That's What She Said About Your Bike

Peloton the Movie

2012-01-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

How hot is cycling this year? So hot that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be adding his star power to Premium Rush, to be released in 2012. But wait, it doesn't stop there! Hollywood's B actors are have already assembled to create Peloton, which is currently in post production. Check out the trailer, because it is amazing.

Fat Bike Cranksets

2012-01-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Surly became the first bike company to mass produce fat bikes back in 2006 with the Pugsley. Initially, the bike was a total pain in the arse for one major reason. It was only available as a frameset. Fat bikes were new at the time, and putting a build kit together for them wasn't as intuitive as road or mountain bike. Fast forward to this very moment that we're living in, and both Surly and Salsa have three complete fat bike options. It's largely because of this that the fat bike scene seems to be blowing up. Now, instead of searching around for parts to build a fat bike, more and more people are looking for parts to either upgrade or replace worn out components. The part I've been fussing over lately has been the crankset, so for those of you that are in the same boat as I am, here's a rundown on some cranksets that will work well with the 100mm bottom bracket shell.

FSA Alpha Drive ISIS ($65): Pair it up with a 100mm ISIS bottom bracket (either FSA Platinium DH ISIS BB, or TruVativ Giga Pipe Team DH ISIS BB), and this budget option can't be beat if you're just replacing a worn crankset. There are a couple gearing options, but for riding through snow and sand, the lower 44/32/22 gearing might be the best call.

TruVativ Hussefelt ($75): Another well priced fat bike crankset, the Hussefelt is an absolute beast. It is available as a 44/32/22 triple, and can be paired with TruVativ's Howitzer Team 100mm bottom bracket, which like the ISIS bottom brackets, will run around $50.

Surly Mr. Whirly ($325): It's not often you see something from Surly priced in the high end range. The Mr. Whirly crankset is pretty neat considering you can customize the crap out of it. Everything from the crank arms, spider, rings, and spindle can be purchased separately to fit whatever bike you need it to run on. In this case, you will want the long spindle for the 100mm bottom bracket shell. After that, it's all up to you.

RaceFace Atlas FR ($350): If you're looking for a relatively lightweight and super tough crankset, the RaceFace Atlas FR is worth checking out. It could be the best looking fat bike crankset out there. It may be hard getting this with triple gearing, but it will accommodate a 44/32/22 gearing.

e*thirteen XCX+ Snowbike Triple ($350): One of the lightest fat bike crankset options out there, and you will want to make sure you get the option with the 145mm spindle for your 100mm bottom bracket. The price does include the outboard bearing bottom bracket, which is definitely appreciated.

That's about all I'm aware of for now. Feel free to post other options that I didn't mention.

TOP NINE: 2012 Cyclocross Bike Under $1500

2012-01-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Cross season is close to wrapping up, but that doesn't mean it's not a bad time to be thinking about new cross bikes! If you missed out on this season, here are some budget friendly bikes that will get you excited for the next round of cross.

9. Raleigh RX ($1099): It's great to see Raleigh offering an entry level cross bike or 2012, especially at such a great price. The Shimano 9spd drivetrain is a product of the price tag, but it's the price that makes this bike an excellent gateway drug. The highlight is the frameset, which features a lightweight aluminum frame with very quick, almost road-like handling, and a sweet Easton EC70X fork.

8. Specialized Crux ($1450): This is a really, really nice frame for an entry level bike. The short 425mm rear chain stays help make the bike responsive, and a more traditional head tube angle gives you confident handling up front. Some cool frame features include a BB30 bottom bracket, internal cable routing, and a tapered head tube. The Shimano Sora 9spd drivetrain is definitely an entry level group, and it would have been nice to see a Tiagra/Sora 10spd mix, but it's an awesome frameset to hang onto for a number of years and upgrade as your cross legs upgrade as well.

7. Giant TCX 2 ($1070): Best priced bike on the list, which is why you're looking at a Shimano Sora 9spd group. Much like the Specialized Crux, despite the entry level drivetrain, you're getting on board a killer frame, and if you're looking for a cross bike that handles like a road bike, this could be for you with it's super short chain stays and steep head tube.

6. Redline Conquest ($1399): As one of the first US brands to embrace cyclocross, it would be a shame to leave them off the list. The Shimano Tiagra drivetrain is an entry level group, but it is a 10spd drivetrain, which makes future upgrades a little easier to handle. The frame geometry isn't super aggressive, and with wide 700x35 Kenda Small Block Eight tires, you should get a pretty stable ride out of the gate.

5. Fuji 3.0 ($1279): This is one of those frames you will wish you had 10 years from now. Someone had fun designing frame and component color scheme of this bike. Aside from raw appearances, it looks to be a solid aluminum frame with carbon fork, and is outfitted with a Shimano Tiagra 10spd drivetrain.

4. Kona Jake ($1099): Like the Redline Conquest, the Kona Jake is a staple on the US cross scene. The price tag on this bike is going to be really hard to beat, and the Tiagra 10spd drivetrain gives you a huge range of gears with a 12-28 in back. Its nice to see a sturdier 105 rear derailleur mixed in as well. The Kenda Mud Wrestler tires are great for traction in loose conditions.

3. Raleigh Roper ($1500): Awesome to see Raleigh stepping up their cross game in 2012. The steel frame may be heavier than the aluminum frames you see on the rest of this list, but I love the build on this bike, especially for the price. Full Shimano 105 10spd drivetrain, FSA Gossamer BB30 crankset, and Shimano R505 disc brakes. Like their aluminum frames, it has a very compact, road-like geometry, for responsive handling. The gearing is a little on the high side for cyclocross with a 50/34 compact crankiest, so if you intend to race this, you may want to see about swapping the 50T chainring out for a 46T ring.

2. Ridley X-Bow ($1500): The Belgians know how to design cyclocross bikes, and its good to see that they know how to keep them within reach as well. The Shimano 105 drivetrain, with a Tiagra front derailleur mixed in, is really nice to see, and Ridley's 4ZA component range is pretty nice, especially their brakes.

1. Felt F75X ($1450): Felt killed it with this bike. I love the compact frame with a tapered headtube and BB30 bottom bracket. The hanging cable guide on the seat clamp is also a nice touch. The big eye catcher is the full Shimano 105 drivetrain, which is amazing for a bike safely under $1500. To keep the price down, they had to compromise a bit with the FSA Omega BB30 crankset, but that's nothing to worry about. Slap a set of lightweight race day wheels on this bike, and it is competitive in any category.

Honorable Mention: Cannondale CAADX 5 ($1550): Just over our price range at $1550, it still is a well priced bike considering the 105 build on a fast frame/fork combo.

