Stuart's completed S-Works Roubaix 7900

Photos: Chris Ware - Click for large version

Sorry it took me a while to get these posted. It's been a crazy couple of weeks.

The bike was finished before I took off to SBCU - and this is how it looked moments after completion. Here's the details of the build kit:

-Frameset: 2010 Specialized S-Works Roubaix SL2 & S-Works Pave' seatpost
-Wheelset: Shimano Dura Ace 7850-c24-cl
-Tires: Continental Gran Prix 4000s
-Group: Shimano Dura Ace 7900 (w/ Ultegra 6700 STI & f. derailleur)
-Handlebar: Ritchey SuperLogic Carbon
-Bar Tape: Specialized Roubaix EVA
-Stem: S-Works Pro-Set
-Saddle: Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow

Specialized Bike and Gear Reviews - direct from Morgan Hill

I've just returned from 5 days at Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill, California; where I had the opportunity to use a heap of Specialized branded gear. (I also spent three days riding Dura Ace Di2 - and I plan to post a separate review of that soon.) So, here's a few mini-reviews of the gear I used. I hope you enjoy and find them helpful.

Photos courtesy Specialized - click for larger version

S-Works Tarmac SL3: Wow! Best stock bicycle I've ever ridden - and that's an illustrious list!

2010 S-Works Roubaix Custom - in process

Stuart has been away from the sport a while, but is used to riding the best. When he finally came to visit me at the store, he'd ridden just about every bike that would be on anyone's short-list. After a quick test-ride on our demo Roubaix Pro; expertly fitted before he rolled out of the store of course, I think he was pretty well sold.

After talking more about what he had in mind and how he intended to use the bike - we discovered that a box-stock bike was not quite what we needed. Not foreign territory for me - I couldn't wait to custom-spec one for him. We ended up with a 2010 Roubaix S-Works frameset, spec'd with Dura Ace 7900 compact components and Dura Ace 7850 c24 cl wheels (reviewed almost 2 years ago here). All the parts finally arrived in the store today - so off to work I went. Better to not make someone wait, right?

Dura Ace & S-Works components - only the best will do.
(Click for larger photos...)

Prototype Dura Ace Carbon Pedal

To all of the Shimano reps and employees who; for the past 2 years, have been denying the existence of a carbon pedal prototype when I asked them about it:

WHAT'S THIS?!?!?!

Peter, you're the only one who's been honest with me. :)

Interbike 2010 Guide - new stuff from Dirty Vegas

Photo courtesy Interbike.com

I described Interbike on my facebook status as one of my favorite events in my least favorite city. I love Interbike and reconnecting with old friends; but from the second the plane touches down in Vegas, I can't wait to leave! I just feel like I need to take a shower after being there. It's an interesting dichotomy.

So, that said - Interbike was a pretty good show this year; in spite of noticeably lower attendance and fewer vendors. (I think I actually walked the whole show floor this year - a first in 8 years of attending the show.) The "down" economy only seemed to dampen the turnout; because there was still plenty of innovation present. New wheels (including the one I've been waiting 2 years for; the WH-7850-C50-CL) and Ultegra 6700 from Shimano; Reynolds new carbon clincher rim and lower price points; Sram XX; Zipp's 101 aluminum aero clincher (a new personal favorite); all sorts of new clothing and shoe ideas; and of course - plenty of super light carbon frames.

The 2009 Vuelta a Espania is on Universal

Much like the Giro d'Italia this year, the third Grand Tour of the season can be found at Universal Sports, a subsidiary of NBC. I'll probably be catching it online, as they don't seem to be giving it a lot of TV time. Versus does a great job with the Tour and I love how thourough they are. But, it's also great to see some others getting interested. And with a company as seemingly well capitalized as NBC and their parent company GE vying for cycling broadcasting rights, you have to wonder how much Versus is paying for their contract and how long they'll be able to maintain their exclusivity.

