Although not specifically related to biking, I thought their newly revised All Clear UV Purifier is pretty darn trick, and it would be a great unit for back country travelers, long bike rides, bike backpacking and endurance racing. The All Clear UV Purifier uses ultraviolet light to kill off and eliminate bacteria, viruses and protozoa that cause water-borne illness, that might exist in alpine lakes, tap water and streams. The unit is comprised of a 24-ounce bottle, a battery-powered cap that contains the UV light, a power switch and an LCD screen. You can get an optional pre-filter if needed for sediments and debris.

The All Clear is pretty easy to use, just fill it with questionable water, push the button on the lid, shake it gently for 60 seconds (the LCD screen counts down), and you have clean water. The UV bulb is supposed to last for 10,000 cycles, and the battery (charged via a USB port) for over 80 cycles. The All Clear is a pretty sweet unit that is simple, innovative, easy to use, and you can replace the UV lid with a normal lid from the newer bottle line for easier drinking purposes.

Side Note => SteriPEN, which uses a UV water purifier light on a small handheld device, had this to say about using their unit for hydration bladders:

• Run purified water through the tube – Make sure you run a small amount of purified water (following treatment) from the bladder through the hydration tube before next consumption of water. This should push trace amounts of microbes out of the tube.
• 1 Liter treatments or less only. Hydration companies offer many larger size hydration bladder/reservoirs that we cannot recommend for use with SteriPEN water purifiers. DO NOT use them with SteriPEN.
• Single chamber model only! Hydrapak ShapeShift and some Camelbak Antidote have multiple chambers, and we cannot recommend these models for use with SteriPEN water purifiers.

Camelbak is also coming out with a couple of new packs, and some interesting color schemes, such as the Tin Man Mule, shown above on the back of their PR wizard Seth. You’ll definitely stand out, or shine out with the very bright Tin Man! The new packs are the freeride oriented Agent and Asset, and the Charge LR lumbar pack. The larger 3 liter Agent and smaller 2 liter Asset, come in orange, purple and gray, and both have color matched insulated hoses. The Agent has a few more features, including the NVIS ventilated back panel system, a cell phone pocket on the shoulder strap, a full clam shell opening and two fleece lined goggle or sunglasses pockets.

Pack Specs:

Camelbak Charge LR

• $100
• Ultra light
• Side stash pockets
• Top routed hose
• 2 liter Antidote lumbar reservoir – Housed in the waist
• Hip-mounted cinch straps to keep the pack snug as you drain the bladder

Camelbak Agent

• $150
• 3 liter/100 oz bladder
• 11 liter capacity
• Purple, Orange and Grey/Black Colors (aka Grape Drink, Sunny D, Cola)
• Equipped with insulated matching tube covers
• NVis (pronounced “envious”) ventilated back panel system
• Cell Phone pocket
• 2 fleece lined goggle pockets
• Overflow pocket
• Armor attatchment
• Helmet carrier – full face or xc

Camelbak Asset

• $115
• 8.5 liter capacity
• 2 liter/70 oz
• Straps for armor and helmets
• Equipped with insulated matching tube covers
• Purple, Orange and Grey/Black Colors (aka Grape Drink, Sunny D, Cola)

Mule

• $100
• New Tin Man color scheme

New line combines patented technology, design and swagger

For Immediate Release:

CARLSBAD, Calif.—SPY Optic™ announced the release of its SPY Performance™ series, a line of highly-stylized technical eyewear, inaugurated with two models, Quanta™ and Alpha™.

“SPY’s connection to technical eyewear goes all the way back to the beginning of the Company, when we invented our anti-fogging technology, so the whole ‘Performance’ thing is an evolution of our heritage as much as it is about design or innovation,” says Jeremy McGrath, 7-Time AMA Supercross Champion, SPY® founder and rider. “We started out as California racers who did other sports, and that vibe is still what SPY is about today. If I don’t have to wear goggles, whether it’s mountain-biking or hitting golf balls or whatever, I’m wearing these glasses.”

