New Sponsor News: Inflated Egos on the Horizon

We at Bad Idea Racing (Mike Piazza and myself) are pleased as punch to announce a new Dick Supporter to the family, Genuine Innovations. To say that we (all right, me) are excited about this would be an understatement. I've been carrying Genuine Innovations products ever since I started mountain bike "racing" back in 1992, and it looks like I'll now be carrying them in some sort of officially recognized and very endorsing manner.

Mike Piazza says we have enough CO2 to inflate 400 abnormally fast babies.

Here's the first dilemma I'll have to deal with being a Genuine Innovations sponsored athlete. Do I carry the Big Air or the Niner cartridge? The Big Air is a whole mess lighter than the Niner, but the contents (in this case, propane) are under lower pressure than the Niner (which has CO2 in it). That means that while both of them should get two flats rolling again one will theoretically "pack more punch" as I'm told. The folks at Genuine Innovations have provided me with a few extras so I can "play with them at home", so look for a test in the near future. Now don't go thinking I'm gonna piss them away in the name of science. I've gotta swap last years "racing" tires over to my "training" wheels, so when I get around to it I'm gonna do a very unscientific field test to see which one I prefer.

One major advantage of the Big Air is that with a little work one can make it look like a sample size can of shaving cream.

Don't ask me why one might do that, but I'm just saying one could do that.

The other dilemma I face is which inflator to carry.

The one on Mike Piazza's right (your left) is the Air Chuck SL and the other one is the Microflate Nano. The SL is an all metal Nickel-plated alloy design that uses Push-to-Inflate technology and happens to be their biggest seller (probably because it looks cooler what with it's nifty green anodizing and Transformer good looks). The Nano is their most economical mini-co2 inflator that uses Twist-to-Inflate technology, and is the only inflator that fits inside disc & aero wheels (which will come in handy when I get my Industry Nine solid pink aluminum disc wheels in 2010). These inflators will definitely have to go head to head in my very unscientific test thus creating so many variables that any data procured from said tests will probably be totally useless, but hopefully still entertaining.

This is an item I specially requested, the Tire Repair and Inflation Wallet:

Mike Pizza was blinded by the flash, but he is doing much better now.

Why did I want this product that really seems to be marketed towards the new bike commuter more so than a veteran (and very talented) endurance racer?

Well I could carry my tools in my Backcountry Research Toolie roll, but then I end up carrying things I don't need, like a pipe cutter and a putty knife.

No, the Toolie Roll is great for taking tools on the road, but it is very cumbersome feeling in a jersey pocket, what with the monkey wrench and all. I tend to just throw my "race" tools in an old sunglass sock (that could also be used as a penis sock if your google search for such an item comes up dry).

At the top of the picture is the old sunglass sock that I used to carry my tools in. It would always end up soaking wet and my tools were always bulging through the thin cloth and poking me in the back. If you're like me you don't want bulging tools poking you from behind, so I needed a solution (other than staying out of Scorpios). The tool wallet is nice and flat, padded on the inside, and fits precisely in my jersey pocket. This product has only been field tested for two hours, but so far so good.

So next year when I flat I'll be pulling out a Genuine Innovations product to save me, which was no different than in years past, but next year I'll do it with a big smile just in case there's a camera around. Don't worry, I'm not gonna get a big ego and start tossing my empties in the ditch like some people (especially when the camera's on)...