Nothing to see here but straight up EYE CANDY! We snagged these original images from Dirt Rag Magazine, so props to them for providing the visual stimulation! Enough talking… let’s look at some sexy bikes… shall we?

For more images follow links below.

Day 1: http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/nahbs-2010-friday-226/

Day 2: http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/nahbs-day-2-saturday-227/

Day 3: http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/nahbs-2010-sunday-228/

Like these images check out our friends at… Dirt Rag Magazine!

The World’s Lightest Electric Bike!

In 2009 British electric bike manufacturer Cytronex launched the world’s lightest electric bicycle, the Cytronex Powered Cannondale Capo, which at 13.6Kg weighs less than many unassisted bicycles. Towards the end of 2009 Cytronex were approached by Channel 5’s Gadget Show to build a bicycle for a race between one of their presenters (Ortis Deley) and a professional cyclist (winner of the Tour of Ireland – Russell Downing).

Cytronex was chosen by Gadget Show because it is fitted to existing bicycles with very little visual impact and without affecting the quality of ride – the water bottle battery provides effective disguise, the motor is about the same size as a hub dynamo and the system runs silently.

The Super Six is Super Hot!

After consulting with Cannondale, Cytronex decided to electrify a Cannondale Super Six for the race. The resulting electric bike weighs in at just 12.9Kg – lighter even than the Capo. For Cytronex the object of the exercise was not to demonstrate that the system can transform us into professional cyclists, but to show that anyone can now enjoy cycling, and more to the point, that anyone can use a bicycle for effective transport. You can watch the race by clicking on this link: The Gadget Show hill climb challenge

Cytronex designer, Mark Searles comments “Time spent crawling to work in a car is dead time, part of your life being wasted that can add up to many weeks every year. It makes perfect sense for busy people to get the exercise they need on the way to work. It’s a whole lot more fun than the gym and Cytronex is designed to allow the rider to use as much, or as little effort as they wish. What’s more, many of our customers find that they can get to work faster than they ever did in the car!”

Mark has first hand knowledge of this because the company has been so busy in the last year that he has almost no time for sport. He is still using the company’s second ever prototype to cycle to work, although he does also have the new Cytronex Powered Cannondale Super Six model for days with fine weather.

Cytronex fit their system to a wide range of bicycles, from hybrid bikes and city single speed bikes like the Capo (available in flat bar or drop handlebar versions) right up to top of the range road racing bikes like the Super Six.

Cytronex Web site:
http://www.cytronex.com

To buy a Cytronex Powered bicycle:
http://www.no-hills.com

You’ll have to excuse me if my vanity gets the best of me but when it comes to getting off my bike and walking into Starbucks to get my caffeine fix… I’d rather not be a hot sweaty mess and blind as a bat. You and I both know, there’s a time and a place for hot and sweaty!

Have you ever heard of the Sweat GUTR™? If you haven’t heard of it you’ve surely seen the ads on Facebook and several other popular websites. In any case, I’m here to tell you first hand this simple device actually works! Up until recently I had been seeing the ads for the Sweat GUTR™ everywhere but never paid to much attention or clicked on any of the ads. As chance would have it I was passing by the Sweat GUTR™ booth at Interbike a few weeks ago and stopped to ask, what is this Sweat GUTR™ all about?

Luckily for me the person I asked was none other than president and founder Erick P. Flatt. I shook Erick’s hand and told him jokingly I had seen the ads for Sweat GUTR™ everywhere and all over my Facebook account, he couldn’t have been more delighted. Erick then went on to explain the technology behind this simple practical device that has everyone saying… “why didn’t I think of that”!

Erick then pointed out that Old Man Winter is right around the corner and a lot of people (not fortunate enough to live in SoCal like myself) will be making the transition to cycling indoors. Here’s what he had to say.

Riding indoors this Winter

Indoor cycling classes are becoming increasingly popular, especially during the winter months. Whether you’re participating in a cycling class at your local bike shop’s clinics, riding on rollers or an indoor trainer with cycling buddies in your garage, indoor cycling can be a great way to stay in shape during the winter months. However, working up a sweat takes on a whole new meaning when cycling indoors. Most cyclists will drape towels over their handlebars or use bike bras to protect their bikes from the endless sweat. Even cyclists that don’t normally perspire much will drip with sweat while cycling indoors and those of us that are real sweaters will pour buckets of sweat. Needless to say saturation becomes an understatement and cloth sweatbands don’t stand a chance of keeping our eyes clear and dry.

Thinking about using a hat or bandanna? Sixty percent of your body heat escapes through the top of your head. Do you really want to trap all that heat and add to that steam bath feeling?

Enter the Sweat GUTR™ sweatband. Channeling sweat away, your eyes stay clear and dry. Since the GUTR™ is nonabsorbent, you never have to worry about it saturating like cloth sweatbands.

