Polar Bottles has just released eight new designs, with hand-drawn graphics from Boulder, CO, artist Grason Ratowski.  Shown at left is “Rose”, which is just as cool looking in person (we received a sample) as in this glamour shot.

Polar also recently thinned out the plastic on their bottles to make them easier to squeeze, and all of their bottles are BPA free and phthalate free.  Plus, theoretically, thinner plastic means less plastic, so I assume they get some green cred for that, so you can ride with a cold, clean conscience.

Other features include the removable carrying strap and removable spout for easier cleaning.  At 24oz (also available in 20oz), they’re among the largest insulated bottles that’ll fit in a water bottle cage.

Click “Rose” to enlarge, and check out the other graphic styles after the break…

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London 2012 has raised the bar for awesome applications of technology.  Sure, realtors have used such things for showing homes and apartments, but their Olympic committee has installed pan-and-zoom cameras at the velodrome stadium where we can oversee construction of the banked track.  Sweet!

Check it out here…you can drag the mouse over the image on their site to move the camera, zoom, etc.

National Bike Month is coming to a close, but it’s been full of great news for everyone who loves to ride.

Peopleforbikes.org has just reached 25,000 pledge-takers, and new bike-friendly initiatives have been announced in cities across the country. Philadelphia unveiled plans for a new bicycle network that will double the city’s bike lane miles. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn launched an initiative to get people out of their cars and onto bikes. And in Washington, D.C., a new two-way bike lane was configured down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, so people will soon be able to ride safely from the Capitol to the White House.

Some of the best news of the week, though, came to Mike Shoup of Denver and Fatima Ahmed of Bronx, NY — the two winners of the first drawing of our National Bike Month giveaway! Mike and Fatima won brand-new bikes from Breezer. Congratulations!

Don’t worry: You still have a chance to win a bike in our next, and final, drawing for the National Bike Month giveaway. On Monday, Memorial Day, we’ll select the winners of two new Trek Allants, so make sure you’re entered now — and tell your fellow riders to sign the pledge and enter too: http://peopleforbikes.org/LastChance

“Picture from the Timing Moto…” sent in by John Price.

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The bicycle industry is at war, although this time it’s not about who has the lightest bike, the cleanest athletes, or best marketing. No, this battle is simply for the future or the fate of the bicycle drive train as we know it. Seemingly today, most manufacturers would have you believe that the current bicycle drive train is perfectly sufficient, it just needs a few more gears.  Lighter, faster, more precise, more, more, more.

However there seems to be more and more companies that are staking their claim in the relatively uncharted waters of the bicycle transmission. Just recently FSA announced that they are getting into the internally geared front crank market with their new Metropolis Crank.  Internally geared hubs, gearboxes, planetary gears, and most recently Continuously Variable Transmissions are becoming more prevalent on a daily basis. IO DuPont happens to be one of these companies, and I’m willing to bet that they believe in a post derailleur cycling era. Details are slim, but in a recent press release IO DuPont confirmed that they have validated the design of the Infinity Drive using computer modeling and are currently in the prototyping process to bring a fully functioning prototype to life.

More on the Infinity Drive after the break!

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After long being rumored dead, the Tour of Missouri took a potentially fatal hit this week, after a last minute push for necessary state tourism funding failed on Thursday.  A Missouri state tourism oversight commission gave final approval to its annual budget, and the $1 million needed and requested by organizers Medalist Sports to continue the race was not included in the final state budget. This effectively puts an end to hopes for a 2010 Tour of Missouri, unless a major sponsor comes along to save the event, which organizers say is very unlikely.

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Felt unveiled their new DA TT bike at the Tour of California this week, both on display in their expo booth and underneath some of the Garmin-Transitions riders. The bike just looks fast, but Felt says it has made some major improvements over the previous version, and has the numbers to back it up. Check out full photos and some of Felt’s claims about the new bike after the break…

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Rapha is celebrating the spirit of the Giro with a new music CD featuring a mix of songs meant to elicit the passion of the event:

Inspired by the history, passion and glory of the Giro d’Italia, this soundtrack travels through an eclectic mix of music and sound to celebrate what is for many the greatest bike race in the world. The Giro is synonymous with Italian cycling and names like Binda, Coppi, Moser and Pantani, champions and legends that have all worn the Maglia Rosa.

