Strider Just Built a Carbon Fiber Bike for Your Kindergartener https://ift.tt/2N3rFk1

Everyone deserves to experience the look and feel of a carbon fiber bike. And with the Strider 12 ST-R, that means every single little one.

The silly expensive $900 Strider balance bike comes with full carbon fiber on the frame, fork, wheels, handlebar, and seatpost. And of course, if you’re going this big for your little one, there’s no point in stopping there.

Available in October, Strider mounts the 12 ST-R with a Cane Creek AER headset, a custom-forged alloy stem, and Schwalbe Big Apple tires.

And don’t worry! There are additional high-performance components to set any young racer up for success. Not to mention a lifetime of bike snobbery.

Strider founder Ryan McFarland noted the affluence factor in a press release: “While the vast majority of our bikes focus on durability, function, and value for families with young children learning to ride, the ST-R is an over-the-top, no-expense-spared, limited-edition race bike for the obsessed super-enthusiast. And, man, is it cool!”

ST-R in Strider 12 Balance Series, Cheaper Options

Pedal-free Strider rides are designed to encourage kids to balance on a bike first. It’s all part of the brand’s learn-to-ride process for a smooth transition to the two-wheeler.

The company makes everything from a bike rocker for babies up to a push bike steady enough for a 7-year-old. And it serves every age in between.

Bike tykes as young as 6 should be ready for the luxury 12 ST-R, which joins the Strider 12 series of bikes, including steel (Strider 12 Sport) and aluminum (Strider 12 Pro) options at much lower price points.

But if your kid is already planning to dominate in next year’s Strider World Cup Championships, or just owning the neighborhood, the 12 ST-R is the bike for you to live vicariously through them.

Like all the best $900 impulse purchases, you’ll need to act fast. The Strider 12 ST-R is a limited edition bike. The carbon mini racer will be available this October.

The post Strider Just Built a Carbon Fiber Bike for Your Kindergartener appeared first on GearJunkie.

from GearJunkie https://ift.tt/2N3rFk1
https://ift.tt/2wswQR2

Pet Fitness Trackers Monitor Dogs on the Move (or Couch) https://ift.tt/2opCyPa

Just when you think you’ve tech-ified your entire fit life, you realize you forgot Fido. Maybe he needs a pet fitness tracker.

People in the U.S. already spend over $72 billion on pet products and care each year. And that number that has been rising steadily for a couple of decades, according to the American Pet Products Association.

So what’s one more $300 fitness tracker to make sure your animal companion is in the best shape possible? For some, the mere notion of a gadget for a fur-friend elicits a chuckle.

Who Uses Pet Fitness Trackers?

For others, like Kim Discher of Lake Tahoe, who does everything from long-distance hiking to backcountry skiing with her dog, it’s at the very least an intriguing idea. In her case, knowing about her dog’s activity and nutrition could even be a lifesaver.

“That’s really neat!” Discher said about the new Actijoy pet activity tracker, just one of the latest coming to market. “I would absolutely use a fitness tracker on Lola. I’ve always been interested to see how many miles she really does compared to me.”

By that, she means how much extra work her cattle dog put in while running ahead on the trail during her recent 200-mile planned hike on the Colorado Trail. For the first time ever, 5-year-old Lola sat down and refused to move. Discher had to cut her trip short to tend to her spent dog.

In this case, a dog wearable might have been nice. Maybe by monitoring Lola’s activity level, health stats, rest, hydration, and food intake, Discher could have predicted the slowdown and therefore when to get her dog off the trail.

Actijoy Is Just One Dog Health Tracker of Many

Actijoy is a pet fitness tracker meant to give owners insight into their dog’s (or other pet’s) behavior. And it’s just one of several options, as the technology is showing signs of catching on. TechCrunch recently selected Actijoy as a top pick among health and biotech startups at Disrupt San Francisco 2018.

Strap Actijoy’s waterproof, Bluetooth-enabled wearable to your pet’s collar and sync it with an app to reveal all kinds of weird things your dog, cat, or other pet does. By collecting data about movement and rest, the Actijoy might show things you didn’t know — like just how lazy your pet is while you’re not around.

