Beltran Video

Here's a telling video of Beltran trying to evade the doping control squad.

Beltran Positive for EPO

Manuel Beltran (Liquigas) has tested positive for EPO. Testing of his A sample taken July 5th, after the first stage of the Tour de France, indicated the presence of EPO in his system.
Source: L'equipe.fr, Damian Ressiot.


How do you suppose Dorel feels about this given that teams face a €100,000 fine if a link can be established between a rider who returns a positive doping test and his team. Furthermore, Dorel had just renewed their sponsorship agreement with the Liquigas team. What are the potential implications of this positive test with respect to the team's sponsorship?

Already there's the potential that because of this Liquigas may not ride La Vuelta a España.

LA Road Rage Incident

From LAist.com (warning: pictures are a little gruesome):

Christian Stoehr recounts "We were riding downhill at approximately 30 mph when a car came up behind us, must have been doing 50 mph, and the driver started honking at us. We moved to the right in single file within seconds and the motorist pulled along Ron and started screaming at him. He then pulled in front of us with 3-5 feet to spare and slammed on his brakes, giving us no time to stop. I swerved and almost made it, clipping the car and flying through the air and landing in the street. Ron had no room to move and he went straight into the back of the car, putting his face through the back window."

There's more about the incident here and this is being treated as a road rage incident rather than a collision. The driver will be charged with a felony assault with a deadly weapon.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

The Eighth Annual Bicycle Film Festival 2008.

It's currently in Minneapolis until July 12th. The next stops are: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, Austin, London, Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Milano, and finally PDX.
Check the BFF site for more details.

At 2min12sec in, in the background of the video I saw a 3D bike print that I really liked.

VIMBY - Bicycle Film Festival

And a clip about the documentary film "Adventures For the Cure."



If any of you get a chance to check out the BFF when it hits your town, we'd love to know what you think!

More on Electronic Dura-Ace

VeloNews has a brief article about the electronic Dura-Ace time trial bits that were spotted at the tour. There's not all that much more info at VeloNews than there was in our short snippet on the electronic Dura-Ace time trial parts, but there are some great pictures.



Our brief bit about the electronic Dura-Ace time trial parts is here.
VeloNews' brief bit about them here & their photos of the parts are here.

Specialized 2009 Carbon Epic

Specialized released their Epic line of full suspension mountain bikes in 2003. The new line was well received from the beginning & has become a popular choice for riders looking for a cross-country oriented full suspension bike.

Now, for 2009, Specialized has drastically revamped the Epic line. There's a great review of the bike over at CyclingNews but the nutshell version is that the new 2009 high-end Epic comes in under 22lbs while still retaining a similar ride quality as the 2008 Specialized Epic Marathon Carbon.

However, we hesitate to use the phrase "comparable model" as the 2008 Epic Marathon Carbon was not full carbon but rather a FACT carbon front triangle & an M5 aluminum rear triangle whereas the new 2009 Specialized Epic is going to be a full carbon frame.
Yes, that's right, a carbon front end & a carbon rear triangle.

Specialized didn't stop there though; They've outfitted the 2009 Epic with their proprietary FACT integrated crankset. Please note that while Specialized's road FACT integrated crankset is compatible with the BB30 standard their new mountain FACT integrated crankset is not compatible with the BB30 standard.

Specialized re-engineered the placement of the shock (under the top tube at the top tube & seat tube junction) and the Brain unit (above the rear non-drive axle). Specialized claims that these modifications will produce a more balanced ride. Specialized will be using their Futureshock E100 1^1/2" to 1^1/8" forks on the new 2009 Specialized Epics.

Ever since Specialized took on Mike McAndrews, they've been pushing the suspension envelope. McAndrews has been in bicycle industry for a quite a while now and by looking back on his employment history, he always seems to be working at fork & suspension companies when those companies were breaking the mold.
Remember RockShox and the Mag 21? The Maverick Duc32?
McAndrews was there.


After a 10 year hiatus between the original carbon Epic, Specialized recommitted to carbon fiber in 2004 with the S-Works Tarmac and the Roubaix line. It appears that Specialized's commitment to carbon will only increase into 2009 for the CyclingNews review of the 2009 Epic states: "All of the new Epics and Eras will be carbon-only; there are no aluminum models for 2009 although a slightly less expensive Marathon version will use aluminum chain stays".

If the 2009 Epic is any indication of what other companies are going to bring to the table for 2009 then 2009 promises to be a banner year for new cycling products.

More About Tubeless Road

We've mentioned Specialized's new release of their S-Works Turbo Tubeless road tire and we have also discussed Campagnolo's production of their new 2-Way Fit wheels for 2009.

There's now a little more information about both, this time courtesy of Bicycle Retailer:

"The tubeless wheel will use a Campy rim with the exact outer profile of the ALX alloy clincher. What changes is the internal rim shape has been made to conform to the tubeless road standard,” said Josh Knoll, who handles equipment research and development for Specialized. “This shape will still allow riders the ability to run a normal tire and tube set up if they so desire. Options, options, options."

So, Specialized S-Works Turbo Tubeless road tire will be made for them by Hutchinson and their tubeless rims will be made for them by Campagnolo.

Mosaic Touring Bike

Great pictures of a mosaic art bike here.

Shimano Electronic Time Trial Bits

Some new Shimano electronic parts were spotted at the Tour. Sighting Shimano electronic shifter is not surprising given that Shimano has been working on its electronic parts for years now. What does make these shifters interesting, however, is that they were electronic time trial shifters.


The electronic shifters that were seen at the Tour allowed for the rider to shift gears while riding in the aero bars or on the bullhorns as there are shift buttons at both locations.

Originally found at Cycling Weekly.

Amtel-Vredestein Tires

Sibur Russian Tyres has purchased a 70% stake of Amtel-Vredestein for about $370 million.

Amtel-Vredestein, a Dutch manufacturer of bicycle and auto tires, had been struggling to turn a profit and to retain market share over the past few years. Sibur's Russian Tyres controls a little over 30% of the Russian tire market and by acquiring Amtel-Vredestein will become one of the top ten tire manufacturers world wide.

Given that Russia currently is, population-wise, 9th in the world and that Russia has seen considerable economic growth over the past decade, Sibur's acquisition of Vredestein should work out well.

To Be Discontinued

Campagnolo will be discontinuing their Mirage and Xenon gruppos for 2009. No information yet on what might be taking their places in the Campagnolo family.