Published February 15th, 2010 in Cycling Photography, Road Bike Gear
Mooresville, North Carolina is NASCAR country. Thirty minutes north of the high-banked turns of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the A2 Wind Tunnel is the little brother of a larger facility that plays host to round-the-clock testing by Sprint Cup teams. I'm flying out with Specialized engineers on the red eye tomorrow night for two days of [...]
Continue reading about Tunneling into the Future and Dreaming About the Past
Published January 24th, 2010 in Product Reviews, Road Bike Gear
Seems like our whole lives go by the numbers. We start off measuring ourselves against the kitchen door and it never stops.
Grades, scoreboards, girls' telephone numbers, salary, mortgage, it all adds up. Cyclists may be among the most chronic counters. Logging mileage is just the tip of the iceberg... calories, feet of climbing, power, [...]
Continue reading about Going by the Numbers – Garmin Edge 500
Published January 19th, 2010 in Road Bike Gear
The rains have finally come to California and while there's plenty of styling opportunities to be had wrapped in seasonal jackets from Rapha and Showers Pass it's hard to believe that this time last year I followed the Continental boys as they rode the route of Stage 2 of the Tour of California on what [...]
Continue reading about DMT Radials – No Active Duty Till Spring
Published January 6th, 2010 in Road Bike Gear
I've got Competitive Cyclist to thank for the introduction to Yokozuna Reaction Cables. It wouldn't be the first time they've steered me towards great gear and these amazing strands are certainly a $65 bargain compared to the Cervelo they "persuaded" me to buy.
Back in September, with two centuries just around the corner I made a [...]
Continue reading about Quicksilver Response with Yokozuna Reaction Cables
Published September 15th, 2009 in My Bikes, Road Bike Gear
Even standing still the SL3 has an aggressive lean to it. The muscular head tube, massive down tube, and arching top tube strung taught like a bow hint at a potential for speed we all dream of. Looking every bit like an air force skunk work's stealth fighter, the Superlight version of the Tarmac SL3 [...]
Continue reading about Flying the Specialized Tarmac SL3 “Blackbird”
Published September 6th, 2009 in Rides, Road Bike Gear
When Graeme Raeburn takes a break from designing the Rapha kit we all love, he's a damn good rider. He can win on a Brompton, hang with the Continental boys touring the colonies and crank out an impressive 416 miles in a twenty-four hour time trial. On the 14th of September he'll join Ira [...]
Continue reading about A New Steel Enigma for the Cent Cols Challenge
OK, so I didn't get to carry a gun or sleep with a hot girl named Heavenly Rider but getting a chance to see a new PRO bike months before its official debut at the Tour de France was pretty cool. After swearing I hadn't been tailed and signing an electronic NDA in the lobby, [...]
Published May 31st, 2009 in Product Reviews, Road Bike Gear
.gloveWrapper {
border:1px solid #ccc;
border-top-width:0px;
padding:5px;
margin-bottom:20px;
}
.gloveWrapper table {
width:100%;
border-top:1px dotted #eee;
}
.gloveWrapper th {
font-weight:normal;
padding-right:20px;
}
Pedals, saddle and handlebars. These are our mechanical points of contact with the bicycle, anywhere else we meet is accidental and likely to be painful. We clip in with special shoes, pad our seats with chamois and when we reach for the hoods, [...]
Continue reading about Point of Contact – A Gripping Collection of Cycling Gloves
Published April 20th, 2009 in Humor, Road Bike Gear
If last week's post about Willy and randonneering had an underlying theme it might have been the relationship between style and practicality. Willy aptly demonstrated you don't have to sacrifice one for the other, but cycling gear typically involves a trade off. The latest featherweight carbon component may not survive an innocent tumble. Helmets keep [...]
Continue reading about Style vs Practicality – Conti GP4000 Ltd. Edition Tires
Published February 2nd, 2009 in Road Bike Gear, Road Cycling Kit
The mile markers tick over on yet another calendar year. Time to reflect on the kit and gear that got me through 2008 in comfort, safety and style. Here's the best of it.
November's 30 Days of Rapha series left no doubt as to my loyalties. The Perren Street Trust extended their lead with a [...]
Published January 18th, 2009 in My Bikes, Road Bike Gear
#sinspeed {background:url(http://images.velodramatic.com/singlespeed/singlespeed09-1.jpg) no-repeat 0px 0px; display:block; border:none; width:550px; height:367px;}
#sinspeed:hover {background:url(http://images.velodramatic.com/singlespeed/singlespeed09-2.jpg) no-repeat 0px 0px;}
Rollover image to see before picture | View the Gallery
I wanted to get a few rides on the single speed before rendering a judgment on how the project turned out. Geared with a 50-tooth chain ring up front and a 20-tooth cog for [...]
Continue reading about The Velodramatic Single Speed Project
For the second straight year I pointed my bike skyward and began the year with the 4200' climb to the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton. The valley was completely socked in with dense fog when I started at first light. I was interested to see whether the smooth new asphalt of Highway 130 see Going [...]
Continue reading about Rising Above it All to Start Another Year
