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Joe Lindsey
Tag Archives: mountain bike
Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 shoes review
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If you’ve never tried riding with flat pedals off-road, we suggest you give it a go. The connected-but-not feeling takes a bit of getting used to but will sharpen your skills immediately. Having a good shoe helps, and Salomon are pushing their new (snappily titled) XA PRO 3D Ultra 2 (yeah!) as bike-ready.
They’re not wrong, either, with those Schwalbe Rocket Ron look-a-like treads being soft enough to engage with pedal pins as well as any Vans we’ve ridden in. They’re also way better equipped to hike up loose tracks than smooth soled shoes.
They’re not quite Five Ten’s Stealth rubber sticky, but they’re effective nonetheless. Also, not everyone wants the Sam Hill ‘frankenboot’ look. We love the cool, airy feel of this shoe with all that mesh for hot summer riding, and a chunky plati-rubber toe cap gives your no-doubt precious tootsies more protection than your average skate shoe.
Build quality and durability is superb, which is just as well; as they look like trainers you’ll probably find, like we have, that you start leaving them on before, during and after the ride. Loads of colours, from plain old black to hmmmm-grey to full colour-blocking madness will make the trendies smile too.
This
article was originally published in What
Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.
What’s the score with BikeRadar reviews? You can find a full
explanation of our ratings here.
Zabriskie Blazes Into California Lead
Photo:
Dave Zabriskie. (Wil Matthews)
American Dave Zabriskie of the Garmin-Barracuda team was the fastest man against the clock on Thursday’s Stage 5 of the Tour of California, winning the race’s only time trial around Bakersfield.
Germany’s Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Nissan) finished second, 23 seconds behind Zabriskie, while BMC Racing’s American star Tejay van Garderen was third, 34 seconds adrift of the stage winner.
Hot conditions and brisk breezes with a barren landscape accented the stage.
“The biggest factor was probably the heat,” Zabriskie said. “Second is the wind. Thirdly, there’s not much to look at out there. It works on you mentally. But that’s the kind of course I like.
“Definitely the wind was in the face,” he said. “I knew I had to concentrate a lot and keep the speed.”
Zabriskie covered the 18.4-mile (29.7-kilometer) course in 35 minutes and 59 seconds, with an average speed of 30.7 miles per hour (49.5 kilometers per hour).
Zabriskie is now 34 seconds ahead of Van Garderen with Dutchman Robert Gesink third, 39 seconds back.
Slovakia’s Sagan, a Liquigas rider who had swept the prior stages to open a 16-second edge when the day began, was 52nd in the stage.
Friday’s sixth stage will go from Palmdale to the mountaintop finish at Big Bear Lake, and has two major climbs ahead of Saturday’s feature climb of Mount Baldy on the penultimate day of the event.
Jersey Winners
Amgen Leader Jersey – David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Barracuda (USA)
Nissan King of the Mountain Jersey – Sébastian Salas (USA), Optum Powered by Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA)
Visit California Sprint Jersey – Peter Sagan (SVK), Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA)
Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey – Luke Durbridge (AUS), Orica-GreenEDGE (AUS)
Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider Jersey – Markel Irizar Arranburu (ESP), RadioShack-Nissan-Trek (LUX)
Exergy Most Aggressive Rider Jersey – Yannick Eijssen (BEL) of BMC Racing Team (USA)
Complete Results for Stage 5 of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012; Distance: 29.7km; Average Speed: 49.523 km/h.
1 18 ZABRISKIE David GRM USA 35’59″21 00″
2 8 VOIGT Jens RNT GER 36’22″51 23″
3 31 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC USA 36’33″68 34″
4 41 GESINK Robert RAB NED 36’38″30 39″
5 17 TALANSKY Andrew GRM USA 36’47″07 48″
6 28 VELITS Peter OPQ SVK 36’48″16 49″
7 48 TJALLINGII Maarten RAB NED 36’51″53 52″
8 62 *DURBRIDGE Luke OGE AUS 37’00″47 01’01″
9 11 DANIELSON Tom GRM USA 37’06″34 01’07″
10 81 SUTHERLAND Rory UHC AUS 37’09″99 01’10″
Nukeproof launch prototype dirt jump frame
Nukeproof prototype dirt jump frame (Nukeproof)
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Nukeproof have released details of an all new dirt jump frame. The currently nameless prototype will eventually sit alongside an exciting lineup of complete builds including the Rook slopestyle bike that was announced last month.
