Things I've learned from my road bike...

A note from Jon: Tomorrow, I'm taking a day off work to pre-ride all the big mountains of the 300 Warriors/Tour of Utah Stage 4 ride. I might not be alive enough to post to the blog when I'm done, so I thought I'd post early today. If I'm alive, I'll post something tomorrow afternoon/evening. Only 17 days to go...

I grew up mountain biking. I mean, sure, my first real bike was a road bike, but every bike after that was a mountain bike. Sometimes I'd ride on the road--hey, I was a kid with few resources--but mostly off road when I could.

Recently (well, as far as my history of biking goes it was fairly recent), I really started to road bike full-time. I've gone years now where I'll only ride off road about 10% of the time. This year--well, starting in the fall of last year--I started to split it up a little more evenly. In fact, all told, I think I've been riding about 50-50 on versus off road.

Road cycling has made me a better mountain biker. Here's a few things I've learned from my road bike

• Pedaling in higher gears on climbs. It used to be automatic that I'd shift way down and settle into a nice high, easy cadence on every climb--no matter how steep. Now, I'll push a harder gear much longer which helps me to keep my speed up. I've also found that on some tricky loose climbs, I can maintain my momentum and traction much longer in a higher gear.
  
• Hardtails are good. I love the speed with which hardtails accelerate. I can stand up and sprint when I need to without worrying about bogging down the rear suspension. 
  
• I can keep my HR higher and push myself longer. Riding on the road has more sustained efforts that have taught me to handle the long steady suffer. I'm much better at settling into a high heart-rate and patiently awaiting the end of a long climb.
  
• Don't brake in a corner, but brake before corners. I'm terrible and descending and cornering, but I'm getting better. The road bike has taught me how to handle braking around corners (don't, just brake before) and how to carry my center of gravity. Perhaps this is something I _should_ have learned on the mountain bike, but I think I get too lazy with the wonderful stopping power of disc brakes. 
  
• Baggy shorts just get in the way. I find them distracting, and with a good jersey (with rear pockets), I don't really see the need to have additional pockets.
  
• I don't need a hydration pack. For most of my riding off road, I'm not out more than a couple hours. Usually, a couple large water bottles will do just fine. I can stuff what I need in my jersey pockets (tools, spare tube, micro pump, etc.). I've grown to hate having a pack on my back. Thanks to riding on the road, I've also gotten much better at drinking from a bottle while riding on the trail as well.
  

Is there anything I've learned from mountain biking?

• At least one thing comes to mind: Tire pressure. Tubeless tires on my mountain bike taught me to ride low. I can't hardly stand pressures above 25psi off road (even on skinny 1.9" tires). For the road, I've settled down on about 100psi (for 700x23c tires). That's high enough that I won't get a pinch flat, yet low enough to smooth out the road considerably. It's high enough that I don't squirm around when I stand up to sprint, but low enough that rumble strips on the shoulder of roads are little more than an annoyance.
  

29:37

My mind doesn't seem to stop working when I'm riding. Unfortunately, I sometimes find that when I'm not thinking about the ride--the road, the turn, the rock in the trail, etc.--I'm not riding as well. This is especially true when I'm descending. Mostly, this is because I'm so bad a descending, but it doesn't help when I'm not thinking about the ride.

Sometimes, however, I think too much about a ride. There's a particular ride I do often. It's a fairly good hill, climbing 1600' in 4.5 miles. It isn't the steepest hill around, but it's close to my home. My goal has always been to reach the top in less than 30 minutes, but it has always eluded me.

Recently, while doing this climb, I was doing my usual thinking: I was calculating how fast I had to do the remaining distance in order meet my goal. Now, I'm not always very good at this simple arithmetic--and I blame the general lack of blood flow to my brain for this. After all, my body is pumping blood to the muscles as fast as it can and there really isn't that much to go around

Which got me thinking, how does using up blood flow--or, to put it another way, diverting blood flow--away from my muscles affect my ride? Does calculating the speed I need to average to finish an accent "on time" actually make my chances of making the ascent in a given time worse? I mean, how much blood is getting sent to my brain for these thoughts? What about not being relaxed as I ride? Sometimes, especially when I'm tired, I tense up a bit. How much does this slow me down?

