Stealing air from car tires with a homemade two-headed hose…it’s simple and easy and the guys over on Lifehacker will tell you how. Shoot, it’s actually so easy that I can tell you how. The only items you will require to pull this wonderful hack off are two chucks (pump heads) and a length of air hose. The acquisition of these items is pretty simple — just ask your local bike shop to order you a replacement air hose of any variety, along with an extra head. Just looking briefly at my Bontrager Charger pump here, I can see how easy it would be to pull off. So easy I could do it. And that means it’s REALLY easy. Now it seems like the guys over at Lifehacker have taken some heat for merely suggesting that you should hook your awesome-new-air-hose up to a Hummer to steal some air, and I’m here to draw some of that heat by saying YES, you should totally steal air from cars. Especially Hummers. And extra-especially the big, lame, yellow ones. Why? Because some people deserve it (like yellow Hummer drivers), and besides, “Air Theft” will never hold up in court.

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Time pedal lovers rejoice, there is a new larger platform pedal on the horizon which will be a good bit lighter than the Z Controls! The new X Roc pedals will feature a composite body similar to the Time Atac composites currently on the market and will offer  much wider platform for improved comfort and control for aggressive riding.

The X Rocs will feature the same seamless float that Time has become known for, as well as the option of 13 to 17 degrees of float depending on how you position the cleats on your shoe. This prototype also had spring tension adjust, so I would guess that the final production version will have that as well. Due to the fact that the larger platform might lead to harder landings off bigger jumps, the X Roc also gets an oversized steel axle to keep you from snapping your pedals. The X Roc should come in somewhere around 444 grams, which not far off from the new XTR trail pedal (398 g).

Speaking of oversized axles, check out the new Z Control after the break!

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Coinciding with the release of 127 Hours is the 127 Defining Moments contest, in which people can enter their own personal life changing stories in the great outdoors. Outside Magazine will select 126 winners to go along with Aron Ralston’s to create 127 Defining Moments. There will be 10 grand prize winners and all 126 finalists will receive prizes provided by Eddie Bauer First Ascent, Sierra Designs, Larabar and CamelBak.

And if you’re in Southern California, and would like to attend a free screening of the film in Hollywood on November 4th, go to www.gofobo.com/rsvp and enter the code: ROCKR661 (it’s case sensitive!)

Yep, it’s official…we’re headed to Asheville, NC, for our second schwag giveaway.  You may notice that little “Toss” coverup above. Well, politics and permits being what they are with regards to hosting a ride on the Forest Service’s fabulous Bent Creek trails, we jumped the gun a bit in saying we’d have our Schwag Ride there.

So, we’re having the next best thing: A Schwag Toss!

That’s right…all you have to do is show up at the to-be-announced Asheville, NC, location on Saturday, November 6 at 12:30pm and hang out with a bunch of like minded cyclists for a few minutes while we get everything ready to give away.  You’ll want to show up on time because not only do we have big, awesome gear from the companies shown above, but we’ve got a limited number of free samples from Hammer Nutrition and Button Hole on a first come, first served sampling basis.

Check some photos of our first one in Little Rock, AR, this summer here, then save the date for the biggest schwag toss yet. How big? Well, Cane Creek’s dumped in about $1,000 worth of goodies all on their own, and we’ve got packs and Podium bottoms from Camelbak, tires from Maxxis and so much more.

How will you know where to go? Follow Bikerumor on Twitter and Facebook and keep checking our site for updates…we’ll post more next week.

Oh, and if you’re looking for something to do after the Schwag Toss, well, we plan on riding our mountain bikes…

Hitchcog from Freaxed on Vimeo.

After you have watched this video short that appears to be a film trailer, your first thought will likely be “What the hell is going on here?” But your second thought will just as likely be “Who cares…it’s frickin’ cool!” The first scene shows a strange aero-helmet-wearing man standing in front of a clip of Cary Grant getting buzzed by a biplane from Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest. Then it jumps to a clip of a sweet-fixie-riding character hauling ass away from a helicopter. Is this a trailer for a film about a hapless New York bike messenger being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, who is subsequently pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.

All we know is what we can extrapolate from the cryptic tagline “One night, one trip, one gear & definitely no fear!” and the one minute and fifteen second trailer…if that’s what it is. I’d tell you to go over to the Freaxed website, but all you’ll find over there is the big, creepy picture of the scary-helmet-wearing-dude that also appears after the break…

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Hanging at the back of the indoor booth for Salsa, was a new bike that had already attracting a lot of  attention out at Dirt Demo. It was a 29 inch wheeled full suspension mountain bike with a frame that weighs in under 6 pounds with shock, and an incredible retail of only $999! The Spearfish is Salsa’s newest lightweight 29′r and is certainly worthy of some attention considering all of it’s features seem to greatly outweigh its price tag.

