Poor France. The nation known mostly for its food and wine only has a few major sporting events to call its own, yet we — great, fat and lazy America — have pwned its most iconic one for seven years. That legacy could still live on — if you don’t mind shelling out 99 and sweating all over your living room floor, that is. Powered by Google Maps and touted as the official trainer of Le Tour de France, comes a Pro-Form training bike so hardcore, it even simulates potholes. Ok, we made that last part up, but it does allow you to feel the burn of 24 pre-set courses, or one of your own punishing design. For the ultra-committed indoor enthusiast, there’s also Intelligent Wind Resistance and a 20 percent incline / decline feature that’ll match the ups and downs of real life outdoor cycling without the hassle of the actual outdoors. Honestly, it’s a bit much and we can’t really see this thing taking off with the New Year’s Eve resolution set, but if you’ve always wanted that biker’s derriere, this is your trainer.
Google Maps-powered training bike simulates Tour de France, refuses to speak English originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Companies are trying to reinvent the wheel during the latter part of the twentieth and into the twenty-first century. These wheels are 20-inches and larger in diameter, requiring a lower profile tire to properly fit underneath the vehicle. Often, these 20 wheel are thought of as an urban automotive accessory, but they are prevalent in the rural areas of this country as well. There are many things to take into consideration when upsizing the tire and wheel combination of your vehicle.
The hunt for the perfect rims involves many important decisions. You have to choose what material you like, what style you like and level of care you can give them. These wheels are made of chrome and aluminum. The heavier chrome wheels are the most durable choice and aluminum wheels are the cheaper choice. Aluminum wheels are often cast as opposed to forged meaning they are a little softer and more likely to become damaged during rough driving conditions. Chrome must be polished to maintain the mirror finish that chrome is known for. Aluminum wheels can be cleaned with spray on wheel cleaners and hosed off.
Before you put the 20 inch rims on your car or truck, a proper fit must be assured. The shop you buy your wheels from should do this for you before mounting tires. The wheel should not rub the undercarriage when they are turned to full lock. Your chosen shop should offer an assortment of tire sizes that will be the same height as your original equipment tire to keep the speedometer reading accurate. Pricing will vary from a cheap, imported tire to a top of the line, high dollar tire.
Driving a vehicle with over-sized wheels and tires requires care beyond that which you would normally give. Any irregularity in the road should be avoided if at all possible as potholes, curbs and large rocks can damage your expensive wheels beyond repair. Any bend in a wheel can cause a slow tire leak around the wheel and a wheel that bent very quickly and very sharply can crack, causing a devastating tire leak and tire destruction.
Cleaning your new rims is a must. There are many different products that you can use for your new wheels. Make sure you use a product that is safe on chrome, alloy, or whatever type of wheel you may have purchased.
Another thing of concern with wheels of this size is theft. Larger wheels are like a bulls-eye for attention, so what can you do to make sure they stay on your vehicle? You can purchase wheel locks, which is a special lug nut that only the owner will have the key for. You can also get an after market security system for your vehicle. With all that combined, you should be in good hands.
Last thing you need to do to care for your rims is winterize. Keep your old rims, and put them on in the winter, especially if you live in a climate prone to snowy storms. This will keep your wheels clear of salt and no dents and dings from sliding on the ice!
After you decide to jump head first into ownership of 20 wheels, you will encounter many people who will comment about the great looking rims you purchased to accent the beautiful shape of your vehicle. As your wheel-wells fill up, you will feel a great sense of pride as you diligently polish the wheels to a mirror finish and meticulously care for them. You will notice as passers-by stare at your baby. The right rims tires can enhance the appearance of a car or trick that was one trick short of the car show trophy. Drive the car with love and love the car with the 20 inch rims.