I guess, in the end, I want to know if clearing my mind and relaxing a bit would have a greater effect on my speed than buying some really expensive deep dish aerodynamic wheels?

Either way, I've never done this climb in less than 30 minutes. That is, until I decided to not think about anything else. On Monday, I started the clock and didn't look down again until I got to the top. I didn't look at the speed I was going, I just tried to go fast. I didn't do any calculations in my head, I just tried to keep relaxed and keep focused.

The result: 29 minutes and 37 seconds.

Fat Rubber -- Updated

When I started mountain biking, back at the dawn of time, there wasn't a very good selection of tires. And, the tire sizes weren't anything special, either. Usually, they were in the 1.85 to 2.0 inch widths. Then, along came the venerable Smoke/Dart combo from Panaracer, and everything changed. Tires became more specific--both for terrain and for position, whether they were a front tire or a rear tire--and started showing up in a wider range of sizes. Shortly after that Downhill racing became huge, and so did the tires. Now, if I am running anything smaller than a 2.2 it seems too narrow.

On the road side of things, though, tire sizes have stayed the same. And, to make matters worse, most high end frames will not accept anything wider than a 25c--not that there are many good tires in that width. Most of the rubber that size--or larger--is mid-level at best.

Why do I want fatter tires on the road? Two main reasons; first, they grip better so I can corner faster and, second, they absorb surface irregularities better reducing fatigue on a long ride.

Both of those benefits are negated by running cut-rate tires made from harder rubber and stiffer casings help neither the feel nor the cornering.

Fortunately, Continental is coming around to my way of thinking. They have just introduced--to be available in January--a 24c version of the fantastic Grand Prix. From the press release:

The name Grand Prix has become a brand of its own in cycling circles worldwide. The Grand Prix is THE classic tire marking quality and performance. Not unlike its predecessor, this generation is eager to change traditional standards. The new Grand Prix marks the trend toward wider tires in performance cycling. Wider tires roll easier, yield higher mileage and offer more comfort and grip, therefore the new Grand Prix profile is 24mm. Wide enough to exploit the advantages of wider tires, but still light and slim enough to improve the performance of any racing machine.

Is the new Grand Prix wide enough to make a difference? I'm not sure. But it will fit just about every frame made, even racing frames, so that's a good thing. Also, the Grand Prix is a very nice riding tire. We reviewed the GP4000 a little while ago, and we really liked the way they rode. Adding a millimeter to the width, without substantially increasing the weight of the tire--about 25g--should amplify all the things we liked about the tire.

I hope that this is the beginning of a wider selection of top-of-the-line tire sizes.

Update: It looks like Conti isn't adding this tire to the line up, rather 24c is the new 23c. Interesting. The GP4000 came in 20c, 23c and 25c. The new Grand Prix will come in 22c, 24c and 28c. They are going bigger all around.

Mini-USB

Nope, not the connector, the light.

Thursday's mail brought me the new Minewt Mini-USB Plus light. You may remember my earlier post about it. Rather than rehash the specs, check them out HERE, but come on back afterward.

Now, I figured that the battery was smaller and it is, take a look:

It's the same length as the original, but smaller in every other dimension. The connector is different too, something I didn't anticipate. Again, new battery/connector on the right, standard MiNewt on the left:

I actually like the new connector better, though it doesn't take much of a tug to pull it free, which can be good or bad, depending on whether the tug was intentional or not.

Because I got the Plus version, the box came with a helmet mount and an extension cord. The light head itself is very similar to the Minewt we all know and love, but is made of plastic this time around. Remember, this is a budget light, so the use of plastic here isn't all that alarming.

Keeping with the budget theme; the LED used isn't the highest bin so it's slightly yellower than what is used in the standard Minewt and used by the competition. Place it next to a halogen light, however, and the Mini-USB looks nice and white.