The GUTR’s very small profile allows heat to freely escape off the top of your head to help keep you cooler. And, when you’re done cycling the GUTR™ is basically dry and not a soggy mess to deal with. After a quick rinse to remove any salt residue, the Sweat GUTR™ is ready for your next training session.

Echo’s sweaty testimony

So needless to say after chatting up Mr. Flatt (and learning more about sweat than I ever thought I’d learn), before parting ways he gave me a GUTR™ to try for myself. I was a bit skeptical, having been the punchline for many jokes in the past because of my excessive sweat (and funk)… I was thinking to myself this is too good to be true.

Unfortunately the Sweat GUTR™ didn’t do anything for my body funk after 2 hours of trail riding but it did keep the sweat out of my eyes and face! I’m also an avid tennis player so I took it out on the tennis court with me and by George if I didn’t have one of the best games of my life! Tennis is 99% mental, I don’t know if it was me thinking I had an edge with the Sweat GUTR™ or if I just thought I was too cool because nobody else had one… either way I kicked some tennis rear-end while wearing the Sweat GUTR™.

If you haven’t gotten the message already… go get the Sweat GUTR™ it will definitely prove useful, comfortable and you’ll be the envy of all your friends. You can buy the Sweat GUTR™ at any major sports retailer or go online here.

Video demo

Website Sweat: www.sweatgutr.com
Facebook Sweat: Coming soon.
Twitter Sweat: Coming soon.

Whenever I hear about someone creating, building and in this case innovating all while keeping the planet in mind (sustainability) it brings a smile to my face and my fingers just start typing! With that said I am happy to say I got the chance to meet one of the cycling industries up and coming “good guys” Nick Frey owner of Boo Bicycles.

I know what you’re thinking… this is Women’s Cycling Magazine, what are you doing writing about a guy named Nick? Well it’s simple, it’s a fascinating story and the more people that hear about it the better. So let me get started on telling you how this guy Nick is making the world a better place for both men and women.

Boo Bicycles was (officially) founded in June of 2009 but the wheels have been turning (unofficially) for the past two years. Nick recently made the prestigious walk across the Princeton thoroughfare to graduate from the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering program. As you might have already guessed Nick’s “Boo” got it’s start there as a junior year project for engineering design.

Nick says he and his classmates were having a hard time figuring out what they would design, at first. As a matter of fact… at one point the team had decided on creating a high-tech-fancy-pants “Kegerator”! It didn’t take long for Nick and company to put aside their dreams of becoming Princeton fraternity legends and Oktoberfest royalty. After the “Kegerator” hoopla died down they decided to apply what they’d learned in the world renowned Princeton Aerospace Engineering program to a more practical use.

Speaking of practical applications who better to find inspiration from than Bamboo Zen Master Craig Calfee of Calfee Design?

After seeing some of the Calfee bikes the Princeton team and Nick decided they wanted to engineer a bamboo bicycle that was 100% geared to race! The team put there noses to the grindstone and went half blind perfecting every millimeter in AutoCAD.

After several months of preparation and a class presentation they decided to test out the prototype at the Rutgers Season Opener (March 2008). The bike raced wonderfully but what was more amazing was the response from the crowd. Everyone wanted to see the bike, take pictures with the bike and talk about the bike… that’s when Nick knew he had something special and decided to look into forming a company to produce the bikes for others.

Soon after the Rutgers Season Opener the momentum began to speed up daily. With news coverage coming in from the likes of VeloNews it didn’t take long for world renowned industrial designer and eco-friendly advocate James Wolf (James Wolf Designs) to get involved. When James first saw the bike this is what he told Nick. “I love what you’ve done, I can do it better, let me make them and you engineer/test/sell them!” The rest is history!

After about a year of prototyping, testing, and building, Nick and James came up with an incredible new sleek production model for road, cross and a touring bike.

A little bit about production

James currently lives in Vietnam and has been working with bamboo and other materials for over 15 years. James doesn’t just supervise the production of the Boo Bicycles he’s right in the trenches with four of his hand picked and personally trained bamboo craftsmen.

All Boo Bicycles are made with Dendrocalamus Strictus, one of the hardest and stiffest bamboos in the world. Every frame is entirely handmade (even the joints are wrapped by hand with single-strand, high modulus unidirectional carbon fiber) and they take FIFTY hours to complete!

Sustainable goodness

Boo Bicycles produces a green product, grown sustainably from local bamboo that is hand-cut and treated simply with a sun-drying process over the course of a few months. Bamboo growth is one of the most efficient methods of sequestering carbon dioxide, and the frames would simply decompose into the ground if thrown away but don’t do that!

Nick has decided not market the bikes as a “green” product because he feels there is a lot of green-washing going on and it’s becoming a little cliche. Boo Bicycles are a race-worthy, high-performance machines that are hand crafted from sustainable natural bamboo as well as synthetic composites. Let us not forget simply riding a bike is green and healthy!

