Teva has been on a tear. Some of their competitors might choose to say terror. We are sorry to loose Simple but are optimistic that Teva will continue to up their game and be our shoe of choice as the seasons progress. We appreciate the multi sport functionality of most of their shoes and the waterability of the rest.

They have been pumping out new shoes all spring and we add another shoe to our – hope to test soon list. These launch in January 2012 and they look awesome.

More than half of Teva’s spring 2012 collection is comprised of new styles that appeal to active and adventurous consumers while staying true to Teva’s commitment to water, which continues to define the brand’s DNA.

The soon to be issued new style is the ReForge ion-mask™ and is beinc called by Teva the next evolution of the classic hiker. The moment you exit a watery environment, water drains through the midsole’s Drain Frame channels and the ion-mask-treated upper shrugs off water droplets. Unlike membrane waterproofing technologies, ion-mask is not a physical barrier to water, rather, it is an invisible nano-coating that makes the fabric totally hydrophobic. Being only nanometers thin, ion-mask does not add any weight and does not wash out or wear off with use.

The ReForge will be available on Teva in January 2012 and will sell for $130.

Having spent the last 8 months in the ocean paddling I am ready for the fall and chances to mountain bike. I miss the Wednesday night evening rides with the crew. Glad I have a pair of arm warmers for the fall weather.

Simple and functional. This Smart Wool Arm Warmer has seamless construction, you’ll stay comfortable and warm, and have maximum freedom of movement. A non-binding welt at the wrist and bicep openings will keep warmers in place. Available at REI, Smart Wool and Amazon.com.

The crew at Teva sent over a pair of their new shoe – the Links for our review. This shoe was created with the Teva Mountain Games in mind. With this being their 10th anniversary year they introduced their first bike shoe and a freeride shoe at that.

Let’s stop for a moment and think Teva and think shoe. Yep. A bit of a blank. Teva brings up the sandal with an ankle strap. Perfect for the river.

Alright, history lesson over.

The Links arrived and on they went. Fresh out of the box and safe for the house so I wore them all night. None of that new shoe burn.

Next morning. Off to the gym and so it went. They are my go to. Love them and use them a bunch. We went camping this weekend and they were perfect for all of the activities.

The colors are a bit much. They sent two pairs of shoe laces and the grey pair is going to be in full effect and soon. After two weeks of use there are no concerns with durability. Stitches and glue are holding up – as they should.

Next time up will be all about the bike. We will let you know how they handle the pedal and help push power.

Check them out here: Teva Links

If you have a sweatshirt or fleece from Volcom, Quiksilver, Element, Oakley, DC Shoes, NHS, Monster, Hurley, Fox then chances are it was made by Independent Trading Co. Independent Trading Co. has made custom fleece for the top companies in the apparel industry since 1996 so they know the drill.

Two weeks back our friend Will over at Independent and also of The Surf Gallery fame sent over three products for Outside All Day to review. We are going to do a series of reviews on these to give you a good idea of the product quality of these items but wanted to start you off with some initial comments.

Sherpa Fleece Hooded Sweatshirt
Think lambs wool inside a sweatshirt. The fog is up and you are still heading down to check the surf. You are heading out to pack up the car to make it to the trail head before the sun comes up and it is dark and cold. Bingo. The Sherpa Fleece Hooded Sweatshirt is the call. I have a few pet peeves about sweatshirts that go way back to AYSO. One is a cheap string that breaks on first use when sinching up the hoody. Second is a string that needs to be knotted up because the manufacturer didn’t plan for it to ever make it to the washer and drier. The good news is the Sherpa comes ready to be worn. With an outside pocket that has a inner pocket ready to accept your phone or iPod complete with an opening to run the headphone cord up to your ears this sweatshirt rocks. Fit is narrow/slender and has standard issue cuffs. The zipper is metal and slightly vintage. Not plastic and not wimpy so it gets a thumbs up.

