Found these on Trek Australia’s website, then found a better one on Ben Coat’s Trek Road blog to complement the other custom painted Madone’s we posted.  Above, a custom painted Madone ridden by Alberto Contador in the Paris-Nice road race earlier in March. The colour feature sports three stripes to represent the three Grand Tours that Alberto has won over the last 2 years: Yellow for the Tour de France, Pink for the Giro d’ Italia and Gold for the Vuelta Espana.

Click on any of the pics to enlarge and to see Lance’s custom painted and spec’d Madone Townie (what?) and Levi’s custom painted time trial bike from the Tour of California.

 

Hit “more” to see closeup photos of the Madone townie custom build…

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Crank Brothers have released their Iodine All Mountain wheelset into the wild, claiming it’s light enough to ride up the hill and strong enough to bomb down it.  It’s a tubeless-compatible wheel design that weighs in at 1865g per pair with a 21mm internal width.  Their wheels use a twin-pair spoke design, meaning two spokes from either side of the hub meet at the same point on a vertical rib, meaning no spokes penetrate the rim wall.  They claim this creates a better tension balance and a stiffer rim.

The 24 spokes are a combo of “elongated alloy nipples” mated to stainless steel spokes, and they’re trued from the middle.  The rear hub uses a 25mm axle to keep it stiff, and the front comes as a 20mm thru-axle that’s convertible to work with standard QR skewers.  MSRP is $1000 USD w/ 2-year warranty.

Read “more” to see how you can get a free demo set to race at Sea Otter…

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PRESS RELEASE: Now on MagicMechanics.com, find out which 2009 bikes have HammerSchmidt on board, watch a slideshow of HammerSchmidt in action and download the latest ad for a chance to WIN HammerSchmidt (and other cool stuff). AND, if you are going to Sea Otter, stop by the SRAM truck to ride HammerSchmidt for yourself!

Fast Boy Cycles, maker of fine handcrafted bikes and sweet wooden fenders that you just can’t buy (because he’ll only make them for you if you buy a bike), had this “Assless” bike in his gallery. Prompted by the obvious question “why”, I contacted Ezra “Fast Boy” to see what the deal was.

The “why” turns out to be a little sad but also inspirational. Ezra was diagnosed with cancer a bit back and has been going through chemo and radiation. The doctors told him he couldn’t ride because the pressure from the seat may aggravate the tumor. Solution? You’re looking at it. Thanks to donations from Chris King, Phil Wood and White Industries, plus Ezra’s buddies putting together some donations, here’s the answer to riding your bike with cancer.

According to Ezra, the fork has less trail than normal to keep the bike from swaying side-to-side too much while pedaling. Here’s the rest of his response:

“Thanks for your interest. Yeah.. the assless is a pretty fun bike. I built it for myself over the summer after being diagnosed with ass cancer. They told me I couldn’t ride a bike. I asked if it would be ok if the bike had no seat.  The doc said, ‘so.. what?  you’re just going to stand the whole time?’  ’yeah..  that’s right.’ He just shrugged at me and said, ‘yeah.. that’d be fine.’ So I built an assless bike.”

Click on the images to enlarge.  Ezra’s cancer blog is here and his gallery of other bikes is here.

Geoff Kabush (CAN/Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) surged on the final lap to overtake Sho-air/Specialized’s Max Plaxton (AUS) and secure the win in the Pro XCT’s inaugural event, the Fontana City National. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo.) powered to victory over Luna teammate Catherine Pendrel (CAN) using the course’s long, flat finish to take the just over 30 second win in the women’s Pro XCT race.

With the wins, Kabush and Gould take the early lead on the seven-event Pro XCT. The latest version of the USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour presented by Sho-air standings is as follows:

Men’s Individual Standings
1. Geoff Kabush (CAN/Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) 100
2. Max Plaxton (AUS/Sho-air-Specialized) 95
3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) 90
4. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Gary Fisher) 85
5. Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant) 80

Women’s Individual Standings
1. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna) 100
2. Catherine Pendrel (CAN/Luna) 95
3. Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) 90
4. Emily Batty (CAN/Trek) 85
5. Willow Koerber (Asheville, N.C./Subaru-Gary Fisher) 80

Click here to view the complete 2009 Pro XCT Men’s Individual Standings and here to view the Women’s Inidvidual Standings. The second race on the 2009 Pro XCT will be the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, Calif., on April 19.

