Just what we need, more iPod accessories. Funny how many different brands of iPod speakers and docking stations are ending up in the discount stores like Big Lots and TJ Maxx these days, even Home Depot is selling this junk. But anyway, I digress… this post is about iPod cycling earphones from Slipstreamz.

First off, these earphones look like scary defibrillator paddles, ready to shock injured mountain bikers back to life. Apparently the cup design eliminates the annoying rush of the wind when you’re trying to rock out to Justin Timberlake on the mountain bike trail. These earphones actually attach inside your helmet so (supposedly) you can still hear ambient noises around you (like traffic) to keep you safe. As an added bonus these phones purport to keep your ears warm on cold days. Hopefully your helmet has a little extra headroom to fit these suckers in, otherwise seems like this could be a bit uncomfortable.

Probably the best thing about these headphones are the price: $12.99. For this price I’m sure the sound is just incredible but I would love to hear from someone who has actually used them.

Action Profiles is a (relatively) new website that helps action sports riders (surfers, skaters, mountain bikers, etc.) promote themselves and find sponsors. Right now there are just over 200 mountain bikers with profiles (like MySpace) which is pretty cool. Singletracks has a profile and we’re considering sponsoring riders with t-shirts, free premium memberships, etc.

This really is a great way to hook up industry retailers and manufacturers with athletes who love mountain biking. There aren’t many mountain bike companies on AP yet (just the hip ones like Evomo) but I’m sure that will change very soon. For now the site is completely free which is good, though I can see that changing in the future.

If you’re a decent mountain biker looking for low-level sponsorship opportunities you can build a profile to showcase your photos, race results, etc. Very cool…

Mike Hendershot is looking for his bike. While riding in New Zealand his $10K custom Santa Cruz mountain bike was stolen and apparently there are only 10 bikes like it in the world. Mike is a world-class ultra-distance racer, you’d think he’d have at least one spare

If you happen to find the bike or know where it is, there is a reward…

Tim Jackson had an interesting post on his blog last week about targeting certain consumer groups to grow the sport of mountain biking. Tim identified a couple groups (those who already own inexpensive bikes and those who currently participate in other adventure sports) that might be receptive to increased marketing from the bike industry, and I think he’s on the right track for the most part.

For those of you who don’t know (or care), mountain biking as a sport has seen participation numbers steadily decline since the mid-1990s, though in 2005 there was a slight uptick (probably due to higher gas prices). There are a number of explanations for why the sport is declining and I have a couple ideas of my own.

First, mountain biking is expensive (equipment, not actual participation). Tim touched on this in his post but I want to add that this seems to be a major hurdle for alot of people who are interested in mountain biking but are afraid to make the plunge. A “try before you buy” arrangement at local bike shops would allow budding mountain bikers to get hooked on the sport while at the same time teaching them about the importance of good gear (i.e. ‘spensive bikes). On a recent trip to Albuquerque I found it nearly impossible to rent a mountain bike and when I did find a place that rented bikes, the only thing they had were the $150 Wal-Mart specials. Not fun.

I also think it’s time to rethink just what a “cheap” mountain bike should look like. The Wal-Mart bikes I mentioned usually come with full suspension and disc brakes but end up weighing 50 pounds and generally fall apart after a couple rides. If a cycling manufacturer were to come out with an upgradeable bike, more people might be willing to give mountain biking a try. Imagine a $150 bike with a lightweight, aluminum frame, entry level components, and no front suspension. People love buying inexpensive computers for future upgrades, why not bikes? The frame is pretty much the only thing you can’t upgrade on a bike so a lightweight, well-constructed frame should be the starting point for any entry level bike. Most of us who started riding in the early 1990s didn’t have any kind of suspension yet we’re still with the sport today – why not let people start slow like we did?

Second, mountain biking will always have a tough time growing because of the types of people who enjoy the sport. In our research at singletracks.com we found that the majority of our users generally ride ALONE. Mountain biking isn’t a team sport and for alot of people, it isn’t even a social outlet. Like a celebate man hoping to pass on his family name, if we don’t ride with others and talk up our sport, we’ll be the last of a dying breed.

There are certainly dozens of reasons mountain biking isn’t more popular and if we want to grow the sport it will definitely take a team effort. The cycling industry can do its part but it’s up to mountain bikers to spread the buzz beyond ourselves.

Paul‘s brother Dan is really into tinkering with mountain bikes (and road bikes too, pretty much anything with two wheels he can get his hands on) and he recently told me about a “Bike Church” operating in downtown Philly. Apparently the place is run out of St. Mary’s Church on UPenn’s campus and has free shop space for working on bikes. They even sell used bikes and bike parts from donated rigs. Dan has built a couple bikes there and says they really have some interesting classes and activities going on.

I’m sure there are plenty of other cycling-related non-profits out there and unfortunately my discussion about cycling volunteer opportunities fell flat on the singletracks forums. One that comes to mind is the Yellow Bike program in cities like Austin where people fix up bikes and leave them for urbanites to use for one-way commuting. There are also non-profits set up to refurbish old kids bikes and distribute them to needy children. I would love to see something similar to Girls on the Run for introducing kids to positive lifestyles through mountain biking (though I imagine the liabilitywaivers for a project like this would be massive).

I’m opening up this post (despite the threat of spam bots) to hear about any mountain bike related non-profits or volunteer organizations you’re a part of. Feel free to share any ideas for ways mountain bikers can give back to the community.

now you’re probably wondering what to do with all this wood. let’s start by building the base. lay the two 4x4x2 pieces side-by-side and nail on a 2x4x7-1/4″ horizontally against the 4x4s at opposite ends (looking at a side view). do this on both sides of the 4x4s.

you will want to place the last 2×4 pieces on the 4x4s at a point where when the side legs (2x4x32″) are attached to the 4×4, the legs can also be nailed to the side of the 2×4. find this point (it is roughly at 12″ from the top of the 4×4 to the center of the 2×4) and nail the 2x4s onto both sides of the 4x4s.

now looking at the connected 4x4s on the side without the 2x4s, position the 2x4x32″ pieces so that their 30Ôø? cuts meet and form a straight vertical line at the center of the 4×4. find the height on the 4×4 (approx. 10″ from the top of the 4×4 to the center of the 2×4 leg) that allows the far ends of the legs are level on the ground. check this on a flat surface (not the ground where you will finally place the base) and nail the legs on. repeat on the other side.

to build the pivot box, attach the 2×6 pieces so that the 11″ pieces are opposite each other and 10″ pieces are opposite each other.

put the pivot box over the base with the 10″ side being on the side with the legs. center (side to side) the box, then drill a hole (it should be slightly bigger than the diameter of your rod) through the box and the 4x4s above the legs where you will be putting the rod through.

now you can put the rod through the box and 4x4s. or you can consider putting pvc pipe through the hole first and then putting the steel rod though, this should prevent the rod from wearing into the wood (make modifications as necessary – drill a bigger hole, etc.). secure the rod on each end with washers and bolts.

with the base and pivot done, you can make the riding surface. simply lay the 2x6x12 pieces together and attach them by nailing the 1x4x11″ pieces along what will be the underside of the riding surface. leave about a 2′ gap in the center and space the three 1x4s evenly on both ends.

the last step is to nail this riding surface to the pivot box. if you just position the riding surface off center of the base & pivot box, the teeter totter will be weighted on the longer side which you can use as the approach side.

If you saw Jackass Number 2 you no doubt remember the rocket bike stunt first attempted by Johnny Knoxville (photo below) and subsequently perfected by BMX superstar Matt Hoffman. But to me, the funniest bike stunt actually involved old fashioned high wheel bicycles (aka penny farthing bikes).

These old bikes have always fascinated me and I can’t even imagine how difficult they must be to ride. The design is just so outrageous it doesn’t even seem real to me, what is the advantage to such a bike? Is it to keep your coat tails from dragging on the ground? Check out this site. It appears to be a webpage advertising a club of high wheel bicycle riders who actually ride these things long distances (well, 10 miles).

