Yes, you can buy speed...

Growing up in the sport of cycling, it used to drive me nuts when I was getting beat by guys that I knew I was stronger than, simply because they had more money to buy “speed.” Speed can be anything, from slick deep dish aero wheels, to a perfectly contoured skinsuit, to something as simple as a pair of form fitting shoe covers. Every second matters in this sport and that is most apparent when racing against the clock either in time trials or triathlon. It isn’t fair that if you take 2 people of the same weight and same power output and put one of them on a road bike with standard wheels, and the other on a slick wind cheating time trial bike the one with the nicest toy will always win. I didn’t make the rules, but it is a reality so I embrace it in the best way I can. This rule of speed became unbelievably clear to me recently when I was given the privilege to test out a pair of Zipp’s Zedtech 1080 wheelset. These wheels are unbelievably FAST!!! From the first pedal stroke, I knew I was riding something special. Despite their enormous depth and width as compared to a traditional wheel, they still spin up very fast and accelerate quickly up to speed. Cornering was equally impressive as the wheels are very stiff and just track perfectly around curves. Rolling along at 25 MPH feels almost effortless and as the speed increases so does the aerodynamic benefit. Another insane benefit of the Zedtech wheel line is the inclusion of ceramic bearings. Coasting almost causes you to accelerate, it is a little unnerving. No need to get into a low position on downhills anymore unless you want to go flying by everyone. However, these are not all condition race wheels especially for lighter, smaller riders. The first time I rode them was on a particularly windy day and I had some nervous moments when I got hit by some nasty gusts. I am 175 lbs, I can’t imagine how a lighter rider would feel. Also because of their extreme depth, at very high speeds 45 MPH+, I felt like I had to hold on a little tighter to keep the front of the bike stable. These gripes are minor to how these wheels make you feel when you ride them, they just put a big smile on your face like you are flying. They are perfect for time trials and triathlons and I guarantee that they will make you faster. For road racing, I would probably recommend the 808’s for a great all around super aero race wheelset or for lighter, smaller riders the 404. Now if I can just figure out a way for my “test” to last all year :)

Happy Riding!

Hard on equipment

I have this problem, stuff just doesn’t last very long for me. I don’t abuse it, or crash very often but I have broken just about every part on a bicycle in my nearly 20 years of racing. Because of this fact, I am known as a very good product tester since if I can’t break something then it is easily going to hold up for the average rider. I have been having a very hard time finding a pedal system that lasts me more than a few months. In 2010 I went through no less than 4 different pedal setups. I started off with a pair of Carbon/Ti Look Keo pedals that I had been using for roughly 2 years, unfortunately the spring wasn’t as secure as it once was and the bearings were shot. No fault of the pedals, they lasted plenty long for me and I was anxious to try out the new Keo 2 Max because of it’s slightly wider platform. Unfortunately, the bearings just got progressively sticky over time and even with the resistance cranked all the way down, I still didn’t feel super secure. Time to try something new and I picked up a pair of the top of the line Mavic Pedals. I was extremely happy with these pedals at first. They spun super smooth, were reasonably light, and felt very solid while clicked in, plus I liked the flashy chrome color. However, after a couple of months the pedals became sloppy and there was noticeable movement when pulling up on them while riding. Stuff like this makes me mental so I tossed those aside and went with a pair of Speedplay Zero’s that I “borrowed” from my wife’s bike. I was actually a product tester for Speedplay when they were designed way back in the 90’s and have always liked them, but had some problems with the cleats in the past. I used the Speedplay’s with no problems for a couple of months, until my wife wanted to ride her bike again, oops… Being the adventurous person that I am, I opted to try yet another pedal system. I picked up a pair of Time’s new iClic racer pedals and got them all dialed in. I was very happy with the pedal at first, I liked the way Time does it’s float with a little lateral movement at the toe, not just at the heel as most of pedals work. Now 3 months in, the bearings are getting very sticky and I am noticing some vertical movement in the connection between the cleat and the pedal when clicked in. This just won’t do, so now I am going to pick up the new Shimano 7900 pedals to hopefully race on in 2011. I have done a lot of research and the only real negatives I have read were about the price, which is relative, and that they weren’t super light. I can live with that if they hold up. Stay tuned for my review of these pedals.

Orbea Orca

Hello Everyone! My name is Julie Jerue, and I will be posting on the Outspokin blog throughout the course of the year. I am a 32 year-old, female, cycling enthusiast. Well, maybe I should say that I am addicted to riding my bike. Road and criterium racing is my favorite type of bicycle riding, but I enjoy cruising around the neighborhood with my family as well.

I've been riding for about five years now, and have been enjoying using Outspokin as my home shop for the past couple years. The staff is extremely helpful, and they keep me performing on the best equipment available. My newest bicycle is an Orbea Orca. I'm beyond impressed with its beautiful design, but also the incredible ride. The Orca is smooth, accelerates effortlessly, and makes you wish your daily ride would never end!

Time to Hit the Gym

This is the time of year where all cyclists and triathletes should be spending some time at the gym. I know there are some of us who despise the weight room, but building now in the off season will pay off dividends when the season kicks up. Your legs can always be stronger and your core needs to be stronger, 2 basic principles to live by. I am a firm believer in adding weight training to my normal routine as soon as the season ends. It gives my body a chance to rebuild after all the intense hours on the bike. However, because I am going through different routines and using muscles I forgot I had, extreme soreness always ensues. The good news is I found a new product to help combat the soreness and enable me to continue training without having to take serious time off between workouts.
It is called Master Amino Acid Pattern or MAP for short. It is essentially the amino acids your muscles need to recover and rebuild but don't get because most of the protein we ingest gets transported as waste throughout our body. I don't know the true science behind it, but I do know that it works. Since I started taking the product, I have been less sore after both long hard rides and also extreme weight workouts at the gym.

Check it out, the way to get faster is by training harder, but in order to train harder we all need to recover better.

Introduction

Hello blog land, my name is Ken Vida and I will be a new contributor to the Outspokin blog. A little about myself, I am currently a category 1 road cyclist living in Florida who has been racing on and off for the last 20 years. I dabbled in all forms of cycling, from track to triathlon and everything in between, but my first love is road cycling. My most recent accomplishments are 4th overall in the Florida Points Series, 3rd Overall in the Florida Cup and current record holder of the Eddy Merckx category of the Ft. Desoto Time Trial. I love all things cycling and am a tech geek at heart so you will see lots of reviews of all the latest and greatest go fast gadgets in the ever changing world of cycling. I promise to always give my complete and honest opinion and look forward to interacting with you all.

Look for my mini review of Zipp's Zedtech 1080 wheelset coming real soon!