Because the Actijoy pet fitness tracker can measure health stats by activity type and level, it can also tell owners when something’s off, like Lola’s unprecedented exhaustion.

And because it would be annoying to keep track of yet another technology for your dog’s water-bowl lapping, the Actijoy also integrates with existing human fitness trackers like Fitbit, displaying everything in one place.

Actijoy, which is on preorder now, isn’t alone in the animal wearable world. Tech pet products are becoming a bigger market segment each year, following continued growth in human fitness tracking devices.

For example, Wagz HD-streaming video collar is already available for a cool $495. To be fair, the price tag may be justifiable.

Wagz lets you build an entire ecosystem around monitoring your pet however you like. There’s a smart feeder for dispensing food while you’re at work, hydration monitors for getting your animal the right amount of water throughout the day, and even an interactive automatic treat system that lets you almost play with your dog from afar.

Sure, this line item might not be on your radar right now. But maybe it should be. A few hundred bucks can seem like nothing if your dog is basically your kid, like many young people pushing off families or people who live in outdoorsy towns.

And it can be serious business keeping your pet in check. Who knows? Maybe pet trackers will even inspire owners to try a little harder at their own sit-and-stays.

The post Pet Fitness Trackers Monitor Dogs on the Move (or Couch) appeared first on GearJunkie.

from GearJunkie https://ift.tt/2opCyPa
https://ift.tt/2wANoG1

Your Daily Minnesota Outdoor News Update – Aug. 30, 2018 https://ift.tt/2C1px8d

Power Packed: Goal Zero Giving Away a Sherpa 100AC Each Week https://ift.tt/2MEHAWL

Goal Zero wants to know where you’re headed next. Share your travel plans and you could score a free Sherpa 100AC — a powerful return on your Instagram investment.

Now through September 17, one weekly winner will receive a Sherpa 100AC Power Bank by Goal Zero before the portable power pack goes on the market.

It’s easy to enter the “Where to Next?” pre-launch photo contest. Just post your best travel shot and story on Instagram. Tag @GoalZero and include #wheretonext.

No Instagram account? Submit your photo story on GoalZero.com.

Inside the Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC Power Bank

The latest Sherpa 100AC is the ultimate 100W on-the-go power outlet, whether you need to charge on a long plane ride or during your next van life excursion.

At just 2 pounds, the Sherpa 100AC power bank won’t weigh you down. And its new features, listed below, make traveling with power more convenient than ever.

• Power: Powered by Li-ion NMC cells, with a capacity of 25,600 cmAh or 94.7 cWh. It will charge a smartphone eight times, a tablet four times, and a laptop twice.
• Charge: Recharge the pack by USB-C PD in 2.5 hours or on a wall charger in 3 hours.
• Ports: Two 60W USB-C high-power delivery ports at each provide an ideal power source for laptops, phones, and more.
• Wireless charging: Just rest it on top. The Sherpa’s QI wireless capability plus 2.4A USB charges any device on the fly.
• Rugged cables: All Sherpa power packs come with Lightning cables, micro-USB, USB-C, and USB-C to USB-C.

The Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC will retail for $299. And this is your chance to be among the first to try the power pack for nada. Nothing to lose there.

---

This post is sponsored by Goal Zero.
For more info on the brand and the Where to Next? contest, click here.

The post Power Packed: Goal Zero Giving Away a Sherpa 100AC Each Week appeared first on GearJunkie.

from GearJunkie https://ift.tt/2MEHAWL
https://ift.tt/2NyIIrl

Surplus permits still available for Camp Ripley archery hunts https://ift.tt/2oodbNN

Fox Live Valve: The Electric Future of MTB Suspension Lockouts https://ift.tt/2PPfUMN

The electronic Fox Live Valve system continuously adjusts your mountain bike suspension, aiming to improve your ride — and how you ride it.

Most mountain bike suspensions have a switch on the handlebars, or on the shock and fork, to toggle suspension between fully rigid and plush-squishy-soft.

