Bike gear, training, and news

The most common bike wheel sizes are 700c and 26″, which are generally connoted with road bike and mountain bike use, respectively. 700c in rough terms is a 27″ wheel, for point of reference – 27.56″ to be exact. 29er wheels, which are 29″ in diameter, have gained traction in the mountain biking world in recent years, since they are able to roll over boulder-like objects more easily and handle all the bumps of mountain biking a little bit better than the usual 26″ size wheels. Then there are 650c size wheels, made popular in the triathlon world for supposed better aerodynamics and weight savings. 650c wheels are smaller than 700c bike wheels and are often spec’d on smaller road and triathlon bike sizes (41cm to 49cm, say) in order to avoid toe overlap with the front wheel. It’s a bike sizing thing. So what are 650b wheels?

Following the numerical logic implied by 26″ and 27″ wheels, 650c and 700c wheels, and 29er wheels which are naturally 29″ in size, you’d figure 650b wheels are in the 650c sizing neighborhood. And so it is. Note that all these wheel sizes refer to the diameter including the tire, and all are approximations. For example, a 700c wheel has a rim which is 622mm in diameter (24.49″) and a final diameter with tire size 27.56″, which is 700mm. A 650c wheel has a rim diameter of 571mm. Between 571mm and 622mm you have – 584mm. And that’s what rim diameter defines a 650b wheel. Now, when mounted with a tire, a 650b rim will measure about 27.5″ across, meaning it sizes up about like a 700c wheel in the end.

And having explained that, to be clear about 29er wheels – the rim size is the same as 700c! So you could mount a road tire on a specified 29er rim and it’d fit just fine, though you wouldn’t want to be riding gnarly trails on 23mm wide road tires. A 29er is a 29er because of the tire size, which brings the total diameter to about 28.5″, which rounds up nicely to the fun-to-say 29er name.

This is a slick little rig for your bike – attach it just like you would a camper caravan to your car, and off you go down the trail, built-in tent, supplies, and more self-contained. It pops open to allow one person to sleep off the ground, away from any bugs or animals that would like to scamper inside your on-the-ground tent.

It’s priced at $899 and weighs in at 56 lbs. That means you won’t be toting this along during The Death Ride, but you’ll do just fine along moderately steep mountain trails. As far as durability goes, it has 4 wheels, and no axles, so the wheels pivot independently for better control behind your bike. And customer reviews on Amazon and other sites indicate that it’s a tough little container, this Midget Bushtrekka.

On Saturday, January 14th, the best marathon runners from around the U.S. will be in Houston, TX to run the Olympics Trials. The top 3 men and top 3 women will earn a berth on the U.S. team for the London Olympics this summer. Who are the top contenders to make the Olympic team?

To qualify to run this marathon in Houston, men had to run 2:19 or better, and women a time of 2:46 or better. (There are half marathon and 10,000 meter qualifying times as well.) So yes indeed, this is a select, fast group of runners vying for an Olympic spot!

In the men’s race, there are 3 clear favorites to watch: Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Meb Keflezighi. However, there are a half dozen more men who for sure could be right there at the end of the race. My prediction is that 2 of the 3 front runners just listed will qualify, and 1 upstart runner will make the men’s team.

In the women’s race, expect to be surprised. The race favorites include: Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Desi Davila, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, and Amy Hastings. These women are pre-race picks based on past performances. However, there are many women who have sub-2:30 marathon times, and any of them could have a breakout run and make the Olympic team.

Tune in this Saturday from Houston online or on TV to follow the Olympics Trials for the marathon!

Price Point has launched a new site design, once that they’ve been working on for several months. The site pages load a lot faster now, and navigation is easier. And best of all, it’s the same wide selection of bikes and bike parts as before, for road bikes, mountain bikes, and more. And the same great prices.

The new design uses the same color scheme and has the familiar Price Point logo. Search is now easier to get at, and it’s clearly marked how to shop by bike brand and how to find bike items on clearance. The new Price Point site looks great!

Yep, it’s that Giro Prolight Helmet. The one that weighs a scant 200g. The one that usually sells for $129.99 to $199.99, depending on the model year, size, and color choices. Well, if you like the Giro Prolight Helmet, then you will want to check the Bonktown website on Wednesday, October 26th, for 4 hours only, 8-10 AM MST and 4-6 PM MST. That’s when you’ll find this helmet for 50% off!

