Wear Rate:
I bought these tyres on sale at Decathlon some time last year and they have not lasted long. In fact after only a few months use, one potential client looked at the tread and rather cheekily told me “this tyre is no good for me”. It was at that point I realised these tyres have worn considerably fast. I won’t be buying them again for my rental bikes because they are just too costly. My own bikes are a different story… [Read more →]
Not so much a review, this is just my first riding impressions of SRAM’s new Rival shifters for 2009. Several things bugged be enough to write this article:
Ergonomics:
Overall, the shifters feel great. The carbon levers have a relatively large section to hold on to when braking and the shift paddle is big enough. I’ve never liked shimano’s combined gear/brake lever, so that’s the primary reason I bought this set. My one single gripe is that there seems to be a soft spot just inside the levers where the double-tap mechanism is housed. It’s like the soft spot on a baby’s head… you know it’s only temporary… because this is not how the final grown up version is meant to be. Peel back the inside of the rubber hoods and you realise there is nothing but a big hollow section underneath with no support. [Read more →]
These new disc brakes for 2009 represent excellent value for money. They use the commonly available XTR pad shape so you can easily get both sintered and organic brake pads… in fact these are really the old LX calipers with a totally new levers sporting radial master cyclinders.
If you use rotors which are large enough for your intended application, the total available power is good. I used a 203mm front rotor and 180mm rear rotor for this review. With this setup, I felt that the action of the rear brake caliper was quite a bit mushier than the front and I put this down to the length of the rear brake line (both are non-braided hydraulic housing).
Regardless, modulation is spot on and I really like the adjustable reach levers. When it’s this easy to change the reach, it’s amazing how much you use this single feature. [Read more →]
Confession: I have been using worn out tyres for quite some time now. You know the old story - they’re too good to throw in the bin but they won’t last 2 more weeks. I had half a dozen tyres like this, so on my training bike they went - until they all finally wore out one by one! Cornering at any kind of decent speed with squared-off tyres is noticeably poor (unpredictable) and several of my training partners were leaving me for dead. So with the last tyre well and truly gone, I recently decided to treat myself to a pair of Michelin Pro 3 Grip tyres.
Quite the opposite of their “Race” siblings which come in every conceivable colour combination, with the “Grip” versions, you can have any colour you like so long as it’s dark grey. I don’t mind that, because the only tyres I ever buy are either dark grey and/or black. [Read more →]
This device is exquisitely CNC machined. I refer to it as a ‘device’ to convey a greater sense of the intricacy of its construction. It’s as much a work of art and engineering as it is a derailleur.
Replaceable parts:
Firstly, it’s completely rebuildable. The inner and outer link plates are removeable as are the pulley cages and upper / lower link knuckles. The pivots are held in place by tiny grubs screws. Allen head bolts are used throughout - even the High (H) and Low (L) derailleur limit screws utilise allen key fasteners!
Materials & overall finish:
Secondly, both the derailleur body and hardware are CNC machined 7075-T6 aluminium. The pivots are made of 6Al 4V Titanium. There is no side play whatsoever in the parallelogram link mechanism. In fact I can’t see the pivots ever becoming sloppy (unlike my SRAM X7 rear derailleur which is only a year old). I reckon this derailleur will just about be breaking in when other units are wearing out… So yes, this derailleur is built to last. Overall, you can tell that the body is precision machined. There are no burrs and the anodisation process is perfect.
How does it perform?
I’ve been using it exclusively with Vertebrae ceramic housing and I have not been disappointed. The only modification I needed to do was apply some loctite to the barrel adjuster threads. I also wrapped plumber’s teflon tape around the H and L limit screws to stop them vibrating loose. That was 6 months ago. Since then, I haven’t touched it. Shifting is flawless.
The bottom line:
I hope mine lasts the next 10 or 20 years and I think it probably will. The only down side is the exclusivity; these are not easy to get hold of because almost nobody sells them. They’re definitely not cheap but then they aren’t as expensive as the new campagnolo super record derailleurs sold by online retailers…
Spirulina is a microscopic freshwater plant that grows in America, Mexico and Central Africa. Spirulina contains an unusually high amount of protein, between 55% and 77% by dry weight, depending upon the source.
It contains more bio-chelated organic iron than any other whole-food. Bio-chelated means that the iron will easily be assimilated into the body. Spirulina has 58 times the iron of raw spinach and 28 times that of raw beef liver. [Read more →]
I bought this frame for 640€ off ebay midway through 2008 and I’ve slowly built up the complete bike since then. This is my first true downhill bike so I have nothing to compare it to except other non-DH mountainbikes. I am not an expert on downhill riding, so this ‘review’ is mainly to give my impression of riding a dedicated DH bike for the first time. [Read more →]
Several months ago, I bought a pair of 2008 Avid Code 5 brakes which were on sale. I’ve been very impressed with the performance of these, especially considering their price, so I thought I’d write a brief product review.
