• Ride the Glencoe Grand Prix Pro Cycling Race in Glencoe, Illinois, on June 1st – it’s for the children.
• Trek Travel has announced new bike tours for 2013 with Moab Ride Camp and updated Family Bike Tour offerings. Moab Ride Camp is a 5 day, 4 night mountain bike adventure in the famous trails of Moab, UT, starting and ending every night at the Gonzo Inn. Gary Fisher, and pro couple, Heather Imerger and Jermey Horgan-Kobelski join you for the ride camp on select dates in October and November. Trek’s Family Bike Tours have been revamped and include horse-farm tours in Vermont and white-water rafting in the Canadian Rockies.
• Surly has recalled their Surly Pugsley 100mm (2012) and 135mm (2013) forks. Check here for more information.
• Cannondale, in partnership with Peloton Magazine, has announced a digital magazine for coverage of the Amgen Tour of California called the Cannondale Gazette.
• Join Freddie Rodriquez on his Fast Freddie Gran Fondo and raise money for the charity of your choice on August 17th in Berkley, CA.
• 2XU, an athletic apparel company, has announced Athlete 2.0 “an interactive microsite with practical, engaging tips for the athlete, from weekend warrior to world class champion, who utilizes technology and the latest scientific findings to train smarter, not harder.”
• Like Timbuk2′s FB page and you will be automatically entered to win their Bike Commute Sweepstakes package which includes a Bianchi road bike, Bern helmet, Kryptonite lock, Knog blinder light and a Timbuk2 messenger bag.
• Après Vélo has new women’s sweatshirt and men’s long sleeve henley for cool summer nights – or mild winter days, depending on which side of the equator you’re on.

As one of our favorite shredders, Chris Akrigg has skills for days no matter what bike he’s on. After a terrible injury falling off the side of a cliff and then breaking his leg again, Akrigg looks to be back 100% after a long recovery. His latest film is one of the best combining seamless transitions from bike to bike, and a bit of comedy thrown in for good measure. Great to see you back Chris.

With so much to see, my lunch breaks often consist of frequent stops at the nutrition booths, which doubles as a nice way to see what’s new for cyclists. This year’s Sea Otter has the usual smorgasbord of drinks and bars to keep me running around all day.

A perennial favorite is Cytosport’s Muscle Milk because, well, I can only handle so much sports drink and carby bars. This year, the new Light Peach flavor was a perfect compliment to the sunny days. They also have new Protein Crunch bars in Chocolate Peanut Butter and Vanilla Almond Yogurt. There were the sample sizes, the real bars are much larger.

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In 2011 when Deda Elementi first introduced the 35mm “standard” it was a a tough sell as our comments on the article illustrate. Since then, Deda has continued to expand their road offerings in the jumbo diameter and maybe more interesting is making a push into the mountain bike market with the new size. Downhill component manufacturers seem to have embraced 35mm more than any, with companies like Easton, Spank, Straightline, and Kore all with either 35mm stems or bars, but the trail/enduro segment is still fairly sparse. Again, Deda seems to be leading the charge with the new Condor and XDR 35 bars, and Reverso and Box 35 stems.

Deda also sent over their new MNLINK carbon seat post and Deda Tape in new Neon colors. Check out the new gear along with actual weights after the jump.

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Photo submitted by Alex Anderson.

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

Over the past few years, Kona has begun to reinvent itself with a host of great new products ranging. As part of the transformation, the company has completely overhauled their world cup down hill contender with a whole new look wrapped in a carbon fiber package.

The new Kona Operator will be available as either one of two complete builds or as a frame only. We took a close look at both bikes and put them on our scale. Hop past the break to check it out. READ MORE ->

Not long after spotting a 650b prototype under Dan Atherton a while ago, it appears that GT has an entirely different 650b prototype that Dan is about to race. While the first bike looked as if they had simply placed a new swing arm on an existing frame, the latest bike looks entirely new with a shock tunnel in the front triangle built in. The pivot placement also looks a bit different, so it begs the question – is the I-Drive getting a revamp? Otherwise it features a compact hydroformed rear swingarm, with an alloy front triangle to match though it could be just in aluminum as a prototype with a carbon production bike in the works. Don’t quote us on that, just a theory. According to GT, it will receive a chain retention system so that Saint ring probably isn’t a narrow-wide prototype.

Dan will be putting the new bike through its paces this weekend at the Metabief, France Open Enduro.

Kitsbow wove itself into the mountain bike scene last year with two premium pieces of apparel, the Sustans Jersey shown above, and the Softshell A/M Shorts. I’ve been testing both and they’re amazing.

Now, they’re expanding and updating their line with a softshell jacket, various shorts, polo shirts and a merino liner short. Like the first two items, they’re made with very upscale materials and packed full of nifty features. The Sustans has a new light blue color, and it’s now available without the quilted shoulder panels (shown on the dark blue model). The zipper has also been extended from the original 1/3 length to about 1/2 length.

Zip past the break for more…

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No longer content to confine their custom bike program to pixels on a screen, Trek is taking Project one to the streets. Of course consumers will still be able to use the excellent Project One website to design and customize their next Trek, but now cyclists will be able to interact directly with the program at the nation’s biggest cycling events. Unveiled for the first time at Sea Otter, the rolling studio allows users to gain access to first hand advice on creating their dream bike which can still be sent to their favorite retailer for the order and final build.

Make sure to check out the murdered out big rig that tows the whole thing after the break!

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We’ve seen all kinds of saddles over the years – wide, skinny, flat, round, nose, no-nose, you name it, it’s probably been done. The Kuhl Ride is the latest take on how to make saddle more comfortable on your backside channeling the spirit of Reebok’s Pumps. Kuhl ride isn’t the first saddle to use air to support the rider, nor is it even the first to use a built in pump,but it is an interesting design that looks to use an air bladder over the entire saddle rather than just a few pods.

The saddle features a built in thumb actuated pump just under the nose of the saddle to increase pressure along with a release valve to keep it from blowing up, and is offered in 3 different styles depending on your rider type. The catch? Even at the current Kickstarter price of $125, the saddles are pretty expensive comparative to other comfort saddles. At the claimed retail price of $250, unless the saddle is every bit as comfortable as it claims it seems like it would be a hard sell.