The SPY Performance™ series features the SPY®-patented anti-fogging Scoop® venting system; virtually unbreakable Grilamid™ frames; impact-resistant, optically-correct and distortion-free ARC® (Accurate Radius Curve) lenses; glare-reducing Premium Trident™ polarized infusion in select models; bounce-back glare-diffusing lens coating; anti-scratch and hydrophobic and oleophobic technology; environmentally reactive Hytrel™ rubber nose pads and temple tips; and UVA, UVB and UVC protective treatments.

“My Alphas stay on my face and stay clear, which is important when up and down can be a little foggy,” muses Mike Montgomery, Freestyle mountain bike rider. “Seriously, these are the only glasses I’d wear when it matters. They look sick too, so you don’t look like a kook off the bike.”

MSRP for the Quanta™ is $100 to $140, which are available in translucent black, matte black, shiny black, translucent brown and matte white frame colors. Replacement Quanta™ lenses come in select colors and range from $20 for non-polarized to $40 for polarized versions.

The Alpha™, the lighter-weight, streamlined, semi-rimless installment in the SPY Performance™ line, have an MSRP of $120 to $160, and come in shiny black, matte black, metallic silver and translucent brown frame styles with corresponding grey, blue Spectra™ mirror, black mirror, rose with blue mirror, yellow or bronze lenses, or polarized grey or black mirror lenses. Additional lenses in select colors for the Alpha™ also range from $20 to $40.

For additional information about SPY Performance™, go to www.spyoptic.com/performance.

For more information about SPY®, log-on at www.spyoptic.com.

Quanta Matte White, Bronze with Green Spectra

Alpha Metallic Silver, Grey with Blue Spectra

I am going to start a new series of weekly or biweekly articles. The first will be called “Reviews In The Queue”, which will cover products, which are currently being tested and reviewed, meaning the items that are been hammered and used on a frequent basis. It will include a first impression synopsis and a preliminary rating. The next will be called “Just In”, and will be a brief outline of a product along with some pictures.

2wheelogic the US distributor for IceToolz and Nokon, sent along a nice array of headset tools, which is going too very handy for me during my current in depth testing of several forks and the new Cane Creek Angleset. They also tossed in some brake bleeding tools, and I am especially interested in the needle driver. It will hold the brake line and allow a more accurate and less cumbersome manual method of inserting the needle (aka the hose insert) into the hole. The headset tools include a starnut installer, head cup remover, crown race remover, steerer tube cutter, and a headset cup press tool. I tested the head cup remover and headset cup press, and they worked fine, though the press came without any instructions, and it took me a while to figure it out. I am looking forward to testing out these products, as so far they are seemed to be of excellent quality and very tough?

IceToolz – Toolz for the people.  Bike shop quality tools at an affordable price.  IceToolz has been making hand toolz for over 30 years and have compiles a range of over 250 toolz for the basic repair to the full professional mechanic.

My care package from Honey Stinger finally showed up. It contains the new Stinger Waffles, which are organic stroopwafels with honey in lieu of syrup. They are quite tasty, without being overly sweet. They also included their organic energy chews, that are sort of like gummy bears, but they don’t stick to your teeth. The chews are very addicting, and are available in a number of flavors. I like them after eating an energy bar, since they cleanse the palette and clean your teeth, picking up any residue that was clinging to them.

Located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Honey Stinger, was founded in 2002 to bring great tasting, convenient honey-based foods to consumers. An athletic entrepreneur, a honey industry veteran, a food product developer and a beekeeper make up the team that founded Honey Stinger.

The GoPro LCD BacPac, is a detachable LCD screen for their HD HERO camera. You can now preview what the camera is looking at, and review previously recorded video. The kit also includes several housing backdoors to accommodate the fatter size of the system. This unit should really help accentuate the usefulness of the camera in the field, and provide tons of functional into a previously blind camera. I poked around with the screen in the office, and it was quite nice to be able to view things. It uses the small button on the right for operation and to maneuver through its menu.

Based in Half Moon Bay, California, GoPro is the world’s leading activity image capture, and wearable and gear mountable camera company.

GoPro­® Launches the LCD BacPac™

Detachable LCD Screen for 1080p HD HERO^® Camera

The first of several removable expansion modules
for industry leading HD HERO camera.

