BICYCLES

Curse you! I can already feel my wallet being lightened by about $80.

 

I thought lighter is always better.

 

I kinda like 'em. For the right bike, they complete the look. I'm not a weight weenie, but if I were those are de rigueur.

On a side note, the whole carbon fiber thing got me thinking about the cycling performance continuum. Man and machine are closely related, but I wonder at what point one holds back the performance of the other. Lose a few kilos of body weight and as a percentage of the total rider-bike machine it is much higher than any lightweight part. So carbon bidon cages are the equivalent of what? Cutting your hair? Filing your fingernails and toenails? Sometimes aesthetics become fetish. That said, you still need cages so they might as well be cool. 😉

 

I share your concerns that too dwelling much on skinny equipment can cost you on your physical training. However, such negative side effects can be avoided if you understand how your body works.

As for the few grams saved being similar to cutting your hair, it's not quite like that. When riding hard, the weight savings on your bike affects handling (everything else being kept constant) and that helps in many ways. Since a cyclist also often uses his upper body to manhandle his bike, it affects a cyclist more than weight-savings on a car affects a driver. It's a bit like swinging a crisp, well-balanced racket vs a clumsily-balanced one. You're not just lifting the object, you're controlling its attitude in 3D through power from your wrists, hip and shoulder balance.

Of course, exactly where the weight is saved is important but any weight saved improves handling. They do similar crazy things on cars like skipping the paint and just applying clearcoat.

 

Interesting point. I guess I would respond that in my mind aerodynamics and fitness play a larger role in performance than weight. I hope this prompts a few responses and opinions. To highlight a more subtle point, I add that there might be an optimal order of importance (I just made up that phrase), like bang-for-the-buck, which applies to cycling performance. If money/time are not limits, then one could conceivably build a one-use, unpainted, course specific bike for every ride. Pro Teams would probably try this, but the UCI has a minimum weight limit.

For us mortals, ask what is the goal of the performance? Mountain biking pays more attention to durability than to low weight, for example. Time trailing places a premium on aerodynamic efficiency. Road racing is harder to simplify, though I think climbing performance is probably more about minimizing gravity's effect than about cheating the wind at all cost. All these differences are relative to each other. And I'm oversimplifying to make the point that the rider is the biggest variable and most riders aren't at the level where a 5g or 50g bidon cage is going to be a noticeable performance enhancer. It's cool and fun mostly.��

 

CAUTION: Last night I discovered a shortcoming of riding rollers instead of my Tacx....

I was helping a riding friend get connected on Zwift, so we'd having something more fun to do in the cold winter months. Let's just say that he and I are extremely competitive, and always sprint to intersections, segment end points, etc. It's just something that happened in our relationship: we try to crush one another relentlessly.

He was across town on his Tacx, I was in my pain cave with the World Series on the big screen and Zwift on my laptop. So, we're Zwifting along on Watopia and we encounter some gentle rolling hills toward the end of our 60 minute ride. Up to this point, we had been chatting (earbuds) and working on how to pace, group ride, and draft in Zwift (which all sucks, IMHO). As the hill approached, he was the front wheel and I could see his pace quicken. The moment the incline hit, he started the sprint. Stupid me --- I did the same thing and without a moment's thought, I instinctively jumped out of the saddle and pounded it. Crush him! (I thought)

I'll bet y'all know what happened next.

Contrary to internet lore, when a rider comes off the rollers they don't fly across the room. Rather, they embarrassingly ride straight forward and clunck onto the floor. I didn't fall, didn't unclip or anything severe -- but I crashed directly into my fan sending it across the room and sending my son into a meltdown of laughter.

A quick grab onto the nearby bookshelf and I was stable... as I watched my friend(?) ride away with the segment and obviously crush my effort.

Moral of the story: Zwift is a video game. Play with friends? Ok. Ride on rollers? Ok. Compete on rollers with a friend? Maybe not the best idea.


p.s. Ryan, no Tegaderm was needed for recovery. I only needed a big slice of humble pie.

 

I think I gained 6kg on the stuff. I remember the taste quite well...

 

Next time before you embark on another Zwift challenge, place the fan alongside your rollers instead...

 

I road five consecutive days last week with a group of 30 to 50 riders. A total of 220 miles and 18,000 feet of vertical. It is my first experience with riding in a peloton at speed. I learned a lot about riding in groups and have a better feel for it. The speed is enjoyable and its nice to not have to work hard all the time. I find it difficult to get used to the front riders setting the pace. I assume it takes new riders a while to become accustomed to following the pace setter.

 

haha - too true. I lost a bottle descending a local mountain, in a group, with some older Bontrager xXx ultralight cages. was very dangerous and ironically relegated the cages to a bike fixed on the trainer. I've learned very little of the ultralight products are worth it for amateurs.

 

A video of the five day charity ride. The scenery was spectacular.


https://youtu.be/4bQYP_MfgWk

 

WOW! Gorgeous locale. Looks like a fantastic event!

 

45 days after my crash (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/144955024-post396.html) things are back on track.

