Top Stories from CyclingTips: Electric Pumps, Strava, Le Tour & Silly Products

Jul 25, 2019
by Sarah Lukas  

The Secret Pro Taxes Zwifting and the things we talk about
Top Stories from CyclingTips



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 Rome

Inflating 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 Treloar

The 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 Huang

Life 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 Huang

Koo — 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: CyclingTips

This 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: CyclingTips

We just had to throw this one in here... (Read more.)




Posted In:
Industry News CyclingTips


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94 Comments

  • 90 50
 I care about road cycling less than I care about E-bikes.
  • 13 23
flag mtbgeartech (Jul 25, 2019 at 4:03) (Below Threshold)
 Accidentally downvoted when I meant to upvote, damnit! I am with you 100%!
  • 4 0
 sheesh
  • 43 18
 I care about road bikes I care absolutely nothing about electric mopeds I wake up everyday to destroy dirt trails on my mountain bike. Rode bikes are for days when the mountain bike trails are closed. E MoPeds are for people who enjoy sticking electric gizmos under their ass for pleasure
  • 18 1
 @pinnityafairy: Where is the road bike filter?
  • 1 1
 @pinhead907: good one!
  • 2 1
 I like seeing the designs of road bikes in general as they are interesting but no interest in riding one. E-bikes I can give or take but it is the idiots on the trail that give them a worse reputation. At least the two things are not related to the worst thing every...Triathlons. LOL
  • 11 0
 yet you opened the article about highlights from PB's road cycling sister site.
  • 1 0
 Maybe update your settings then. www.pinkbike.com/u/fartymarty/newssettings
  • 8 2
 @adrian-montgomery: I would if there was a "road bike" filter. PB is for Dirt. Let's keep it that way.
  • 2 0
 @fartymarty: and here this whole time I thought PB stood for pedal bike
  • 2 2
 @fartymarty: Fartymarty... you perfectly chose your user nickname...

BTW: do you care about electric road bikes?

Hum hum...
  • 2 0
 PB has a road bike sister site?
  • 1 0
 At least the road bike wankers aint cheaters. Wait...
  • 2 0
 @gonecoastal: Yes Pinkbike purchased the road cycling website Cycling Tips earlier this year.
  • 3 0
 @Sanderson22: look at that. Comments are useful for learning
  • 2 0
 @gonecoastal: I did not know that.
  • 2 0
 @pinnityafairy: Ebikes have their place, I think for those who are to old or handicap. If you’re capable of pedaling then you should.
  • 2 0
 @splsce: agreed I just totally disagree with labeling them as bicycles I will always view them as electric mopeds. I'm an MX guy and I love a twist-grip pedal assist is a underperforming joke to me.
  • 2 0
 @splsce: if you're going to put a motor on it make it the biggest gnarliest motor you can find or don't bother. Basic transportation is a totally different issue I'm speaking about pleasure
  • 71 43
 Go to Hell Tour de France, this event is pure bullsh*t, the 2nd most polluting sport event in the world after formula 1, a laboratory of treachery only led by money and greed.
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!!!
  • 9 5
 I have to agree on that one.
  • 42 6
 Chill
  • 29 10
 There is absolutely no way in Hell that the TdF produces the second-most pollution of any sport. Zero.
  • 3 0
 There's an article on Vita that talks about Riders pay. The article goes on to say if you were a privateer and you won a World Cup event they doubt you would even break even. However if you get on the podium at the Tour de France you will make more money than World Cup Rider will in his career
  • 26 3
 @harriieee: I guess you have no idea about how many vehicules follow the TdF.
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 Wink
  • 6 8
 Virtue signal much?
  • 4 1
 Yes to Coluche's quote. I was a rabid TdF fan for ~20 years, often going into work late with a lame excuse to cover for getting sucked into it on TV. Now, mehhh, I haven't watched a minute of it since 2010ish.
  • 1 0
 @harriieee: Ah no? Negationism a is thing, checking the truth is another. It is unfortunately true buddy.
  • 13 1
 @Toutnoir: Yes, more or less:
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.
  • 5 0
 @Franzzz: Couldn't you argue spectators are somewhat exempt from counting in the overall pollution? They are indirectly related to the event. By the same virtue you could say the Superbowl is one of the largest pollutants in events, or any other majorly attended event.
  • 7 0
 Interesting, and though I hate to bring up facts or data here on the internet, citing something besides 'talking to someone' would be nice. Clearly the TdF produces a ton of waste and pollution - so does every sport. How much waste and fuel from the fans, support vehicles, air travel, etc in the NFL? Nascar? UEFA?