Terrain goes up and down when you’re riding, so you’ve probably found yourself flicking that switch between open, trail, and closed modes. It’s a handy feature that can take the bobbing and extra energy expenditure out of a buff climb.

But forget to manually reopen your shock, and it can leave your shock locked out when the terrain gets technical. That can mean a bumpy and uncontrolled ride. And while manually opening and closing your shock can make climbing and descending more efficient when the trail is relatively uniform for a stretch, it’s impossible for a rider to actually optimize their shocks on the fly.

Fox’s new Live Valve makes any technical ride better by taking out the human factor. The battery-powered system opens and closes your shock and fork every 3 milliseconds — 100 times faster than a blink — constantly choosing the optimal fork and shock settings for your bike’s position on the trail.

It’s not some gizmo for tech geeks who want to own the latest and greatest thing. For the past four months, I’ve tested the Live Valve on a Pivot Mach 5.5, an already awesomely fun trail/enduro bike. The Live Valve actually made the ride better.

Fox Live Valve Review

Whether riding in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or North Carolina, the Live Valve made riding technical terrain more fun while effectively boosting my skill level.

Because the system always knew how much suspension I needed, it helped me control my bike more effectively. My tires stayed in contact with the trail instead of glancing off rocks or skittering around corners, more so than if I were adjusting the suspension myself.

And on climbs, I didn’t bob around, which saved energy. But I could still power up little inclines and over rocks and roots.

Fox Live Valve: How It Works

A rechargeable micro-USB two-cell lithium-ion 7.4v 800mAh battery powers the Live Valve system. A controller mounted next to the battery lets you power the system on and off with the push of a button. And it lets you choose any of five modes that determine how big a hit it takes to open the suspension.

I experimented with all of the modes — 1 was too soft, and 5 was too harsh. I nearly always rode in 2 or 3. With the system powered on, front and rear accelerometers collect data 1,000 times per second about the bike’s speed, angle, and position in space.

Combined with Fox’s algorithm, those sensors know if the bike is pointing uphill or downhill, if it’s in freefall or flat, and if the terrain is bumpy or smooth.

A pulse from the battery opens or closes the suspension — both fork and shock — simultaneously and independently based on optimal suspension settings at any point in time. Once pulsed, the suspension remains open for half a second unless it gets a signal to open the suspension again. That second signal resets the half-second timer again. This repeats until the trail is smooth.

If you’re riding down a rocky riverbed for two minutes, the suspension opens and stays open constantly, resetting the timer with each new bump, closing at the end. It’s power efficient. In that scenario, the Live Valve is using the battery to power only one opening.

Sag, Compression, and Rebound

The Live Valve system affects the opening and closing of the suspension system. But it still allows the suspension to function as expected.

One of the things I appreciated about this system is, even though it’s electronic, it still lets the rider set sag as well as high- and low-speed compression and rebound as on any other bike.

The battery lasts 16 to 20 hours. But if it dies because you forgot to charge it or your mission was longer than you anticipated, it defaults to open. The system needs to be turned off manually. But if it doesn’t detect any bumps in a 90-minute period, it powers down, saving your settings and battery life.

Predictable, Consistent Electronic Suspension

Fox engineers say that making the Live Valve predictable and consistent was the real challenge. They nailed it.

In months of riding, the Mach 5.5’s suspension performed exactly as we wanted it to. There was no clicking or other rider sensation as the suspension switched.

The only complaint I had was that, at least on my test bike, there were a lot of extra wires. That will inevitably improve as more brands build bikes with the proper ports to handle this system, as shops learn to install it properly, and as Fox works to streamline the electronics.

If you already run Di2 electronic shifting, adding the Fox Live Valve means strapping a second battery to your bike. As of now, the two can’t be powered by the same source.

Fox Live Valve: Where to Find It

For 2019, Pivot, Scott, and Giant all have bikes that will be available with the Live Valve. It’s around a $1,800 upcharge for the system on a new bike, and $3,000-3,250 to add it after market.

