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News

Adidas Cycling Join the 5th Floor

Adidas Cycling

Adidas Cyclingadidas and The 5th Floor – a cycling collective and team based out of London and New York have announced a partnership which will see the team train and compete in a range of specially designed adidas products.

 

Established in 2010, The 5th Floor was started by a group of friends with a mutual love of cycling and the culture surrounding it. Now, the team is made up of 21 riders across London and New York, riding and racing in all disciplines; from road and track, to CX and touring – while at its core, remaining a group of good friends who continue to share their rides and experiences.

 

The key racing pieces for the team will be custom made 5th Floor skin suits, jerseys, bibs, caps, overshoes and warmers – using the teams iconic green palette and shield logo combined with adidas’ classic 3 stripes. Part of the adidas x 5th floor kit laydown will also be a limited edition version of the newly launched adistar range, which combines sleek 3 stripes designs with leading tech to produce a kit that embodies the brands rich heritage in the sport – performance, innovation and style.

 

Kitty Pemberton-Platt of the adidas London newsroom comments on the initiative: ‘For us, The 5th Floor embodies so much of what we think is great about cycling. They repeatedly push themselves on a competitive level, whilst keeping the social side of the sport at the heart of everything they do, continually inspiring others to get out on the road. We are thrilled to be taking our extensive experience in cycling to London and supporting The 5th Floor this season. We’ve worked very closely together to produce the next generation of 5th Floor apparel, which will not only look sharp, but give them the best level of performance in the saddle that they’ve ever had.’

 

Further information on The 5th Floor at the5thfloor.cc and on the adidas cycling range at adidascycling.co.uk.

 

The adidas social media news room can be found at news.adidas.com get social with them on Twitter with #owntheroad

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News

Jupiter London Nocturne

Jupiter London Nocturne

Jupiter London NocturneThe launch of the 2015 Jupiter London Nocturne promises all types of cyclists, from commuters to Olympic champions, taking to the streets of London on June 6 to signal the start of what should be a great summer of cycling in the capital. Last year say more than 10,000 fans at the event, creating an electrifying atmosphere on the 1.1km street circuit around the historic Smithfield Market.

 

The ninth edition of the award-winning event is once again title-sponsored by Jupiter Asset Management with Edward Bonham-Carter, Vice-Chairman Jupiter commenting: ‘The Nocturne is a fantastic event which captures the culture and variety of cycling in the capital. As cycling enthusiasts, Jupiter is delighted to continue our sponsorship and this year the event includes our Jupiter race where the competing teams will battle it out over 10 laps – but who will take the spoils on the day? We will have to wait until June to find out, but we’re looking forward to cheering on all the Jupiter London Nocturne racers in what promises to be an exciting day of cycling.’

 

FACE Partnership CEO and event promoter James Pope adds: ‘The 2015 Jupiter London Nocturne will be more exciting than ever for fans and competitors, and Jupiter’s support is the key to staging another world-class event.’

 

This year’s event will once again include the traditional Folding Bike and Penny Farthing Races, culminating in the men’s and women’s Elite Criteriums which will feature a host of British and international cycling stars, whilst the City Criterium will see corporate teams vying to claim the glory as the fastest business in the Square Mile.

 

The Jupiter London Nocturne will also include the Brooks Retro Criterium, Leigh Day Criterium and the Santander Cycles Race – the cycle hire race, sponsored by Transport for London (TfL), was one of the highlights last year and returns for 2015 with a new fleet of Santander Cycles.

 

The Jupiter London Nocturne is free to attend with grandstand and hospitality tickets also available to purchase. Information on how to enter the Santander Cycles Race and all the Jupiter London Nocturne races can be found at londonnocturne.com

 

You can get social with the London Nocturne on Facebook and Twitter too.

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Featured Nutrition Reviews

OTE Duo Bar

OTE Duo Bar

OTE Duo BarOdd in many ways that OTE are not a better-known brand, partly because they are the official nutrition partners of Team Lotto Jumbo, but also, if the Duo Bar is anything to go by, their products are really rather good…

The OTE Duo Bar has been developed by professional sports nutritionists and is based on race food used by professional cycling teams. The 65g bars – we had the chocolate chip to test out – are pre-sliced into two equal bites, with each serving up approximately 20g of carbohydrate, enough we would figure to push through around 40minutes of training or racing depending on intensity.

