This sweet paint job was done by VéloColour, a custom bicycle painting shop. They’re based out of Toronto, Canada, and will be attending the 2010 NAHBS this weekend. Not surprisingly, they won the Best Paint Job award at last years’ NAHBS. Click on their website above to see more sweet paint jobs.
Folding bike enthusiasts rejoice! The Brompton US Championship is coming to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 20th, hosting an American event meant to mirror the widely popular British Brompton World Championship.
The event will be limited to Brompton brand folding bicycles only, believed to be the first event in America of its kind. In true Brompton fashion, competitors, both male and female, must wear a suit jacket with collared shirt and neck tie. Shorts are approved, but only if they are not sports attire, so no lycra or other performance fabrics.
The course will follow a 6-mile loop around Philly, the same course used for the Philly Phlyer Circuit Race. Winners in the mens and women’s categories will receive airfare and entry to the Brompton World Championship in England this October. Fields are limited to 100 riders, and there are awards for the top three in each category, along with a special “best dressed†award.
More info on the event here. Registration is open right now, and can be accessed here.
Hayes has officially pulled the wrapper off the final details for their new Prime hydraulic disc brakes. Shown in cutaway view above, the Poppet Cam is (as suspected) a stroke/pad contact adjustment, but the Poppet valve hides some big flow tech inside the master cylinder.
Externally, the Poppet Cam Dial will move rotate the cam (rust-colored doodad in the cental close-up image) to move the poppet valve in relation to the piston, giving you control over where in the stroke the lever starts making pad contact. Combine this with the reach adjust, and you can fine tune the feel and position of your levers quite a bit. We’ve reviewed the Stroker Grams and the “Top Hat” lever reach adjustment dial is great. Both adjustments are tool-free.
Internally, the main piston is hollowed out and the whole assembly has 5x greater oil flow than their Stroker, allowing for quick movement of fluid to compensate for heat and pad wear. Hayes claims this eliminates any lever pump caused by heat buildup, and it’ll automatically adjust for pad wear to keep contact and force the same throughout use. This “open bath” design also increases durability since it doesn’t require the traditional rubber seal movement over port holes inside the master cylinder.
Hayes has a few videos on the Poppet Cam page that show some of these features better than words. We featured Bikerumor-Exclusive power/leverage charts here, and more tech details and pics of the Prime are here.
It’s been 24 days of eating and drinking nothing with any added sugar (save for bread and a little ketchup, as explained in Part 2). Many of you have questioned why. Why would someone who’s active and fit worry about cutting out extra sugar from their diet?
The short answer is, because I want to be as awesome as possible. Like most athletes, I’ve developed a sense of quasi-invincibility, thinking that all this exercise is improving my body and leading to a longer, better life. Like many of you, the longer I’ve ridden, the more keenly aware I’ve become of how nutrition affects performance. For me, that also led to an increased interest in nutrition for overall better health.
I used to think that because I rode hard or hit the gym, I could eat whatever I wanted in quantities that happily distressed my gait upon exiting dollar-taco-Tuesdays. But, the more I’ve read, the more I’ve started altering my diet to improve my health, and sugar’s been on my mind for quite some time.
Now, I’m not diabetic. In fact, according to the blood work done for a recent life insurance policy, I’m not even anywhere near pre-diabetic. In fact, I’m in pretty darn good health overall. So why cut out added sugar if things seem to be going swell?
There are three main reasons why, and they may just convince you to cut a lot of sugar from your diet, too. Fair warning: Ignorance is bliss, but it won’t do your health much good. Here we go…
Found this cute ladies’ bike T in Sunday’s Target circular.On sale from 8$ to 7$. You can order online or go to your local Target.
The Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race, held in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, announced changes to its schedule this week, moving from last year’s October date to an earlier slot of September 14-18 this year, while also adding an additional day of racing.
Promoters hope that the date change, along with a beefed up prize list of $20,000, will attract more riders from the cyclocross world, noting that October is typically the time when mountain bikers start racing ‘cross.
