All posts by Logician

News

Full Body Work Out Bikes

So you rode 20 miles today, congratulations. But what kind of workout did your upper body get? Well if you rode a traditional bike… not much. But if you hammered on one of the bikes below, it would be a different story.  Meet the new full body workout bikes.

Varibike

The Varibike
The Varibike costs in the region of $5-6,000 USD.

The Varibike has a hand pedaling system in addition to the pedals, so you can help your legs and workout your upper body at the same time.

Varibike cites a study claiming a 31% increase in power:

A study of the New Mexico State University showed that (at the same heart rate) the maximum power output could be increased by over 30% using combined arm-and-leg cranking compared with normal cycling. Furthermore, the endurance performance was found to be higher.

The Varibike comes in an outdoor model and an indoor model, so you can do a whole body ride year round.

www.varibike.com

 4 Strike Bike

The 4 StrikeA similar bike is the 4 Strike Bike, invented by a retired surgeon, Lex van Stekelenburg. Here’s how it works:

The handlebar contains a patented mechanism that allows upper body ‘pedalling’ and steering to be combined. The front drive system also incorporates a steering stabilizing mechanism. The crankshaft has a special freewheel system that allows the bike to be cycled with both arms and legs or with the legs alone while getting on and off the bike. The handlebar also features a click system that allows the ‘hand-pedals’ to be fixed in their highest position during cycling as in a normal handlebar, transforming this bike back into a regular bike. This ordinary bicycle function is the basis of the 4 Strike Bike.

www.4strikebike.com

Raxibo

And if you can’t wait to get your hands on one of these, well the Raxibo is available now for 2,500 swiss francs (about $2,600 USD). It’s not as elegant or as cool looking as the 4 Strike, but there’s something to be said for existing versus non-existing.

www.raxibo.de

News

The Original Bicycle Friendly Sticker

Locals near Lindsey Wilson College wanted a way to let cyclists know that they were welcome, so Lindsey Wilson College had the genius to create a “bicycle friendly” sticker and turn it into a campaign. The campaign already seems to growing at a rapid rate, we sure hope it sweeps the nation! You can learn more and buy some stickers to show your support here:

http://wearebikefriendly.com/

You can also follow them on Twitter:  @bicyclefriendly and on facebook:  facebook.com/bicyclefriendly

News

A New Cycling League?

From cycling news, a story about a new breakaway cycling league.

Cyclingnews has learned that the financial group Rothschild put together a proposal for a cycling breakaway league in the early stages of 2011. The proposal is said to have minimised the influence of the UCI but lacked the cooperation of the sport’s biggest race organiser, ASO.

It was clear by April that McQuaid was aware of the efforts, and in May, McQuaid threatened to charge teams for the cost of the biological passport programme should they conspire against the UCI to form a breakaway league, but at the time he was not worried that the concept – now known to be presented in the Rothschild proposal – would become a reality.

Read the scoop: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/breakaway-cycling-league-backed-by-rothschild

Cycling Gear Reviews

Hincapie Alp Gloves

Today I headed out with my new Hincapie Alp gloves and poly liners. I used them a couple of weeks ago in a small blizzard, and they did great! My old gloves, Bellwether’s, worked well when I first got them, but after a few years they’ve lost their ability to keep out the cold.

When I left the house in the morning it was 30F. I pulled on the poly liners and the gloves, headed out, and didn’t think of my hands again! That’s pretty unusual for me as typically, after an hour or so, my hands are freezing and my finger tips start to hurt.

The poly liner gloves are fairly thin, you'd think they'd have little effect, but they really do help raise your hand temperature a few degrees.

I really needed the Alp gloves a few weeks ago, when I was doing 3 hr rides at night in sub-freezing temperatures. With my old gloves I’d start feeling cold after an hour, after 2 hours it would start being painful, after the 3 rd hour I’d be tucking my hands under my arms, rubbing them together, doing what ever I could think of to ward off frostbite.

The Hincapie Alp gloves are light and thin. They have a clip to keep them together, a detail but a useful one.

Quite a pleasure to ride in freezing temps and not worry about my hands going numb.

The construction of the Alp gloves is superb, they are fairly thin but by no means delicate. The detail in the gloves is characteristic of Hincapie apparel, attention to detail. The small grip pads on the palm and fingers of the glove are the Hincapie logo.

The best thing about these gloves is that they work. I haven’t taken them out when it’s been in the 20s, but I plan to! The second best thing is that being thin, you remain dexterous enough that you can fit your hand in your jersey pocket and pull out a gel or bar, you can even operate a camera.

I give the Hincapie Alp gloves a big thumbs up! If you ride in very cold temperatures (much below 30F) they might not be sufficient, even with the poly liner gloves. For those conditions you might try the Hincapie Black Ice, which are a lot beefier.

Have you found a pair of gloves that works for you?

Cycling Gear Reviews, New Cycling Gear

Bontrager RXL Cycling Shoes

Photo of Bontrager RXL cycling shoes
Bontrager RXL Cycling Shoes perform admirably!

The Bontrager RXL shoes arrived in a classy, understated box. I tried them on and they fit nicely, a little more roomy around the wide part of the foot than I’m used to, but better than many makes that tend to be tight around there. The shoes are crisp white, with a carbon sole, and gold accents. They look very cool. One thing stood out, they are extremely light. So light that I almost threw them out with the box! No kidding.

I took them for a few short spins to make sure they fit well, that the cleats were well adjusted, and that they wouldn’t start hurting after 20 miles. They felt great, so great in fact, that I forgot that I was wearing them.

Then I headed in to the mountains for a 60 mile out and back from Marion to the top of Mt Mitchell and back. Almost the whole outbound leg is uphill, the return is a descender’s dream, and a thrill. I was prepared for a little bit of discomfort, especially given the fact that I would be climbing for over 2 hrs, but there was none. I completely forgot about monitoring the state of my feet and the performance of the shoe, instead I was captivated by the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway and the views down on to the foothills below. And, it must be said, I was well engrossed in the suffering inherent in a sustained climb of 25 miles.

The Bontrager RXL shoe performed admirably. It was comfortable, stiff, secure and airy, allowing a liberal amounts of air to flow through and keep my feet cool. They felt good on the climbs when I was seated, and they felt firm and secure under out of the saddle accelerations and sprints. The shoes close snug where it counts, but leave ample room around the box area so your foot never feels cramped. With custom e-sole foot beds, you can get them to fit even better.

On the downside, these shoes look great new, but after a bit of real world immersion, they can start to look grubby. Clean them regularly and use your old ones when it rains, and the these brilliant white head-turners will last a lot longer.

On the whole, the Bontrager RXL shoes are right up there with the best.

New Cycling Gear, News

iBike Dash

iBike Newton

Update 09/19/2014: The iBike Dash has been superseded by the iBike Newton.

iBike introduces the new iBike Dash. By mounting your existing iPhone or iTouch in iBike’s Phone Booth, you can get all your cycling data, including power, on your mobile device. Pretty sweet!

Transform your iPhone or iPod Touch into the ultimate cycling computer utilizing the full computer functionality of you iPhone or iPod Touch to deliver a truly amazing cycling dashboard at your fingertips – a virtual co-pilot, navigator, and black box all in one.

Look out for a review of the iBike iPro coming soon.

Read more about the iBike Dash on iBike.com