King Cage Titanium Bottle Cage

2011-12-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Fancy pants bottle cages are always an awesome gift idea. They are something that nearly every bike needs, but not something every person is not 100 percent willing to throw down on, but would still appreciate.

The King Cage titanium bottle cage is super light at 28 grams, and incredible durable. It is not only handmade in the USA, it is made in the cycling hotbed known as Durango, CO. The titanium used in the cages is 3-2.5 titanium, which is the standard grade you seen in many custom titanium frames out there, and it won't mark up your bottles like rubber or painted cages would. If you can't quite stomach the $60 price tag on each cage, there Iris Cage looks pretty awesome for $17.50, and is made of stainless steel. If you're set on titanium, the titanium tire levers would also be highly appreciated.

Totally off subject, I could have sworn that I heard on the radio that Jon Secada was singing the national anthem for tonight's Monday Night Football game in Seattle. That is nothing short of incredible, and we all deserve to sit back and take him all in for a few moments.

Bicycle Components and Accessories Made of Wood

2011-12-09T22:35:00.001-08:00

Continuing with the holiday handmand gift theme, we move onto things made of wood. As far as handmade anything goes, there are few materials that hold more personal flair than wood. Between the different types of wood, knotting, and textures, you can really make each rendition of the same design unique. Here are some really cool wood products out there that are worth checking out as the holiday gift giving season fast approaches, or maybe you'll want to snag some of these for yourself.

Photo courtesy of Phanomsook Meelugsana

Wood Handlebars: Handmade in Thailand, these handlebars are made from teak wood (a durable tropical wood), and given a natural oil finish. Very basic, but they offer a ton of flair to mountain bike or townie. They measure out at 45cm long, with a 1 inch diameter, and like aluminum bars, could be cut down to a smaller size based on your preference. At only $17.95+shipping, these are highly affordable, and a lot more fun than a standard aluminum bar.

Photo courtesy of RareWoodCalifornia.com

Walnut Rear Seat Bag: Every cyclist needs a seat bag, and to have one made of wood isn't something you see every day, let alone walnut. Sizes can be made to order, but the item that I linked to measures 6"x3". The leather straps are designed to strap the bag to the rear of your bike saddle, but you could probably strap it to your bars if you wanted to go for a St. Bernard look. The cost on this is $55, which is a great price for a classy looking bag.

Photo courtesy of LLTTechopark

Wood Platform Pedal Adaptors: Tired of your pedals tearing the crap out of your shins when you miss/slip your pedals? This is a crazy simple solution to a problem that I never thought about solving, but knew existed. The platform adaptors are simply two rectangular blocks of wood (choose between soft wood and hard wood) that mount to MKS style platform pedals with stainless steel hardware. Easy $20 gift, and you can score some points by coupling this with compatible pedals if needed.

Hans Bagworks Recycled Bicycle Map Wallet

2011-12-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be rattling off some gift ideas for the upcoming holidays. Shopping for the cyclist in the family is tough, since a lot of cyclists out there can be super picky about their components and accessories. The theme behind the stuff that I'll be posting is that it will all be handmade items that aren't out of sight in price. They said it couldn't be done, and we'll know for sure in a week.

You probably haven't heard of Hans Bagworks yet, but you're hearing about it now. The man behind the sewing machine is Paul Hansbarger, and with a fine German name like that, you know his stuff is well made. Hans Bagworks is in it's infancy right now, but it has already managed to put some cool frame bags, seat bags, and handlebar bags out into the field. For a more affordable custom options, he is also putting out some wallets, made from recycled Adventure Cycling route maps.

The maps used for the wallet are built to withstand repeated use over bicycle tours that span the country, and are printed on a tear-resistant and waterproof material. Polyester thread stitches it all together to give you two smaller pockets that easily fit credit cards and licenses, and a larger pocket for dollar bills.

Adventure Cycling has over 40,000 miles of routes mapped out all across the country, but the section of that network that will appear on your wallet isn't entirely left up to random chance. You can choose between seven of Adventure Cycling's routes, which are the TransAm, Northern Tier, Southern, Tier, Atlantic Coast, Great Divide, Great Parks North, and Western Express. The cost of the wallet is only $5, which is a killer deal considering the price of the map is $14.75.

Southern Baja Bicycle Tour

2011-12-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

After just returning from a bike tour in southern Baja, it seems as though most people that tour Baja try and tour the length of the peninsula, which adds up to a little over 1000 miles. If you're like most people, and don't have that kind of time, I highly suggest a 1-2 week tour of the southern tip, starting in San Jose del Cabo. If you need some extra motivation, here are the details on my latest trip, including route, lodging, and activities.

The Route

Total mileage is around 212 miles. Starting in San Jose del Cabo, head for the southern most tip of Baja in Cabo San Lucas, before heading north along the Pacific Ocean on Hwy 19 to Todos Santos. From there, it's a haul to get over to Los Barilles on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula, before hitting some dirt roads on the East Cape Road back to San Jose del Cabo. With just a couple highways, and an easy-to-follow dirt road, you barely need a map, but there it is anyway.

Getting There and Back

San Jose del Cabo has a super laid back international airport that is easy to get in and out of, and the town itself isn't too hectic. We chose Cielito Lindo as our starting and ending hotel, and it turned out to be the perfect choice. Reasonable rates, quiet, breakfast included, and most importantly, they stored our bike boxes while we were on the road.

San Jose del Cabo to Cabo San Lucas (22 miles)

The first day of riding was the most intimidating. Highway 1 between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas is a massive tourist corridor, but the good news is that it is mostly four lane traffic, and if you hit it in the morning, there won't be many people out and about. There are a few RV Parks just before Cabo San Lucas, but there are also plenty of inexpensive hotels in the center of town, within riding distance from the beach. Best place to hit while you're there is J&J la Casa del Habano. By far the best Mojitos.

Cabo San Lucas to El Pescadero (45 miles)

Right now, there is a lot of construction happening on Hwy 19 between these two towns, which isn't all that bad. Where construction is complete, there is a huge four lane road with a massive shoulder. Where there is construction taking place, traffic is slowed to around 20mph, although you have to deal with riding on dirt. There aren't a lot of services on this stretch, so head out prepared with food and water. Once you hit El Pescadero, I definitely recommend camping at the Pescadero Surf Camp. This is a good place to take a day off and take surfing lessons, or just enjoy the beaches.

El Pescadero to Todos Santos (8 miles)

Super short ride, but you can't miss Todos Santos. Plus, the next stretch is going to be a tough one, so it's a good place to kick back. The town itself is awesome, and by my call, the best place to eat is El Poblano, where you can get tacos and beers for less than a dollar. Casa Bentley is a pretty unique place to stay if you're looking for a hotel. If not, there is an RV park near the beach.

