Reviewed by Brian Mullin aka Gram and MTBR.com Pastajet

I don’t think it was inconsequential that the first bike I saw and rode at the 2007 Interbike Outdoor Demo was the Moots Mooto-XZ. The titanium 29er with 4 inches of suspension caught my eye and pretty much drew me in like a magnet, “Test me please! Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” It was a standout ride at the Interbike Demo days and it won my ‘Best Ride of the Show’ award. I decided that I needed to do an in-depth review of the bike to truly do this beauty some justice. I contacted Moots about doing a long term test and they agreed to send me a demo bike. After a couple of months the Mooto-XZ showed up on my doorstep, just in time for my winter vacation to California, sort of an early Christmas present. Thanks to Cathy at Moots for giving me the opportunity to test out their bike. I was really looking forward to spending some quality time on this bike and getting a feel for its potential, assets, deficits and its idiosyncrasies. In my case that could be called idioTsyncrasies but I digress. This was of course going to be a brutal and honest review no matter how much I liked the bike. I wanted to show warts and all, even if they were titanium warts. “It’s not a tumor.” Read the rest of this entry »

Waterloo, WI

This Saturday’s Tara Benefit Jam hosted at Rye Airfield in Rye, NH will feature a poster signing by Cam McCaul, Trek’s Freeride Phenom. With the purchase of each $3 signed poster, Trek will donate an additional $12. That means that for every poster purchased, Trek will donate $15 to the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fund.

“Tara’s injury struck a chord with me personally,” said Michael Browne, Trek’s MTB Brand Manager, “and I’ve been looking for a way to offer support. When Kyle Ebbett announced his efforts to organize the Tara Benefit Jam, Cam jumped on board. And when Cam told me about it, I knew Trek had to get behind it. This is just a great way to help out a fallen rider who needs every bit of support our community can offer.”

“After so many years racing and competing, I just feel it’s my responsibility to organize this event,” says Ebbett, reflecting on why he decided to get riders together for the competition. “And I love Tara – she’s a super incredible person who’s respected everywhere. I hope for a ton of awareness, and I hope to raise a ton of money. And I know it will succeed, because who doesn’t like to watch Cam McCaul ride?”

The event takes place on February 23rd. The competition starts at 9 pm, but poster sales will be happening prior. Anyone interested in attending can visit www.ryeairfield.com for more details.

source: Michael Browne

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/

Anaheim, CA - CHUMBA is now offering a wheelset for aggressive all mountain and light freeride usage. The rims are 28mm wide with 32 holes. This is not a wheelset for weight-weenies, as the front hub is also convertible to accomodate a 20mm axle - and the front axle comes standard at 9mm, and the rear axle at 10mm. The weight comes in at around

4.5lbs.

The wheelset also makes use of high-quality cartridge bearings and has a smooth flow to them. Further, the steel freehub ensures durability. The wheels retail at $299.00, making them not only high-quality, but affordable.

For more information - or to order - call 1-800-706-0760 or e-mail sales@chumbaracing.com.

VANCOUVER, WA–(MARKET WIRE)–Feb 19, 2008 — Fitness leader Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS - News) has agreed to sell its Pearl iZumi apparel and footwear segment to Shimano American Corporation, a division of cycling and fishing equipment provider Shimano, Inc. The transaction value of $69.5 million is comprised of $65.3 million in cash and the assumption of $4.2 million in long-term debt, and is subject to adjustment for net working capital. The transaction is expected to close by March 31, 2008, and is contingent upon normal regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

“We believe this divestiture is in the best interest of shareholders by providing liquidity and keeping our organization focused on restoring profitability to our global fitness business,” said Bob Falcone, President and CEO of Nautilus, Inc. “Pearl iZumi is an excellent brand of apparel and footwear for cycling and running. We are pleased to have found a strategic buyer in Shimano that values the brand as well as our talented apparel and footwear staff.”

Nautilus announced in October 2007 that its apparel business would be offered for sale. The Company acquired Pearl iZumi USA in 2005. Nautilus is being represented by Wachovia Securities.

