We finally have got our act together and have VVC event T’s. By popular demand, we’ve kept them mimple and to the point, and even a little bit cryptic.

Direct printed (ink is infused into the fabric) and available in several colours as well as guy’s and girl’s cuts, the T is printed and dispatched directly to you via the Lab-Gear T-store.

If you want to grab one, two or twenty, head over to the Lab-Gear T-store by clicking here.

It’s nice to see some local talent having a go at designing for the bike world. The first of two installments we’ve found in this year’s Australian Design Awards, is called ‘CORE Mountain bike body Armour’.

Rather than trying to descibe it, the Steve Whelan’s (from the Uni of SA)  entry reads as follows:

Product Description and Principal Function(s)

CORE Mountain Bike Body Armour is a modular personal protection system for people who participate in off-road bike riding such as cross-country, trail riding and downhill bike riding.

Even though extreme bike riding is experiencing tremendous technological innovation, I realized that personal protection had virtually come to a standstill, with most brands offering almost identical products with the same problems.

The CORE Armour is an innovative answer to the stereotypical image of body protection. It challenges issues of material choices, forms, modularity, safety and most importantly, function.

Why does the product represent design excellence and why do you believe it deserves an Australian Design Award?

FUNCTION AND SAFETY
From interviewing riders, it became apparent that many wanted more in terms of impact protection for the upper torso. It was also brought to my attention that many riders wear a back pack with a water bladder inside for the sole purpose of providing extra shock absorption for the spine in the event of a crash. The CORE Armour has simply combined the body armour and back pack into one, providing extra spine protection and allowing the rider to stay hydrated, whilst eliminating the need to carry extra baggage.

MODULAR DESIGN
Having each main part separate from the next means that different combinations can be achieved to suit the type of riding being done. For example, if the user was participating in gentle trail riding, then they could just wear the shorts and rear protection. However, if the user were involved in more extreme downhill riding, then the whole suit would be worn for better safety.

The modular design also means that the product life is greatly extended because only damaged or worn parts could be replaced without having to throw away the entire product.

COMFORT
The entire project has been inspired by the back packs seen in the market today. Conventional body armour is essentially a ‘shirt’ form that is worn over the body. The CORE Armour instead uses a ‘back pack’ form to achieve a much more stable fit to the body which reduces movement and slipping when riding and crashing.

EFFICIENCY
The most important technical innovation to the CORE Armour is addition of unique slot-clips which are found on the chest protection. These clips, which fasten the chest piece to the shoulder straps of the rear armour, means that zips and Velcro can be eliminated from the product altogether. The use of these unreliable fasteners was a wide-spread problem with almost every rider.

These clips are more durable, stronger and user-friendly, allowing easy application and removal even while wearing gloves.

FORM
The aesthetics of the CORE Armour was something that really needed to be unique. Most of the products in the market today look almost identical, so I wanted this product to stand out and show how far the form could be pushed while still remaining functional.

An ‘outer skin’ on both the front and rear of the armour tie all the components together with a symmetrical form that also creates an aggressive and sporty look.

MATERIALS
The bulk of the product uses Cordura Nylon fabric, a very tough and water-proof material that is found in many sporting goods today. Similar products in the marketplace use thin nylon mesh that stretches and tears easily, thus shortening its lifespan.

The shorts are made from denim, a popular fashion choice by many riders around the world. Denim fabric is also extremely durable, making it a perfectly fashionable, yet functional choice.

The hard plastic shoulder and spine plates are injection-molded Polypropylene, a standard material for these particular parts.

Highly efficient shock absorbing material is used throughout the CORE Armour in an effort to lessen the impact of a crash.

Not much else to say really….

Published in SMH Online October 10th, 2009

Article written by: Josephine Tovey, Urban Affairs [original here]

Pedal extremities: walkers v cyclists in parks

“A NEW skirmish is taking place over Sydney’s national parks, this time between unlikely foes.