The frame is an ongoing development that’s being designed in collaboration with newly signed Nukeproof rider Jack Fogelguist.
Designed around a 100mm travel fork the all-new chassis uses custom triple-butted
steel tubing with a 44mm headtube, gold anodised alloy chain tension adjusters,
an integrated gold alloy seat clamp and removable cable guides.
Available in both regular and long sizes each frame will use geometry based on Jack’s personal setup.
We’re expecting pricing to be around the £250 mark and hear there will be a full production model present at this year’s Eurobike show.
Nukeproof prototype dirt jump frame
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Video Highlights: Sagan Continues Dominance
Photo:
Sagan, second from left, took the win ahead of Haussler and Boonen. (Wil Matthews)
Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) sprinted to his third win in three days on the Tour of California‘s third stage into Livermore on Tuesday, taking the field sprint ahead of Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Barracuda) and Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step).
“It’s a surprise for me,” said Sagan. “I want to say thank you to my team because they did very good work today.
“This race is very hard for me,” he said. “The long climbs and the time trial are not so good for me. I’ll try very hard to stay in the (yellow) jersey for another day. But I don’t think I’ll keep it after the time trial.”
As on Stages 1 and 2, Tuesday’s stage saw a long breakaway gain an advantage of several minutes during the 115-mile ride from San Jose to Livermore, only to be reeled in by a Liquigas- and Garmin-led pack toward the end.
With the last of the escapees caught, the dominant sprinter of this year’s race, Slovakia’s Sagan, timed his sprint perfectly to take his third consecutive win.
It was the 22-year-old’s sixth stage victory at the Tour of California.
With his trio of stage wins and the time bonuses that he is awarded for each of those wins, Sagan now has a lead of 30 seconds over many of the race favorites, though he isn’t considered a threat to the overall title.
Peter Sagan’s Cannondale Super Six Evo, equipped with 2012 SRAM Red, Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels with tubular Mavic tires, and Cannondale’s Hollowgram crank with wireless SRM power meter.
Jersey Winners
Amgen Leader Jersey – Peter Sagan (SVK), Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA)
Nissan King of the Mountain Jersey – Sébastian Salas (USA), Optum Powered by Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA)
Visit California Sprint Jersey – Peter Sagan (SVK), Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA) (Heinrich Haussler (AUS), Garmin-Barracuda (USA) will wear the green Visit California Sprint Jersey tomorrow since Peter Sagan cannot wear three jerseys)
Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey – Peter Sagan (SVK), Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA) (Josh Atkins (NZL), Bontrager Livestrong Team (USA) will wear the Robobank Best Young Rider Jersey tomorrow since Peter Sagan cannot wear three jerseys)
Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey – Wilson Marentes Torres (COL), Colombia-Coldeportes (COL)
Exergy Most Aggressive Rider Jersey – Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
Complete Results for Stage 3 of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California
1 57 *SAGAN Peter LIQ SVK B:10″ 00″
2 13 HAUSSLER Heinrich GRM AUS B:06″ ‘ ‘
3 22 BOONEN Tom OPQ BEL B:04″ ‘ ‘
4 133 CANDELARIO Alexander OPT USA ‘ ‘
5 76 MONDORY Lloyd ALM FRA ‘ ‘
6 151 RODRIGUEZ Fred XRG USA ‘ ‘
7 117 *HOULE Hugo SPI CAN ‘ ‘
8 103 DE KORT Koen ARG NED ‘ ‘
9 44 *MATTHEWS Michael RAB AUS ‘ ‘
10 66 SULZBERGER Wesley OGE AUS ‘ ‘
