Magura Thor Review

I have been riding the new Magura Thor 140mm All Mountain fork for almost 5 months now, and have had it in all sorts of terrain, and have been able to compare it against several competing forks, and I must say it is an exceptional fork.

And I command thee to kneel
Before the
God of thunder and rock and roll
The spell you're under
Will slowly rob you of your virgin soul

Big Snowstorm of 2009

The Front yard

After having many weeks of very nice 60-70 degree weather, we finally got a big snow dumper for this year. I got around 10 inches at my house, but with the wind there were a lot of 2 foot drifts, which sometime were right next to dry ground!

We have had a very dry winter so far, and a lot of trails was bone dry, which could have given us some fire problems soon. I was liking having the ability to go up on some of my high foothills trails, it allows me to do some rides almost a month earlier than usual. It will be several weeks before I can get back to them since the 14+ inches up in Monument along with the large drifting will make them impassable.

In the morning I did some snow blowing of the driveway, the sidewalk, and 3 neighbors sidewalks, and then it was time to get back to work. I am glad I have the ability to WAH (work at home).

At lunch when the sun came out, I thought it would be fun to ride around in the yard. It was fun in places, but the deep wind drifts were getting sticky and hard to plow through, although I tried my darnedest to punch them. I also did some video taping which I will edit tonight. I noticed that the VIO POV 1.5 video camera that I am testing gave some weird green shimmers in places, most likely due to the very bright conditions from the snow and sun.

The Back Yard - Pre Bike Ride

The Back Yard - Post Bike Ride

VIO POV 1.5 Review - Initial Impresssion

I received the new VIO POV 1.5 video camera last week and have gotten it out for a couple of rides. The unit comes in a very nice case that holds the camera head, and it's attached cable, the recording unit, a wireless remote control, and a whole slew of extra's. I really liked having the case to carry everything around, especially since it is not a one unit camera.


The small camera head has an attached video cable, in contrast to the POV 1.0 which had a detachable cable. The microphone for the camera is the small tab about midway along the cable.


The POV 1.5 has a new mounting system called the star mount. I used a stick-on Velcro to adhere to the top of my helmet. For some reason, the star mounts clamp's diameter was not small enough to hold the camera tightly, so I had to add a couple of small pieces of foam to keep everything taunt.


The recorder unit has a small video screen, a LED indicator light, and has 7 buttons for various setup and video functions. Running through the setup is really easy, and changing any of the parameters was intuitive. Watching an already recorded video was as simple as using your remote control on a home video system. It was really nice to be able to see what you actually recorded or get a view of what the camera is seeing.


On the bottom of the recorder unit, there is a compartment for 4 AA batteries. I really liked the easy open method for the battery compartment, just spread the wings open and then pull the lid off.


On one end of the recorder is the compartment for the SD card, an AV out, a microphone in and a mini USB out. Opening the compartment is a pain in the butt. First you unscrew the cover's screw, and then you have to pry open the compartment cover. It is hard to find a tool or implement that fits, and also one that does not mar the plastic as you pry it open. My fingernails are short and I do not carry coins with me, so I just sort of found it annoying. In addition, the SD card sits a bit to close to the upper wall of the compartment, and it is hard to grab the card to pull it out. I use a SD card reader, since they are extremely fast to download data from, so I am always pulling the SD cards from my video camera's.


The wireless remote control is a very nice accessory, which I wore on my left wrist for my current testing. You can start and stop the video, and tag sections you might want to remember when viewing later. The micro Velcro of the remote wrist band liked to stick to stuff, so after one ride I could not find it until I looked at my gloves, and it was stuck on their fabric!


The system is easy to hook up. I had left all the settings as defaults the first couple of rides, so I didn't change any of the setups, and I had already put the star mount system on my helmet.

I attached the video head to the star mount, clamped it on, then attached the video cable to the recorder, removed the lens cover, turned the recorder on, put my helmet on my head and then adjusted the camera's horizontal view by twisting the camera head body. This turned out to be something I learned by trail and error the first couple of outings, how to get the angle proper. I ended up using my hand held out horizontally in the lens view to get something to calibrate from, since a lot of terrain can be skewed to be used for calibration. The camera head has a small white line on it to orient the lens properly, but it still needed a bit of micro adjustment to get it aligned properly.


Then I put the recorder unit in my pack, left enough cable out so that it would not bind nor be too sloppy. Then when I was ready to start the ride I would click on the record button on my wrist remote, and away I went. The video cable was not noticeable when I was banging down tough trails, but I could feel the heft of the additional weight in the pack. The is not a light camera. I carry a lot of stuff with me anyway, so I am sure I will get used to the weight.

Weight (as I tested):
Remote control 28g
Camera head w/cable 147.3g
Recorder w/ rechargeable batteries and 8GB SD card 346g
Star mount 25.5g

Total: 546.8g or 1.2lbs

(batteries 116.2g)
(8GB SD card 2.4g)

Note: the batteries that came with the camera 94.5g vs rechargeable 116.2g

Therefore, how does the video look? Where you really notice the resolution is in the details. Rock outcroppings, tree's and the trail footprint is much more vivid and the clarity of objects is very clear. This can also cause things to look wild when you are flying along on a trail. The camera did have an occasional fit going in and out of extremely bright light and when dropping into deep shadows with the distant background was still bright it got very dark and murky.

On my last ride, I increased the resolution to the maximum of 720x480, the following video contains highlights from that ride.


VIO POV 1.5 from Brian Mullin on Vimeo.

The following video is side by side shots of the VIO POV 1.5 against the GoPro Hero, the POV is helmet mounted and the Hero is handlebar mounted, so there is a slight difference in that regard.

v-------------VIO POV 1.5-------------v v-------------GoPro HERO----------------v


POV 1.5 vs GoPro Hero from Brian Mullin on Vimeo.


VIO url: http://www.vio-pov.com/


Company Fodder:

DESCRIPTION
The POV.1.5 is a fully integrated point-of-view (POV) video system that's waterproof, dustproof, and shock-resistant. The system includes a mountable camera head, built-in video recorder, wireless remote and software for managing your point-of-view videos.

$ 649.95

Includes:

• POV.1.5 recorder with LCD display
• Wide Angle camera head 110 degrees
• LVDS Cable
• POV Manager software
• Wireless Remote Control
• 4GB SDHC Card
• USB cable

• Analog A/V cable
• Quick Start Guide
• 4 AA batteries
• Carrying Case
• Double-Hook and Loop Mount
• Star Mount

Features:

• High-quality wearable video camera records with 720 x 480 resolution at 30fps
• Ergonomic user interface design enables single-handed operation and hands-free video capture
• Modular mounting system provides camera stability while attached to helmets or other high impact gear
• Components are shock-resistant, water-resistant and dustproof for use in the most hazardous environments

Video:
Frame rates: 30fps, 25fps, 24fps, 15fps
Resolutions: 720x480, 720x400, 640x480, 360x240
Formats: MPEG4 AVI (DivX Codec) digital, NTSC/PAL analog
Exposure control: Automatic exposure control and white balance

Imaging Hardware:
Sensor: Advanced CMOS sensor with electronic global shutter
Dynamic range: 75dB to 110dB
Sensitivity: 5 lux color sensor (Sub 0.1 lux monochrome sensor)
Processor: 32 Bit MIPS processor, 12 Bit image

Optics:
Sensitivity: F/#2.0, Relative Illumination @full field 90%
Effective focal length: 2.97mm
Field of View: 110 degrees

Audio:
Mic type: omnidirectional cable-mounted, -40dB sensitivity at 1kHz
Resolution: 16-bit half duplex
Sampling rate: 32kHz
SNR: 80dB
Speaker: Monaural 8ohm mylar, 0.7W Max

Input/Output:
Recording capacity: Includes 4GB SD card, 8GB SD card capability
I/O Ports: SD card slot, USB 2.0 high speed (Mini -B), Mic-In, NTSC/PAL Analog TV/Audio Out

Showers Pass Mountain Elite Jacket Review

The Company
Showers Pass, known for its wind and waterproof cycling garments, was originally founded in 1998 in Arcata, California. In 2005, Ed Dalton took over the company, moved it to Oregon, and revamped the brand and the product line. They recently added Kyle Ranson as co-president, and consolidated to a new 6000 sq ft building in SW Portland. The company makes some incredible gear that is specific for the cycling community, and not some garment that was morphed from the backpack world into the cycling world. Their gear is for the serious cyclist who spends their time out in any weather, year round.

The name Showers Pass, comes from the same named mountain pass just inland in the foothills of Eureka California. Obviously, it is a place that the weather can be pretty wet and miserable fairly frequently due to the North Pacific storm systems, and an ideal place to test and own good inclement weather cycling gear.

Pedro's Tools - First Look

Pedros Tool Review
I got home this evening, and I got a treasure trove of tools from Pedro's to test out. Their Vise Whip was one of my choices for the top 5 things I saw at Interbike 2009, so I am looking forward to trying to tool out in action.


The Vise Whip replaces the chain whip tool that is used to remove or add a cassette to a hub. The chain whip was an ineffective tool, albeit a bit unwieldy. I cannot wait to see how it compares against the old method.



The Trixie is a multi tool for the fix gear rider, I will need to prod my fixed gear friends into to helping me test this one, or join the band wagon and swap one of my bikes to that dark world!


I don't recall this tool from the show, but this tool has T10, T25 and T30 Torx heads. This will be a nice addition to the tool I use, since having the ubiquitous T25 rotor bolt torx is essential on a modern mountain bike.



This is a sweet little torque wrench for those low torque bolts, such as stem bolts, seat bolts and anything that uses titanium or carbon fiber. I am looking forward to using this unit since it is always tough to use the proper feel to tightening down those stem bolts on carbon handlebars.

Delorme Earthmate PN-40 GPS: First Impression

Delorme Earthmate PN-40 Review
I have been using the Delorme Earthmate PN-40 GPS a couple of times over the last month, but it has a learning curve on how to use the unit, so I have been a bit slow in getting decent results from the unit. It is not quite the plug and play my simpler Garmin Edge 305 was.

The unit is meant for a pretty wide swatch of users and is not a bike oriented like the Garmin Edge series, so there is a lot of bells and whistles that I most likely will never use.

The PN-40 is a color GPS and an altimeter, and has a new chipset (32 channel STMicroelectronics GPS chipset) and faster processor (dual core). The PN-40 is ruggedly built, and is waterproof. The unit uses 2 AA batteries and comes with an onboard 1GB of flash memory and can accommodate up to 32GB SD cards of additional storage. The PN-40 is lightning quick getting satellites, it almost seems like it does it instantaneously.

You first install the Topo USA 7 software on your computer and then load the PN-40 with the appropriate topographic information for where you will be riding. I added an additional 8GB SD memory card to give me as much memory as I thought I would need for my usual 1-4 hours rides. The Topo USA 7 gives some pretty amazing and very sharp topographic images, albeit it is a very confusing and cumbersome interface to perform simple activities. You hook the unit up with their proprietary cable that is a USB to Deloreme plug. They should have used the mini USB standard instead, it's just another cable to have around.

After I figured out how to use the PN-40 the unit was much easier to use! You can either preload a route or use a track for navigation. I used the track navigation method, since I never know where I am going to go for a ride, it lets me just start a new trip, whenever I am ready.

I adjusted the display data to give me elevation, time, speed and distance on the bottom of the screen and the topographic map was on the top. I used the numerical data quite a bit while riding, but only glanced at the map on occasion to see where I was. The map was viewable most of the time, but going in and out of the tree's made it hard to read sometimes, so I might adjust the output on the next and see if that helps.

When I completed my ride, I hooked the unit up to the computer and uploaded the data to the Topo USA 7 software.


The PN-40 cradle for the bike is made by RAM Mount company for Delorme, and although once installed it is stout, it is a royal pain in the butt to install. It is extremely difficult to use this mount on oversize bars, and it uses these small screws and nuts to clamp with, which I dropped multiple times and almost lost them. You have to pry open the jaws of life to get the mount over the bike handlebars, and I was afraid that it would break while I was installing it. Then I ended up having to add a layer of athletic tape on the thinner section of my bars so that it would fit properly. Not quite the perfect fit the Garmin Edge system has integrated into their units.

I like the PN-40, it is tough sucker that has a lot of nice features and the Topo USA software is very sweet interface. The PN-40 does suck batteries quickly, so I am having to recharge my AA's after most rides, so I am looking into the optional rechargeable Lithium Ion pack to extend battery life during usage. I am looking forward to spending some more time with the PN-40.


Weights:

Earthmate PN-40 212.9g
RAM for bikes 77.6g