Cy Turner, owner of Cotic Bikes in the UK has just inked a deal with EU Cycle Imports to bring their bikes into the U.S. The brand is known for making hardtail steel and titanium mountain bikes designed around long travel (140mm) forks without having to build in extra gussets, so they can handle the usual mud with plenty of clearance.

They also offer the “X” cyclocross bike, shown above, and a do-it-all commuter bike. The “X” is a steel-framed ‘cross racer that comes with disc brake tabs already built in on both the frame and the included carbon fork. UK price is £450, or get a two-fer frame/fork set (so you have a spare bike waiting between laps) for just £850. This one’s brand new, so we’re not sure if it’s coming to the U.S. immediatly. In the meantime, jump past the break and see the mountain bike lineup…

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We found these guys last year at Interbike with all their cycling inspired gifts. Earth Studio out of Moab, Utah, carries handmade metal art and decor for just about everyone. We especially like their cycling Christmas ornaments, and this year they have some new designs for you. They also have Tri, Running, and Kayaking ornaments, jewelry, and decor (they’ll even make trophies!) The ornaments come in groups of 3 for $13.95. You can feel good that they’re handmade in the USA from a group of artisans that get their inspiration from their surroundings, and what better surroundings than Moab? Click ‘more’ for some pics of their inspiration and process…

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Han’s “No Way” Rey is known for his adventures almost as well as his legendary Trials skills, and he is at it again. This time it is with Freeride pioneer Dave Watson, probably best known for his attempt to gap the peloton in the 2003 Tour de France (didn’t see it? It’s a must see.) Dave was just recently signed with GT bicycles due to his long standing history of free ride and down hill riding.

The pair were approached to team up, and explore the Kingdom of Jordan with the guidance of the Jordanian Tourism Board. The whole trip was to be filmed and shown as one of the latest episodes of a world-wide TV show, Ride Guide, which is set to air in over 60 countries. Of course, Rey and Dave jumped at the chance to ride in an area that really has no mountain bikers, and almost zero bike shops.

The pair, or trio really (including the photogropher Dean “Blotto” Gray) set off on an adventure before the riding even began. Apparently, getting bikes to Jordan is as hard as it sounds with Rey’s bikes not showing up completely, Dave’s bike lacking a front wheel, and Blotto’s bike showing up without pedals. After a few days of waiting, Rey had thought to either fly back to Italy to get some of his Euro bikes, or try to find a bike shop in neighboring Israel. After deciding to wait it out, the trio became ordinary tourists, sampling local food and visiting various shops. Eventually, they actually found a sort of bike shop and were able to purchase a pair of crazy plastic pedals for Blotto.

Eventually all the bikes were accounted for, for Dave and Hans it was a GT Carbon Force 6 inch Trail bike (look for a possible review on one in the future, here on Bikerumor), and the crew was able to set off on their crazy Middle Eastern Mountain Bike adventure. Be sure to check out the full ride report from Hans on his site, and keep your eyes peeled for  the Jordan episode of Ride Guide on your local station!

The German electronics company Conrad sponsored a challenge titled: “3 teams, 14 days, 150,000 possibilities”. Their “team A” from Hamburg came up with this bicycle lock that hoists your bike up a light pole, keeping it out of reach from thieving hands. If you’re interested in making your own version, you’ll need to translate from German, but you can find a list here to reproduce the lock yourself, and can even purchase the parts from their website.

found via BoingBoing.

Timbuk2, in addition to making their well known messenger bags, make some women’s specific bags and some quite modern looking luggage. Above is the Candybar, a women’s backpack with ergonomic shoulder straps that won’t act like droopy purse straps and a swing around side access pocket that’ll fit an iPad, netbook or 13″ laptop. Features include:

• Swing Around side access compartment
• Lightweight with a compact profile
• External zip pocket for easy access to your essentials
• Padded back panel
• Refined weave 840 ballistic nylon
• $75 MSRP

Further your bag fetish after the break…

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…now get out there and ride!