The interesting thing about Avid Codes is that they don’t come standard with braided steel brake lines - that gives them a consistent, progressive feel but at the expense of some outright brute power. Nevertheless, if you squeeze the lever gently your bike silently screeches to a halt like it’s on rails. This is no doubt due to them having four pistons per caliper whereas most hydraulic brake calipers only have two. [Read more →]
This is by far the most detailed tourist map of Tenerife at a scale of 1:50,000. The Kompass 233 map contains all the major mountainbike trails and walking tracks. Altitude contours are shown at 100m intervals so it’s ideal for both hiking and mountain biking. You can’t get any more detailed without getting one of the expensive official Spanish military maps.
There’s a multi-lingual legend showing imporant points such as: alpine shelters / refuge huts, hospitals, parking, information, lookouts, museums, monuments, climbing walls and even surf spots! Suggested MTB routes are outlined with blue dots.
This map includes the following inset city maps: Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, Los Cristianos, Playa de Las Américas, San Cristóbal de La Laguna and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. There’s also a Tenerife guide, but alas only in German (even so, it’s worth every cent).
As with all large-scale maps, there’s only one right way to fold it and many wrong ways… so if you’re looking for something easier to manage, one of the only other road maps of Tenerife I can recommend which is also suitable for road cycling is the Freytag & Berndt 1:150,000 Teneriffa map. It’s smaller, plastic coated and much easier to fold than this blanket.
This is the best road map of Tenerife for cyclists; it contains all the major and secondary roads and even some offroad tracks.
Roads are laballed with the standard “TF” designations and include kilometre markings between major towns. This definitely isn’t a topographic map but there are several altitude points referenced. There’s also an inset map of the capital city, Santa Cruz. The best thing is that it’s pocket sized and plastic-coated so it won’t disintegrate in that sweaty back pocket of your cycling jersey!
There’s also another 1:75,000 version of the Freytag & Berndt Tenerife map; it has a cardboard cover but it is too big to fit in your pocket & doesn’t contain any more detail than this one (apart from the altitude contour lines). Unlike its big plain-backed brother, this mini-map contains some extremely brief tourist information on the reverse side (in ten languages!).
If you’re looking for the best MTB map of Tenerife with all the offroad tracks, I strongly recommend the Kompass #233 map instead. It’s probably too large for road cyclists though and very difficult to fold up again correctly.
Imagine cable-operated dual-pivot calipers or v-brakes with the modulation & power of hydraulic discs. Imagine the most reliable gear housing on the planet outlasting everything else attached to your bike, including the frame. Have I got your attention? Good. Then read on… [Read more →]
I spec these on my largest 3 rental bikes and after a full year, I have not seen one single spoke failure on any of them. Know that some of these people measure 2.00m plus. They go out training all over Tenerife for up to two weeks. I’d estimate they climb 10,000 cumulative metres or more and descend around the same amount. The last thing cyclists want to do is true wheels while they’re on vacation. So I get the bike back, check these wheels, and find that they still run almost perfectly straight! Other wheelsets would surely need re-tensioning after this kind of abuse. Mavic aksiums barely even need a few 1/4 turns of the spoke wrench on a couple of spoke nipples. Incredible.
I attribute their strength to numerous factors: [Read more →]
For the last two years I’ve been using a clever 9000 pump made by Decathlon. I use it more than once every day (I routinely inflate road bike tires to 7 or 8 bars). In all that time, I haven’t changed the seals once and it keeps on working flawlessly. The only maintenance needed is a little lubrication on the pump shaft.
One of the best features of this pump is that it uses a glass-fibre reinforced plastic pump hose. Result? More air goes into the tyre with each stroke compared to a normal floor pump. This is most evident at high pressures around 100psi or more. Think of it this way: a bicycle inner tube is restrained by the tyre (with its densely woven carcass); however, a simple rubber hose is free to expand with additional pressure increase.
Okay, so what exactly is so “clever” about it? [Read more →]
Intro:
I’ll be totally honest and say that I buy most cycling components based on their looks. Mainly because I just don’t see the point in buying something that is ugly. But I also believe that a truly great design will be reflected in the overall shape and style of an object. Over the years, I’ve learned to appreciate products which are designed & manufactured with this principle in mind. If something looks good and works well I can practically guarantee you that I’ll keep it and use it to its full potential for a very long time indeed. My aim is to take care of my possessions as well as I can and then hope they last me a lifetime.
This frameset was no exception. I fell in love with Pinarello from the moment I laid eyes on the Dogma way back in early 2000. But I’ve since been reminded that you can’t judge a book by its cover…
Ride Impressions:
Everyone has commented how it’s such a beautiful bike, but beneath all those sexy curves, it seems to behave differently than its looks would have you believe. On the bike, it feels very raw. Power delivery is instantaneous which is always a good characteristic when climbing. But likewise, the transference of shocks from the road directly into your body seems almost as quick. Coming half way back down Mt Teide on one of the first rides, a 14km descent, it felt like my kidneys were going to shake loose!
I came back from a shorter 20km ride today. Like all the roads in Tenerife, half are up and half are down. Going up was fun. When you want to put the power down it seems like there is no energy loss. The frame is just that rigid. The return journey coming back down was not so great. The tyres were at 90-95 psi and yet my arse was going numb after a quick 5km descent from all the vibrations!
On this bike, I feel all the bumps in the road pulsating straight through my shoulders. I’ll probably have to lower the tyre pressure a tiny little bit more, but that was something I never had to worry about on the other bike. Most of the structural components (wheels, bar, cranks) were essentially transferred straight over from my Mrazek road bike, a good way of eliminating them from the equation.
There are two words which are located just above the Italian flag, located on the seat tube “adrenalina italiana”. I think that sums up the handling nicely.
Onda Seat Stays & Fork:
Nothing seems to polarise cyclists more than those wavy Pinarello onda seat stays & fork blades. You either love them or you hate them. I think they’re very sexy, but some people say they look like the bike has partially melted in the sun! One thing is clear after riding the bike. I’m not convinced the Onda seat stays damp vibrations more effectively than straight seat stays. When you think about it, if the chain stays are oversized, how can the seat stays move to any great extent? The curvy fork blades may have slightly more merit, because given the same diameter, a metal spring is definitely more flexible than an equivalent straight wire. Even so, I didn’t notice the fork tips moving while riding along.
Quality of Construction & Overall Finish:
Really, I can’t find fault in this department. The paint job is immaculate. The masking & spraying has all been done by hand as you can see on this Pinarello factory tour video. The head tube badge & all the Pinarello decals are squarely applied. Fittings such as cable stops and bottle cage mounts look good and are secure. The gap between fork crown and head tube is minimal. The headset’s top cap fits the headtube diameter perfectly also.
Frame Geometry:
As you are probably aware, each frame manufacturer has differenct characteristics, including sizing. Pinarellos are no exception - from what I’ve been able to determine, they tend to have relatively long top tubes and short head tubes for any given seatpost length. What this means is that they are built for racing and/or suit riders with longer-than-average torsos.
I found it hard to get my position right on this frame and it turns out I have longer-than-average legs. I’m best suited to a frame with a tall seat-tube to accommodate my long legs and a relatively short top tube for my shorter-than-average torso.
Normally I choose my frame size based on the seat tube length. This time, I decided to base my choice on the top tube length (as is commonly advised, because it’s the more important measurement). The theory is that it is much easier to change the height of the seatpost than it is to alter the horizontal reach to the handlebar (doing this also affects the steeering geometry negatively). What this approach fails to take into account is the head tube length. I.e. the final height of the handlebar position. Had I known this earlier, I might not have bought this bike.
On most road racing bikes, you can’t add more than 30mm of spacers without looking like a tw@t. So you also need to compare head tube lengths between bikes. I completely neglected this when buying the Pinarello. It turns out they have short head tubes.
Frame Sizing:
I measure 180cm, hence I opted for the 55cm, with its 56cm top tube. I felt that the next size up (57cm) would have been too big since it has a 57.5cm top tube length. I’ve ridden other bikes with 57 and 58cm top tubes and they always feel too long for me. I end up too far forward, hunched over with a sore back.
The reach on the size 55 (the distance to the handlebars) feels good using a 90 or 100mm stem, another indication that a 57cm is too big for me. The only problem now is that the head tube is shorter than I’d like and the handlebar drops end up too low down for me to be comfortable using them on the extended descents here in Tenerife. Solution? I’ve recently ordered an FSA wing pro handlebar with a compact reach and shallow-drop. Hopefully that will allow me to install a 110mm stem, flipped if necessary, and still achieve the right reach & drop that I’m accustomed to. If not, I’ll reluctantly have to consider selling this frameset and chalk it down to experience. Ultimately I’m “trying to get a non-racing fit on a very race-y frame”.
Oversize Bottom Bracket (BB):
The bottom bracket on the Pinarello F3:13 is humongous. I remember when steel down tubes used to be half the width of a 68mm BB shell. On this frame, the oversized carbon down tube takes up the full 70mm width of the BB shell. The down tube has a triangular cross section, so the junction into the seat tube is absolutely massive. Another oddity: this frame uses Italian BB threads. They are tapped with 36 mm x 24 tpi threads instead of the standard 1.37″ x 24 tpi English threads. Be careful because they also use normal right-hand thread on both drive side and non-drive side cups.
31.0mm Seatpost Diameter:
The F3:13 frame has a rather unusual 31.0 seatpost size. Before you commit to buying this frame, know that seatposts with a 31.0mm diameter are almost impossible to find. Apart from the original M.O.S.T brand, other manufacturers that make 31.0 mm seatposts are Selcof, BBB and possibly WR composites (please post a comment below if you encounter others). Another option is to install a seatpost shim which will reduce the diameter to something more conventional like 27.2mm.
Note that I have fitted this bike with a 30.9 seatpost, are a far more common size, but so far I’ve had to use a thin piece of paper to shim the tiny gap. A piece of aluminium foil from the kitchen had the ideal thickness, but proved to be too delicate.
I recently bought a front Formula 220mm disc rotor for downhill only use. Coupled with the Avid Code 5 hydraulic disc brake lever & caliper, stopping is very powerful, consistent and progressive. Braking action is not at all grabby as you might expect. At no time during a continuous 2000m descent I felt that the brakes were either too powerful or too weak.
In my experience, this rotor with its central alloy carrier also copes with extreme heat better than an all-steel rotor. After bedding in the disc & pads, I went down my standard steep street run and there was no sign of warpage due to heat buildup (the route drops 400 metres in 1.8km for an average 22.2% gradient). Steel rotors on the other hand tend to accumulate heat in the outer perimeter while the central splines remain relatively cool; the differential rates of expansion sometimes leads to severe warping. When it does occur, this happens immediately - rotors have all the lateral stiffness of a spinning pancake. [Read more →]
From the moment I saw these gloves, I had to have them. They feature a durable, double-stitched synthetic suede palm, breathable nylon mesh backpanel, neoprene wristcuff and knuckle panel, terrycloth thumb panels, silicon gripper fingertips and lycra finger panels. They also have a rubberised Dakine backpanel with the Dakine logo, which looks cool but only adds to the price.
Turn these gloves inside out and only then you realise that they’re extremely well made. Stitching is accurate and precise everywhere you look. What does that mean? Well, the stitches themselves look perfect and Dakine accurately controls their position w.r.t to all the different panels which are sewn together. They leave an adequate, equi-distant hem in all places to allow for some fraying of the material. In plain English? This means that they’re fare less likely to fall apart with prolonged use. Look at another cheaper pair of gloves and you’ll probably see the stitches all over the place. [Read more →]
Saddle choice is a very personal thing indeed. Regardless, I’ve tried dozens of saddles over the years, so I thought I’d share a brief recommendation with readers. You need to sit on as many different ones as possible to figure out what works best for your body size & shape. Often you can’t get a good impression about saddle comfort until you go for a proper test ride for a few hours, so trying them out before you buy is never easy. Hence it may take years to find the right saddle… for some it’s a life-long search.
Enter Selle Italia. Selle Italia is one of those design-oriented companies that never stagnates. Each and every year, they revitalise their entire product line. One of their budget models -the Selle Italia X2 Trans Am Kevlar saddle- is probably the best value for money saddle on the market which (for me) is also comfortable. With its black cover and matching black-finished rails, the Selle Italia X2 is one of the better-looking budget saddles. It features a cut out centre and sufficient padding. Most importantly, they got the shape right with this one. At 290 grams, the seat is neither lightweight nor overly porky. [Read more →]
I recently purchased a pair of FSA K-force dual pivot brake calipers. I hadn’t heard much about them and nobody seems to have them… anyway I have been very pleased with their performance over the last few weeks so I decided to write this quick review.
Contrary to what other people have said about FSA products, I think these work brilliantly! I have found that both modulation and power are excellent. They’re on par with another set of highly-rated dual-pivot brake calipers: Mavic SSC. They feel stronger overall than shimano ultegra calipers, possibly due to the I-beam shape of the arms. I can’t be 100% sure of that, because I’ve been testing the new vertebrae ceramic brake housing (also pictured). [Read more →]
One of the consumable parts which I go through more than most are road bicycle tyres. There are 12 road bikes in my fleet and I own two more myself. That’s a lot of tyres being constantly used, so I have a pretty good idea of how to choose a tyre for maximum duration & performance…
I discovered the Continental Ultra Sport model earlier this year. In a word, they’re excellent. [Read more →]
This seatpost by DaBomb comes in the following seat tube diameters: 27.2, 30.0, 31.4, 31.6. I was forced into buying the 30.0mm size because of a recent Viper frame I bought. Nevertheless, I was very suprised by the simplicity of the clamp mechanism. If you swap saddles regularly or get easily peeved doing so, this is the one post for you. [Read more →]
First a brief word about 650c wheels - it’s no secret that I’m a big fan of 650c wheels. They fit smaller riders better. There is no toe overlap. And of course they can be built lighter and stronger than 700c wheels (or else with fewer spokes). So it’s disappointing to see Mavic, Shimano, Campagnolo, Easton, Reynolds, LEW racing, X-Treme, among others, all abandon the idea of 650c. Even zipp has all but halted their 650c rim production (only applying their latest technologies to their 700c lineup). So if you’re looking to buy a factory-built 650c wheelset, that basically leaves Spinergy, HED, Nimble and Corima (full carbon rims only). Zipp make two models, while American Classic and Rolf each make just one model of 650c wheel. Otherwise you will need to go the handbuilt route - or else there’s ebay. It seems the worst thing going for 650c wheels at the moment is lack of choice… Kudos to Spinergy for continuing to manufacture 650c rims and complete wheels.
Spinergy also supply their factory-built wheelsets in both 700 and 650c and with either shimano or campagnolo compatible freehub bodies. I doubt that the latter combination exceeds 0.1% of the market. Even so, they cater for it. [Read more →]
Just when life seems too oppressing to continue, along comes this nifty little invention. In 15 years of perusing bike products, this is the first bike rack I’ve ever seen that made me want to voluntarily attach it to my own personal bike; most of them all look like identical taiwanese copies with equal ‘functions’ (normally you’d have to pay me to mount one). One look at the Pletscher ORION however makes me want to mount a set of slicks, slap on a rigid fork & embrace the life of a commuter! [Read more →]
I’ve tried and tested many seatposts over the years in all price ranges. The only purpose of a seatpost is provide support for the saddle & to offer simple adjustments of the saddle (vertical & horizontal seat position plus saddle angle). Some seatposts costing hundreds of dollars do not even meet these simple requirements! [Read more →]
This budget model fork can be had for as little as €120, so it is not intended for downhill or competition use. The model we tested boasted 120mm of travel, although at the softest setting, only about half of that was effectively utilised (even after a substantial break-in period). [Read more →]
Most motor vehicle accidents involving cyclists happen at dawn and dusk. The reason for this is that there are more commuters out there on the road at these times. At the same time, the road visibility is far less than during the day, so the chances of being hit are relatively high. I’ve taken the opportunity to gather together some very interesting products aimed at increasing your safety while riding at night.
I recently bought a set of braided stainless steel brake lines made by Goodridge. I’m using Hayes Nine HFX HD disc brakes with the more recent G2 calipers. Unfortunately, one part was missing from the new kit that I bought online from chain reaction cycles in the UK, so I had to go down to the local bike shop (Gofis Bici) and get a suitable replacement part (luckily they had the Goodridge spare parts kit handy). [Read more →]
For me, the ITM forged Lite Luxe stem is as close to perfection as I could want. It’s forged and therefore has smooth lines. It has reversible graphics, meaning you can flip the stem around to get a higher reach. It uses a face plate with a 4 bolt clamp; the socket head bolts require a 4mm allen key. By using M5 bolts with 4mm heads instead of 5mm sockets, the tendency to over-torque the stem at the handlebar clamp is reduced. The M6 bolts at the steerer clamp use 5mm heads to prevent slippage on carbon fibre fork steerer tubes. These two bolts oppose each other to help distribute the clamping force & they don’t stick out and cut your knees like some other stems. It’s available in the most common sizes: 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130mm lengths with either a 26.0mm clamp or a 31.6mm clamp for oversized handlebars. The finish of the stem is also very durable. It’s available from as little as 25 or €30.
It’s nice to be able to use the same bar/stem/seatpost combination. Cyclists consider consistency a nice bonus, especially when they are Italian bicycle parts. Therefore, I’ve reviewed the bar and stem together as siblings. Unfortunately I can’t say too many good things about the ITM Lite Luxe wing shape bar. It’s a budget-priced semi-ergonomic aluminium alloy bar. Or rather, it’s a standard bar with flat tops. As most of you know, in recent years, the number of handlebars available on the market has exploded. Try a few and you realise that the shape of your handlebars becomes a very personal choice, just like saddles. Unlike saddles however, your hands can’t really adjust to a handlebar like your arse can adjust to a saddle. If a handlebar doesn’t feel right to begin with, it never will.
With that in mind, in comparison to several other bars that I have tried, the flat tops do not extend far enough outward where the bar curves forward towards the brake shift-levers. I really like to use flat tops, I think they’re a natural step in the evolution (or refinement) of a traditional round bar. Flat tops encourage you to place your hands on them. But because the bars are essentially round where I normally place my hands, I found myself wanting to hold the bar quite a bit closer to the centre position than what I am accustomed to. The flats extend almost all the way up to the stem - but I’ve never seen a cyclist hold their bars with their hands adjacent to the stem (you can’t get enough control of the bike). The double grooves underneath are pretty shallow also. If you’re still keen on buying this bar, remember that the width of ITM bars are measured outside to outside. I’d reccomend the FSA wing pro handlebar instead, which is in a similar price point.
This 9 inch beast is the biggest and baddest disc brake rotor out there at the moment. Yes of course it’s “grabbier” than smaller 7″ and 8″ rotors, but it does provide stronger braking no matter what brakes you’re using. It’s a simple upgrade although technically not compatible with many of today’s suspension forks. It only offers a marginal brake power improvement over standard 8″ front discs used for downhill mountainbiking.
The main benefit of the Hayes V9 rotor is the increased cooling capacity. [Read more →]
Bikes these days are all about fashion. The fashion changes just like anything else. Just look at sloping geometry. Carbon seat stays. Ergo bars. Compact cranks. White carbon and painted white carbon. Integrated seatposts. If you want to be a fashion victim, go with the flow. Mrazek aim to be different. To not follow fashion. I think they’ve achieved that.
Mrazek is art. And like art, whether it pleases you or not is very subjective. It’s your choice, and there are thousands of other “cookie-cutter” frames to choose from. Some people say that they ride as well as they look. On the other hand, if you don’t like the way they look, you might not like the way they ride. And vice versa. [Read more →]
For the most part, shimano bicycle components work extremely well. Even so, after working on my fleet of road rental bikes for the past year or more I have come to despise certain maintenance tasks. What follows is a list of all the little niggly things which I dislike about shimano road componentry (5600/Ultegra level). Neither is this a simple comparison between shimano, campagnolo and sram:
One of the major tasks here at www.Tenerife-Training.net is swapping pedals. There are more pedal systems out there than CO2 molecules at the moment, and I know people are finding it all a bit too confusing. Judging by the perplexed customer responses as they inevitably bend down and spin another hitherto unknown pedal on its axis and say “they’re the wrong pedals!”, by far the biggest misunderstanding lies with the Shimano Pedalling Dynamics (SPD) system. [Read more →]
This a great tasting refreshing drink commonly available here in Spain. It’s almost identical in flavour to Staminade, another refreshing (Australian) drink that has been popular since the 1970’s.
It’s really good because it’s not only cheap, but it actually quenches your thirst, unlike those hyper-sweetened gatorade & powerade sports drinks available on the market. It is sold “flat”, i.e. it’s not a bubbly drink and contains no CO2 gases. For the first time in history, the citrus orange flavour tastes superior to the lemon version. Although this product is not specifically aimed at athletes, it should be…
Anyway, I started drinking this a few weeks ago whenever I feel dehydrated; on a particularly hot day, I recall that one of my local relatives here in Tenerife ordered it in a traditional spanish bar. Judging purely by the label, it’s not something I would have ordered, especially knowing what some drinks taste like. Next time you’re at a roadside bar on a hot day in Tenerife, you might like to try it!
These days we have an infatuation with bike components when we should be more concerned about accurate bike fit. If you want the best peformance, you need the right-sized parts; you simply can’t win on a bike that’s the wrong size. But what if one side of your body is different to the other? If your body is not 100% symmetrical, then your bike shouldn’t be either…
After nearly a year in development, at last it’s here:
VÉRTEBRÆ CERAMIC GEAR LINES: US$140
Available for MTBs & road bikes
(Shimano / SRAM or Campagnolo).
Housing colours available:
CLEAR/X-RAY WHITE GREY BLACK
BLUE PURPLE RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN
(please specify when ordering)
True “Compressionless” housing: High Purity Alumina is FIVE TO SIX TIMES STIFFER than aluminium alloys, and even 50 to 80 % stiffer than steel. OK, so theoretically it compresses a bit. But you won’t notice it. Honest. It is also FIVE TO SIX TIMES STRONGER in compression than both aluminium & steel.
Effortless Gear Changes:Less force required to actuate gears + brakes, creating a “light-action” feel at the levers.
Less Maintenance: Due to the compressionless housing and protective Spinal Wrap, derailleurs are not only easier to fine tune during setup (they’ll work over a wider range of cable tension), but that they also don’t need to be re-adjusted as often as other systems.
Totally corrosion free!! High Purity Alumina is an extremely inert material. No coatings to peel off, no chipping and spalling paint. Zero corrosion for life!
Lightweight: The density of alumina is only 3.65 to 3.85 g/cm3. This results in outstanding stiffness-to-weight and strength-weight ratios. Total weight of vértebræ ceramic housing is only 46 to 52 g/m.
Enhanced Flexibility: The special segmented design is more flexible compared to traditional bowden cables; this design allows shorter cable routing using tighter-radius bends, resulting in less overall weight. Despite this, there is also reduced friction between the cable and liner, since the outer segments do not squash the inner cables like conventional housing.
Low Friction: Ceramic materials have an inherently lower frction than metals. Combined with our stainless steel cables and teflon liner, this results in considerably less friction and practically zero wear.
Extremely hard & durable: In fact, most engineering ceramics are so hard, they normally require different testing procedures to metals as it is not practical to make the same economical test specimens! In comparison with all metals, hardness is best described as “off the chart!”.
I’ve been using the speedplay X-series pedals for a full decade now, essentially since I started road biking. After reading about speedplay in the infamous bikepro catalogue, I browsed their website & I was already sold on them after reading about their special advantageous features (dual sided entry plus free float). They instantly received many rave reviews and I was 100% convinced to get a set.
My first road bike, a Shogun Ultegra, came equipped with some nasty pedals which were essentially a cheap copy of the look system. Although I can’t remember the name, they were a veritable deathtraps. Clipping into these particular pedals was never truly an autonomic experience. They were top heavy, weighted so that they remained in the awkward upside-down position! When starting off from a set of traffic lights, you had to fumble about and flip the pedal over with the tip of your shoe. Wobbling around in dense traffic, looking down at my shoes instead of the road, I soon realised that was an accident waiting to happen…
I began with the X2 pedals, which I had to special-order from Clarence St. cyclery, as no one in Australia stocked them in 1997 / 1998. I then moved up to the X1 titanium version, and have since bought the cheaper X5 version which work equally as well. Possibly their best feature for a road pedal is the double engaging mechanism. They feel intuitive to use. “Just stomp down and go” was the expression people were throwing about.
Les has just purchased 6 new aero framesets from Leader bikes for the new road rental bicycle fleet here in Tenerife. These bikes are available in a wide range of sizes from a tiny 46cm (50cm centre-top) all the way through to a whopping 61cm (50cm centre-top)! While they look like a time trial frame, they have traditional road racing bicycle geometry.
We’re very proud to partner with Leader bikes in 2008.
I’ve been a cyclist for 15 years now and used a lot of different tyre levers that are available on the market. Several years ago, I encountered these rather strange yellow tyre levers embossed with the single word “michelin”. Of course, they’re not really embossed, they’re injection moulded, but that’s beside the point.
They’re manufactured from some sort of special polymeric material. I have a doctorate in Materials Science and I still don’t know what it is. It looks like polypropylene or nylon, but I don’t have an infrared spectrometer handy, so I couldn’t tell you exactly what they’re made from. Let’s just say that they’re way better-than-average in quality.
You get three of them, but most of the time you can get away with using only two. The other good thing is that they are just the right size and shape. The end that hooks onto the rim sidewall fits all rims perfectly. The other end will never bruise your hand. They’re not too narrow, otherwise they’d break; neither are they too wide, else they wouldn’t work as well. They’re also just the right length. Not too long, so you can’t more leverage than necessary -but not too short either! They are also flat and don’t take up any more space than needed.
Some French product engineer deserves a medal for this under-appreciated little bike tool. They’re like the “chris king of tyre levers” and for the price (3€), this is possibly the best thing you can buy for any bicycle rider as a christmas present!
Every time I go to decathlon, I buy a set. They’re the only tire levers I can whole-heartedly reccommend to cyclists. They’re the ones that I supply in every tool kit with all the road and MTBs I rent out here in Tenerife. No one has ever complained. They never break, although I hope Michelin never stops making them.
On the other hand, the worst ones you can get are the thin steel ones available from Kmart, and other supermarkets; they’d rather dent your aluminium rim (or crack your latest carbon fibre wheelset) sooner than flip that kevlar tyre bead over the edge.
There have been many funky pedal designs in the last decade, and the original “eggbeaters” by Crank Bros often draw some strange looks. What could be better than 4 sided entry and terrific mud clearance? Nothing, except whenever I ride with standard eggbeater pedals, I feel like I am riding on the tiny little spindles, nothing more. They just don’t feel right because they don’t provide any solid pedalling platform at all.
Enter the Candy:
Although they look like they word work better than the original eggbeater, the platflorm can interfere with the souls of some shoes. I was forced to use a plastic spacer to raise the cleat height. On several occasions I felt the cleat twisting dramatically on the soul of the shoe, and I was unable to release my feet from the pedals. Despite over-tightening the two cleat bolts, the problem persisted. Since this is a potentially dangerous situation, I now refrain from using these pedals. Perhaps they work with other shoes, but not with mine (Decathlon rockrider 8). Other people I lent them to complained about the very same problem with different shoes. With the addition of the platform they are also no longer quadruple sided, but double sided.
Swapping pedals on our rental bikes is the most common chore here at www.Tenerife-Training.net. In my business, I have tried and tested many types of pedals on the market.
I’ve tried a number of road & MTB pedals over the years, and I was pretty impressed with these, considering the price was only €40 per pair. Although they are heavy, they have the most positive retention of any pedal I have tried. You hear a single, well-defined “snap” upon each entry and exit. The feeling of security they provide is second to none, and I noticed it from the outset. The only down side is that this model doesn’t come with an adjustable float, so your knees are locked into place the entire time.
The zone where the cleat engages with the pedal is larger than with SPD pedals, so you never have to fumble about trying to find the entry point. Although I haven’t tested these in muddy conditions, they release whenever the need arises. All in all, I’d reccomend these to anyone who wants a fixed-float MTB pedal.
It is written/edited by someone with a PhD, in a reporting style which may annoy some people. It is well-referenced, though I think most people will not care less for seeking out the various journal articles. For example, it often starts a paragraph in this manner: “one study shows that…”
A quote: “Our baseline modeling condition has used a coefficient of rolling resistance (Crr) value of 0.0032, which is representative of an average racing clincher tire (Martin et al. 1998). Kyle (1986) has reported the Crr for high-performance road-racing tubular and clincher tires to be 16 percent lower (0.0027) when measured on an asphalt surface. Some road-racing tubular tires, however, exhibit Crr values as high as 0.0059 (Kyle 1986).