Universal's hom page for the Vuelta can be found at: http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=204770092

Of course, there is always VeloNews' live text coverage which I also enjoy. This is a great option for those who sit at a computer all day at work and can't look like they're just watching videos... Go here: http://velonews.com/live

Enjoy the race!
Matt.

First Impressions - New Ultegra 6700

Head's up!Photo courtesy bikeradar.com

Here's a quick first-ride review on the new generation of Ultegra from bikeradar.com

Link: First Ride: Shimano Ultegra 6700 Review

With Dura Ace 7900 moving decidedly up-market to compete with Sram Red and Campagnolo Super Record, it looks as though Shimano is positioning Ultegra 6700 as the new high-end group for the "rest of us" with nearly Dura Ace weight and performance (shades of which we saw with the Ultegra SL remake a couple years ago), I think you'll be seeing a lot more 6700 groups on the local race circuit because of it's affordability with very little performance penalty.

I look to get my hands on 6700 at Interbike this September - 2 months away!

More to come after Interbike!

Climbing tips, tricks, and advice.

Again, bikeradar.com comes up with a gem of an article. If you're not making this website a part of your regular cycling-related web-surfing you are missing out on some seriously cool stuff.

Link to the article:

Technique: Hill climbing made easy

The title makes a big promise - one which is difficult if not impossible to deliver on. Especially when you consider that the conventional wisdom among experienced cyclists is that climbing never gets easier; it's just that some are able to suffer at a higher rate of speed. None-the-less, there is some value in the information within.

Online fraud in the bike industry. Again...

I don't recall the last time I heard of this happening to customers of a locally owned independent bike shop:

*********************
Story: bikeportland.org

Fraud hits local customers of online retailer Nashbar

Northeast Portland resident Gabriel Tiller is sort of a bicycle renaissance man. He has won a national tall-bike jousting competition, taken top prize at the Zoobomb Century, earned a spot on the gravity-biking podium at the Maryhill Festival of Speed, he likes to do bike touring, and he has recently taken to mountain biking.

The Truth About Tire Pressure

Part of a series I'm calling Tires 101 with lots of great info to consider when looking for new tires.

When it comes to the pavement; more pressure is better.

Right?

Nope. And for several reasons. First, a higher pressure tire is harder to control, is actually a little slower, and rides less comfortably, meaning your feel worse and weaker at the end of a ride. Second, its not as safe. I'll touch on each of these respectively.

Mountain bikers and the cyclo-cross world figured this out a long time ago. Why is it that the road world has taken so long to grasp this concept? Well, I would bet that consumer demand plays a part in this. Somewhere along the line we got it in our heads that more tire pressure capacity makes a better, faster tire and so the tire manufacturers keep pushing the envelope.

So, why is this wrong? Like I said, the off-roaders figured this out early.

Always be prepared!

No, this isn't the big update I was talking about. And, no, that's not a picture of me - but I imagine the frustration level of that rider and myself earlier today were somewhat similar as I stood on the side of River Road between St. Paul and Newberg, Oregon after 2 hours of fighting headwinds (Avg. heart rate: 168; time in upper zone: 1:32:38). Oh, and this was my second flat of the day! The first one happened about 7 minutes into the ride!

So, many of you who may be my regular customers have heard me talk about what I carry every time I ride. (Spare tube, patches, tire levers, combo CO2/mini-pump, 2 full CO2 cartridges, multi-tool, tire boot material.) Well, today, I needed everything; including something more!

Missing the Giro d'Italia?

No Giro on Versus this year. Bummer.

But, if you have highspeed internet and the opportunity - you can still watch live racing (without commercials in some cases!). Thanks to my buddy Brandon at the Beaverton Bike Gallery for the head's-up on this one.

Head over to steephill.tv. They've re-configured their homepage to accomodate all the Giro traffic they're getting - but if you click the front-and-center photo (the one that looks like Alberto Contador stage-diving off the podium...) it will take you to their Giro homepage. There's a link for "Live Coverage" at the bottom left of the Contador photo on that page. Clicking there will take you to a page that has a bunch of different streaming options for the live video feed.