Todos Santos to San Antonio (50 miles)

While 50 miles isn't crazy far, it's almost all uphill as you depart from sea level, and finish in the mountains. Definitely a cool opportunity to see some very different landscapes in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, there isn't anywhere to stay in San Antonio, but they let us pitch a tent in the town plaza, which worked out really well. There are a couple big climbs before hitting San Antonio, and if you're up for a couple more big climbs you could book it to Rancho Verde, about 15 miles further down the road.

San Antonio to Los Barilles (29 miles)

So you would think this stretch would be all downhill, since you're ending at sea level, but there are two tough climbs along the way. The last 15 miles or so are all downhill, though, which is awesome. There are a few restaurants along the way, so if you're short on food here, it won't be a problem. In Los Barilles, you've made it to the Sea of Cortez, and if you want to camp near the Sea of Cortez, head to the north side of town for the Playa Norte RV Park. This is a full service town, and you'll find that the waters are full of wind surfers. Bienvenidos a 1995.

Los Barilles to La Ribera (10 miles)

Live and learn, right? So 10 miles doesn't seem like much, but it is a crap ton when it's 85 degrees out, and you push your bike for 5 of those miles. The sandy road starts out hard packed, but loosened up big time, largely due to the lack of rain, and construction trucks working on a nearby development. While pushing a bike sucks, the scenery is awesome, and it is cool to be off the pavement, and away from traffic. Once you get to La Ribera, head to the south side of town and hit up the La Trinidad RV Park. They have hot showers, a pool, and are within quick riding distance from the beach. They also have soft grass to camp on.

La Ribera to Cabo Pulmo (18 miles)

On this stretch you'll hit some of your last pavement before embarking on a long stretch of dirt, so enjoy the smooth riding while it lasts. There are no services before Cabol Pulmo, and there really aren't a lot of stores or shops when you arrive at your destination, so get your kicks before you leave. Cabo Pulmo is awesome, and it is the main attraction to hitting this side of the peninsula. Word has it the snorkeling around here is top notch, but we had the misfortune of hitting it on a rainy day... go figure. Anyway, it is still a cool town that is off the grid, and a good place to stay is Baja Bungalows.

Cabo Pulmo to San Jose del Cabo (38 miles)

Okay, so you could book it back to San Jose del Cabo from here, or you could take your sweet time. It all depends on how much time you have to spare. We had time on our side, and busted this section up into three days. There are lot of super fancy, and crazy expensive hotels and bed and breakfasts along this stretch, but those are for chumps and chumpettes. There is free public beach camping at nearly every turn, and if you have a tent and a bag, you would be crazy not to take advantage of the beach. The only catch is that there are maybe one or two restaurants along the way, and no stores, so you're going to have to carry a lot of food and water. The last few miles into San Jose del Cabo are paved, but hilly. The good news is that you're dumped off on the quiet side of town, so it isn't a huge shock being back in a city.

New Bicycle Magazines

2011-11-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

The winter and holiday season is a pretty good time to get into bicycle magazines. Subscriptions to magazines will always be a great last second gift option, and they're fun to read while you're gearing up the next season. If you're getting a little tired of the same old stories out of traditional bike magazine powerhouses, here are a couple newer magazines that seem pretty cool.

Peloton and Switchback: These are some pretty hefty magazines (I think 144 pages in the last issue of Peloton) with tons of reviews, race reports on mainstream and more obscure events, interviews, and behind the scenes stories of current and pass faces of cycling. Peloton covers the road and cyclocross scenes, while Switchback handles the mountain side of cycling. A subscription runs around $28, and sets you up with nine issues over the course of the year. So far, it seems like a pretty good deal considering the high level of content.

Bicycle Traveler: There aren't a ton of bicycle travel magazines, and in a niche market that is far from saturated, it is really cool to see that this publication is free. For now it is available as an online PDF only, and by subscribing, you will be notified when a new issue is available for download. Content includes stories from all over the world, and they come with some great photos. The price is definitely right!

Surly Black Ops Pug/Heavy Metal Day!

2011-11-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

Winter is fast approaching, and today happens to be National Heavy Metal Day. It's hard to think of a bike more appropriate to talk about than the Surly Black Ops Pug. This is the same Pugsley frame and fork geometry you've come to know and love, except it is all black, just like it's components, making it perfect for stalking that rainbow in the dark.

The 4130 Cro-Moly frame and fork are super heavy, super stiff, and super wide set for the wide Rolling Darryl rims, and 3.8" tires. The Shimano drivetrain and Mr. Whirly offset double crankset gives you a 2x9 gear setup, with a good range of gears for rolling through snow and/or sands of time. I will say that this bike is also a blast for slaying some hard pack, so don't limit yourself to off-season and specialty riding.

This is available as a frameset only, but you will save yourself some headaches, and probably some money too, by going with the complete option. If you do choose to build this up yourself, pay super close attention to the frame specs, especially bottom bracket/crankset, and brake caliper compatibility.

What's your vote for best bike/metal scene?

1. Dio - Last in Line
or
2. Pee Wee's Big Adventure w/Twisted Sister

Premium Rush

2011-11-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

There hasn't been a good bike messenger since Quicksilver... and for good reason? Find out on January 13th, 2012, where Joseph Gordon-Levitt's ability to make just about any movie good will be put to the test.

Bike Thrones

2011-10-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Thrones is an Australian outfit making stock and custom bike saddles, which they strictly refer to as thrones. Before I get too far into this, when I say that they make custom ~~saddles~~ thrones, they aren't taking an actual cast mold of your backside to fit to a saddle. The custom refers to custom design.

Custom designed saddles is something that is constantly highlighted in the pro tour ranks, but you rarely see them out and about in the local pelotons. Unfortunately, you probably aren't going to want to get your own personal custom saddle here, as they have a minimum order of 20. They would seemingly be fit for a cycling club going after team edition saddles, or event saddles for something like a gran fondo.

As for the cut of the saddle, it has a roadie geometry to it, meaning a road bike position where your bars are positioned below the nose of your saddle. They do have a 30 day return policy if you're not crazy about the feel, which is pretty comforting when pulling the trigger on a purchase. For the custom saddles, the price really depends on the complexity of the design, and the range of colors you are using. To get a ballpark idea, though, their stock designs run close to $150.

2012 All City Space Horse

2011-10-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Bicycle touring isn't something I thought I would come back to once I started racing, but over the past four or five years, I've found it to be an awesome way to wind down after a season of fast paced riding. It's a good way to keep the legs moving, enjoy being on the bike, and hit up some sweet warm weather destinations all at the same time.

