Don't believe everything you read...why published weights don't matter.

This is one of my favorite topics. It annoys me to the core how much emphasis people will put so much "weight" (sorry, I had to) into companies' claims of their bikes' total weight. "Yeah, but this bike weighs x.xx lbs and this bike weighs x.xx lbs more..." blah, blah, blah... There's an excellent example in one of the latest stories at cyclingnews.com.

The "New Arrivals" feature is one of my favorites that they run; as they receive some of the newest gear sooner than many other publications and it lets me know what to expect to see tests on in the near future. For example - I believe they've released the first comprehensive test of Sram Red. This time, they're highlighting three top-end road bikes that have just rolled into their stable: the Jamis Xenith SL, Serotta HSG Carbon, and Isaac Sonic. All somewhat obscure bikes that you're not likely to see in the bike shop on the corner or hear long discourses on at the next Saturday club ride. But the story provided some very interesting information; buried in the specifications list about each bike, that I think slipped by most people. The weights of the complete bikes, the weights of the frames, and the other details of the bikes' builds. "Not exactly rocket surgery there, Matt."

The Art of Bike Fit Revisited

About a year ago I posted much of my personal philosophy on bike fitting here on my blog. A recent question posed to fitting expert Steve Hogg on cyclingnews.com reminded me of one more point that I didn't make, which Steve makes so well. Here's the text of the question with Steve's answer - then I'll elaborate.

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Specialized Body Geometry 3D Fit vs. Retul
What are your thoughts on the Specialized Body Geometry 3D Fit System versus the Retul Fit System? I am considering getting a fit with one or the other and would like to make an informed decision. What are the pros and cons of each?
Thank you for taking the time to answer.

Zachary

Tested: Shimano WH 7850-C24-CL Wheelset

JOIN THE REVOLUTION
We were fortunate enough to have a demo set of one of Shimano's newest wheel creations in our possession. So naturally, I had to take them out for a spin so I could write about them here for my 2.5 loyal readers! (Thanks mom, dad, and Fido...)

But, first - the model number is not enough to tell you what is going on with these very special wheels. This is truly a new and revolutionary product, using proven technology, but unlike anything I've seen applied to wheels in this industry. The 7850 C24 CL is both a carbon fiber clincher and an aluminum clincher. How's that work? Well, Shimano has engineered an extremely thin-walled aluminum double-wall clincher rim. Just how thin? Without caliper measurements; after seeing a cut-out rim section I would say that the walls of the box-section are no less than half the thickness of a similar, all-aluminum rim. On top of this super-thin rim, Shimano then bonds a carbon fiber "skin" which structually stiffens and strengthens the rim without adding great amounts of weight. The total product is a roughly 380 gram, 24mm deep rim. For comparison's sake; A Mavic Open Pro is 420 grams and a DT Swiss RR 1.1 is 410 grams.

2008 NAHMBS - Portland, Oregon

Wow! How to begin?!

I've attended plenty of bike industry trade shows and events. Quite frankly, after the first couple of years, it's the same ol' stuff, only now they make it in carbon, and everyone's is better than everyone else's. Oh yeah, and it's horizontally stiff and vertically compliant...

I don't know whether it was the more "homegrown" nature of the builders and exhibitors or the "open" nature of the show - unlike the other industry-only shows; or it might have just been that Portland is a bike-crazy town. Whatever it may have been, this was the coolest bike show I've been to. What a great experience. The combination of cutting-edge innovation and traditional, proven methods creates an atmosphere where it seems almost anything is possible. Creatively-minded technical craftsmen used common materials in uncommon ways or uncommon materials in traditional ways (yes, there really were bikes made of wood and bamboo/hemp/bull's horns). Contrary to popular belief, not all of the innovation in this industry comes from the big brands. The free-thinkers present at NAHMBS are using this platform to bring some truely great, original, practical ideas to the big stage of the bike industry's consciousness.

O.K., enough of my blabbering; here's what I saw that really caught my eye:

Shimano R300 shoe update

I received an anonymous comment on my post about my now not-so-new Shimano R300 shoes; and so I figured I'd post my reply here as well as in the comments field as I'm sure "Anonymous" is not the only one wondering about how a pair of $350 shoes hold up. My reply is as follows:

Anonymous said...

How are the shoes holding up?

Matt Magee said...

Good question. Thanks for asking.

The shoes are great. I took a good hard ride just last Saturday and did a great deal of climbing (West on Skyline Rd. past Cornelius Pass for those who know the area...) and still hold to every comment I made in my original review. Stiff, stable, comfortable.

1/21/08 - Bike Insurance

Turning onto my street after driving home from the store today I noticed that our garage door had been left open and one of my worst fears surfaced again (yeah, not the first time the door hasn't been closed...). Would I walk in to see one or all of my bikes missing? I think that's a genuine fear of anyone with a well loved bicycle - or three in my case. This reminded me of a topic that I have meant to address here for some time now. How timely that I'd just talked the proud owner of a new Trek Madone through it in the store today and now I was wondering if I'd be calling my own insurance agent. So, I won't delay any longer - an neither should you...

