Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Swim Skin Contraversy
Introduced at this year's Interbike Show, cycling's version of the Detroit Auto Show, a few wetsuit manufacturers including ourselves unveiled a new category of garment specifically designed for use in events that will not allow the use of wetsuits. This happens when the water temperature is too warm (78degrees for pros, 84 for age groupers) for using the wetsuits because overheating becomes a concern.
Skinsuits were designed as a lighter, thinner covering which still gives the benefit of having a slick surface for less drag, but without the insulation properties of the neoprene in wetsuits. In order to keep all things reasonably fair and even there has to be rules for what is considered a skinsuit. First and foremost is buoyancy. Skinsuits are not allowed to have any. One company has designed a fabric that has a special coating which is used for drag reduction, but has no buoyancy.
So how does USAT address the legality of what can and can't be used? Triathlon's test for legality is to place 61 grams of weight on a suit, wrung free of air, and placed a foot or two under the water's surface. If the suit sinks it's legal, otherwise it's not.
Unfortunately this is not a very scientific method of testing which can leave a lot of factors left for error. For instance, there is no way of telling how much if any air is still trapped in the garment which could affect it's buoyancy.
Marcin Sochacki, founder of Rocket Science Sports, aerospace engineer and triathlete has a better method for testing, using actual mathmatical calculations to figure the buoyancy of a material. By calculating the weight of a mass and the amount of space the mass takes up it is easy to find if it is going to be buoyant or not. Conceivably this method could be used for approving specific types of materials used by manufacturers for the construction of a skinsuit. Marcin has spoken with USAT's Commissioner of Officials Charlie Crawford about this method and it seems to be under advisement.
We hope to gain support from the rest of the triathlon community in this endeavor. You can voice your concern or support to USAT directly if you wish.
Cheers!
Skinsuits were designed as a lighter, thinner covering which still gives the benefit of having a slick surface for less drag, but without the insulation properties of the neoprene in wetsuits. In order to keep all things reasonably fair and even there has to be rules for what is considered a skinsuit. First and foremost is buoyancy. Skinsuits are not allowed to have any. One company has designed a fabric that has a special coating which is used for drag reduction, but has no buoyancy.
So how does USAT address the legality of what can and can't be used? Triathlon's test for legality is to place 61 grams of weight on a suit, wrung free of air, and placed a foot or two under the water's surface. If the suit sinks it's legal, otherwise it's not.
Unfortunately this is not a very scientific method of testing which can leave a lot of factors left for error. For instance, there is no way of telling how much if any air is still trapped in the garment which could affect it's buoyancy.
Marcin Sochacki, founder of Rocket Science Sports, aerospace engineer and triathlete has a better method for testing, using actual mathmatical calculations to figure the buoyancy of a material. By calculating the weight of a mass and the amount of space the mass takes up it is easy to find if it is going to be buoyant or not. Conceivably this method could be used for approving specific types of materials used by manufacturers for the construction of a skinsuit. Marcin has spoken with USAT's Commissioner of Officials Charlie Crawford about this method and it seems to be under advisement.
We hope to gain support from the rest of the triathlon community in this endeavor. You can voice your concern or support to USAT directly if you wish.
Cheers!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Manufacturing.
So it's been a while since I last did a real post. Please forgive me. It's been a crazy few months with all the travelling, ending with Interbike at the end of September. The last couple of weeks have been dig out and follow-up time. Pre-season sales are being closed and new dealers around the country are being brought on board. What a great time for us!
Among other things Marcin is getting ready to leave next week to move his family to China. Yes, I said China! He will be back in a couple weeks for a short time but then will return to live there for a year or two. This is for a couple reasons. One is that we have a small office there and a full time production manager who is working dialy with our assembly plants. The other reasons are to personally oversee manufacturing of our newest high tech products and to hire and train a larger staff to help develop our manufacturing capabilities and quality control.
Just to clarify, we do not have anything made in China. All of our components are made in places like Italy, Australia, Japan, Israel, and imported to China for assembly. The reason we do this is to maximize the quality of the components we buy or have designed for us while keeping the end cost reasonable.
For those concerned with work ethics in in the factories we use, let it be known that Marcin surprise inspects each perspective factory to make sure no unethical treatment is present and to make sure that the atmosphere is conducive to employee happiness and good workmanship. The factories must also be willing to learn quality assurance practices and update equipment needed to keep up with Rocket Science Sport's technological advancements.
I believe we go well beyond designing and having products manufactured for us. In order to guarantee the best product we need to personally learn and be a part of all levels of the process. Marcin's commitment to the the quality and consistancy of our products I can assuradly say is unmatched in the industry. His tireless effort and attention to not only the details of the product, but to the process of design and production will surely be the root of Rocket Science Sports ultimate success as a business, and the advancements of technology in the industry.
Cheers!
