Thursday, January 27, 2011

Fast, Not Cheap, And Under Eleven Pounds – 10.36 lb Parlee Road Bike


All we really know about this bike is what we see in front of us and what we can read on Cycle Zine. Oh right, and it weighs in at 10.36 lbs.
The bike is built up with all the craziness from THM-Carbones, AX Lightness, Lightweight, and of course, Sram.
More artfully executed photos by Puck Ananta and (most) component prices and weights after the break.


The bike is outfitted with a whole bunch of crazy stuff from THM-Carbones, including this 235 gram $700 fork (assuming this is the Scapula SP, but I can’t read what it says on the fork leg).





$1000 120 gram rear derailleur? Sure, why not?
 
When you have brakes and a rear derailleur that cost $1000 each, a $1400 crankset doesn’t seem all that absurd now does it? Especially when it weighs 410 grams.
 
Um, this brake set costs over $1000 itself…alone. Just the brakes.

The wheels are AX Lightness 42s – 930 grams, approximately $3300

From Steel; The Making Of A Soulcraft


FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

Do I need a custom steel bike?  No, but after a video like this, I WANT ONE!!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

GOPRO LCD VIEWING SCREENS SPOTTED IN THE WILD!


The helmet cam war is heating up. This latest crop of HD wearable camcorders, is no doubt the most user friendly, durable, and feature packed line of cameras that the consumer market has ever seen, but they all lack one crucial feature: screens. One of the most difficult parts of using a helmet camera, is trying to avoid aiming the camera so that you aren’t left with 45 minutes of footage staring at the ground or up at the sky. Without a reference as to what you are actually filming, a lot of times you get home and download your rad footage only to realize you framed the scene so that your buddy doing that crazy drop is missing his head. Don’t fret, help is on the way!

The add on screen revolution started when Contour dropped a bomb recently, after informing the public that any Contour HD GPS camera, was fitted with a secret Blue tooth chip that would allow users to broadcast footage from their camera directly to their smart phone. Pretty sweet, but it still has it’s ups and downs. This implies that users would require a smart phone with a Blue tooth connection that they would be willing to take with them on whatever adventure they are filming.  The upside is that with the camera positioned somewhere awkward, like on top of your helmet, you would be able to aim the camera properly while looking at your phone.

GoPro has chosen to go a different route and offer an LCD screen directly on the back of the camera.  While the knowledge of the introduction of a screen is nothing new, as they have been talking about it for months, Engadget’s coverage of the new screens at CES means they’re finally getting ready for their release to the public!

What does the screen mean for battery life? How does it attach? Find out after the break


Dubbed the BacPack by GoPro, the new screen simply plugs into the expansion slot on the back of current GoPro HD Hero cameras. Yes, unfortunately the new BacPacks are only compatible with the highest end GoPro HD Hero. While the other cameras are amazingly capable for those on a budget, they will miss out on the screen and the battery BacPack due to the lack of an expansion slot.

Wait, battery BacPack? Yup, if you feel that you would rather have the ability to film for twice as long and forgo the new screen, the new battery BacPack has you covered. Occupying the same space and attachment of the LCD BacPack, the battery will effectively double (at least) the total filming time. Add in a 16 or 32 gb SD card, and you could film 2+ hours of adventure without stopping, all in glorious HD.

Of course, with added bulk to the back of the camera, the waterproof housing needs to change, but only the rear door is modified. The new bump out will accommodate both  BacPacks, keeping them dry and protected, while it should still allow for easy removal and installation of the old door if you choose to run your GoPro without a backpack.