About Nautilus, Inc.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS - News) is a global fitness products company providing innovative, quality solutions to help people achieve a healthy lifestyle. With a brand portfolio including Nautilus®, Bowflex®, Schwinn®Fitness, StairMaster®, and Universal®, Nautilus manufactures and markets innovative fitness products through direct, commercial, retail, and international channels. Formed in 1986, the company had 2007 sales of $502 million. It has 1,450 employees and operations in Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Virginia, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, China, Australia and other locations around the world. Website: www.nautilusinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, including statements concerning the divestiture of the Pearl Izumi USA segment of Nautilus, Inc. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include failure or delay in receiving regulatory approval and the inability or failure to satisfy certain conditions to closing of the transaction, some of which are not within Nautilus’ control. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

source: http://au.us.biz.yahoo.com/iw/080219/0363268.html

source: Trisha Petrella, Norco Performance Bikes

It’s February. Normally at this time each year I am skiing or sitting in a cold, damp university classroom - but not this February. This February (thus far) has been full of sun, skateparks, bikes, and beaches. Why you ask? Because I’m in California!!!

I decided to escape the dreary Vancouver Island winter this year and come down to the land of lap dogs, bleach blondes, and vanity (yep, I’m in LA) to see if I could spend more time on my bike than I could at home (which is bound to happen because it’s too cold to ride at home).

So far it’s been working out great. I drove down with my friend Toni and we took a few days to see the sights and some friends along the way in Portland, San Francisco, and Morro Bay. Although I’ve done that drive a few times, I always forget how long it really takes. I’m dreading the trip home for that reason alone!

Anyways, I’m here now and I’ve been insanely busy since I first rolled in. I first went to visit my sponsors who are based out of Cali - Oakley and Etnies - and then began my mission. Ride till I drop!

source: Trisha Petrella, Norco Performance Bikes

MONTEREY, Calif. With only months to go before BMX racing makes its much-anticipated debut at the Olympics, fans can get a live look at BMX racing at the Sea Otter Classic over the weekend of April 19-20. It comes as no surprise that the majority of Olympic hopefuls hail from California, since influential grassroots organizations like Golden State BMX exist to heighten competition. Produced through a partnership with Golden State BMX, Sea Otter’s BMX event will be a California State Series qualifier to help racers in their quest for a berth on the state team.

“BMX started in California so it does have a lot of history there,” Mike Day (GT/Red Bull) said. “It’s the easiest place to ride, it’s got the best weather and you can train year round. Sea Otter is known as such a big event so bringing back BMX, it’s just another way to get everyone together to race.”

Day is one of the United States’ top BMX racers who will take aim at a podium finish in Beijing. He is currently ranked fourth in the nation.

To keep things interesting for racers who competed in last year’s BMX debut event, a new course designer, Eric Bress, has been brought in to build this year’s course.

“I can’t say if the course will be the same,” said Mary Garcia, co-commissioner of NBL California. “There are certain parameters, like a downhill start and it will be in the same location as last year.”

A typical BMX racecourse will feature step-ups, tabletops, double jumps, berms, hairpin turns, and straightaways. No two tracks are alike although they can have similar obstacles.

Racers start from a dead standstill poised atop their bikes with the front wheel inserted into a starting gate that holds eight racers. Once the gate is dropped, racers sprint to gain the greatest position heading into the first turn or jump. Depending on the total number of racers, competitors will likely race several times in one day to qualify for each successive heat. Each race lasts no more than a couple minutes.

Construction of the new course will begin the last week in March.

What you need to know about racing BMX at the Sea Otter Classic:

Located at Turn 5 of the Laguna Seca raceway, BMX racers will enjoy a sweet race venue featuring a custom, NBL-designed competition track. The Sea Otter BMX is a preview of BMX racing as an Olympic sport. There are two races - one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Both days features the open wheel category to encourage mountain bikers to try BMX - or in some cases return to their BMX racing roots. Both the Saturday and Sunday races are part of the NBL Golden State BMX Championship Series. All 2008 NBL classes will be run - 2008 classes can be seen at www.nbl.org For more information, go here

For those who have never experienced a BMX race, don’t blink or you’ll miss it! Here are a few key terms to know about BMX:
BMX: Bicycle Motocross- bicycle racing.
Chunk: as in sprocket chunk, a stall in the sprocket and chain area.
Holeshot: in a BMX race, getting the lead right out of the starting gate.
NBL: National Bicycle League. The sanctioning organization for BMX in the US. Affiliated with USA Cycling.
Rollers: small dirt mounds on a race track meant to be rolled over at high speed.
Tabletop: a type of double dirt jump where the area between the takeoff on the first jump and the landing on the second is filled in with dirt.