I've bounced around between the RAI Italian feed and the Universal English-language feed. The feeds labeled "unrestricted" have no commercials.

I'll also usually open up VeloNews.com's live text updates as I enjoy some of the witty commentary by Andrew Hood.

By the way...come back early next week for a BIG NEWS UPDATE. Changes are on the horizon.

Thanks for dropping by.

Matt.

Wacky April Fool's Day Stories

April 1 always seems to be a day for big news in the cycling industry. VeloNews and Cyclingnews get the scoop on exclusive stories with preposterous accusations, controversial regulations, or just plain infuriating content. And if you believe them - this is your day. Here's this year's content:

VeloNews (velonews.com)
-Armstrong Sharpens Sprint
The give-away here is the photo of the German Track cyclists' legs and the claim that Armstrong has been consulting with German coaches for similar results before the Tour [de France].

-LanceNews.com
A spinoff of the above story; and mentioned in other stories on the website - not a serious endeavour.

-Lennard Zinn
All I have to say is: Really, Lennard? You expected us to buy that? Really?

-New UCI Eyewear Regs
Again, pretty transparent story (and certainly not distortion free) - along with the accompanying "question" on the Explainer's article.

Unfortunately the story about a Valverde ban is real - unfortunate that the riders don't ever seem to learn that they can't beat the new tests. And, to be entirely honest, I'm still trying to figure out whether the story about Theo Bos is real or not. If it's fake - it's well done!

Cyclingnews (cyclingnews.com)
Much like last year; the CN crew based their story around far-fetched carbon fiber componentry. However, with how far composite materials are being pushed in the bike industry - one of these days the story is going to be believeable. Definitely visit the website associated with the story: http://www.carboncopycomponents.com/

All in all, the stories are in good fun. I enjoy rooting them out every year. Nice work, guys!

Matt.

Shanna's Sweet ProjectOne 6.5 Pro

Photos: me! (Remember, I'm not a photographer...) Click for larger version.

Shanna has waited far too long for her bike and has been more than patient! (Thanks for understanding, Shanna.) We placed the order with Trek as soon as they opened up the ProjectOne program - because we wanted to get her on the bike as soon as possible. Well, we didn't expect that it would take Shimano this long to perfect the Dura Ace 7950 compact crankset. But, just look at that thing! Worth the wait, huh? Gorgeous!

What's new at PDXProRoad?

A quick update on the unique content at my other online presence; just in case you haven't made it over there in a while:

-Kelly's Dura Ace 7900 Parlee Z3

-Bontrager shoes and Parlee's Z4 & TT at Tour of Cali

Coming soon to both sites: Shanna's Dura Ace 7900 ProjectOne Madone 6.5!

Head on over to pdxproroad.blogspot.com to check out those posts and other unique things not found here at RoadRage.

Beware of knock-offs!

Photo: metroactive.com

I haven't done a consumer advocacy post in quite a while - but there hasn't been much to report on. This story even slipped my mind a few times. I first caught wind of it on the NBDA dealers e-mail list and haven't really seen it mentioned anywhere else. But a Google search turned up this article from a weekly publication in Specialized's Silicon Valley backyard:

http://www.metroactive.com/metro/02.04.09/news-0905.html

Sleazy Riders

Morgan Hill–based Specialized Bicycles fights off wave of dangerous Chinese counterfeits

By Jessica Fromm

SPECIALIZED Bicycle Components reports that it has seen a surge in counterfeit carbon bike frames mimicking the company's top-of-the-line models circulating on the Internet. Fake framesets being sold under their the Specialized brand have gotten so prevalent that the company believes a Chinese counterfeit factory must be producing the nearly identical replicas. 

Trek ProjectOne is Up and Running!

They're here....