1) The "crash replacement" program from Pinarello and my local bike shop were fantastic. I have a new GAN RS and 90% of my components transferred easily to the new frame. Some minor bits needed replacement, but all-in-all, the new Pinarello feels exactly like the crashed one.

2) I got the old frame back and gave it some serious thought. I contacted the folks at Carbon Solutions in California (ex Calfee folks) and sent them photos and had a loooong conversation about the frame. They were confident it could be safely repaired and quite strong. They would repaint the frame and it would basically appear brand new, but the carbon repair spots would be matte finish instead of visible carbon weave. Based on where the frame cracked, this certainly doesn't bother me aesthetically.

3) Packed it up, and sent it to California. The process took about 2 weeks and it came back absolutely gorgeous. So now, what do I do? A ha! Why not try a complete build, all by myself. If I can tear apart an internal combustion engine, how difficult could it be?

So... here's what I spec'd:

1) SRAM Red eTap
2) SRAM Red Quarq GXP cranks
3) SRAM Red 52 and 36 chainrings
4) SRAM 11-28 cassette
5) Dura-Ace pedals (I like my P1 pedals on the other bike, but they're soooo chunky)
6) Zipp Contour SL Carbon bars
7) 3T ARX II stem
8) FI'ZI:K Antares R3 Saddle
9) Other crap like a bottom bracket, bar tape, chain, etc.
... and still waiting to arrive, Fulcrum Racing Zero wheelset.

HOLY CRAP! Did I have a crap-ton of fun over the past week, doing a small amount of build each evening. I learned a bazillion things about assembly, greases, anti-seizes, chain length, derailleur adjustment, calipers, internal routing, etc. Indeed, I didn't have much internal routing -- only one brake cable, actually -- because eTap is totally wireless. Smokin' cool tech. I question the "value" of the data it presents on my Garmin, but the shifting is indeed very crisp and smooth.

Not much else to report. I'm still on junky Vueltra wheels, waiting for the Fulcrums to arrive, and I'm not happy with the bar tape (minor, of course) but the bottom line is this: I think I built a sweeter whip with my crashed frame than I've got in the Di2 fitted "new" bike.
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Daniel, do you have your new bike yet?

 

Yes -- the new frame was fitted with all the 'old' Shimano bits and Di2.

So I basically now have two exact GAN RS frames: a new one with Shimano bits, and the "crashed" one with SRAM bits. There's no rational justification for having these two, but I had a lot of fun picking components and learning to build.

 

Wow. Just seeing your post above. I swear it wasn't there when I posted. Very cool to see.

 

That looks like a great event. Make sure you protect yourselves properly from the sun though. The level of exposure we have to harmful radiation from the sun isn't the same as what we experienced 40-50 years ago.

 

The repairs look really good! It's nice to see you were able to "revive" your crashed GAN RS frame. I wonder how much extra weight it had to take on from the repairs but I imagine it is still a light frame. Maybe you should compare how the 2 bikes feel on the road. It might be tough to sell a repaired CF frame but you could also set up the revived bike as a wet-weather training bike, complete with fenders and "rain" tires/wheels.

I have been using the Mk2 Crud fenders for 3 years now and they're still securely attached despite a bit of jerry-rigging with electrical tape I applied to the front fender as my cyclocross bike front forks are set up for cantilever brakes and lack the hole for regular sidepull brakes. I see the Mk3 fenders are now on sale and they look even more adapted to road racing frames.
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^ Agreed, it would be tough to sell a repaired CF frame -- and honestly, I wouldn't feel comfortable, even with full disclosure, selling it. Some of my friends suggested making it a muck/winter and/or cross bike, but I don't think its the correct frame. Also, I'm a wuss and prefer the feel of smooth, dry, warm, tarmac!

To that point, I'm riding a Zwift century tonight (heaven help me) with a buddy who's headed into elective surgery next week and wanted one "last hurrah" for our season. I will be on my old Madone, not one of these fancy-schmancy Italian jobs.

 

English century ride on Zwift did not succeed. I'm 100% certain I would have made the hundred-miles, but my buddy had a mental bonk around 55 miles and we agreed to cut it short with a Metric. I'm happy to drop folks (and be dropped) on rides quite regularly, but when it comes to my closest riding friend, I didn't think it was fair to hammer onward with a big achievement and let our season end with such a disparity.

We were able to watch all of Star Wars ep 1, and a good bit of The Sandlot while Zwifting away. I must admit, it sucks. I vastly prefer the structured nature of TrainerRoad.

 

My latest build. Magic Cycle Werks Vanish frame, Athena 11 group, Neutron wheels. Rode for the first time yesterday. Lovely.


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Do any of these online VR training setups incorporate smart fans? It might be "really cool" to simulate variable velocity headwinds, tailwinds, crosswinds... maybe even have some of them driven by leg power à la regenerative braking.

 

YIKES!!!

Or were you thinking of adding to the... Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That'd be pretty slick -- but I haven't seen anything like that yet. Cross-wind on rollers would be seriously not fun!