INTERBIKE 2009 – Lupine had a few new upgrade kits to illuminate the now-dark-at-7pm days.  Going from a respectable 920 lumens for the Wilma (4-LED, right) and outrageous 1,500 lumens for the Betty (7-LED, left), the new upgrade kits (shown after the break) boost output by about 20 percent!

The upgrade kits will work for the older 830 Wilma and the newer 920 Wilma.  Lupine says that although the claimed improvement is just 20%, the visual impression is that they’re about twice as bright, with no effect on the run times.  So, you know, if you need more than 1,700 lumens to turn night to day, hit more and check out the kits.

Those, and some other goodies after the break…

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The Bergmönch Koga is a full suspension downhill…scooter.  The video above is foreign, but I think it has subliminal messages, because now I totally want one of these (give the video a second to get into its groove…it doesn’t completely make sense, but it is fun).

It has a hand-built 7005 Aluminum frame with 1-1/2″ headtube and air shocks.  It gets 80mm travel front and rear, with a swingarm in the back and parallelogram 4-link (AMP-style) front fork with side-mounted shock doing the bounce control.  Both shocks have adjustable rebound.  To keep you from totally killing yourself, it’s equipped with Shimano SLX disc brakes and Schwalbe Mow Joe 2.0 (front) and Inoova 2.4 (rear) tires.

Given the niche weirdness of this, it’s fairly well thought out.  The backpack part uses a Vaude Carry System with ergonomic design, aerated backplate, shoulder belts, hip belt and height adjustable chest strap, waterproof compartments and plenty of extra cargo room.

Check out the photos and more specs after the break…

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Dear Concerned IMBA-SORBA Members,

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources is soliciting public review and comments on its current plan for managing state parks.

You can review the parks plan and submit comments online. Do not delay, as your comments must be submitted by October 31!

Please consider sending a message that address all or some of the following points:

• Mountain bikers have become an important user group in recent years and deserve increased facilities
• All bordering states allow mountain biking in state parks
• Today’s shared-use trails are durable, low-maintenance and relatively inexpensive to build
• Mountain bike tourism contributes to the economic vitality of a community by boosting retail, restaurant, hotel, gas and grocery sales
• The vast majority of cyclists are responsible, considerate riders who share trails well with other user groups
• Off-road cycling is a low-impact, human-powered, legitimate recreation group with more than 35 million annual U.S. participants
• Off-road cycling is a great form of exercise and helps combat the societal trend toward obesity — it’s especially appealing to kids
• A united trails community — one that includes mountain bicyclists and other trail groups — can be a powerful, effective voice for increased federal, state and local recreational trails funding
• Cyclists have a great record of giving back to their local trail systems, volunteering on public land and protecting the environment
• Several IMBA-affiliated clubs currently maintain trails in city parks, as well as a variety of state and federal lands — yet only one NC State Park has opened singletrack trails to mountain bikers

If you have ever ridden or plan to ride North Carolina, please take the time to send your comments in support of expanded and improved shared-used trails in our state parks.

IMBA-SORBA and its chapters/affiliates have made good progress this year and have greatly improved our relationship with state parks. Now it’s time for your voice to be heard. Please take a few minutes to respond.

Thanks for considering this request!

Tom Sauret
IMBA-SORBA Executive Director and Regional Director

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See our letter to the NC Department of Natural Resources after the break…

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Search Craigslist much for cycling stuff?  Here’s how to make Craigslist your you-know-what, courtesy of Wired Magazine (with our own mod):

• Enter a search term, say “Yakima”, and hit return.
• Click the RSS button on the bottom right of the page (this step missing from Wired’s article)
• Copy the resulting URL in your browser’s navigation window.
• Paste it into your favorite RSS reader.
• New posts will pop up in your RSS feed as soon as they’re posted.

How?  Craiglist’s queries are XML enabled, which is what RSS feeds use.  Find what you want quicker, then get back to riding.  This is also a great way to keep a constant search open for hard to find items without having to constantly go to Craigslist.

Downsides: It’ll only let you search one city at a time, and even though nearby items may show up in a Craigslist search, they won’t show up in your RSS feed, so you’d need to set up a separate feed for each city.

“Work Parking” submitted by Sean Maginness – who saw our previous Pic Of The Day and wanted to share his “preferred” parking spot.

To see more Pics Of The Day, click here.

If you’d like to submit a picture for our Pic Of The Day, click here.

VIA STATESVILLE.com – First Flight Bike Shop in Statesville, NC, was recently featured on Smithsonian.com in a profile of niche museums in the U.S.

Recognized for its tremendous collection of mountain bikes, gear and related cultural accoutrements, the MOMBAT is the labor of love of shop owner Jeff Archer.  The museum catalogs eight of the leading mountain-bike magazines and has copies of original drawings and spec sheets from some of mountain biking’s pioneer designers and builders. The collection of materials reflects Archer’s appreciation of the engineering behind the bikes.

