Cycling news, what’s new in cycling equipment and gear.
This is kinda stretching the meaning of “bicycle” a bit…
The Swiss “Rocket Man” François Gissy has set a new bicycle speed record of 333 km/h (207 mph) on the rocket-propelled bicycle at Circuit Paul Ricard located in the South of France. The “bicycle” was designed by Gissy’s friend, Arnold Neracher.
Looks like just the thing to make me competitive at the local time trial again.
I used to ride at night a lot! Twice a week I’d do the local hammerfest and then ride solo for another 3 hrs. I loved riding at night, it was cooler, quieter, and so I thought… much safer.
After all, I could see the cars coming a mile away thanks to their lights, and they could see me as I had bright front and rear lights. And I rode for years without incident.
One night that naive assumption was shattered when I had a very close call. The road snaked in such a way that my light was not visible until too late. and I came close to being whacked. I wonder if I would have been much more visible had I had something like the Orfos Flares bike light. I think so.
The Orfos Flare is an LED light that emits a glow in 360 degrees, rather than a directional beam like a traditional bike light does. The case surrounding the LED diffuses the light.
What this means is that (part of) the rider and the surrounding environment is lit, making the rider more visible.
The lights are also completely waterproof… just in case you encounter a deluge of Biblical proportions.
A cool feature is that the lights attach to the bike magnetically. There is a mount that you attach to your bike with cable ties, and then the light magnetically sticks to the mounting, so you can quickly attach and remove the lights as needed.
The lights run on a rechargeable battery, and are charged via a micro USB port. Apparently, you can get 24 hrs of light from a 90 min charge. Not bad.
The inventor is Pete Clyde, an electrical engineer, and he plans to have the lights shipping by Christmas.
The Monkey Light will do something similar, it’s available right now – check it out: The Monkey Light – cycling safety light
Learn more about the Orfos Flare Light or check it out on Kickstarter.
The “Hovding” helmet (airbag for cyclists) is selling in Europe. It’ll set you back about $400.
This will give you a good idea of how it works. These are all low speed collisions, which makes me wonder what speeds it is actually effective at. It might not be an option for the typical US speeds on rural roads of 45-55 mph.
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.
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.
A 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.
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.
While researching the best indoor cycling trainers for our new cycling gear store, I came across the 1upPOWERbahn from 1UPUSA, makers of the innovative 1upUSA trainer that uses a centrifugal clutch system. The POWERbahn trainer is still in development, and unfortunately it did not reach its fundraising goal on Kickstarter, but here’s a brief overview of what it offers.
The makers claim that it realistically mimics the outdoor ride indoors, that it closely simulates the experience of grade and motion changes that you feel on the road. It even simulates momentum, and it does it differently based on the rider’s weight.
Learn more about the 1upPOWERbahn.
Check it out! Velo Logic now has a store where you can buy a selection of indoor trainers, cycling movies and DVDs and books about cycling.
We’re starting small but will grow with time, for now you can browse:
Summer’s not over, head on over to the store and grab a few good books or movies to tide you through the summer.
How about Wheelmen, New York Times bestseller on Lance Armstrong’s massive deception and the greatest sports conspiracy ever. And here’s a great read for the ladies, Every Woman’s Guide to Cycling, Selene Yeager covers everything women need to know about cycling, from the basics like buying the right bicycle, to developing fitness, effective training, and finally how to race successfully and win.
On the movie front we have the classic Breaking Away in HD – if you haven’t seen it then you need to get it now, definitely one for the collection.
Heck, if you’re like me and like to ride indoors, you might even like to get a trainer (and in my humble but insightful opinion, you can’t beat the Kurt Kinetic!).
Check out these highlights from the Italian wheelie king, Simone Temperato. (Click the square in the bottom right for fullscreen.)
Much more on his BikeItalian YouTube channel.
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:
You can also follow them on Twitter: @bicyclefriendly and on facebook: facebook.com/bicyclefriendly
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
Here’s a new dedicated stationary trainer. It has a nice “ride anywhere in the world” feature courtesy of Google Maps, and will tilt with inclines, up to and down to 20%, if you care for that kind of thing. No word on the accuracy of the power, and lack of online racing is a serious omission for the racer.
