Departure from Sunset Cycles

There are many who read this blog who are regular customers of mine.  Some of you I have been able to contact; others I have not.  For those of you who do not already know - here is the latest as I do not want anyone to be surprised:


Last Thursday night, June 16; Roger laid me off from my job at Sunset Cycles.  Reasons cited were 1) failure to follow through on small, around-the-store tasks such as cleaning and 2) Refusal to work on Sundays more than the occasional instance I had originally agreed to.

While both of these are true, I believe that those who know me well will agree that there are many bigger, more valuable tasks - providing superior customer service among the biggest - that I performed with absolute consistency.  Additionally, Sunday is a special day to me as it is my only weekend day that I spend with my family - who are the most important people in the world to me - as we go to church and do other important family activities and I will always refuse to put work ahead of my family if forced to make a choice.

I am not looking for sympathy and I don't expect you to defend me to anyone at Sunset Cycles. Neither do I intend to influence where you choose to do business in the future. I simply wanted my side of the story to be told to those who are important to me and for you to not be surprised when you visit the store.

Additionally; I feel that we have a long-standing relationship as it pertains to your cycling life and I want you know that you are free to contact me with questions and for advice.

As for the future; I don't know if I will be returning to the retail side of the bike industry again. But if I do; I will certainly announce it here.

Best wishes.  I hope to bump into you on the road - as I plan to do more riding now - and I hope that I can be of service in the future. I am open to helping you with your bikes at least in the short term with the understanding that my resources are a little limited at the moment. 

As I have always said: Let me know how I can help.  I have created a new e-mail address specifically for this purpose at mattmageeblog (at) gmail (dot) com - please use it.

God bless-
Matt.

Fascinating Article on Tire Testing

I've long admired cyclingnews.com's James Huang's technical writing and referred to it often as the best in cycling journalism (although - VeloNews has really stepped it up lately).

One of his latest pieces highlights a tire testing facility in Finland that seems to finally be coming up with some good data on tires in real-world type scenarios and less-so in the controlled laboratory conditions of older tests.  The article has some fascinating facts and data; confirming some long-held thoughts and theories of my own and surprising me on a few areas that I had accepted as fact which it seems were not.

First - the confirmations:
     -Wider tires are faster due to less energy lost in casing deformation.  The study specifically cites 25 mm tires versus 23mm tires.

     -Puncture resistant tires are typically slower, but to different degrees depending upon the stiffness of the material used.  Again, based on tire deflection.

     -Lighter inner tubes are faster.  Lower weight at the periphery of the wheel lessens the moment of inertia and amount of effort required to maintain speed - the same as with lighter tires.

Now - the surprises:
     -Higher thread-count tires aren't always better. What's simple to understand is they are more susceptible to cuts because of the thinner threads.  But, a medium thread-count tire may actually roll faster because the casings are less supple and deform more efficiently.  Add their increased cut resistance and they'll make good every-day tires.  Still though, consider that while thread count decreases, puncture resistance will increase at the expense of speed.

     -Tread pattern matters on the pavement too!  Whoa!  I get this off-road; it makes sense.  But I've always thought of tread patterns and siping on road tires as "negative spaces" in the tread which would limit the tire's ability to conform to the imperfections of the pavement.  This in theory increases adhesion with the pavement.  Not necessarily so...some patterns will increase adhesion.  I now wonder how much this has had to do with tires I loved and hated...

Finally - they may have put one of the greatest industry arguments of the last decade to rest:  29" MTB wheels do roll faster than their 26" counterparts!  I however still feel that some 26" geometries allow for better agility, but it may only be a matter of time before someone proves me wrong there too...

Enjoy the full article here:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tech-feature-the-work-of-wheel-energy

What Size Bike do I Need?

Answer: it's complicated...

 I received a question from a reader in the comments section this summer and I've finally written an article in response as I promised.  (Keep using comments, folks - I do read them and respond when I can - but I have a family and a full-time job; so this "hobby" of blogging sometimes takes a back seat).  Here's the question; my responses; and the article.  Enjoy!    

Greg G said...

Matt, I'm beginning to shop for a new bike, but there's so much to choose from, with barely perceptible differences really. Can someone get fitted for a new bike without knowing precisely what brand they're going to buy? Since no single shop carries all the possibilities, it makes this a much tougher process.  

