Trek has launched a new website dedicated to their freeride team comprised of Andrew Shandro, Cam McCaul, Brandon Semenuk, and Rene Wildhaber. The site features bios on the riders, galleries of their bikes, and tons of photos and videos.
The term “C3″ comes from the idea that the team focuses equally on cinematic quality, creativity, and competition.
Check out a Brandon Semenuk vid from the site after the break… (more…)
As I sit here hoping for snow, making my holiday wish list, I wonder why in the hell didn’t I think of this before!? If only I had been writing for BikeRumor the last few years I might not have ended up with a 5 gallon commemorative tin of tri-colored popcorn, gift certificates to Krispy Kreme and four ceramic ballerinas. Sigh, everything would be so much easier if everyone would just read BikeRumor this year.
So, here you go, these are the things that…
A. I already have and don’t know how I ever lived without, B. I already have but want more of or C. I really, really, want.
Over the past few years, as internal bearing bottom brackets have been replaced with external bearing versions and cranks have been moved outboard to accommodate bigger tires and suspension linkages, pedals’ Q-factors have steadily increased. Though there are plenty of people on the interwebs who will argue for and against minimizing the lateral distance between a rider’s feet, the simple fact is that mountain bike cranksets put the feet about 20mm further apart than road bikes’- and some people find that uncomfortable. Though it was never something that I used to worry about, some recent, nagging hip pain has had me rethinking aspects of my bike setup. And this is where Crank Brothers’ Short SL Spindle Kit for Eggbeater pedals swoops in, quickly and inexpensively narrowing my stance by a full 8mm- with some nice added benefits.
“It makes you go faster”.
First off, this is not a joke, at least as near as we can tell. What’s more is that we want to believe that someone out there actually makes a $279.99 carbon fiber toilet seat. If it is, in fact, a joke, please don’t tell us. We don’t want the truth, we can’t handle the truth. We want to live in a world where Stephen Colbert is serious and Borat is real. A world where men, real men (like Borat and Stephen Colbert), use carbon fiber toilet seats.
The very real company that manufactures this incredible upgrade for any standard toilet allegedly uses “hand layered 550,000 psi tensile carbon fiber around a premoulded foam core,” and they have “experience in making carbon fiber bicycle and race parts, so the quality is top notch.” (Insert joke about which bicycle company they are associated with here.)
For more photos, and…(really? Seriously?) specs, after the break… (more…)
For some reason, while piecing this list together, I seemed just as focused on things that I used to have and don’t have anymore, as the things I’d like to have. There are certain items that I have loved and lost along the way that I kind of wish I could have back . There are also items that make no sense at all; things like the tool pictured above.
WISHLIST TOOL: Snap-On Wire Twister/Cutter
It’s reversible and it has a “Cushion Throat” (whatever that means…sounds comfortable though). My desire to possess this item makes no sense. The only bicycle-related application, that I know of, for a $138 wire twister/cutter is wiring grips on to your mountain bike’s handlebars. I now run Ergons (which are bolt-on) or I glue-on Bontrager Race XXX Lites, but there was a time when I ran Oury grips. Oury grips are stylish, and very pleasant on the hands, however, they are notorious for slipping off, even when glued on with rubber cement. The only way to really keep them on is to wire them on like a motocross racer, and that’s where a $138 wire twister/cutter comes in handy. I was shown this trick by a mechanic who is ten times the mechanic I am, and he used a wire/twister cutter to do it, and it was SLICK. Yes, you can accomplish the wiring of grips without a wire twister/cutter, but it is nowhere near as graceful and mesmerizing.
The graceful, mesmerizing, slickness is apparent only in action though. Video of the ACTION and the rest of my not-weird list after the break… (more…)
Jeremy Powers bunny hops the barriers. Photo: Mitchell Clinton/Zipp
In part one of this little Q&A session, we asked several manufacturers about running carbon handlebars on your cyclocross bike.
Now, having seen all manner of carbon rims and wheels being raced from the local level on up to the recent nationals in Bend, OR, we thought we’d see what the wheel manufacturers had to say about this trend. Are they approved for this use? Warrantied for this use? Heck, are they even made strong enough to handle the bumps, jumps and crashes of cyclocross? After all, a carbon handlebar pales in comparison to replacing a set of carbon hoops or putting a second set on your “B” bike!
