Friday News And Views

The Bike Flights box comes in two sizes.

 Bike Flights Debuts New Box:

If you've ever had to ship a bike, you know that a cardboard bike box can often be a hassle. Generally speaking, you don't often get a bike box that was meant for your bike. It's either slightly too short one way or the other, and who can pack a bike well without getting those "bloated sides" which can end up becoming an issue with the box failing sometimes. 

Well, consumer bike shipping company, Bike Flights, has seen it all as well. They decided to do something about it. They now have a completely reusable and recyclable box in two sizes. It even comes to you with no-waste in terms of packaging. The entire box can be broken back down flat and stored again for future uses. Now, it isn't a forever bike box, because it isn't that kind of box. Here is what Bike Flights says;

"Designed and rigorously tested to the ISTA 6A standard, the Bike Box offers confidence-inspiring levels of protection for your bike during shipping. It has been engineered to withstand multiple drops of 18 inches and 36 inches, a horizontal compression force up to 229 pounds, a vertical compression force up to 1,732 pounds and sustained vibration while loaded to up to 300 pounds."

The "Bike Box" in small is $119.95 and the larger size is $149.95.

Ted King challenges you to challenge him.

Ted King Asks You To Make Him Go Long: 

I see a lot of fundraiser stuff come across my radar all the time. Much of these issues are deserving, and I wish all of these fundraiser/Kickstarter/GoFundMe deals the best. So, please- Don't get in the comments here with what you are all passionate about. I get it. There are a thousand worthy causes every day. This particular one has a twist that I found interesting. 

Ted King is asking for funds to put toward his King's Challenge Ride which raises funds for the Krempels Center which is an organization that helps adults with brain injuries. You can see the YouTube video here.  What I found interesting is that depending upon the final figure raised, Ted King is willing to ride up to 1000 miles in one sitting. 

That's pretty crazy. So here is how it would work. Ted says normally he raises up about 10K in donations, which would equal a 100 mile ride. He's thinking that he can generate more funds if people see the challenge factor to him and maybe he'll end up riding 300, 500, or maybe even up to 1000 miles in one crack. That would be nuts! 

Want to donate? Go here.

Note: I have no skin in the game, I don't even really know Ted King. Ted King has no idea I'm posting this. I just thought this was cool and a worthwhile thing to share.

The Classified rear hub guts. Image courtesy of Classified.

Mind Blowing Hub Technology 

I came across a couple of things recently that I thought were pretty radical. One is a two speed internal gear rear hub that also has a proprietary cassette for 12 external gears. It's by a company called Classified, and the technology is in production and available, so far, only from Ridley on select bike models. 

Classified claims the hub, through axle, proprietary cassette, and remote shifter weigh the same as a 2X GRX front derailleur, shifter, hub, and cassette. They also claim very good efficiency for the internal bits with shifting under load said to be excellent. 

Comments: Okay, this looks pretty impressive, but......the word proprietary is there and well, that is almost never a good thing. You get a choice from four cassette ratios. Better hope one is your cup-o-tea. Then you have a proprietary wheel set up, which Classified makes sound like it is easily switched up, if you buy completely into the system. Classified then claims excellent efficiency, but hinges part of that upon the claim that "you will have less cross-chaining". Listen, you can have less cross chaining right now. Just stop doing it. But with one chain ring and 12 cassette cogs, you are going to try to tell me that riders won't be cross chaining? Good luck with that Classified! So, I'm not buying the efficiency claim if that part is a requirement. 

On the flip side, the inductor rear axle is genius. The idea, in basic terms, is sound for sure, and not at all new, of course. (SRAM had a rear hub with an internal 3 speed and standard cassette body for years) But Classified has a neat, lightweight idea here that if it works, would be really cool. Time will out all. 

Okay, that's a wrap on this week. Fall colors people! get out and ride to see it all!