Category: Mountain Biking

Easy Hack To Reduce Potential COVID-19 Exposure Until You Get Vaccinated

jimmymac

Need to visit a shop to get a part or service for your motorcycle, bicycle or electric-motorized bicycle? There is a simple hack that can reduce your exposure to others during the visit. Go to Google Maps and in the search bar, type in the shop’s name. Below the address, hours of operation and contact info, there may be a bar chart that shows the most-busy and least-busy hours of operation. The current day is shown, but you can see the history of floor traffic for every day of the…

When Updates Become Excuses: Park & Diamond Helmets Face Another Delay – UPDATED

jimmymac

January 14, 2021: Park & Diamond’s promised update of January 11th was quickly succeeded by an update the following day because the January 11th updated caused confusion with customers. As they say, “the customer is always right” and in this case, the customers are correct that the first update is very confusing (and I don’t feel the follow up is much better). The update does identify the first helmets to ship (hope you ordered a medium-sized helmet in black) but unfortunately, the company can’t (or won’t) provide a shipping date…

Convert Your Old 26er Hardtail Into A Motorized SnowBike

jimmymac

I’m all for repurposing an outdated or seldom-ridden bicycle. It seems like every garage has at least one hardtail mountain bike hanging from the rafters that has been replaced by a dual-suspended, large-hooped mountain bike (and even that bike may be in storage while the snow is falling).  ENVO, a company out of Canada, has come up with a reason to get that bike out of the attic. Their electric-motorized SnowBike Kit can turn that “back-up” bike into your winter wonderland wanderer. ENVO makes it clear that their $2,100 kit…

A 40-year-Old Photo That Never Gets Old

jimmymac

The stuff you find when going through boxes in the attic! Geo was a short-lived magazine published by National Geographic that was supposed to appeal to a younger, hipper generation of readers. Their March 1981 issue’s cover was a shot of Greg Demgen in full tuck and teammate Stephen Lloyd Wood, both using the big ring to power along during the Coors Classic. Cycling is so different today. Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Even casual riders wear gloves, eyewear and hard-shell helmets. And those are the exact reasons…

43 Tour de France Riders Test Positive for COVID-19 (UPDATED)

jimmymac

Okay, that is a total click-bait headline but who is going to be surprised when a number of Tour de France riders test positive for COVID-19 over the next few weeks? Days? Team personal and TDF event personnel tested positive but no riders? That seems unlikely until you consider that professional cycling has a long and illustrious history of looking the other way when they believe it is in the best interest of the sport and its sponsors. Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar just announced he is curtailing his…

National Park Service Opens National Parks To Motorized Recreational Vehicles

jimmymac

The National Park Service (NPS) will issue new guidelines (you can read the pre-publication document here) that allow electric-motorized bicycles access to all trails and paths where human-powered bicycles are now allowed access. These new guidelines show that the Department of The Interior views its responsibility to maximize the use of public lands. While I strongly oppose the opening of these natural treasures to motorized recreational, I appear to be in the minority. Americans have given the Department of The Interior and the NPS a mandate to open these public…

The Ultimate Balance Bike For Your Beginner Cyclist

jimmymac

Buried deep in the story on the BIKEEXIF website about 6/5/4 Motors’ very impressive Yamaha SR500 custom motorcycle, a photo stopped me in my tracks. 6/5/4 Motors has created the coolest-looking balance bike that a kid could ever dream of. Balance bikes are bicycles that do not have pedals or a drivetrain. A youngster learning to ride straddles the bike and Fred Flintstones their way forward. It is a great way for youngsters to learn to balance. You can remove the pedals from a conventional kid’s bicycle to achieve the…

Concept Bicycle Helmet That Tucks Into A Water Bottle – UPDATED 9-18-2020

jimmymac

UPDATE 9/18/2020: The Park & Diamond company posted another “update” and “sneak preview” on August 28th. The update says the company has “secured agreements with a new contract manufacturer [and] several new suppliers.” They go on to say that the company is “firming up new shipping logistics” that should ship the first production by the end of December 2020. “Secured agreements” and “firming up” is, in my opinion, public relations mumbo jumbo. Backers want to hear that manufacturing has begun, not that Park & Diamond has “agreements” to manufacture and…

Davis Phinney Teams With Trek Domane+ LT E-Bike To Keep The Legend Rolling

jimmymac

The story from Trek Bicycles, “How Davis Phinney finds freedom in the saddle of his Domane+ LT,” caught my attention and brought back memories of an interview I did with Davis in 1994 for Road Bike Action Magazine. Davis had just retired from racing when he, his wife, Connie Carpenter, and their son and future professional cyclist, Taylor, welcomed me into their home for hours of conversation. It would have been a killer Podcast if iPods had been invented in 1994! I just dug out the issue and the interview…