Happy Birthday Nino
Nino Schurter of the Scott Swiss Power MTB Racing Team won the 3rd round of the UCI XC World Cup series this Sunday over his rival, current MTB World Champion, & local favorite in the Czech race, Jaroslav Kulhavy. The two traded the lead a few times through the last laps, but Nino’s final gap left him with time to celebrate his second World Cup race this season at the packed arena in Nove Mesto.

Florian Vogel is in a tight points race with fellow Swiss riders for the final Olympic selection (Nino has secured is place). Florian’s 8th place finish would normally help, but with some many Swiss riders at the top of the World Cup races he’ll have to a great showing at the net round to ensure his Olympic participation.

Marcel Wildhaber took 4th in the new Eliminator race series while the juniors, Dominic Zumstein and Andri Frischknecht took 5th and 7th respectively in their races.

Irina is Back on Top
Team Topeak-Ergon‘s Irina Kalentieva is back on the podium at the UCI XC World Cup races this past Sunday in Nove Mesto, Czech. She over came a mishap in the first lap where she had to step off the bike due to another rider hitting her wheel in the tight group. There was no stopping her though as she steadily powered to the front of the field as local favorite, Katerina Nash, faded from her early race efforts. Irina and Frenchwomen, Julie Bresset, opened a gap on the rest and looked to be headed for a sprint when Bresset pulled off an impressive technical climb that Irina was unable to match. 2nd place is no shame at this level though and Irina is feeling very confident as she prepares for the European Championships and of course the Olympics where she last scored a bronze medal.

On the men’s side, Wolfram Kurschat managed a 27th place for the day despite recovering from a cold. Robert Mennen, still recovering from his winning ride at the German Marathon National Championships last weekend pulled out a 66th while Alban Lakata was caught in a crash at the start and struggled to finish in 91st.

You can watch the replays of all the race action in full HD and catch the next round of the UCI XC World Cup series in La Bresse, France on the Red Bull TV site (scroll down to the calendar for the Nove Mesto race coverage).

Namrita O’Dea to Represent Team USA
On the other side of the pond as they say, Namrita O’Dea of Team Topeak-Ergon USA will be headed to the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Cross Triathlon World Championships (i.e. off-road triathlon) in Birmingham, AL. This will be Namrita’s second triathlon…ever, but she is well prepared having spent the last 5 months working to make her swim match her strong cycling skills. Good luck Namrita.

Orica-GreenEDGE at the Giro d’Italia and Amgen Tour of California

Matt Goss of the Orica-GreenEDGE team is looking for another stage win during this week’s flatter Giro d’Italia stages after taking the honors on stage 3 in Horsens.

Leigh Howard is doing what he can to to keep a raging Peter Sagan in check at the ATOC this week. He has a 4th and 3rd in the two sprint finishes so far and he hopes to finish it off with a win. The team checked in with one of their enlightening and funny Back Stage Pass videos:

On the women’s front, Orica-GreenEDGE took 2nd with Melissa Hoskins at the Tour of Chongming Island World Cup race this weekend with Shelley Olds taking 1st and Monia Baccaille rounding out the podium in third. Melissa also took the overall honors of the 3 day stage race at the Tour of Chongming. She is certainly on a tear isn’t she.

Kenda/5 Hour Energy Pro Cycling presented by Gear Grinder has a week off after being overlooked by the Tour of California.  No worries though, this gives them time to get their bodies and bikes in order for the US Professional ITT & Road Race Championships in Greenville, SC.  Look for the Topeak booth set up at the expo on Monday, May 28th in downtown Greenville.

Good luck to all those out there racing this week and check back next week for more from the Topeak sponsored teams and riders.

Stop by our booth and pick up some swag and check out our new products.

I joined a large group that originated in Roswell, GA and was lead by Roswell Mayor & cyclist Jere Wood. He is cycling is not just a showing once a year with the hope of gaining some votes, but rather he is a passionate rider both on and off road. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing some trail with him in North Georgia mountains.