For the longest time, I've had a full blown touring bike for this purpose, but I'm finding that it tends to sit around and collect dust for the rest of the year. The big reason for this is that coming out of a racing background, I like bikes with quick handling, so I only ride a touring bike when on tour. Makes total sense, but it would be sweet to have a bike that could handle loaded touring, and would also be fun to tear around on between trips. This is where the randonneur bikes comes in handy, which come close to holding a cyclocross bike geometry, except includes plenty of rack and fender mounts. Now if it only could look super hot, and have a fancy pants name...

The Space Horse from All City fits the bill, and will be making it's debut in or around March 2012. Like most of their bikes, the frame and fork are both made from 4130 CroMoly tubes, and the frame will be ED coated to guard against rust. I've always like All City's rear dropouts, which are well designed to look good and not chip the paint, but the new dropouts for this bike will also feature lawyer tabs (like you have on your front fork dropouts). Since the dropouts are semi-horizontal, this should help you with setting up a straight wheel position.

As for the frame features, this isn't a fully loaded touring bike, it's meant for light load touring. It has relatively short chainstays for a touring bike, but still more than enough space for 700x32 tires plus fenders. For a clean look, the cables are routed internally, and there are rack and fender mounts both in front and rear.

The bike will be available complete (approx: $1350), or as a framset (approx: $550). If you take the complete route, the build will be at the Tiagra level with a compact double crankset. Not a new concept by any stretch, but new from All City, and it is looking like a lot of fun.

2007 Bianchi Roger

2011-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping in the way-back machine to take a look at one of my favorite bikes that I never had. The year was 2007, the Best Motion Picture went to The Departed starring Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, while the Dixie Chicks stormed the Grammys with Best Album and Record. A year worth forgetting you say? No way!

The 2007 Bianchi Roger was produced for one year, and one year only, which is a result of it being about 5 years ahead of the curve. Cyclocross hadn't quite gotten a full head of steam, the UCI wasn't crazy about disc brakes, and single speed cross wasn't as highly embraced as it is now. For 2012, you will be seeing a few single speed cross bikes with disc brakes pop up here and there, but I haven't seen any as performance oriented as this.

With an Easton Ultralite aluminum frame and carbon fork, this was a super light setup, especially with one gear. The rear stays had a nice bend to help keep the back end from getting too harsh, and the horizontal dropouts took care of dialing in the chain tension. The frame was disc specific, so it had some nice clean lines as well, and provided plenty of clearance for wide cross tires.

The build was pretty straightforward as you might expect out a bike like this, with Bianchi rebranded components, a Sugino Alpina 48T crank, and a sweet WTB disc specific wheelset. This would make an ideal SS cross racing bike, or an awesome training bike for nasty weather, either setup as it is, or with an Alfine internal gear hub. Two factors that could have led to the quick demise of this bike were the $1100 price tag, which was a bit stiff for a demographic that hadn't quite taken off, and the 48x17 gearing, which was a bit on the high side for single speed cross racing.

Bianchi just revamped their cross lineup last year with the Cavaria and Zurigo, which is why that lineup is holding steady for 2012, but it would be really cool to see them bring the Roger back from the grave. In the meantime, if anyone has one of these in a 55cm laying around, let me know.

Focus Izalco Team

2011-09-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

In only a few short years, Focus has done a really good job of throwing their name out there, and getting attention. For 2011, they sponsored the US domestic Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team, along with the Pro Tour Team Katusha. On the cyclocross side of things, they have been getting solid results with Rapha-Focus.

Looking to the road, the Izalco Team is one of those bikes that doesn't look super hot, but has some pretty cool things going for it. For starters, the frame has a fairly classic look to it from a distance, with only a slight slope in the top tube. Closer up, the front end is beefed up pretty well for stiff front end handling, the BB30 bottom bracket provides a stable platform for cranking away on the pedals, and internal cable routing gives off a nice clean look to the whole package. I'm also a fan of the rear seatstays, which sit a bit relaxed for comfort, while the rear dropouts set in towards the center of the bike to keep the wheelbase tight.

If you're into the full on pro build, the price is hefty at $8800, but it is also decked out to the point where there is no need to upgrade anywhere. The complete SRAM Red Black group is filled out by FSA K-Force carbon components, and an FSA Vison Trimax T50 carbon wheelset glued up with Continental Competition tubular tires. With all black matte components to match the all black frame, it doesn't get more stealthlike than this.

Co-Motion Divide

2011-09-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

Co-Motion is one of a crap ton of custom frame builders out of Oregon, but unlike a lot of builders out of area, they aren't located in Portland, they don't have a crazy long turnaround time, and they do offer stock options.

The Divide is a new stock option bike from Co-Motion, but not a totally new idea. It is the 29er version of the Pangea, which has been around for a few years. This 29er mountain bike with drop bars, and a road/mountain mix of components is probably best described as a mountain touring bike. The oversized steel frame has a full set of eyelets for racks and panniers, is disc specific, and has super stout chainstays, which are built to the same grade as their tandem version of this bike, the Java. The 29er steel rigid fork is also the same fork found on the 29er Java tandem.

As for component highlights, this bike strikes a really good balance between performance and durability. The drivetrain is setup with Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifters, an XTR rear derailleur, 105 front derailleur, and FSA Afterburner triple crankset. FSA also fills out the bars, stem, and seatpost. The bike in the photo comes displays the bike with an upgraded STI kit with Ultegra STI levers.

Since this is a mountain touring bike, the disc brake tabs are set so that they don't interfere with rack systems, and the mechanical Avid BB7 brakes are super easy to maintain. The wheels are also solid, with smooth DT Swiss 540 hubs laced up to some strong Velocity Cliffhanger rims.

Like all Co-Motion frames, there are a lot of custom options you can apply to this for additional charges, such as custom sizing and color options. The base frameset, which includes the fork, runs $1995, while the bike with a complete build runs $3925.

There aren't a ton of bikes hanging out in this category, so Co-Motion doesn't have a lot of competition in this niche, but expect it to grow as bike manufacturers look for new markets to exploit.

2011 Interbike: Off the Cuff Observations

2011-09-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

This year's Interbike came earlier than previous years, which meant a few companies didn't quite have their entire 2012 lineups set for the show, but there were still plenty of cool new things to check out. Before we start jumping into too much of it, here are some general observations that I took from the 2011 show.

Belt Drive is Hitting Hard
The Gate Carbon Belt Drive has been around for awhile, and has steadily grown in popularity, but this year it just exploded. Now that they can run the belt drive system on just about any internal gear hub (Shimano Alfine, SRAM Nexus, etc), they are able to get the price point down to very reasonable levels on commuter and urban bikes, and by reasonable price points, I mean in the $1000-$1500 range. For 2012, nearly every single major bicycle manufacturer, along with a lot of small stock frame builders, will be offering at least one model with a belt drive system. The only big holdout right now is Giant, but I can't imagine that will last long. Anyway, if you've been waiting to get on the belt drive train over the past few years, but were intimidated by the lack of bike options out there, you're all out of excuses.

