Vittoria opens new compound factory in Thailand

On January 22nd, 2013 in Bangkok (Thailand), Vittoria Industries Ltd. CEO Rudie Campagne and his partners, inaugurated a new compound factory.

Thanks to this new factory, Vittoria will be the first in the world to produce and use Graphene for the manufacture of bicycle tires and inner tubes compound. A state-of-the-art R&D lab has been dedicated to the tests on Graphene based bicycle tires compounds. First outcomes say benefits are countless. Vittoria and GEAX tires containing Graphene will then be produced through the owned factory in Thailand.

Bangkok – Thailand, January 22nd: Vittoria Industries Ltd. President and CEO Rudie Campagne and his partners cut the ribbon at the entrance of the new compound factory.

The new building has been dedicated to Claire Campagne, former Director of Global Marketing and Communication at Vittoria Industries Ltd. Claire has built ground for the actual Vision and Mission of Vittoria, bringing the holistic brand experience to "the next level”. At the entrance of the new building, all visitors will be welcomed by one of her most inspiring and touching quotes: 

“Those who do not believe in magic will never find it”.

She passed away too soon on March 13th, 2012. 

The “Claire Campagne Building” hosts one of the most innovative and world leading R&D center ever dedicated to the cycling industry. 11 million USD has been invested by Vittoria Industries Ltd. to make this possible. With its state of the art facilities, the new global center of excellence will be the “feather in the cap” of Vittoria Industries Ltd. The new global center of excellence is also the host of experiments and testing on Graphene nanotechnology, being applied to bicycle tires. 

Thanks to a Joint Venture with the Italian start-up Directa Plus - that developed a system, called G+, for the application of Graphene on a scalable way - Vittoria is the first and sole to produce and use this material in the world, in the bicycle industry. Vittoria Industries Ltd. holds the exclusivity of G+ for the whole 2 wheel sector. 

Graphene (single layer of carbon atoms) will thus be added to future Vittoria and GEAX inner tubes and tires compound. This will bring favorable features to bicycle tires, such as air-tightness, lower rolling resistance and better grip.

“Racing is casing! - said Rudie Campagne at the opening speech - With proper modesty we can proudly say that our casings are the lightest and probably the best in the world. This is the result of an almost 60 years long tradition of manufacturing cotton casings in Vittoria Italy plus many millions investments for very sophisticated production equipment and constant improvements by our R&D team. The next challenge is in compounds (...) this new Graphene technology will have numerous advantages for our tires and latex inner tubes (...) Graphene is the much needed breakthrough in bicycle tires.”

 
Profile
Vittoria Industries Ltd. leads a global operation, with its origins and Headquarter in the Bergamo area, Italy, near Milan. Founded in 1953, today’s Vittoria Industries Ltd. is the world's leading manufacturer of bicycle tires, with an annual production of more than 7 million tires and 900.000 famous tubular and cotton tires marketed under the reputed Vittoria and GEAX brands. Its own production facilities are based in Thailand and provide global sales and marketing network from North America (Oklahoma City & Boston) to Asia Pacific (Bangkok & Taiwan), and in Europe (Italy, Netherlands and Germany).

Giro Air Attack helmet

Décidément, 2013 sera une année axée sur l'aérodynamisme. Nous avons pu voir au cours des dernières semaines des cadres, des roues, des pneus ainsi que des casques qui repoussent les limites de l'aérodynamisme. Ces nouveaux produits qui, pour la plupart, ne seront disponibles qu'au printemps prochain, avancent pouvoir faire diminuer la trainée et ainsi nous faire aller plus vite pour un même effort. Mais qu'en est-il vraiment ?

Plusieurs sites web ont déjà présenté ces produits, nous vous en ferons un résumé et tâcherons d'apporter des informations complémentaires.

Débutons aujourd'hui avec le casque aéro de route Air Attack de Giro.

