Fox Head released their new for 2012 mountain and bmx specific catalog today. Included are new helmets, jerseys, bibs, and some awesome pictures. Click past the break to view more.

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We saw several new models from Rudy Project at Eurobike, and now there are a couple of stragglers joining the lineup.

Above, the Revenge offers a somewhat familiar looking full coverage single lens design. Frames are available in gloss black or white and the clear Flouro yellow/green shown above, which matches up perfectly with their day-glo helmets. Lenses are interchangeable and they’ve got standard gray plus mirrored blue, red and green lenses as well as their Racing Red, which is a decent all-purpose lens.

MSRP starts at $180 for the Revenge. Post ride, the new Skymajor is a smaller aviator style we kinda dig, too…

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As an avid mountain biker and commuter I am a firm proponent of helmets. Unfortunately, the majority of casual cyclists don’t seem to share my preoccupation with safety. This folding helmet designed by French design studio Agency 360 is intended to increase the appeal of helmets to urban riders.  The helmet, called the Overade, offers the same level of comfort and protection as a standard bicycle helmet (by meeting European safety standards), but folds up conveniently. The patented folding system allows the helmet to decrease to a third of its size – making it small enough to slip into a purse, backpack, or briefcase.

Pictures, claimed weights, and availability after the break.

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See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

There are certain things that we do as we get older that aren’t necessarily cool or exciting.  Grownup stuff, like telling people who aren’t your mom where you’re going riding and when you expect to be back.  Like packing enough water and food for a ride.  Like keeping your insurance current.  Road ID fall squarely into that category.  As important as carrying a some form of ID, if things go horribly wrong most identification doesn’t really doesn’t contain all of the information that emergency responders want- or need.

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Spotted by an eagle-eye’d reader on Andre Meganck’s Twitter/Yfrog photo stream (photo credit to him) is this little pic of Alberto Contador taking the win at the first mountain stage of the Tour de San Luis while rocking some prototype 2013 Specialized S-Works road shoes.

“Contador, like many of our pros, help us test various prototypes,” says Spec’s PR man Ben Delaney. “He’s been testing a new project for us over the last several months, working with our shoe design engineering teams.”

So, while this may not be a final version you see here, we’re diggin’ the offset upper opening and tongue with a relief groove to keep things from bunching up. The toe looks to be getting a rather large mesh vent section, too. Overall, they’re looking like they’ll be pretty lightweight and rather slipper-like in appearance. More as we get it.

New for 2012, the Northwave Extreme Tech road shoe replaces Bontrager as the footwear sponsor of Team RadioShack.

The tech: It has an entirely new “Ultralight Carbon” sole with a new airflow system to ventilate your feet. It’s designed for all types of pedals but comes with a Speedplay-specific adapter that’ll keep the stack height super low when using those pedals. The upper is entirely seamless and has no overlapping materials, which should make it pretty comfy and eliminate hot spots. It has both ventilation windows and perforations to help it breathe.

The closure system is new, too. The basic “Extreme” shoe gets three standard Velcro straps and is shown after the break. The Extreme Tech gets their new Speed Lace Winch (SLI – the acronym apparently got lost in translation), a cable system that allows “precise forefoot adjustment” using technology borrowed from durable sailing materials. Above that, it has their micro-adjust Step By Step buckle.

Pricing is $325 US and is available in the black/white shown here, a Team RadioShack black/white/red and an obnoxious Orange/Green, shown past the break…

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Winter gloves, it seems, are really hard to get right.  Too little insulation results in frozen fingers won’t let you think of anything else.  Too much and brakes and shifters become vague and remote.  Bad cuts bunch up in the palm or jam the fingers.  Some companies inexplicably forgo durable palms or a snot wipe. Others use boil-in-bag fabrics that leave hands to stew in their own juices.

Somehow managing to avoid all of these pitfalls are Castelli’s Chiro WS gloves.  More than a year after my initial review, the fancy white gloves have become my favorite cool weather gloves, hands down.  Hit the jump to find out what Castelli have done right…

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For the past few years we’ve noticed Julie riding her bike all around our city. At first, she had her daughter in tow on a bike seat on the back of her bike, then she started hauling a kid trailer with either her daughter in it or a few bags of groceries, or both. This year we actually got to meet her — our children go to the same school and she drops her daughter off everyday on her bike. So when we noticed she needed a new helmet, we asked if she’d be willing to try out a few models for us. Her 12+ years of daily bike commuting give her a good perspective to review two Lazer brand helmets the Urbanize helmet with winter liner, MSRP $105 (plus an extra $20 for the liner), and the Genesis, MSRP $175. Click ‘more’ to read what she thought…

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Our guy Ian from Parish Media recently sent over a cool video that he directed for Specialized, promoting their Dissident helmet:

Specifically designed for riders who push the limits of downhill speed and big air, the Dissident is the lightest, most-ventilated and technically advanced full-face, carbon fiber mountain bike helmet available.

 Thanks, Ian!

How is this helmet not everywhere?

I mean, the Louis Garneau Edge is a fantastically comfortable, good looking trail helmet that weighs 308G -size medium, with its visor- and retails for a penny under $100.  By way of comparison, that’s 25g less than Mavic’s high-end Plasma (with its visor) and is lighter than a Giro Hex while adding a shell that protects the base of the helmet and outboard strap mounting points.  And yet, I’ve never noticed another on the trail.  How did Garneau do it?  Hit the jump and stick the landing to find out…

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Enzo’s Cycling Products has revised their ButtonHole Chamois Cream and introduced three new embrocations.

ButtonHole, which remains one of our collective favorites, bumps up the peppermint and tea tree oils and drops the water content about 10%. They say the revisions make it a bit thicker and long lasting.

The new embrocations (thankfully) come in stick form, keeping the heat off your fingers. Which likely keeps it from being accidentally and painfully applied to privates and faces. We’ve got some samples en route for testing, but the initial email said “WARNING on the Hot embro – it’s HOT!”

The sticks come in three flavors, all with a Beeswax/Shea Butter/Natural oils base. The Oil Stick is for wet or cool conditions (56°F and warmer) and appears mainly to offer a barrier.

The Medium and Hot Embro Sticks add Capsicum to the mix for some heat, designed for temps in the 45°F – 55°F range and 30°F -44°F range, respectively. All three retail for $16.95 and come with four latex gloves to be used during application.

See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!
Why did I move to the desert again?

What I was told would be a “dry winter” is shaping up to be anything but- and judging by the state of my woodpile and the number of rides starting in the 20s, it’s been a very cold one.  Now, I’ve never really been one for insulated bottles.  Even when temperatures top 100 degrees, I tend to value hydration volume over hydration temperature.  But when it’s cold enough for hydration bladder hoses and bite valves to freeze, I’ve been reaching for Hydrapak’s Primaloft-insulated Wooly Mammoth.  Hit the jump to find out why…

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