French Terry Zip Hooded Sweatshirt
Love this light little sweatshirt. Our house has a raised foundation and has a slight chill in the evening hours. This sweatshirt is perfect. Comfy fit and ready to rock when you want to kick back watch some surf vids or read the newest issue of surfer. This is a standard issue item and everyone should have one of these. Light, perfect and has a iPod player holder and eyelet in front pocket and those super sweet probably fadish thumbholes on the cuffs. Kinda makes your hands look like they have a cast but sure love’em.

Hi-Tech Zip Hooded Sweatshirt
The first two are new takes on the old school sweatshirt the Hi-Tech sweatshirt is all new. Primarily a polyester threaded piece this has a zip-off hood, iPod holder with eyelet and thumbholes on the cuffs. This is for going out. Coffee run into town on Saturday morning. Meeting up for friends for the movies. Catching a plane up to San Francisco to see some shows. This is your go to.

After a few washes and scuffs we will report back.

The past seven days of riding have been epic. This morning on the road bike I finished my third day of training rides. I am so glad that I will be traveling to Austin this weekend and will be able to rest my legs. I am not used to 100 RPMs for 30 plus minutes.

Before I dove into the training I enjoyed a car free weekend. On Saturday I rode my rapidly diminishing strand cruiser down to King Harbor in Redondo and jumped on the Body Glove boat Disappearance and took a ride over to Catalina. My buddy Mike and I volunteered for the Catalina Classic Paddleboard race and enjoyed a weekend on the water. Once we were back onto the bikes we went to the Manhattan Pier for a body surf. Epic summer surf. Super warm temps. And I finished the weekend off with a ride home.

But as you can see above – that bike is wrapped in electrical tape, has a milk crate attached with zip ties and a decreasing collection of spokes. Day dreaming I found this sweet Globe Bicycle by Specialized. It is called the Live 3. And this is why I would like to use one: no chain – riding along the beach helps me appreciate a chain-less option; a legit front rack – being that I work from home I ride over to the stationary store to pickup computer paper and supplies or over to the post office – a rack like this would be perfect; classic design – the style looks very Belgium without the Euro prices.

And finally, I love the whole contest idea Globe is using to get bloggers like us at Outside All Day to blog about the bike to earn the right to use one. That is perfect online marketing. Let’s all admire the Live 3…

So I am hoping our daily traffic average of 130 unique visits and 4,000 monthly visits stacks up well and we want to thank our readers for getting us to this point. We hope you are always finding relevant information and inspiration to get outside. Next up: LAX to Austin and three days of rest. Once I get back I am heading into this past week’s burn area for a mountain bike ride on the Epic. Hopefully the smoke has dissipated.

Matt S
Outside All Day

Our friends over at Outside Magazine have posted their Summer Buyer’s Guide. If you are trying to figure out what sleeping bag to pickup for your affair with the Sierra or pair of boots for time in the Rockies then head on over to the buyer’s guide and get an educated opinion.

Cyclocross Magazine, the nation’s leading print and online news source for the sport of cyclocross, recently conducted a product review on Fluid Recovery drink.

Here is a snippet of what they had to say about Fluid Recovery Drink:

“In terms of recovery, Fluid has many key nutrients that will help Cyclocross racers of all levels return quickly to their best. As always, taste is one of the largest factors in selecting nutrition products, and for me, this product is a hit. Those of you who may have grown up before sugar and sweets had permeated the food industry may not enjoy the sweet taste of Fluid’s Tropical Escape offering, but there is also the Berry Treasure option for you to try, which was our other testers’ preferred choice.”

For the full article, make sure to check out Cyclocross Mag’s website.

While traveling in Albuquerque this week I picked up a magazine that is right up our alley. Breathe Magazine is published in Canada and here is a quick review.

Content: The issue I picked up was volume 4, issue 2. My favorite article was titled “Two Regular Guys” by Ted McLeod and was about two friends that took up the TransRockies Challenge. This story alone is worth picking up the mag and putting down the $4.99. I enjoyed the stage by stage review of the event. Now I want to put together an OAD team event. Lot’s of good writing and interesting takes on things outside. One article gave a review of the Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 that is an internally geared hub with 14 speeds. Mind blowing concept.

