It is not about the bike, actually yes it is

OK, there are some people out there that just use their bikes as a tool for getting to and fro, but if you are reading this blog post, that probably doesn’t apply to you. You train on your bike, you race your bike, some of you may even keep your bike in your living room. Our bikes are part of us, the culture, the technology, the sense of freedom, it is all there in one microcosm of perfection. Some of us treat our bikes as an extension of our personality. As an example, I am usually a very calm, laid back person who doesn’t like anything flashy or “bling”, but on my bike I like to be as loud as possible from custom handlebar plugs to personalized stem caps. If I can make my bike scream and lighter at the same time, I am going to jump all over that. It is just a great extension of my demeanor on the bike especially while racing, yes I sometimes do the Dr. Jekyll, Mister Hyde routine. If you look at some of the top pro’s in the peloton, a lot of them have very cool custom painted bikes with individualized components, Cavendish’s Tour bike from last year is one of my favorite paint jobs, if you haven’t seen it check it out. Why wouldn’t us mere mortals want the same? I don’t want a custom Thor Hushovd Cervelo even if it is very cool, I do however want a custom Ken Vida Cervelo. I can’t just call Cervelo up and ask for a custom frame, well not yet at least J I can however customize my bike with small unique parts that differentiate it from the other Cervelo’s out in the state. From different color handlebar tape, to custom anodized bolts, to unique color schemes, the sky is the limit with bikes. Just don’t go overboard, some colors just don’t work together like say purple and red. Also don’t try and mirror your favorite pro’s bike, make your bike your own, a unique and very individual part of you, and for God’s sake, GO OUT AND RIDE!

Clinchers as Race Wheels, Are you Serious?

Clinchers have come a long way in this sport, 20 years ago when I started racing I wouldn’t have dreamed about lining up for a race with clinchers on my bike. Back then the majority of people even trained on tubulars. Despite tubular’s lighter weight and better road feel, I eventually switched to clinchers for training, entering the dark side. I now train on clinchers full time and have even raced on them for a few seasons in the past, mostly due to economic situations, not choice. That is until now. This past weekend I got a chance to race on Zipp’s new 404 clincher. I raced on a hilly 70 mile road course on Saturday and a tight technical 6 turn Criterium course on Sunday with a section of pavers. Two completely different courses and the wheels remarkably performed flawlessly. I am shocked to say in the least, I am a firm believer in Zipp’s magic, but to make a full carbon clincher that is so versatile is truly a miracle. They did go to the drawing board with this one, making a wheel unlike any other carbon clincher on the market. What sets it apart is the rim shape. Saying the wheel is wide is a gross understatement, it is wide enough that I had to open my brakes almost fully to use them, but in that width you get two clear advantages. First, the wheel is very stiff making it super responsive and second, the wider tire bead stretches the tire out a bit allowing you to run a slighter lower pressure that gives your high quality clinchers an almost tubular like feel. Everyone wants to know how fast the wheels are, well to give you an idea, on the descents in Saturday’s race I would go from mid pack to shooting off the front by just coasting. The faster you go, the more these wheels just work. Then on Sunday I ran only a 100 lbs of pressure in the tires and they tracked perfectly on the pavers and in the tight, technical 90 degree turns. The only things these wheels give up to their tubular competitors are a little bit of weight, but honestly I didn’t notice it. If you are looking for a fast wheel that you can race on and if you get a flat, doesn’t cost you $90, run, don’t walk to the shop and pick up a pair of these wheels. Yes, they will make you faster.