Among other things Marcin is getting ready to leave next week to move his family to China. Yes, I said China! He will be back in a couple weeks for a short time but then will return to live there for a year or two. This is for a couple reasons. One is that we have a small office there and a full time production manager who is working dialy with our assembly plants. The other reasons are to personally oversee manufacturing of our newest high tech products and to hire and train a larger staff to help develop our manufacturing capabilities and quality control.
Just to clarify, we do not have anything made in China. All of our components are made in places like Italy, Australia, Japan, Israel, and imported to China for assembly. The reason we do this is to maximize the quality of the components we buy or have designed for us while keeping the end cost reasonable.
For those concerned with work ethics in in the factories we use, let it be known that Marcin surprise inspects each perspective factory to make sure no unethical treatment is present and to make sure that the atmosphere is conducive to employee happiness and good workmanship. The factories must also be willing to learn quality assurance practices and update equipment needed to keep up with Rocket Science Sport's technological advancements.
I believe we go well beyond designing and having products manufactured for us. In order to guarantee the best product we need to personally learn and be a part of all levels of the process. Marcin's commitment to the the quality and consistancy of our products I can assuradly say is unmatched in the industry. His tireless effort and attention to not only the details of the product, but to the process of design and production will surely be the root of Rocket Science Sports ultimate success as a business, and the advancements of technology in the industry.
Cheers!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Rocket Bottle
Aero Bars: Check
Aero Wheels: Check
Aero Helmet: Check
Rocket Bottle: ?
How much would you spend to reduce drag by 16%*?
It's a no-brainer.
*Compared to similar sized non-dimpled bottle. Tests conducted at
University of A&M low speed wind tunnel.
Designed and tested by Marcin Sochacki, founder and CEO of Rocket Science Sports.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Elite Bag Review
Last year we had our elite bag reviewed by BeginnerTriathlete.com and scored a near perfect 4.75 out of 5. Not being happy enough with that, Marcin went back to the drawing board and made a few tweaks to the bag. This year we re-submitted the "new" elite for another take.
I'm proud to say that we now officially make the best of the best with a 5 of 5 rating! But hold on now, this isn't just for triathletes anymore. Take a look! Anyone can make use of this bag for many different purposes. We have also just announced sponsorship of pro road cycling team AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork. Ask them! Tri bag or not, this thing rocks for roadies, MTBrs, business people, motocross, photographers etc.
Check out the complete review at BeginnerTriathlete.com
I'm proud to say that we now officially make the best of the best with a 5 of 5 rating! But hold on now, this isn't just for triathletes anymore. Take a look! Anyone can make use of this bag for many different purposes. We have also just announced sponsorship of pro road cycling team AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork. Ask them! Tri bag or not, this thing rocks for roadies, MTBrs, business people, motocross, photographers etc.
Check out the complete review at BeginnerTriathlete.com
Rocket Science Sports Sponsors AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork
Rocket Science Sports Announces partnership with AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork
Austin, Texas, Sept 1, 2007 - Rocket Science Sports is proud to announce a new partnership with the AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork Pro Cycling Team, marking its expansion into the cycling industry. According to the agreement, the AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork Pro Cycling Team will use Rocket Science Sports' Elite backpacks for gear transportation and Rocket Bottles for use on their bikes in time trial events. On the heels of Rocket Science Sports' record growth this year and record wins including Keith Norris’ U23 Criterium National Championship, the alliance comes at an exciting time for both groups.
Darren Zielinski, VP of Sales and Marketing for Rocket Science Sports, said: "I am happy to support Ravi Rajcoomar and his management team at Swagger and the amazing squad he's assembled. We are looking forward to a very successful season. I believe that the culmination of our company’s knowledge of engineering and the team’s input for practical applications will ultimately pay off for us both.”
Austin, Texas, Sept 1, 2007 - Rocket Science Sports is proud to announce a new partnership with the AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork Pro Cycling Team, marking its expansion into the cycling industry. According to the agreement, the AEG-TOSHIBA-JetNetwork Pro Cycling Team will use Rocket Science Sports' Elite backpacks for gear transportation and Rocket Bottles for use on their bikes in time trial events. On the heels of Rocket Science Sports' record growth this year and record wins including Keith Norris’ U23 Criterium National Championship, the alliance comes at an exciting time for both groups.
Darren Zielinski, VP of Sales and Marketing for Rocket Science Sports, said: "I am happy to support Ravi Rajcoomar and his management team at Swagger and the amazing squad he's assembled. We are looking forward to a very successful season. I believe that the culmination of our company’s knowledge of engineering and the team’s input for practical applications will ultimately pay off for us both.”
Friday, August 31, 2007
Travel Travel Travel
Well, I've been on the road quite a bit lately. I started off with flying to Florida and driving from city to city all over the state for a whole week. I got a lot accomplished, met with many dealers, made new friends and drove straight past many wonderful places I have only dreamed of visiting. I think that was the most painful part of the whole trip. Disney World, Dinosaur World, Busch Gardens, numerous museums, Daytona Beach (okay, I stopped for a quick peek), and many other places too many to mention. At least I know where everything is now, right?