Bonus Thursday Post

You waited in line. You waded through the activation process. You fired up iTunes and got your new iPhone 3G loaded up with all sorts of applications.* You even tried out that built in GPS. Now you're thinking,

"Man, it would be awesome if I could use that GPS to track my rides. I mean, I carry the darn phone with me anyway!"**

Well, today--er, or rather soon--is your lucky day! There is a new bit of software that will be making its way to the iTunes app store that does just that. It's called RunKeeper. I know what you are saying, "it's for running." It is, and it isn't. The same information is relevant for cycling, as well. Things like average speed, elevation, duration, etc. All of this gets logged and then can be uploaded

Here are a couple of videos that explain things. First just the app itself on the phone:


This video shows the portal, as well:


From what I gather, it shouldn't be expensive software--somewhere around $10, or so-- but it could be just the thing to keep track of all your rides.

I mean, you are carrying the phone anyway, right?



*For the record, I did not do any of those things.
**Like some of us have been doing for quite some time on other, less hyped smartphones.

New Zoic and a New Review

Last week I received a package from Zoic. You know, the guys who make the stuff with Bamboo fiber in it, like the awesome LiberTee--which we've been using and using and using without any signs of wear. No snags, nothing. The fabric is fantastic. Really.

This latest package contained the Ether Short:

and an updated version of the Libertee--very similar to the other one we are abusing, but with graphics and without the little pocket on the sleeve. To be honest, I've never used the little pocket. I'm not sure what is supposed to go there.

Moving on...

Our review of the Garmin Edge 705 is up and running. We really liked the GPS and were quite sad to send it back. If they didn't know my address, I'd have been tempted to say it got "lost" but, alas, it is back in their hands now. Go read the review HERE, while I shed a tear quietly in the corner.

More Seca

I just received some more information regarding Light and Motion's upcoming Seca line of lights. Nothing new in the way of spec's, but--and this is important--images! The info we've received up to now can be found HERE and HERE. Now these images are of preproduction units, so the finish isn't quite up to what you are used to seeing from L&M, but it's close. Also, the colors are close, but slightly off, too.

First up, the Seca 400:

Front--frankly, this is the most interesting image of them all, I think:

So, there are six emitters and two--maybe three?--different beams patterns. Interesting.

Front, right corner:

There will be an elastic strap on the mount used to affix the light to the bars.

Top:

Here you can see the switch and the heat sinks. I suspect that the 6 emitters--and the associated circuitry--generate some heat!

The Seca 700 looks much the same, but has different colors.

Front, right corner:

Top:


I, for one, can't wait to see how well they perform. Since Light and Motion seems to be betting the farm on these--no more Arc, remember?--I suspect that they are making sure that it will be trouble free and, above all, BRIGHT right out of the gate.

More 400L

We previewed the new 400L on Monday, and our local postal carrier dropped off not one, but two--one front light and the new tail light--400L's at the Lactic Acid Threshold headquarters on Thursday. Now that's service.

First off, I was a little surprised by the switch location. It's on the front. This will make it easy to use on the tail light and it will make it easy to find when helmet mounted. The new mount gets in the way of putting the button on the back like they've done up till now.

Second, it's not a very big light. If you take a 200L and turn it sideways, you've got--roughly--the same size as the 400L. I've got a really crappy picture showing what I'm talking about:


The helmet mount affixes to the helmet like the current ones do, but offers a greater range of tilt adjustment.

It might be an illusion, but the lenses seem to be larger in diameter as well.

I've not had the chance to use the lights yet, but I will over the weekend and I'll report back my initial thoughts, naturally.

Ellsworth-y

It's Thursday all ready, isn't it. I tell you, this week is flying by. I meant to have this up yesterday, but, alas, it was not to be.

Anyway, backing up a few days, Tuesday I ventured North to Vancouver, WA, to visit the Ellsworth factory, meet the folks there, talk to Tony and--most importantly--ride. It was a busy day.

Now, this wasn't the first time that I had visited a factory before. I met the nice folks at Fox Racing Shox a couple of years ago, and I've met with the good people behind Rolf Prima Wheels. But, this was a frame building operation, so I was interested to see what Ellsworth did and what they farmed out. Turns out, they do pretty much everything but the anodizing in house.


