What's going on in the curly bar world? Well, a lot of Tour de France, lately.
CyclingTips Digest showcases articles from our road bike sister-site, CyclingTips. In each installment, you might find endurance coverage, power-to-weight ratios, gravel bike tech and, of course, lycra.
Fumpa and miniFumpa electric bicycle pumps review
By: David RomeInflating tyres is just part of being a cyclist. Thankfully pumps are rather refined and the task is hardly tedious. Despite that, there are options to save you from having to pump at all. Battery-operated electric inflators are one such product and have long been used by race mechanics for easy inflation and quick pressure checks. Simply push a button, make a little noise, then ride.
Fumpa is an Australian company that offers the world’s only bicycle-specific electric air pump. I first reviewed Fumpa’s first-attempt a few years back, and now, the company has updated and expanded its range with two new models. (
Read more.)
How much do riders and teams make at the Tour de France?
By: Ian TreloarThe Tour de France is one of sport’s most gruelling events; a polished production held in front of a transfixed global audience. But does the pay match the prestige? (
Read more.)
Strava and Relive are partners no more
By: James HuangLife has become much more complicated for Relive, the popular third-party app that lets you replay your rides in glorious 3-D detail using the power of Google Earth, as well as for the thousands of athletes that currently enjoy the service.
Strava recently announced that it had terminated its collaboration with Relive, citing “recent updates” from Relive that supposedly violated the terms of Strava’s API agreement. (
Read more.)
JRA with the Angry Asian: Celebrating silly products
By: James HuangKoo — the eyewear-focused sister company of Italian helmet brand Kask — recently released a novel little widget called the Billy. This bit of plastic attaches to your stem or handlebar, and serves as a “dock” of sorts for your sunglasses when you don’t feel like wearing them. To use the Billy, just take your sunglasses off, clip the top of the frame into the Billy’s pincer-like prongs, and then happily keep riding on.
Is it a must-have item, though? Hardly. (
Read more.)
CyclingTips Podcast: The birth and death of a bike company
By: CyclingTipsThis week’s episode is something of a departure from our usual programming, with an audio version of our recent feature, ‘What happened to SpeedX?‘. (
Read more.)
The Annual Tour de France Road Gap is here!
By: CyclingTipsWe just had to throw this one in here... (
Read more.)
94 Comments
BTW: do you care about electric road bikes?
Hum hum...
Like said Coluche, a french humorist in the 80/90`s: ``The Tour de France is a band of alcoholics watching a band of junkies passing by``.
Meanwhile: not a single word in the mainstream french medias about the french mtb champions we have nowadays...
Putain de tour de France!!!
There are 160 vans / trucks on track everyday only to give goodies to people attending.
Plus a few helicopters.
Plus staff cars / vans.
Plus hundred of thousands of people driving to attend everyday.
It's not only a matter of 200 people riding
I saw last year in the Pyrennees mountains:
- An official told me: about 250 vehicles, vans, trucks, cars, for the caravan.
- Don`t know how many motobikes to film the course.
- Thousands of cars, camping cars and vans of followers
... those public followers polluting and throwing garbages everywhere
- 6 helicopters to film the course, 6!!!
- tons of plastic goodies made and imported from China thrown everywhere
- 100% unrepairable and throwable carbon bikes of those 200 Power Rangers
I also met several symphatic gendarmes I spoke with, and they were everything except happy to be in that mess.
Sad but true, unfortunately.
I doubt there's any way the TdF holds a candle to these. Are we talking events or sports? F1 is a 'sport' or series or whatever, as is Nascar, football... The TdF is a 3 week long event - should we compare it to 21 NFL weekends?
Therefore, even if I don`t own an e-bike yet, hopefully I won`t have to, it is a bit reductive to say that these are made for ``lazy obese people``. Some are, that`s true, but a huge part of users is composed of ill persons who don`t have alternatives: heart deficients and pace maker holders, epileptics, asthmatics, people with a prosthesis - knee, hip, leg, whatever - and last but not least: old tired persons who don`t have the chance to be sporty and healthy as we are.
I prefer to see someone making sport and having pleasure outside on an e-bike than seeing the same person eating crips in a sofa watching the Tour de France on TV, na?
I don`t mention the indigenous that they kill sometimes when they cross small villages at high speeds. When it was still in Africa, this was sadly pretty common.
One thing I know is that here in France, most farmers, countrysiders, and nature lovers don`t like the Tour de France when it`s coming to the areas where they live, and they have very good reasons to dislike it! This is a mass event, for mass medias, mass rednecks, mass spectacle, mass hysteria, mass carbon print, mass boredom as well.
On another note, the southern parts of France are incredible. In 1 week I rode up Mont Ventoux, Alpe D'huez , Col du Tourmalet and Col du Aspin.
One of the most amazing vacations ever!!!!
But I agree that sport events need to get much more environmentally friendly. How is it possible that during the TdF, none of the support cars are electric? I mean, the drive for 200km at 45km/h. That’s perfect speed and distance for an electric car and you prevent the exhausts to pollute the riders.
Its obviosky a huge polution, Numb nuts
I think TDF is a collection of doped and arrogant morons (just look how many raging videos from TDF and tours around the globe exist)..for us it is another planet, we dont want to live on.
And it makes totally sense when you compare the general motivation of roadies who cycle to be faster and more drilled than anyone else with MTB-guys who mostly ride for the pure joy of riding flowy and challenging stuff with their own style (even in DH and XC WC) and heaving a good time with each other..
and thats why I also quit the news for EWS and XC..Guys..fun and commuting should be our #1 prio when it comes to ride MTB and not to make ourselves crazy about who next to us is fastest (#fckstrava), has the lighter or just the best bikes.
But i do like it. Car is 50% longer to get home.
No, that's Brawndo you need for electrolytes
I also follow both GCN and GMBN. The 2 are compatible: look at MvdP, who is winning on XC, CX and road.
I’ve been a part of this site for almost 20 years and I’m about ready to leave it for good. I will never read or reply to comments on this site ever again, maybe I’ve said that before, but now I mean it. There should be a filter for comments off. (expletive deleted)ing first world problems.
P.S. I’ve owned an e-bike and a steel hardtail and rode them on the same trails, so if I’m a cheater for riding an e-bike, then you’re a cheater for having 6” of rear suspension, or for driving a dirty gas/ diesel truck up the mountain to shuttle one run.
Get it through your head we’re all bikers at heart!
[breathes sigh of relief]
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