Every company’s modes will be slightly different — each brand controls that by working with Fox for the feel they want. Bump threshold, timer, and incline angle are all adjustable, but consumers don’t have access to those settings.

Electronics on a mountain bike sometimes make me nervous. But this system is well thought out. And while I can’t say that no user will screw it up, it will be hard for most users to do so. A rider can set shocks with the wrong pressure, or tweak rebound settings to be too soft or too harsh, but that can happen on any bike.

Wires are protected, and if damaged, they’re easily replaceable or repairable. Jetting water into the battery or jamming it with dirt could destroy it, but the system is rated to IPX 7, meaning you can submerge it in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes and it will still work.

Fox Live Valve: A New Option in Suspensions

Four months into riding the Live Valve in wet and dry conditions, I’ve had zero performance or maintenance issues.

For now, the Live Valve weighs around 2 pounds: 72 grams for the battery, 104 grams for the controller and sensors, 466 grams for the Live Valve shock modifications, and 249 grams for the damper.

In total, it’s around 5 ounces heavier than Scott’s Genius cable-activated lockout. It works with most Fox shocks and forks, the complete list of which can be found here. Fox’s warranty will be the same as with other products — one year in the U.S. and two years in Europe.

And, if you’re more of a motorsports enthusiast than a mountain biker, you can still reap the benefits of the Live Valve. Fox also makes suspensions for Ford Raptor trucks and Polaris side-by-sides.

The post Fox Live Valve: The Electric Future of MTB Suspension Lockouts appeared first on GearJunkie.

from GearJunkie https://ift.tt/2PPfUMN
https://ift.tt/2wAy0ub

Ohio Outdoor News Cuffs & Collars – Aug. 31, 2018 https://ift.tt/2wujnri

Central Ohio – Wildlife District 1

• During the 2018 spring turkey season, state wildlife officer Josh Shields, assigned to Union County, was on patrol when he observed two turkey hunters returning from the woods. Upon contacting the two hunters, officer Shields learned that one of the hunters had harvested a turkey a few days earlier. That hunter had failed to purchase a second spring turkey permit before returning to the woods and pursuing a second turkey. Officer Shields issued the man a summons for hunting without a valid spring turkey permit. He was found guilty in Marysville Municipal Court and paid $160 in fines and court costs.

• While on patrol in July, state wildlife officer Tony Zerkle, assigned to Fairfield County, patrolled an area near Greenfield Lake. During the patrol, plain-clothed officers observed a man and woman fishing along the bank of the lake. As the officers watched, the two anglers were observed eating from a bag before disposing of the bag along the trail. Officer Zerkle contacted the man and woman as they were leaving the area and issued the man one citation for litter. He paid $275 in fines and court costs.

Northwest Ohio – Wildlife District 2

• During the 2017-2018 deer muzzleloading season, state wildlife officers Matt Leibengood, assigned to Sandusky County, Reid Van Cleve, assigned to Ottawa County, and Brian Bury, assigned to the Lake Erie Unit, received an anonymous call on the Turn in a Poacher hotline. The TIP call had indicated that several repetitive shots had been heard, indicating the use of a firearm other than a muzzleloading rifle. The officers traveled to the reported location in Sandusky County, but found only tire tracks and footprints in the snow. After following the footprints, two dead deer were located, both of which were not properly tagged. The officers contacted two nearby hunters, and it was quickly determined that one individual had killed three deer that day, having checked in a third deer earlier in the morning. Sandusky County had a two-deer bag limit, and the individual had reported the harvest of the third deer under another person’s name to cover up the bag limit violation. It was also determined that the individual who had killed the deer could not legally possess a firearm. Both suspects were issued summonses on multiple charges. The suspect who killed the deer was arrested and taken to jail. Each man was given a one-year hunting license suspension, and the men paid a total of $893 in fines, court costs, and restitution. A jail sentence of 190 days was imposed for the man who killed the deer, and was suspended pending good behavior. 