We all dismount at the steps of capitol building and the meet and greet begins. Not with the officials in suits, but with my fellow cyclists. All sorts of riders were there from the racers (road, tri, mtb and velodrome), to recreational riders, to die hard commuters and everything in between that we don’t a moniker for. Mike from Peachtree Bikes, Scott from Atlanta Bike Tech, Dan from Free Flight Bikes, Richie of Sfatto clothing, Trey from Hawley and others in the industry were there as well. It truly was a cross section of all cyclists from around the greater Atlanta metro if not the whole state. As one would expect there was a variety of Topeak gear on display too (see the video).

The officials had their role too. They gave us a pep rally of sorts as each stepped up to the podium to share past successes in improving cycling infrastructure and their goals to make Georgia a better place to ride. The big push right now is for a state wide adoption of the Complete Streets policy and just recently a ban on riding two abreast was shot down at the state level.

The states largest advocacy groups where all represented as well. Georgia Bikes had a hand in the organization of the days events, Atlanta Bicycle Coalition set up the bike parking racks, Southern Bike League had a good crowd around their booth and SORBA has representatives throughout the crowd.

The turn out was great and the weather was perfect. There is ever more hope that cycling will receive the recognition in Georgia as a viable form of transportation worthy of dedicated funding like it has some many other cities and states. It’s the cyclist themselves that can make the biggest difference by voicing their opinions to their elected officials at all levels of the local and state governments. Investing in cycling can and will pay dividends for decades to come.

Here is a few snippets of what I captured with my camera:

…and the coverage from the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

For details on this ride and future Georgia Rides to the Capitol events check out their website: http://www.georgiaridestothecapitol.org/

The Link Meister is the World’s first chain tool that can easily accommodate both pin type chains and removable link type chains. This high quality hardened chain tool works with all multispeed chains, including 11speed hollow pin chains. Its integrated design features special link jaws built into the chain tool head allowing the quick and safe removal of SRAM Power Links. An adjustment knob allows the Link Meister to accept different width chains. Other creative touches include a chain hook for holding links together during chain assembly and a chain wear indicator for precise measurement and maintenance combined into a single tool that’s concealed in the slim chain tool body. The hollow handle has compartments to hold one spare chain tool plunger and two extra chain pins.

Clip in your iPhone* 4/4S and keep it close at hand for use as a GPS for navigating, for listening to music, and much more while cycling. The RideCase is a sleek carbon fiber and plastic exoskeleton that securely holds your iPhone 4/4S while on the go. Its unique, and fully angle adjustable Stem Cap Mount or Handlebar Mount allows viewing in landscape or portrait orientation. The integrated QuickClick™ mounting system lets you mount or remove the RideCase in seconds.

RideCase video

* iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.

Topeak invites its distributors, buyers and dealers to visit us at booth #L523 in the Nangang Exhibition Hall for the 2012 International Taipei Cycle Show.

March 7-10, 2012
Booth: L523

Happy New Year Topeak Fans

It’s that time of year to reflect on where we have been and where we are headed. My role at Topeak is not just writing the blogs & being a hand model in all those great videos, but involves many more odd jobs. I’m going to lay out a few of my 2011 resolutions and maybe you can help me with them.

Numero Uno: More bike shop visits & clinics. I’ve already laid out an aggressive travel schedule this year to so I can stop into shops all over the US. Most of my focus will be the Southeast since it’s the closest to home, but I’m also looking to Southern California, Arizona, the Midwest, New England and maybe more with your feedback. Would you like to attend a repair clinic or maybe one about long distance riding/tour/racing at you favorite shop? Drop me a line and I’ll see if I can arrange it. If you have suggesting outside of the US, then I’ll give you my bosses email addy and I’ll gladly have you convince him

Some of my travels are done by bike and trailer and I’m always looking for company. Keep an eye out here on the blog for me details and maybe you can provide some local knowledge or even ride along. I warn you though, I can haul it even with a trailer full of samples.

Eddie O's Topeak Journey Trailer in San Francisco

Two: Have a bigger presence at more of a variety of events. This one is not so hard. I love all events that involve bikes, so I have some mountain bike races (of course), consumer shows, road races, recreational rides, charity rides, cyclocross races and triathlons both on and off road. I’m excited because this means I get to meet all sorts of new friends in the cycling world. All I ask of you is that you swing by the booth where ever that may be and say hello.