Now what is the point of that? The findings (on whether tubulars or clinchers offer lower rolling resistance) seem to be inconclusive. It doesn’t tell us which brand + model tubulars had the higher rolling resistance, so you’d have to look up the article by Kyle if you really wanted to know which tubulars to avoid. At the very least it can be gleaned that the chapter concerning equipment isn’t much help.
This book creates a very small niche for itself, perhaps too small. It seems to be aimed at coaches or deadly serious cyclists. I can’t imagine there are too many of those in the world. But if that is the case, why bother defining the terms “prologue”, “criterium” and “stage race”? [Read more →]
I don’t know what the others say, but I think the author is an anti-technological stick-in-the-mud. If you are looking for tips & info on how to build your dream lightweight wheelset, then look elsewhere because you won’t find it in this book.
I read the whole book in one sitting. The diagrams are much bigger than neccessary, for example one per page, and you get the idea they’re just added as “filler”. Some of the diagrams are repeated throughout the book, further giving that impression.
All you are going to find here is the standard way to make 36 spoke 3-cross wheels with double butted spokes. [Read more →]
I think this is a great book IF you’re a scientist (like me!). Like the other reviews say, it is a little dated - but results are results. There is a wealth of info in this book, most of it is technical, and there is some fascinating things on human powered flight & HPVs. I can’t remember the exact figure that was quoted for the weights of some of the older historical bikes, but I find it hard to believe that there were such lightweights a hundred years ago (like 6kg). Knowing what I know, I just don’t think it would have been feasible. If you are interested, I wouldn’t wait for an updated edition, because they might not make it, and this one is getting pretty darn hard to get.
If there is only one book about cycling you should own - then this is it!
Everyone who owns a bike should get this, especially if you’re just starting out. It is really what got me started off, now I own my ultimate dream machine and I still refer to it now and then. You see so many riders out there with incorrectly set up bikes. The three things I can notice from about 100 feet away are: their seat is too low; their chain is insufficiently lubricated; and the derailleurs are not adjusted properly. This book will teach you how to set up your bike correctly, and provide you with essential knowledge on cycling.
This has all the info in it for beginners and intermediates alike. The main sections are: mountain bikes, racing bikes and touring bikes, future bikes and cycle maintenance. Within these pages, you’ll find info about bike set-up/positioning, sizing of frames, clothing, riding techniques, racing and stretching. Plus more info on other specific bike parts, such as: frame construction, types of wheels, gears/brakes, etc. Also specific info about various types of bikes used in: observed trials, the tour de France, criterium races, time-trials, triathlons, track racing (& classic bikes).
The maintenance section is quite extensive, and will generally be adequate for most people’s needs. It covers tools (and there’s a lot!), wheel truing, fixing flat tires, adjustments for comfort, brakes, chains, pedals, derailleur adjustment, and cleaning/lubrication.
There are plenty of good colour photos, it is well written and very informative - what more could you ask for? If you haven’t actually flicked through this book and you’re still having doubts about getting it, go to your local bookshop and just have a look through it, you’ll see what I mean. All in all a very comprehensive guide to cycling - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for youngsters and/or beginners. The only problem is that it is getting quite dated, but if you can live with that, it’s perfect.
First let me say that I’m not a beginner, I’ve been riding for 8 years (no not all in one go!). Yet this book taught me so so much. Thankyou to both Ed Burke & Ed Pavelka!! I thought I knew a lot, until now that is. I’ve bought other cycling books, before but nothing compares to this one. There is no “filler” in this book.
This book is not just concerned with ultralong distance races, it uses words like “the event” and “personal goals”. You can read it and not feel too ashamed that you’re not a pro, if you know what I mean. It caters for everyone. It also has a humurous style, which will make it enjoyable reading. It is very easy to pick up and start reading anywhere.
It has chapters on nutrition, stretching, off-season training, lots on training and technique…and that HYDRATION is the key. Ed & Ed (the authors) give you lots of tips (e.g: about how to maximise your time on the bike when you have other important things in your life; get everything ready for a ride the night before; how to cycle efficiently, etc)
I’m writing this review because I want people to know how well-designed this product is. I think this is the best bicycle product I have ever bought – simple as that. I didn’t realise how much difference a comfortable bar would make. It definitely deserves the following detailed review.
This is one of my very own personal beasts I use for daily errands around Tenerife. Here’s my review:
By far the best thing about this bike is the power transfer. This baby has 37.4cm chainstays which are quite possibly the shortest in the industry (for a 57cm frame anyway). Delivery of power through the bike’s rear triangle feels instantaneous. The only down side to this is the extremely limited chainstay clearance; with such short chainstays, you must remember to keep your feet in line with the bike, otherwise the heels of your shoes hit the frame on every pedal revolution. This is an old frame (~10 years old?), which I recently bought new on ebay. It was made when Klein was 100% committed to aluminium, so there is no carbon fibre anywhere on this frame. Compared with a modern-day monocoque carbon frame, comfort is practically non existant, but then I only use this bike for a maximum of 10km (1000m ascent) of climbing.
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