POC Spine Ergo Flow

State of the art back protection for cyclists



Helmets are the obvious form of protection for cyclists, and many parts of the world have laws in place making the wearing of them while riding a bike mandatory. But with cyclists being such vulnerable targets on the roads, other protective gear is undoubtedly a good idea - and almost essential for offroaders traversing rugged terrain. The Spine Ergo Flow is a lightweight armor for your spine that is designed to decrease the likelihood of sustaining a serious spinal injury in the event of an accident. (read more)

Interested in this product? You can find the best price by Googling. At the time of publishing, Chain Reaction Cycles is selling it for S$305.40. Check out more products from the same manufacturer.

Thus far, I do not know of any Singapore bike shop that has this product. (Do update me if there is any) Perhaps they could consider bringing it in?

Singapore team breaks world cycling record

A SIX-MAN team here broke the Guinness World Record for the "Greatest Static Cycling Distance in 24 hours" by cycling 1,425km from 8pm on Dec 11 to 8pm the next day.

Mr Sandy Snakenberg, Mr Bernard Ow Tai Wai, Mr Mohd Faizal, Mr Teo Song Kang, Mr Clement Neo and Mr Pang Ren Hui cycled at City Square Mall.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20091222-187368.html

Efficient Cycling

Daniel Plews, an exercise physiologist at the Singapore Sports Council, demonstrates the techniques of efficient cycling.



Low Ji Wen, a national cyclist, is on the training bike.

Ronald Xie's bicycle travels

Watch this video of one man's brave cycling journey from Singapore.



Countries which he travelled through: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia, ...

Tampines becoming a cycling town

The local media has been reporting on Tampines' initiative on becoming a cycling town.

AsiaOne and the Straits Times: TAMPINES is set to become Singapore's first cycling town. The Tampines GRC MPs announced on Sunday that after a two-year trial to see if cyclists and pedestrians could share footways safely, cycling on footways will be allowed, starting 1 March 2010...

Channel NewsAsia: Folks in Tampines have reason to put more pedal to the mettle. From end of February next year, residents there can cycle legally on footways.

This comes after a 20-month trial conducted by the Tampines grassroots organisations, transport authorities and the Traffic Police.

While they say there has been general acceptance of having cyclists share footpaths with pedestrians, they are also stressing the importance of three key features - infrastructure, education and enforcement...


Let's hope other towns follow in Tampines' footsteps!

More cyclists = more or less injuries?

Recently, surgeons and emergency room physicians at the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center in Denver noticed a troubling trend. They seemed to be seeing cyclists with more serious injuries than in years past. Since many of the physicians at the hospital, a Level I trauma center serving the Denver metropolitan area, were themselves cyclists, they wondered if their sense of things was accurate.

....

How can more cyclists mean fewer accidents? “It seems unlikely that people walking or bicycling obey traffic laws more” just because more of them are on the streets, the author of the California study wrote. “Adaptation in motorist behavior seems more plausible.” In other words, when more cyclists show up on the roads, car drivers become used to them and respond appropriately. As the British report pointed out, “common events are safe, and rare events are dangerous.” Making cycling safer, the report concluded, “ requires that it become more popular.”

Two conflicting views. Read this article in the New York Times for the full story.

In defence of the electric bicycle

It's hard to read the faces of puffing cyclists as I glide past – but I think they are a mixture of envy and contempt. As one of the small but growing band of electric cyclists I'm used to being publicly derided. Not by other cyclists, who are generally too polite (or slow) to comment, but by cycling friends, horrified that I have broken ranks with the principles of human-powered transport...

Read this article about one man's experience with his electric bicycle