'Cross tires

I like 'Cross bikes. Really. Think about it, these are bikes that handle light trail duty, road duty, gravel/fire road duty and even light touring. They fit fenders and have fatter tires than their road cousins. They have better brakes, with a few models featuring disc brakes. 'Cross tires are available in 30-37c sizes, but 34c is the limit for UCI racing -- yes, discs are illegal for UCI racing too, but how many of you out there race in the upper echelons? The real drawback to the tires that are available is volume. A 34c tire doesn't have the cushion a 40c tire does. Many racers run tubular tires for this reason. You can run tubulars into the high 30 psi range without pinchflatting. For those of us who don't race, or who don't have a team mechanic, this is a pain-in-the-butt option. There is a reason that clincher tires are so popular, anyone can fix a flat or swap a tire. Easy. So, what can cyclocross riders and racers hope for in the future -- that is, the rest of us who won't/can't be bothered with tubular tires?

It appears that tire companies might be taking a few hints from Mountain Biking. You see, we know that companies like Hutchinson and Shimano are working on tubeless road tires -- the new Dura-Ace wheel is tubeless compatable -- and maybe, maybe Maxxis is working on a tubeless 'cross tire. Velonews reported on Geoff Kabush's prototype Turner cyclocross bike and mentioned that he was running prototype tires. These are prototype clinchers and Geoff flatted at a recent race and the tire was partially off of the rim. Supposedly, the announcer made a comment that there was no tube to be seen and that he was running tubeless tires.


I for one sure as heck hope so. I run tubeless on my mountain bike -- note, true tubeless tires, though I feel that conversion systems like Stan's NoTubes have merit, converted tires don't have all of the benefits that true tubeless tires do -- and cannot wait to run them elsewhere. Tubes are a pain in the rear and tubeless tires ride better... period.

Fall... Time to Ride

Last night as I commuted home off road, I flatted. I was within a mile of home so, rather than fix the flat then and there, I decided to hoof it. I did this for a couple of reasons: one, I was tired and muddy and so was the bike -- muddy, that is, though I suppose that it could have been tired too and that was why it decided to get a flat -- and, two, it was wet and getting darker by the minute. I did have a light, and a tube, so fixing it would have been fine had I been farther away, but I'd rather do my wrenching in my garage with some music going and plenty of light so see by. Having a roof helps too. Besides, there is more maintanance to perform on that bike.

You see, while riding in the summer is nice and all -- you throw on cycling clothes and go, if you have a mechanical, darkness is still far away and you won't freeze in any event. In the Fall and Winter, that isn't the case. Preparing for the ride is a much, much bigger affair.

First, you have the weather. Here in the Pacific Northwest chances are it'll be raining. If it isn't raining when you leave, it'll be raining before you get back, or whereever else you are going. It's also humid, so breathable materials are a must. As are fenders. With all that moisture, if you don't get wet from above, you'll get wet (or muddy) from below. I personally use a frankenstein setup with SKS up front and Planet Bike out back. I like the cost and looks of the Planet Bike Freddy Fenders, plus they come with a mud flap, but I sacrificed the front one to the cycling gods one night as I crossed a set of train tracks and picked up something in my spokes. That something whipped around and caught the fender stays, destroying the fender faster than I could say "wha?!?!?!?" To this day I don't know what I hit, but the SKS front fender stays can pull out of the mounting bracket, avoiding the mangled mess that I made of the Freddy Fender.

Second, you have to maintain your bike better. You can't have it breaking down on you when you only have as much light as your budget allows... light sets get very expensive. Clean and lube your chain, keep your drivechain adjusted and your tires clear of debris. Wet tires pick up more glass and stuff than dry tires do. Check them often, as I'll be doing tonight to determine the cause of last night's flat. If your bike is creaking, or clanking, or whatever noise, it's telling you something. Listen to it and fix it. Sometimes it means something is loose, like a stem bolt, sometimes it means that you need to tear down, clean, and grease headset or wheel bearings. Take the time to check your bike, as road grime and rain water can do serious damage. Check your brake pads. Again, road grime and grit that isn't a problem in the summer can wear through a set of pads remarkably fast.

Finally, get some lights. Just because it is getting darker and it's wet out doesn't mean that there isn't good riding. There is no off season, just a change of attire. If you prepare for it, Fall/Winter riding isn't a big deal at all, and you'll have more trails to yourself.

Spin Cycle

The other day I was reading this post on RoadBikeReview.com and it got me thinking... how fast do you pedal comfortably and is this beneficial? I used to pedal right around 75-80 rpm and thought that I was doing pretty good. Then I got a trainer. This trainer to be exact, and I couldn't get comfortable on it.

