Go Clipless

The penalty for failure is great...

Photo from YourMTB.

So does he make it?

Know any good designers? Mountain Bike Action Magazine needs you...

I noticed this thread in the MTBR.com forums bashing Mountain Bike Action (MBA) Magazine and figured I'd pile it on too. Why not take your medicine in one dose, right? Well, actually I meant to post this a while back when I wrote about cycling logos, but I got distracted and the MTBR thread reminded me...so here it goes...

A few weeks ago I wrote about 8 great cycling logos after being inspired by an article in an issue of MBA. In that very same article, however, MBA analyzed it's own logo. They admitted that they don't like it. In fact, here's what they said:

The MBA wrecking crew doesn't like its logo. It's old. Like 20 years old. It is frozen in time, and that time happens to be the eighties. Change it? Update it? No way. With about half a zillion magazines on the newsstand...there is no way we are going to mess with a logo familiar to millions of riders.

Huh? You know your logo is hideous and yet you choose to do nothing about it. Isn't that the definition of insanity?

So let's break this down. MBA's logo is:

1. Ugly
2. Outdated (think leg warmers and pegged jeans)
3. Not well liked

They cite as a reason not to change the "millions of riders" familiar with the logo. First of all, this is quite an exaggeration -  the largest cycling mag in the U.S. has just a hair over 400,000 readers a year, and I'm certain MBA does not have that kind of reach. Nonetheless, I get their point, they believe they have brand equity that manifests itself in the logo.

Ok, now couple that ugly logo with their disastrous Web site and amateurish print layout and you've got one train-wreck of a magazine.

You can't tell me, MBA, that you are realizing significant growth in your circulation (I can't seem to find your circulation figures anywhere). I'd venture to guess that your circulation is sliding along with most every other print publication out there.

Therefore it is time to be bold and go where many others have gone before you. It would not be the first time that an established player in an industry refreshed its design and emerged stronger than before. (In fact, take a look at the Brand New blog if you need some case studies and inspiration.)

I haven't even broached the subject of content or Web strategy, but I've ranted enough for now. I'll leave that to subsequent posts on the subject. Don't worry though, you're not the only one...this is an equal opportunity blog.

The history of clipless pedals

Found this history of clipless pedals retrospective from JB's Love2Ride blog.

Did you know that the clipless pedal was invented in 1895?

Here's another fun fact - also in 1895, bicycle technology was advancing so rapidly that the U.S. Patent department had to open two offices, one for bicycles and one for everything else.

Photo is of an early clipless pedal design for mountain bikes by Scott USA in 1990.

Princeton Tec Switchback LED Headlights: First Look

I got bitten by the LED (Light Emitting Diode) bug about a year ago when I was looking for a light for commuting. Even at that time, it was clear to me that LEDs were the future of night-time riding. Now there is a whole new generation of high-power LEDs on the scene that have really lit up the whole market for night-time mountain biking.

Until recently, LED technology had not advanced enough to meet the demands of off-road riding; they simply weren't bright enough. Nonetheless, they were perfect for night-time commuting - just bright enough, small, and cheap. Now there is a new generation of LED that fits the bill - the 3 watt regulated Luxeon LED. Given that companies focused on commuting lighting products have been using LED technology for years, they are poised to enter a whole new market with this new more powerful technology. Last year we saw Cateye enter into the off-road lighting space in a serious way and in 2007 enter Princeton Tec.

Princeton Tec, with it's new Switchback series of lights, is poised to make some serious in-roads in the off-road market. They sent me the all new Switchback 1 to review and, although I've yet to take it off-road, the features and design are quite impressive. It couldn't be better timing either, as this year I have started to do some night riding and have been in the market for a new light.

During the next few weeks I'll review the Princeton Tec Switchback and also, write some about lighting and night riding. I'll be pairing the Switchback 1 along with a Cateye Tripleshot. I may also be able to get my hands on the Nightrider miNewt and really give it a full comparison review. I can tell you now that I like the form factor of the Switchback a whole lot better, but the real test will be how they perform on the trail.

Ok, I'll give you the specifications, but first some of my own observations of the design and utility of the light:

The packaging was reminiscent of that of an Apple iPod. It was beautifully resting in a bed of foam with clear and concise labeling. While packaging says nothing about the performance of a light, it does tell me that Princeton Tec is serious about this line of lights and feels it is important to their corporate success. Good news for mountain bikers as more options usually means better products and better prices.

The light and battery are lightweight and tiny. Take a look at this photo I took with the light next to a standard shot glass for comparison (uh oh, I hear Mr. Belvedere calling).

One thing's for sure, there will be no loose cabling with this light. Cables attach to the light and battery with a very secure locking screw cap. It's intuitive and strong. Plus, if you pair the light with either the Switchback 2 or the Switchback 3 all of the lights and batteries will be swappable.

Now, here's the English language version of the specifications:

Two cycling blogs nominated for the 2007 Bloggies awards

The nominations for the 2007 Bloggies have been announced and there are two great cycling blogs among the nominees.

Fat Cyclist nominated for Best Kept Secret Blog (Fatty is exuberant).

Up in Alaska nominated for Best Sports Blog (Jill finds this amusing).

Let's rally the cycling community and help them win this prestigious award.

Go vote and spread the word!

Single Speed World Championship (SSWC) 2007 - let the tomfoolery begin

Looks like planning for the Single Speed World Championship 2007 has begun. The Web site is finally available, although it is still just a shell with a message about more to come in the future (via Bikecentric).

What's interesting is that the Web site makes reference to it being the "one and only event website the organisers will be updating, so disregard any others you may have seen about the event." I thought that was odd, but sure enough there is another SSWC spoof Web site out there (visit only if you're popup blocker and anti-adware software is up to date). The spoof site's URL seems to follow the conventions of previous SSWC's in 2005 and 2006 so it would be easy to mistake for the real thing. It looks like the organizers may not have registered the domain ahead of time...here's hoping they planned ahead for '08 and beyond.

But then again, planning is not what this event is all about. The SSWC is much more of a grassroots event in celebration of bikes, beer, and fun. This year the event will be held in Scotland. So how was Scotland chosen over all other locations in the world? A secret ballot? A proposal by cities around the world presented to the single speed governing body?

Quite simply, the venue was chosen because the Scot's won a drinking game. According to British Trails:

At the 2006 World Singlespeed Championships in Stockholm, Sweden the decision for the host location of the 2007 SSWC was made over a drinking game. The right to host the event was apparently won in the bar by the Scottish contingent.

If you want to know more about how the winner of the SSWC race gets a tattoo instead of a trophy, or what Go-Karts had to do with the outcome of the race in 2005, or just generally want to know more about the history of the event, check out the SSWC entry in Wikipedia.

Photo from Chris Milliman.

Intense 5.5 29er - raising the bar

Intense is wasting no time pushing the envelope on the big-wheeled platform. Hot on the heels of the Intense Spider 29, which made it's debut at Interbike '06, Intense is already working on the 29er version of it's popular all-mountain "5.5" model bike.

Intense is sharing information about the bike as it is designed through the popular MTBR.com forums. Smart move as it allows them to get real time feedback from riders and make adjustments before it rolls out this upcoming Spring.

The bike will sport the White Brothers Fluid 130mm fork and will have 5.75 inches of rear travel. A medium sized frame weighs in at a svelte 28 pounds.

Here are some of the preliminary specs:

• White Bros. Fluid 130 mm fork
• XTR hubs with 20 mm front axle
• 180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear
• 71.5 Head Angle
• 73 Seat angle
• 18.25 inch chainstay
• 13.25 inch BB height
• 5.75 inches of rear wheel travel

There's some chatter on the boards about the steepness of the head angle for a bike that is meant to bomb down hills. I swear, some people are writing about the handling of this bike as though they have already ridden it. It's obvious some of these people have not yet read Guitar Ted's tutorial on head angle and fork trail.

Anyway, I'd love to get a ride on this baby, though I'm not sure my riding style would do it justice.

Here are two threads from MTBR with more info on the bike:

• Original announcement
• Update with pictures

Ensuring the humility of a bicycle blogger

Get this. We're getting ready to go out to an informal neighborhood dinner party when Kgirl comes out of the bathroom in absolute hysterics. She was jumping up and down laughing wearing only a t-shirt and her thong. I'm thinking yum...let's get this party started! When all of a sudden I read the t-shirt slogan.

Oh you got me good my love. You do realize that you just raised the stakes. I'll be kicking it up a notch so beware...when you least expect it.

By the way, she got the shirt from Kohls for only seventy-five cents.

Apparently the kids were in on the joke too. Everybody had a good laugh on dear old dad. We'll see if your on Santa's list next year kiddies.

Is this the best job in cycling?

VeloNews is looking for a new editor-in-chief. They think it may be the best job in cycling.

Wouldn't it be great if the publishers went out on a limb and hired a blogger instead of a magazine industry insider? Let's face it, print is waning in popularity, while the Web and blogging are still growing. Magazines will have to shift to an online strategy, as newspapers are now scrambling to do, if they want to survive long term.

Anyway, being the editor of a major cycling magazine does seem like a fun job.

What's your idea of the best job in cycling?

Declaring your single speed pride

Stolen from the Lunatic Biker.