before racing the BURN 24 Hour Challenge this past May. Our official review set was the 26 x 2.0 Protection, but one of our testers also purchased the 2.2 Supersonics, so his comments are included in this review.
The key difference between the two models tested are that the Protection casing has a thicker casing to help prevent punctures and uses their standard rubber whereas the Supersonics do away with the additional casing protection and use Conti’s grippier Black Chili rubber compound. Claimed weight difference is about 50g.
We’ve run these tires for seven months, and both of us were very, very impressed with the grip in a wide range of conditions, and they live up to their claims when it comes to speed. So, are these tires right for you? Was there anything we didn’t like? Read on for the full review of the Continental Race King mountain bike tires…
The Lone Star Cyclocross Festival will feature two days of championship racing in Austin, Texas, on January 16 and 17, 2010. Cyclists from across Texas and around the nation will descend on the city for the MLK holiday weekend and the chance to race against the best. Furthermore, the University of Texas Cycling Team will be co-hosting their conference championship at the event. All races will be held at Travis County’s East Metro Park, a beautiful facility featuring an enclosed pavilion with a pier that provides unfettered views of the entire course.
Cyclocross is the fastest growing and most impressive spectacle in the cycling world. Racers spend up to an hour doing laps of a short course over a mix of road, grass, sand, dirt, and mud. Each lap, racers have to jump off their bikes and carry them over small hurdles or impassable terrain. Spectacular crashes are common, and the course will feature Athletic Volition Splash Down - a high-speed turn at the edge of pond. “As cycling coaches who also work closely with swimmers and runners,” says AV‘s Chris Gescheidle, ”we look forward to seeing a couple folks accidently turn this race into a triathlon.” Spectators can spend the entire race in the pavilion or out on its pier and have a front row seat for all the action.
Found this in a round-a-bout way following a story about 10 ways to become a cycling activist. It’s a classic James A. Fitzpatrick Traveltalks: The Voice of the Globe movie about bicycle traffic in Copenhagen. Quite interesting given how old it is, and has some history on the city as well as the bicycle culture, as well as some socialist commentary. If you’re interested in that whole activism thing, here’s the breadcrumb trail…
Found on RidingPretty’s blog. Check them out for the front view.
“IMG_2550” by Giuseppe Marchionno.
There’s nothing a girl likes more than sparkly things and, luckily, this sparkly bike was made for a girl. (This picture is a closeup of the hammered lug at the bottom of the head tube.) Giuseppe (Joe) and partner Alexis Dold hand craft bikes out of their shop, Villin Cycle Works. Check them out at the 2010 NAHBS in Richmond, VA, this February.
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Momentum Sports Group (MSG) and Floyd Landis have mutually agreed to terminate Landis’ Rider Agreement and thereby release both Landis and MSG from their respective obligations under the Rider Agreement for the remainder of the 2009 and 2010 racing seasons.
Landis returned from a well-documented serious hip injury and subsequent hip resurfacing procedure to assist MSG’s professional cycling team in winning the Nature Valley Grand Prix, The Tour of Elk Grove and the Joe Martin Stage Races during the 2009 racing season.
For the 2010 season, Landis expressed to MSG that he desires to ride the longer, tougher stage races offered in Europe and internationally that better suit his strengths. Accordingly, given that MSG will be focusing its 2010 racing season primarily in the United States, MSG and Landis mutually agreed that it would be best for both parties to part ways at this time and allow Landis to seek a position with a team that could better accommodate his desires.
“I wish to thank all of the sponsors for their support this year. I would also like to thank everyone at Momentum Sports Group,” Landis said. “While I’m excited to pursue other opportunities, I will miss all of my teammates and everyone on staff.”