On the surface, it seems that the mud, dirt, grit and abuse would quickly wear through a carbon brake track, gouge the rim edge or otherwise torture them…but as with many things, it goes deeper than that. See what Mercury, Zipp, Ritchey and Reynolds have to say on the matter after the break…
UPDATED 12/23 – New answers from American Classic, plus new questions and answers about maintaining a carbon brake track and how disc brakes will change things up.
“More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came, and he whistled and shouted and called them by
name: ‘Now Dasher!…On, Comet!.. and Blitzen!”
Just in time for the massive, horibble suck-fest that is winter cycling, Planet Bike has three offerings in the cold-weather cycling shoe cover department. From the minimalist Dasher, wind-proof toe cover, to the more robust Blitzen Wind-proof shoe cover, to the much more heavy-duty Comet neoprene booty, Planet bike has got you, er…covered.
“Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
Photos of the Blitzen and the Comet and full specs on all three models after the break… (more…)
Upon hitting our tongues, the first impression can be summed up in that old Bugs Bunny cartoon regular: “Pow, right in the kisser.”
The effect is enough to wake up your taste buds as much or more than the 25mg of caffeine in it. The flavor is good…a zingy citrus flavor that’s what I reckon Mountain Dew would taste like if you poured it into a shallow bowl and let it air dry until it congealed to a syrup consistency. Oddly, I’m not a fan of Mountain Dew, but I liked this. A lot.
Besides the new flavor (and those introduced at Interbike), Clif Shot has been reformulated to have a thinner consistency for easy squeezing and more electrolytes for less cramping. The packaging has also been updated recently, with more rounded corners so it won’t snag your jersey pocket and the opening is narrower so you can aim better.
Depending on the level of caffeine, Clif Shots are 85% to 90% organic. Click “more’ to see the ingredients and back of packaging…
Got an orange tang colored Niner bike? Want a matching fork? Rockshox painted up a small batch of Reba XX suspension forks for Niner, and they’re yours for the ordering. Get on it quick, they’ve only got a limited supply…apparently it’s very limited…and when they’re gone, there’s no telling if/when they’ll get more. And if you’re worried about travel, they’re usually internally adjustable between 80mm – 100mm – 120mm to suit your set up (we’re not sure of the exact travel set up on these, talk to Niner before ordering).
“Cast Headbadges” by Capricorn Bicycles. Check out Capricorn’s website here. Photo nod to Jennifer Greene who made these headbadges. Her website is www.headbadges.com.
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.
Valdora Cycles have launched their 2011 tri and TT bike range which includes the PHX, PHX-1, and the PHX-2. The bikes come with the option of SRAM Red, Force, Rival, or Apex. There is also a carbon wheelset upgrade option available. Valdora frames are made from high strength carbon fiber (or, as they say in the UK, “carbon fibre”) utilizing proprietary OCRR technology that “yields a frameset free of flex while absorbing vibration effortlessly.” The tubes of the PHX series are thin, deep, and aero…sort of like David Zabriskie. The top tube is vertically deep for added stiffness, but horizontally very thin. This improves aerodynamics while reducing knee-knock. “Kneeknock.” Sounds like a good name for a baby…neanderthal. The PHX’s also have horizontal dropouts with finger-adjustable set screws for easy wheel changes, a replaceable derailleur hanger, dual water bottle bosses, and full internal cable routing. The forks are full carbon V-1 380 g Aero Forks. All Valdora frames come with a 5 year warranty.
Full specs on the PHX series and photos of the PHX-1 and the PHX after the break…
Recently, Andrew Taylor hosted the AT Showdown, a dirt jump contest at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. Some killer riding went down, and the whole thing was captured 100% on the HD HERO camera from GoPro. Check out the video of Andrew Taylor, Mike Montgomery, Ryan Meyer, Carson Storch and others throwing it down, with multiple GoPros strapped to their bikes and themselves that captured some truly unique point of views!
