Join the Southern California cycling community in remembering one of our finest at the Udo Heinz Memorial Ride Saturday, November 14, 2015. The 55 mile loop (which will include some dirt) starts at Stone Brewing at 1999 Citracado Parkway, in Escondido, California at 8 AM.
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Not content to let Apple run away with all the “rose gold” glory, cycling computer maker Gamin announced today (October 1, 2015) that they are adding two new color ways to their high-end Fenix 3 Sapphire watches.
. . . the Fenix 3 Sapphire multipart watches now include a silver version with a leather band and a white version with rose gold accents. Featuring the same multipart toolset as the original Fenix 3 Sapphire, these two versions put a fashionable twist on the rugged smartwatch for fitness training and outdoor navigation.
Nice to see our favorite watch (that literally does everything, yes, even ANT+ power) looking so handsome, dashing, and stylish. For the official Fenix 3 details, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
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When we were kids we had a nerdy neighbor who was constantly in his parents’ garage mucking about with his old, steel, road bike (with fenders). He’d hand built a truing stand out of a pair of old Masi forks and it seemed he was always building new wheels, replacing spokes on old ones, or re-gluing sew ups.
One of the things that tripped us out most was when he would “wax” his chain. He’d use a small camp stove to heat up an old Folgers can filled with wax. We could smell it from across the street. Once the wax was totally liquid he’d lower his chain into it using a bent coat hanger. After removing the chain from its hot waxy bath he would hang it from the open garage door to dry. Being nosy neighbor kids we asked him, “Why do you put wax on your chain.”
He said paraffin was the best chain lube there was. We didn’t argue, however, we also never tried it.
The reason we mention this is that Wend Waxworks (part of the Wax Research family of companies that includes popular surf wax Sticky Bumps) has launched the first ever “rub-on” wax based chain lube.
That’s right. No camp stoves, no, bent hangers, and no old coffee cans, just a clean, twist up deodorant style applicator. Here’s what Wend is saying about it:
Wax‐On is quiet, quick, and clean. It is no secret that the most efficient chain lubrication method to date is immersing a chain into a vat of molten paraffin. However, this method is time consuming, temporary, and dangerous. WEND Waxworks set out to create a lube that would perform equal to or better than hot waxing and that would be easy to apply. After two years of development, the R&D at WEND has come up with Wax‐On. Wax‐On is a sophisticated paraffin based formula that includes proprietary friction reducers as well as proven lubricants such as Zinc and Teflon. The application is a cinch as the user simply rubs the wax onto the chains rollers, resulting in a race ready chain in seconds. Overall user satisfaction is high due to the ease of use, product cleanliness, and lubrication performance. We are confident once you make the change to WEND you will never look back.
We haven’t tried it yet, but the people we trust say it’s been working amazingly well. If you’d like to try some, click the link for more info. The Wend Chain Wax Kit retails for $30 and includes Wax-On, Wax-Off, and a micro fiber towel for making it all happen.
[Link: Wend Waxworks]
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BMC is no stranger to the world team time trail championships, but Taylor Phinney is. For those of us who thought Phinney would never race at a world class level again BMC’s team time trial win at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday, Septmber 21, 2015) was amazing news. From the sounds of it, Taylor doesn’t even know what to think of it yet, either. Congrats!
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The fifth running of the Belgian Waffle Ride will go down April 23-24, 2016 in San Marcos, California. Organizers say this will be the largest cycling extravaganza in Belgian Waffle Ride history, and participation numbers will be capped at 1,200 of the best from all over, including Olympians; World, National and State champions; professional and amateur cyclists; and surf, motocross and bike industry luminaries.
“The Belgian Waffle Ride presented by SPY was created as an homage to the storied history of bike racing in Belgium—a wonderful country considered to be the epicenter of the hardest one-day bike races in the world,” says Michael Marckx, CDO of Creative Disruption and creator of the event. “A tribute to the beautiful—and equally grueling—races staged in Belgium during the early spring, this year’s route will once again be different than all of the previous years with some new and sinuous gravel, dirt, and rocky sections, and more climbing than rural Belgium could offer, promising more fun, more pain and more opportunity for excuses than ever before. We hope to have at least 14 dirt sections, more than 11,000 feet of climbing and headwinds no matter which direction you ride.”