Bikepacking on the Rise
The concept of packing up a mountain bike without racks, panniers, or a trailer, and heading up the trail for an overnight camping trip is getting big, and the gear dedicated to it is becoming not only more refined, but more available. While Revelate Designs was the only frame bag company available at the show with a booth, there were a ton of bikes on display throughout the show sporting a full on bikepacking setup. It even looked as though Salsa Cycles has some intentions of rolling out some frame bags of their own to match up to a few of their off-road frames. This is definitely a niche market, but a fast growing one, so look out.

Electronic Shifting Can't Be Stopped
When you see KHS throwing an electronic group on a stock bike, you know the technology is taking hold. It will be Shimano's third year rolling out an electronic group, and with the release of a more cost friendly Ultegra version, the commitment is solid. Electronic mountain groups were definitely a hot topic, but unfortunately these are a few years off, as they're still in testing stages.

Sturmy Archer!
They're making a comeback! Sturmy Archer had a HUGE presence at the show, and are banking big time on the massive townie/commuter bike craze that has been steadily building. The way the city bike scene has been growing over the years, it almost seems as though it should be peaking about now, but at the same time, it's hard to see it being stopped. It's another British invasion that just won't go away.

Everybody Has Lights
There's still a lot of room if you want to bust into the bike industry with some new products, but don't try to do it with lights. Nearly every booth was totally lit up, and when you went over to check it out, you were informed that their mother had a booth across the room selling more lights. From the tiny blinky lights, to high powered 2100 lumen lamps, the scene was covered... thoroughly covered.

Those were my general observations, which I wouldn't put a ton of stock in, but over the next few weeks, I'll be rolling out some cool stuff, which are in fact, my personal favorites. Stay tuned!

2012 Felt F65X

2011-09-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Felt has done a great job over the last few years providing a solid range of cross bikes from the entry level to high end rides. Their new F65X fits has the name of a lower end model, but it is looking pretty hot right now.

At $1750, this definitely isn't priced as an entry level bike, but it isn't out of reach for the cross enthusiast/dirt road warrior either. The aluminum frame helps keep the price sane, and the carbon fork helps keep things from getting too harsh. The geometry looks to provide a snappy ride, almost similar to a road bike with short 430mm chainstays, and a relatively steep headtube at 72 degrees. The BB30 bottom bracket improves overall rigidity, and the hydroformed top tube is shaped for easy shouldering through run ups and barriers.

The component mix is pretty solid with drivetrain consisting of mostly SRAM Apex. Right now, this is the only bike in the Felt cyclocross lineup sporting disc brakes, and for this they go with the Avid BB5 calipers with a 160mm rotor in front, and 140mm rotor in rear. The rest of the fill-in components are all handled by Felt, which includes the disc specific wheelset.

Overall, this is looking to be one of my favorite cross bikes moving into the new season. It seems to have a great geometry for aggressive riding not only off road, but on road as well with some slick tires. The component mix is good for the price, and even though it has no performance virtues, I'm also a huge fan of the overall paint scheme, which is classy all the way.

Airborne CX

2011-09-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have heard anything about Airborne bikes, but they seem to be making a comeback with an entirely new approach. They once seemed to be pretty heavy into the budget titanium range, but now look to be hanging out in the aluminum range, where they can keep prices super attractive.

The CX is their sole cyclocross model, and prices out at $1200. It's their first attempt at the cross scene, and they went with a pretty classically styled aluminum frame that will ride fairly predictably. The component selection is the highlight for sure, sporting SRAM's Apex group to provide a wide gear range and a compact crankset, along with Avid BB5 disc brakes. The FSA Gossamer crankset continues to reign supreme as the standard option for mid-range cross bikes, and can be found on this build.

When it first debuted earlier this summer, it was a pretty big hit, and they sold out pretty quickly, so unfortunately the next run of bikes will be rolling out in October. For value, these are pretty solid, but it is a bummer that they are mail order. Either way, it is good to see Airborne back in the mix. They looked to be a solid company back in the early 00's, and hopefully they look to be more well rounded this time around.

Call It a Comeback: Disc Brakes and Cross Bikes

2011-08-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since my last post, which has most likely been a good thing for all of us, but I'm back with new found motivation in spite of it all.

Great riding weather, and a packed racing season were two reasons I fell off the wagon, but there was also the feeling that 2011 wasn't super exciting on the gear front. Over the last five years or so, there was a lot of cool activity, but I think the load of innovation had been more or less blown rolling into the 2011 gear lineup. The BB30 bottom bracket, full embrace of the 29er, electronic shifting, tapered head tubes, hi-mod carbon frames, 2x10 mountain gearing, increased popularity of commuter/utility bikes, in addition to some new dual suspension pivot systems were awesome, but I can't think of a huge breakthrough, or mindset shift that came out of 2011, which was a bummer, but an acceptable break for sure.

Anyway, whenever we look ahead to the following year's bike offerings, we tend to start with cyclocross, and the clear big news about cyclocross is disc brakes. Holy crap I am excited about disc brakes for cross. Not just for cross season, but mountainous dirt road rides are going to take on a whole new look, and hopefully I'll loose some muscle in my forearms as a result of all this.

While this may not seem like a huge deal as far as innovation is concerned, it's a big opportunity for smaller bike companies to pull in some much needed attention. One company taking advantage of the cyclocross disc brake boom is Raleigh. While they haven't tossed disc brake mounts to their competition level carbon frames, they have them set up on two new steel cross bikes (Roper and Furley) to help bring attention to the fact that they have fully embraced the cross scene by moving from just a couple options to a massive fleet of eight models, which includes two women's specific bikes!

Staring out it is just going to be mechanical disc brakes, but it would be cool to see some random no-name startup bust on the scene with some hydraulic cross levers. Either way, mechanical disc brakes are plenty efficient, and light, so it should be fun. I would also like to think that disc brakes will help usher in new blood, as they allow new riders to focus more on pedaling the bike, and less on braking.

Right now, it looks like just about everyone is going to be jumping on the disc brake train, but where they stick them in the lineup is going to be a mixed bag. Some companies are throwing them on the top end models, while others are playing it safe and keeping them limited to low cost entry level bikes. The only big surprise so far has been Kona, who doesn't seem to have them placed anywhere for now. Either way, there are going to be a lot options to play around with, so if you don't like disc brakes on cross bikes, you shouldn't be worried, and if you do want disc brakes, you will have plenty of options to go nuts with.

