The Amsterdam based bike company VanMoof is rolling out a new SmartBike that is loaded with so many features that anyone who sees it will want to steal it, but those same features will make that nearly impossible.
And even if a thief is smart enough to get past those features, the SmartBike features a first-of-its-kind “Peace of Mind” guarantee: If the bike is stolen, a recovery team will use the bike’s built-in anti-theft tracking technology to locate and return it to its rightful owner. If it can’t be recovered within two weeks, VanMoof will replace it.
SmartBike preorders can be made at smartbike.vanmoof.com beginning May 31, 2016 for delivery beginning in October. Preorder prices are $1,098 for a 3-speed, and $1,298 for an 8-speed model. Sounds like a pretty good deal, yeah? Follow the jump for the official word from VanMoof.
It used to be that serious dives into Strava data were reserved for off-the-bike time when you could plow through the numbers and see exactly how you did against all your nemeses. Now, Strava has changed all that with Live Segments for Android and iOS. With Live Segments all the performance details of a segment are delivered while you’re on the bike and riding the segment.
How does it work? First off you need to be a Strava premium member ($59 per year). Then you need to go in and “star” all your favorite segments on the web or your phone. After the segments are starred then each time you ride one, Strava will give you the KOM and the fastest ride of the people you follow and compare your ride to theirs in real time showing you exactly where you are. Strava will count in the number of feet to the start of the segment and then count you out to the end of the segment (so you can kill yourself just like in a spring for the line).
This works on the phone fine, but if you don’t what your phone out on your bars (and really, who does) then the best option is a Garmin Edge 520. With the Edge 520 paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth, all the counting down, counting out, and live segment results will show up right on your Garmin display, making every single training ride a do or die race to the line. And, if you don’t like the results, you can immediately turn around and hit it again.
We’d like to think a little progress has been made in the last 150 years when it comes to bicycle saddles, but we know there are thousands of the cool kids who would argue with us. We’re guessing Brooks latest rerelease (in celebration of their 150th anniversary) is aimed right at their tattooed, mustachioed bums (yes, we said butt mustache).
The models available are the classic best-seller B17, its touring counterpart the Flyer, the B67 for city bikes, the B33 forheavy duty, and the Swallow for racing, all coming delivered in Special Edition packaging.
The saddles will be available online at www.brooksengland.com or at Brooks dealers around the world. Get ’em while you can because we’re sure they’ll be gone in a minute.
Garmin just added a new “do pretty much everything” GPS watch to their fitness line up that comes in a smaller, lighter, sleeker package than their top of the line fenix 3 (the watch André Greipel wears while winning Giro sprints). The watch is an update of their Forerunner named the 735XT.
“The Forerunner 735XT is the ultimate GPS smartwatch for athletes who want dialed-in data for training and race day,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “It offers comprehensive data for all of their activities, keeps them connected with smart features including notifications and automatic uploads to Garmin Connect, and lets them customize their device to fit their needs with Connect IQ’s free apps, data fields and more.”
But the coolest feature of this watch is a live suffer score right there on your wrist.
The Forerunner 735XT is Connect IQ compatible and is the first device to come with the Strava Live Suffer Score app pre-installed. Suffer Score is based on users’ heart rate and tells them how hard they’ve been working. So whether a weekend warrior or a professional athlete, if their heart is working hard they can rack up a high score.
So there, knock yourself out and then show your friends. For the official word from Garmin, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Pivot Cyclse has just released the details on the latest version of their hardtail XC race machine the LES and it looks delicious. Follow the jump for all the technical details.
Tired of using rocks, sticks, and trash to prop your bike up for those perfect Instagram moments only to have to spend hours Photoshopping them out later? Pure Fix bicycles announces today (April 1, 2016) their all new No-See-Stand using “clear-shadow technology.” The invisible kickstand holds you bike up perfectly and delivers “Instagram gold” every time. The stand is being offered today for the introductory price of $12.99. Click the link for more info.
Don’t worry about weighing your helmet any longer. Rudy Project has announced today )(April 1, 2016) a helmet that will actually take 20 grams off your total weight on the road. It’s called the Wing57 Anti-Grav.
While the new Wing57 Anti-Grav technically still has a mass of 300 grams, Rudy Project’s findings enabled engineers to inject gravity repelling particles into the helmet structure. The result is a net weight of negative 20 grams here on Earth, not enough to uncomfortably tug on the chin strap, but enough that users must ensure their helmet is securely stored when not in use.
For the official word from Rudy Project, please follow the jump.
VitalMTB takes a look at SRAM’s new MTB front derailleur killer the Eagle 1×12 drivetrain. And yeah, if you’re into that whole 1X thing, then this may just be the set-up you’re looking for. Here’s their takeaway:
Taken at the most basic level, Eagle can be viewed as the simple addition of a 50-tooth cog to an already-large cassette in an effort to meet wide gear range demands of 2X holdouts. It’s much more than that in actuality, however, because SRAM has taken the opportunity to update nearly every component in the group. In the process they’ve created a better 1X drivetrain with undeniable advantages over their existing systems. Even if you don’t personally need the massive cog, there’s more speed to be had at the other end of the cassette. With gear range out of the picture, there are now very few arguments left for not switching to a simpler, quieter, and easier-to-use 1X drivetrain.
We don’t ever leave our bikes out where they can be molested, but if we did this Abus Brooklyn Chain would probably do the job (even if it is heavier than our road bike). The set-up features the following:
Open 10mm/120 cm hardened steel loop chain
Fabric sleeve prevents damage to frame and paint job
80/TI50 TITALIUM™ Padlock features a solid lock body made from TITALIUM&trade aluminum alloy offering higher security at a super light weight
Surf journalist and writer Kimball Taylor’s new book The Coyote’s Bicycle, follows the flow of bicycles across the border between Mexico and the United States and makes the interesting case that bicycles are becoming one of the least tracked forms of illegal currency used to build illicit border businesses.
. . . bicycles are fungible, like a dollar. Once a bicycle leaves your hand, it joins the idea of a bike just the way a dollar would. That was shocking to me. Another journalist, Patrick Symmes, described it this way: “In America’s rough streets, there are four forms of currency — cash, sex, drugs, and bicycles. Of those, only one is routinely left outside unattended . . . I guess the most dramatic thing I learned on the trail of these bicycles was the story of El Indio, how this kid from an impoverished area who was abandoned with an elderly grandfather in his Oaxacan village was able to come to the border and see the value not in crossing but in becoming part of that underground economy, becoming a millionaire and losing everything dear to him in the process.”
We’re looking forward to reading this one. To purchase your own copy, please click here.
Surf journalist and writer 
