Author: Glimpse Team

If you love mountain trekking or hiking, it’s safe to say that you also love mountain bikes. Mountain bikes are typically ridden on single track trails, fire roads, logging roads, and other mountainous areas. Mountain biking is very popular nowadays and it’s also very good exercise too. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain. Mountain biking is also considered a sport, and this sport certainly tests one’s endurance, biking handling skills and self reliance. Mountain biking can be performed almost anywhere from a back yard to a gravel road, but the majority of mountain bikers ride off-road trails, whether country back roads, fire roads, or single track.

Mountain biking can be very dangerous at times depending on the area but it’s really a good way to get in shape. Riding bicycles off-road is when road racing cyclists used cyclo-cross as a means of keeping fit during the winter. Cyclo-cross eventually becoming a sport in its own right in the 1940s and is very well received by mountain bike lovers and health experts. Bikes have been very popular through the years but mountain bikes differ from other bikes because they incorporate features aimed at increasing durability and improving performance in rough terrain.

Most modern mountain bikes have some kind of suspension, 26, 27.5 or 29 inch diameter tires, usually between 1.7 to 2.5 inches in width, and a wider, flat or upwardly-rising handlebar that allows a more upright riding position, giving the rider more control. They have a smaller, reinforced frame, usually made of wide tubing. Tires usually have a pronounced tread, and are mounted on rims which are stronger than those used on most non-mountain bicycles. Compared to other bikes, mountain bikes also tend to more frequently use disc brakes. They also tend to have lower ratio gears to facilitate climbing steep hills and traversing obstacles. Pedals vary from simple platform pedals, where the rider simply places the shoes on top of the pedals, to “clipless” where the rider uses a specially equipped shoe with a sole that engages mechanically into the pedal.

Mountain bikes need to be sturdy indeed if they are going to be used for a more harsh terrain. Bikers know the risks involved, so they improve on their bike handling skills plus they have protective gear that’s solely for biking. It’s indeed really fun once you have passed all these “precautions”. Once you’re ready, then it’s going to be an enjoyable adventure. Most people do biking not only because it gives them good exercise but they will also be able to see nature and its beauty, well, to those who are into mountain biking forests that is. Exploring nature with your mountain bike is indeed very fun and soothing to one’s self. It gives you a good vibe deep within.

Mountain biking will be forever popular not only because of its health benefits but also for the joy it brings. If you want to explore the city or bike through nature with your metal detector for gold, you will certainly love biking. Mountain bikes are the best when it comes to those things because of their durability. Regardless, there’s no denying that mountain biking is indeed fun and relaxing at the same time and it always keeps one’s lifestyle, healthy.

1.  Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Best All day Shoes: Altra’s founder, Golden Harper, had a new product earlier this year and we are able to get a sneak peak at some of their award-winning trail line. The updated Lone Peak 1.5 were designed around the storied Wasatch 100 endurance race. With beefy soles, excellent “breathability”, and a weight of under 10 ounces, this is the trail shoe for all day adventures. You will feel the lightness in your soles and feet.

2. La Sportiva Helios

Best Short-Distance Shoe: These shoes are absolutely amazing and insanely light. However, don’t mistake the Helios for a lightweight, even if it does come in at just over 8.1 ounces. This hard charger is perfect for everything from short tempo runs to full blown trail half marathons. The toe and heel caps protect you on the rough trails, and the over-lugged sole sticks to everything. Go ahead and turn the speed up to eleven.

 

3. Salomon S-Lab Sense Ultra

Best Race-Day Shoe: Brace yourself for this wonderful and astonishing shoes. Designed in collaboration with world champion ultra runner Kilian Jornet, this update to Salomon’s popular Sense shoe features additional cushioning and deeper lugs. While these changes add an ounce of weight, the Sense Ultra still only comes in at 7.4 ounces, even with a durable 13-millimeter heel. At $180, they’re a little pricier than other options, but come race day, these sturdy, nimble shoes will leave your opponents seeing red and that’s a good thing.

 

 4. Brooks Cascadia 8

Best Shoe For Heel Strikers: Cascadia is back for another brilliant and durable shoes. The eighth edition of the Cascadia holds up Brooks’s strong trail tradition. A beefed-up BioMoGo DNA foam protects your feet from even the sharpest boulder hopping trails. The upper design is easy on the eyes, but more importantly, it keeps your feet locked in place, especially important on slick Pacific Coast or New England Trails. This is the comfort shoe your feet have been asking for.

5. Merrell Barefoot Trail Run Ascend Glove

Best Minimalist Trail Shoe: Mountain Hiking can never be so fun with Merrell shoes. If you’re looking for more connection to the trail, the Ascend Glove from Merrell provides the perfect minimalist platform with zero drop and only 6mm of cushioning. Ventilated and Gore-Tex-lined options are ready for any conditions. With a Vibram outsole and Merrell’s “Trail Protect” padding at critical points, the Ascend will be ready to go long after your feet are screaming for a break.

6. The North Face Single-Track Hayasa

Best Ultralight Shoe: The North Face collaborated with renowned Japanese runner Tsuyoshi Kaburaki to design the fastest trail shoes on the planet.  Hayasa also means “speed” in Japanese. These shoes live up to its name because of the ultralight touches it brings and a neutral platform, minimal foot bed and lightweight toe and heel protection. These shoes are not for the faint of heart or beginners. However, if you’re looking for a new set of tools to push you further, maybe a little then  Hayasa is what you need.