The texture of the Duo Bar is crumbly with a homemade appeal, slightly on the dry side and certainly needing a swig of water to consume, but the taste is decidedly good without being overly sweet. The nutrition, beyond the 40g carbs per bar (18g of which are sugars), also stacks up quite neatly: 10g of protein, 1.5g fibre and decent levels of fortification including B12, calcium and magnesium. Although most of the supplementary levels are quite low it all helps, especially when it comes to replacing even small amounts of body salts lost through sweat.

Whilst the Duo Bar is certainly too dry to depend on alone during exercise – we really got through the water bottle on test – it’s certainly worth adding to the list of nutrition foods to help power your training and racing.

An individual 65g OTE Duo Bar, chocolate or vanilla, retails at £1.85 with boxes of 24 available at £39.96. Further details and online purchase at otesports.co.uk

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Apparel Featured Reviews

Quoc Pham Urbanite Shoes

Quoc Pham

Quoc PhamQuoc Pham, purveyors of ‘classically-inspired, hand-lasted cycling shoes’, first came to our attention when they launched with the ‘fixed’ touring shoe around five years ago. Although a beautiful piece of kit the need for retro toe-clips made for limited appeal.

 

Since then the company has expanded the range to include SPD compatible shoes including the Urbanite. A classic and clean looking shoe with leather uppers and a stiff rubber sole, the Urbanite comes in ‘Low’ and ‘Mid’ models, with the Mid offering a higher, desert boot-like, shape and the Low more easily passing for a rather smart pair of sneakers.

 

We road tested the Quoc Pham Urbanite Low for a week using various SPD equipped bikes.

 

The company claims that by using leather the shoe softens, and moulds to fit with use. Even after just a week it was clear that this was no exaggeration. The hardened mid-sole gave a secure and effortless pedal action and was perfect for the average commuter ride. Encountering wet, cold, warm and windy weather it was clear that the Urbanite was snug and wind resistant but stayed cool in the heat and once off the bike we quickly forgot they were anything but a normal, high-quality, pair of shoes.

 

Quoc PhamApart from the clean styling the attention to detail also impresses. Fitting the SPD clips on the sole was effortless and the reflective strip on the heel is a nice touch. The addition of an elastic strip on the tongue makes sure laces stay away from moving parts.

 

We tested the Quoc Pham Urbanite Low in tan but black and brown are also available if you’re looking to colour coordinate your classic, retro look. The upper is Leather with a leather lining and the shoes also feature a reinforcement mess inner layer, lace closures and 3M reflective heel stripes. The sole is moulded rubber with a full-length hardened mid sole, and a wide base for extra comfort, whilst the sockliner is made from natural cork. They weigh in at 450g (size 43.)

 

Quoc PhamIf you are looking for an all-day shoe for commuting the Quoc Pham Urbanite does the job in a comfortable, understated way that undeniably adds a dash of style to the ride.

 

The price of £169 compares favourably with competitors such as the Giro Republic LX and the Dromarti Sportivo.

 

Further detail and online purchase of the Urbanite and the full range of Quoc Pham shoes at quocpham.com

 

You can follow Quoc Pham on Facebook and Twitter too.

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News

Cyclotricity Stealth eBike Offer

Cyclotricity Stealth eBike

Cyclotricity Stealth eBikeElectric-bikes – or simply eBikes – have evolved beyond all recognition in recent years and offer a great way for the whole family to enjoy cycling. The Stealth eBike from Cyclotricity is hybrid suitable for on and off road use with 5 x power levels for pedal assisted riding and 7 speed Shimano gears for manual use. The Stealth has a range of 20-35 miles and comes with an LCD dashboard, disc brakes and zoom alloy suspension, plus a one-year guarantee.

 

The Cyclotricity Stealth eBike offers performance, power and comfort at just £799.00.

 

Tempted? Cyclo is offering its readers both FREE lights and UK delivery – order by phone on 08444 821 802 or following the link here.

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News

Garmin Launch the VIRB X and XE

Garmin VIRB X

Garmin VIRB XGarmin have unveiled the VIRB X and VIRB XE calling them the ‘next generation of HD action cameras.’ Both have been fully redesigned – looking more like GoPro – for extended mounting options, but underneath the shell they look fully stacked with new features.

 

The VIRB XE is designed to shoot professional HD footage at 1440p/30fps (a step up from former models) and 1080p/60fps with super slow-mo, image stabilisation and various zoom levels, whilst the VIRB X shoots at 1080p/30fps and 720p/60fps with slow-mo and zoom options. Neither require external housing for underwater shooting (up to 50metres) and the flat glass front panel is designed to repel water droplets for better action in suboptimal weather conditions.

