Bike Lock Exploding Dye System, just like money packs!

So for years banks have had exploding dye pack. You steal the money and the dye packs disguised as money explode leaving you with a nice colorful appearance. Well now bikes will have that same security, Michael Lambourn has developed the exploding bike lock. This is truly amazing that no one has thought or invented this sooner. This goes in the Brilliant category. Hey if the bike thief does not care about getting inked, surely the people around will take notice. Let's all take our hats off to Mike.

Michael Lambourn presents the Smart Lock: “‘17% of cyclists have suffered bike theft in the last 3 years; of these 24% no longer cycle at all, and 66% cycle less often’ (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1997) Cycle theft is deterring people from using one of the most efficient forms of environmentally friendly transport. It is considered petty theft but can have huge emotional effect on the victim. Smart Lock is lightweight but offers additional protection. It’s quick and easy to use and allows the cyclist to lock both wheels and the frame. If breached, Smart Lock helps the authorities identify your bike, and links the perpetrator to the crime. It also stains the ground identifying areas vulnerable to theft. Smart Lock helps you keep your bike.”

Bikes Going Chainless

So Trek is making the leap, putting a stake in the ground, chainless for urban bikes might be a great idea. Ridding around the block getting groceries, a couple miles here and there so why the chain. There is a minimal amount of stress on the cranks so a belt is perfect and now with technology going shiftless (Shimano Nexus 8 rear hub), hey this is a great time. Also at $990.00 MSP, you can't lose.

Locate Your Bike, RFID Device

Ok since gas is getting so expensive, more and more are taking to the road via peddle power. Hey this is great for the bike industry, terrible for ole Detroit. Oh well they reap the benefits by over charging and shady salesman. I guess what come around goes around.
Well now we all have to protect our bike, cars have alarms so why should a bike not. Immobilise has come up with a RFID that helps locate your bike, the ImmobiTAG is installed the only way to remove is to cut the bike frame. The TAG has a unique ID number you registered on Immobilies website. If you bike is stolen and recovered, the police can scan the TAG and contact the rightful owner. Great!
The one thing that I would include is a high decibel pitch on the TAG that ties into your lock once the lock is cut the siren goes off. Might help deter some.

Ibis Mojo Sl, 4.96 pounds!

Are you kidding, 4.96 pounds for a full suspension, it is amazing. Ibis has a blend of carbon and stainless steel sheath. You have to respect the hours and devotion to making it one of the lightest Mountain frames around.
Specs:
Features of the MojoSL

• Sub 5 Pound Frame/swingarm/rear shock (size Large)
• Complete bike weight 21.9 lbs
• Ultra high modulus fiber enhanced layup
• Carbon fiber head cups
• Carbon fiber dropouts with stainless steel sheath
• Carbon fiber seat tube insert
• DT Swiss XR Carbon shock and shock hardware
• 6-4 Ti fasteners and shock pin
• Special rubber paint (durable, easy to clean)
• Carbon monocoque frame and swing arm
• 5.5" (140mm) rear wheel travel
• DW-Link Suspension
• Forged and anodized links (now available in designer colors)
• Easy to service pivots and bearings

The best is how Ibis talks about the Frame and accomplishments, "We’ve managed to squeeze nearly half a pound out of the original Mojo frame. Not only that, we’ve put our high end kit on a diet, and the results would impress even Jenny Craig (for your Euros and others, Jenny Craig is a weight loss program we have here in the USofA).
The MojoSL with the pimp daddy WTF group weighs in at UNDER TWENTY TWO POUNDS. Yes, you’re reading it right, we’ve now got a 5.5” travel All Mountain or XC bike that weighs 22lbs (Euros, that’s 10Kg!). And we’re not putting any stupid parts on there, parts that you’re just going to take off immediately."

Urban Cycle's helping you come and go!

