by editors on January 21, 2015
We firmly believe that any trail open to horses should be open to mountain bikes. Period. And we’re sick of elitist equestrian interests trying to keep these trails closed to bikes. The good news is we’re not alone when it comes to the world famous Pacific Crest Trail, according to a story in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
The Pacific Crest Trail Reassessment Initiative [wants] to reverse decades of U.S. Forest Service policy that limits the high-elevation trail to hiking and equestrian use. They’re particularly interested in sections of trail that could be ridden as links between myriad biking trail networks throughout the Sierra Nevada.
We couldn’t agree more. If you’re interested in helping to open more wilderness trails to mountain biking (especially in the west) then please click the link for more info.
[Link: Sharing the PCT via Reno Gazette-Journal]
by editors on January 20, 2015
According to a study in Northwestern Medicine people tend to drink more alcohol on the days they’ve exercised, and according to a story Outsideonline.com that’s a bad thing. In fact, alcohol is a bad thing for athletes all the way around.
If you still think a post-race beer isn’t a bad idea, consider this: alcohol interferes with your muscles’ post-workout rebuilding process by reducing protein synthesis. “So not only does alcohol interfere with recovery of muscle damage and injury,” says Barnes, “it also reduces the processes responsible for building muscle.”
Beer works great for getting you fat and keeping you on the couch. For anything else, there’s water. Click the link for even more reasons why.
[Link: OutsideOnline.com]
by editors on January 13, 2015
We’d never get fat, but if we did we have to admit that we’d roll a Pivot LES Fat because it looks like the most badass hardtail fat bike we’ve ever seen.
The LES Fat is RockShox Bluto compatible and includes a Pivot designed carbon fork with 150mm dropout spacing – one wheelset will work with both options. 2x and 1x gearing compatibility makes the LES Fat an ideal choice in any terrain, and the LES Fat rear spacing is 197mm with an ergo-friendly low Q-factor design when built with the Pivot/E-Thirteen co-designed fat bike crankset. The Pivot Cable Port System makes internal routing simple to install and maintain via large, easy to access ports and interchangeable covers. Easily switch between a variety of cable routing options for the cleanest installation. Additional details include integrated rear rack mounts, internal dropper post routing and 3 water bottle mounts – making the LES Fat the perfect choice for any big tire adventure.
And to see what’s possible on the LES Fat, click here for a video demo from Aaron Chase. For the official word from Pivot, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by editors on January 5, 2015
Smith, the company that invented the modern goggle era turns 50 this year and to celebrate they’ve given themselves a whole new logo.
As a declaration to our future progress, we are proud to announce the new visual identity of SMITH. Following a refined brand platform that modernizes our beliefs, values, and who we stand for, SMITH will re-launch our entire product range in January 2015 with a new logo and brand presentation. With clean, modern and refined letterforms, the updated logo hearkens back to our original identity and speaks to the fundamental tenets of our brand: performance, movement, and essential design.
For the official word from Smith, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by editors on December 18, 2014
by editors on December 12, 2014
Pivot’s full suspension cross country bike the Mach 429 just keeps getting better and better. The latest version (Mach29SL) is half a pound lighter and features Shimano Di2 compatibility. But there’s more:
Pivot has dropped over 226g via the use of leading-edge carbon fiber and our proprietary hollow-core, internal-molding process with optimized composite materials and lay-up structure, making the Mach 429SL the lightest, stiffest 29er with the best power transfer available. . . The Pivot Mach 429SL Carbon is only the second fully Di2 integrated mountain bike (the first is Pivot’s Mach 4 Carbon). Featuring our innovative Cable Port System, internal routing is easy to install and maintain with large, easy-to-access ports and interchangeable covers for the cleanest installation of wires, batteries and cables.
We’re not going to argue. For more info (and photos) follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
by editors on December 12, 2014
Jennie Price is a link-baiting writer who has a well shared story in the Daily Mail titled On The Shame of Being Married to a MAMIL (that’s a Middle Aged Man In Lycra). And while she goes over the top repeatedly about how much she’s bothered by her husband spending so much time on the bike, she did kick down a few truths we’re all guity of:
For those fortunate enough to have normal husbands, allow me to elaborate. Being a MAMIL is about much more than squeezing your ample frame into tight lycra. . . This means boring dinner parties into silence with endless chat about bikes, spending long hours of family time out ‘training’, embarrassing your children walking around the house in bib shorts (think a mankini with padding around the nether regions) and paying eye-watering sums for obscure items of kit.
We wonder, would Mrs. Price rather her husband spend his days hefting pints at the local pub and then come home drunk to rub his bloated, sweaty belly all over her sexy red dress? Somehow we doubt it.
[Link: Daily Mail]
by editors on December 10, 2014
This makes about as much sense as most cross videos. But yeah, Chris Akrigg is pretty good on a bike and could probably do just as well on a kid’s bike with training wheels. There, we just put it out for his next challenge. Training wheel cross? You listening Mr. Akrigg?
[Link via Vital MTB]
by editors on December 10, 2014
While some soft drink companies may want you to think differently, all athletes know that you’re only as good as the food you put in your body. Next time you head out for an all-day roll, try slipping a Perfect Bar in your pocket. The all-natural, gluten free, and non-GMO snack bars are loaded with good stuff without a single bit of refined sugar. It’s a difference you’ll noticed from the first bite.
The bars are available in seven flavors including: lite cranberry crunch, lite almond acai, carob chip, fruit and nut, peanut butter, almond butter, and vegan almond coconut. And, while each has a slightly different flavor profile with the exception of the lite flavors, all of them pack in about 300 calories. The aforementioned lite cranberry crunch and lite almond acai use puffed crisp rice to keep the calorie count in the 200 range. In addition, more than twenty superfoods such as kale, spinach, celery and others are hiding inside the bar in a powdered form.
With all that inside, it’d be easy for the bars to taste like a dirty CX racer smells, but luckily they don’t. Instead, the bars taste like fresh peanut butter or almond butter mixed with a little honey and milk—because aside from all those ground up superfoods that’s basically what they are. Though we would have liked to see one or two flavors of the bars sporting a influx of oats for a slower-release of carbohydrates on a sustained effort, for the most part the Perfect Bar really was just that. Sure they seem simple, but after a few weeks of eating a Perfect Bar for lunch you’ll be hard pressed to go back to any pre-packaged energy bar that you’ve eaten in the past. You can find them online for about $20 for a box of 8 (or 20 bite-sized minis) at shop.perfectbar.com or in the refrigerated aisle of your local health food grocer (and occasionally even Costco).
[Link: Perfect Bar]
by editors on December 4, 2014
National bicycling organization PeopleForBikes set out in March 2010 to unite one million voices in support of a better future for biking. Today PeopleForBikes achieved this milestone—one million Americans have joined the movement to making riding better for everyone.
“Today is a historic day for PeopleForBikes. We are proud to have one million individuals standing behind our vision and goals,” said President of PeopleForBikes, Tim Blumenthal. “We would like to thank everyone who has showed their support for better bicycling. We plan to keep growing!” . . . PeopleForBikes believes that people, wherever they live, should be able to bike safely and comfortably and enjoy the many benefits of bicycling—for health, recreation, the economy, the environment, community and sustainability. PeopleForBikes focuses its efforts to improve bicycling through its Green Lane Project, political work, community grants, national partnerships, and by providing bicycling statistics and resources for use by all stakeholders.
For the rest of the story, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
