.-.-.-.-.-.-
La bicicleta de montaña es, sin duda, un modo ideal para admirar la belleza natural del entorno de Tolosaldea. Subir hasta Uli, recorrer por monte los alrededores de Berastegi, transitar por «siete caminos» o llegar hasta Txindoki itzala, son posibilidades muy recomendables, y mucho más fáciles de cumplimentar tras la inauguración, ayer, del nuevo centro BTT de Tolosaldea
Este nuevo servicio, impulsado por el Gobierno Vasco, la Diputación y los ayuntamientos de la zona a través de Tolosaldea Garatzen, tiene su punto de acogida en el polideportivo Usabal, junto a la gran rotonda de acceso a las instalaciones de la ciudad deportiva.Desde este punto exacto -donde se ha colocado un panel explicativo-, parten ocho rutas aptas para todos los niveles, pensadas expresamente para que los aficionados a este deporte disfruten de los bellos parajes de nuestra comarca. Perfectamente balizadas y señalizadas, divididas en cuatro colores según su grado de dificultad. Existen rutas para compartir con la familia en torno a Leaburu y otras más duras que recorren otros tantos espacios naturales protegidos de la comarca, como son el Parque Natural de Aralar y el Biotopo Leitzaran.El turista deportivo, además, podrá disfrutar de las bicicletas de alto nivel y de los servicios que ofrece el Centro de Tecnificación Ciclista ubicado en Usabal. Hay servicio de alquiler de bicis y gps (en el polideportivo), y punto de lavado gratuito de bicicletas. El presidente de Tolosaldea Garatzen, Ibai Iriarte, no dudó en proclamar ayer que nuestra comarca está muy bien posicionada en todo lo referente al turismo verde y sostenible, y que la inauguración del nuevo centro de BTT es un paso más en una oferta global que incluye gastronomía, senderismo, calidad, cercanía, la feria... También mostró su convencimiento de que las nuevas rutas permitirán que la comarca quede más cohesionada y posibilitará que sus propios ciudadanos la conozcan mucho mejor .El de Tolosaldea es el quinto centro BTT de Euskadi, tras los de Busturialdea-Urdaibai (Bizkaia); Izki-Montaña Alavesa (Araba); Debabarrena (Gipuzkoa) y Valderejo Añana (Alava). Todos ellos son espacios de libre acceso preparados para la práctica de la BTT, enclavados en un marco natural y que contienen diversos elementos de atractivo turístico para toda la familia.Mañana, domingo, a las 9, habrá una inauguración popular del centro BTT con una prueba deportiva en la que los participantes tendrán que pasar por el mayor número de puntos de control distribuidos a todo lo ancho y largo de la red de circuitos. La inscripción es gratuita.Las rutas que parten desde Usabal: San Blas (8km.); Siete Caminos (9,6km.); Leaburu-Txarama (19km.); Uli (30 km.); Belabieta (30 km.); Leitzaran (45 km.); Izaskun-Berastegi (43 km.) y Txindokiko itzala (57 km.). Una muy fácil, otra fácil, dos difíciles y cuatro muy difíciles.
Más información: http://www.btteuskadi.net
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Lumen bike looks black in the daylight, but reflects white at night
By Paul Ridden
March 21, 2014
The Lumen Retro-Reflective City Bicycle from San Francisco's Mission Bicycle Company
Pimping your person and your ride with reflective materials, bright lighting or glow-in-the-dark paint jobs to be as visible as possible to motorists at night can mean the difference between getting home safely or saying hello to a world of pain ... or worse. Inspired by passing highly-reflective street signs during daily rides and wondering why such technology couldn't be applied directly to bikes, the folks at San Francisco's Mission Bicycle Company have developed Lumen. During daylight hours, the city bike looks pretty much like any other, but when night draws in, light from car headlights hitting the city bike's retro-reflective frame and wheel rims is returned directly back to its source.
By day, there's just a slight sheen to an otherwise black or silver finish to the Lumen's ...Even at night, pedestrians looking at the bike after dark won't see the bright Tron-like e...The retro-reflective effect can be seen up to 1,000 ft awayThe single-speed Lumen 1 by nightView all
Light hitting the powder-coated frame and wheel rims of the Lumen Retro-Reflective City Bicycle doesn't just scatter off in different directions or bounce away at sharp angles, it is returned to its source courtesy of tens of thousands of tiny spheres. This effectively means that by day, there's just a slight sheen to an otherwise black or silver finish, and, since it doesn't glow in the dark, even pedestrians looking at the bike after dark won't see the bright Tron-like effect unless they shine a light in the rider's direction.
"Frankly, in an urban environment, the glow from glow-in-the-dark paint is barely visible," says Mission General Manager Jefferson McCarley. "It's a pretty faint glow for riding on city streets that are often already fairly well lit. It's just not that bright. When light strikes the surface of the Lumen frame, it's hard to miss."