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?
  • 6 3
 @Franzzz: and just think of all those toxic e moped batteries. How great for our planet because people are too lazy to Peddle their overweight unfit obese bodies to the top of a hill
  • 4 1
 @pinnityafairy: Hum, i cannot agree. Most batteries are recyclable now. I know it: I work in a bike shop and I`m fighting for recycling and intelligent behaviors, and even if it`s not perfect, it`s evolving pretty well.
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? Wink
  • 1 0
 @Franzzz: Not to argue but just a question - taking about all the support vehicles and helicopters on top of all the actual race vehicles - would the Paris-Dakar rally not be a bigger polluter?
  • 3 1
 @h82crash: Could be, and for sure: it is a polluting event. Also, I don`t follow the Paris-Dakar for a long time, but that event has nowadays nothing to do with Paris and Dakar as they bring their cars bikes and trucks to South America to make it, keeping calling it Paris-Dakar btw! Don`t ask me why, I don`t know. So yes: the logistic and the race must be even more polluting nowadays, for sure!
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.
  • 2 1
 @fatduke: I`d like to chill, but it`s 42,5°C under shadow here buddy Wink
  • 3 0
 @Toutnoir: what about tractor pulls....or mud rallies. The rednecks here have almost everything beat.
  • 4 2
 I'd like to see your sources for your pollution claims, otherwise you're just spouting nonsense on the internet and wasting energy.....
  • 1 0
 @Toutnoir: Truth! In 2010 I followed the tour for 7 days and saw the parade of promotional cars, trucks and other vehicles before the riders came thru.
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!!!!
  • 7 0
 I doubt the numbers are true. Just consider the pollution of the UEFA champions league. For all teams and fans to fly around Europe? Heck, they just flew two English teams to Eastern Europe with 50000 fans for the finals.
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.
  • 2 1
 @expat:

Its obviosky a huge polution, Numb nuts
  • 1 0
 @h82crash: Now just called the Dakar - and will be held in Saudia Arabia next year. Also, owned by the same TdF owning ASO.......
  • 18 4
 I have a general problem with professional racing in biking
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.
  • 4 1
 Wish I could upvote this 1,000x!
  • 10 1
 Each their own. You know people do this sport for different reasons... Can't force people to only care about going slow up hills and riding to work. Competition is fun and builds more camaraderie than you do when you ride your bike at 13mph by yourself on you drudge to work.
  • 3 0
 @cgreaseman: but there is certainly something between hardcore competition and being on a "drudge" to work
  • 4 0
 @cgreaseman: I am surprised at how much your specific 13mph callout hit me. I ride 30 minutes to and from work, alone on a path, and it’s amazing how close I am to 13mph on each trip. Like, robot-level.

But i do like it. Car is 50% longer to get home.
  • 2 0
 I make fun of the roadies just as often as the next Joe, and strava is one of my least favorite apps, but the Tour is an awesome race. you should have seen Alaphilippe murder everyone on the decent yesterday. Inside passed an entire pack. Tell me that isn't a guy who rides for the joy of it.
  • 15 1
 People in here acting like pro roadies are the only ones that dope up. Get real. Road, XC, Enduro, DH, you name it I guarantee there are people abusing substances to some degree. And realistically how could they not, their whole life is making podiums so they can get paid. The amount of pressure is immense for all these athletes, and they'll do anything to get a leg-up on the competition. Road cyclist are more or less used as a scapegoat for doping cyclists. Don't act like the other disciplines are different.
  • 15 1
 I knew that filter was a bad omen. And now I can't even complain.
  • 5 0
 Where do I access the filter? how do I turn this stuff off?
  • 12 2
 There is no E-bike content in here, so I do not see the problem.
  • 8 0
 @jeroenk: And all the bikes have water bottle holders, so yeah things could be worse.
  • 2 3
 @IntoTheEverflow: This is a mountain bike website, plain and simple. Road bikes are not mountain bikes... I may have turned the filter to off but i'm more ok with ebikes than I am road bikes...
  • 1 0
 Wait, we can't filter out road bike content?
  • 1 0
 @IntoTheEverflow: Nope...
  • 10 0
 Wait, does anyone really think that JRA sunglasses dock is actually for sunglasses? Clearly its to hold a joint if you're mountain biking, and an "asthma medication" needle if you're road biking. Take my money!
  • 2 0
 i use mine to hold my narcan syringe
  • 1 0
 You have just won the comments for me. Thank you. Purchasing right meow.
  • 7 0
 Top trend in UCI pro tour teams : beetroot juice. Not joking
  • 4 0
 beets, bears, battlestar galactica
  • 1 0
 That's been a thing in athletics in general for years. I have plenty of friends who swear by beets and beet juice and they only ride the gym bikes as a warm-up.
  • 3 0
 is it abundant in electrolytes?
  • 1 0
 @cuban-b:

