The reflective Velocity Deep V’s look black in daylight, but shine a light on them and “they glow gray,” said Velocity's marketing person, M.D. (He's not a doctor; he goes by his initials now because, as he explains, "when I first started working here, I was one of three Matts.")

"It really looks cool, and it's very safety-oriented," M.D. said of the reflective Deep V’s. “We're working with Laek House in New York City. He puts reflective coating on hats and bike jerseys, and we got him to put some on rims. They glow gray."

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ALSO: Bicycle rims with "bling." Velocity is offering a limited-edition Gold track set with a gold, deep V rim, laced up to a gold sealed cartridge bearing hub using CN Gold Bladed Spokes. Why settle for silver when your bike can look like a 24-karat player?

Velocity stock rims also come in a huge array of other colors, to match or contrast your bicycle frame--or your mood.

M.D. said the limited edition Halloween-colored track sets--in a striking black-and-orange color theme--were big sellers. "We're trying to do stuff like that from time to time," he said of the company's current color-burst.

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ALSO: Here's an innovation from Velocity: At last, an improvement to rim tape. The company's Veloplugs are little snap-in caps that fit all 8 mm spoke holes -- and the company is developing a similar cap for 10 mm holes that will be available in late spring 2008.

"They're lighter than rim tape, and a lot nicer," said M.D. "They take up less room, they're reusable, and they don't hold moisture and grime." In fact, they do a better job of sealing out moisture than the traditional tape.

The Veloplug's sleek profile is less bulky than regular rim tape, and their slippery surface can also help hard-to-install tires slide right on. "It makes it a lot easier to get the tube and tire on and off your rim," M.D. said. Veloplugs are sold in home-use packets of 72, more than enough for every wheel in the family.

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NOTE: We have Velocity’s permission to use any images off their web site that we want. And the spelling of “Laek House” is correct.

“That size is starting to take off now,” said Jeff Clarkson, who works in customer service and technical support at Schwalbe. “Mountain bikers now are moving to the 29-inchers.”

Velocity has just introduced a 29-inch rim, so Clarkson might be onto something.

The Racing Ralph comes in two sizes-- 29 X 2.25 and 29 X 2.4. “And it’s a lightweight tire with semi-aggressive tread, so it rolls very fast,” Clarkson said.

He said the Racing Ralph proved to be instantly popular: “We brought in a couple hundred of each size about one month ago, and they sold out almost immediately.” Another shipment is due in mid-January, when the Ralphs will be back in full stock.

ALSO:

Check out Schwalbe’s new website at www.schwalbetires.com, which is set to go live in mid-December 2007. New styles are featured and discontinued tires have been eliminated, to streamline your shopping experience.

SCHWALBE MARATHONS – THEY KEEP YOU ROLLING

People who are tired of getting flats while cycling want a solution that works, without slowing them down. That’s what makes the Schwalbe Marathon Plus our most highly recommended tire: it’s tough, but it’s still fast.

Now the Marathon Plus has a lightweight brother, the Marathon Supreme, with a secret ingredient – from outer space!

The Marathon Supreme incorporates Vectran in its design. NASA was the first to use Vectran fibers; they were in the crash balloons that helped bring the Mars Lander to the surface of that planet.

“We’ve taken that material and turned it into a puncture-resistant material with a patented, highly dense weave,” said Jeff Clarkson, who works in Schwalbe Canada’s customer service and tech support, “so it’s very flat-resistant--just because of the material.”

The Marathon Supreme is lighter-weight and not as thick as the Marathon Plus, and it has another advantage: it’s a folding tire. “That way, you can take a spare with you,” Clarkson said.

Schwalbe Marathon tires are so durable, scientists at Schwalbe in Germany had to develop new test procedures in order to puncture them; just rolling the Marathon Plus over glass shards and thumbtacks (killers for most rubber tires) would not give researchers the flat they needed!

The Marathon Plus is made with a 5 mm-thick India rubber belt. India rubber is extremely flexible, so it curves away from most potential tire-busting sources – yet the same flexibility gives this material a low rolling resistance. Technicians in the Bohles laboratories, who developed the tire, have applied for a patent.

The true enemy of bicycle tires isn’t the broken bottle in the middle of the road; it’s the tiny bit of glass that becomes wedged in tire tread and is slowly but steadily driven into the inner tube by the rolling of the wheel. You can swerve around that broken bottle, but if you pick up even a small fragment of glass, your tire may go flat many miles down the road. But not with the Schwalbe Marathons.

The Marathons were designed with a tread pattern that resists picking up these tiny, sharp “time bombs.” So you’re protected from flats today, and tomorrow.

Now that’s the kind of technology that makes it likely you’ll never be stranded on the roadside with a flat tire again.

In an effort to round out the collection of tires in the everybicycletire.com knowledge base, we’ve added info about some Michelin bicycle tires.  These tires include some unusual and difficult to find sizes.

The Michelin story begins in 1891, with the invention of the first demountable tire for bicycles. Since then Michelin has been on the cutting edge of innovation in bicycle tire technology. They developed the first flexible-bead clincher tire, the first tire with a high-density carcass and the first tire made of a high-performance silica rubber compound. They also developed the first tubeless tire for mountain bikes and are testing tubeless road tires in competition.

While we don’t offer these tires for sale directly from our website we can point you to a dealer in your area. Information about these tires is an important addition to the collection of knowledge about bicycle tires that everybicycletire.com makes freely available. Call or e-mail us and we’ll be glad to help you find a Michelin dealer near you.

We at everybicycletire.com (EB Tire) are proud to announce we’ve added the entire catalog of Velocity rims and wheel sets to our website. Velocity rims and wheels are some of the best in the industry. They make a rim for everyone who rides a bike. From track racing to cruising on a tandem, dirt jumping to touring on a recumbent, Velocity has a rim that will work for you. Their collection also includes some of those especially difficult to find sizes like the 650B.

Velocity Bicycle Accessories originated in Brisbane Australia 16 years ago. By applying the characteristic Australian attention to detail that has defined this company from the beginning, their high quality, precision crafted cycling products have earned them a well-deserved solid reputation among avid cyclists. 

Everybicycletire.com carries all Velocities rims and wheels sets. Call or e-mail us about your cycling needs and we’ll be happy to help you select the best rim or wheel.