This week Waterloo, Wisconsin based Trek Bicycles announced that it would sponsor a new pro cycling team for next year’s Tour de France. This new, to be named team, will be led by two-time Tour runner-up, and white jersey (for best young rider) winner Andy Schlek.
Schlek and his brother Frank, who was unable to finish this year’s Tour de France after crashing out early in the multi-stage race, had previously announced that they would be leaving the Saxo Bank team to start their own team based in their native Luxembourg for the upcoming season. This team has yet to announce its full roster or title sponsor.
Trek will join Specialized Bicycles in being a company that will provide cycles to more than one team, as this year Specialized had provided the bikes for Alberto Contador’s Team Astana. Contador, who won the tour, has made the move to Saxo Bank, which was the other team riding Specialized this year. It was also the first time that a Specialized bike was used by a tour winner. Contador and Team Astana had previously ridden Trek, but the company followed Lance Armstrong to the Radio Shack team for this season.
It was announced that Trek would continue to provide bikes for Radio Shack next season, despite the fact that Armstrong has announced that he will be retiring. It isn’t clear if Astana will be in the Tour next season, or if the company will be using Specialized bikes.
There have been dozens of books on bicycle maintenance, riding techniques and even the history of the sport, but little has been written that actually describes the technology around a bike – at least not in a way for the average rider. Authors Rob van der Plas and Stuart Baird, who both share a lifelong passion for bicycles, have finally addressed this and have written a concise book that examines everything you’d ever need to know about the two wheel contraptions.
This effort, Bicycle Technology: Understanding the Modern Bicycle & Its Components will appeal to the hardcore gear head as well as the causal rider. It offers 28 chapters, beginning (fittingly enough) with a short yet thorough history and development of bicycle, its accompanying technology and finally to what the future may bring for riders. Additionally, this book offers detailed information on practically every single component and materials used in bike construction, and while this isn’t meant to be a study on maintenance, it will help anyone who tinkers with their cycles have a better understanding of how the specific parts work. Other key topics such as different types of bicycles, as well as information on design are all presented over the course of the 320 pages. Read the rest of this entry »
With the Interbike trade show just three weeks away, it has been announced that U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will serve as the keynote speaker at a special press conference. Blumenauer is founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, and he will speak on the state of cycling legislation and future government activity on behalf of cycling.
According to the official press release from the International Bicycle Expo organizers this visit from the congressman comes at a critical time as the U.S. government continues to work on the next transportation bill, which could set the tone for cycling infrastructure investments during the next six years.
Rep. Blumenauer will outline where bicycling stands in this matter, and where it is going. He will further pinpoint what the industry can do to support these efforts.
When purchasing an upscale bicycle a buyer often picks out a frame size, picks out some components and then opts to get a fitting. This is much like buying a suit or a wedding dress, where an item is made to fit you. But PK Cycling of Fairfax, California takes the custom fitting to the next level, and it offers clients the option for a truly customized bike that will fit riders like a tailored suit.
Christopher Kautz of PK Cycling was kind of enough to describe his company’s unique process. Read the rest of this entry »
Have we seen the end of the Cervélo Test Team? That seems to be case as the company announced today that it would not be continuing as a title sponsor after the end of this season. However, this doesn’t sound like it will be the end of Cervélo bikes in the Tour, or in other major races. We’ll post more as news develops.
UPDATE:CyclyingNews.com reported that Cervélo could be the bike du jour in next year’s Tour for the Garmin-Transitions team, which could become the Garmin-Cervélo Team.
“The bike manufacturer has been linked with the Garmin-Transitions team as a possible replacement for the American squad’s Felt sponsorship, with Transitions dropping from the second sponsor slot and Cervelo taking over in their place. Neither team confirmed this.” Read the rest of this entry »
Folding bicycle manufacturer Montague Cycles has announced a new line of 700c road bikes, including its first ever full-sized single speed. The Boston model includes a flip-flop hub, allowing to transform the bike from a traditional free-wheel single speed to a track ready “fixie.”
It features a 42×16t drivetrain, which is considered ideal gearing for city riding. Designed more for the urban canyons than off-road, this bike still offers the durability that has become a Montague signature. The Boston model features the Cliz quick release and the company’s patented folding system, which allows for a conversion from full-sized ride to trunk-worthy bike in just about 20 seconds.
Every time you shift into granny gear, don’t you wish you had a motor on your bike to kick in and help you up that hill? The Copenhagen wheel claims to do just that. Developed by a team of students at the SENSEable City Lab at MIT, the motor encases the rear hub of the wheel on your existing bike to give it power. The MIT team recently won the U.S. national round of the James Dyson award for the Copenhagen wheel. Read the rest of this entry »
This week Vista, California based Electra Bicycles was awarded US Patent #7740262 for its revolutionary flat foot technology bicycle design. This forward-pedaling design was developed in 2003, and has been featured on several Electra bike models including the Townie, Cruiser and Amsterdam collection. This unique design allows riders to place their feet flat on the ground while still sitting in the saddle.
This technology was accomplished by something rather simple; so simple in fact that it is one of those things that we ask why no one thought of it before. Basically by moving the crank forward of the set tube, thus is created a forward pedaling ride position that is comfortable and stable. The result allows riders to sit in an upright position in the saddle with proper leg extension for pedaling. This should also help reduce tension in the back, neck, shoulders, arms and wrists. Read the rest of this entry »
A lot of exercise bikes have you put in the miles without actually going anywhere. But the Ciclotte spin cycle will have you getting nowhere in true style. The bike even looks much like a real work of art, but that’s because it is actually based on a concept bicycle is now part of the permanent collection of the Milan Design Museum. As such it is one piece of workout equipment that you probably wouldn’t mind having in your living room, even when you’re not actually using it!
Designer Luca Schieppati took his concept bike, which was based on the classic unicycles from the 19th century, and reinterpreted its operating dynamics. This in turn became the Ciclotte stationary bicycle, which does look like it belongs more in a museum than a gym. It utilizes a minimalist design but with the utmost of high-tech components and materials, including fully adjustable saddle, pedals, handlebar and support arms. Instead of a chain-driven system the Ciclotte uses a dual satellite epicycloids system that features four gears with varying cogs. Thus the bike doesn’t have a traditional drive train, and instead has gears that turn the magnetized main wheel, in turn creating a magnetic field and thus maximizing the level of resistance. The result should be a good workout once you get into a nice spin. Read the rest of this entry »
An artist's rendering of the proposed Boulder Valley Velodrome, a 250-meter outdoor cycling track planned for the intersection of County Line Road and Bonnell Avenue in Erie. (Courtesy of David A. Beal & Associates )
The Erie Trustees recently approved plans for the Boulder Valley Velodrome, which could be operational in as little as a year. This would be the first velodrome built to Olympic guidelines in the United States since 2004, and it certainly could be of interest to the world’s cycling community. While single speed and fixies have become popular in recent years, the fact remains that there are woefully few places across the country to actually compete, or even to learn the ropes. Read the rest of this entry »
This week Waterloo, Wisconsin based Trek Bicycles announced that it would sponsor a new pro cycling team for next year’s Tour de France. This new, to be named team, will be led by two-time Tour runner-up, and white jersey (for best young rider) winner Andy Schlek.