Freedom Riders, a story about the first ever purpose-specific trail in the Forest Service land, will have its world premiere Saturday, April 19 at Sea Otter.  If you want to come out and watch, it’s $10 at the door, and proceeds go to IMBA.

Hit “more” for the full press release and links to RSVP for the premiere…

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Knog, the funky Australian component maker, won a Gold IF award for their Beetle bicycle light.  The Beetle is a two-light LED with a silicone body and an easy-on, easy-off mount.  It runs for about 130 hours in blinky mode on 2 AA batteries.  It’s only 12g, comes in a rainbow of colors (click on thumbnail for a sampling) and you can get them with either red or white LED’s for front or rear use.

Oddly enough, the light’s not even featured on Knog’s website, but you can get your fix here (or find pretty much anything else from Knog).

In what’s sure to make mounting your cycling computer even trickier, Ritchey’s new SuperLogic 10D carbon handlebars offer a 10º sweep for ergonomics like a riser bar but with the more aggressive stance of a flat bar.  The forward bends keep the rider’s position the same as with a flat bar, so you don’t have to readjust your bike’s fit.

The SuperLogic version, which trumps WCS as the new top o’ the line trim level for Ritchey, weighs in at just 168g for a 620mm width 31.8mm clamp diameter bar.  It’s constructed of unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber and MSRP’s for $259.95.

They also offer a WCS aluminum and WCS carbon version, with several width options.  Read “more” for pics and specs on those…

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From ESPN, found on Edinburgh BMX.  Shows how ODI grips are made, then street tested.

Keen’s new Springwater cycling shoes debuted in January for Spring/Summer 09.

I’ve been riding them around town for a couple of months, and though I didn’t care much for Keen’s normal walking shoes, I like these for basic commuting and errands on the bike.  For those that already wear Keen shoes, you’ll probably love the Springwaters.  For those that have never tried Keen’s, all I can say is they’re different.  Their “Metatomical Footbed Design” is, according to Keen, anatomically engineered to provide excellent arch support and cradle the natural contours of the foot. In practice, at least for the pair I tried, that translates to a noticeable ridge under the middle of the foot.  All of the Keen wearers I spoke to are loyal to the brand, so I’m guessing you either love them or you don’t.

As a test, I’ve worn these around the office all day on a few occasions, and, considering they’re cycling shoes, they’re comfortable enough.  They’re easy to walk in even though they have a full length plate to provide rigidity when pedaling.  The SPD cleats are recessed into the tread just enough that they don’t hit the floor unless you’re walking really fast or running…which is good, because we have wood floors at our office!

If you’re in the market for some casual cycling shoes for riding to school, work or just to the coffee shop, read on to see the technical specs and my likes and dislikes…

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Gearheads, an outdoor adventure retailer, is hosting their Outdoor Adventure Gear Sale and Expo on April 24-26, 2009 at WNC Ag Center, Asheville NC.  You can set up your own booth to sell your stuff, and there’s a Friday Pre-sale for volunteers and consignors only; Saturday and Sunday are open to the public.

Find great deals on consignment items, new discounted closeouts from regional shops and learn about what’s new in 2009 from Manufacturers, Clubs, and Nonprofits in your area.

ACTIVITIES:

• Win GearHeads Buck$ by competing in a variety of events throughout the weekend.   Test your skills in Computrainer Sprints, Bunny Hop Contest, Children’s Mountain Bike Race and more.
• GearHeads will offer a variety of clinics to suit everyone from beginners to seasoned pros.
• Get stoked just by watching the Pro Dirt Jump Demo, Vintage Bike Show and more.

File under “Because you can” – I’m hoping this is styrofoam…and that there were no crosswinds.