I ride an Ibis Mojo carbon bike, and to protect the frame from dings and scratches, I have always used protective tape in any areas that are susceptible to abuse. The tape is usually some form of helicopter rotor tape (protects their leading edge) or automobile clear bra tape. It provides adequate protection, and keeps minor scratches and rock dings from getting to the clear coat of the frame or deeper. Whenever some major rock crashes happen it sometimes creeps its way past the tape, and chips the clearcoat, and on rare occasions it even gets to the top surface of the carbon fiber. Fortunately, it never does much beyond superficial damage to the frame.

I just became aware of this very interesting product, which is supposed to have some pretty amazing impact absorption characteristics. The accompanying video is sort of cool, but I would need to do some real world testing before I can make any sort of judgment call.

Company Fodder:

Shelter is an impact absorption medium, which contains 50 layers of a visco-elastomeric material-like a memory foam that absorbs energy before it gets through to the frame. It’s also clear so it doesn’t hide your bike.

There are many abrasion resistant products, like “Helicopter tape” or “duct tape” but none of them provide shock absorption. Shelter is the first shock absorption and abrasion resistant bicycle frame protection product of its type. Shelter is also pretty much invisible so your bike graphics are not hidden from the world.

Great places for a Shelter Impact Absorption Strip:

• underside of down tubes,

• chain stays,

• along head tubes to protect from cable housing abrasion and the sound of the housing slapping against the tubes.

This is a video showing how Shelter works, by using it to protect a fluorescent bulb from hammer impacts:

Click here to view the embedded video.

MSRP: $29.95

Shelter Package Includes => 2 Strips (strip size: 55mm X 500mm)

Visit the Shelter website at http://www.CantitoeRoad.com/Shelter

Well, another Interbike show wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, and it was entertaining and tiring, but it was fun to catch up with old friends and meet a few new ones. It was hotter and windier than normal at the Outdoor portion, making for a couple of sand filled desiccating days. Indoors was the usual monstrous mess of booths, and I kept getting lost (as usual), and thank goodness for maps and overhead signage.

Bikes just keep getting better, both the frames and components. When comparing the same types of bikes (All Mountain, for example), the differences between them are becoming more subtle, as the manufacturer is building excellent product, that are functional and well engineered. It is hard to pick trends each year, but in general the direction is for more suspension, especially on a bike that can be ridden uphill. Components are getting lighter, with accompanying durability, and bike gearing has evolved (or devolved) to 10 speeds, although there’s a large continuing renaissance for single speeds, with a lot of bikes using belt drive systems. Now that Europe has decided that 29er is not a lunatic North American biking variant, more 29er bikes, wheels, forks and tires are being released. A couple of the smaller helmet manufacturers, POC and Kali are morphing their full faced helmet technical protection innovations to their cross country versions, which is a good sign for continued helmet safety.

I compiled together a Top 5 list of products that I found interesting and innovative from this year show:

Nutrition – Honey Stinger Waffle

The Honey Stinger Waffle is tasty, good for you and are pretty darn addicting, and I can’t wait to include one for snacking on bike rides. New part-owner Lance Armstrong, suggested the Waffles, after eating many Stroopwafels in the Netherlands, which are two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. The Honey Stinger version is organic, and substitute honey instead of syrup, for enjoyable 160 calories of edible goodness.

Bike – Santa Cruz Carbon Nomad

I first saw the Nomad Carbon at Sea Otter this year, and was impressed with the swooping lines and attention to detail that the frame displayed. Santa Cruz had recently revamped the Nomad slightly, and I liked the improvements to the suspension system, but the addition of a carbon frameset was a wholesale change for the Nomad line. It has a 67 degree head angle, 1.5″ steerer tube, ISCG 05 tabs, a woven downtube protector (cosmetic only), and comes default with a Fox RP23 rear, although my test rig was tricked out with a TALAS 180 and DHX- Air. The Nomad Carbon is available in Black and Matte White.