His collection includes 450 bikes in all, including some dating from the 1860s, with the first mountain bikes dating from the mid 1970s.  If you’re in the area, check it out and they’ll give you a free tour, otherwise, their website has pictures and info on hundreds (maybe thousands) of mountain bikes and parts, like the 1996 3D Zerox dual boinger shown above.  There’s a short video about the museum here.

USA Today’s DriveOn mini site posted an article on October 23 titled “Two-wheel troublemaking: Have motorists let bicyclist ‘rights’ go too far?” then opens with this sentence: Have Bicyclist “rights” gone too far?

Honestly, in this journalist’s opinion, the headline doesn’t match up with the story.  Motorists haven’t let cyclists get away with anything…in fact two posts on our site earlier today suggest exactly the opposite.  And, the last time I checked, our rights and responsibilities were basically the same as those in motorized vehicles.  I agree that critical mass and three-person wide pacelines do little to encourage goodwill, as the article suggests, but there are things that are patently wrong with it:

…as (cyclists) numbers have increased, (they) have become emboldened to take over the road. That is, instead of riding to the right or on the shoulder, some are now riding in the center of the lane. Two incidents underscore how they are putting themselves in danger. One incident involved a cyclist hit and killed by accident. The other case is a motorist who is alleged to have tried to make bicyclists crash into his car on purpose…

Contrary to the example of a Maryland cyclist who was struck and killed on her way to work while riding in the middle of the lane because the 20-year-old driver told police she “never saw the biker,” I would argue that when speeds permit, you are almost certainly more visible to drivers and force them to slow down and take notice when you’re directly in front of them.  Not on country roads, no, but in an urban environment where between traffic lights you can keep up with or even beat traffic, absolutely!

Fortunately, they interviewed Jeff Peel with League of American Bicyclists and he basically said they were full of it.  It’s still a motorist centered piece, far from being a neutral conversation starter, but at least it portrayed our side of the story, and it has a small listing of cycling laws by state.  Check it out.

Photo from their story of a 1997 bike rally by Critical Mass in San Francisco, by Sam Morris/AP

A bicycle safety message made better by using stop motion filming and legos from BikingRules.org.  Legos make everything better…like a spoonful of sugar.

Actually, Transportation Alternatives, a NYC cycling advocacy group, has a Biking Rules PSA Film Fest coming on November 17 at 7pm at BAM Rose Cinemas, followed by a reception at Brooklyn Brewery.  Just don’t forget everything you just watched by the time you’re riding home from the brewery.

UK customers rejoice, now you can get this 7005 alloy-framed limited edition Land Rover G4 full suspension mountain bike (or one of five other kids, womens or commuter bicycles) when you sign a contract for a mobile phone from Affordable Mobiles.  Of course, personally, I’d go for the PS3 or flat screen TV, but hey, I already have like seven bikes, so whatever.  Or you could just get a kids’ bike for your little ones, they’ll be pleased as peaches.

Just a quick update from our earlier post, Police say they’ve found the vehicle likely responsible for the hit and run fatality of cyclist David Sherman.

Highway Patrol say the silver Dodge Durango was found in Rockingham County, and they are working to find the driver and charge them.  What’s really disturbing is the side of the car that’s damaged above…it (to me) suggests that either a) the driver crossed the road and hit him head-on or b) the driver had veered way too far off the side of the road.  There is, of course, the possibility that Sherman was crossing the lane to turn, but given the stretch of road he was on, that seems unlikely (you can see it in the video on Fox 8 here).

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Zipp Speed Weaponry has updated the name of their new R2C aero-bar shifter based on SRAM’s technology (they’re owned by SRAM) and provided a sharper, more ergonomic alternative that integrates directly into their Vuka line of aero bars.  Here’s the release:

FROM ZIPP: The first shifting component from Zipp Speed Weaponry®, the neVukaR2C (Return to Center) aero shifter is a milestone in Zipp’s efforts to develop cockpit components that combine high performance aerodynamics with superior ergonomics.
After setting the VukaR2C at the natural angle for the rider’s hand position, the shifter’s return-to-center actuation resets the lever to its original angle after every shift, keeping the rider as low and as comfortable as possible.

Weighing just 180 grams per pair, the VukaR2C is also the first plug-in shifter designed with an aerodynamic profile that saves up to 6 seconds over 40km compared to a traditional TT lever.

The VukaR2C shifter was tested in Kona in 2008 and is Grand Tour proven. It is compatible with all aero bars, but optimized for Zipp’s VukaShift extensions that eliminate the shifter’s expansion bolt by allowing users to attach the shifting mechanism directly to the aero bar extension. It’s compatible with Shimano/SRAM 10 speed and Campagnolo 10 speed only and will be available in mid-January 2010.

Note that the VukaR2C was previously announced as the RZR; the name has been changed to reflect its position in Zipp’s Vuka family of aerobars as well as SRAM shift lever technology.