Cecillie Uttrup Ludwig's contract with FDJ - Suez was ending at the end of this season and the Danish rider's transfer was one of the most highly anticipated of the winter. It was unknown which team would manage to win the battle for her contract but it is now known: Canyon//SRAM.Reportedly, SD Wor...

Zwift is celebrating ten years of virtual cycling and everyone's invited

Pablo Torres signed a few days ago with UAE Team Emirates until 2030, the current longest contract in pro cycling (if you exclude the 'lifetime' contract of Wout van Aert, which doesn't have a specific limit). The Spaniard, who turned 18 yesterday, is the great jewel of Spanish cycling and is alread...

Neilson Powless has reached his best form once again now right ahead of Il Lombardia. The EF Education-EasyPost rider has just won Gran Piemonte with a 42-kilometer long solo ride, and could well be an outsider to finish on the podium of the final monument of the season."This win is really hard for...

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This Saturday, October 12, the last Monument of the year arrives. Starting in the beautiful Bergamo and finishing Como where in 2022 Enric Mas battled Tadej Pogacar. Movistar Team faces with great enthusiasm an Il Lombardia 2024 to which Enric Mas arrives in top form and enthusiasm. A few weeks ago...

Expected unmet demand of 6,500 bicycle parking spaces in Dublin City when metro opens. Project team only planning to meet 31% of demand inside M50 and 20% inside city centre.Plans for MetroLink, a high-capacity railway between Swords and Dublin City Centre, significantly under-provide for predicted bicycle parking demand, and instead of fixing the issues, the project team have been accused of attempting to come up with a new analysis and unenforceable side promises.In a submission to the latest MetroLink consultation, the Dublin Cycling Campaign accused the project team of providing an updated analysis that massaged the numbers.The level of extra overall information provided by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) was seen as so significant that the An Bord Pleanla inspector ordered extra public consultation before planners would make a decision on the projects railway order application. It was known this would be the outcome when the oral hearing ended in March.It took the An Bord Pleanla until July 1st to formally seek the move and then took TII until the second half of August before it opened the consultation, blaming the delay on logistics associatedwith printing this volume of material and the delivery of it to the locations concerned.According to Kevin Baker, a member of the infrastructure group of the Dublin Cycling Campaign: The applicant knows they have significantly under-provisioned cycle parking. Instead of turning up to the oral hearing with revised plans they provided an updated analysis that massaged the numbers. For example, the original planning application did not provide for 29% of demand at Griffith Park station. Instead of increasing the area of the underground cycle parking at this station their new analysis shows there is less demand.Metro stations such as those planned near DCU at Collins Ave, beside Na Fianna GAA Club on Mobhi Road and a new Glasnevin/Phibsborough station at the Royal Canal are planned at points where planned and already partly constructed cycle routes meet.In the groups submission, Baker wrote: The applicant has not provided for a public transport project that sufficiently integrates with cycling because of the underprovision of cycle parking. Instead of examining options and alternatives to provide more cycle parking the applicant has instead attempted to come up with a new analysis and unenforceable side promises to hide away from this issue.When you lay them out plainly, it is clear they have significantly under-provisioned cycle parkingin the Outer City and City Centre locations, he said.He said that the TII project team only provided numbers for 2035 when every other part of the transport impact analysis provided including for walking, public transport and car use looks at scenarios through to 2050 and further to 2065. He said that Transport Infrastructure Ireland provided an apparent letter of comfort from the NationalTransport Authority outlining that the authority would work with local authorities and others on bicycle parking as part of other projects and initiatives but the campaign said that relying on promises outside the scope of the application for MetroLink is not an appropriate way to ensure adequate cycle parking is provided.Baker said that significant changes to the bike parking assessment were presented to the oral hearing in its final hours just before the Dublin Cycling Campaign was scheduled to ask questions of the applicant but that TII was still unable to adequately describe why cycle parking was not being provided to an adequate level.The MetroLink team was dismissive of using two-tier cycle parking stands, which are a common approach used by private developers in Ireland and at high-capacity bicycle parking at train stations in other countries such as the Netherlands and the UK.The campaign said that it has been recommending two-tier cycle parking stands in multiple submissions over the last few years but that the only response at the oral hearing was that this would have a negative visual impact.Baker said that this contention doesnt appear to have been assessed anywhere in the MetroLink Environmental Impact Assessment Report documentation. He said: There are multiple places where two-tier cycle parking racks could have been used with negligible impact.Examples of this include upgrading existing cycle parking at Charlemont station by the Green Luas and tucked away at the back of Glasnevin train station, which is hardly in a visually sensitive area.Baker said that TII generally said there was a lack of space for cycle parking but that while this may be true at stations with constraints, no answers were provided to a question from the campaign as to why TII-controlled land surrounding the Tara metro station could not be used.It is widely seen that there is resistance in Ireland to providing bicycle parking at city centre train stations where land is at a premium. This goes against the advice from authorities in the Netherlands, who are seen as the leaders in combining bicycles and rail.Around 40% of rail passengers arrive by bike, and the Dutch highlight that the most premium space is not at transport hubs but on trains and trying to carry bicycles on trains is not a scalable solution for most countries. Retrofitting bicycle parking at train stations can be a costly business, with Dutch transport authorities spending 60 million on 7,000bicycle spaces under the canal outside of Amsterdam Central Station after the citys new metro line opened.Baker also wrote: At Glasnevin, where provision is short by 376-480 cycle parking spots, TII could have attempted to incorporate cycle parking on the first storey of the metro station building above the ticket hall. There is no floor plan for this storey in the Structures Details Book 2 of 3 submitted with the original planning application, so it is unclear what usage this space will have.It is not clear that the applicant has considered alternatives that would have provided for the necessary cycle parking. Instead, they have thrown up their hands [as] if there wasnt superfluous space adjacent to stations, he said.Baker added: What options this leaves the board with is up to the inspector and the board. It might be possible to secure additional cycle parking at multiple stations along the route via conditions, or it might require more further information from the applicant that explores the alternatives.The project team was contacted this morning for comment on the campaigns submission. The following table was provided in the campaigns submission with text explaining that the table contains data from Table 4.1 Potential Cycle Demand Accommodated by Project Proposals and adds the Design Year with 21% predicted increase in demand, unmet demand percentages and summaries for the areas Outer City and City Centre:

