Ciclotte Stationary Bike - The Carbon Fiber Penny Farthing Trainer

The Ciclotte, a stationary exercise bike by Luca Schieppati inspired by his Ciclo concept bike that’s currently in permanent residence at the Milan Design Museum, actually makes art out of spin class.

Most stationary bikes aren’t something you’d gladly display in the open, which is why infomercials have long tried to sell us folding versions that slid ever so easily (ha!) under the bed. The Ciclotte, however, is made of steel and carbon- and glass fiber and as far as exercise equipment goes, is gorgeous. The internals ain’t bad, either. It uses an epicycloid transmission system, which is fancy talk for a set of eccentric gears that spin a magnetized main wheel to create resistance.

Yours for just $10,700.

New Orange Rival Flavor From ZYM Kicks In Some Special Ingredients

ZYM will be unveiling their new flavor called Rival at Interbike.

With an Orange flavor, it has a couple of things to set it apart. First, it has no sugar and uses stevia to sweeten it. Second, it uses Rhodiola Rosea, an herb that purportedly boosts energy and reduces fatigue.

“Unlike other similar drink tabs, ZYM RIVAL is the first and only portable, naturally sweetened sports drink,” owner Brian Koff says. “Made from premium ingredients, RIVAL provides athletes with natural energy, fresh legs and enhanced performance. And its light, refreshing orange flavor quenches an athlete’s thirst with a clean finish and no sugary residue.”

RIVAL also contains essential electrolytes to maintain adequate hydration plus added vitamins.

Giro Shoes

Redefining happy feet

In the mid-1980s, when the United States Cycling Federation decided to mandate hard-shell helmet use for all bicycle racing in America, Jim Gentes came up with a better helmet solution, and founded Giro. It is safe to say that Giro helmets have been the benchmark for helmet innovation ever since. And now they’re tackling shoes.

I have to admit I was more than a little excited to receive the invite for Giro’s official shoe launch in Livigno, Italy (home of Hans Rey’s Flow Country trails). I’ve been a harsh critic of cycling shoes for as long as I can remember, but I knew that the team at Giro had been working on the project for more than two years. Having now ridden the fruit of their labor, it’s clear that the folks at Giro are as serious about doing to cycling shoes what they have done with helmets.

Giro’s entry into the mountain bike shoe market comes in the form of their flagship model called Code, which will retail for $280, the Gauge at $200 and a women’s specific model named Sica that also goes for $200. We were able to test the Code over the course of two days in and around Livigno’s Mottolino bike park. While a bike park, where gravity riding is the big draw, may not be the ideal setting to test an XC race/high-performance trail shoe, my initial impressions of Giro’s shoes are still more than a little bit positive.

Giro's new Code shoe. This top-end model is available in three colors: Magnesium/Black (shown), Black, White/Black.

The Giro Code's sole is made from Easton EC90 carbon for maximum power transfer.

To start with, the Code felt like an old friend right out of the box, thanks in part to the Teijin microfiber upper, luxuriously thick, EVA tongue padding and an arch-adjustable footbed. Giro calls this footbed the Supernatural Fit System and it comes complete with three arch “cookies” so that riders can dial in a comfortable amount of arch support. The top layer of the footbed is made of anti-microbial X-Static and helps alleviate funk.

The textured scuff guard on the midsole prevents slipping around on the pedals while trying to clip in and protect the carbon as well.

At the heart (so to speak) of the Code is an Easton EC90 carbon sole plate, which gives the shoe incredible power transfer. What I found most notable in my short hours wearing the Code was that this sole plate seemed to completely dissipate the shock from the park’s braking bumps, roots and small drops. Obviously, a carbon-soled shoe is supposed to do this, and perhaps what I felt was a combination of the footbed and sole plate working in tandem, but this is a feeling I can’t remember experiencing before.

Although I wasn’t scampering up any rocky hike-a-bikes, the Code’s lugs provided easy walking, and a scuff-guard between the heel and cleat helped engage the cleats even when trying to do that in the rough stuff.

We’ll go ahead and reserve our final judgment until we’ve put these babies through some months of hell, but I have a feeling the report with be more of the same.