• State wildlife officer Josh Zientek, assigned to Fulton County, was working the annual walleye run on the Maumee River when he observed an individual using a snagging technique to catch walleye. The individual snagged a walleye in the tail, placed it on his stringer, and headed to his vehicle. Officer Zientek contacted the individual, who admitted that the walleye had been snagged and that he knew it was illegal to keep a snagged walleye. The individual was later found guilty in Perrysburg Municipal Court.

Northeast Ohio – Wildlife District 3

• Last summer, state wildlife officer Craig Porter, assigned to Jefferson County, received numerous complaints regarding an individual illegally harvesting ginseng. In early September, he received a call from the TIP hotline regarding a vehicle parked in an odd area, and the caller thought the subject might be digging ginseng on his property without permission. Officer Porter arrived on scene and located the vehicle. After a brief investigation, officer Porter discovered that the registered owner of the vehicle was a suspect he had received prior complaints on regarding illegal ginseng harvest. Around an hour after dark, the landowner called officer Porter again and stated that he observed the suspect walk back to his truck with a bag, which he believed to contain ginseng. Shortly thereafter, officer Porter went to the suspect’s house and interviewed him about the alleged violations. The results of the investigation revealed that the man had committed numerous ginseng violations. Officer Porter seized 60 ginseng roots and a masonry hammer as evidence. Three days later, officer Porter received a call from a different landowner stating that he had just caught the same individual digging ginseng without permission on his property. That evening, officer Porter executed a search warrant with the assistance of other state wildlife officers from Wildlife District 3 and seized over 2,500 ginseng roots, 400 ginseng berries, and numerous ginseng digging tools. The suspect was later indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on four ginseng related charges as well as three felony charges including theft and receiving stolen property. The man was convicted and ordered to pay over $2,000 in fines and court costs. The ginseng was returned to the rightful landowners.

Southeast Ohio – Wildlife District 4

• In January, state wildlife officer Ted Witham, assigned to Jackson County, received a call from a concerned sportsman regarding illegal spotlighting. The man had heard two gunshots at night coming from the road, so he drove down his driveway and located a dark-colored pickup truck with its headlights shining into a field. The man then saw someone run back to the truck. He was able to obtain a license plate number, and the next day he found a dead doe in the field. Officer Witham located the owner of the vehicle, and after questioning, the suspect admitted to spotlighting and shooting the deer with a firearm. The suspect had already been convicted of spotlighting, shooting from the roadway, and mishandling a firearm in Meigs County in November 2017. He was on probation and his hunting privileges were suspended for the prior offenses. The suspect was charged with hunting under revocation and shooting from the roadway. He was found guilty in Jackson County Municipal Court and paid $835 in fines, court costs, and restitution. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail with 177 suspended, ordered to complete 500 hours of community service, and was placed on five years of reporting probation.

• In May, state wildlife officer Brad St. Clair, assigned to Noble County, received complaints of illegal dumping at two different locations. Several bags of household trash were placed in and along a waterway at each site. After conducting multiple interviews, two individuals were issued citations for stream litter. The individuals appeared in Noble County Court where they were found guilty of the violations. They were each ordered to pay a total of $329 in fines and court costs. In addition, they were each ordered to serve five days in jail.

Southwest Ohio – Wildlife District 5

• While on patrol, wildlife officer Jasmine Grossnickle, assigned to Miami County, observed two men fishing together in the Great Miami River. One of the men caught a large channel catfish and both men posed and took pictures. Afterward, they released the fish back into the river and each grabbed a disposable moist towelette. One of the men tucked the towelette back into his belongings. However, the man that had caught the fish walked closer to the water and tossed his towelette into the river. Officer Grossnickle contacted the men and issued a summons for stream litter to the man who threw the towelette into the river. The man paid a $250 waiver in Miami County Municipal court.

Categories: Cuffs & Collars

Tags: Ohio DNR, Ohio Outdoor News, Ohio Outdoor News Cuffs and Collars

The post Ohio Outdoor News Cuffs & Collars – Aug. 31, 2018 appeared first on Outdoornews.

from Outdoornews https://ift.tt/2wujnri