Wipeout Dry Erase Helmet

Kids don’t always want to wear helmets, and there have been any number of attmepts to make helmets “cool” to kids. The Wipeout by Triple 8 comes packaged with stencils and neon dry erase markers for kids to create whatever helmet art they would like today, and change it tomorrow. Available for $30 in three shell sizes aimed at kids 3-11, the helmets are certified for bikes, skateboards, roller blades and scooters. See more at www.iwipeout.com

Retroshift Updates

Last season Retroshift went from great idea to crowdsourced product to viable shifter line, with demand outpacing production abilities throughout the year. I’ve been a fan of thumbshifters for a long time and have been known to buy NOS Suntour versions off of eBay when in need — I was pretty excited to see the Retroshift when it first came out, but remained skeptical of the ergonomics. This isn’t a full review, but I can report that I’ve been running a 2 x 10 set on a commuter cyclocross build for a few months now and have fallen in love with this unorthodox top-mount placement with a full write-up coming soon. For 2013 the right side (rear shifter, for single front ring setups) Retroshift mounts are available in a number of new colors, and with full compatibility with most downtube and bar end shifters. At NAHBS the Retroshift booth had both older Campagnolo and Sturmey Archer 3-speedshifters on display as shown, giving another option to people using internally geared hubs and dropbars. While the Retroshift is pretty damage resistant (certainly more than combined shift/brake levers) no matter what sort of crash damage you may do to the brake lever or Retroshift mount, for $25 the team with have you back up and running within days. These are meant to be ridden hard and put away wet and work next time. Get a front and rear set complete with shift levers for $190, or one with the right side shifter only for $140. See more at www.retroshift.com

VP Blade Titanium Platform Pedals

You aren’t likely to see the VP Blade pedals all that often. At around $400 per pair, these super thin titanium-body pedals are never going to gain mass acceptance, if they even make it to retail in this form. Using a lost-wax casting process, this pedal body features a slender body compatible with over the foot style straps and inboard sealed ball bearings rolling on a titanium pedal spindle. It weighs in at a mere 260 g per pair, or around what competitively lightweight clipless pedals tip the scales at, a weight normally reserved for one platform pedal not both left and right. Since VP knows that $400 pedals aren’t the best sellers, a steel version aimed at roughly a quarter of the price is in the works.

Sanomagic at NAHBS 2013

Master wooden ship builder Sueshiro Sano has been at it since age 13, with some eight generations of ship builders behind him. Combining his love of bicycles and mahogany he has created a number of wooden bicycles, including this one on display at the 2013 NAHBS show. Using an old stockpile of hard to find (and mostly illegal to harvest nowadays) mahogany, Sueshiro Sano build everything possible of this bike, from the laminate construction frame and fork to the saddle, stem and bars. Even the aero front wheel is handmade from mahogany, that is not a veneer application to a carbon wheel or any other trickery. Remarkably light, I didn’t have a scale on hand but it was listed as under 17.5 lbs. Not just a show bike, Sueshiro had a video of this bike being raced in Japan, available for download on the Sanomagic video page. See his other mahogany bicycles, furniture and more at sanomagic.world.coocan.jp

EighthInch Conversion Hunt

EighthInch Conversion Hunt contest is on. Click here for complete details.

Current Issue

Issue 35

• From Cranks to Food Banks
• Taliah Lempert Bicycle Paintings
• Stare Death in the Snout
• The Long Haul

Product Reviews