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Kona has launched COG, a blog magazine that’s basically a look inside the inner workings of the company and its lifestyle. Here’s what Kona has to say about Kona’s new website about Kona:

“Offering a clean and tight layout, the COG digs into the global reach of Kona Bikes. Daily contributors include: Kona staffers spreading the word on everything from Nine Inch Nails concerts to bike advocacy, Factory Team rider Barry Wicks covering the life and times of a pro CX/XC racer and vintner, Kona racer and Portland, Oregon bike shop owner Erik Tonkin penning posts on the lifestyle of the weekend warrior, CLUMPster John Cowan writing run-on sentences with updates on the CLUMP team and Kona’s Regular Joe reporting on riding dirt from around the world - plus more from other colorful characters and guests. The COG will also feature a wealth of stunning images from pro photogs around the world, a glimpse into the brains and talent behind Kona’s artful ads and posters and, yes, lots of video.”

The Cog will also feature the monthly Kona Online Magazine, a culture guide to cycling and…wait for it…Kona.

Scott Bikes is spreading the word on their 2010 product line changes. The well respected CR1 road bike has conceded to the supremacy of Scott’s flagship road bike, the Addict, and has been redesigned with a new M.O. (modus operandi). The 2010 CR1 will lose a little of its raciness in exchange for comfort and extended rideability. The CR1 will never be a beach cruiser, but Scott hopes to capitalize on a more relaxed audience who still want to go fast.

Click ‘more‘ for a Video of the New 29er, and more previews…

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Fabulous view of an approaching storm over the Lethbridge coulees.

Don’t worry, these guys beat the storm. A coulee, by the way, is a dry valley that at one time channeled large volumes of water from melting glaciers.

Picture from orbital-vancouver’s photostream on Flickr.

Foes Racing is offering a bonus package to anyone who buys a suspension frame before Labor Day. The package includes everything pictured above: 2x Kenda Nevegal 2.35″ tires, 2x medium duty Kenda tubes, 4-pack of FRS drinks and chews, 1 free year of Curnutt service, any size Foes long or short sleeve jersey and any size Foes Tshirt.

Extra PICS below…

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Not much else to say about this.  Props to Ergon for putting it together.  Click on the image for a larger version.

Cateye is putting up limited edition team color cycling computers for you to win.  To enter, go to their Tour de France contest homepage and make your guess as to the winner and average speed for any stage of Le Tour and you’ll be entered to win.

You can enter a prediction for each stage.

The North American Handmade Bike Show kicked off their all-new website today, fully revised for your viewing pleasure.

In case you haven’t heard, NAHBS 2010 will take place February 26-28 in Richmond, Virginia at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Just a few of the names who’ve already reserved their booth space include Chris King Co., Moots, Independent Fabrication, Richard Sachs, Vanilla Bicycles, Reynolds UK, Columbus, Signal Cycles (one of their city bikes is shown at left) and Don Walker.

Need more reason to make a vacation of it?  There are two brewpubs and over 12 restaurants are within walking distance. Within five blocks you will find world-renowned eateries like the Capitol Restaurant. Located in the heart of Downtown Richmond, this 108 year old, 25 foot wide by half-a-city-block-long building has 46 taps, 2 cask conditioned ale hand pumps and a selection of over 200 bottled beers and the Richbrau Brewing Company and restaurant—housing three restaurants under one roof.

We’ll be there to cover the event…can’t wait!

Yakima recently redesigned several of their bike racks, and just as they were about to send us their Holdup model, they decided to do some last minute design tweaks, so we received the Stickup to test and review in the meantime.

Before we delve into the specifics of this rack, let me say this: Yakima has a rack for anything and everything, and a dizzying array of bicycle racks.  The Holdup and Stickup are the two tray-mount hitch models, the others (of which there are plenty of options) use arms that slide under the top tubes and strap onto the frame.  For me, tray mounts are the way to go.  They’re simple, they are unlikely to scratch your frame and your bike stays put…no swaying, swinging or sliding.

The Stickup is the less expensive model of the two, and is compatible with both 1-1/4″ and 2″ hitches using a spacer sleeve.  It holds two bikes, it’s fairly lightweight and keeps them spaced well enough that you don’t have to worry about bumping seatposts and handlebars.

So, how did it do over a couple months of testing and several trips?  Hit ‘more’ to read the full review…

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Another little birdy told us that Cannondale will have a full range of 29er hardtail mountain bikes for 2010, which were presented at their recent sales meeting in Park City.  Here’s the deets from a fly on the wall:

• Three geared aluminum alloy models
• One fully rigid alloy model
• Two Carbon Fiber models

According to our spy, the geometry has been fully revised and the tubing is all new hydroformed shapes (versus normal round tubes on their ‘09 models).

The current line tops out around $3,200 for the 29er “1″ (seems to be a popular naming scheme), so expect the aluminum models to follow suit unless they’re getting some major cost cuts from moving production overseas, and our guess is the carbon models will come in close to Four Large.

We just got word that Giant’s 29ers on on the street.  Halters Cycles in NJ has ‘em on their floor, and they gave us the 411 on pricing:

• XTC 29er 1 = $1950
• XTC 29er 2 = $1250

There’s still nothing up on the Giant website about these bikes, so Halters must be on the top of the list.  Hit ‘more’ for a pic of the “2″, and check out our previous post for spec lists on these bikes…

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If you haven’t heard, Nissan has dropped its sponsorship of the UCI World Cup Mountain Bike Series for 2010, leaving it without a major title sponsor to pay the bills.  As such, the UCI has dropped pretty much every event outside of Europe and Canada.  Apparently, the only reason the U.S. is getting one (after several years of being left off their calendar) is because Canada’s hosting the World Championships just a few days later.  Good thing they’re so close to us!

The news came as a huge disappointment to Pietermaritzburg, host of the inaugural 2009 event after race organizers there pulled out all the stops to wow both racers and the UCI.  They felt certain they had put themselves on the permanent calendar after such a great show. (Related links here and here)

The NiteFlux Photon Enduro 8 Single falls in the middle of the company’s product line in regards to maximum output and is the least amount of light I’d recommend for racing. It is stocked with all the great NiteFlux technology such as the high intensity LED, Constant Watt Technology, Race Mode, and more.

In the NiteFlux Photon Enduro line there is the Enduro 4 and the Enduro 8. You can buy either light separate or a combination of two 4’s, or one 4 and one 8. We tested out the Enduro 8 Single (which is one light with a maximum output of 540 lumens) in a wide range of conditions to simulate every riding style. All said-and-done the Enduro 8 Single is an exceptional light for commuting and recreational mountain bike riding. During competitive mountain bike riding at higher speeds the light is adequate, but not exceptional. Everyone likes to think that they are fast, but if you really are faster than all your friends, I would recommend as many lumens as you can afford. And faster friends.

Full Review after the break….

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Just for kicks…foreign Audi Q5 commercial with neat mountain bike POV.

Here’s what pro mountain bikers Harlan Price (Independent Fabrications), Robert Marion (BMC) and Beth Frye (Look) are racing…

This is what parking lots look like in Moab.

We found this picture parked on GnatLikesBikes photostream on Flickr.