 

7. Newton Terra Momentum

Best Everyday Trainer: The new Newton Terra Momentum has become popular nowadays. People use them to handle everything from urban gravel paths to tricky ridge-line traverses. The flexibility of the shoes’ Action-Reaction technology makes them suitable for any runner’s style. If you don’t have the cash to spring for a few pairs of shoes , these Newton trainers are easily versatile enough to take on any terrain.

8. New Balance Leadville 1210

Best Long-Distance Shoe: Being filthy during “fun runs” are inevitable. Dirty, grimy feet are a constant in ultra-distance running, the inevitable result of grueling miles hoofed through the worst dust and mud imaginable. Clean feet mean fewer blisters and more time spent smiling during your run, and the breathable uppers of New Balance’s Leadville 1210s are tightly stretch woven to ensure that trail debris stays on the trail. A combined Vibram outsole and an N2/Revlite (New Balance’s proprietary cushioning foam) mid sole make for a plush slog through long miles.

9. Hoka One One Rapa Nui Comp

Best Cushioned Ride: People always love a more “comfortable feel” shoes. Hoka One One spurned the minimal debate and instead built a line of shoes with as much cushioning as possible. The result is a “running on air” feel. The oversized midsoles, with almost double the EVA cushioning foam of many other brands, function as foot-sized shock absorbers to provide superior flexibility and far more comfort than than competitors’ stiff rock plates.

 10. Pear Izumi EM Trail 2

Most Stable Shoe: Great comfortable shoes are always number one priority. Pearl Izumi took their proven E:MOTION carbon rubber sole system and paired it with a new, completely seamless upper. The result is an EM Trail 2 that’s the most stable shoe on the market. If you’re prone to rolled ankles, the bio mechanically designed E:MOTION mid soles help keep you on track to good mid foot form, even when you’re tired and would otherwise get sloppy. The water shedding and wicking uppers round out a great feature set. Trust us, you won’t want to take them off.

 

 

Casio G-Shock was introduced many years ago and consumers definitely loved this durable watch. It’s definitely one of Casio’s durable watches. Many people say that it’s a watch that never breaks, the Casio G-Shock is revered by many as “the toughest watch on the planet”. The G-Shock is universally respected, avidly collected, and loved by everyone from Navy SEALS to tree-hugging tech nerds, a watch that gives new meaning to the word “durable”. The G-Shock began in 1981, Casio’s head of watch design was engineer Kikuo Ibe. Ibe pulled together a project team of just three members and called them “Team Tough”. There were really only three design criteria, the so-called triple ten for the watch he had in mind: withstand a 10 meter drop, withstand 10 atmospheres of water pressure, and have a battery life of ten years. It would take over two years to release the first G-Shock, the DW-5000C. Ibe and his team had to work through some serious difficulties on the way.

As prototypes reached 200, team Tough was still far from the design solution they sought. It was then, on a chance visit to a playground, that Ibe got his stroke of inspiration, and that inspiration was a bouncing rubber ball. It was here that Ibe finally visualized the shock-resisting system that forms the basis of all G-Shock watches. He reasoned that the center of the ball doesn’t suffer the shock that the exterior does. He and his team set out to design a watch to resist shocks in a similar way.

The case of the G-shock is hollow and the timekeeping module is supported with soft gel cushioning material at only a few key points within. In addition, vital parts of the module itself are protected from impact with additional cushioning material. Protruding points on the case and bezel are made of urethane and protect the buttons and glass from impacts from any direction; even the strap is specially designed to aid in isolating the watch from impacts. All of these features help protect the G-Shock from concussions, high G-forces (such from as auto or air racing), and heavy vibrations. Casio’s watches boasts of quality and longevity, that’s the reason why it stood the test of time.

As for the name of the watch, Ibe said the “G” referred to the shock of a fall. A human being might be subjected to many shocks from many different situations (sports, fights, etc.), but Ibe thought a fall would be the toughest thing a person might endure and still live. The watch wasn’t meant to be unbreakable regardless of how far it fell. Rather, the intent was that the watch would remain working after any fall the wearer could survive. Its peculiar aesthetic and stubborn toughness, launched an immensely popular line with a unique blend of utilitarian focused (military members, adventurers, extreme sports athletes) and street cred-centric (hip hop artists, street style aficionados) followers. And there have been numerous milestones over the three decades of the G-Shock’s history. The first analogue/digital model appeared in 1989.

In 1993 the first true diver’s watch, the Frogman DW-6300, with 20 atmosphere water resistance, was released. The first titanium model, the Frogman DW-8200 came along in 1995. In 2000 the GW-100, the first radio-controlled G-Shock, appeared, able to receive calibration signals from one of six worldwide locations for more accurate timekeeping. Other features have appeared over the years: resistance to low temperatures and dirt and mud, built-in temperature and pressure sensors. The G-Shock has indeed improved through the years.

 The watch wasn’t meant to be unbreakable regardless of how far it fell. It was built to remain working after any fall the wearer could survive. -Kikuo Ibe