It only takes a short distance down any sort of singletrack to feel the extreme stiffness of the Nomad Carbon. Superlatives like taut and muscular come to mind as you thread your way down the trail, being able to slice and dice wherever you want. The laser like steering qualities of this bike are pretty amazing, and when combined with the stiffness of the frameset, allow immediate changes and transitions in your direction, along with accompanying traction control. There is no need to recoil and load up the suspension, it reacts like clockwork and does exactly what you tell it to do (sit Nomad), like a telepathic twin. The damping qualities of carbon shine through every time you hit a bump, or toss yourself into some ugly terrain, and remove that slight edge received back through the handlebars. Much like the Ibis HD, the Nomad Carbon felt very firm in its feel, although in comparison it does have more plushness than the HD. Pedaling gave great feedback, and produced prodigious traction for a 6″ travel bike. I could pull off some technical moves, that more nimble bikes only get, which was a welcome surprise, especially considering I was riding a 180mm fork.

Santa Cruz has a real home run on their hands with the Nomad Carbon, and it’s a great all around bike that can pull off most anything!

Tools – Prestacycle Prestainflator

Prestacycle makes the very functional and useful Prestaflator, which is basically a trigger operated air chuck with an air pressure gauge, that makes for easy bike tire fillings from an air tank or compressor. Their new product is the Prestaflator 2go, which is a portable high pressure Nitrogen tire filler. You load the unit up with Nitrogen, and with a simple preset of the desired pressure, it loads each tire up without any fuss. With a full load, it can fill 40 road bike tires to 120psi, though a slightly fewer numbers of mountain bikes, due to the larger air volume. The unit retails at $129.99. Filling tires with Nitrogen gives more consistent pressures (temperature fluctuations exacerbate the problems), they stay inflated longer, and tires don’t heat up as much. Downhill racers have confirmed tire heat is also a problem for them, not just road riders, so the use of Nitrogen can give a beneficial time advantage.

Components – Shimano XTR bakes

The totally redesigned XTR brakes are incredibly innovative, and come in either Race and Trail version. The Race version has a shorter lever, an integrated barrel and reservoir, a split clamp, non slip dimples on the lever face, and uses alloy backed resin pads. The Trail version uses the same barrel and reservoir, but has longer dimpled levers, a short stroke Servo-Wave mechanism, and metallic pads with a finned radiator plate (I.C.E).

The brakes use the trick I.C.E rotors, which feature a three layer construction, which uses an aluminum core and an outer steel facing for better heat dissipation. The forged calipers are oversized, and use ceramic piston’s, which helps absorb the heat from the oil, and dissipate it outwards. Pads are available resin with aluminum backing, metallic with titanium, and metallic with I.C.E. (finned).

Apparel – Gore Bike Wear’s new Fusion AS Cross jacket

Gore Bike Wear’s new Fusion AS Cross jacket was pretty sweet looking, and had plenty of innovative and functional features. The first one that captures your eye, is the wear resistant stripes on the shoulder area and the outer arms. The patches protect the outer fabric, from abrasion, tears and scratches, greatly helping the longevity of the jacket. The outer material is the light windproof and water resistant Windstopper Active Shell, which has excellent breathability. Stretchy sections of Windstopper are added on the sides and elbows for comfort and maneuverability. Other features are underarm vents, front zipper, Napoleon pocket, and an adjustable hem. The Fusion AS Cross jacket should be an excellent cool weather and transitional season product, that is comfortable, durable and functional.

The other day someone asked what comprised a decent first aid kit. As I looked over what my bike first aid kit contained, I was thinking about what was in my pack. I realized I had gone through a lot of trial and error over many years for my current inventory of gear.

Essentials
- Rain gear, better safe than sorry!
- Multi tool with a chain tool is a must
- Chain lube, even sunscreen and lip balm will suffice
- Wets ones or baby wipes, great for cleaning greasy or dirty hands
- Spare tube, tire lever, tire boot and tire pump
- Balaclava
- Energy bar
- Spare socks
- Chain quick connect
- First aid kit
- Emergency rear derailleur hanger

My first aid kit might seem like overkill, but I have been around a couple of accidents (sometimes myself), and wound management and comfort are paramount in many situations.

