If you’re anything like me, an absurd percentage of your clothes are bike related. With that in mind, it’s still good news when somebody else jumps into the ring making clothes for riders, on or off the bike. Division26 is the latest company to join the party, and with Eric Carter backing the effort, expectations are high. Carter has joined forces with Bob Burns and Dale Rowley to launch “street and music influenced apparel and accessories aimed at the Mountain Bike lifestyle.” Yes, these guys like riding enough to capitalize the words “mountain bike.”

So far there’s only the standard fare of t-shirts, hoodies, and hats, but according to the press release, some technical clothing is on the way. Better start clearing room in the closet now. My advice: throw out the blue and green 80s riding shorts first.

Have you been feeling that your bike is just too comfortable and efficient lately? Do you hate the mobility, simplicity, and ease of modern bikes? Well, Gizmodo has dug up the solution. There’s not much to be said other than watch the video, and then go and hug one of your, ahem, ‘real’ bikes.

GM purchases Specialized

This was the big one on April Fool’s, and the blasphemous story was picked up by a handful of sites before people caught on. A (fictitious) article in the Silicon Valley Business Journal stated,

In light of global concerns about climate change, GM has been at the forefront in developing new transportation choices that limit our impact on the environment,” said Flora Lopi, GM’s vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. “GM’s engineering, marketing and distribution expertise combined with Specialized’s branding among cycling enthusiasts make this a winning combination for GM investors and consumers.

The story apparantly originated at the cyclico.us blog, and was later picked up by BRAIN, who rang up Specialized head honcho Mike Sinyard. Sinyard got a laugh out of the ‘news’, and didn’t miss a chance to make a jab at GM, saying “If it had been BMW or Porsche, now that would have been exciting. But GM?” Ouch.

Rockshox Futuristic Air Release Technology

This gem was started at Pinkbike, and involves a sighting of a prototype fork with an external reservoir (not unlike the very realBOS Idylle). The reservoir was said to house an air bleed valve dubbed ‘Futuristic Air Release Technology’ (a F.A.R.T. joke from Pinkbike, really?). The report said of the system’s operation, ”when it’s adjusted tight, the noise is almost a whistle and the fork is really progressive. When it’s adjusted loose the noise is kind of wet splatter sounding because of the casting lube moving through the valve.”

The Apple iBike

Singletracks posted a story about Apple’s foray into mountain biking, with a magnesium-framed bike laden with “an MP3 player, GPS navigation system, and the ability to auto-dial 911 in the event of a crash or sudden deceleration in excess of 5Gs” as well as solid rubber tires. The best part of the story, however, is that,

Mountain bikers are already lining up outside Apple’s Soho store in NYC to be among the first to purchase an iBike when they’re released in June. Some critics contend that many of those in line will simply flip the bikes on eBay since they will be in such high demand and short supply when they’re released so if you want to get yours, you better get in line now.

Great stuff, check out the whole article for a laugh.

As you might have heard, Lance Armstrong is opening a bike shop in Austin, Texas. The shop, which goes by the name of Mellow Johnny’s (as in maillot jaune, geddit?) is planned to sell mountain bikes, commuter bikes, road bikes, triathlon bikes, and “niche” bikes (read: fads) like low riders. The shop is to be set up in an 18,000 square foot 1950s-era building, which is getting a thorough revamp for its new purpose.

That’s all well and good, but if the complaint at bikeradar is any indication, the shop is far from destined for greatness. In the (very tongue-in-cheek) complaint letter to “Mr Johnny’s”, an irate customer complains of a certain employee’s bad attitude and misbehaviour on a test ride.

Check the full post out, it’s definitely good for a laugh.

Alright, so this isn’t strictly mountain bike news, but most of us ride our bikes on the road at least occasionally, and this new awareness campaign from Transport for London is too cool to ignore. It’s a clever test of your savvy, and focuses on ‘change blindness’, the tendency for our brains to filter out certain information because our attention is elsewhere. It’s hard to say more without giving away the test answer, so check it out here and let us know how you do!