Shimano Ultegra Di2

2011-06-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Shimano has recently delivered a massive kick to the groin to all who dare enter the road drivetrain component market with word of their Ultegra Di2 electronic group.

The Ultegra Di2 group drops the carbon accents seen on the Dura Ace Di2 model in place of aluminum, making it a bit heavier, but also provides a sturdy feel. Another difference is that the Ultegra model has narrower cables, which create a cleaner and tighter package, in addition to helping drop the price down with fewer wires inside. Because the wiring is bit different, the Ultegra Di2 and current Dura Ace Di2 are not compatible, but this might change with a future update on the Dura Ace setup.

Outside of these few differences, there isn't a ton of change between Shimano's two electronic groups. The ergonomics are nearly identical, they both feature the auto trim feature to keep your chain from rubbing against the front derailleur, and they can both be hooked up to a computer to run a diagnostics test if something goes wrong.

While nothing is set, there are a lot of rumors spinning around that the price will be under Shimano's mechanical Dura Ace group, which would not only put electronic shifting well within reach of the average consumer, but also attract a lot of mechanical Dura Ace users to drop down a component tier to give electronic a shot.

The Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic component group is scheduled to roll out early this fall, and will be popping up here and there on some 2012 model stock bikes. Unfortunately, one of their slogans for the group is "On Ultegra: The Finishing Touch," which implies that there are no plans to trickle electronic shifting down to the 105 level in the near future.

2011 Tour Divide Kicks Off

2011-06-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

The 2011 edition of the Tour Divide kicked off at 9am MST today, as 70 riders departed Banff, Canada in a non-stopped 2745 mile individual time trial to Antelope Wells, NM. Around 15 or so riders said 'F-you' to the nasty snow conditions up north, and went with a dry start in New Mexico heading north to Banff.

If you're not familiar with the race, you're probably in the majority. If you've tried to build excitement around a 3K Tour de France prologue containing the best riders in the world, with full television coverage and commentary, you can understand the difficulties of making three week, non-stopped time trial with little to no media coverage enjoyable to watch.

I think that a better way to enjoy this race is to try and get an idea of what it is about from the rider's perspective. Spending three weeks with zero support, riding random forest service roads through the length of the continental divide, camping under the stars, and eating and drinking as much as possible at every opportunity to stay fueled for 16+ hours of riding per day.

If that still doesn't get you a little stoked about the race, the gear is as unique as the event, and this brings me to the heart of the post. Here's a quick rundown on some of the gear you can really spend a lot of time geeking out on when planning for an event like this.

9. Camping equipment: Camping isn't mandatory, you can stay in hotels along the route, but it does give you extra flexibility of putting in the miles all day as opposed to being restricted to overnight towns. The lighter setups seem to call for tarp tents with a light Bivy, but those who are more into all night comfort will pack a light 1-person tent or heavier all-season bivy.

8. Stans No Tubes Rims: This is a little hit or miss with riders. Running a lower tire pressure can be really nice as far as comfort is concerned, but not a huge deal for cornering since this isn't a technical route. The big benefit is that punctures seal up nicely as long as you stay on top of refilling the sealant every so often, and the setup is lighter than running slime tubes.

7. WTB Nano Tire: This seems to be the unofficial tire of the Tour Divide. The key is a semi-slick, or low rolling resistace tread pattern on top, with a little bit of bite on the sides. Durable sidewalls are also a bonus. Some similar tires that would also get the job done are Kenda's Small Block Eight, Stans NoTubes Crow, or even the Continental Race King.

6. 29ers: The bike of choice is a pretty clear 29er mountain bike. How it is setup changes here and there (drop bars, flat bars, fully rigid, front suspension, etc), but it is a good overall compromise for handling the few stretches of single track, rocky descents, along with flat and smooth terrain. As for material, it has been done on carbon, aluminum, steel, and titanium, so you can pretty much take your pick. Having a replaceable derailleur hanger might be one handy feature to look for too.

5. Third Bottle Cage: You see a lot of touring bikes and some mid-level mountain bikes come with the third bottle cage under the downtube. This may not be super important in the northern stretches where towns are more frequent, and there are plenty of rivers and streams. In the south, however, hydration is key, where water stops are infrequent, and rivers often run dry.

4. Aero Bars: This seems to be a Tour Divide standard, and it makes a lot of sense. That being said, putting aero bars on a 29er mountain bike is on another list I have going, which is 'things I will never bring myself to do... ever.'

3. Ergon Grips: Mountain biking, even on dirt roads, is super tough on the hands, and we see a lot of riders going with Ergon grips. These spread out the contact points on the grips, reducing the pressure on your palms. Many riders knock this up a notch and wrap them up with cork handlebar tape. Tour Divide races are also bringing mountain bike bar ends out of the 90's.

2. Frame Bags: Frame bags have been around for a long time, but the bike packing scene really took them to another level with custom design and lighter fabrics. There are two companies leading this charge with Revelate and Carousel Design Works. It also seems like every few months I hear about more individuals thinking about getting into this niche, so more options could be on their way.

1. Adventure Cycling Maps: The route follows Adventure Cycling's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff to Antelope Wells. There are minimal trail markings, so the turn by turn directions with service markings are key. The maps are pretty bulky, and the more experienced riders choose to condense these down to the bare bones.

If you want to check out more complete pack lists and bike setups, check out Bikepacking.net for some ride tested rigs. You can also follow the race through the Tour Divide live Spot tracker.

Escape Zombie Attacks on a Bike

2011-06-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

The risk of a zombie breakout is a totally legit concern, and I was nothing short of stoked to see this writeup on a cyclist's survival guide for the inevitable. Click here to check it out.

2011 Felt AR4

2011-05-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

The aero road bike trend has really been catching on lately, especially with Specialized releasing their new Venge. Felt is one of a couple companies that has been on board with this idea for quite a while with their AR-series, a range of bikes that they seem to hold in higher regard than their more popular F-series.

The idea behind this style of bike is to compromise some stiffness for an aerodynamic advantage. By no means does this mean that the bike is soft, but it just might not spring quite as fast as something with more box style tubing. For riders who spend most of their day sitting in the pack, this might not be ideal since you're breaking the majority of the wind thanks to the big guy in front of you. If you like to roll the dice in a break, or have some work to do on the front, this can be a really good bike. It also won't hold you back if you don't have a dedicated time trial bike.

Felt's AR4 model comes complete with an Ultegra drivetrain and brakes, Felt branded components, and a Mavic Cosmic Elite wheelset, which I first can't believe is still around, and second, makes me think back to the days when Mavic Heliums reigned supreme. Anyway, the component choice is a pretty ideal balance between outstanding performance, and great durability. Like just about any stock bike, the best improvement you could make to this would be a lighter wheelset, but it still manages to come in pretty light regardless, at a 16.93lb claimed weight.