Drei: Bring in some fresh meat. What did he say? Yeah, that’s right, I want to share my pulpit and invite some of you to help spread the word about Topeak and cycling in general. Do you have an idea for a blog or maybe just something you would like to see explored in more depth? Do you have a story to tell, some great and /or unique experience or knowledge you are looking to share. Can you give us some insight into your cycling community no matter in the world that may be? Drop me a line and we’ll get you set up. I really do want to hear from your this year.

OK, that’s enough resolving for now…well, one more. I always resolve to ride more and now with all the technology available there is no hiding. You can follow my riding adventures mile, by mile via Strava. You can reach me via Facebook or the comments section below. Happy new year and I hope you keep the wheels turning all year long.

Eddie O

By Topeak Ergon Racer Dave Wiens

Dave Wiens

In cycling, so much emphasis is put on the obvious elements of the bike: frame, suspension, wheels, brakes, shifting, tires, etc. But for a complete cyclist, and by complete cyclist, I simply mean one that can go out on the bike and can get after it consistently and effectively, there are important activities that have nothing to do with pedaling, steering, braking and shifting . This includes preparing and maintaining your bike and having it set up in such a way that, barring the most unforeseen circumstances out on the road or trail, you have what you need to get safely back home, hopefully before dark!

Dave Wiens uses the D-Torq DX Wrench in his home shop.

Topeak has a vast selection of products that are specifically designed to help you get the most out of your cycling experience. As we get closer to what those of us living in four-season climates consider to be cycling season, I will focus on various Topeak products or product categories and briefly describe how important they are to my riding, training and racing.

Preparing Your Bike: The Foundation of Every Great Ride

If your bike doesn’t work properly, it doesn’t matter how fit you are, what kind of skills you have or how much food you brought along, you’re going to be standing alongside the road or trail with a bike that doesn’t work. If you’re into riding, you should consider setting up at least a small home shop and you don’t need to be an ace mechanic to have one, either. Even if most of the work on your bike is done by a professional mechanic, unless you have mad resources, you are not having your bike tuned before every ride. Here is what I recommend every rider have regular access to:

• Bike Wash Area – This can be as simple as a hose outside of your house and some brushes and rags. My bike wash area features the Topeak PrepStand Elite. I prefer to clean my bike when it’s in a stand up at my level. I can do a much better job and it doesn’t hurt my back because I’m not bending over.
• Shop Area – I maintain a shop in the basement and in the garage. The garage gets used most in the summer while in the winter I prefer the warmer climate of our basement. I have a Topeak PrepStand Race and a PrepStand Pro, one in each area and a full assortment of Topeak tools at each work site including the PedalBar and the ToolStick 11 and ToolStick 22. Indispencible, as every bolt on your bike, especially those featherweight, high-dollar parts, have tightening specs, are torque wrenches. I use both the D-Torque Wrench and D-Torque Wrench DX. The ChainBOT chain tool and Shuttle Levers round out the shop-grade Topeak tools that are integral parts of my home bike shop. And don’t forget your floor pump. I have both the Joe Blow Ace and the Joe Blow Mountain. Precision gauges and high-volume, high-pressure designs allow me to quickly and accurately fill tires whether for road, mountain, townie or simply topping off the tires on the bikes the boys ride to school.

Dave Wiens' home workshop with Prepstand Pro.

These essentials will allow you to prepare your bike for everything from epic back county MTB rides and long road loops, to those quickie rides before work or at lunch. You don’t have to be a mechanical ace to lube your chain and pedals; to check the pressure and settings of your suspension; or to dial in your tire pressure for the type of ride your doing next. Plus, the more you tinker with our bike and learn about how it works, the better you’ll be at fixing your bike out on the road or trail, which will be a future topic for this blog.

by Eddie O’Dea

Eddie O'Dea - Topeak-Ergon Racing

A few weeks ago we posted the Topeak Phone DryBag video to Topeak TV, YouTube.com and on our Facebook page. Most found the video very descriptive, but one Facebook fan pointed out that we didn’t get the DryBag wet during the shoot.

Eddie's Toepak Phone DryBag

And this person was quite right, so I shot this video to show just how well made the Phone DryBag is. The zipper enclosure is probably enough to keep the bag waterproof, but the roll top and velcro ensures that your Iphone is dry, safe and secure: