Video: Morvélo. A Bloc.

I've seen a lot of bike-related videos lately and I really enjoyed this one.  Well done, Morvélo.

"Everyone appreciates a good climb. But that's only half the story.  Enjoy the whole ride and give it everything."


Morvélo. A Bloc. from Morvélo Bicycle Apparel on Vimeo.

Lance Armstrong meets Radiohead's "Creep"

This is freaking hilarious.  This has long been one of my favorite songs.

Radiohead's "Creep" by Matthijs Vlot:

The original song:

Boyd 38mm Carbon Clinchers

Last Friday, my new Boyd Cycling 38mm carbon clincher wheels arrived.  Unfortunately, because of an oversight on my part, they were shipped with the wrong brake pads.  I ordered Campagnolo compatible wheels, which ship with pads for Campagnolo brakes, but I use TRP brakes that use a Shimano style pad.  Yeah, should have specified that.  They arrived in the standard cardboard wheel box with just a piece of cardboard between them, foam on the cassette body, and a protective plastic plug on each hub.  It wasn't as impressive as the packaging that my Easton EA90 Aero wheels came in.  That was an impressive wheel box.

Dog feet, wheel box, my feet

Of course, the first thing I did was weigh them.  The claimed weights are 614g front and 770g rear.  I can only assume that is with the included rim tape and no lockring since that is how they arrived.  On my Feedback Sports "Alpine Digital Gear Scale" they came in at 620g front and 780g rear, a difference of 16g.  Pretty darn close.  The one thing that surprised me is the lack of a lockring.  My Eastons came with an aluminum lockring, which is sitting on the Boyds until my pretty green Far Near one arrives from Fairwheel Bikes.  The Easton EA90 Aero wheels have a claimed combined weight of 1545.  On my scale, they came in at 1600g (680g front, 920g rear), 55g above their claimed weight.  Photos of everything being weighed can be seen here on Flickr.

Ghosted decals

Getting the Kenda Kaliente Pro tires (23c) on the Boyds was quite a chore.  It was impossible without the aid of a tire lever, which annoyed me.  The Eastons were difficult (same tire), but I could get them on with my thumbs.  This might have to do with the difference in width as the Boyds are 21mm wide while the Eastons are 19mm wide.  This is pure speculation as I really have no idea and it could just be that they are different.  Boyd recommends 48mm valves for the tubes, but they weren't quite long enough for my pump to get a good grip.  I went with 60mm tubes but the ideal length would be about 55mm, if they are available anywhere.  The tubes I picked up were regular shop stock, so they are a bit heavy.  I'd love to put some nice latex tubes in which would enhance the ride quality and save a bunch of weight.

After the brake pads arrived on Monday, I finished setting up the bike and getting everything adjusted, but was unable to ride because of time.  Yesterday I was off work a bit early so I jumped at the chance to get in a quick ride to test them out.  My first impressions are very favorable.  They feel smoother than the EA90 Aeros and I didn't feel any flex when standing up to climb.  I have to mention one pretty awful thing about the wheels, which is squeal when you grab a fistful of brake lever.  The front wheel makes a small amount of noise, but the rear sounds like a stuck pig.  I'm going to contact Boyd about it and see if he has a recommendation.  Otherwise, the braking is smooth and much more powerful than I had expected.  I've heard horror stories about carbon wheels taking much longer to stop, but I didn't notice that at all.  We'll see what it is like during a wet rain ride.

This is my first set of carbon wheels, and so far I am very happy with them.  I'll be giving them a much better test tonight at the Laguna Seca Twilight Ride.  Good stuff.

Update:  I spoke with Boyd (the owner and namesake) and he suggested more toe for the rear brakes.  However, and I know this sounds strange, I am unable to toe in the brakes.  The pad holders do not have a spherical washer, and the brakes are carbon-wrapped aluminum so I can't bend the arms.  I'm now on the hunt for a pair of adjustable pad holders.

Craigslist Ad for Aaron Gwin's Trek

Most likely a joke, this Craigslist ad is pretty funny following the news of Aaron Gwin leaving Trek for Specialized.  The ad was quickly pulled, so luckily I got a screen capture.