Getting around in today's time is getting tougher and tougher with gas prices. With bike from Trek coming out with bikes like the Soho 4.0 and at the price that they are offering $1099.00 you can't miss. Oh and that is the top of the line, out of the box $549.00, Style, comfort and utility, with a lightweight and responsive Alpha Black Aluminum frame, all-weather hardware, and efficient starting and stopping performance. Now get ride of the car and get riding, you will save some money and get healthy in the progress.

Michelle Kaufmann Design, SolCycles - Bamboo Bikes

Juniors at Princeton University, Nick Frey, Will Watts, Doug Wolf and Tom Yersak are building bamboo bikes. The bike is light and made with carbon joints to hold it all together. They have a special way that they cure the wood, some sort of heat treatment I am told. The bike that I saw still the beta version was a one speed and was ridged as any carbon frame.

"What started as a homework assignment is morphing into a successful and lucrative business. The four engineers met in mechanical and aerospace engineering classes during their sophomore year and have been friends ever since. They were given an open-ended assignment in MAE 321 to build something, and, partly because Frey is a competitive cyclist, the group chose to build a bicycle. The first bike took about a month to make, but after they mastered the technique, they started making each bike within a matter of days. Shifting from a class project to a full-fledged business, they already have many commissions and are planning to spend the summer building bikes in their professor’s basement.

The bike project, however, is not just a way to make some spare money during college: These four engineers have big plans for their company, which is called Sol Cycles. They have already started talking to an American who lives in Vietnam about outsourcing production there because of the plentiful bamboo, and several companies have already agreed to donate parts.

“We are working with a company called Time Cycle, and they are a very high-end company,” Watts said. “[We are also speaking] with another company that would like to sell their wheels through us.”

Frey, in addition to being one of the creators of the bikes, is also the reigning national time-trial champion for cyclists under age 23. His experience gives the group an advantage as it tries to expand its project: Frey’s position in the cycling world helped the group break into the business. “My connections in the industry and the cycling community have helped me get advice and direction from experienced salespeople and engineers,” Frey explained."
read more at Daily Princetonian

This is one of the most fascinating ideas that has been applied to bike design in quite some time, it also helps they are being green. Keep it simple and affordable and these will sell like hot cakes, I can't wait to either get one of my own or start seeing them in production.

Nice job Guys.

Hot, Hot, Hot, Gir's new bike

New bikes are starting to hit the market and many are incorporating traithlon like geometry, take a look and you will see the similarities. A good thing all want to go fast tucking the rear wheel so a shadow is created is priceless. Another thing with Gir is how they documented the making of the bike in a blog. Really smart and lets us see the problems along with the wins of making this new bike along the way. Nice job Gir.

A new way to see while biking at night, REELIGHT

Remember when you where a kid, a light attached to your front fork and then tilted in, rubbing against your tire, bingo light. Well finally someone has come up with a better lighter less drag, way. Reelight is Danish design and Danish technology.
The lights are based on the electrodynamic induction principle, and work when you screw two magnets on the spokes and fix the light to the wheel’s hub. Electric current is then produced when the magnets pass the light, which incorporates a spool of copper wire. The light then flashes every time the wheel rotates. Simple, effective and ingenious.
Check it out...

Bikes That Are Better Than Your Car!

This coming from Fast Company you know the world is changing or at least starting to look at things differently. Also take into account that these bikes might cost more than your first car or even worse the car you have now. Triathlete's and other high end sports addicts will send more on their equipment than they might on other things like, homes, cars, general living stuff. This article really does point to the high end of bike designs and equipment.
Here are the SIX bikes, for a complete break down go to, Six Bikes That Are Better Than Your Car

