Bike Tech 101

Maybe your bike is in storage until the weather warms up and biking is far from the forefront of your mind. But tonight, you want to harness that bike energy or that lust for all things cycling. You can leave the bike packed away or hooked up to the trainer, just consider driving to Highland Park to check out some of the latest and greatest in bike technology. See it for yourself on January 21 at 7 p.m. at Vision Quest Highland Park, 1923 Skokie Valley Road.
Who doesn't want to go faster on the bike, especially if you've got a lot of ground to cover or a half Ironman or Ironman to tackle? Sometimes your legs can only take you so far and it starts to become a matter of bike position--especially nailing the aero positioning--and bike composition. And if you want to feast your eyes on the latest speed demon on the bike circuit--any cyclist knows this far surpasses what's debuting at the International Auto Show currently in Detroit and soon to stop in Chicago--Vision Quest has it tonight. Tyler Pilger and Nick Howe from Trek Bicycles are providing a sneak peek at the 2011 Trek Speed Concept.

The Speed Concept is the latest design from Trek and boasts the same aero design that powered Alberto Contador to his 2009 Tour de France victory and propeled Chris Lieto to the bike course record that he set at the Ironman World Championships in Kona. It's expected to be released for the 2011 model year and uses automotive aerodynamic technologies coupled with component integration. And not only can you gawk at this bike, but you can also learn more about triathlon bike development and how the 2010 Madone 6 series was developed.

But that's only the bike side of the evening's events. Vision Quest is also showcasing another technology that is aimed to help you recover faster: the NormaTec MVP (Most Valuable Pump). Created from collaboration between physicians and athletes, the NormaTec MVP is popular among triathletes and cyclists like Simon Whitfield, Lance Armstrong, Craig Alexander, Tim DeBoom, Levi Leipheimer and cycling's Team Garmin/Slipstream. NormacTec is compression at its finest and tailored to the athlete. According to its description it mimics normal physiology to help athletes recover quickly either from workouts, injury or surgery. And because it's based around physiology, the compression it offers helps to improve circulation and alleviate symptoms.

To learn more about these tools to make 2010 your best season and the January 21 event, check out www.visionquestcoaching.com. Photo grabbed from nsr1986 at flickr.