The photo above doesn't show all of the factory, but quite a bit of it. Here they bend the tubes (the tubes arrive externally and internally tapered) to the desired shapes; make the gussets; machine the head tubes; machine the linkages; make the swing arms; acid dip, anneal and heat treat the welded frames prior to anodizing them; and weld the frames.


Here, Troy is showing a before and after tube. This tube is shaped from round to oval. After they've made it oval, it'll be bent into a more interesting shape. This is a two step process.

For each shape and size of tube, they have a two-piece steel form that attaches to the press behind Troy. Once the tube is in place, they squeeze it with around 2300psi. This is done before heat treating the tube, naturally.

All of the frames--once welded up--get placed in this holder for acid dipping and heat treating.

This holder helps keep the frames aligned during the heat treating. After this is done, all of the frames are checked for alignment using a single swing arm. The swing arms are checked out on their own using the jig shown below.

This is a very good thing for two reasons: 1) every swing arm will work on every frame. If they aligned the frame with the swing arm, one or both of them could be off and if you needed a replacement swing arm, it might not be aligned with the frame. 2) If you notice during the final build that something isn't quite right, it's easier to track down the culprit. Seeing this made the engineer in me very happy.

Overall, in talking to Troy and David--thanks for showing me around, guys--I got an overall feeling of craftsmanship. These guys are passionate about making the best frame that they can. If something goes wrong with a frame, they want to know why so it doesn't happen again.

Ellsworth builds about 2000 frames each year. That puts them in no man's land--bigger than a custom frame shop, but much smaller than the big bike houses. They are a boutique brand. You'll end up paying more for your frame, but you'll know that your frame was checked our prior to shipping out. They don't check a random number of frames, they check them all. If they were bigger, they couldn't do that.

Tony, Troy and David, thanks for showing me around. It was a pleasure to meet you and see how the bikes are made.

Oh, and the ride was a blast as well.

400L, Take Two

Some of you might remember that there was--oh... around a year or so ago--a 400L from DiNotte landed on our doorstep. It had two white LED's and a single Amber LED. I'm not sure it was ever really offered for sale. Now, DiNotte has revived the name, but the light is completely different.

This time, it's billed as a helmet mounted light, primarily. There is a handlebar mount as well.

Actually, more than one handlebar mount. Also, for the first time they are offering an optional lens kit so you can swap out the lenses yourself. So, if you think you might want wide beams, or one of each, you can do that.

Essentially, what you've got here is a Dual 200L in a single housing. This should make it a good helmet mounted choice--just right for pairing with the 600L. I say should because... well... I don't have one... yet.

And, don't think that they've left you tail light lovers out in the cold. They've added a dual emitter, based on the 400L, to the mix.

As you can see, unlike the white light, the red version has a translucent bezel. Like the single emitter version, this will help motorists see you from the side.

First NiteRider, then Light and Motion--though theirs isn't available yet, get on it L&M!--and now DiNotte; light manufacturers are gearing up for an interesting Summer/Fall season. Who's next? I suspect that Lupine will be making some announcements before too long, and it's time to see what the others, like CatEye are up to. As soon as I know anything, you'll see it here.

Rejected Topics (and Questions) For the Look 986 Review

• Which Seatpost is right for the 986?
  
• How to prevent your seatpost from slipping down into the frame.
  
• Avoiding rust buildup on your new Look 986.
  
• What if all I have to cut the frame down is a chainsaw?
  
• What size of 29" tire works with this frame?
  
• Are you sure this isn't a road bike? It's made by Look, right (and it is so pretty)?
  

To read what we did write, click here for the full Look 986 review (freshly posted).

News, More News, and Light News

Here at Lactic Acid Threshold--and at GearReview.com, for that matter--we love tubeless tires. We've got them on both road and mountain bikes and would run them on our 'cross bikes if the tire and wheel companies would get their act together. On the road side, though, things aren't progressing terribly fast, what with one wheel and one tire offering, but that's all about to change. Campagnolo and Specialized are jumping on board in a big way.