1/17/08 - New Trek Madone 6.9 Now Here!

(Pictures posted 1/28/08 4:50p.m pst)

What an amazing machine!

Wednesday at the Beaverton store we received our first Trek Madone 6.9; the top bike in Trek's road series and what would have been the team-issue bike had the Trek sponsored Astana Pro Cycling Team not signed a deal for components with SRAM. None-the-less, this impressive bicycle is still drool-worthy.

Of course, the first thing we had to do was take it over to the scale and see what it weighed in at. The model we received was a 56 cm , "performance" geometry bike featuring the Trek OCLV Red fuselage, Bontrager Race XXX Lite carbon clincher wheels wrapped in Race X Lite 700x23 tires, and Bontrager Race XXX Lite carbon stem and handlebar. The component spec was mostly Shimano Dura Ace with a Bontrager Race X Lite carbon compact crankset and SRAM OG 1070 cassette with a 12-26 tooth count. As built (including the geek-tastic, but required wheel reflectors) the bike weighed in at 15.03 pounds - just above the 14.96 lbs allowed by the UCI in a sanctioned road race.

The "new and improved" Trek Madone 6.9 Performance

12/19/07 - Tour of Missouri Pictures (finally...)

As some of you know, while driving cross-country from Nashville to Portland in September, I planned a stop in St. Louis for the final stage of the Tour of Missouri which just "happened" to be there while I was passing through. No, I'm not shallow enough to plan such an important trip around a bike race, but I wasn't upset when I finally saw that the race route coincided nicely with my itinerary.

So, I'm a little behind all the major cycling websites in reporting and releasing photos from this event - about 3 months late to be exact. But, you can't rush the kind of journalistic depth that you get from me. These things take time.

O.k., so the truth is it just took me this long to get my pictures developed and edited. Which leads me to the photo quality. They're not exactly Graham Watson or Casey Gibson; but I'd like to see what they would come up with if they had to use a Fujifilm disposable camera...not much better than this, I'll bet!

12/4/07 - "Rights" and Lefts; part 2

If you've been watching the national news the last two days, you know that we in the Pacific Northwest just got "wolluped" by Mother Nature. A huge store packing 125+ mph winds and over 12" of rain hit the Oregon Coast and by the time it hit Portland was still packing 60 mph gusts and most of that rain. Many road closures, flooded rivers and streams, downed power-lines and general craziness ensued. Still, I'll take the occasional high winds that we get in our winter storms in exchange for the tornado warnings of the summer storms in the Mid-South. Ah, home-sweet-home. In fact, it's currently not raining and I can even see a bright spot behind the cloud cover that I can only assume is the sun. I don't know, because I haven't seen it in so long that I may have forgotten what it looks like. The sky is normally grey, right? Hold on, let me take another sip of coffee...

Mmmm, that's better. While doing my regular morning reading of cycling-related websites I came across a great article on one of my new favorites; bikeradar.com (thanks for the heads-up, Charlie). In keeping with my last post (sorry it's been so long), I thought this was a great follow up. Sort of a "now that I know my rights on the road - how do I best use them safely and responsibly?" This is written more from a commuter perspective; but most of these tips are ones I use even when riding recreationally. Pretty universal stuff.

Now, the website is UK-based, so it's written from the perspective of people who ride and drive on the other side of the street; but if you just trade the lefts for rights and vice-versa, the article is a great one. Also, they refer to "pavements" about 3/4 of the way through the article. That's fancy "brit-talk" for sidewalks. I know I don't have to interpret that for my friends Keith F. and Dawn W., but I'd like to assume that they're not the only ones reading this... :)

So, without further adieu, here's the link; enjoy.

http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/technique-road-positioning-197
Thanks for reading. Ride safely.

11/19/07 - Know your rights (especially when turning left...)

"O.K., Matt. So, now that you've slapped some wrists and spoken out about our responsibilities as users of the road and being a part of the solution, not the problem...are you going to follow your own advice or just let us wallow in the uncertainty of not knowing how the law expects cyclists to behave?"

I'd love to be cool enough for that to be an actual question from an adoring fan and follower of my blog, but I've not yet attained that level in cyberspace...so I have to make up my own challenging, pointed, and introspective questions. Sad, huh?

It's quite clear though that in the light of recent events, it is more important than ever for those of us who use bicycles on the road - whether for transportation or recreation - to know the laws. Probably more important than for us to know all the intricacies of how they relate to us when we're driving our cars. If we know the laws, we can operate safely within them so as to not be at fault in the terrible instance that one of us be involved in a traffic incident. So, it is time for me to cross the line from amateur public opinion journalist to public service announcer and reference librarian.