Anyway, Knoxville had some trouble getting started on the bike but quickly attempted to jump a snow ramp, ending up hitting his head on the pavement. Don’t worry though – I think the bike was ok.

Forget using zip ties to increase your traction; why not get one of these babies! I first read about this on the RockyRoadUk blog and I really got excited when I checked out the Ktrax site. It isn’t obvious from the photos but apparently the front ski and rear track are actually removeable so you can change out your regular mountain tires for gnarly snow riding. Ktrax talks about the advantage of increased traction with the system yet oddly enough, none of the photos on their website seemed show any riders climbing even the slightest incline. Obviously it’s sexy and more fun to go downhill but can’t this thing do more than that? (to be fair the FAQ does state that “if you can ride up it on your bike without snow, you can do it in the snow with the Ktrak”)

I also wonder how your brakes will work with this thing. Obviously there isn’t much a front brake can do with a ski but how about the back? Will the tracks dig into the snow when you squeeze the rear brake? The FAQ also talks about skidding to turn so I imagine the brakes might play a role in that way.

Look for the Ktrax to become available early this year, can’t wait (though I probably won’t get much use out of one down here in North Carolina, except maybe at the beach.)

Google is running a promotion through February 15 to get people to sign up for their payment service, Google Checkout. Sign up before the deadline and you’ll get $10 to spend at ANY store that accepts Google Checkout, including singletracks.

You can use your $10 bonus to purchase either our long or short sleeve t-shirts with Google Checkout. Google Checkout prices include shipping so you’ll be getting a sweet singletracks t-shirt for as little as $5 delivered! (Google Checkout promo information)

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The clipless pedal debate rages on

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007

I’ve been skimming a number of cycling-related blogs lately and it seems like there is alot of recent talk about clipless pedals. Now I find myself weighing in on the subject, guess this is just how “news” travels in the blog age…

I’ve been a big fan of clipless pedals for years now and I have to say I don’t really buy into the idea that clipless pedals give you a huge pedaling efficiency advantage. One of the commentors on the above post mentioned a study that found little upstroke power in cycling and for me, this is definitely true (though my form is not professional grade by any means). For mountain bikers especially, there is often little time to focus on cadence and pedal strokes when bombing down steep terrain and jumping logs, let alone eeking out micro power from upward pedal motion.

For me, the biggest reason for mountain bikers to use clipless pedals is for control. I’ve often compared mountain biking without cleats to skiing without being attached to your skis. The amount of control you have when clipped onto your bike is infinitely greater than when you’re bouncing on top of the pedals and I have a hard time riding without being firmly attached to my bike.

I would argue that adding clipless pedals to a mountain bike is the single most beneficial upgrade you can make to a bike, more than shocks or components or anything else. In fact my first mountain bike was a Bridgestone MB-5 (rigid fork) and I learned to ride clipless pedals on the mean trails of Georgia and North Carolina without a care in the world about front or rear suspension. Who needs springs when you can just bounce with the bike?

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Singletracks subscriptions $5 off

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

We’re holding a winter sale on subscriptions right now, $5 off our trail, training, and full subscription packages. Purchase your membership now and enjoy access to premium content like mountain bike trail maps, elevation profiles, and GPS data for the entire year. Use the premium training log to keep track of your New Years resolutions and stay in shape for ’07.

Coming soon: mountain bike trail maps from Moab, UT and northern California. Check back often to see what’s in store and take advantage of this sale while it lasts – once the weather warms up, this deal will be gone!

Posted in Hors Categorie, Singletracks | No Comments »

Klunkerz mountain bike movie

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

Have you heard about this mountain bike documentary? The film is being screened in Park City, UT this week and is set to play in Santa Barbara, CA and Durango, CO later this year. Klunkerz follows the history of mountain biking and has interviews with all the big guys: Breeze, Richey, Fisher, et al.

The film’s website has a good trailer you can watch but if you can’t make it to the few screenings listed, seems like for now you’re out of luck. I’ll be stoked once this thing makes it to DVD, definitely a great addition to the library.

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