It seemed like no matter the gear, I couldn't get to an easy spin. Until, that is, I cranked up the cadence. Once I got up into the high 90's to about 105 rpm, everything seemed to sort itself and I could pedal away for 30 minutes or so... at least until I got bored. The upside is that this translated over to road biking immediatly. I now have a broader cadence range which has really benefited me in group rides -- I don't have to shift as often in a pack -- and on rolling hills -- again, I just vary my cadence rather than shifting on short rollers.

And, since this blog is about gear, this is where compact doubles come into play. Running 50/36 tooth chainrings gives me low enough gears to climb and allows me to stay in the big ring longer, eliminating the need to shift the front in most instances.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming

Well, it's been nice to sit back and let the Interbike images suffice, but it's time to get back to updating this here blog.

So what topic is worth returning to the keyboard for? Lube. Chain lube to be precise. There are many types of lubes -- dry lubes, wet lubes, lubricants that go on wet but behave like a dry lube and then there is the home-brew lube. I'm not a fan of dry lubes, they sound like you need to lube your chain right out of the gate. I don't like drivetrain noise since noise is energy and any energy that isn't propelling me forward is energy wasted. A noisy drivetrain sounds wasteful. How much energy is lost I don't know, go ask a physicist, but mentally it bugs. Wet lubricants are great but I can't really tell the benefits of one over another, aside from cost and how often it needs to be reapplied. That's the other benefit of wet lubes over dry -- you know when you need to re-lube because (say it with me) it makes noise.

I don't like the cost associated with bike specific lubricants so after reading on the RoadBikeReview forums and BikeForums.net I decided to make my own. I use synthetic 5w30 motor oil and mineral spirits. I mix them 60% mineral spirits to 40% oil, by volume. I apply the lube to the rollors of the chain and then wipe the chain off completely. It takes a while to get the chain wiped off, but it'll keep the chain clean longer. The result is a ton of lube for ~$10 and a very, very quiet drivetrain. The downside is you need to relube often, but because this makes so much, that isn't too big of an issue.

SRAM Road Groupset

As I mentioned before, SRAM had their new groupset displayed behind glass at the show. For that reason, the pictures we took didn't turn out that great. Fortunately, SRAM provided us with product images. Here they are. I don't believe they warrant much explaining, and besides, they wouldn't tell us anything interesting anyway.

GPS on the bike

A while ago, I reviewed some software called MotionBased. This was a excellent example of a small company stepping in to realize the full potential of new technology. Well, it seems that Garmin is so enamoured with them that they are acquiring MotionBased. Good move on Garmin's part, since it is that kind of software that makes the GPS hardware beneficial.

Last of the Interbike photos

This is my final wrap up of all things Interbike. One item conspicuously absent is SRAM's road group. You've seen it elsewhere, and here, before and we can't tell you how it works. They wouldn't tell us. Look for that bit of information this month, though.

Last post I showed you Hope's machining prowess with the Mono4 brake. They also had a HID light on display and this trick LED design. It's not available yet, and it will be very pricey when it is. Both the light and the battery mount to the stem face.


American Classic had a number of cool items like a wheelset featuring magnesium wheels, and this trick single speed hub -- shown below their standard hub. Note the increased distance between the flanges.


Finally, check out the mechanism in the American Classic freehub. 12 points of engagement and the pawls are completely clear when the hub freewheels. It engages pretty darn quick too. The first image has the pawls engaged, the second has them in freewheeling mode.



Previous Interbike Posts:
More Photos from Interbike
Interbike Day 2 and 3
Interbike Day 1
Outdoor Demo Day 2
Outdoor Demo Day 1

More photos from Interbike

Hope showed off how they made their products. In this case, a Mono4 brake.

They start with a rough outline:

After some CNC-ing

More CNC-ing:

Still more CNC-ing:

Final machining...:

and anodizing:


Not content to let Shimano tackle the Flat-Bar road bike market alone, Campagnolo has a gruppo with 10 speed trigger shifters, too. This was on a Colnago bike.



Calfee had to go one step further with their bamboo bikes. On display was this tandem, complete with triple-crown fork.

Interbike Day 2 and 3

Okay, I'm back online. Here's what you missed:

We found these 10 speed rapid-fire shift levers (for using flat bars on a road bike). Hmm, looks like you could run 10 on a mountain bike if you could live with taller gears.


K2's Razorback replacement, the Apache. More, and supposedly better, travel but still lightwieght.


This year, some longer travel Lefty's will feature a knob to reduce the travel.


Close up of the travel adjust knob.


Don't like sucking down energy gels but like their benefits? Clif Shot will offer these gummy-like cubes that disolve quickly and taste great!


Giant's Glory. It's all about going with gravity, not against it.


More Glory.


There are few bikes as lust worthy as a Serotta. This is their new all carbon frame, available as a complete custom, if your bank account will let you.


The Ottrott, Ti lugs, seat tube and chainstays. All else is carbon fiber.


We're still wading through the rest of our pictures. I'll have more tomorrow... and probably on Monday too, so check back.