For the road-racing connoisseur, the corsa rosa is a romantic and colourful carnival marking the start of summer road racing. This album combines 21 tracks of opera, jazz, traditional folk and classic italo-disco and house to reflect the varied culture and heritage of Italy’s Grand Tour. Each track has been chosen to capture the atmosphere and essence of the Giro d’Italia. Accompanying the music are the authentic sounds of the tifosi and the Giro caravan. There is also commentary from the voice behind the 1974 film The Greatest Show on Earth. The CD artwork features the photography of Daniel Sharp.

Check it out and/or order here.

Assuming you don’t live in New York, you can enter the Livestrong See Lance in France Sweepstakes.  Or, more realistically, raffle, since you have to make a donation if you want to enter online. Otherwise, you can enter by actually writing your name and info on dead trees and mailing in folded dead trees via petroleum powered delivery services.  Anyway, here’s the blurb:

Have you ever wanted to watch Lance Armstrong race in the Tour de France?  Ever dreamed of visiting Paris while enjoying views of the Louvre from your room?  Here’s your chance. Enter the Lance in France Sweepstakes to see Lance race in the 2010 Tour de France. One lucky winner will receive round-trip airfare for two and a beautiful vacation villa courtesy of HomeAway.com for July 21–26, as well as special access on the Tour. To mark the anniversary of Lance’s diagnosis, for every $10.02 gift you will receive one entry into the sweepstakes.  The winner will be drawn and notified on June 17, 2010.

Enter the contest here.

The BC Bike Race has, as of this post, only 12 spots left.  If you’re thinking about racing, it’s time to put up or shut up.  They’ve also added Red Bull as a sponsor, and will have their drinks and shots at the support stations throughout the event.

The US Pro Road Race Championships returns on Sept. 18 and 19.  Watch George Hincapie defend his three prior victories. The Individual Time Trial Championships will be held on Saturday, September 18 at CU-ICAR, where cyclists will compete against the clock on a 6.9 mile course (completed 3three times). The Road Race Championships will be held on Sunday, September 19, with the start/finish in downtown Greenville. The 112-mile course will include four passes over Paris Mountain.

The Tour of Colorado road race series makes its third stop of the year this Memorial Day Weekend, May 28-30, in Superior, Colorado.  Saturday’s street springs are followed by Sunday’s main event crit, which returns to the famed Morgul Bismark Road Race. The 13.3 mile loop finishes at the top of the “Wall” made famous by it’s mile long 12% grade.

The BURN 24 Hour Challenge, presented by Bikerumor, has sold out!  All 400 spots are gone, but you can still come out and take part in our first official Huffy Toss.  We’re a little partial to this event, so here’s some bragging: Now in its 10th year, the BURN has become the premiere 24 hour race in the Southeast. Why? Great trails, low entry fees, secret midnight alien surprises and an enthusiastic and supportive staff.  Plus, all proceeds go directly to the BMCC to help them build more trails!

High Point City Crit Race takes place this weekend under the lights of downtown High Point, NC.  The local arts council is selling brews, and live music will entertain.  Check it out here.

Ashima’s pistonless PCB (PanCake Brakes) were announced last year, with anticipated U.S. delivery starting earlier this year. Well, J&B Importers says they’ll get their first batch and have them ready to ship to U.S. retailers in about three weeks. In the meantime, we’ve had our hands on two sets of early production test models. The first set didn’t work as planned (which I’ll get into in more detail when we post a full review…could have been damage-in-transit or just air in the system, we’re working with Ashima to determine, but it’d be premature to comment as to their quality), and our second set just arrived the other day and is being installed on the bike now to (hopefully) be raced this weekend at the BURN 24 Hour.

Update: U.S. MSRP will be about $200 / wheel.

The claimed weight for the set (front, post-mount, 160mm rotor) is 308g, and both of our test sets come in right around that number including all hardware, making them very light indeed. Performance remains to be seen, but click ‘more’ for photos, weights and some details…

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Crossing the kayak bridge at the Dirtworks 100km Classic. This popular mountain bike race takes place annually in St. Albans, New South Wales, Australia. This year’s event was held May 1st. Event organized by Max Adventure. Photo by Derek Waterman.

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