- Falco pairs and e-bike with Zwift for outdoor riding & indoor training – OK, let’s get thee-bike love out of the way first. Many don’t love e-bikes. OK that was easy. Now look a bit closer at this. Falco realized that they could take advantage of having that motor on the bike and pair it with interactive online training sites like Zwift for indoor training. It’s a simple system, essentially a stand alone wheel. Pop it in your bike for pedal assist commuting without working up too much of a sweat, then clamp it down in your regular trainer at home and control & sync it online via its smart phone app. Details are still a bit thin as this is going to officially debut in January 2017, but the concept actually seems pretty cool. FalcoEMotors.com…
Contest
- Win a Free Thomson Bike Tours Trip – We feature exclusive bike riding trips in our end of week roundup throughout the year, mostly because the vacations appeal to us personally. But in reality the cost + time usually makes them infeasible for many of our readers. But now Thomson Tours is celebrating 10 years of running their trips by giving one away for free. Unfortunately this isn’t going to really help most people, because you have to pay to reserve a spot to be eligible to enter before Dec 25 (definitely a Purchase IS Necessary kind of entry). But someone is going to ride away with one of their trips in 2017 for free, which’ll be nice. ThomsonBikeTours.com
Advocacy
- December Nights to spotlight cycling TONIGHT as transport & a Climate Change action plan – Later tonight Dec 2 for those in SoCal, the San Diego Civic and Community Leaders will join bicycling advocates and environmentalists in an event that will showcase cycling as multimodal transportation option and a solution to climate change. Ride at 4pm from Little Italy to Balboa Park to kick off the annual December Nights celebration. The event will focus attention on alternative transportation options to December Nights, which draws over 350,000 people over two nights making it one of the most popular in San Diego County. Get more details from event manager: SanDiegoTourofCA.com
Industry/Racing News
- Devinci Global Racing taking a break from DH racing for 2017 – The Canadians of Devinci had an emotional year with their World Cup DH team. Stevie Smith was returning to form & results before his untimely death in a moto accident. The small team was shook, but their young gun Magnus Manson still ended in 2nd on the Jr podium at Worlds. But the family-like team was really built around Stevie and Devinci just couldn’t recreate that same vibe without him. They promise they’ll be back at the DH WCs when the time is right. For now, they’ve got their new carbon bike to race a bit closer to home, and continue their strong presence on the EWS playing with enduro bikes. Devinci.com
Gear
- Brooks introduces 150th anniversary book: a positive footprint in cycling culture – Titled The Brooks Compendium of Cycling Culture, the book celebrates and showcases the Brooks values and the culture that has inspired the brand over a century and a half. Aiming not only to appeal to avid cyclists, with the help of a long list of contributing writers, artists, journalists, designers, photographers, and illustrators, the book depicts Brooks’ unique and idiosyncratic views of the wide-ranging impact of the bike though stories, art, and design. It sells for $30/£30 and could make a good gift this season. BrooksEngland.com
Training? & Nutrition
- Krav Maga from your bike: self defense for the cyclist – Wary of road ragers or getting that new aero carbon super bike jacked in the city? A Minneapolis martial arts studio has got your back. We read about what is probably the first and only Israeli special forces-inspired self defense program specifically developed for bike riders over at Gear Junkie.
- ‘Tis the season to get festive while refueling with Infinit – Infinit Performance has got your holiday-themed fuel. Their MUD is an all natural meal supplement and energy recovery formula for athletes based on pure whey protein and flax seed. And now it comes in a Peppermint Mocha flavor. They say it is made with real dark roast beans and is better than any coffeehouse latte. InfinitNutrition.us