Needless to say we now have a lot more exposure for our brand in Florida. I'm glad I made the trip. One thing I noticed about Floridians is that for the most part, everyone was so friendly. That includes when they are on the road. My hypothesis is that this is due to the "common disaster" syndrome. This is the syndrome where people who share the experience of a major disaster grow tightly together and sweating the little things isn't such a big deal. I guess after you've been through a few devastating hurricanes everything else is gravy.
So after Florida I spent a very short weekend with my family and then Marcin and I drove from Austin to Madison Wisconsin. From there we visited dealers and worked our way down to Chicago in time to set up a booth at the Chicago Triathlon. We picked up several new dealers on this trip of which two bought product from us to sell at the expo. This turned out well for everyone. We did not have to drive back with much stuff after the event and they learned how well our products sell!
Timing is everthing. When we reached the Chicago Hilton (where the expo was held) we unloaded our trialer in the loading area. No sooner did we get our stuff off the sidewalk and into the building did a major storm packing winds of up to 80 mph hit the windy city. That was close! I feel bad for those who were in the middle of unloading at that time. BTW, did you know that Chicago is not necessarily known as the windy city because of the wind? If you are at all interested in the history of this, you can read about it here.
I took Marcin to a Polish restaraunt my family goes to when in Chicago to help him get a little taste of home. The While Eagle is the biggest place you have ever seen! They have a huge banquet hall for weddings and other big Polish family events (I've only been there for family gatherings after funerals) as my relatives are all buried across the street. Don't let that turn you off though. The desserts are wonderful and the plates are bountiful! When we had our food brought to us we thought they had the wrong table. The amount of food we got was clearly enough for 4-5 people. Needless to say, we did our best and then rolled ourselves out the door and to the nearest hotel for some serious full belly snooze time.
So now we have a week rest (yeah, right!) in Austin, attend the Austin Triathlon on the weekend of September 2nd, and then Marcin leaves to visit our factories overseas one more time before Interbike the following Tuesday. Eunice will leave on Thursday to set up at the Ironman Wisconsin that Thursday and I will leave Friday for the L.A. Triathlon. Looks like I'll be spending the following week travelling California and meeting dealers, celebrating my birthday (Wednesday, Sept. 12th) and then possible setting up at the Malibu Triathlon that next weekend.
That should pretty much do it for travels this year...not! We have Interbike to attend at the end of September and then a couple of events in October including the U.S. Open Triathlon in Dallas
and then possibly the Escape from Bermuda Triathlon.
Cheers!
Needless to say we now have a lot more exposure for our brand in Florida. I'm glad I made the trip. One thing I noticed about Floridians is that for the most part, everyone was so friendly. That includes when they are on the road. My hypothesis is that this is due to the "common disaster" syndrome. This is the syndrome where people who share the experience of a major disaster grow tightly together and sweating the little things isn't such a big deal. I guess after you've been through a few devastating hurricanes everything else is gravy.
So after Florida I spent a very short weekend with my family and then Marcin and I drove from Austin to Madison Wisconsin. From there we visited dealers and worked our way down to Chicago in time to set up a booth at the Chicago Triathlon. We picked up several new dealers on this trip of which two bought product from us to sell at the expo. This turned out well for everyone. We did not have to drive back with much stuff after the event and they learned how well our products sell!
Timing is everthing. When we reached the Chicago Hilton (where the expo was held) we unloaded our trialer in the loading area. No sooner did we get our stuff off the sidewalk and into the building did a major storm packing winds of up to 80 mph hit the windy city. That was close! I feel bad for those who were in the middle of unloading at that time. BTW, did you know that Chicago is not necessarily known as the windy city because of the wind? If you are at all interested in the history of this, you can read about it here.
I took Marcin to a Polish restaraunt my family goes to when in Chicago to help him get a little taste of home. The While Eagle is the biggest place you have ever seen! They have a huge banquet hall for weddings and other big Polish family events (I've only been there for family gatherings after funerals) as my relatives are all buried across the street. Don't let that turn you off though. The desserts are wonderful and the plates are bountiful! When we had our food brought to us we thought they had the wrong table. The amount of food we got was clearly enough for 4-5 people. Needless to say, we did our best and then rolled ourselves out the door and to the nearest hotel for some serious full belly snooze time.
So now we have a week rest (yeah, right!) in Austin, attend the Austin Triathlon on the weekend of September 2nd, and then Marcin leaves to visit our factories overseas one more time before Interbike the following Tuesday. Eunice will leave on Thursday to set up at the Ironman Wisconsin that Thursday and I will leave Friday for the L.A. Triathlon. Looks like I'll be spending the following week travelling California and meeting dealers, celebrating my birthday (Wednesday, Sept. 12th) and then possible setting up at the Malibu Triathlon that next weekend.
That should pretty much do it for travels this year...not! We have Interbike to attend at the end of September and then a couple of events in October including the U.S. Open Triathlon in Dallas
and then possibly the Escape from Bermuda Triathlon.
Cheers!
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