Photo submitted by Anders M., “The last weekend of October – winter is around the corner. Small trails, all quiet, chilly. I wish I could keep this feeling inside of me…   Stockholm is a very small big city – this picture is from around ‘Norra Djurgården’ – 10 minutes away from the city. I’m riding my Niner SIR9 with Rohloff. My best bike ever.”

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

Fresh off the hype of his second “feature” video, Way Back Home, is a pretty sweet vid from his clothing sponsor DigDeep. Titled “Streets of London”, it’s a lot of slick stair jumps and the like, highlighted with an awesome tree ride about 2/3 of the way through. Enjoy.

If you’re looking for some winter kit, we’ve been reviewing a few things lately and have more to come from the test bench. In the meantime, here are a few performance and casual items from Craft, Campagnolo, Rapha and Griffin to keep you warm and cozy while spinning through your local winter wonderland.

The Campy C290 long sleeve jersey is made of microfiber and polypropylene and is treated with an anti-bacterial treatment to help keep the funk at bay. It, along with the turtleneck version C216 shown after the break, are part of their MSS (Multi Season System) line and have seamless construction so they won’t chafe.

Make the jump to for a peek through our imaginery closet…

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This movie from Bonthrone Bikes was created with pen, paper and a camera phone. Like any good meme, it has a Facebook page, too.

GoreTex is now a term used like Kleenex and Xerox, and is seen on all major brands. Outerwear of all types uses Gore’s technology to keep people warm and dry. What some cyclists may not know is that they also produce a very focused and well designed line of riding gear known as Gore Bike Wear. With Gore’s emphasis on weather repellent clothing it may be surprising to know that they don’t just make rain jackets and booties, they also have top-level bib shorts and jerseys. But with the weather turning cold in Colorado, it was the perfect time to test out their Mistral gloves and Race Power Overshoes. Read on to find out more about these products from Gore Bike Wear.

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• Belinky Cycle Works is once again hosting a beer-and-taco fueled Junkyard Cyclocross in Philly. Head over around 10am on December 19 to register, the races start at noon.  A bit (and we do mean a bit) of info is here, or click past the break to see grainy, vulgar and occasionally visually disturbing video of the 2009 event. Seriously, WTF skiier?
• Lance Armstrong to followup last bicycle race with a triathlon. Shortly after his final pro cycling race at the Tour Down Under, Armstrong has signed up to compete in the sprint distance Eves Blue Lake Multisport Festival triathlon in January. The event includes a 750m lake swim, 16km road cycle and a 5.5km forest run, and is staged at Lake Tikitapu – also known as the Blue Lake, near Rotorua. More info here.
• Check out cycling related Black Friday deals and promos, some of which are good through the weekend, in this post. If you’ve got your own to add, leave a comment there.
• The 5th Annual Trek Women Breast Cancer Awareness Ride on October 9th brought more than 4,700 women and men from all walks of life together along with 87 Trek Retailers from across North America to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Entry fees and donations solicited by participating riders combined to raise over $130,000 this year, by far the most in the BCAR’s 5-year history. The 2011 BCAR is tentatively planned for October of next year.

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No, that’s not simply a case of squeezing into a skinsuit that’s several sizes too small, but it just might be a case of stolen trade secrets.

Pearl Izumi has filed suit in a Boulder, CO, court against the Garmin professional cycling team for not returning the winged skin suits shown here.

Used by team riders David Zabriskie, Ryder Hesjdal and others during the Tour of California and Tour de France during 2010. Now, the Garmin team has signed on with competing clothier Castelli, and Pearl Izumi is claiming the team stole intellectual property.

The skinsuits were developed by PI’s Speedshop skunkworks branch and used “an aerodynamic winged sleeve for smoothing airflow around the bicep area of the cyclist”, which could technically be called a fairing and violate UCI rules, and used proprietary fabrics and construction methods. reportedly, the team was supposed to return the suits in July.

Of course the suits in question could have just been sold off at Denver’s veloswap this Fall…we’ve seen it happen.