Last winter we were invited to take a rare look inside the Ortlieb factory, where the company synonymous with waterproof manufactures their classic touring, commuter, and bikepacking bags. Nestled in the rolling rural countryside of northern Bavaria, Ortlieb makes its signature waterproof cycling bags in Germany. For over 40 years theyve built a reputation for quality, durability, and reliability. And while theyve expanded their offerings far beyond their original waterproof touring luggage and those original designs, Ortlieb even continues to refine and evolve those classic bags that are still some of their best sellersInside Ortlieb, behind the scenes where waterproof is made(Photos/Cory Benson)During a less busy, but appropriately rainy part of the year, we had a chance to venture across Germany to the headquarters of Ortlieb in Heilsbronn in the Franconia region. Quite centrally located in Germany and technically at the geographical center of the EU its an easy locale to overlook. But its a nice, quiet part of the German countryside. And sufficiently wet for their style of gear, at least based on my winter visit.He started the company back in 1982 in Nuremberg, but Hartmut Ortliebbrought it half an hour down the road to this new location in 1997 to set up a more efficient, more sustainable way of manufacturing their iconic waterproof gear. Thats where more than 300 international employees design and make your bags, and create all of their growing range of gear beyond touring & bikepacking bags to include multiple racks, thru-axles & moreAll of the waterproof bags are created in-house in Heilsbronn. Their specialized waterproof zippers are made by a partner company Tizip, literally created on the same street just to make zips to Ortliebs high waterproof standards the year after they moved to Heilsbronn. All the injection molded plastic parts in your Ortlieb gear are also made on the same tiny dead-end street. Ortlieb built up the industry on the edge of this small, to the point that their partners literally can pull a forklift out of one factory and drop it off next door, for the most easy-to-mange supply chain logistics youll find anywhere.Where Ortlieb waterproof started, and where theyve goneOrtlieb got its mythical start in 1982 when founder Harmut Ortlieb wasnt satisfied with the lack of protection from the elements with touring bags of the time. On a cycle tour of the UK, he realized that the tarps covering truckers hauls would make better bags than the axed cotton or uncoated nylons of the day. So he returned home and started experimenting with tarpaulin fabric and his mothers sewing machine.He started with taped seams, that were nearly leakproof. But that wasnt good enough. Within about 2 years, Harmut settled on high-frequency welding tech to physically bond two pieces of coated fabric together creating truly waterproof gear. Thats still the core technology that sets Ortlieb apart today although it has become much more sophisticated and refined.Ortlieb Bike-Packer pannier ca. 1983Ortlieb Bike-Packer Plus pannier ca. 2022It all started with Ortliebs first tarp-based and seam-taped Bike-Packer pannier bags. 40 years later, the general pannier bag profile is similar, even down to the 2-strap closure, and the iconic red. But the materials of the modern Bike-Packer Plus are much more refined. And the high-frequency welded seams are unmatched for their consistent waterproofness and durability.Behind-the-scenes in waterproof cycling bag productionTo make all their high-performance bags, Ortlieb has to start with high-quality materials. Their fabrics are all provided by long-term trusted suppliers. And Ortlieb keeps plenty of rolls in stock, in all of their favorite colors, to maintain reliable workflow.Its not only the classic coated nylon & polyester fabrics, more complex construction includes various foams, foils, and other plastics that give Ortliebs products a wide range of applications. And all of them need to be sorted, prepped, and stored to be ready for Ortliebs flexible manufacturing.In-house material testingBut trusted suppliers or not, Ortlieb doesnt leave anything to chance. Its their waterproof reputation on the line, after all.So every batch of fabric coming in the door gets tested in-house. Tear resistance, ultimate tensile strength, ability to be welded together, abrasion resistance, waterproofness. Much like in their manufacturing hall, Ortlieb makes many of their own testing tools to determine the performance of their raw materials.And if the fabric doesnt pass any of Ortliebs in-house tests, it