Click for larger photo...I hope to have pictures of the actual bikes this week - these are from projectone.trekbikes.com

So the long awaited arrival of the new batch of custom and semi-custom Madones from Trek are now rolling in. We have several on order at the store (both for stock and for clients); and we've received two at the Beaverton store already which are excellent examples of what is possible through the program. And, in the case of the bikes pictured - the choices shown are at no additional charge!

Links dump...

It seemed for a long time that there was just nothing going on in the world of bikes that I was getting excited about - so I wasn't writing a whole lot. Now, there's a ton of info that I want to pass along and it seems like I can't find the time to do it all. So, as crude as it may be - here's a bunch of the stuff that's on my mind and in my inbox that I'd like to pass along:

#1: Bontrager Race X Lite shoe review: pezcyclingnews.com

First actual test I've seen on these shoes - and since I expressed my thoughts on them in my multi-part update on Trek World, I thought I'd pass this along to augment my coverage of this exciting new offering from Bontrager and Trek. Here's the link to the story at Pez Cycling News:

Bontrager Race X Lite shoe review

#2: Trek Madone on YouTube

You may have run across this already, as it's been on YouTube for almost a year, but I was just made aware of this through the NBDA e-mail list for bike dealers. It's a great video from a program on the National Geographic channel detailing the revolutionary frameset of the Madone series. Check it out:

The video offers a rare look into Trek's carbon fiber production facility (A place that was only opened to the public back in 2003 - and I had to sign a confidentiality agreement at that time to get to see it!). It's an interesting look at the bikes - even for someone like me who has toured the facility 4 times, seen the testing you see being done on the bikes in person, and spoken face-to-face with some of the individuals in the video. I think you'll enjoy it.

One fun little aside - one year (probably August of 2006 as I recall) when I was on the factory tour - there was a frame in the front impact low-cycle testing jig that you see highlighted toward the end of the video. The frame was covered by a bike box. They said it was a new "secret" project they were working on. I found out later it was the new Madone that we have in the store now!

#3: Bicycle Frame Building Video on You Tube

Finally, this post on YouTube, also harvested from the NBDA e-list, shows the construction of bicycle frames and the assembly of the complete bike. Not quite the same quality of machine as in the previous video - but no less interesting. China and Taiwan produce somewhere near 80% of the world's bicycles in facilities just like this one. Enjoy.




Thanks for watching!

Bontrager InForm RL Saddle - Follow up.

So I've been so lax in posting that I have had people tracking me down at work for updates on some of the things I've left hanging out there...namely the Bontrager InForm Saddle that I've been riding lately. (Jeff, again - thanks for the effort in tracking me down...I hope you're enjoying your new saddle.) So, thanks for humoring me while I get caught up. And for those of you who have been waiting for some resolution on things; it's coming - thanks for your patience. And, without further adieu: my final analysis on the InForm RL saddle from Bontrager.

First - if you've not yet read my initial write up on this saddle; start here. The following will make much more sense if you read this all in sequence.

Pay it Forward

Wow! It's been a long time since I last posted! Sorry about that; no excuses - I've just been busy.

So, here's my latest thing - you know I have a bit of a different view of the whole bicycle advocacy and "right-to-the-road" thing. Well, the more I think about this; especially while riding, the more it appears to be true:

The way a car reacts to your presence on the road as a cyclist is a direct result of the behavior of the last person on a bike they encountered.

Think about it. They have no reason to have anything against you usually; or to the contrary to feel favorably toward you and your bike. They're acting on the assumptions they formed about cyclists based on other cyclists they encountered before you. So my thing is to do my best to give the riders up the road from me the best possible chance of having a positive interaction with the cars that have passed me. That's right, it's pretty selfless and doesn't deliver a lot of instrant gratification. In fact, you may never get to benefit from the fruits of your labors. But, do something for somebody else every once in a while: stop at lights and stop signs; signal your turns; be predictable. The rider up the road from you might be me. (wait, that might influence you to do the opposite...) Well, at least you can count on me to assume that the rider up the road might be you...

Finally, sorry for the lack of posts.
Thanks for reading.