Giro’s new mountain bike shoes will be available January of 2011 in sizes 39-48 (w/half sizes from 39.5-46.5) for the men’s models and in sizes 36-43 (w/half sizes from 37.5-42.5).

Giro's Gauge shoe.

Giro Sica women's shoe.

Oakley’s newest Short and Jersey

Review: Oakley’s Ballistic Short and Direct Dial Jersey

The Ballistic short and Direct Dial Jersey from Oakley

Oakley has long been known for their over the top engineering and boundary pushing designs in sunglasses. However, they take that same attitude into their mountain bike apparel with the Ballistic Short and Direct Dial jersey. With fabrics and construction specifically meant for aggressive mountain biking, Oakley once again proves why their products are in demand. Read more and see photos after the break. The Ballistic short is meant for the freerider in you. The shorts are made of 98% polyester along with 2% Rayon and have a brushed feel and appearance. With a baggy fit and multiple panel construction, the Ballistic allows for good freedom of movement. The knee length fit, just past the knees for me, didn’t impede my pedaling and offered a little extra protection on the trail. You can dial in the waist using two adjustable velcro tabs on each side, and a silicon gripper around the waist helps keep it in place. Also sewn into the waist is a small key pouch. Two large side pockets have velcro closures to keep the contents from flying out as you bomb down and there is also smaller zippered pocket on the left leg.

The Ballistic short has a nice textured feel and a silicon gripper in the waist.

The Ballistic comes with a removable chamois liner that can be cut from the short after purchase. The liner is made of a mesh material to keep you cool and has a silicon gripper along the waist and on each leg to keep it in place. The chamois itself is 10mm thick and features channeling for comfort.

The liner features silicon grippers on the legs and waist and a multi channeled chamois

For those fun rides featuring plenty of downhill, the Ballistic is a great choice. The fit and style will ensure you at least look the part when rolling up to the trail. Construction is solid with a well thought out paneled design and flat lock seams. The chamois is adequate for the type use this short will receive. It’s not the best for super long days in the saddle on the cross country bike, but that’s not what this short is about. I cut the liner chamois from my pair, mainly so I can wear the Ballistic around town as a regular short. Cost on the Ballistic short is $150, which is definitely the upper limit of shorts these days, but they are versatile and offer plenty of features as well as style.

Moving to the Direct Dial jersey, this again is a piece for the freeriders. The cut is very large and is meant to be worn with or without pads. Since my riding style does not warrant full on pads, the jersey felt a bit large. The 3/4 sleeves come pretty far down and the chest is enormous. It found it worked well for days when I used the lifts to ride more downhill than up.

The Direct Dial jersey is made to be worn with or without pads.

The Direct Dial is unique in that the body features 68% Cocona, an eco-friendly fabric made from coconut shells. It is amazing at wicking away moisture, keeping odor at bay and has a soft feel to it. The other 32% of the body, and the sleeves are made of polyester. The fabric also provides a small amount of sun protection with a UPF rating of 15-24. Another neat feature is the small micro cloth woven into the side for cleaning your sunglasses. The Direct Dial has a drop down tail to keep you fully covered and a high V neck that doesn’t feel constricting.

A small micro fiber cloth is woven into the side so you can clean your optics on the trail.

On the trail the Direct Dial was a bit large, but the 3/4 sleeves offered some protection from branches stretching across the trail. The Cocona fabric really does wonders keeping you dry and relatively odor free. Since I don’t really wear pads when riding, I could see myself sizing down to a small for this, which would give it a more specific fit for my riding style. That said, for those riders that do wear pads, the Direct Dial would be a versatile jersey to have on hand. At $75 retail the Direct Dial again isn’t the cheapest you’ll find, but this is Oakley after all.

Overall I was impressed with both pieces. While maybe not exactly fit for my style of riding, they performed well in the areas they were designed for. Extra features like the micro cloth, key pockets compliment the smart construction and good fabrics. If you are in the market for something a bit different with more style than most, give the Oakley line up a shot.

Oakley's Ballistic short and Direct Dial jersey are great for freeriding.