Cyclists are at loggerheads with environmentalists over whether mountain biking should be allowed in the parks. Until recently the sport has been limited to fire trails but now cyclists are seeking deeper access to bushland on dedicated tracks. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m going to attempt to take you back in time so you can have a look at where this crazy sport came from and what is was like however many years ago. I think it’s important to know the heritage of your bike and your sport. So with this in mind, I’d first like to take you back to the very beginning.

Back in the early days (by that I mean around 1974), a group of people in California decided that it would quite good fun to ride their old bikes to the top of the nearest mountain, and then ride them back down. Sounds simple these days as we do it all the time, but you have to remember that they had so little of what we take for granted.

Some of the guys used to ride it on motorbikes but when using pedal power they had to adapt their bicycles to cope with the long downhill track. Set in the area around Fairfax and Mt Tam, these rides turned into races that ended up being staged more than once a year – they were always very informal. They became the legendary Repack races. They were called Repack because the old drum brakes on their 1940s Schwinn “clunkers” would need the grease repacked after a run, having vapourised it through the constant brake use down the course. Parts were subjected to absolute carnage, so new bits were needed and the bikes started becoming customised.

They added gears and decent brakes, using secondhand French items more accustomed to road bikes. Then motorcycle handlebars and brake levers. Amongst the group were some very influential people, such as Tom Ritchey, Joe Breeze and Gary Fisher, of whom you have no doubt heard. Most of them claim to have invented the mountain bike in their own right, but to be honest I’m not bothered who called them what first. They all had a hand in it. News spread of what these guys were doing, and a small industry was born.

Joe Breeze made about a dozen lightweight MTB-style frames in 1977/78 and sold them all immediately. Then in 1979 Tom Ritchey made a load more, and sold them just as fast. They retailed for a staggering US$1,400 each, although at that price you were buying a complete bicycle, not just a frame.

This went on for a bit, and then a company called Specialized decided to do what Joe and Tom were doing, but they outsourced the manufacture of frames to Japan to keep costs down. The Specialized Stumpjumper was born. OK, so there were others around (Muddy Fox in the UK, for example and the Univega Alpina Pro competing with the Stumpy in the US), but the original Stumpjumper of 1982 was a revelation. It sold as a complete bike for US$850 and used brand new parts. None of the second-hand road components that had been altered to work on the clunkers Tom Ritchey sold. Hardly cheap, but compared to others it was a relative bargain and they sold loads of them. This bike is widely considered to be the granddaddy of the bikes we ride today.

This really kick-started the revolution. For the first time ever, Joe Public could walk into a shop and hand over cash for a bicycle that could be ridden up the nearest mountain and then back down again. They were robust, cool, exclusive, and the mountain bike industry had begun.

Over the next few years, stuff like frame geometry was tweaked. Shimano and Suntour got in on the act with decent gears that didn’t cost a huge amount of money and were MTB-specific and bikes got a little lighter. Manufacturers suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the mid to late 1980s when some pro-riders thought they could have a slice of the MTB pie (Kona, started by Joe Murray, for example). Some tiny companies popped up out of the ether to supply funky tyres and other little accessories. The NORBA race series was established in USA and cross-country and downhill races were being staged all over the place.

Then, in the late 1980s, it simply went nuts. Mountain biking had become immensely popular. Every bike manufacturer worth their salt had a MTB in their range. The choice was getting bigger and better. Bikes were even lighter, had better components and brakes that worked and they were starting to come down in price too. Much of the manufacturing was done in the Far East and this made it affordable. Tom Ritchey and Joe Breeze were still making their bikes, though. But on thing they were not was cheap – although you could pick up a MTB off the shelf, custom bikes with massive price tags started selling well. In much the same way as road bikes evolved, people wanted to ride what the pros did.

MTBs were very much established in the cycling world by this point. Whilst there were many hideously styled bikes and paint jobs (not to mention clothes – let’s not go there), many were rather nice. Not only exotic but good looking, which is to say that you can look at one now and not laugh at it. Companies like Merlin and Litespeed started selling titanium frames. Even magnesium and carbon fibre was being used as a frame material, although they had yet to be perfected. The bikes were catching up with the technology available. Quickly.

