Magura Louise Carbon BAT Review

I have been using the very sweet Louise Carbon BAT brakes for just over three months, and they have turned out to be my current favorite stoppers. They are powerful, with good modulation, are quiet, fade resistant, highly tunable and have the bling carbon levers.

Camelbak The Don Review

Camelbak has released two new hydration packs for 2010 made specifically for the All Mountain and Freeride community. The Don (17.5L) and The Capo (11L) have the usual Camelbak features, along with the ability to carry full face helmets and body armor. I originally tested the 2010 Don, but Camelbak was nice enough to send along the 2011 Don (slightly tweaked over 2010), which had their brand new Antidote bladder system. The new Antidote is miles ahead of their previous bladder, and fixes many issues in their system, like the always frustrating fill port screw cap.

Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival 2010

I attended the first morning of the 2010 Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival in Leadville just the day before the Leadville 100 bike was to take place (Levi won). The 3 day event (Fri-Sun) was smaller than last year’s proceedings, which took place in Denver at the National Western Complex. The weather was just about perfect, with not a cloud in the sky, though it was slightly chilly for the vendors sitting in the shade.

Leadvile 100 2010

Levi Leipheimer wins 2010 Leadville 100

Levi Leipheimer stomped the competition in the Leadville 100, and broke Lance Armstrong's 2009 record by 12 minutes on his way to the win. Levi and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski stayed close together for quite while, keeping a blistering pace, and JHK also bested Lance's record and coming in for a respectable 2nd place, just 9 minutes behind Levi.

Rebecca Rusch came in 1st for the women with a record setting 7:47:35.2,  and she came in an amazing 22nd overall. In the single speed world,  Alfred Thresher came in 1st for the men with a 8:02:15.6 (29th overall), and for the women Kara Durland had a 10:57:58.8 (610th overall).  For Tandems Andy and Cara Applegate nailed a 8:42:14.0 (80th overall).

WTB Aviator Review

When I was at Sea Otter this year I was highly intrigued by the new to 2010 WTB Aviator saddle. This Freeride and Downhiller saddle means business, from its durable canvas cover, to its grippy sides, and beefy Cr-Mo rails. When I got a Yeti ASR 7 as a new test steed, it was time to place this beast into some action.

WTB Aviator
The Aviator comes in two models, the DH Race (which I tested) and the less expensive Comp. The DH Race is covered with a durable and tough canvas cover, abrasion resistant corners, grippy sides, a flex tuned shell with comfort zone cut out, and oversized 8mm Cromoly rails, while the Comp uses a synthetic cover and forgoes the special corners.

Yeti ASR 7 Review

I tested a Demo Yeti ASR 7 this past winter for five weeks that was built with their Freeride Part kit, and I was amazed how comfortable, controlled and useful it was for climbing and riding steep, rocky and technical terrain. This bike liked to fly! The suspension just soaks up ugly terrain, and it softly flows down a trail like it's floating on air. When climbing steep and/or rocky terrain, the rear end sticks like glue, and it climbs like a cross country bike, and not a 32 lb behemoth with 7 inches of suspension. The ASR 7 is a cross country bike pretending to be an All Mountain, and vice versa.

GoPro HD HERO 960 - News Flash

GoPro will be announcing an entry level $179 version of it’s award winning HD HERO™ camera. The HD HERO 960 incorporates the same image and sound quality that has made the original HD HERO the camera of choice for more athletes and filmmakers than any other sports camera in the world. The HD HERO 960 will launch this Fall in retail stores around the world and online at gopro.com for $179.99 (USA MSRP).  

Look for GoPro at the industry's premier trade shows this season including Outdoor Retailer, ASR, SEMA, PRI, Surf Expo and Interbike.

About GoPro

Based in Half Moon Bay, California, GoPro is the world's leading activity image capture company.  Since 2004, GoPro has been designing cameras and accessories that make it easy for people to capture images and video during their favorite activities. Its products include the patented HERO line of shockproof, waterproof wearable cameras and gear-attachment devices. www.gopro.com

Be a HERO…. GoPro.

Per Rick Loughery of GoPro

Vincero Design Magnetic Water Bottle System Review

Occasionally, something a bit different, unique and intriguing comes along in the bike world, and one of that is the Vincero Design magnetic water bottle system. The system is comprised of a water bottle with a slot (female) on one side that has an embedded magnet, and it mates to a magnetized rail mount (male) which is attached via the water bottle bosses to the bike. The slot and the rail align with each other, and the strong magnetic pair keeps the bottle securely attached.