Graphic Design: The ads in the magazine should not outshine the design within. There were a few good pages that created a good look but by and large the mag needs a redesign. I didn’t take the time to count how many font changes the mag made from cover to cover – but at least 20. That’s OK the content is good. Check it out.

A few weeks back while riding my mountain bike at Whiting Ranch, the original MTB saddle and post on my bike cracked in half. I’d like to think it wasn’t from the excessive weight of my stout manly frame but I know the truth. It came out of nowhere and just snapped leaving me to ride the next five miles standing up. Then, later in the week I crashed on my road bike at 30 MPH and tore my road saddle and hip to shreds, it was great week. After some research I picked up 2 saddles from SDG.

Since that time I’ve fallen in love with the company and their products. Everything they do is:

1. Easy to install and size. I did everything myself and I’m a tool weenie.
2. Looks great! Both my road and mountain set-ups are pretty much the best ever. They kill anything Old Man Sellers could ever muster up from his vintage collection of 1993 vintage mountain bikes.
3. Is super comfy but with high performance. I race*

The boys at SDG Saddles recently posted their 2009 bike saddles and seat posts catalog. It’s worth the click, these guys know how to build bike product.

Go to:
http://www.sdgusa.com/2009catalog

If you’re in the market for a new post or saddle SDG is who you should be supporting. They love cyclists and the local biking community needs to back that.

Andy B
outsideallday.com

*That was a joke, you should have been laughing.

Rummaging through my MTB gear bag at the trail head Thursday night my phone buzzed with a text message. I had awaken at 5:30 AM for an hour swim with the Slugs and Diane Graner-Gallas’ training program was leaving me tired. I was struggling to ready myself for my evening ride with Rob up Del Cerro. The text was from James and now I was going to run along the strand in Manhattan after the ride. By 9 PM Thursday I had put in 3 hours of workouts all before 9 and after 5. I’m glad that the day before Andy B had handed me Fluid Recovery – Tropical Escape. Before Wednesday I had used Endurox as a recovery drink in a number of exertions over the three hour mark. Being familiar with the protein/carbo replacement/recovery drink concept I was excited to try Fluid. Having grown up on Champion Nutrition’s Cytomax and moved on to GU20 I had already replaced them with MotorTabs. This week I replaced Endurox with Fluid. Fluid has a great taste and tastes good even after the water bottle warms up….unlike its Endurox friend. And being a Cal Poly alum makes it even easier to love Fluid.

With forty-six days until Scott Tinley’s Extreme Tri I got fitted on Monday to my Bianchi road bike (training bike) and Trek mountain bike (racing bike). Outside All Day loves Rock N’ Road Cyclery. I just happen to live almost an hour and a half from the closest one. So I met up with Brian, owner of Beach Cities Cycle in Hermosa Beach, and he fitted me up to the bikes. I worked for Brian back in high school and it was great to hang and get his help. I haven’t been comfortable on either bike and he made a bunch of changes. Both pairs of shoes were adjusted, seat post height went up, seat distance changed, MTB stem changed and he coached me on knee position. We would all be wise to get ourselves fitted to our bikes. Go see your bike shop and then head to Lake Lopez to race the Eternal Timing System.

Matt Smart
Outside All Day

Product for Review:
Pivot, Mach 4
Size: Medium
Geometry: (100MM Fork)
Seat tube: 18.5″
Top Tube (effective): 23.25″
Head Tube: 4.5″
Head Angle: 70.8
Seat Tube Angle: 73
Chainstay: 16.75″
Bottom Bracket Height: 12.8
Stand Over Height: 29.5

