This week in What We Have Noticed: an incredible sprint finish in Europe, the unique Airwheel electric unicycle, David Millar's custom fi’zi:k shoes with the Worldwide Wildlife Foundation theme, a delicious Ally's Bar and a Magic Flute from Portland Design Works.
An incredible sprint in Zürich
At the track and field European Championships in Zürich, Switzerland last Weekend Floria Guei from France had an incredible final 80 meter sprint in the 4x400 relay race. The clip below is in French, but it really does not matter if you don't speak French, this is something you have to see.
Airwheel
The Airwheel is not a new carbon aero wheel for a bicycle, but rather a self balancing electric unicycle. Basically it is like a Segway without handlebars and featuring only one wheel. This appears to actually require some athleticism and balance, so that will likely rule out most of the North American population, but it seems to be perfect for a fit and agile triathlete or cyclist. So next time when you have to park your car very far away from registration at a race, you can roll to the registration desk on an Airwheel. But do not run over fellow competitors or pedestrians when cruising through town.
Models: several
MSRP: starting at $990
Custom Millar fi’zi:k R1 kicks
This year at the Vuelta A España Garmin-Sharp Pro David Millar will sport these new custom World Wildlife Foundation fi’zi:k R1 shoes - for one stage at least. Millar is known to have a shoe fetish and it is rumored that he goes through shoes like other people go through socks. A fresh pair each day. Millar has partnered with the World Wildlife Foundation, and other shoes will be auctioned off for the Small Steps Project.
MSRP: n/a
Ally's Bar
Specialized LuLuLemon rider, Ally Stacher developed these energy bars and Sweet Potato is the original flavor. I had sampled these in snack sized versions in 2013 during the US Pro Championships in Chattanooga, TN, and then it seemed to be just a pet project but it looks like they are now stepping up for real. They surely had me at sa-weet potato and I promise, I had no intentions to sell this sample.
Available: October
MSRP: $3.89
PDW Magic Flute
This Portland Design Works Magic Flute is a very clever little pump and also accepts thread-on CO2 cartridges in a beautiful package. Trouble rarely comes alone, so should you indeed have a second flat and have used up the CO2 cartridge during the first annoying encounter, you can now manually fill up the tire to the pressure your arms can handle. But that means of course that you also need a second tube or a patch kit. Magical indeed.
Weight: 110 grams
Length: 205 mm (just over 8 inches)
MSRP: $60
