We use Slack as our workplace communication tool at Pinkbike and we have a #randoms channel which we use to share an assortment of videos and stories from all corners of the cycling world and beyond... We thought a couple of the moments from the past week were too good not to share with a wider audience, so here are some of the highlights.
Adidas' Off-Road ShoeHot on the heels of its
soccer/commuter Velosamba shoe released in March this year, Adidas has now revealed an off-road cycling shoe for the first time. As it's name suggests, The Gravel Cycling Shoe is more aimed at fireroad mile munchers than out-and-out mountain bikers but this does show Adidas is willing to offer footwear for a wide variety of riders. Who knows, maybe an iconic, sticky flat pedal shoe is on the way next? /s
Cycling Tips reports that like pretty much every other shoe of the category, Adidas’s offering features a two-bolt SPD pattern on the sole. The upper is made of Primegreen recycled materials, and Adidas promises “no virgin polyester” has been used in the construction of them. The sole is synthetic with TPU ‘walking pods’ and there's also a cuff to keep out trail debris.
The shoes are available in a number of markets and priced at $170 / €180 but given they were released a short while back, there's probably not much chance of you hunting down a pair now.
Road Rage in AustraliaHere's one of the more shocking road rage videos we've seen in a while. We don't know what lead up to the incident but there's no justification for this driver driving into a cyclist and crushing his bike in the process. At the risk of our bias showing, this seems closer to assault or attempted murder than the "moment of madness" described by the local news reporter.
BMW's Overpowered Concept eBikeBMW has released a concept ebike that makes most of its competitors look anemic by comparison. The i Vision AMBY features a number of top-level mountain bike components (including Intend suspension) and a whopping 2,000Wh battery that give a range of 300km. Of course, it's not exactly legal in its current form.
Using an accompanying smartphone app, riders can choose between the European legal 25 km/h (15.5 mph) speed, a second speed-pedelec mode that reaches 45 km/h (28 mph), and a new high-speed-pedelec mode that ups the ante to 60 km/h (37 mph).
So why have BMW made an ebike that needs to be licensed and insured to be legal anywhere in the world? Well, this is more about legislation than a viable product. The German car manufacturer said, “In the absence of any existing legal framework for a vehicle of this kind with a modular speed concept, the “AMBY” Vision Vehicles set out to prompt the introduction of such legislation and, by consequence, developments of this nature.”
Basically, the car industry has seen the success of ebikes and wants a slice of that pie too but it knows that the bike industry already has a decent head start under the current rules, so instead it’s jockeying to change them. For a deeper dive into this legislation battle, there's
an in-dept piece on cyclingindustry.news, here.
The UCI's Funny Looking Mountain BikesThe UCI revealed a swanky-looking new website recently and it has made life much easier for us covering the events at Snowshoe but they didn't quite get everything right. The 'Mountain Bike' section link definitely features bikes being ridden in the mountains but looks a bit closer and...
..Oops.
Messing About on Boards in the WoodsBikes aren't the only tool to get rad on in the woods as these two videos show. Firstly 50to01's Max Nerukar got on the homepage of Thrasher with this ATV skateboard part, then there's Benny Milam's Summer Dream snowboard part in the thawed woods of Wisconsin.
Travis Pastrana's Terrifying POVFrom World Cup Downhill winning runs to huge Rampage drops, we watch a lot of POV videos here at Pinkbike but not many are as terrifying as Travis Pastrana's record time up Mount Washington.
Ecuadorian Soapbox RacingSpeaking of scary POVs, this one is from a soapbox race on the streets of Ecuador and sees the rider launching off speed bumps and hitting 50mph. THere's a great deep dive into the racing culture on
The Drive, here.
Outside+
Get the led out, Smurthwaite
Yeah, especially along the esplanade
Any person that seeks to run over anyone with a car, is a complete f*ckwit...end of story.
Stepping on the gas if a person is in front of your 3000 lbs death machine is attempted manslaughter.
I really hope the driver got charged.
You're just a coward. It's such a cowardly act to run someone over with a car, and you've premeditated it, publicly.
Arseholes like you only threaten such things because you know that your victim will end up crippled or dead, and unable to fight back.
If you weren't such a coward, you'd run a person over with your bicycle.
At least they might survive.
Have to be a pretty sour Joe if either of those offended you.
I think it's much better this way.
This video explains how he used the iRacing game to help. They just released a laser scanned version of the track. iRacing isn't going to make him faster, but it does help to learn the track when limited track time is available.
Also modern safety equipment in these cars is the real deal. Even back in 2012, Jeremy Foley almost had a worst case scenario crash. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdC1Yi3OG8. Probably lucky he had slowed slightly for a corner before going off. That is as oppose to...
Ott Tanak's crash inn Monte Carlo, that was a big oopsie at almost 90mph. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFEjdvUdWyM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEuZG37gFdM
Hill climb like excitement but downhill.
And BMW bike owners are pissing themselves laughing at this from astride their GSs
Why try and produce a cargo bike free from insurance or a driving license, and limit yourself to 25kmph with a range of maybe 80-100 miles on a charge as a result, when BMW will do one that goes up to 60-70kmph with a 300+ mile range that is available for lease?
*Looks down at speedometer.... 30 miles an hour....
Skateboarders should make peace with helmets, though.
Maybe they meant $300 wheels?
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