Paris, France July 8, 2008 - - Cycling industry icons Campagnolo and
Specialized have embraced Hutchinson Road Tubeless technology, with
both brands creating RT wheelsets, and Specialized producing their
"Turbo Tubeless" tires at Hutchinson's factory outside of Paris,
France beginning with the 2009 model year.

I, for one, welcome this news and can't wait to try out the new wheels and tires. This is a very good development.

Moving on...

Ritchey has long made components and tires that are good, quality items. One of my favorite tires from yesteryear is their Z-max. I remember Jon running the red rubber compound model. Boy, that tire wore out fast! But they gripped well.

As good as their stuff is, it's not that easy to find. I can't think of a single bike shop in my town that carries anything beyond the tires. And I'm not positive about the tires either.

Now, you can order direct from Ritchey, with a twist. I'll let them explain.

"More and more consumers are using the Internet to find the products they need," said Steve Parke, general manager and vice president of marketing for Ritchey Design. "Ritchey's authorized retailers provide knowledgeable service and are key to helping cyclists get the most from their bikes. There is no other substitute for the service of a good independent retailer. The new Ritchey site will help consumers find the products they want, along with the service and support of a shop." When consumers place an order through www.RitcheyLogic.com, orders are posted in a special queue. Within one business, authorized Ritchey retailers, with product in stock, will ship those orders within 24 hours. Open orders not selected by retailers revert to Ritchey Design for fulfillment. The new site features detailed information about Ritchey Design products, sponsored teams, news, cycling tips and a blog. Online purchases are only available to consumers in North America, and sales of Ritchey's line of Break-Away travel bikes will not be available when the new site launches.

So, they will be keeping their dealers happy while enabling the end consumer to get the parts they want. It's a neat idea.

Finally, I've got some light news. Light and Motion is going 100% LED for the 2008/2009 season. And they are revamping the Vega. Finally. I've always liked the look and design of the Vega, but the performance has been lackluster of late. Now, it'll be available in two versions, one with 120 lumens and one with 200 lumens. I'll let the following tables fill you in on the rest of the line up. As usual, click on the image for a biggie size.

I don't yet have word on availability, nor do I have product shots of the Seca. As soon as I have that info, I'll post it, don't worry.

So, L&M is removing the Arc from the line up, as NR adds a HID back into the mix. Do light manufacturers have a "silly season"? If so, we are in it.

Long Ride

After my week off--didn't do much, it was nice--I'm back.

I suppose I could have titled this post "What I did on my vacation" as a throw back to all those horrible essays I had to write in grade and middle school about my summer break. I really think that teachers made us write those because they weren't ready to be back in school either.

But I digress...

Last Thursday (July 3rd) was our second annual C2Sea ride. You may remember my tale from last year. This time I decided to use the Ellsworth Evolve I've been riding, rather than my 'cross bike. I did this for a few reasons: 1) I only have a limited time on the Evolve and I'd like to use/abuse it as much as possible while I have it, 2) people claim that the "steam rolling" feature of the 29er wheels are good for endurance events and 3) I wanted to relax a little more on the rougher sections of the ride near the end.

It was not to be.

We rolled out of the parking lot at 5:40am, all of us ready for a long day in the saddle. In preparation I swapped out the Ellsworth-branded saddle for one that is way, way more comfortable. I also adjusted the air pressure in the rear shock to accommodate the weight of my overloaded pack. Since I built up the bike not too long before the ride, I thought I knew the condition of the rest of the components.

About 2 miles into the ride, I was powering up the first climb of note and--BAM--the chain broke.

Let me rewind a little here, and give you some back story.

On June 28th--the Saturday before the C2Sea--T. and I were riding the Harvey River Trail out of Tillamook, Oregon--good cheese, by the way. I was powering up a short climb there and sort of... well... ham fisted a shift. This resulted in my breaking the chain. OK, no problem, I bust out the good ol' Alien multitool and go to work fixing the chain and we finish our ride.

Fast forward to the C2Sea. This was now the second break on the same chain. Now it'll be really short. And, this time, I wasn't shifting, I was just laying down the power. My legs are HUGE.