doesnt make it into any production bags.Material cutting & prepOver 40 years, many steps of the manufacturing of Ortliebs iconic bags have evolved and become more efficient. Thats a big reason that they can continue to manufacture in Germany. While their products are by no means the cheapest on the market, customers continue to respect the added value of high-quality, durable gear that Ortlieb stands behind.Water jet cutting lets Ortlieb accurately cut many layers of material at a time, speeding up the prep process for their higher volume bags.But their classic stamping dies still see regular use too. For lower volume or thicker foam materials, often times the classic die-cutting process is still the best solution. And Ortlieb has a veritable library of dies to stamp out all shapes & sizes of their broad catalog of cycling-specific bags and more general application packs.One of the games that the Ortlieb team likes to play with the uninitiated is Guess what bag this is? Many are pretty easy to figure out if you are familiar with their core cycling bags. But can anyone guess which bag these yellow pieces belong to? Let us know in the comments!Whats in the Bike Bag box?Now, lets dive into the birth of a single bag (or at least a single family of bags). The Ortlieb guessing game continues. What Bike Bag in in the box?At various stages in the manufacturing process, Ortlieb water jet cuts (or die cuts) the individual panels that make up a bag. Then, they print or heat-transfer the graphics onto the individual panels hi-viz reflective here. Then, they may weld on hardware like these side buckles. BeforeThe next mystery step.Herein lies the secretsOrtlieb was careful not to really show us how they use their unique & patented high-frequency welding tech to bond the individual panels of their bags together. Its literally the secret sauce that sets them apart from the competition.I did get to see some interesting-looking, custom-made welding machines that were dormant during my time in the factory. Each was created for a specific product, like you might see with a carbon wheel or frame mold. And the general idea seems to be that these machines were developed to concentrate the high-frequency energy exclusively at the specific bags seams, so these are melted together, but nothing else is affected.Interesting to note without know more about how the process works, there were warning signs everywhere so that someone with a pacemaker didnt accidentally stray into the path of an Ortlieb waterproof bag welding machine in-process.Consider yourself warned.Back to conventional bag assemblyOnce Ortlieb mysteriously uses a magic microwave to bond your bags panels together in a waterproof construction, theres still plenty more manual work to be done.Skilled workers sew on finishing tape, and the special thin piece of stiffening plastic that makes their roll-top closure work so well.Remember, Ortlieb actually is the inventor of the waterproof roll-top closure. And you must fold it a full 3 times for Ortlieb to be sure that it is truly waterproof. At least protected from 1m submersion in water for a full 30 minutes. In reality, most Ortlieb waterproof bags deliver significantly more protection than that.After welding and that last sewing step, these bags finally resemble something that we can easily identify.At that point, teams of two work together to finish the Ortlieb bags. They bolt on specialist hardware like the QL2.1 quick-release rack attachment system here. And they add any remaining straps, hooks, and buckles before the complete bags get boxed up to send to the warehouse for distribution.Did you guess which bags we were seeing be made?The unfinished side panels were from this (potentially red) Ortlieb Back-Roller Core pannier bag. And the slightly closer to being finished petrol blue bags were these classic and slightly more complex Back-Roller panniers.Factory seconds find a 2nd lifeOne casualty of Ortliebs insistence on absolute waterproofness and exacting quality control is that not every bag they start working on ends up passing all their internal checks. But turning lemons into lemonade, Ortlieb puts their factory seconds aside, and then gives them a second life here as high-quality, but not waterproof reusable shopping bags. Their dealers can place orders for as many as they want, but no choice on color, since they are only made with whatever doesnt pass internal quality controls.Fix It, Dont Replace It!That was the tagline of an Ortlieb Repair Week campaign last year as a response to industry Black Friday deals. But its more