The Spearfish will feature an aluminum frame with a tapered head tube, Pressfit 30 bottom bracket, and a Rock Shox Monarch rear shock.

Close up shots after the jump!

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For a company that is known for being fairly old school, but with an incredible attention to detail and quality, Phil Wood had some very new school and intriguing parts on display this year at Interbike. Take this belt drive freewheel for example, due to the lack of belt drive freewheels on the market Peter Enright (current owner of Phil Wood) teamed up with White Industries to create one. Peter told me that rather than trying to create a freewheel, he would rather leave that up to the masters at White, and Phil would provide the actual cog. Like everything else Phil and White, it is 100% made in the US and combines Phil’s precise machining with White’s precise engagement, a win-win.

There were many other very interesting parts on display as well, although in typical Phil Wood style there was little fanfare and it took me a while to talk Peter out of an Interbike induced state of lethargy to get the scoop on the goods. I stumbled upon the Phil wood booth on the very last day, and was able to snag Peter for some last minute questioning. If you have been living under a rock, or just not in the know, the late Phil Wood sold the business to Peter in 1991 and Peter has been the face of Phil wood Components ever since. The bicycle world lost one of its grate innovators early this year as Phil passed away, however Peter is clearly making Phil proud by continuing his legacy of perfectly made parts. While Peter was slow to talk at first due to it being the end of an exhausting show, he quickly perked up once the conversation turned technical and was more than happy to show us everything he had that was new.

Got a geared frame you want to single speed? Phil Wood has an interesting option after the break!

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Supposing you’re across the pond yet are a fan of the Snob. You could have:

a) bought the book from any of the online sources and paid exorbitant shipping that was probably negated by your favorable exchange rates.

b) made a trip here for something else and bought it.

c) waited patiently until someone started publishing it over there.

Had you chosen the latter, you’re wait is over, giving you and your hipster friends one less thing to complain about while sipping your fancy shade grown, small batch, roasted yesterday, obscure brand peaberry coffee. Hardie Grant will be publishing a hardback version for the UK starting November 1 for £9.99.

Of course, the Kindle version is only $9.99, which means you could have had the electronic version for even less (again, exchange rates) all along, mocking those knobs who still insist on physical books that shite on our environment with all their printing, warehousing and shipping as you barely make the effort to peer over your iPad to smugly convey your superiority and disdain.

Photo submitted by Alan S., who says, “Fall break riding at Tsali near Bryson City, NC. Chilly Monday morning ride around Lake Fontana on the BMC Fourstroke.” Check out his blog here.

To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.

Hasn’t the year gone quickly?

The season finale sees Gee, with his World Cup win under his belt, reflect on the season just past… but it’s not all quiet nostalgia. There’s an AK47 shooting gallery, and the little matter of the Red Bull Rampage for a week of insane free-riding.

We’ve really enjoyed these video diaries taking you behind the scenes in the life of the premier family in mountain biking, and can only hope Red Bull up the bar once again in season three.

Enjoy!

Debuted at Eurobike, we used Interbike as our first chance to get some hands- and feet-on time with Giro’s new cycling shoes. Per usual, we pulled them apart, weighed them and photographed the whole lot of ‘em.

Eric Horton worked for Specialized for 8 years and wanted to do something a little different for the fit when he moved to Bell Sports (Giro’s parent) two years ago. He started the shoe program immediately and they’ve finally launched their first footwear line after 16 revisions to their last and two years of testing and development.

See what makes them tick after the break…

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During the Breck Epic this year, I added some antioxidant “recovery” products to my usual agenda of post-ride Hammer Recoverite and whey protein drink nightcap.

With 240+ miles and 40,000 feet of elevation gain across six days of four- to six hours in the saddle, I knew I’d need a little something extra to keep from completely falling apart. Well, physically anyway…I pretty much fell apart mentally everyday, cursing Mike McCormack, the elevation and my sissy legs. Oh, and Rich Dillen.

To my surprise, I wasn’t sore on any day or the days after the event. Sure I stretched and took my recovery drinks, but I do those after most rides and still occasionally get sore the next day on longer, harder workouts. Other than sitting in the ice cold stream for five minutes on most days, I didn’t change much else, and I even forgot my Stick massage roller. So, I credit the lack of muscle malaise to these two products: Hammer Nutrition’s Super Antioxidant and PomX’s Antioxidant Recovery.

Neither are true “recovery” products in the sense that they don’t have any protein to rebuild your muscles. Rather, they focus on defeating oxidative damage, reducing inflammation and preventing muscle soreness. See how after the break…

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