With a handful of apps, the iPhone doubles as a cycling computer, but a new app and companion case from iBike will offer custom readings depending on the user’s goals. One such app-plus-case is the iBike Cycling Computer. The iBike POWERHOUSE is what the company is calling an “intelligent cycling computer” that automatically adjusts to exercise goals.
Those exercise goals offered by iBike POWERHOUSE include “iSlim,” “Express Fitness,” “Brazilian Butt,” “Kid Fit,” “Weekend Warrior,” “Zero to 50 miles in 3 weeks,” and “Healthy Heart.” The program guides you through a series of 45 to 90-minute bike rides. During each ride, the user is coached to pedal at specific levels of effort. Read the rest of this entry »
New bike owners are getting their money back from California bike shop the Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery. That is anyone buying a qualifying bike – most bikes $750 and up – will earn $0.10 per mile for every mile ridden and logged on Strava.com in 2012.
Biking to work is a challenge. You want a secure place to lock your bike, and sometimes you need a shower before going to the office or meeting. The city of Santa Monica in California is addressing the issue with a full-service bike parking center on the 3rd Street Promenade. The bike center is located in a storefront of a new mall in the area.
The Santa Monica Bike Center takes up 5,300 square feet. It has slots for bikes to be locked, showers, lockers and a self-service repair center. The center will also have attended valet parking for those shopping in the mall that want a little extra service. It’s reported the ground-level garage cost $2 million.
Cyclists will need to become members of the facility in order to use the amenities. Membership terms include daily, weekly and monthly rates.
The headline may be a bit of an overstatement, but Dave Zabriskie recently had a recording session with Garmin Cervelo team sponsor Garmin to lend his voice to the downloadable Team Garmin bundle for Garmin Nuvi devices.
Zabriskie’s voice will be available as part of the downloadable Team Garmin bundle from Garmin Garage later in November. The video lets you hear, and see, some of what’s included in the bundle. “I’ll turn this car around…”
Nuvi devices are for cars, motorcycles and trucks, and not bicycles, but we thought it was worthy when a pro-cyclist gets to provide his voice for GPS driving directions. Besides, who knows the road better than a cyclist?
Welcome to a weekly digest of web links I think are worth checking out. These items include articles, images, and video. Please comment on what you find interesting. If you have something to share, please submit links of interest to mike@kineticshift.com.
British TV Ad for Christmas
This week sees the Christmas installment of the British store Halfords ad ‘ That’s Helpful, That’s Halfords’ campaign, with a 30 second Bike TV commercial, designed to encourage parents to come to Halfords to buy bikes for their children’s Christmas presents. The young girl is shown riding and enjoying her new bike in all seasons and weather. So take a cue from her and get out and scream while you are at it.
Each year helmets get lighter, but they also get stronger. Technology lends itself to a higher degree of protection using lighter-weight materials. However, even when you’re going to get down and dirty off road you’ll still want to look good doing so. For 2012 Louis Garneau will release the Carve helmet, which will offer that higher degree of protection without sacrificing style. This new helmet promises to be lightweight, highly ventilated and totally geared toward mountain bikers.
The weather in Colorado can be unpredictable. Sunshine, hail, high winds, and snow can all happen within a few hours even on a summer day. With this kind of variability you learn to carry a jacket at all times while on the bike.
The Elite Pro jacket is made with a three layer proprietary fabric and is highly waterproof. The wind-blocking is exceptional. Beyond the basics, the jacket is loaded with features designed specifically for cycling. The Elite Pro is light, form fitting and doesn’t flap in the wind. At the waist, it is short in front and ultra-long in the back. This feels a bit awkward when you try on the jacket, but once on the bike, it is spot on. The sleeves have the same style. They feel freakishly long when standing and perfect when on the bike. I’ve learned to cinch the wrist up when off the bike, positioning the sleeves at the wrist to keep them from falling over my hands.
The jacket has tremendous ventilation. There are two core zipper vents that replace armpit zippers on previous models. Read the rest of this entry »
I can honestly say, never thought I’d see the day that you could move something with just your mind. You can, and this isn’t just something out of Star Wars. Toyota and bicycle manufacturer Parlee have teamed up to create a concept bicycle that is as cutting edge and trend setting as the Prius. The video above shows how this could be a game changer for cyclists. And in a related story the BBC takes its own look at mind control. Mind over matter indeed!
In just 24-hours a new bike was created with the input of people on the internet. The “Quirky Moneyball Project” was a collaboration between crowd source invention company Quirky and Columbia Pictures in promotion of the new film Moneyball.
You might think that the promotion would be to build a better bat or baseball cleats. The challenge for Quirky however, was to develop and build a new bicycle in just 24 hours. The collaboration included input from the Quirky design team with the healp of Oakland A’s fans, film enthusiasts and the Quirky global community.
Biking to work sounds like such a brilliant idea. That is until you actually do it and show up to work with a damp, wrinkled shirt. The ShirtShuttle from Commuter Technologies, which is currently available exclusively at The Conran Shop in the U.K., is a weather-tight case fits a clean shirt and stores it in your backpack or messenger bag so it will arrive dry and crease-free. Read the rest of this entry »
In contrast with today’s Made in America feature on Genuine Innovations, we wanted to share a BBC Made in Britain video on Brompton, fold-up commuter bikes. It’s interesting to hear Brompton speak of the importance of handcrafted parts that go into the bikes, and how being made in Britain actually helps the manufacturer in the Chinese market.
You might be able to change a flat tire. But do you know how to clean your rear cassette? Bike Repair App for the iPhone ($2.99), and Android ($3.07) from Atomic Softwares gives you a pre-ride checklist plus step-by-step maintenance instructions to keep your ride on the road without running to the shop every time you hear a clicking sound.
Photos with instructions help walk you through basic repairs for bike components such as wheels, rear derailleur, front derailleur, chain, handlebar/headset, crankset/pedals, brakes, disk brakes, shifter, suspension, helmet and even your body with an “aches and pains” category.
Atomic organized the app well, including a section for problems and another for parts. The app includes messages, sort of a Q&A where the developer posts answers to user emails. Throughout the app typos appear. Maybe it’s just my editor instinct. However if you’re publishing an app — especially if you’re charging for it — you should probably have someone read through the copy before putting it up there. I’d rather concentrate on identifying why my pedals click than become distracted by miss-worded instructions.
Bike Repair doesn’t replace a visit to the shop for a tune-up or major repair, but it does help you fine-tune your bike. The bike inspection information is helpful. It walks you through what to do before every ride, and a second section gives you a checklist of things to check your bike for monthly. The monthly checklist tells you to look for structural damage, looseness, and gives you tips on cleaning and other simple maintenance issues.
You probably need some knowledge of bikes to make use of the app. If you don’t know what a derailleur is you might be able to identify it from the picture, but it helps to know your way around the bike since the pictures are confined to the size of a phone or tablet. It’s a lot of instruction if you don’t know a tube from a tire.
When you’re done with that bottle of bike lube, do you wonder if you can recycle? Finish Line Technologies just made the switch to polyetheline terephthalate plastic, or PET, for its bottles. That includes Finish Line’s Ceramic WET Lube; Ceramic WAX Lube; Dry Lube made with Teflon Flouropolymer; WET Lubricant; 1-Step Cleaner and Lubricant and Ceramic Grease products.
The company used PET for its stability. The material provides improved barrier permeability, preventing paneling and the loss of product due to evaporation through the bottle walls. The barrier protection protects the stability of the formulations inside, and increases shelf life. Read the rest of this entry »
