Archives: Blackburn Designs

So good!!

“Blackburn, designer and developer of innovative cycling products and accessories, announced today the induction of four new adventure cyclists into the 2014 Blackburn Ranger “Out There” program. Created in 2012 to embody the culture of adventure, the Blackburn Ranger program supports cyclists that the brand admires on their journeys along the Pacific Coast and the Great Divide.

To continue the legacy and spirit that Founder Jim Blackburn built in 1975, the Ranger program is created from a simple and effective people-and-product-first approach with everything it touches. This no-nonsense style provides in the field product development feedback that gets fast-tracked for future innovation and also places community first; which has always been a fundamental tenet of the brand.

According to Robin Sansom, Brand and Product Manager, “The Rangers are on the front line with our products on a daily basis for months. Their level of focused feedback is instrumental to our product innovation, validation and testing.  We are approaching our third year of the Ranger program and our team is all so proud of the cyclists for stepping up to share their adventures.

Ultimately, the program encourages everyone to ‘get out there.’

Blackburn sent out a smoke signal to cyclists asking for participation into the Ranger program from January– March 2014.  There was an overwhelming response as hundreds of applicants created videos and wrote essays explaining why they wanted to embark on the adventure and become a Blackburn Ranger.  The end result was the Blackburn team choosing four new Rangers that they felt symbolized the sprit of the brand and would carry the torch of the proceeding Rangers.” – Blackburn

Make sure to follow along over at Blackburn to watch these Rangers tackle the unknown. Looks like one hell of a great ride!

This thing is pretty rad! Super well put together with a couple nice features that add style x function points.

Two things right off the bat. The pump has a braided metal hose! What… so good. The hose is one of the areas that if a pump is going to fail, it will be there. The last pump I had snapped the hose at the base of the floor pump. Rest assure this will not happen with this guy.

The second thing, it has a removable handle that will fit a handle bar of your choosing; which means you could change it out to add your own personal touch (it’s the little things). The detailing in this floor pump kills. The knurled handlebar is clean with a solid Blackburn logo on the ends.It has a slim, alloy AnyValve pump head that grips Presta, Schrader and Dunlop valves securely. Some pumps I’ve used in the past take the grip of Thor to secure the pump head to the tube, this one does not. It is smooth and secure. When I first got the Blackburn Design Airtower Shop Pump in for review I wasn’t really sure how to put a review together for this item. After thinking back on my history of floor pump use I thought… “how many floor pumps have I gone through?”, the answer is not many; which brings up a good point. I’m not going to replace this pump for many years, so which is the most functional and best looking pump I want to use x look at in my shop. In my opinion, it would be this one.

Blackburn really did knock this out of the park. They have been putting out some super quality stuff as of late. I hope you’ve been noticing, I have been.

Go to Blackburn Design and check out the Airtower Shop Pump. If you’re in the market for a new pump or just tired of your old lame one, the Airtower Shop Pump has you covered.

Also… feel free to check out their Central Front Smart Light as well. Another smooth product Blackburn just released.

This things is pretty solid. Super bright and because of the smart sensor you’ll be able to run this without charge for many rides. When you do need to charge this sucker up, you can easily plug it into your computer, wall unit, or any USB capable device. Once fully charged you have many hours of use.

Details:

• 18-500 Lumens 
• Intensity auto adjusts to ambient light
• Runtime ≤ 12.5 hrs Smart (Editors Note: Go with Smart option), 1.5 hrs High, 3 hrs Low and Strobe
• USB ≤ 4 hr Recharge
• Illuminated fuel gauge levels: Green=100-75%, Orange=75-25%, Red=25=0% 
• 195 grams “There’s dark, and then there’s dark. Plus the varying shades of night in between. The Central Front Smart Light lets you ride through it all, auto adjusting its focused beam for the conditions you are experiencing right now. So you can focus on what matter.” – BlackburnYou have several settings. Blink bright, smartly shine bright, BRIGHT!, and not so bright. I love how simply laid out the turn nob it. No need to focus on the light as you’re smashing down the road.Blackburn really put on their thinking caps with this one. It’s a little bit bigger of a light but it has 500 lumens!! I truly love the design of it and its functionality has been nailing it the last several days. Good job Blackburn!! Nailed it!

Go to Blackburn Design to check out other cool specifications about the Central Front Smart Light as well as a small video showcasing it in action.

(Editors Note: At a distance (unmounted) it kind of looks like a small handgun. Whether you are into guns or not is not the point. The point is, if you walk out of the store/bar/barber/grocery/etc. and find someone trying to steal your bike you can freak them the hell out! and deter them from messing with your two wheeled speed machine… OR… they actually have a gun and shoot you.)

(Editors Note 2: We don’t promote violence… just the Ride x Create vibe! Peace.)