1. Trek Top Fuel 69er
   Best for: Cross country trail riding. While the 69er is dual suspension -- both wheels can absorb impacts using air-sprung shock absorbers -- it’s built lightweight with an aggressive rider position, allowing it to climb efficiently and absorb fast descents with equal aptitude.
2. Intense M6
   Best for: Downhill riding and racing. They may not look like it, but downhill bikes are more than motorcyles sans engine. Downhill riders have to be able to carve down the side of a mountain the way a snowboarder might, while maintaining enough control to thread themselves between trees and around sharp corners. That means light-but-strong componentry and a very calculated rider position.
3. Kona CoilAir Deluxe
   Best for: All-mountain riding. All-mountain combines the pedaling and varying terrain of cross-country with more aggressive terrain and bigger obstacles.
4. Specialized S-Works Ruby SL
   Best for: Expert and Professional-level road riding and racing. This bike would not be entirely out of place at the Tour de France -- except for the woman riding it.
5. Calfee Bamboo Bike
   Best for: Expert and Professional-level road riding and racing. While it’s just as much a piece of artistry as a piece of machinery, the bamboo bike doesn’t have to be treated specially, and can be ridden like any other high-end bike.
6. Orbea Ordu
   
   Best for: Time-trial road racing, in which riders race against the clock instead of head-to-head. Since the fastest time wins in TT racing and every millisecond counts, riders are outfitted with aerodynamic helmets and shoes and race in a tucked-down position.

WOW, bikes start at $2,000 and go to $6,000.

Safe Turn Indicator Light

Big things come in small packages, and the Safe Turn Indicator Light is one of those packages. Here in the states it is getting harder and harder to find safe places to ride your bike, the roadways are getting packed with motorist that don't want to share the road, in a hurry, and truly don't understand why we ride bikes.
The Safe Turn Indicator offers the following advantages:

• You do not have to learn to use the device, as its use can be combined with your normal hand signals,
• To accommodate for your individual preferences, the base can be adjusted at 15 degree intervals to allow the tilt switch to function at any angle,
• Containing 3 LEDs, the indicator is extremely visible and it flashes in a similar fashion as a vehicle/motorbike indicator does,
• The Indicator is portable, lightweight and has low energy consumption,
• The Indicator will keep blinking as long as your hand is raised, and
• The Indicator promotes safe cycling.

Making it easier for people who commute or are training, this product is great.
Safe Turn

There's a reason they call it, Slice!

We did not get to see what Faris Al-Sultan could do on the bike, but indications were for a fast bike. Cannaondale went back to the drawing board and crafted a fully carbon machine. With some Carbon bikes they will flex under pressure and many who can put the power to the peddles, feel as though this takes some speed away, Faris Al-Sultan being one of them. At first he was against Cannondale and the full carbon, but once in the tunnel and riding the machine, happy days.

The bike:
3:1 ASPECT RATIO
The frame and the fork of the Slice are designed as a system. The aspect ratio of the fork is designed for optimal laminar airflow, reducing drag.

SPEED SHADOW
The Speed Shadow seat tube design hides the rear wheel from turbulent airflow.

DUAL POSITION AERO SEATPOST
Allows both triathletes and TT specialists to optimize their position. Centered on the post, the saddle achieves either 78 or 730 and can be adjusted forward or back to accommodate rider preference.

Cannondale has demo centers set up, so get on one and check it out, the wait for Ironman Kona showdown will have to wait till next year.
Check it out! Cannaondale, Slice

Interbike, Cool New, Shinny Toys

Everything you ever wanted to know, see, play with, ride, demo, experience is in Las Vegas, at least for everything biking or outdoor fitness.
You can look at the Interbike Blog or Wired's Blog to get complete coverage of what is going on. There is everything from Ceramic Bearings to Off Road Skates. It is truly amazing to see what changes or new additions that companies make. Orbea Bikes has a amazing redesigned triathlon bike that we will see highlighted at Ironman Kona, they have completely change the layout of the frame from the headtube to the integrated seat clamp.
ORDU
"Ordu is totally new for 08, every aspect of the new model was evaluated in wind tunnel testing, resulting in a 7% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency over the 07 Ordu. The new headtube is uniquely designed to reduce frontal area. The new seat mast, bottom bracket shell, integrated seat clamp, and aero dropouts show that nothing has been left untouched in making the fastest bike on the road."

The show is made up of curious people to small business owners, independent shops bloggers and whoever is left over fro the night before.
Check it out! INTERBIKE..