Le tout nouveau casque de route, Air Attack, pourrait vous faire gagner 17 secondes sur 40 kilomètres comparé au modèle Aeon de Giro. Offrant la plus faible trainée aérodynamique moyenne de tous les designs de casques de route, il a une apparence inhabituelle et seulement 6 aérateurs. À l'opposé, le Aeon a plus d'espaces vides que de mousse avec ses 24 aérateurs, mais, selon Giro, c'est cette coque externe rigide qui permet ce profil fendant l'air.

La configuration la plus aérodynamique inclue également une visière intégrée, appelée la visière Air Attack, qui se fixe au moyen d'aimants et qui peut se renverser pour être hors de la vue en cas de pluie, une addition plutôt rare pour un casque de route.

Les autres caractéristiques incluent des sangles légères, une boucle mince et des coussins anti-microbien X-Static. Pesé à 264 g en taille Médium, il faut ajouter un autre 32 g pour la visière.

La visière optionnelle se fixe à la coque au moyen de trois aimants et est conçue par Carl Zeiss. 

La ventilation demeure toujours un élément important pour les cyclistes sur route et Giro a relevé le défi en maximisant la conception des canaux internes du Air Attack - une approche similaire au modèle de contre-la-montre Selector. Il y a également le nouveau système de rétension Roc Loc Air qui aide à suspendre le casque en entier à 3 mm au-dessus de la tête du cycliste. En théorie, cette combinaison crée suffisamment d'espace à l'intérieur du casque, que l'air qui entre a tellement d'espace pour circuler que le casque n'est pas si chaud que cela.

En fait, Mark Riedy de Giro mentionne que les différences de pression et l'effet Venturi rendent le casque Air Attack aussi frais que si vous n'aviez pas de casque, basé sur les tests Giro, (le Aeon est supposément plus frais que rouler sans casque). Ceci étant dit, un tel mécanisme de refroidissement dépend également de la vitesse à laquelle le cycliste se déplace, le Air Attack ne représente peut-être pas le choix idéal pour grimper des côtes abruptes lors d'une journée très chaude.

Il y a également la question esthétique du Air Attack, élément que Riedy admet être une question de goût, mais qu'au bout du compte, la fonction primera sur la forme pour plusieurs coureurs.

"Honnêtement, je dirais que c'est un peu comme le Cervélo S5, lors de son lancement, il y avait beaucoup de gens qui disaient que ce vélo était laid. Il y a beaucoup de gens pour qui l'esthétique est très important, mais beaucoup ne le sont pas et comprennent qu'un peu plus d'aérodynamisme peu les mener beaucoup plus loin."

Parmi les premiers adeptes, nous retrouvons le sprinter de Rabobank, Mark Renshaw, qui a porté le tout nouveau Air Attack durant toute les étapes du Ster ZLM Toer GP Jan van Heeswijk aux Pays-Bas il y a deux semaines.

Sur les premières étapes du Tour de France, nous pouvons voir des coureurs des équipes Garmin-Sharp et Rabobank utiliser le casque Air Attack dont David Millar, Tyler Farrar et Mark Renshaw bien sûr !

Giro offrira le casque Air Attack en six coloris et la visière avec quatre options de teinte, disponibles en trois tailles. Les casques devraient être disponible au printemps 2013.

New product: Medical Data Carrier

OGC is now distributing Medical Data Carrier in Canada.

At Medical Data Carrier IM Inc. we are always asking two questions; what if? and then what?

What if, while participating in an activity or while working at the job, a loved one, family member, friend, co worker or employee was involved in an accident. Supposing that they are wisely wearing a helmet and that the helmet serves its purpose; to protect the head, what next.  There is a very real risk that the person will be scared, injured, disoriented, groggy, in shock, unconscious or worse. Not commonly know is the fact that improper helmet removal can result in collateral C-spine damage, paralysis or even death. Medical Data Carrier speaks for those who cannot speak.

We are a leading provider of on helmet medical and contact information systems. In fact the IM in our company name stands for Information Management. Our high visibility ID pouch and medical data form is simple, effective and cost efficient.  Our kit includes everything that you need to protect yourself, a loved one, your employees... anyone who wears a helmet. Why would you NOT want to make crucial medical and contact infomation readily available and give emergency responders or good samaritans precious time by having a Medical Data Carrier on all of your helmets?.