The ad reads:

Factory Trek Session Team DH Bike - $5450 (Temecula)

Amazing DH bike! Doesn't get much better than this! All Saint factory equipped! Fox shocks! Fox 40 forks! You want race tuned! Here it is! Collectors item for sure! ! Enough said!! No BS offers...once you see it you'll understand! #1 for a reason! 760-594-4638 will trade for toy hauler,Toyota Tacoma , sand car or Bentley ;)

Vintage 1994 Sea Otter Classic Photos

A little while back, my mom found, scanned, and emailed me some photos from the 1994 Sea Otter Classic, which was just before my sixteenth birthday.  Back then it was a fairly large event, but nothing like it is today.  They also had an inline skating race, which I proudly entered.  This was way before my days of actually racing inline (indoors) while living in Sacramento.  I'm pretty easy to spot on my hot pink Specialized Allez Transition.  I miss that bike.  Few might notice that I'm using Scott Drop-Ins, and I really liked them.  The low drop was very comfortable, and with my hands down there, it made it easy to flick the downtube shifter with my thumb for a different gear.

And now for the skating photos.  I'm wearing the very stylish (think grunge era) plaid shorts and dark sweatshirt with a silver Specialized Sub Six Pro strapped to my noggin.  It was cold and wet, and the traction of the skates was horrible.  The race course did not go fully around the track, but was an up-and-back along the flatter section between turns 3 (Andretti Hairpin) and 5.

How a Cycling Shoe is Made

This is nifty.  It makes the high price of some hand-made shoes understandable.
Vittoria shoes on "How It's Made."

New Wheels Ordered

On Friday I finally pulled the trigger on a new set of wheels for my road bike.  I know I've been whining about wanting a new bike, but nothing is exciting me right now and I really can't fault the Flyxii FR-303 frameset.  The wheels I have had my eye on for a while are the Boyd Cycling 38mm carbon clinchers.  Boyd is introducing a new wheel line soon, so the current wheels are all 20% off.  One thing I love is the option for ghosted decals.  They are scheduled to arrive on Friday, so I'll get out for a test ride on Saturday as long as it isn't raining.  I'd rather not test new equipment in the rain.  Stoked.

Boyd Cycling 38mm carbon clinchers with ghosted decals

Foundry Riveter

After talking with Sean at Peninsula Bike Works on Friday about bikes and whatnot, I spent some considerable time on the Foundry Cycles website.  I'd been to the website a few times in the past, but a new gem has appeared.  The Riveter.  It is a disc-specific road bike and is offered as a frameset or built in three configurations (two Sram, one Shimano).  What is interesting is retail on the frameset is rumored to be $2199, but the Shimano 105 build is listed at only $2715.  Seems like a no-brainer to me.  The other builds are Sram Force/Rival for $3475 and Red for $5175.  All come with FSA parts, and the 105 build has some Ritchey parts thrown in the mix.  Two things I love about this frame are the internal cable routing and the Di2 capability for a future upgrade.  One interesting note is the fork is made for a 15mm through axle for extra stiffness.  This makes wheel selection a bit more difficult, basically calling for a custom build wheelset.

Today I'll be visiting Sean at PBW to see the Foundry Ratchet he has on loan to check out the build quality of the frame and get my first in-person glimpse of what could be my next road bike.

Foundry Riveter frameset.

Interestingly, this photo shows an Ultegra Di2 build, which is not shown as an option.

Skylar Grey Singing About Bicycles

I'm not really sure what to say about this.  At the very least, it is bicycle related.

Lifted from Drunkcyclist, this about sums up my feelings today.  Tomac is the man.

Greg Lemond & Taco Bell

Thanks to the Bike Jerks for posting this.  Freaking awesome.

New CX Parts to Pick Up

I just got a call from Micah at Peninsula Bike Works.  The parts that I didn't expect to see until next week arrived today!  The new goodies are TRP CX8.4 brakes in blue and a FSA headset top cap, both for the Blue Norcross.  The TRPs will be replacing the short-lived Paul Touring brakes, and the top cap replaces the stock top cap with cable hanger.  Looks like I'll be testing out the new parts in Fort Ord tomorrow.

PBW is a new shop in Monterey, opened by Micah and Sean, two veterans of the bike shop world.  They worked together at Joselyn's up until the doors to that shop were closed.  Drop in and check them out.

My cozy new PBW sweatshirt.

The Rules

I can't believe I haven't seen this before today.
 
http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

I live life by rule #12.

GT Edge Ti Video

Renewing my interest in the new GT Edge Ti frame, here is a BikeRadar video from Eurobike 2012.  It gets to the good stuff at 1:14...

Track Bike With 3D Printed Lugs

This is incredibly impressive and could be used for so many applications in cycling.


VRZ 1. a tack bike frame with 3d printed lugs from Ralf Holleis on Vimeo.