For a better look at the ride from the inside, check out this photo gallery. For the official word from Creative Disruption, please follow the jump [click to continue…]
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Swedish helmet company POC has partnered with Light Flex Technology to develop cycling clothing that lights up.
Light Flex Technology uses its new printed light technology which can be incorporated into any wearable to increase visibility. The patented technology is lightweight, flexible, washable and easily integrated. Light Flex Technology offers design flexibly since it can be printed in complex shapes and does not compromise comfort or aesthetics.
Not to second guess POC, but if we were designing clothing that lit up we’d probably put the lights on the outlines of the rider so people know what’s ahead of them. This floating blue dot on the cyclist’s lower back seems like it might confuse drivers more than alerting them. For the official word from POC, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
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Last month, when news spread that Michael Marckx was stepping down as CEO of Spy eyewear the big question on Southern California competitive cyclists mind was “what will happen to the Spy Ride Giant cycling team?” Well, now we know.
According to a press release sent out today (September 14, 2015) the Spy Giant Ride team has merged with Monster Media Racing to become. . . well, Monster Media Racing. But there’s more: the Monster Media Racing Team will now be owned by and operated by MMR Sports Group, LLC which is, in turn, owned by Chris DeMarchi, Derric Swinfard, Phil Tinstman, and Michael Marckx.
Here’s what they’re saying:
The unification not only marks the most significant cycling team development in the region—the most competitive cycling arena in the country—it also paves the way for the strengthened team to both own the leader boards in all men’s and women’s road categories. In addition, and more importantly, the new team will serve as a marketing and distribution agency for the team’s sponsors across the country, where MMR has plans to launch with seven chapters in 2015 and grow to fifteen chapters by 2016.
“MMR will create opportunities for all stakeholders to enjoy the services and pursuits of the team as a marketing agency,” said Michael Marckx, former president/CEO of SPY and MMR Team Partner. “Our unique program is for both cyclists in pursuit of their athletic dreams and brands seeking new ways of communicating their brand messages while competing in the increasingly challenging cycling marketplace.”
For the official word from Monster Media Racing, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
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WTB has given everyone another reason to chop a piece off the end of their bars — the new “no-slip” PadLoc grips.
By removing the rounded end of handlebars – really, is there a reason that bars have unyieldingly remained rounded – we’ve completely eliminated slippage. A 30 degree plane sloping the last inch toward the bar’s outermost edge ensures there’s no room for fore / aft movement. AND it makes PadLoc grips comfortable. Like foolishly easy on your palms, don’t tell your friends they’re so splendidly comfy.
We’re not sure we want to be so committed to a pair of grips that we permanently modify our bars. What if you get the angle wrong? What if you’re in the middle of no where and you need new grips? Then again, we haven’t ridden the PadLoc, so we don’t know.
[Link: WTB]
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GoPro has now pretty much fixed up all the things that bugged us about running a Hero with their new Hero4 Session. This thing is tiny, light, and does exactly what we all want a GoPro to do: bring back the action in living color and up close.
50% smaller and 40% lighter than GoPro’s best-selling HERO4 Black and Silver cameras, HERO4 Session packs GoPro’s Emmy® Award-winning image quality and performance into an exciting new low-profile form factor. HERO4 Session benefits from a durable waterproof design that eliminates the need for a separate housing and features simple one-button control to make capturing immersive photos and video quicker and more convenient than ever before.
The Hero4 Session works with all your GoPro mounts and captures GoPro-quality 1080p60, 720p100 and 1440p30. It will retail for $399.99 starting July 12, 2015. Our only question is, how long is that battery going to last? Anyone? For more info, click the link.
[Link: GoPro]
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The Smith Overtake (currently our favorite race helmet) just won a 2015 Red Dot Award which is a pretty big deal.
Following the phenomenal success of the Forefront all-mountain helmet, the brand was recently honored again for its holistic approach to product design with the prestigious international 2015 Red Dot Award for the new Overtake cycling helmet. With almost 5,000 entries from 56 countries, the Red Dot Award – bestowed by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany – is the largest and most recognized product competition in the world.
Good to know we have an award winning helmet, especially one made with a material that absorbs 30% more energy than traditional EPS foam helmets. For the official word from Smith, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
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