26 Oct: From the Mantra5 Blog - What initially began as a six month project has turned into a life changing experience for all involved. The Hydrofoil Bike was nominated, and won, Gold in the ‘Concept’ category at the 2017 New Zealand Best Design Awards.   The win was great piece of validation for our design team. The whirlwind of attention we have had as a result of the awards has been all the more encouraging – especially given that was only our most recent prototype. Rest assured we will be entering the new and improved model into the 2018 Best…

Centuries of formality, tradition and etiquette are the attributes that many young people normally see as reasons to bypass the game of golf. The perception that golf is also mostly for the elders on the higher rungs of the corporate ladder might be precisely why the young and ambitious should consider practicing their swing. Trends worldwide show that golf is a game which is under enormous pressure to gain and retain participants, especially of a younger demographic. New Zealand Golf continues to meet the pressure head on through its ongoing efforts to keep the game accessible to all. New Zealand…

It's the Asia Cup and Pakistan are playing their arch-rivals India. They need nine to win from 4 balls with one wicket in hand and 'Boom Boom’ Shahid Afridi is facing Ravichandran Ashwin. A short ball on off-stump is thumped with mighty force by Afridi. The ball catches the outside edge and sails over the cover boundary. 73m six. 3 off 3 now. Another short ball, this time on the stumps. Afridi once again edges the pull but the ball travels over long-on and Pakistan win. The Pakistani fans erupt into celebrations as Lala has done it yet again for…

 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.— U.S. industry veteran Paul Lew has been named CEO of the newly restructured Edco cycling company, now based in Arizona. The historic brand — it was formed in 1867 in Couvet, Switzerland, and began making bike parts in 1902 — was purchased about ten years ago by Rob van Hoek and partners and has been operating as Edco Engineering BV in the Netherlands until recently. In early summer, a major supplier filed a bankruptcy suit against Edco Engineering BV for failure to meet its financial obligations. This filing was approved by the Netherlands government in August and the…

New Zealand is seeing a substantial increase in demand from the older ageing population for fitness, exercise and personal trainers, according to ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie. He says they now know not only that exercise is needed as people we age, but also why this is the case. There are many providers catering for the ageing market, something that was rare 15 years ago. Waikato University health and behaviour doctoral candidate Wendy Sweet says today’s ageing population, especially in the developed world, have many advantages over previous generations – not least access to research into ways to stave off…

The Twin Shift mounts on the end of a flat handlebar, and automatically moves both derailleurs ... It can be a tricky business, selecting the proper gear combinations on a dual-derailleur bike. You always want to avoid "cross-chaining," a situation in which the chain is stressed by being placed at too much of a lateral angle (such as if it were running from the outermost chainring to the innermost sprocket, or vice versa). French inventor Rolland Norbert is attempting to address the situation, with his Twin Shift. The grip-style shifter mounts on the end of a flat handlebar. With a…

Emirates Team New Zealand and 'Auld Mug' were welcomed at Emirates Group headquarters by Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and Gary Chapman, president Group Services and dnata, along with Jeremy Clarke Watson, New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE Ahead of their highly-anticipated welcome in Auckland, the winning crew of Emirates Team New Zealand arrived in Dubai, home of main sponsors Emirates, on Monday to proudly celebrate their America's Cup win. Emirates Team New Zealand and 'Auld Mug' were welcomed at Emirates Group headquarters by Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and Gary Chapman, president Group Services and dnata, along…

We’ve all been there, driving down a one-lane street, backed up behind a cyclist that blocks our ambition of hitting the speed limit. Seriously, bikes limp along at 10 mph and hit what—30 mph—max? Well, no. How does 90 mph sound? That’s right. Thanks to the engineering minds of Aerovelo and its bike, Eta, cyclists could theoretically complain about passing that big bead on your high performance vehicle. Aerovelo Cofounders Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert lead their team of University of Toronto (U of T) engineering students and alumni to design, simulate, optimize, build and pilot this escape pod-encased bike…

 Chris Jefferies reports in Boat International that the 24.38 metre maxi racing yacht Lion New Zealand has checked into Yachting Developments for an extensive winter overhaul. The works, which began on May 15 with her haul-out, are described as a “top-to-bottom refit”. Designed by Ron Holland and launched in 1985 for Sir Peter Blake, Lion New Zealand raced in the 1985/86 Whitbread Round The World Race. She was purchased in 2008 by the NZ Sailing Trust, which uses her to provide sailing experiences for young New Zealanders. In the past nine years, Lion New Zealand has covered more than 200,000…

Air New Zealand and New Zealand Rugby are searching the world for two truly crazy-about-rugby All Blacks Apprentices to join the All Blacks as they take on Manu Samoa in Auckland on 16 June. These volunteer positions are the first of their kind within the All Blacks camp. The apprentices will stay at the All Blacks’ hotel and assist the team both in preparation for the match and on game day, including: · assisting in the setting up of the team’s Captain’s Run on the day before the game before joining the team for lunch.· attending an exclusive question and…

Tomorrow Liam Malone will graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce from Victoria University adding another another hard earned award to his growing list of acheivments.  There were a few distractions on the way, not least competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Liam’s next step is to become the fastest person on the planet. “I’m going to be the fastest person on the planet, legs real or not. It’s important to do things that shape the future and this would be one of those things,” Liam said in a recent Victoria University press release.   So technology around…