For an all-arounder, this style of bike looks to be a great way to go, but they are also taking on a pretty hefty price. This model runs in at $3800, which may seem excessive, when compared to the prices in their F-series, but looking around at similarly styled bikes, such as the Cervelo S2 with an Ultegra group, they are very competitive with their pricing.

The Custom Bike Commitment

2011-05-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Custom bikes are super hot right now. However, a lot of competitive riders get into a mindset that bikes are nearly disposable, being swapped out for new models every year or two with changing technology and trends. This makes the idea to committing to a bike for maybe 10 years pretty intimidating, especially considering the price of a custom ride compared to what you might be used to riding. Also resale on custom bikes isn't always super high, since they are just a random size to someone else.

That being said, there does come a day where you have to face yourself in the mirror and decide that it might be time to settle down and make a long term commitment and saddle up with just one ride. To ensure that things don't get boring and less attractive further down the road, here are some things to consider when picking out a custom bike.

First and foremost, you've got to get the fit nailed on the frame. Chances are you aren't an expert on dialing in the ideal geometry, so the next best thing is to find a frame builder who is. Find a builder who will work with you on a personal level, and go beyond throwing your body dimensions into a formula. Geometry is only half the battle. Material, tube thickness, tube shapes, and how they are all bonded together play a massive role in the feel and performance of a bike.

The next question is what details to you want that will help you keep up with the latest trends and technology? Anyone who bought a custom bike in the late 90's just before disc brakes rolled out knows about this.

Looking at the bottom bracket, the BB30 design is looking like it is here to stay. All around it is a lighter setup, stiffer, and can provide a lower Q-factor (your stance on the bike will be closer together), as opposed to the more standard outboard style threaded bottom brackets. There are a ton of BB30 crank/bottom bracket options out there, and for companies that haven't taken hold, there are conversion kits to make them work with a BB30 shell until they give in. There usually isn't much of an additional cost to going this route, as opposed to a standard English threaded bottom bracket, so it isn't a bad way to go.

Next up is the headtube, and surprisingly, there is a lot going on here. In the early 2000's, the big move was from 1" to 1 1/8", and quickly afterwards they jumped out to integrated 1 1/8" headsets. Right now things are moving towards a tapered headtube, which can be pretty annoying when you're super specific on the style of fork you want. One really cool solution to this problem is the 44mm headtube spearheaded buy Cane Creek. This setup allows you to run different styles of headsets that make room for either a straight 1 1/8" steerer tube, or tapered steerer tube.

Another area that could undergo some change based on your personal preference down the line is located on the back end of the bike. Rear dropouts really haven't had much going on in a long time, but maybe in a few years you will decide you want to run a single speed or fixed gear setup. Eccentric hubs and bottom brackets can handle adjusting chain tension to standard vertical dropouts pretty well, but can be expensive. If the idea of a single gear is a remote possibility, for you, sliding dropouts can be a really good call. Just make sure you don't skimp on quality, as shoddy dropouts can slip a bit when under high torque. Paragon Machine Works is one company known for making great dropouts that hold up super well under torque, and have a clean look to them that won't look too bulky and cluttered.

Looking at the paint scheme, it seems like so many people try to get really creative and crazy with custom paint jobs. Leave that to the manufacturers trying to sell bikes annually based on current trends, which go out of style quickly. In the end, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but staying classy counts too.

As for material, if you go with steel or titanium, you can have a lot of modifications or retrofits taken care of later on for a decent price. Carbon modifications are possible, but expensive. The only catch is that you will probably have to have the bike repainted afterwards, which may or may not be a bad thing. Overall, the key ingredient is that you hold on to it for a long time.

Cyclists Will Likely Feel the Wrath... of Van Halen

2011-05-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was informed that the Judgement Day is going to occur this coming Saturday, meaning the world will more or less end. This a pretty big bummer for cyclists, as Sundays are made for racing and group rides, and not so much for going to church. With the world ending Saturday, this also means that there aren't any more available Sundays to get in a last ditch effort to make amends. So...

And since I like to break a lot of things down to their components, I recommend checking this out.

US National Bicycle Route System

2011-05-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

We're a week into National Bike Month, which seems like a decent time to shamelessly promote a bicycle fundraising effort I'm participating in throughout the month of May.

The "Build It, Bike It, Be a Part of It" campaign is centered around the planning and building a nationalized U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). This would be similar to Canada's La Route Verte, or the National Cycle Network of England. The USBRS would be made up of labeled routes spanning the country, on highways, county roads, and paths.

The routes would receive federal and state recognition as bike routes, providing improved awareness of not just cyclists themselves, but the facilities needed to keep riders safe on the road, such as wider shoulders, signage, and placement of rumble strips. This could also make cycling outside of your own neighborhood seem less intimidating. For more information, you can check out these Frequently Asked Questions about the project.

If you have any interest in making a tax deductible donation towards the creation of a U.S. National Bicycle Route System, you can do so here. If not, no worries, it's a good thing to keep on your radar regardless.

2011 Giro D'Italia: Riders to Watch

2011-05-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

The 2011 edition of the Giro D'Italia looks to be a crazy one indeed, with seven mountain stages, six flat stages, five hilly stages, a team time trial, flat time trial, and hill climb time trial. If you're trying to build an unbeatable fantasy team like I am, this makes for a huge headache. Usually it's pretty clear that the GC favorite is someone who can time trial well, and climb with the elite. However, with the team time trial and hill climb time trial, there is only one pure opportunity for the GC time trial specialists to shine, and there are more mountain stages than ever before to give the little guys a chance to even the score. Here's how I'm breaking it down as I try to pick riders out of the bunch.

Well Rounded GC Favorites

Alberto Contador: With his grand tour history, you have to give him the top spot ahead of the race. When he is on, he not only climbs with the best, but can time trial with the best. He also has a strong team, and great management around him, making him a must have for any fantasy team.

Vincento Nibali: He has Liquigas all to himself this year with Ivan Basso focusing on the Tour. Last year he finished 3rd overall in the Giro while riding as a super domestique. His climbing abilities are top notch, he can time trial well, and he has the home soil advantage.

Dennis Menchov: He has three grand tour titles to his name, one of which came at the 2009 edition of the Giro, so the experience is there. He is hard to shake in the mountains, and can motor out a good time trial. This year he will have former Tour de France champion, Carlos Sastre, dedicated to riding support in the mountains, which is a huge asset.

Roman Kreuziger: Moving from Liquigas to Astana, Kreuziger is the sole team leader for his squad. He can rocket up climbs, and can keep the time gaps close in the time trial. At 24 years old he is pretty young, but he does have two top-10 finishes at the Tour, so the experience is coming.

