Photo submitted by John McDowall, “Just outside Edinburgh, Scotland.  18th December 2011.”

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

Adrian captures pixels of me riding at the Avid Elixir 9 press launch in February 2011.

At virtually every SRAM press launch and event we attend, Adrian Marcoux and Taylor Sage are there documenting it.

The action photos you see on SRAM’s Facebook pages, website and collateral materials are largely from Adrian. In many cases, the action shots you see in reviews here and in other media are his work, too, including the photo above of me riding at the Avid Elixir 9 launch this past February.

Meanwhile, Taylor films and edits the lifestyle and inside educational videos. Together, they do a great job of capturing what goes on at the launches, the ever growing product catalog from the component manufacturer and the lifestyle of their sponsored athletes. Not surprisingly, the camera rarely turns towards them, so what you see here is the result of their efforts, not of them personally. No, they’re not really twins.

Much of their time is spent riding with us. They’re always with us at some pretty great restaurants as the SRAM crew travels around the world. Just this year, I’ve ridden and hung out with them in California, France and points between. But it’s not all fun and games. While we’re sleeping or grabbing a late seat at the bar, often times they’re back in the rooms editing and uploading so we journalists have everything we need to tell our story. Personally, I don’t think they’re complaining, and here’s how they got the gig…

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Seems the Italians are quick to snap up their hometown hero’s new electronic group set with EPS getting stock offerings on Bianchi and Wilier!

Wilier leaked a couple spy shots of their 2012 CentoUno EPS recently (shown behind the break), and just now they’ve quietly put up a video of the possibly more exciting Zero7 EPS.

Both bikes use an electronic-only frame. The Di2 version of the CentoUno debuted in 2009 as a variation on the mechanical model. It’s still not showing up as an option on their U.S. website or U.S. catalog, but you can find this Di2/EPS compatible frameset with a simple search for around $4,500 USD or a sick custom build for about $18,500, but the electronic-only frame doesn’t show up on the U.S. version of Wilier’s website or the catalog. Here’s hoping it makes its way across the pond.

Why is the Zero7 more exciting? Debuting this year, the Zero7 is Wilier’s lightest ever road frame, coming in just under 800g. The weight savings comes in part from using the new BB386EVO standard, which means they’re now offering an electronic only Zero7 frame with Campagnolo EPS and their UltraTorque cranks on a 386EVO frame…

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With a fairly new wave of road bikes with a nexus of aero design, light weight and stiffness objectives, we at Bikerumor wanted to dig deeper and see what it’s all about. Tyler has been riding a Cervelo S5 and Specialized sent in a 2012 Venge Pro for Rob and I to form some conclusions of our own. Do these bikes really offer performance advantages for the average rider?

Well, a little more time will tell, but first impressions on both bikes have been pretty surprising. For now, let’s run through the Venge…

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Photo submitted by Andrew Kummer, “Early evening, out on my new 29er.”

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

Continuing their long focus on riders’ contact points, Louis Garneau have just released the Mondo road glove.  With its strategically located perforated gel padding, the Mondo is designed to relieve pressure on the median and ulnar nerves, reducing the likelihood of tingly fingers.  The perforated Ergo Air palms are also said to offer superior ventilation in order to prevent sweaty palms.

In keeping with the ergonomic design of the gloves, the road-specific fastener location and laser cut one piece upper back and fingers to their part to keep the rider from thinking about his or her gloves instead of the ride.  The Mondo is available in gents’ and ladies’ versions in several colors for $45.

www.louisgarneau.com

Road Rash Guard is the invention of Dr. Rob Wise and is essentially a set of plastic clamshells that clip to your shorts, jersey or arm/knee warmers to provide a buffer between you and the pavement.

With a weight of just 7g each and a flat inner surface, it’s designed to feel seamless on your skin. RRG claims the positions are pretty universal when it comes to suffering road rash, and by putting their guards on in the right place, you’ll minimize the damage to your skin. A set of four retails for $28.95.

Video and another pic after the break…

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I’m a full-suspension fan… in a big way. The comfort, the control, the “long- haul ability” of them and the way they absorb roots, rocks and landings just flat out makes me smile. When the Hard-Tail Santa Cruz HighBall 29 arrived I knew that I would have to look at and ride it with an open mind. Getting to spec this rig out was a treat and I chose a full XTR outfit to accompany the sexy lines of the black carbon and red decals of the HighBall. When I received the box, my apprehension turned to excitement and I stayed up a few extra hours the night and as I built her up I was conjuring up ideas of grandeur, climbing like a billy goat and leaving my competition in the dust!

Here’s how it went…

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Check out all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

If anyone had told me a couple of months ago that our Project 24.2 bike was going to come in lighter than my 29er single speed, without any scary light parts, I wouldn’t have believed it.  But it has.

How does 22.8lb sound for a full suspension bike sound?  With pedals, 4 scoops of Stan’s sealant, a chainstay protector, and a bottle cage?  Do-able, right?  What if it was a 19in frame, had trail wheels, and 120mm travel at each end?  Not too shabby- and it’s not even done yet.  Hit the jump for the details

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Photo from the collection of Rustybicycle. If you think you know what this is, post your answer in ‘comments’ section– the answer will be posted there on Tuesday!

To send in your own Mystery Pic to be considered for the Monday feature, click here and attach your photo with all pertinent information.

Photo submitted by Daniel Diaz “Dafedico”, “It’s a Little Tree conformed by 3 shimano cassetes and my own bike lights, the star is made with a simple 2mm wheel spoke for my bike. Merry Christmas Bike Rumor, greetings from Colombia!”

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

See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

Update 12/24/11:  As a gift to our commenters, we’ve added on-head photos.  Click through to see the V2s change Marc from goofy cyclist to near-supermodel.

In my Project 24.2 kickoff post a couple of weeks back, I said that if Smith’s second generation Pivlock V2s were even a little bit better than the super-light, super-comfortable Pivlock V90s, then they’d be my new favorites.  When the first shipment landed at Smith HQ last week, they turned a set right around for us to use training for and during February’s 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo.  After 6 hours’ riding (with hundreds more to come) there’s a lot here to like.  Hit the jump for the scoop…

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