Our non-exotheric adhesive means that our Medical Data Carrier is safe on all helmet surfaces. Make your helmet a lifesaver...Today!  Stick it on and save a life.
Proudly made and packaged in Canada and the United States of America. 

MAKE YOUR HELMET A LIFESAVER... TODAY!™ 

Make sure that you and your family have personal and crucial medical data immediately available for emergency responders. 

The Medical Data Carrier  is a unique medical Information safety preparedness device that provides critical lifesaving information about a person/athlete in the event of an emergency.

The small, highly visible and aerodynamic Medical Data Carrier is affixed to the left side of the sports helmet.  The non-exothermic adhesive is safe on all helmet surfaces.  On the outside of the pouch, in bold, bilingual text, the Medical Data Carrier  warns non-medical bystanders not to try remove the individual\'s/athlete\'s helmet and to leave that critical task to trained medical responders.

Information about the identity of the athlete/person and their medical history including allergies, medications, blood type and pre-existing medical conditions will assist trained first responders to expedite the crucial triage stage of their care.  Emergency contact and medical plan information enables responders to notiy friends or family of the incident and to provide medical administration with relevant information.

Assurez-vous que vous et votre famille avez personnelles et crucial de données médicales immédiatement disponibles pour les intervenants d’urgence.

GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac & Remote

The awaited GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac and WiFi Remote are now available at an authorized retailer near you.

To find the nearest GoPro dealer.

Les très attendus écran BacPac WiFi et télécommande WiFi Remote de GoPro sont maintenant disponible chez un détaillant autorisé près de chez vous.

Pour trouver le détaillant GoPro le plus près.

Pink jersey and Silver shoes for Phinney!

Silver shoes, for the rider in pink!

Giro Privateer shoes review on Bicycling

Here's the review of the all-new 2012 Giro Privateer MTB shoes. 

Available in White and Black or in Black and also in High Volume (HV) in Black.

" A comfortable, effective off-road shoe, the Privateer proved itself through a fall filled with trail riding and 'cross racing. The shoe was especially impressive on loose, muddy run-ups, where the nylon outsole, with aggressive lugs, gave the shoes impressive bite, helping keep our balance and run just a little quicker than the other guys. The sole is more flexible than other shoes we've ridden recently, but still rigid enough to keep us pedaling efficiently down the trail. The fit is on the narrow side, especially through the mid-foot and toe box. Even so, we never felt cramped, even on longer hike-a-bike sections. The microfiber upper, with just a few mesh panels, was perfect for cooler fall weather, and did an impressive job at keeping our feet dry when splashing through creek crossings—it's also easy to clean, an important consideration if you opt for the white-and-black color scheme. Like most shoes in this price range, the closure is a simple arrangement: three straps, one with a buckle and two with Velcro. They all worked effectively, while the heel cup did an impressive job of keep our foot secure.—Andrew J. Bernstein "

bicycling.com

BMC new TT machine at Dauphiné

Here's some photos of a new BMC TT machine used by the BMC Pro Cycling Team at the Dauphiné.

To see more photos, visit:

velonews.competitor.com

BMC TF01 Carbon teaser video

Switzerland - Check out the new BMC TF01 carbon Trailfox. 150mm of travel and super light. The trails run down from Magglingen to Biel, and you can use the funicular railway as an uplift.

BMC Trailfox TF01 Carbon — product launch Switzerland from Mountain Bike Rider on Vimeo.

The super-fast girl is Michelle Hedigger - Swiss XC champion.

She's a talent and only 20.

There will be more on the bike in the next issue of MBR — July 2011.

Video of the new BMC TF01

The BMC Mountainbike line continues to grow.

In the run-up to the legendary Sea Otter Festival in California the BMC crew will be presenting the new Trailfox Carbon to journalists from all over the world. There will be a further event focusing on this product in Europe at the start of May.

Go watch the video!

http://www.bmc-racing.com/bikes/new-trailfox-TF01-2012.html