Nick says… “If I can get people to ride more often because they feel like a rock star when showing off Boo, then I’m all for it!”

Web Boo: www.boobicyles.com
Twitter Boo: nfreyBoo
Facebook Boo: Fan Page
Email Boo: nickfrey [at] boobicycles [dot] com

Some ideas just make sense! That’s the first thing that came to my head when I met Nan Kappeler, owner and founder of T Mat Pro™. Nan and I met at the Interbike convention this year and in our brief discussion and exchange of business cards she managed to pass on a little information about a product I had yet to discover, the T Mat Pro™.

What I’ve come to find in the weeks that have past since Nan and I first met is that I along with numerous other bloggers, magazines and athletes agree the T Mat Pro™ is a great product and surprisingly useful for multiple applications.

Another bonus is the T Mat Pro™ can also be used in companion with TRIslide lubricant spray to shave off precious seconds at your next triathlon race!

The T Mat Pro™ is great for fast triathlon transitions, changing clothes at your car and stretching.  The bright colors make it easy for triathletes to spot their bikes at races, and the non-skid rubber backing keeps the mat flat, so it doesn’t bunch up like a towel when you wipe your feet.  The mat rolls up to fit in a backpack and can be easily transported in your car for changing before and after a ride.  No more pebbles in your underpants!  After changing, just place the mat on your trunk floor or car seat and store your sweaty clothes on top.

Nan and T Mat Pro™ are also partnered with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training! Women’s Cycling Magazine would like to commend Nan for her efforts at raising awareness and making a difference. Show your support by checking out Nan’s page here.

For more info on the T Mat Pro™ check out the video below.

This past week at the Interbike convention in Las Vegas I had the chance to briefly talk with Michael Ehrenreich, MD, Chief Executive Officer of SOMA Cycle, Inc, a.k.a. Zigo! I’m excited to say Zigo has a phenomenal product line backed up by an innovative and dynamic team of engineers and designers.

If you haven’t already heard of Zigo it’s okay I hadn’t until recently as well but don’t let that fool you, Zigo is definitely making a name for itself and most certainly poised to be a household name soon enough.

Let’s talk about the product. I’m sure you’ve seen several different push and pull strollers out and about in your local community but I can guarantee you you’ve never seen anything like Zigo Leader X2 Carrier Bicycle (available now) or the Zigo Leader X1 Carrier Bicycle, coming Spring 2010.

The Zigo systems are far superior to other manufactures products, I’ll highlight some of many new and innovative features that give the Zigo award winning cycling/stroller systems the chance to win your confidence and loyalty.

• Zigo Leader Carrier Bicycle System can operate as a 3-wheel carrier bicycle, stroller, jogger, bicycle, or conventional bicycle trailer, converting among these modes in under 30 seconds using patent-pending LeaderLink technology.
• The forward positioned ChildPod allows for constant visual contact with your children. None of the anxiety of a tow behind trailer.
• Children are a lot more stimulated riding up front than being towed behind staring at the bike or Mom’s behind.
• No need to give up active lifestyle once children come. Use the Zigo Leader and integrate your kids into your outdoor lifestyle.
• One product for biking, walking, and jogging.
• Reduces carbon emissions dramatically. Most carbon emissions are from short trips by suburban parents. But once you have kids, biking becomes more difficult. The Zigo Leader replaces short car trips for school, play dates and shopping.
• New for this season, 7 gear Shimano hubs.
• Meets all relevant ASTM standards and CPSC requirements.

For more on the Zigo brand and family of products please visit www.myzigo.com and tell’em Women’s Cycling Magazine sent ya!

This past week was the Interbike convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. All the retailers, cyclist, manufactures and everyone else in between was there to see what’s new and what’s hot. On September 23, an up and coming start-up company called MetriGear introduced to the world a new product and technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way cyclist measure their power output.

Because of previous appointments I wasn’t on hand to see the curtain get pulled back as the product was introduced to the world. As chance would have it, some days later I was fortunate enough to share a cab to the airport with Mandi Mena a representative of MetriGear. In that short ride from the convention center to the airport Mandi enlightened me with plenty of information regarding this new technology and now I’d like to share it with you.

Vector utilizes a patent pending force-sensing approach that is integrated into the hollow spindle of stock bicycle pedals. Based upon on our experience as cyclists and feedback from the local cycling community, Vector was designed to deliver attributes that cyclists expressed as most important when evaluating a power meter:

• Accurate and Reliable – Vector consistently reports actual force on the pedals
• Easy to Own – Pedal integration makes Vector light and easily transferable between bikes

MetriGear’s goal is to minimize the compromises a cyclist faces when choosing a power meter and deliver the capability to easily use power anywhere, anytime – riding, training, or racing.

