Modding your bike for style or function has been a pastime we celebrated since we added coke cans to our tires at age 4. Cyclist Mike Mandiberg has taken this a step in a new direction with reflective vinyl taping that shines bright during your night rides. Dubbed, Scotchlite 680, this vinyl taping is produced by Beacon Graphics in New Jersey and has some rather special powers… During the day it disappears and blends in with your bike’s frame, but as soon as the night lights hit it on the highway, it glows to life in a dazzling fashion. Apart from being ultra-groovy, it makes it safer for you to pedal at night. Would you wrap yours in something like that? [via Core77 & Images via RedProject]
You’ve either seen them in the street or felt them under your feet– but fixed gear bikes are everywhere these days. Fixed fanatics have a reason to rejoice today, as Fixed Magazine’s second issue, Winter 2008, has been released to readers today both online and in print (downloadable here). If you’re wondering where this wildfire trend started, take a peek at that image above. You’re looking at the Velodrome, one of many track bike racing tracks throughout the world. In order to maximize performance, traditional road bikes were stripped down to the bare minimum– a frame, a set of wheels, handlebars, pedals and one single gear. These lighter bikes were geared for moderate acceleration and high speeds… but no brakes. Track racing ain’t the safest of sports, neither is riding a fixed gear in rush hour Chicago. We’ve done the latter, as have thousands of others. Check out Fixed Magazine to find out if you should too… [fixed via highsnobiety]
What else is hot around the web today? Check it out…
Speaking of handlebars– Rollie Fingers’ Guide to Sporting a Sweet Handlebar ‘Stache [asylum]
Exercising vs. Dieting– what works better? [askmen]
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. [afrojacks]
10 Ways to Ensure You’ll Still Have a Job After the Holiday Office Party [thebachelorguy]
Raeburn Design has some rather fresh windbreakers… [coolhunting]
Dubai Outdoes Itself With a Universe of Islands [inhabitat]
Even though most custom jobs tend to look too similar, Hide Motorcycles from Japan managed to come up with a great way to pimp a bike and make it stand out from the crowd. They’ve got their hands on a 2005 Buell XB9S Lightning and came up with a manga-inspired design to transform it into an all-muscle two-wheeler. Apart from the powertrain of the original bike, everything else was heavily modified. The bold, cartoon-ish look makes it more surreal than practical. Just lovely… [via HellForLeather]
Inspired by the F-117 Nighthawk Stealth, this urban-minded road bike is aiming to wreak havoc on the pavement in your neighborhood. The Cannondale Stealth Concept Bike, like its jet counterpart, has a distinctive, angular shape that simultaneously provides a low-profile and aggressive aerodynamics. Designed by Canondale’s in-house design team, the Stealth Concept was built from carbon and aluminum with a single-sided fork, integrated disc brakes, internal cable routing and an integrated seat collar and stem/handlebars. We’re going to hope as hard as we can that this concept gets greenlit, we’d love to see this beast on the streets– namely, under our control. [cannondale]
Once in awhile something so revolutionary comes along that not only does it set a standard, it sets the bar pretty damn high. So is the case with the Optibike OB1, an electric/manual hybrid with the durability of a mountain bike. Designed by award winning bike designer Jim Turner, the 2008 Optibike OB1 landed in the California Academy of Sciences museum touted as “The future of transportation.” The 2009 model has arrived and it has done so with so a laundry list of technical features: ultralight carbon fiber components, state of the art GPS navigation,and a fully integrated PDA that displays all of the performance details of the patented Motorized Bottom Bracket (MBB). With a lithium ion battery that allows you to ride for two hours pedal-free, these bikes are state of the art in every sense of the word. If you want in on the action, better hurry– they only make 24 of these bikes for each model year. [$13,000 at optibike]
The Aprilia 850 Mana , with its compact CVT, or “electronically controlled, continuously variable transmission”, aims to be the next step in the evolution of car technology making its way down to motorcycles. Like a modern scooter or snowmobile, the Mana has a twist-grip throttle but no clutch lever. Think of it as a DSG transmission. The motorcycles purists don’t like it one bit, but the Mana with it’s 507-pound 76 hp, 839 cc engine, isn’t aimed at experienced crotch rocket riders, but it is for the people moving up from scooters or first-timers searching for fuel economy. In today’s times, that market doesn’t necessarily care about the Italian marque’s sport-bike heritage or the perfect downshift. What it is though is motorcycle for people who don’t really care about motorcycles. The Mata fits the bill and in today’s age, the Mata is still way cooler than a scooter. [from $9899 at aprilia]
Another “ride-in-style” comes from the EICMA Show, in Milan. It’s a jeweled carbon bike packed with Swarovski crystals, designed by Pinco Pallino and De Rosa for wealthy kids, mostly girls. To make sure wealthy boys won’t cry, there’s also a “1950″ black model designed just for them. Too bad we don’t have a price or a release date but I’m pretty sure they’ll pop up in Dubai pretty soon. [via FashionTimes]
Next year, KTM is going to start racing. They’ll do it with the new RC8 R superbike that has just been announced in Milan, at the EICMA Show. Under that unusual angular bodywork that makes it unique, and a beautiful mix of black and orange, the Austrians from KTM included a V-Twin 1195cc’s engine to the beast, which sports 165hp or 180hp with an optional race exhaust. I guess that’s how you race with style isn’t it? [via AutoBlog]
With its crisp throttle response and throaty growl, the Victory Vegas Jackpot grabs attention with a fire breathing furiosity. The Jackpot includes a closed loop fuel injection system, 4-valve overhead cam and stage-2 camshafts, all wrapped within a bulletproof 6-speed transmission. When you need to haul ass, twist the throttle and the massive 97 horsepower and 113 ft-pounds of pavement pounding torque should get you outta there in no time. [from $18,499 at polarisindustries]