 

The range of telemetry looks impressive too with built-in sensors such as GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope being complimented by compatible external tech including the Garmin Fenix 3 watch and Vector power meter – all of which can be graphically overlaid onto footage. Both models have new continuous photo mode and photo burst rate has been increased to 10 frames-per-second for VIRB X and 30 frames-per-second for the VIRB XE.

 

Through the built-in Wi-Fi users can now connect VIRB X and XE to the VIRB Mobile app on both smartphones and tablets and Bluetooth adds further options for communication with external devices.

 

Dan Bartel, Garmin VP of worldwide sales comments: ‘With the updated design, enhanced recording options, built-in sensors and the introduction of G- Metrix, VIRB X and XE represent a bold step forward in the evolution of action cameras for consumers and professionals alike… We are extremely excited to bring these cameras to market, and see not only the content that users share, but also how far, how fast, and how crazy their adventures really are.’

 

The Garmin VIRB X and VIRB XE will be available in summer 2015, with the VIRB X will having a suggested retail price of £239.99, and the VIRB XE selling at £319.99.

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Extras Featured Reviews

Quickstrap

Quickstrap

QuickstrapThe cycling world is undeniably full of some pretty sexy kit – weather-defying materials, carbon components, high-tech gadgets and the latest nutritional science. It’s equally undeniable that there are some mundane issues that need to be addressed and some kit that really can’t be described as anything but functional; Quickstrap, part of the Quickloader family of products falls squarely into that category.

 

The Quickstrap is a unique strapping system that probably has a dozen applications for cyclists – although in all honesty Cyclo have only, so far, used it only for added securing of bikes to car-racks and for garage storage support. Pretty sure you’ll come up with other applications (let us know…)

 

A couple of things set the Quickstrap apart from more conventional strapping systems. Firstly there are no hooks, buckles or other fasteners to tackle, the Quickstrap just wraps around and through itself making attachment and removal a doddle. The lack of any metal or plastic components means that there’s nothing to scratch or dink the bike (or whatever you’re securing) and the rubberised material won’t crack or harden with age, meaning a set of these are likely to last you years.

 

Sold in sets of two for £11.94, each QuickStrap is 90cm long and capable of supporting a load of around 50kg (120lbs); they can also be linked together in various combinations as the situation requires.

 

There you go: not sexy, but incredibly useful and versatile.

 

Further details of the QuickStrap at quickloader.com and online purchase via aspli.com

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Featured Nutrition Reviews

MuleBar Eastern Express

MuleBar Eastern Express

MuleBar Eastern ExpressFar, far too often Cyclo’s race nutrition plan looks like this: eat something sweet, eat something else sweet, feel sick, fail to eat anything else. Not good. Salvation from this reoccurring recipe for disaster could, in part, come in the shape of the MuleBar Eastern Express, a new savoury energy bar that bucks the sugary trend.

 

MuleBar have always delighted in doing things a little differently; their rage of flavours – including Piñacolada, Mango Tango and Strudel – are always a delight on the ride and it’s perhaps no surprise that they have produced something as left field as the Eastern Express given that tentative steps had already been taken with the halfway-house sweet/savoury Liquorice Allsports bar.

 

The Eastern Express combines pistachios, almonds, cashews & pumpkin seeds with an exotic blend of nigella seeds, cayenne pepper and garam masala (itself a heady mix of coriander, cumin, ginger, cassia, black pepper and cloves.) The result is a little like a Bombay Mix with dominant pistachio and a welcome saltiness; on paper there’s a danger that description doesn’t sound great, but trust us it tastes it.

 

Whilst the savouriness and salt hits the spots and proves a welcome break from the same-old sugary sweetness of most bars, the texture too is a surprise; so often on the ride, and regardless of the mix of bars you might try, texture becomes repetitive but the Eastern Express helps mix things up on this front too.

 

As you might expect from a bar with such a high percentage of nuts and seeds (about 20% by weight) there’s a significant delivery of protein – 7.1g per 56g bar – making them good for recovery too. By way of contrast, taking the Mango Tango flavour as being fairly representative, that would serve up just 4g per 56g bar. But Eastern Express doesn’t skimp on the energy levels with an impressive 265Kcal per bar, actually higher than the Mango’s 201Kcal, and 22.5g of carbs (15.2g of which are sugars). All this makes the Eastern Express a credible mix not just a novelty flavour.

 

Of course the bars do benefit from a swig of water to help digest, yet, despite the savouriness, no more so than your average sweet energy bar we found.

 

MuleBar Eastern Express bars are available in packs of 5 at £7.99, 12 at £19.00, 24 at £38.00 and, representing a 10% saving, boxes of 48 at £68.00. Full details and online purchase at MuleBar.com