Velo Digest: Haro's Drop Bar Bikes, 'Revolutionizing' Helmet Straps, Baking Soda Performance-Boosters, & More

 I'm sure they took a look over here and were all "Yeah, let's go ahead and not give those idiots another place to voice their opinions"

 @everythingsucks: haha. Well in real life many of us have to be sparing in sharing our real opinions. Here in the PB comments section you get to just let it fly!

 @jaytdubs: "I think internal cable routing is fantastic!"


*ducks*

 They did have one, maybe 10-years ago. They used Disqus if memory serves. I was really bummed when they dropped it as there were some fun threads on the tech articles. I think maybe they were having trouble with moderation or something. It seemed like in the early 2000s, everyone went all-in with offering and soliciting comments on everything, and then there was a bit of a pull back in the late teens, before a cautious but partial return on some platforms.

 The pinkbike comment section is really just a millennial dude's therapy. You can't take this away from us.

 The Escape Collective has tried to fill in the shoes of road cycling with a comments section. Unfortunately it's a subscription based website.

 Believe me when I say I wish Velo had a comments section!

 should name the drop bar bike the mirra as an homage to the og haro guy who went on to race drop bars.

 I wouldn't have guessed this yesterday lol

 A Taiwan factory-owned bike brand rolling the otherwise lost to 3rd party factory margins into marketing.

 @FarmerJohn: Thanks for the overview. I had been wondering what the Haro ownership status looked like these days. It seemed odd that at a time when the industry is in such turmoil, with so much excess inventory, an older brand would suddenly be going full bore with a big expansion of models, new sponsorships, etc...I guess if they are getting good margins and the parent company is in good shape financially, with excess production capacity, they might be looking to snatch some of the biz from the companies that have gone/will go out of business this year.

 There are some cheap little add ons you can get on regular systems. They make a pretty big difference at road speeds. You can have a conversation at 20 mph without screaming. That said, like this system, they look stupid so I don't wear them. The safety benefits are also pretty limited for any reasonable human or on a high end helmet that fits. The success of this system will purely come down to watt savings. As evidenced by the Jonas storm trooper mannequin, roadie's will do anything for a watt.

 Hearing loss from cycling is a real thing. But not if you are winching up a climb at 5kph

 Probably, I put some velcro on my half shell and that cut down noise loads. Otherwise it's a sign I should wear a full face more.

 Only when people don't tighten them enough and they flap in the wind.

 @tempnoo1: Where did you put the velcro? Just right on top of and parallel to the strap, to act kind of like a mic cover, or does it extend somehow to create a sort of ear fairing?

 Yes, although it can depend on the design. I went from a helmet where the straps came from inside the shell and really hugged my face, to one where the straps came out of the middle/outer portion of lower rim of the helmet so the straps sat maybe 10mm away from my head until they got down to the chin. It is supposedly cooler to not have the fabric touching your skin, but what I really noticed is having that new strap design slicing through the wind. It made a roaring sort of noise, like when you partially open a window in a car. I've also had helmets that had accessory visor/camera mounts that whistled in the wind.

 @hatton: Cat Ears. Do they look dumb, yes, but they cut sound way down at over 20mph so I have been using them for 10+ years.

 @Snowytrail: agreed. I only use one helmet for all riding so I've got Elvis sideburns while Mt biking too.

 The noise reduction thing is real if your helmet straps aren't properly adjusted, and I think that's the big thing that Highbar wants to solve here.

Really, I see Highbar succeeding in two places: folks looking for aero gains, and folks looking to simplify how a helmet works, i.e. commuters, kids, and accessibility-focused communities. It's such a unique dichotomy.

 Even more important, it would sit on their head correctly (or such is the claim). Pretty common to see kids with the helmet pushed way backwards. I think this is a promising development.

 @sideshowmel: Even adults, some even having the helmet backwards.

 Pretty sure it’s a throwback or version of a mid 80’s BMX freestyle bike that I desperately wanted.

 It's clearly just a sex doll trying to make an honest living.

 Race bikes: race bike features.
If you dont want internal cable routing, look st endurance bikes

 You know Greg Minnar rode one, right? Granted that was just a rebranded intense I think? Either way, they’ve been a name in MTB for a long time, just not so much as of late.

 My second mountain bike ever was a 1990 Haro with elevated chain stays and Tange Prestige steel. It ripped.