Get ready to be impressed as racers start from a dead standstill and explode out of the gates with a power more closely related to drag racing. Try to pick out the best gate and the best lines, ask questions and prepare yourself for the Games because BMX will be the one to watch in Beijing!

The Sea Otter Classic BMX events will take place throughout the day on Saturday, April 19 starting at 9 am and continue on Sunday, April 20 from 9 am until 4 pm. For a racing schedule and more information, visit: www.seaotterclassic.com

If you still haven’t signed up for a media credential, sooner is better since there is a limited number of credentials available to qualified media. To apply for media credentials, visit: http://www.seaotterclassic.com/index.cfm/media_credentials.htm

About Sea Otter Classic, Inc.
The 18th Annual Sea Otter Classic will be held April 17-20, 2008 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA. The four-day “Celebration of Sport” is considered the world’s largest cycling festival, hosting nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and 50,000 fans. The Sea Otter Classic benefits the Davis Phinney Foundation, which supports Parkinson’s disease research and wellness, and IMBA California, which organizes advocacy and trailbuilding efforts statewide and strengthens California mountain bike clubs. More information can be found at www.seaotterclassic.com or by calling 800-218-8411.

source: Sea Otter Classic News Service

- More Bike Parks, More Bikes means More Fun at Kona-sponsored Venues Around World -

KONAWORLD (February 13, 2008) – Since 1998, when we joined forces with Whistler Resort in British Columbia to create the first Kona Groove Approved Bike Park, we have been the leader in developing exciting, sustainable bike parks throughout the world. And we haven’t stopped. This year we have added four new Groove Approved venues to our dirt-filled quiver.

In the U.S., Kona has joined forces with the oldest bike park in the world - Mammoth, CA. Boasting 90 miles of trails, 3,000 feet of vert, guided bike tours and full rental bike service, Mammoth Bike Park is equipped for adventure in 2008. Offering riding for all ability levels, the new bike park also includes a shuttle, two gondolas and two chairlifts.

In addition, we have established three new European bike parks in Klappen, Sweden, Leysin, Switzerland and La Molina, Spain. Situated in the Pyrenees and developed by the Misser brothers, the La Molina bike park features a gondola, seven DH and XC trails boasting 2,000 feet of vert, four-star hotels and stellar rental bikes. This year, the resort will host the Open Bike Parks Pirineus and Territorio Hermida events.

With the grand ushering in of our proud new Kona Bike Parks, the sites
join an elite worldwide group that includes Bardonecchia, Italy; Canada Olympic Park, Canada; Verbier, Switzerland; Les Gets, France; Levi, Finland; Leogang, Austria; Snowshoe, USA; Mt. Buller, Australia; Tamarack, USA; Killington, USA; Livigno, Italy; Panorama, Canada; Gravity, Bolivia; Winter Park, USA; and Whistler.

And continuing where we left off last year, our rental bike fleets at both our Kona Groove Approved Bike Park and Kona Bike Park programs will feature a wide variety of Garbanzo bikes for the young and not-so-young. For those fearless mini-rippers who have endless energy and stay out from dawn til dusk, the programs offer the specifically-designed Garbanzo 2-4 and Shred 2-0. Older riders can saddle bikes like the Garbanzo Stinky SC, Garbanzo Supreme, Garbanzo Shred dirt jumper and the XC-slayer Garbanzo Dawg. Bikes will vary at each venue.

Within the last year, our Kona Groove Approved Bike Parks have been the sites for world-class competitions. Consisting of DH, XC, 4X and DJ areas, some of the comps included the Kona 24hr event (Levi); Out-of-Bounds Weekend and 26Trixs events (Leogang); Nissan Big Air (Livigno), Crankworx Colorado and Whistler, as well as numerous World Cup events. This year Nissan will be sponsoring our European Bike Parks and will assist with event support, trail signage and promotional items, and much more to help improve the riders experience. As always, officials from ALL Kona Bike Parks will meet once a year to discuss important topics such as Bike Park alliances, trail guidelines, marketing, and more to ensure the most consistent and best service possible.

The Kona Bike Park Passport is back for 2008 too. If you’re interested in Kona bikes and sweet deals (you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t) then there’s a Passport out there waiting for your signature. Included with the purchase of all 2008 Kona bikes, the Passport is your bridge to full descriptions of all Kona Groove Approved Bike Parks, aswell as discounts at each venue that include hotels, restaurants and lift
passes.

For more info on Kona’s Bike Parks, the Kona Groove Approved Bike Park program and individual parks can be found at www.konaworld.com and www.konabikeparks.com.