Barrow lauds Augusta Tech’s nuclear degree program
U.S. Rep. John Barrow , D-Ga., visited Augusta Technical College on Friday morning, hearing the latest on the college’s plan to start a nuclear engineering technology degree program in the fall. Read more on The Augusta Chronicle
Road workers still seeking perfect solution to potholes
Don’t bother asking Tom Orzulak about any breakthrough treatments for pothole repair, about whether he’s come across any high-tech materials or ultra-reliable methods for plugging those most stubborn of pavement problems. Read more on Lawrence Journal-World
D-Link Honored as a Finalist in Technology Category for TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Awards
D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, was honored as a finalist in the “Outstanding Technology Company” category by the TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Awards. read more Read more on SYS-CON Media
Well, well! We heard it was happening, but I’d forgotten about it until now. And as I said before, you can laugh about it all you want, but I think it could be great. Having an idealized Microsoft experience available, the way Apple makes an idealized Apple experience available, will be invaluable to Redmond’s interests. After all, they’ve got a hot new operating system, lots of solid hardware, and however you want to slice it, lower prices. That said, having one right next to an Apple store is pretty… well, bold would be a kind word for it, but you know what I mean.
As we progress on our retail strategy there will be scenarios where we have stores in proximity to Apple. We are on track to open stores in the fall time frame.
Bonanza! There are plenty of potholes ahead, I’m sure, but I think having a physical and interactive side will do well to counter Microsoft’s well-worn (and inaccurate) “faceless, monolithic software corporation” image. We’re supposed to “stay tuned” for updates, but if they’re smart, they’ll be opening up stores in Bellevue Square and University Village here in Seattle. If so, I’ll be sure to get the inside story.
We invite Natali Del Conte onto today’s show to have some fun with us, but you should’ve been there in the preshow–she went berzerko! We calm her down a little bit and she talks to us about her Palin/Twitter fallout and her upcoming appearance at Comic-Con 2009. She also dispels rumors about drugs in her undergarments, and we get to a few more exciting stories on the show!
NDC as Lara Croft
(Credit: Natali Del Conte)
If you’re wondering why there’s a photo of Lara Croft to the left of this paragraph, look again: it’s actually Natali Del Conte, host of Loaded on CNETTV. She’ll be at this year’s Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego, so be sure to look for that soon! We love it when Natali comes on because we always seem to bring out the dirty side of her, or so we think. Today’s show starts off a little rough because Natali just can’t seem to get the Wi-Fi in the studio to connect to her computer, so we’re warning you to brace yourselves for a classic NDC scream in the beginning of today’s show. After that, everything runs smoothly (as smooth as it can get on The 404). We get to talking about Sarah Palin resigning and the ridiculous speech that sort of made sense, but didn’t say anything. I think NDC put it best when she said that the former Governor of Alaska is very good at the art of “saying without saying.” We all watched the speech, too, and after several 17-minute viewings, I still have no idea what the heckbeans is going on. I guess she’s not so much of a Maverick after all.
Daniel enjoys the weekend with Becks and The 404
(Credit: CNET/The 404)
The next story in today’s show rundown is about the city of Boston launching a complaint-filing iPhone application. Sounds like a disaster waiting to strike, right? I’d have to agree with you. Now that all citizens of Boston have an open forum to complain, I imagine a flood of the most mundane little squawks about graffiti, potholes, smells, street lights, etc…stuff that you normally wouldn’t give a **** about. After we report on the story, we go around the table and list off a few complaints that we have with the city of New York, and if you think Boston is bad, just wait, there’s a few good ones in there. Are you listening, New York?
Finally, we want to send our thanks to our pal Daniel for sending us a very kind e-mail with a picture of what he did this weekend. He writes, “Hey Guys,
Wanted to let you know that I spent sometime with the 404 and a Becks this weekend. Feel free to post this to the blog or whatever. Really love your show, keep up the work and congrats on the sponsor.” Now if that isn’t the most ideal way to sponsor a show, I don’t know WHAT is! We jest, but we seriously appreciate pictures like these, they make our day. By the way, our new iTunes album art looks GREAT in Cover Flow!
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