No problem, I still have the trusty multitool. But, hey, what's this? The break is next to the Power Link. No need for the tool. I pull the offending link out, and go to reconnect the Power Link and it doesn't close! I've never had this happen before. Thinking that the Power Link was somehow damaged, I grab a spare--brand new--one from C. His doesn't close either. So, now I have a chain that is much too short, won't accept the Power Link, and has broken twice. And this is the first hill.

I wave the white flag and pick up the remains of the chain and coast--mostly--back to my truck. This is why it is good to have many bikes in your garage. I drive home, swap the pedals back to my Jekyll and meet them further along the ride. I missed only 10 or 12 miles of mostly flat gravel road, so I'm not too upset about it.

For the record, these test bikes get hammered. I mean, you get to ride a bike that isn't yours, so you tend to wring the snot out of them. I did repair the bike the next day and am back on it.

Rather than bore you with a rehash of last years turn by turn play, I'll sum up the ride. It was awesome. We were a much more cohesive group than last year--all the same players, too--and we spent much more time riding together, not strung out. There was very little waiting and when we did take a break, the break was shorter. The result was that the ride time was cut down by over an hour.

When I hopped on my Jekyll--having been riding the 29er exclusively since I got it--the smaller wheels really seemed to accelerate quickly. And, turn quicker, too, something that I didn't notice going the other way--26" to 29".

Other than my chain mishap, we had no mechanicals. Modern mountain bikes are well made and with proper care can last a very long time. The current midrange components are so much better than the top-of-the-line stuff from just a few years ago, it's amazing.

Long rides rock. Plan them, get a group and go. Take the time off, get out into nature and pedal. Hop onto IMBA's website and find an epic ride, or make one of your own like we did, and do it this summer. It's worth it and it gives you an excuse to pile on the miles: "But dear, I'm training!".

Bonus Post: Watch out for animals!

Somehow I missed this last year. I've always suspected it would be bad to hit an animal on my bike, but watch how Burghardt's wheel folds when he hits this dog. (They look like nice deep-dish carbon wheels, too.) Keep your eyes WIDE open out there, you probably don't have Mavic Neutral Support waiting in the wings to get you a new wheel on your rides.

Nothing to do, but ride...

You can blame James for the slow week, he's on vacation. He's living it up on a long ride today, so I'm full of jealousy and wanting to get away from this computer. I'm much distracted this week with a lot of things going on, but at least I got in a bike ride this morning. Here's how it went.

I got up at the crack of dawn today to go for a ride. It was windy. I hate the wind. I almost turned around and climbed back into bed, but I convinced myself that the wind would be good for me. Probably, anyway.

One thing I've learned, though, is to head into the wind if there is any wind at all. Nothing is more frustrating after a particularly fast bit of riding than finding out that it's because of a tail wind... and then you have to claw your way back.

So, loaded with this wisdom, I headed up the canyon and into the gale-force winds. I won't go into how painful it was. I don't think I'm alone in my hatred of the wind. However, and this is the whole point of my story, the reward was well worth it.

Though the canyon climbs only mildly, on the way down I hit 53mph. There's nothing like flying on a road bike--so smooth, so precise, so fast.

Now, if only I could convince the city to sweep the shoulders as well as the lanes, the picture would have been perfect. Oh well, 30 miles up a beautiful canyon and still back in time for work.

Go out and have a great ride this weekend. It's Independence Day here in the US, so I'll be spending some extra time on the bike--if I can get through the extra yard-work planned.

Knock-down, Drag-out Fight!

After the dust settled, we were left with a winner. However, the competition was close. Both groups were good--very, very good, in fact. Time and time again I get to thinking how nice bicycles work these days. The components are so smooth. Braking is fabulous. Suspension is supple when you want it and firm when you don't. Bikes are vertically compliant, yet laterally stiff. 

Back to the matter at hand, though. Yes, we finished our comparative review of Shimano XT (2008) and SRAM X.9 (also 2008). Those of you holding your breath... well, you might be dead by now. (Although, at least we didn't take as long as this review which, even now, isn't done. C'mon Cyclingnews, what's up?)

Anyway, head on over to GearReview.com and read it. Otherwise, you'll never know which we picked as the winner.