About the Kona Bicycle Company:
The Kona Bicycle Company designs, manufacturers and distributes more than 60 models of purpose-built, high-performance mountain, road and urban bicycles. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Ferndale, Washington, USA, Kona bicycles are distributed worldwide in more than 60 countries through independent specialty bicycle dealers. Kona funds several professional road, mountain and cyclo-cross racing teams that include World Cup Champions, World Champions and National Champions. For more information check www.konaworld.com or contact Keith Cozzens at Base Camp Communications, kcozzens@basecampcomm.com or 307.734.7575.

source: Keith Cozzens

World’s longest mountain bike route showcased with bike tours, guidebook, races, and magazine feature

Missoula, Mont. — The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2008 with an epic guided ride, an updated guidebook, two monster races, and a special issue of Adventure Cyclist magazine. The longest mountain bike route on the planet, the GDMBR traces the spine of the Rocky Mountains for a whopping 2,711 miles in its entirety, following primarily dirt roads and tracks from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, at the Mexican border.

In honor of the GDMBR’s 10th Anniversary, Adventure Cycling offers its first-ever guided ride of the entire Great Divide route (June 15 to September 5) including the Banff-to-Montana Canadian extension. This tour promises to be an 82–day dream ride through some of North America’s wildest and most spectacular landscapes. Bite-sized tours are also available on scenic stretches of the route in Colorado and Canada.

Rider’s looking to experience the route on their own should check out the freshly updated version of Cycling the Great Divide, a comprehensive guidebook to the GDMBR written by Adventure Cycling’s Michael “Mac” McCoy. Adventure Cycling also offers map sections for the route featuring turn-by-turn directions, campground locations, and the best re-supply points along the way.

For superhumanly fit cyclists looking to get in on the GDMBR’s 10th Anniversary action, there are two ultimate racing challenges taking place on the route this summer. The fifth-annual Great Divide Race kicks off on June 20, following the GDMBR from the Canadian to Mexican borders. (Last year’s winner, Jay Petervary, completed the route in a jaw-dropping 15 days.) The Tour Divide is new this year and its website encourages riders to “celebrate the 10th anniversary of the GDMBR.” Like the Great Divide Race, the Tour Divide is entirely self-supported, with riders carrying everything they need on their bikes or backs, but it ups the ante by starting a week earlier, on June 13, in Banff and includes the GDMBR’s Canadian section for an additional 221 miles of riding. Adventure Cycling is not officially involved in either race but encourages all riders of the route.

To cap off the anniversary events, Adventure Cyclist’s July 2008 issue will be devoted to inspiring stories from and practical advice for the route. Essays by Mac McCoy, the GDMBR’s principal architect, and other luminaries will look back at the route’s first decade, while Adventure Cyclist Deputy Editor Aaron Teasdale gives his account of riding the Canadian section and presents a special section, “Gear for the Great Divide.”

For more information on the GDMBR, story ideas, or high-resolution digital images, contact Aaron Teasdale at 800-755-2453 x237 or ateasdale@adventurecycling.org.

source: Adventure Cycling

With only a few weeks left to find the perfect gift why not look no further than fashion house ‘My-Alibi’

The sisters, Abbie & Moriah from Inverness, California have created a technical, fashionable product that women can use on a daily basis.

With a Bachelors degree in fine arts, and a Pro Mountain Bike racer, Abbie conceptualizes the line while Moriah’s degree in fashion design brings the pieces to life.

Born out of the lack of choice for women My-Alibi has huge plans for the future. With more and more women cycling, manufacturers will have to look to brands like My-Alibi for inspiration on ‘What Women want’

“The functionality of cycling shorts is perfect, sadly once you arrive at you location you have to stand around in spandex and 90% of women are not comfortable with this,” comments Abbie.

My-Alibi offers the ‘Bloomer’ short that can be used with normal items of clothing, jeans, skirts, shorts or capris.
Made from the finest race quality chamois and high end Italian Lycra. They are low waist fit and sized 4, 6, 8,10. Coming from the Italian fashion quarter the quality can be compared to high-end brands like Prada.

The Bloomer is ideal for spin classes or commuting to work. Just about any application we can think of that involves sitting down we see a place for the bloomer. Horse Riding!!

Why not show your partner this Valentines that you have her comfort and fashion needs at the top of your list, or simply send a mystery gift!

Go to www.my-alibi.com for more information.

source: David Hemming