Pack Contents

SPOT satellite GPS messenger
sunscreen
multi tool
camera
chain quick links
balaclava
buff headband
zip ties
nail clippers
Swiss army knife
chain lube
tire pump
shock pump
spare tube
tire boot
tire levers
tube patch kit
lens cleaner
emergency rear derailleur hanger
inclement weather gear – jacket, shorts, helmet cover, rubber gloves, shoe covers
spare socks
first aid kit
lip balm
energy bars and chews
antibacterial hand wipes
shoe cleat cleaner
optional – cold weather gear

First Aid Kit

2 non-stick pads
2 gauze pads
assorted band-aid’s (2 extra large, 3 large, 2 regular, 2 small, 2 spot, 1 knuckle, 1 fingertip)
3 butterfly closures
3 safety pins
razor blade
duct tape
antibiotic ointment
Sting Eze
assorted medicine – (ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, antacid, antihistamine)
Uncle Bill’s tweezers
2 fingertip cot’s
2 Q-tips
gauze roll
athletic tape
moleskin
self-adhering elastic wrap
optional – tampon

Makrolon
In 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay conquered Mount Everest, but over in the scientific world the chemist Dr. Hermann Schnell working for Bayer Labs in Uerdingen Germany, invented a new class of plastic called polycarbonates, and so doing, successfully synthesized Makrolon. Polycarbonates are a particular group of thermoplastic polymers. Polycarbonates received their name because they are polymers having functional groups linked together by carbonate groups (-O-(C=O)-O-) in a long molecular chain. In the last 50 years Makrolon has been used in a plethora of products, including eyeglasses, goggles, helmets, automotive glazing and headlights, sheeting for green houses, water containers, and the ubiquitous CD/DVD.

Polystyrene 101
Polystyrene (Poly(1-phenylethane-1,2-diyl)), abbreviated as PS (recycling symbol “6″), is a polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene (vinyl benzene ), a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry. Polystyrene and its origin can be traced back to 1839 when Eduard Simon, an apothecary (pharmacist), distilled an oily substance from a Turkish sweetgum tree, which he named styrol. About one hundred years passed, and various scientists conducted numerous experiments, before German chemist Hermann Staudinger discovered that heating styrol starts a reaction and produces macromolecules, this substance is now known as polystyrene. BASF began commercial manufacture of polystyrene in 1931, when they were part of the monstrous German conglomerate I.G Farben (BASF, Bayer, Hoechst, Afga, etc.). Post World War II the I.G Farben conglomerate was divided back up into the individual companies, and in 1952 BASF invented expandable polystyrene (EPS), which they called Styropor. An interesting adjunct is that Bayer invented Makrolon (used as the outer shell of the helmet) around the same time period.

Helmet Safety
The safety standards for helmets include a retention system, and an impact test, the latter is done using a hard headform dropped vertically onto a flat and shaped anvil at specific speeds. The US standard is to keep the g forces registered inside the headform below 300 g.

The major components of a helmet, are the outer shell, the foam liner, the retention system and the padding. The hard shell helps spread the impact over a larger surface (specifically to the liner), accentuates sliding and prevents object penetration. The EPS foam helps prevent or reduce brain injury by managing the energy of an impact through its own compression or destruction, and it does that by converting a small part of the crash energy to heat. Its main duty is to slow the stopping process so that the head slows down during its inertial of the impact (deceleration).

The problem is that our heads are soft and malleable, and the brain itself moves around inside a gelatinous ooze (cerebrospinal fluid), so the testing with a hard headform may not be very appropriate for the human skull? One of the major things a helmet cannot prevent is the occurrence of coup-contrecoup (brain rebound) injuries, which can cause concussions, contusions, DIA’s (diffuse axonal injury) and even epidural hematoma.

It seems like eons ago that I bumped into Bob D’Antonio while I was bouldering at the Snakepit at Garden of the Gods. It was actually 22 years ago, and he and I are now much older, and none the less wise. Bob and I hit it off immediately, since we were both a bit warped, and he invited down to his next foray to Shelf Road. It would be my first of many trips down to the pocketed faces of Shelf, many with Bob, and some with the other ragtag and close knit group of climbers that frequented the area at the time. Many of the climbers and I became great friends, and we all continued are adventures at other areas besides Shelf Road.