Paul Touring Cantis w/ Campagnolo

Several months ago I decided to upgrade the brakes on my Blue Norcross SP cyclocross bike.  I had been using cheapo Nashbar cantilever brakes since I had them sitting around when I purchased the Norcross.  They worked ok, but really didn't have the stopping power I wanted.  After talking with Gary at Cycle Masters I decided to get two sets of Paul Touring Cantis.  I know some would say that I should have put the Neo Retro up front for better power, but I'm strange and like symmetry.  I installed the brakes and promptly took the bike out for a spin.  Well, I didn't feel much change from the Nashbar brakes, and fast downhills are downright scary.  I have much more power braking from the top levers than from the Ergo levers.  Aha, that right there is probably the problem.  The pull from the Campagnolo Ergo levers is different from Shimano levers, which is what most people are set up with.  I don't think I can fault Paul for the braking, or lack thereof, but rather the Campy levers.

Now I have a dilemma.  After searching around, reading forums, and seeking information, I am leaning toward TRP's CX8.4 linear brakes.  Directly snagged from their website, "The CX8.4 features 84mm length arms designed to work seamlessly with SRAM and Campagnolo shifters."  Well, that sounds promising and Byron at Bike Hugger seems to like them.  It is also a bonus that they are available in anodized blue to nicely match the bike.

For those who are using Paul brakes and enjoy them, I highly recommend picking up a set of Hunter Nugz.  In the photo below it is the little barrel adjuster on the release side of the brake.  The added adjustment is awesome to have and eliminates the need for an inline barrel adjuster and they're only 25 bucks a pair.

Current setup with Paul brakes and Hunter Nugz

TRP CX8.4 in svelte blue

Review - Easton XC One Wheelset

I love these wheels. I dropped nearly a pound swapping these for the Mavic CrossRide wheels I was using.  They have a nice stealth black finish with minimal decals, unlike most of what is available these days. Also, the decals are removable if I decide that I don't want to advertise for Easton. Or, if you're a major weight weenie, you could remove them and tell your buddies about how much rotational weight you saved. They are light, stiff, and well built. It is nice that they came with an aluminum lock ring and variety of spacers to get your chainline just right with whatever style of cog you use. I'm using a Chris King cog with it, and have heard that you should avoid the thin steel cogs.  They could tear up the aluminum cassette body.

Redline Monocog Flight AL with Easton XC One wheels

Review - Salsa Stainless Skewers

I have tried using KCNC's super lightweight skewers on my road bike and they didn't have enough clamping power for me on the rear wheel, causing it to slip.  I decided I would rather have a really strong skewer at the penalty of a few non-rotational grams.  The Salsa skewers are beautiful, but I have to say I liked the look of the older finish better.  It was a bit more raw and you could see the machining.  The new finish has a softer look to it with rounded edges and a different texture.  That is the only complaint I have about the skewers, and it is completely my own personal taste.  The new skewers have some nice features like color-matched clamp-shim-washer-things, stainless contact points, and spring retainers.  Check the photo below for a comparison of new and old.  As of this review, Salsa still has photos of the old style on their website.

I'm currently using Salsa skewers on two mountain bikes (hardtail Scott Endorphin and full suspension Sette Ace) and my temporary FR-303 road bike.  I have blue, red, and green and the colors are very rich.  Love 'em.

Images courtesy of QBP & Salsa.

My rare Scott Endorphin sporting blue Salsa skewers.

New style Salsa

Old style Salsa

Review - Mavic Equipe Jacket

This review is a little old, but is a testament to the quality of Mavic apparel.  The Equipe jacket is still available from Mavic, with what looks like only cosmetic changes.

On my first ride with the Mavic Equipe jacket I was very impressed. My ride started at about 5:45 in the morning with the temps in the low 50s and a good amount of fog. Under the jacket, I was only wearing a Defeet UnDShurt Tank and was very comfortable. The jacket is super soft and deceivingly warm for how light it is. I was afraid the arms would be a little long for me, but the cuff is longer than normal and the soft material gently bunches without being annoying. I met three of my GTR teammates in Asilomar and we rode back through Monterey to do some climbs through Monterey and Pebble Beach. This is the only point in the ride when the jacket got a little hot. I opened the zippered sleeve vents in the arms for some cool air and dropped the main zipper a bit and was fine. Speaking of zippers, the main zipper is offset so you don't have any rubbing on the middle of your throat from having the jacket partially unzipped.  We dropped back down into the fog by the coast in Pebble Beach and the jacket was perfect. I finished the ride by coming back through Pacific Grove into Monterey and by then the temps were up in the high 50s. I would say this jacket is best in the 45-60 degree range, but would not use it above 60. It's amazingly comfortable, looks great, and has some wonderful features.

Mavic Equipe Jacket & Blue Norcross SP

Product Reviews

I've decided to post some product reviews I have written on different retail websites.  They are short blurbs, but might be useful to someone out there.  I'm hoping to do more reviews in the future and make it a regular thing here.  Up first - Mavic Equipe jacket...