No, that's Brawndo you need for electrolytes tup
  • 3 0
 It is very healthy stuff, although you may have a brief heart attack when you pee red the next day...
  • 6 0
 I had to do a double take at the name of the electric pump. Thought it was a FUPA.
  • 1 0
 You’re not the only one.
  • 6 3
 I ride a CX frame with 28c tires for my daily commute. I really, really hate road riding though. Nothing worse than baking in the sun for 50-60 miles to get the same burn I get from 25 miles off road. I have some roadie buddies, I'll occasionally go on a ride with them, they get mad when I jump out of the pace line to hit an intersting sidewalk ramp or hop a speed bump. They get even more upset if you hop a pot hole or obstruction to avoid steering around it. Turns out they only look as far ahead as the end of their front tire... Us trail riders look way out and scan.
  • 9 0
 Ironically enough, mountains are a requirement for me to enjoy road biking, but not mountain biking...go figure. Grinding up long climbs, taking in the view and then flying down the other side is good fun for me. Also, not calling out road obstacles in the paceline is terrible form, if you're the third guy in a fast line and the first guy doesn't call out at pothole, it's very likely you'll smoke it...kinda hard to see in far front of you when you're inches off the next guy's wheel and he's inches of the wheel in front of him.
  • 3 0
 Reading these comments I wonder if I am the only person on PB that likes both road and dirt. Seriously, when PB bought CT I was stoked because they are my 2 favourite sites. It's a shame, because when it was announced I said over on CT's comments that I always felt that the anti-roadie sentiment here was tongue-in-cheek. Maybe I was wrong, I hope not.

I also follow both GCN and GMBN. The 2 are compatible: look at MvdP, who is winning on XC, CX and road.
  • 3 0
 Good thing I didn’t waste 5k on a patent application because I was considering filing for my sunglasses dock (helmet mounted) idea for the past year.
  • 1 0
 Helmet is better than stem as clears on my stem will get sweat on them. Every time I climb during the winter I fog up too, so I do want something. Putting clears in jersey or shorts pockets means I have to wipe them clear of vapour for the downhill. $5k is a lot to recover though.
  • 1 0
 @iamamodel: Virtually all sunglasses attach nicely to a Smith forefront helmet.
  • 1 0
 @iamamodel: Parents are tricky. It’s a big investment and you don’t know if your patent will be accepted until the money on lawyer and drawings are already spent. I’d probably get denied, sued by oakley, or just never have distribution to make money. Mine were 3m adhesive to fit any helmet. Please someone steal my idea so I can buy a pair for $5.99. I’ll likely 3d print a proto for personal use.
  • 1 0
 *patents*
  • 1 0
 You probably would not believe the shit that goes on here. I heard an advert for a state fair saying this mudboggin monstertrucking thing burns 16 gallons of fuel in a minute. Woohoo!
  • 3 0
 I’d totally believe that. Certain mindset in this country about sticking your middle finger up at the rest of the world. Some folks over here crow overconsumption of fossil fuel as a badge of honor. It’s a form of protest against the “Chinese hoax” of man made global climate crisis. I honestly don’t get the level of self righteous vitriol that some in this country exhibit toward the rest of the world. It’s the only world we’ve got!
  • 1 1
 Every one of you that bitches about road bikes or ebikes not being good enough to be on your precious site about mountain biking should get the (expletive deleted) off of here and shut the (expletive deleted) up because at the end of the day biking is about fun and if your fun is being on the road or on an ebike then you deserve the right to do so and not get harassed either online or on the trail/ road by a*sholes for what gives you enjoyment on two wheels. You pretentious dirt pricks should stop riding bikes because you’ve forgotten what biking is actually about. You need to look yourselves in the mirror and re-evaluate what biking means to you. Enough is enough!

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!
  • 3 0
 Note to self, dont update relive
  • 3 0
 It's a drug tour cycling event, what's new?
  • 2 0
 Please let us filter out cyclingtips and road stuff. I come to pinkbike for pinkbike content, not cyclingtips content.
  • 1 0
 I call it the Tour de Ads! I DVR the program and find I'm only fast forwarding thru hours of commercials and mindless chatter from Bob Roll and his French boyfriend.
  • 1 0
 The new leader of the TdF is an ex XC MTB-er. Bronze & Silver medals behind Simon Andreassen in the Junior worlds in 2014/15.
  • 2 0
 [opens VitalMTB]
[breathes sigh of relief]
  • 1 0
 Thanks for coming by! ????
  • 1 0
 And that Smile got distorted into a lot of aggressive ?????s. ????????!!! Damnit.
  • 1 3
 Honest to god editorial staff. This is Pink bike for f—-ks sake. No one here cares about what the folks in brightly colored spandex underwear riding around on bikes with skinny bald tires, rim brakes and minimal head protection are doing. Please, why the hell don’t you drop all the filter shit and do what you’re supposed to be doing? Bringing content about MOUNTAINBIKES to this site. Is that clear enough???
  • 1 0
 Thanks @fattyheadshok Smile
  • 1 0
 @sarahlukas: Hey sorry about that comment. I was in a particularly foul mood last night and at the end of my rope. That comment definitely radiated more heat than light!
  • 1 0
 It all ended with Lance (?)
  • 2 2
 Filter for any roadie content needed asap
  • 1 1
 kudos for PB, it is evolving to a real cycling page.
  • 1 0
 Haters gonna hate.

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