I had only been climbing a relatively short period of time, and I had mostly bouldered with only a few ventures onto some 5.8′s and 5.9′s. I had climbed some bolted and traditional routes at Eldorado Canyon, Clear Creek and Garden of the Gods (or is that Garbage of the Gods?), but they were all moderate in technicality. The first time I jumped onto the Shelf Road limestone (Fremont Dolomite) it was a humbling experience, the technical and gymnastic moves required to decipher the intricate dynamics of the pockets, flakes and gastons were intense. Although the routes were many grades beyond my capabilities at the time, I was hooked and wanted to come back for more learning and punishment. Climbing was a chess game on the rock, and learning a repertoire of moves and banking those into the recessed sections of your neural networks was a requirement. It became an obsessive and compulsive sport, one in which you are always comparing oneself against a set criteria, the numerical rating. I think it about drove the ex Wife off the deep end many times?

Since I had only been a boulderer, and was new to the climbing scene, I had never been indoctrinated into the traditionalist aspects of rock climbing. I had no ethics as concerned bolting, so the ‘Sport Climbing is Neither’ never really applied to my sensibilities. When I was handed a Bosch Bulldog hammer drill to put up a route, it seemed like the correct thing to do, and it made perfect sense to me. Our Bosch of the Immaculate Conception! The blank faced limestone of Shelf Road fit in perfectly with the rap placed bolting techniques and methodologies that the French had been popularizing at the time. As I recall, the first route I ever put up down at Shelf Road was at the Bank, and it was called the Moaner. It was named for a woman who was climbing next to us while we were working on the route, and she made the loudest bedroom grunting noises while she was climbing. I don’t think I could stop laughing for a long period of time!

My climbing abilities progressed at a fast rate, as did my many route creations. I spent time roaming all around the Shelf Road climbing area putting up new routes, in the Bank, Dark Side, Dead Colt Canyon, Sand Gulch, The Gallery and the Great Black North. I really became hooked on the solitude I got from The Gallery, even though it was a hike to get to the cliffs. I climbed with a lot of partners, but it was predominantly with my ex Wife Melanie and Charles Walters. A few of my treasured routes I put up in the varying canyons were Menses in the Gallery, and Enchanted Porkfist over on the Dark Side. I truly lost track of the number of routes that I either created or participated on, but it was a lot.  I went through many boxes of bolts, hangers, drill bits and even a few battery packs during my route creations. I even burdened my poor dog down with bolting gear in his doggie pack to assist in the endeavors. I had an incredible assortment of route names I used, some coming from the many strange punk rock group bands I listened to at the time, and others from my potty mouthed brain. Lunch at the Y, My What a Big Bulge, Well Hung and Turbo Charged Intercooled Meat Machine venture to the potty, while I can Smell Your Thoughts, Muted by Reality and Wading Through a Ventilator venture elsewhere.

I had some interesting encounters with some of the local ranchers in the early days, some friendly and some not so friendly. I was shot at once as a warning while I was putting up a route at Cactus Cliff, and again accidentally by some idiot hunters on the lower road while they were illegally poaching a deer.

I really enjoyed the wonderful days I had at Shelf Road, wandering in and out of the canyons, finding untouched tracks of routes, and just loving those nice warm sunny days, vegging and climbing on the walls. Shelf has a fairly temperate climate, so much of the Fall through Winter and back to Spring is easily climbable, and the cliffs have enough of a rotation that you can either hide or imbue yourself with the sun. We even left a folding lounge chair down in the canyons so that we could enjoy belaying, hence another route ‘Bourgeois Belay Dog’. I also enjoyed climbing as many of the routes as I could at Shelf, and I ticked off almost everything I could climb at the time. Even when it got crowded, it always felt like you could have some serenity at Shelf Road, and it seemed imbued with a certain aura and mystique. I became addicted to climbing on pockets, and the many facets of climbing on the Shelf Road limestone. The different shades of the rock color, from white to tan to red, gray to black, gave rise to different textures and differing climbing techniques. Sometimes you worked your way through a crux mono to a massive jug, maybe pulling on a flake, or perhaps some delicate foot and hand work on the fine black rock. You needed to use an entire roster of techniques when you climbed at Shelf Road, which always kept it entertaining and enjoyable.