A number of Lumen prototypes have now been powder-coated with a technology developed and p...
"The thing that I like about frames that have been coated with a conventional glow-in-the-dark liquid paint is that they are visible to everyone: the rider, pedestrians on the street, and the driver of any combustion engine vehicle," he continues. "That's pretty cool. But I also think that it's cool that when I'm riding my Lumen (I ride one of the prototypes daily/nightly), everyone else sees a black bike. Day or night. It's a sexy dark gray color that looks great. It's possible that the only one that sees the magical effect is the person behind a steering wheel. Or anyone that takes a photo of my bike with the flash on. Some people like the way that greenish-yellowish glow-in-the-dark liquid paint looks during the day. It's not for everyone. Some of us prefer the understated, stealth look of a dark gray frame that is a lot more visible to motorists than frame painted with a conventional black paint."
A number of Lumen prototypes have now been powder-coated with a technology developed and patented by Halo Coatings. Any light entering the numerous tiny glass beads in the unique finish is returned back to its source, an effect that's said to be visible up to 1,000 ft (300 m) away.
"Picture a deer caught in headlights," begins McCarley when asked to explain how the retro-reflective effects works. "It's quite possible that all you see are two glowing eyes in the darkness in front of you. Here's how that works: when light enters a translucent object, in this case the eyeball of a deer, it goes all the way though to the back of the sphere and reflects back towards the source of the light. So our frame is covered with tens of thousands of microscopic deer eyes. OK, they are synthetic. No deer were harmed in the making of the Lumen."
The single-speed Lumen 1 by day
To take the Lumen into the consumer space, Mission has headed to Kickstarter. Three models are being offered, with each frame being hand-built using hand-welded 4130 double-butted chromoly steel and available in five different frame sizes. "All the Lumen bikes featured are built with 700c wheels," reveals the company's Kai McMurtry. "With the one exception of 650c wheels for our shorter riders, all Mission Bicycles utilize 700c wheels and caliper brakes."
For a pledge of US$499, a single-speed, internally-geared Lumen frame and a fork will be shipped out to backers assuming the crowdfunding campaign is successful. Riders will then be able to assemble the rest of the bike to their own tastes and budgets. The first fully-assembled Lumen bike on offer is the 19 lb (8.6 kg) single-speed Lumen 1 in black for $1,245, and comes with bullhorn handlebars, a Valencia frame, Velocity Deep V rims and front caliper brake.
The 24 lb (10.9 kg) Lumen 8, with Shimano Nexus 8-speed internal hub and twist grip shifter, will be produced in silver at a pledge level of $1,595, and features upright riser handlebars, cables fed through a Sutro frame, brakes front and rear and Velocity Deep V rims. The top dog in the Mission kennel is the 25 lb (11.3 kg) Lumen 8SE for $2,500, an 8-speed special edition that includes a Shimano Alfine hub with trigger shifter, hand-made Continental Grand Prix Classic tires and a Sugino crankset that's described as indestructible and polished to a mirror finish. This model also sports a Sutro frame with internal cabling, Velocity Deep V rims and front and rear brakes.
If all goes as planned, shipping is estimated to begin in July.
"I can say now that I'm confident we'll reach our fundraising goal, and the Lumen retro-reflective coating will be available as an upgrade on any Mission bicycle after the campaign ends," says McMurtry. "At this point, we're not yet sure what the post-Kickstarter upgrade cost will be."
The campaign pitch video is below.
Sources: Mission Bicycle Company, Kickstarter
https://www.missionbicycle.com/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1804944614/lumen-a-retro-reflective-city-bicycle
.-.-..-.-.
Ciclista a la vista
25-03-2014 Por Ángel Jiménez de Luis
La firma francesa Esthete lanza Veste Eclaireur à LEDs, una gabardina para ciclistas con luces de posición delante y detrás, con una visibilidad de 100 metros. Pedalear bajo las estrellas nunca había sido tan seguro.
Cada vez más personas eligen la bicicleta como medio de transporte pero, sobre todo de noche, pedalear puede ser arriesgado. Esta gabardina de Esthete no sólo es impermeable y resistente, sino que incluye luces de posición delante y detrás, con una visibilidad de 100 metros. De día es prácticamente imposible distinguirlas; de noche pueden salvar una vida.
Nombre: Veste Eclaireur à LEDs.
Tallas: S, M, L y XL.
Autonomía: 20 h.
Material: poliéster, resistente a 80.000 ciclos de abrasión.
Precio: 599 euros.
Más información.
http://fueradeserie.expansion.com/2014/03/24/deporte/1395657626.html
http://www.esthete-cycle.com
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario