Here is an unscientific, apples-to-oranges comparison of Google Trends search volume over the last 12 months for “fixed gear” in blue vs. “road cycling” in red:

There are lots of interesting things here, but two that jump out at me are how much of a bump “road cycling” gets during the Olympics around point C relative to volume during the Tour de France in July, and how quickly it falls off afterwards.

I’ll be writing more soon about the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League but here’s information about their upcoming benefit weekend in Marin:

• Friday evening cocktail party featuring Levi Leipheimer
• Saturday evening gala dinner and auction
• Sunday group ride with Levi

The league is a really amazing program - get out and support it!

Lots and lots of goings-on at Interbike. It was a long couple of days. I’m not at the point yet where I have actual coherent thoughts but when I do, I’ll post them. Here are some things that were part of the experience.

And these guys:

10 Degrees Latitude from Neal Mueller on Vimeo.

As I learned from writing the Zipp catalog, the technology that goes into modern race wheels is amazing… and the prices reflect that. But now you can rent a $2000 wheelset for 100 bucks from Echappe Equipment. Well, insurance is $40, a cassette is another $10, and shipping is based on FedEx rates. Carbon-specific brake pads add $52 and you probably need ‘em if you don’t already have carbon wheels, which is probably the case since that’s what you’re renting. So it’s more like you’re getting a $2000+ wheelset for $200+ for the first day, plus another $25 per day after that.

Stilll, it’s a compelling option for a lot of folks, especially semi-serious age group triathletes who base their seasons (lives?) around a couple of race days. And if I’d rented some tubulars, I wouldn’t have pinch flatted a third of the way into the Heartbreak Hill GP that I dragged my bike across the country for (see Cat 3 results)

Kadisco friend/client MASH blogs:

We updated the MASH site today with new videos, 500 information links, a photo archive, a press archive, oh and Lance fucking Armstrong!

Right on. Have fun buying the Tour. (more thoughts on that tomorrow)

I don’t usually geek out about bike parts, but this is really cool: the 3-speed fixed gear hub from Sturmey Archer. Apparently these were big for British time trialists back in the day. There are 134 comments on Sturmey’s blog post, so apparently I’m not the only one excited.

via BikeRadar

Here’s a screenshot from Cyclingnews that I noticed while researching the next ROAD column.

(no, this does not mean that the bikes are put away.)

I suppose Trek has had a number of great ideas, although this might be my favorite: a bike parts vending machine stocked with tubes, tire levers, water bottles and such. Here’s a prototype installed near their HQ in Madison, Wisconsin. In general, Trek is has a major commitment to making bicycles more accessible to the average person. It’s a forward-thinking strategy, even though their competitors might also benefit from Trek’s efforts to grow the market.

via PSFK, via Treehugger

The project that I’ve been working on with SRAM for the last two months reached a big milestone this week. The Road Diaries went live! The site itself is a multi-author, multimedia blog written by the SRAM road team. We’ll be producing exclusive behind-the-scenes content that we’ll upload at events using mobile technology to give it a real-time, immediate, personal feel. We’re focusing a lot on video and will be using Kyte to broadcast live, interactive shows.

We’ll have content from the Tour de France with SRAM teams Saunier Duval-Scott and Agritubel over the next three weeks, plus some other big interviews coming up. Stay tuned.

The Road Diaries RSS feed

I came across this 1988 catalog, Zipp’s first, while I was getting underway with a new project. I’ve been thinking and writing lately about the recent proliferation of color options in the bike industry, so it’s ironic to see a 20-year-old wheel that was available in blue, white, yellow and red. Pretty cool, no?

Michael Z from SRAM was telling me in Philly about a private fundraiser for Barack Obama that was organized by Stan or F.K. Day. (I forget which, sorry guys). It turns out that at the event, Obama promised to “increase funding for cycling and pedestrian projects,” according to Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. My girlfriend pointed out that it’s just another example of money driving politics, but at least money is driving politics in the right direction.

Anyways, something in the BRAIN article that jumped out at me was Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) saying that “it’s important for [the bike] industry to understand that it is a force.” Even in a strong economy, the rising cost of gas alone would make cycling more attractive. But when the economy’s bad, everything else that makes cars so expensive becomes more of a concern for drivers: car payments, insurance, repairs, etc. Then there’s the whole “green” thing, which is quickly becoming a mainstream value. Also, urban living is coming back into style and bikes are getting to be pretty fashionable.

Those are powerful economic, social, and cultural forces coming together that favor the use of bicycles, so it’s smart for Obama to align himself now with the bike industry and show everyone that it’s ok to look dorky on a bike.

picture via LAist

I caught the final Giro d’Italia broadcast on Versus today. Liggett and Sherwin tried their best to add some drama to the race for the pink jersey but there was really no chance of Alberto Contador losing time to Ricardo Ricco in a flat time trial. It was great to see SRAM going 1-2 overall!

Whenever I watch cycling on TV, I keep a running list of who’s advertising. A lot of the spots go to advertisers that make broader buys on Versus, but Cyclysm Sundays is clearly a target for a few brands. Hampton Hotels, whose USOC push also includes a sponsorship of USA Cycling, was a sponsor of the broadcast and had plenty of spots. Because grass is green, Scotts sponsored a “Green Jersey Update” covering the Giro’s KOM jersey. Specialized was the only Versus advertiser from the bike industry, with spots featuring Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini. I noticed that Garmin sponsored the Giro itself, with good signage around the time trial start house. Then there was Captain Morgan as a broadcast sponsor.

Cycling makes sense for the first four brands. Hampton and Scotts presumably like the demographics. Specialized and Garmin make applicable products. But Captain Morgan? I understand why they’d sponsor a contest to party at the Playboy Mansion on Halloween, but I’d love to hear the rationale for their interest in cycling. If anyone from Diageo is reading this, hit me up!