According to an article on Velonews.com Cal Giant-Specialized’s team van was broken into in Santa Cruz and a few items were stolen. Listed were some wheels and Jordi Cortes’ personal tools. Luckily he had locked up the bikes which may have prevented them from being stolen.

Some points for all of us:

always consider backup security for the items in your team vehicles
make sure your team’s equipment is insured
make sure your personal items are insured

Ed Note:
I’ve had my toolbox stolen, twice. In both cases I was covered by insurance allowing me to acquire new tools. However, I was not able to recover the tools I created myself, the tools handcrafted by others or the older models that were no longer in production. I learned from the second theft to not place my personal box near the door in the trailer. Theives tend …

Where mechanics and items related to mechanics appeared on the web during March.

British Triathlon updates their rulebook: http://www.britishtriathlon.org/news/new-british-triathlon-rule-book-now-published_1969

Ralf Medloff’s transition from ballroom dancer to head mechanic for the Jelly Belly pro cycling team:

http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_20152643/cycling-marin-from-ballroom-bike-corte-maderas-medloff

Design review of Bike Repair Tool Kits

http://www.core77.com/blog/tools/bike_repair_tools_and_kits_21902.asp?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+core77%2Fblog+%28Core77.com%27s+design+blog%29

Some pretty cool photos and video of the Radio Shack Nissan Trek team preparing for early season races.. Includes shots inside their team truck.

http://www.bdc-forum.it/dietro-le-quinte-il-team-radioshack-nissan-trek-alla-tirreno-adriatico/

Review of UCI’supdated regulations on bikes, including sizing and drop out. (let us know if you need a copy, the UCI has been asking sites to pull their copies from the web)

http://inrng.com/2012/03/uci-rules-regulation-bikes-clothing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+inrng%2Finrng0+%28The+Inner+Ring%29

BikeRadar’s suggestions for best bicycle tool kits

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/best-tool-kits-for-cyclists-33539/?CPN=RSS&SOURCE=BRGENHOME

Where mechanics and items related to mechanics appeared on the web during January.

Experiences of a race mechanic when traveling overseas:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/videos/the-challenges-for-mechanics-at-the-tour-down-under-1387465979001

A designer’s look at tool wraps:

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/a_look_at_tool_rolls_21535.asp?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+core77%2Fblog+%28Core77.com%27s+design+blog%29

Continuing Education. VeloNews’ Nick Legan reviews the Georgia round of the Park Tool  Tech Summit:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/01/bikes-and-tech/continuing-education_204383

Tool-dots – hang your tools how you want them, where you want them:

http://www.laboratory424.com/project/tool-dot

A lot of specialty tools exist for bicycles, tools you can’t find at your local hardware store. These tools tend to come from companies like Park Tool and Pedros who specialize in bicycle specific solutions. Once in a while we find a solution from another industry and many times that comes from motorcycles.

Wire Twisting Pliers

A little over a decade ago those of us working on mountain bikes found wire tools to be optimal for keeping grips from slipping from the bar. Luckily, a short time later, grip manufacturers began including hardware that secured the grips to the bar allowing us to remove that hefty tool and the small bail of wire. An example can be found here.

Recently we were introduced to rim protectors and rim shields. Tires for downhill bikes are not always the easiest to install and tend to …

Its that time of year again. Did you remember your mechanic friends?

Here are some ideas for last minute, useful gifts for the mechanic in your life.

Park Tool Bladed Spoke Holder

Bladed spokes have a tendency to wind up increasing the time it takes to true or adjust a wheel. This tool provides four slots to hold spokes from 0.8mm to over 2mm width.

http://www.parktool.com/product/bladed-spoke-holder-BSH-4

Screw Gripper

The Screw Gripper sits on the end of your screwdriver and holds the screw in place removing the need to squeeze your fingers in tight spaces.

http://www-uk.wera.de/

Wrenchware

Looking for a way to impress your mechanic friends? How about a tool related set of utensils. No, the pliers don’t work and we don’t know what size the wrenches are. But does it really matter?

http://wrenchwareinc.com/Wrenchware/wrenchware.php

Eat’N Tool

Funny utensils not your deal? How about a utensil that can actually be used as a tool?  …

As the end of the end of the year approaches, tool companies are feeling the giving spirit. Here are two opportunities to win some equipment for your garage:

30 Days of Giveaways from Kilz

Visit the Kilz Facebook page and “Like” them. this will open their main page where you can fill in their form for your chance to win.

Win a Festool Saw

Visit festoolsweepstakes.com/ for a chance to win a Festool Kapex Sliding Compound Miter Saw. Three simple fields and you are in.

More tool reviews at BikeRumor. This time around:

Topeak’s Ratchet Rocket Lite
Chrome’s Sherman tool bag backpak

Midweek Mini-Reviews: Goods from Topeak, Chrome & Giro – Bike Rumor

Morningstar Tools Rim ‘Rench Review – BikeRadar

James Huang of BikeRadar tests the Morningstar Tools Rim ‘Rench and gives it five of five stars. Its not often BikeRadar provides anything with five stars.

To learn more about this tool visit Morningstar Tools:
http://www.morningstartools.com/rim-rench.html

At this year’s Interbike show Fox Racing Shox was showing off their prototype iRD (intelligent Ride Dynamics) system which allows you to optimize your suspension setup through your cell phone. The system requires a special shock to be mounted to your frame and uses ANT+ digital signals to work with cellular devices.

A video is available on Bike Rumor.