Why Cyclists Need GPS

...and this is not a sales pitch disguised as a new story.  Really thought provoking - this one.  I may have finally been pushed over the ledge toward getting one myself after reading this.

I ran across this story during my almost-weekly "try-to-catch-up-on-the-news" trip to bikeportland.org. Jonathan ran a story he'd received as a tip from a friend (I guess this story is going viral...)

Internal Cable Routing

Internal cable routing has been around for a while now - some executions better than others...  And in today's reality of electronic shifting and increasingly more "organic" designs it is surely here to stay.  As great as it looks - and as much of a benefit as it may be for keeping grit out of your cable systems - internal routing presents some unique challenges and requires extra care.  We took some extra pictures of the new 2011 Roubaix Expert (one of the best executions of internal routing we've seen yet) to help illustrate our points.

How to fit a Cyclocross Bike

As I have discussed (at length) before - there is a lot of good and bad info out there about bike fitting and selecting the right size frame.  One of the more common topics I run into this time of year is how to select the right size of Cyclocross bike.

A common guideline I have heard is that you ought to size-down from your road bike frame size to obtain the right 'cross frame.  As a universal guideline, this couldn't be more WRONG!  There are instances where this may apply, but I would say that they are rare now.

Worn Tires and Flatting

This post also appeared on the store blog - but I figured the audience here is a little more broad and it's a good topic; so I'm sharing it here as well.


This time of year we seem to more commonly be addressing common causes of flat tires and how to prevent them.  A frequently overlooked cause worth talking about is worn-out tires.

As your tires wear their flat protection is reduced because there is less rubber on them to resist sharp objects as you roll over them.

Additionally, tires do age: and not very well at that!  Cracking in the tread and side-wall of the tire is a good indicator of a worn and weakened tire that is ready to be replaced.

Finally, tires also get cuts in them which weaken the tire and make it more prone to flatting.  Anything bigger than 3/16" (4 mm) really ought to be addressed.

All of these symptoms are exceedingly common.  How common?  All 5 of the worn tires pictured below came into the store on Saturday, July 24th!

Good, round tire

Worn, "flat-top" tire

Vanished tread or wear indicators

Large cuts through tread and casing

Cracking/"cross hatch" in sidewalls

Cracked/separated tread

Tire worn through to casing

More worn tread through to casing

Do I Need a Bike Fitting?

Driving around town the other day I saw so many people who were so obviously uncomfortable on their bikes (and suffering a loss of efficiency because of their lack of comfort along with other factors).  So, since so much of my material is inspired by my experiences - I was inspired to write another post: A few quick pointers on how to know if you need someone to assess your bike fit.

Quick note: Bicycle Fitting "Apps"

First - don't get me wrong.  I'm not a Luddite. I love many things that have come along in the technological revolution.  But, we still must be careful how much gravity we give these tools and applications that actively or passively claim to replace humans.

I've talked some about the bike fitting calculators which can be found at various locations online and how; while they may be based on good equations, there are two inherent flaws when it comes to claims of delivering "correct fit" or "correct frame size":

1. The accuracy of the resulting dimensions is only as good as the accuracy of the measurements used in the equations.  Garbage in, garbage out.

2. Unquantifiable factors such as injury history, desired riding position, physiological asymmetries, riding history and goals are not accounted for.  Additionally, flexibility and ranges of motion also weigh heavily into determining a rider's optimal on the bike position.  These factors are glaringly absent from these applications because they introduce an "X" factor which cannot be caluclated.

So in the end - using such applications as a guide or a starting point is not bad and may help you narrow the herd a little.  But, until an application comes along capable of evaluating and somehow quantifying the unquantifiable; there will be no replacement for the hands and mind of an experienced bicycle fitter.

Now, go ride! (And if it hurts - go see your fitter.)

Bike Mistakes - Part 1: Handlebar

I've been talking with Chris at the shop about a series of posts about common mistakes that most everyone (even some shops) makes on bicycles. I'm going to give this a stab here and see how it goes. Some of this may also appear on the store blog or newsletter: we'll see. I'll be focusing on mechanical mistakes as well as those that may effect comfort, handling, or safety. I don't know how many parts there will be - this will just sort of evolve. If you have a suggestion or something you'd like to see covered: leave a comment and let me know.