The race also announced the addition of more singletrack and longer trails in this year’s edition, responding to feedback from the 2009 inaugural event.
The Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race is a 5-day series through the back-country trails of North Carolina, with the start and finish near the town of Brevard, North Carolina. This year’s race will feature 178 miles of racing over the five days with over 40,000 feet of elevation gain in total. For more information on the race, visit their website here.
Brighter is a new freeride mountain bike video that’ll be available in March from New Wave Cinema. Pre-order for $20 and get 50% off any t-shirts and a free bonus disc. Here’s the official blurb:
Filmed in North and South America, Brighter has an often overlooked, unique approach to filmmaking: we’re here to have fun!
From the co-visionary of the underground cult classic Stripped, the online web series Stund, and a past editor for Freeride Entertainment, Tamas Forde/New Wave Cinema is delivering this spring exactly what you’ve been missing: A feel good, pro quality film…that won’t break the bank. We believe in giving good deals, and that’s all there is to it. Shot in pristine hi definition and 35mm d.o.f, Brighter features some of the world’s best riders, shredding and sending it for their love of riding bikes.
If nothing else, check out the snippet of a nose wheelie at 1:47.
Found via Fox12/KPTV Portland:
An illegal single-track mountain bike trail was discovered last week in Portland’s Forest Park. Officials claim this unauthorized trail has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem. Trees were cut, boulders moved, and a small stream was dammed to create the almost mile long trail. Probably built within the last two months, park officials say it could take a decade to re-grow. While interested in finding the offenders, park officials are busy trying to repair the damage.
With over 5,000 acres of woodland, Forest Park is open to hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. Mountain bike trails are, however, limited to certain dirt roads and fire lanes. Check out a map here.
On November 15, 2009 the people at Takeover LA threw a race that consisted of 3 sprints and 2 sets of stairclimbs that eventually lead to a free for all race to the Bike Day LA event in Hollywood. Bicinity filmed the event to showcase local cyclists while also creating an 8 mile visual trip through Los Angeles in a racer’s perspective.
Freelap’s timing poles and watch let you time yourself on hot laps, downhill runs and anything else you can think of. The poles are placed at the start and finish of your run and will automatically start and stop the timing on the watch, giving you accurate, hands-free timing.
According to Dirt MountainBike Magazine, some mountain bike parks are even considering permanently installed systems, so all you have to do is roll up with your own watch. MSRP is £160 for the watch and £92 each for the poles (shown), with other sensor options available.
Of course, we all know there’s no such thing as a free lap… get watches for several of your buddies and the smack talking can finally be backed up, with frosty beverage penalties paid for by the loser. Yes, kiddies, despite what current “everyone’s a winner” gradeschool propaganda may have taught you, there are losers. Freelap proves it.
PRESS RELEASE: USA Cycling announced today the 2010 USA Cycling Professional Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (Pro GRT). In its second year, the five-race series will continue to raise the level of competitive gravity racing across the United States by providing a consistent stage of international-caliber events for elite gravity racers to showcase their downhill skills.
The Pro GRT is a downhill-only series for 2010 and will visit four states from April to September, crisscrossing the U.S. with two stops in New York.
Each of the five stops will offer series ranking points to top finishers, resulting in overall individual titles for professional men and women. Additionally, competitors will have the opportunity to accumulate international ranking points as two of the five races are inscripted on the UCI calendar. The racers with the most points throughout the five-race series will be recognized as the best gravity athletes competing on U.S. soil.
The 2010 series will also feature an Amateur GRT which, like the Pro GRT, will give Expert-level Category 1 racers the opportunity to compete against each other for an overall series crown.
Tour dates and locations after the (big, rocky) jump…
The Killswitch from Black Market has been blowin’ up the online forums and chatter, and for good reason. It’s a full suspension dirt jump bike from a company that knows a few things about DJ. They recently put out the 24″ hardtail Contraband to much acclaim.
The Killswitch will be available in April, check out photos and specs here.