than just a slogan. Ortlieb offers a5-year warrantyon every product they make. But they also encourage buyers to use their gear long past that.A big part of keeping their existing gear in service is an affordable repair program, and availability of spare parts. Ortlieb trains a huge portion of their dealers & distributors in more basic and the most common repairs, and even sets up a number of them for more complex repairs. And if you cant get someone local to fix your gear, Ortlieb sends it back to Heilsbronn where it was made. Off in one corner is the factory, we found a well-equipped repair technician. And he picked out what he was working on that day, everything from replacing damaged hardware to showing us how he uses a special heat gun & roller to weld patches over damaged packs to make them fully waterproof again.Then stack it up, and ship it outOrtlieb makes all of their waterproof touring, commuting, bikepacking, and off-bike bags in-house in Germany.But even those newer items like tubular aluminum racks and modular thru-axles that are not manufactured in Heilsbronn, they all still end up here in the Ortlieb warehouse to get shipped out to global distributors and your local dealer bike shops.A case in point Review: Why Ortlieb cycling bags are waterproof!One last thingWhile visiting Ortlieb in Heilsbronn, it seemed like it would be a shame to not load up some bikes to get wet & muddy. You know, to see what waterproof cycling packs were all about.For a quick 2-day bikepacking overnighter, I loaded up the 3T Extrema Italia test bike with my set of limited edition purple, petrol & orange Ortlieb bikepacking bags stuffed with plenty of gear to stay warm and dry this past winter. And of course, heavy rain was forecast, and the gravel route was more dirt farm tracks and singletrack, so I broke out the Maxxis Severe 29er XC mud tires for as much grip as I could muster up. My Ass Savers Win Wing was no match for the sloppy wet German mud, although I think it did actually keep my legs a bit cleaner and drier.So did everything stay dry?Of course it stayed dry.Well, at least everything inside of my Ortlieb waterproof bikepacking bags.The first trick with riding gravel bikes in rain and mud is finding a place out of the rain when its time to load and unload your bags. The second is trying to keep the bags clean of mud before you have to open, or close them again.The Seat Pack saddlebag is the hardest to deal with keeping clean, so I try to limit how often I need to get into that one usually saving that for the end of the ride at camp. The Handlebar Pack doesnt get as mucked up at its openings, but the end openings are generally tricky to open, then close again tightly while still on the bike. So theyre not exclusively for camp, too.The roll-closure Frame-Pack Top Tube RC is my go-to for extra layers, tools, and bigger snacks that come out mid-ride. Its easy to get into with a gaping wide opening, and doesnt get dirty mid-ride.Then lastly, this magnet snap-closure toptube Fuel Pack is excellent for smaller snacks, and to keep your phone and powerbank dry in a deluge. One-handed easy access, and it still keeps rain out. Just dont dunk it in a lake, as its not immersion-proof like the rest of the Ortlieb bags are. Ortlieb waterproof will keep dry what you loveYes, Im fully onboard with the Keep Dry What You Love mantra. Plus, I love that Ortlieb builds these bags to last. And Ortlieb backs them with repair service to keep them in use for as long as you want to keep the riding your bike on new adventures.Now truth be told, I have already spent many hundreds of kilometers with my gear protected from the elements inside Ortlieb waterproof bikepacking bags. And I even rode to the train station in the rain this morning with my weekends worth of gear safely tucked away inside of Vario convertible pannier/backpack attached to a Quick-Rack Light.So, I already knew these colorful bikepacking bags would keep my goodies dry. But you cant blame me for taking an opportunity to go play in the mud & rain with Ortliebs head of communications. It was great to see inside Ortlieb how they manufacture these bags in Germany. But the trip was even better by taking my well-used bags back to their birthplace. And then, inundating the bags with truly the same rain and mud that Ortlieb created them to protect your gear from in the first place, for the past 42 years.Ortlieb.comThe post Ortlieb Factory Tour: How Waterpoof Bike Bags Are Made To Last A Liftetime in Germany appeared first on Bikerumor.

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