Garmin unveils new Edge 800

Building up some hype just before InterBike, Garmin unveiled the newest edition to their line of G.P.S. enabled cycling computers today, the Edge 800. Smaller than the 705, the 800 has new features like a 2.6″ touch screen color display and Garmin’s BaseCamp route planning software.

Here is Garmin’s quick run down of the Edge 800’s features:

• A simple touchscreen interface and intuitive menus.
• Smaller and sleeker than the Edge 705, yet features a larger 2.6” display
• It tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, climb and descent.
• It syncs wirelessly with ANT+™ compatible power meters as well as Garmin heart rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors.
• The same streamlined design as Edge 500 but with color display and versatile mapping options
• Garmin’s free BaseCamp software (www.garmin.com/basecamp) lets users plan, preview and download routes as courses to follow.
• Download, analyze and share rides at Garmin Connect™ (http://garminconnect.com), the free-to-join online community
• Displays temperature readings, changes time zones automatically, and alerts riders if they’re moving but the timer has not been started.
• Compatible with Garmin’s Custom Maps and optional mapping such as TOPO U.S. 24K, City Navigator or subscription-based BirdsEye Satellite Imagery.
• It lasts up to 15 hours on one charge of rechargeable internal battery.

Consumers will see the Edge 800 on shelves October 8th. MSPR will range from $449.99 for the basics to $649.99 for the Performance and Navigation bundle. Bikerumor.com will have a full review so stay tuned.

Hoy en Monagas

Hoy por la tarde me di una escapadita para ver como esta Monagas. Comienzo por decirles que por favor le digan a todos los que conocen que no corran hasta que seque. Las Tablas da pena, hay trabajo por montones gracias a los desconsiderados que pasan por las areas mojadas y crean los canales con las gomas. Pareceria que no saben lo que hacen, mas bien, no lo saben. No tienen idea de que toma mas tiempo el que seque porque al pasar se compacta la tierra y no percola (drena) normalmente. En adicion, ESO NO SE ARREGLA SOLO. Estoy seguro que los que lo hacen nunca han donado ni un segundo de su tiempo para trabajar en una ruta, porque si lo hubieran hecho saben el trabajo que es.

Picapiedras, Magic Kingdom, La Ceiba y La Caverna estan super resbalosos, solo apto para los que le gusta y saben correr en esas condiciones. Y por favor, bajense en las areas humedas. A Los Boy Scouts ni entre porque me imagino que esta super mojado.

Propongo que planifiquemos un domingo para trabajar en Las Tablas temprano y correr por la tarde. Dejenme saber que opinan.

Single Speed World Championships

Single Speed World Championships 2010 New Zealand

Afroman, Banannas in Pajamas, and Indian Chiefs are only a few of the characters that are sure to gather at this year’s Single Speed World Championships in Rotorua, New Zealand. Coming off of the 2009 SSWC that were held in Durango, CO, SSWC 2010 promises to be one for the ages with over 900 competitors from over 30 countries! To put that in perspective, the previous best was SSWC04 held in Berlin which saw riders from only 17 different countries.

Rotorua is nicknamed the “Spiritual home of mountain biking in New Zealand,” and looks to be a great fit for a mountain bike race on such a grand scale. The actual race will be held on the primo single track of the Whakarewarewa Forest. If you’re not quite sure what SSWC is all about, just image 900 or so mountain bikers, all on single speeds, and most of them in costume. It is a giant part, with a race somewhere in the middle. Oh, and the winner doesn’t get a trophy, they get a tattoo. Rad Ross Schnell and Heather Irminger were the lucky recipients of some fresh ink from last years single speed riot.

How do you get to host the SSWC? You can start by hosting your own single speed championship race, and if all goes well and no one gets arrested then you can show up at the SSWC and plead your case. While at SSWC09, Rotorua Single Speed Society members Vicki Butterworth, and John McCartney laid the groundwork to secure NZ’s place in hosting this years event, with two very successful races already hosted by the RSSS.

The race is to be held on October 23, 2010, now less than 60 days away.

Nic Leary and Mark 'Cabin' Leishman are 2 of the top New Zealanders