If you take a look at the bike that you ride now you can see the heritage, even though you may not know it is there. Most bikes these days have what is referred to as “NORBA” geometry. That’s a 71-degree head and 73-degree seat angle to you and me and they’ve been doing that since about 1989. No need to change it if it works and it does work.

Then there are suspension forks, if you have them. They wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Paul Turner, founder of Rock Shox. In 1989, you got one inch of travel from your RS1 fork. Now you’d consider 3 inches to be a cross-country fork and might feel shortchanged if you can’t adjust the compression damping via an external dial on top of the fork leg…

Gears – Shimano have so many patents that they needn’t make any more components; they could live off the profits from royalties! But you have them to thank for making your gears work. And let’s not forget the companies that Shimano crushed, such as Suntour – their light burned just as bright, but not for as long.

And if you’re fortunate enough to have a full suspension frame, then you should look back at the Mountain Cycles San Andreas. They still make them, in spite of the fact that they haven’t really changed since 1992, because they just work. And back then it had upside down forks AND disc brakes! That bike in particular was so far ahead of its time that it wasn’t even funny.

I could go on and on but I won’t. That’s where your bike came from – a load of guys just having fun riding down a big hill on the edge of control. Without those pioneers where would we be? We have to thank them for starting this sport of ours. But how do we thank them? Well, I do it by going out riding pretty much every day and I suggest you do the same.

Nick Heywood

Ed Note: This was written for the original 26inches.com and has been lost until now in the great caverns of the Digital Vault located on the great disc of the past

Interesting way to start the week. Spotted over at Bike Commuters is a feature on a bike frame designed by Matt Clark in Southern California made from recycled plastics. While it won’t win over the purists out there, it is a great look at developing a low cost bike from recycled materials. Fantastic to make bikes for commuting and poorer countries and an interesting step towards looking at new ways to make what many consider as something’s that is already perfected. [Read all about it here]

Monday morning’s Awaba ride…..

The lead in:

The corner:

The new B-Rad Gully based A line:

The current exit from the corner:

All up, a superb section of trail.

Flickr user ‘Roastin’s’ photostream has a bunch of really interesting shots including these of an indoor venue being built in the US

The only bit of info to be found :) [http://www.raysmtb.com/]

There are many reasons why I love mountain biking.

- The satisfaction of nailing that gnarly piece of single track for the first time.
– The peace and quite of riding through a pine forest with the faint rustle of trees as they sway in the breeze.
– The cacophony of cicadas in the Australian bush during a mid-summer ride.
– The camaraderie with fellow mountain bikers, whom you’ve known for years or you’ve met 5 minutes previous.
– The adventure of getting lost, then finding the way.
– Scaring yourself on a wicked descent…
– …Then looking back up that same descent and thinking ‘Holy crap! I made it!’
– The excitement of riding a new trail.
– The eeriness of riding at night with only a light and the nocturnal animals for company.
– The thrill of the race.
– The hot shower or bath after a wet and muddy ride.
– The feeling of being in ‘the zone’ and at the same time at peace with the world.
– Reaching the top of that lung busting climb and not dabbing.
– Being absolutely exhausted yet happy after another 6 hour epic.
– Beating your mates to the top of the next climb…
– …And beating them to the bottom of the next descent.
– Sharing the fun and excitement with your children.
– Building your own bike.
– The bling.
– The post ride coffee and pastry.
– Being blessed that I have the opportunity to participate in this awesome pastime.

Peace…

Based on the feedback I’d gotten about my power output and weight <MP – I can’t find my last post to link to it… >, looks like the thing that I need to work on is improving my power to weight ratio and my lactic acid threshold.

Ok, firstly power to weight… this is the ‘simple’ bit. Two things I can do here, (a) increase power or (b) decrease weight. Now both of these are going to be good but I thought that I’d get serious about tackling the weight thing and see someone about what I should be doing (who’da thunk that learning to eat would be so difficult?). Read the rest of this entry »