BikeRumor.com

Aiming to solve the problems of rubber being too grabby and regular cork not lasting long enough, Zipp has developed a composite of polymer and cork in their new Tangente brake pads.  The have better heat resistance, and won’t leave a “melty” residue on the rim surface.

Designed to offer improved performance on carbon rims, they also claim to cause less wear on the rim surface, extending the life of the rim up to four times versus normal carbon-specific pads.  They have Shimano and Campy options listed on their website, and MSRP is $75.00 for a set of four pads.

A number of Tour de France riders are wearing the new Boa S1 lacing system in this year’s race, which will be debuting on 2010 model year Specialized and Lake cycling shoes.

It features a redesigned ratchet system that claims to be the lowest profile system on the market, and the main difference is the dial mechanism. Rather than a full release lever or button like older models, the new dial features a righty-tighty / lefty-loosey control that allows for micro adjustment in either direction.

Hit more for a list of riders running the new system…

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Besides being Independence Day for us here in the states, today is also the start of the Tour de France in Monaco. Check out this cool “Tilt-shift” picture from mole2k’s Flickr photostream of Port Hercule, the start location of Le Tour and today’s time trial.

The start will be along the tree lined street on the left side of the picture. You can almost image yourself there. Happy Tour watching and Happy Fourth of July!

Let’s hear it for cyclists getting the recognition they deserve, especially when they look good doing it.

British (World Championships) Gold Medalist Victoria Pendleton went from being on the cover of FHM Magazine to getting her fashion on with Wayne Hemingway to benefit Team Green Britain, a group that puts on the annual Green Britain Day.  Designer Hemingway made a one-off dress using the Union Jack lines in green tones out of recycled fabrics.

Pendleton’s also been busy working with EA Sports to promote a new Wii fitness game.  Hit ‘more’ for video of her playing the Wii with co-model/TV star Alesha Dixon and video of her wearing/talking about the green dress.

Oh, there’s also some video of her winning a record-setting third gold medal by taking the World Kierin Track Championship, if you’re into that sort of thing…

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Thanks to Simon for the tip on this…apparently there’s more to come from Nike and Cavendish throughout the Tour de France.

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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BH Bikes is teaming up with cycling legend Frankie Andreu to bring cyling fans a unique perspective on the Tour de France. “The Frankie Files,” Andreu’s blog in conjunction with BH Bikes, will launch July 4.

Andreu will blog about the AG2R-LaMondiale team, its new BH bikes (more details coming very soon) and the behind the scenes action at the Tour. With his 9 years as a professional cyclist, Andreu knows every in and out of the cycling world. His insights are thoughtful and entertaining.

You can link to his blog at www.bhbikes.net. The rest of the press release below…

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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.

FROM TEAM OUCH: As John Murphy of the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis noted after the Cytomax Benicia Criterium, “you don’t want to leave empty handed from a race sponsored by one of your sponsors.”

Murphy took this race by the hands and came away with the win after attacking out of a small break with four laps to go and soloing in for the victory on an afternoon where temperatures hovered around the 100-degree mark.

Murphy and teammate Roman Kilun helped make the race early, joining a 12-rider lead group just a handful of laps into the 60-minute race that would prove to be the decisive move.

With a number of top teams represented in the break, and packing plenty of horsepower, the front group steadily extended its gap to the peloton, eventually gaining 0:50 on the main bunch. With about a dozen laps remaining, the break splintered, with five riders up front group, including Murphy and Kilun along with Scott Swizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) and a resurgent Chad Gerlach (Amore e Vita).

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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!

Cervelo is celebrating the first Tour de France appearance of their Cervelo Test Team with two limited edition models, the S3 and the R3SL.  The S3, shown above, is the exact same frame the team will ride in this year’s Tour.  It’s sub-1000g and uses an hourglass shaped headtube and aero shapes to help make it fast.  Quantities are extremely limited, so order now if you need this for your collection.

Hit ‘more’ to see the R3SL frame that Carlos Sastre will be riding…

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Map My Ride and Versus TV have teamed up to send you to the Tour de France.

The “Le Tour Challenge” is a virtual competition in which you ride each day’s stage in the comfort of your own neighborhood, then submit your ride to MMR for an entry.  Prizes include bikes from Cervelo and Parlee (pics after the break), Jerseys and the grand prize Trek Travel trip to see the final stage of this year’s race in France.

Click ‘more’ to see how to enter…

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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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Late last week we updated you with a few teams that had picked their 2009 Tour de France rosters; here. Since then the Columbia-Highroad team announced a new cosponsor and a 2009 Tour roster different from the one we found 3 days ago.

Team Columbia-Highroad is now team Columbia-HTC. The HTC Corporation, designers of mobil phones, has agreed to a three year commitment to the team. The new jerseys, featuring the green HTC logo added to the existing yellow design, will be unveilded July 3, 2009. 

As for the roster correction: 8 of the 9 riders confirmed are correct. The correction is that the new roster includes Bert Grabsch, world and German time trial champion, at the expense of 2008 Tour stage winner Marcus Burghardt. Bob Stapleton, Team Columbia-HTC owner, said, “We had so many guys who could have worked their way onto the team, it was a very difficult decision for the sporting management.”

Dear Friend,

Had a great time with you this weekend. The wind whipping by as we rode through the hills. The sun was shining and we were laughing. It sucks you had to go to work today. No matter, the weekend will be ours!

XOXO

Your Bike.

PS- photo from ctgrande7’s flickr photostream, taken just past Shelton, Washington.