I was looking for a new bike helmet over the summer, and the Prolight was one of my lead choices. It was the Prolight or the Ionos, both from Giro. And they each have their strong points. With the Prolight, Giro has reduced the overall helmet weight to a feather-like 200g by simplifying the chin strap design, as well as by reducing the retention system at the base of the skull to a minimum. You won’t find a twisty adjusty knob for dialing in your fit – but guess what? You won’t need one! I tried on the Giro Prolight helmet, and it fit snug and just fine. The elastic webbing is strategically placed to make it so that this helmet will fit anyone’s head, in a given size. I tried on the medium, and I have a 7 3/8″ hat size – the Prolight fit great. I jostled it from side to side, backward and forward, and guess what? It stayed right in place. Somehow, Giro has managed to do away with all the “stuff” and to produce this minimal design that, well, just plain works. Once on your head, you can hardly tell the Prolight is there, which you’d expect from a 200g helmet when other helmets weigh north of 300g in some cases.

So now’s your chance to save 50% on this top shelf helmet. For one day only. And that’s Wednesday, October 26th. Go to Bonktown and find your size, your color, and score a great deal on the Giro Prolight Helmet!

I got a kick out of this video – actually, it’s 2 videos – showing a bike/car race in NYC. You get the lead-in and teaser in the first video, and then the actual bike and car racing the 10+ mile distance through New York City streets in the second video.

Ritchey has a new road stem in the works that weighs in at a scant 100g (in the 100mm length). It’s an ultralight forged aluminum stem that doesn’t use carbon. One of the main ways to shave weight was by designing a new clamp – it’s a 2 bolt pattern that uses smaller M4 steel bolts, and the face wraps 260 degrees around the handlebar, whence the name the Ritchey C260.

The steerer clamp is affixed with 3 of the M4 steel bolts, no longer in an offset bias, but straight on. There is a Matrix version of this stem in the works, and it will be encased in carbon and 14% stiffer than the aluminum model, tacking on 16g in the process. So now we’re talking a 116g stem – still plenty light! The Ritchey C260 will be available in 80mm to 130mm lengths, with a zero rise and a +/-17 degree rise option. The price? Also scant – retail is expected to be $109.95 for the aluminum version, or $149.95 for the Matrix version of the stem. The last thing to know is… it’s not due out until 2012. Start saving up now!

I have to hand it to Jet Blue, this is a true blue great thing they’re doing for cyclists in July – bikes fly free! Jet Blue is waiving their usual $50 each way bike charge for any bike packed in a hard-sided or soft-side bike case or in a box with the handlebars turned sideways. I was just recently comparing bike charges on airlines and noticed that American Airlines charges $200 each way. So this rocks!

As well, Jet Blue will be airing Tour de France coverage all through the month on channel 37 on their online DirecTV video stream. Jet Blue surely just won over some bicyclists with this fantastic offer! Here’s the original article: Bikes Fly Free on Jet Blue

Gizmag featured a new bicycle hub design that is reported to ease the load on the hub bearings. As a bike wheel axel flexes, there are forces exerted on the bearings, since the axel and the hub (and freehub body) are all interconnected. The bearings are referred to as “deep groove” and require more precise setting, since slight misalignment will result in excessive bearing wear, grinding, and loss of fluidity in the hub.

So these hubs are indeed much smoother, but there is catch: the weight. Compared to Shimano Dura Ace hubs, the GOKISO hubs featured here are about 80% heavier. Want to try them out? Converting from yen to U.S. dollars, you’re looking at $1,849 for a pair of hubs, which you’d then lace to your favorite wheels.

Read More about GOKISO Hubs

I’d buy one of these in a heartbeat, so long as it isn’t over priced – it’s Light Lane, a device you attach to your seatpost or saddle and that projects a bike lane behind you as you ride. Come to think of it, I could have used this 2 weeks ago when a Fort Lauderdale bus almost clipped me while riding on A1A. They say a picture is worth a thousand words – check this out!

Hey Light Lane, c’mon now, let’s get this to market! What a great idea. It makes me wonder, would testing show that this decreases car-bike collisions from behind? I want to believe yes – I think we all want to believe yes. Maybe their testing is showing that cars are attracted to the insta-bike lane or something bizarre like that. I sure hope not. Projecting an instant bike lane right behind your moving bike seems on the surface like a great idea. Pun intended.