Product Strengths:
Aesthetically (Its Looks): Amazing and the anodized finish is great on a mountain bike so one does not have to worry about paint chipping and little nicks that are always happening.
Rear suspension design- This bike has the stiffest rear suspension that I have felt in a four inch travel bike. I loved Chris Cocalis’ original creations, the Titus Racer-X and Moto Lite, but this bike is on a new level in comparison. This beefy rear suspension system allows a rider to really rail the bike in corners and ride much more aggressively than one would normally do on a four inch bike.
The rear suspension system used also allows the bike to stretch out/grip or grab the ground better from its dual pivot controls. This was the one of the best features that was noticed in comparison to the Titus, Racer-X. One can really climb and descend on this machine.
Direct Mount Front Deraileur- The Front derailleur mount used for this bike is also a plus as it creates one of the fastest and definitely the strongest shifting experiences on a mountain bike. The mount allows the derailleur a lot of backbone so that it gets its maximum potential because of the stiffness provided from the frame.
Integrated Bottom Bracket- The bottom bracket is stiff. It allows the bike to put out the most power possible with each pedal stroke and again help provide a nice solid base to the frame when turning and pushing down on the outward pedal.

Product Weaknesses:
Weight- If you are a weight weenie sorry but it’s on the heavy side. If the bike is being built for racing one might get frustrated with a bike that is 23-24lbs. This is about the average wight of our builds composed of Shimano XTR and Sram XO components, Stan’s No Tubes Wheelsets, and a lot of other expensive carbon/weight weenie junk.
However, if you think about the frame and how it comes with a front derailer, bottom bracket cups, and headset 6.14 lbs is not too heavy.

Similar Products Used:
Titus Racer-x (4″ travel)
Titus Motolite (5″ travel)
Pivot Mach 5 (5″ travel)
Pivot Mach 429

The Bottom Line:
The bike rips! It’s a 4inch bike on steroids… It can be ridden like a trail bike with its slack angles and fantastic suspension system.

Rating: 1-5

For more information go to: www.pivotcycles.com

-DSheek
This bike makes me love riding!

Product Review: DeSoto Arm Coolers
By Hanhster (the Monster)

While it is cool to be a female cyclist there are occasions when it is not so cool to advertise it with those nasty jersey sleeve tans… like say when you’re trying to look like an actual girl in a sleeveless summer dress at a BBQ or at your brother’s USC graduation (that tan line is in the family photo album forever now).

After slathering Neutrogena sunblock spf 55 on my arms couldn’t keep my arms from still getting way darker than the rest of my body (nothing against Neutrogena as I also tried other brands of sunblock and that didn’t work either) my search for another solution to the jersey sleeve tan began…and enter the DeSoto Arm Coolers.

I’ve had 2 weeks now of being able to wear these arm coolers on both training rides and races in sunny Southern California and my conclusion: Three Snaps! And here’s why…

I concur w. other reviewers that initially slipping into these arm coolers on a hot day for a ride feels strange but after a few minutes of moving you quickly overcome this strangeness and it starts to feel very natural. Also like other reviewers, I concur that they don’t actually “cool” your arms but since they start feeling pretty natural they don’t heat them up either. After a few 3+ hr training rides and a couple criterium races I did notice that my jersey sleeve tan line is now not as pronounced as before and since this basically shows that these arm coolers are doing the trick to fend off the sun that’s all I needed to know. I also like that these arm coolers feel a bit like compression wear on your arms holding it together and don’t slip down your arms like some cheapo arm warmers out there giving you that saggy arm wear look (chicks in particular don’t like anything that increases the “sag” factor). By the way, one way to tell the difference between these Desoto arm coolers and traditional arm warmers is that the DeSoto arm coolers are actually a bit porous almost mesh-like but not quite.

If your goal is to lose that jersey sleeve tan line this product will work for you. Let us know what you think of them too. I would say email me but as usual men run this website and they didn’t bother to give me my own outsideallday.com email address.
Word.

Rating = 5 (1 out of 5, 5 is the highest) I try to tell her people don’t understand the “snaps” classification but It has been proved otherwise…

This is one of those toys you want to keep forever!

The bike is set up with all my favorite components and tires. I have weighed it in at 23.2lbs. This is without making the tires tubeless and with my enormous computer plus all of its extra parts.
Click to get the full story:
Niner, Air 9 Product Review

-DSheek
It’s a keeper!