Technology
At the heart of Vector is a custom-designed system with over 60 piezo-resistive strain gauges, accelerometers, and temperature sensors and an efficient electronics architecture that processes the forces that a cyclist applies to the pedals. The sensors and electronics are environmentally sealed within the pedal spindle and each unit is calibrated by MetriGear.

By detecting the microstrain that naturally occurs in the spindle as the cyclist pedals the bicycle, Vector uniquely measures force vectors — the magnitude and direction of the cyclist’s pedaling effort. Vector measures these forces independently in each leg throughout the entire pedal stroke, collecting half a million samples per second. “Productive” force, “waste” force, the extent to which the cyclist pulls up, pulls across the top, pushes down, etc., Vector measures and collects it all. Traditional torque-based power meters are unable to directly measure these types of forces.

Interoperable and Updateable
Vector communicates via the standards-based ANT+ wireless protocol to ANT+ compatible head units, and the data is easily imported into the widely available PC-based applications for power analysis. Vector is powered by an external, rechargeable battery pack that securely mounts to the edge of the crank. The battery pack includes a charge indicator and is rechargeable via the included Vector USB charging station.

Vector owners will have the ability to update and upgrade the product via firmware downloads from the MetriGear website. As they become available, updates and upgrades can be wirelessly applied to the pedals with the included ANT+ PC dongle.

Availability
Vector is designed to be integrated by MetriGear into select Speedplay® pedals and is targeted for availability in Q1 2010. To receive notifications when Vector is available for purchase, please visit www.metrigear.com and join our mailing list.

Download Press Release

Download Product Brief

We just got word in to keep a look out for the Ritchey booth #3325 at Interbike 2009. Word on the streets is they’ll be showcasing some stellar new gear from their 2010 product line and Ritchey-sponsored Team TIBCO Women’s Pro Cycling pro’s Brooke Miller and Alison Starnes will be there to socialize and sign autographs!

Are you scratching your head and wondering what it is exactly Ritchey will awe us with this year? Well if you are we’re excited to say they’ve given us a sneak peek into the 2010 product line and it’s looking good.

The SuperLogic Carbon 46mm Road Tubular wheels and WCS Carbon 1Bolt Ritchey WCS Carbon Zero-Offset postZero-Offset seatpost are both new to the Ritchey line. The SupeLogic wheel set is entirely hand-built with carbon rims that make it one of the lightest on the market. The Zero-Offset seatpost allows riders to be “on top of” their pedals and makes saddle adjustments easy.

Ritchey WCS Carbon WheelsThese and all Ritchey products are made according to the Ritchey Fit Logic philosophy that “the best performance is achieved when a bike fits the unique and individual dimensions of the rider.” This exactly the kind of custom fitting that the new Fit Logic poster facilitates. It gives a Ritchey dealer a new tool to help customers dial in the fit of their bikes. The poster’s new visual presentation of the fitting system demonstrates how the stem, handlebars and seatpost can be adjusted to meet an individual rider’s needs.

That’s just a sneak peek into the 2010 product line swing by the booth to ask questions, place orders or get an autograph. If you’d like more specific information or would like to setup a time to come by ahead of time please use the following information.

Maura Lansford
for, Ritchey Design
SOAR Communications
mlansford@soarcomm.com

The Next “Little” Thing

The Contortionist is a folding bike created by 24-year-old Royal College of Art student Dominic Hargreaves. It’s got quite a beautiful design, but what makes it extra special is that the whole thing folds into a package that fits inside the 26-inch wheels.

It’s the best of both worlds: It folds down to a small enough package that you can easily carry or store it, but it doesn’t have the ride quality problems that make tiny-wheeled folding bikes unattractive to many. You really need to see the video of the Contortionist in action (below) to see how brilliant it is!

Production Model Could be Coming Soon

The Contortionist has been shortlisted for this year’s James Dyson Award (and we wouldn’t be surprised if it won). That could mean £10,000 for Dominic Hargreaves, but that’s nothing compared to the commercial interest in the bike. The Guardian reports that three companies have already shown interest in making a production model, which would make the Contortionist “one of those extremely rare items that move directly from design student project into the shops.”

How much would a production model cost? Dominic doesn’t think it would be more than £400. “There’s no reason why not. There’s nothing on the bike that couldn’t be mass produced in a bike factory.”

Enough words. Just watch the video:

Via: Treehugger.com

Have you ever wanted to build your own bicycle? Well thanks to the folks at Republic Bikes you can now build your own custom bike (with flare) online for about $400. Some of the bikes posted in the user gallery had me wondering who the hippies in the group were. Republic offers a variety of different colors for all the components and bike parts allowing you to go Jerry Garcia on that a*$!

For more on these fantastic bikes hit up the website and tell’em Woman’s Cycling Magazine sent ya!