Pure Climbers

Michele Scarponi: Last year he just missed out on the Giro's podium at fourth on the GC, and that was largely due to his lack of time trialing ability. He has been having a stellar season so far, and has a ton of national pride.

Joaquim Rodriguez: To say his time trialing abilities are bad is an understatement. Fortunately, he could be the single most feared climber in the peloton, and there are going to be a ton of opportunities to take back time in the mountains.

Igor Anton: Euskaltel-Euskadi always manages to bring in some top notch climbers, and Igor Anton is becoming one of their greats. He had some flashes of brilliance in last year's Vuelta before crashing out of the race, and it will be interesting to see if he has been able to improve upon that. How he'll perform in week three is going to be a big question surrounding him.

John Gadret: An exceptional climber, he was in the mix through nearly every mountain stage in last year's Giro. His time trialing abilities are going to hold him back for sure, but if he can keep it consistent in the mountains, week three could be a big opportunity for him.

Carlos Sastre: He will be putting aside his own aspirations to help teammate Dennis Menchov, but that doesn't mean he'll go away completely. He can strike on mountain stages when you least expect it, and has tons of grand tour experience.

Wild Cards

Danilo Di Luca: Coming off a two year suspension, he hasn't shown great form so far, but he has a few weeks to ride himself into form and take advantage of some of the later stages. It's hard to imagine he came back to racing to hang out in the pack.

Jerome Pineau: Quickstep doesn't really have any GC hopes or big sprinters in their lineup, so they will be focusing on stage wins. Pineau took out a stage last year with aggressive riding, and has already stated that he aims to do the same this year.

Stefano Garzelli: I keep thinking that he's getting too old to be an impact rider, but he keeps proving me wrong. Last year he rode to victory in the mountain time trial, and hung tough in the mountains. He has far too much pride to fade away.

Sprinters

Mark Cavendish: So first off, let me say that this is not a good Giro for sprinters. There are six flat stages, but of those, maybe three or four of those favor a pure sprinter. For those stages, Cavendish is going to be a heavy favorite with a huge leadout train ahead of him. If his team can give him a clear shot to the finish, there isn't much stopping him.

Tyler Farrar: This has been a great season for Farrar, and he will also have a strong team to guide him through the closing kilometers. Definitely a good pick for the pure sprinter stages.

Alessandro Petacchi: He's coming into the Giro hot off a good showing at the Tour of Turkey, and he loves to shine at the Giro. He may fade in week two, but there are only a couple more sprint opportunities at that point anyway.

Fabio Sabatini: Another Italian sprinter, he may not have the elite kick to take a stage, but he can consistently hang around the top five. Why does he make the list? Because he can make it over the minor climbs in great position, which could give him an edge in the points, although it is hard to imagine a sprinter holding onto the points jersey to the end this year.

Frontier Airlines are Bike Friendly

2011-04-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago, when I first started racing, USA Cycling had a pretty sweet deal going with United Airlines, where they tossed in a couple free bike vouchers with your USAC license. That disappeared pretty quick-like, but a few smaller airlines were still pretty good about bikes, and looking back, the $50 that major airlines were charging really wasn't that bad either. Over the last few years, however, major airlines have jacked the prices upwards of $200 per direction for a bike, which means shipping the bike to your destination is the way to go, unless you have a discrete folding bike (some will still nail you for a folding bike, no matter how small it is).

Anyway, as of March 2011, Frontier has announced that bikes will be treated as normal baggage, which is some of the biggest bike related news to come out of this season. Here are the details, straight from their website:

Bicycles are classified as, "Non-motorized touring or racing bicycles with single seats. Bicycles must have the handlebars fixed sideways and the pedals removed and encased in a protective, durable case or box. Pedals do not need to be removed if wrapped in plastic foam or similar material."

Size and weight limitation: "Items which exceed 99.9 lbs or 109 linear inches will not be accepted."

Other details: "Excess and overweight charges apply if applicable... Oversize charges do not apply... Allow an extra 30 minutes for check-in."

As far as overweight and oversize charges are concerned, you will need to keep the box under 62 linear inches (l+h+w), and under 50 pounds. The upcharge for exceeding either of these specs is $75, so if you break both of them, it will be a total of $150 for the bike, definitely not something you want to be surprised by at the counter. If you can get within these specs, you will take on regular baggage charges ($20 if you roll economy like I do), and this will count towards one of your two allowed checked bags.

As far as availability, Frontier has a pretty decent flight plan, as you can see from the chart up top, but I do have one request if anyone from Frontier is checking this out. A Missoula connection would be sweet... super sweet.

Williams System 58 Wheelset

2011-04-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

For the past decade, I've been trying really hard to ignore the fact that more and more people are jumping aboard carbon tubulars. Part of this could be because not much has happened with aluminum rims during that stretch as far as dropping weight, coupled with the improved affordability and selection of carbon tubulars. Either way, their presence is more dominant than ever, and wheels are indeed one of the best upgrades you can make to your bike.

One wheelset that I've been pretty excited about lately is the Williams System 58. As you may guess from the name, it has a 58mm deep section, which for reference, is the same rim height as the Zipp 404. This makes for a good all-around wheelset that is light climbing, aero enough for long breakaways, and super stiff for sprinting.

The quality on these is pretty solid, especially with the hybrid ceramic bearings coming standard. Spokes in the front are radial laced, while in back, they go with a pretty durable pattern by going 2-cross on both driveside and non-driveside. They also do a good job of making sure you don't have to accessorize beyond tires, by including skewers, valve extenders, and an extra set of brake pads. Weighing in at 1471 grams, these are also super light considering the deep section rim.

At $999, you're going to have a hard time finding a better deal than this, which could give you some extra spending money to throw some good tubular tires on them, which they deserve. This is definitely a race day only wheelset, so if you can hold back on them for training rides, you should be able to get plenty of good seasons out of these.

Gary Fisher Presidio

2011-03-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

It may be a long ways off until cross season, but the Gary Fisher Presidio is worth taking about regardless. The Presidio is a steel cross bike, which isn't super hard to spot in the stock lineups of manufacturers, but what makes it pretty cool is that it comes with a competitive build, which isn't something you see too often with steel.

The geometry is pretty traditional, and reminds me a little bit of the old Bontrager CX cross bike. It even has a similar look with the dull grey paint scheme. Without a super compact geometry, or super short wheelbase, this looks to provide a really comfy ride, which is ideal for early season training, and long gravel/dirt road rides through the summer. For simplicity, you can also convert this over to a single speed pretty quickly with the sliding rear dropouts.

Gary Fisher/Trek uses their in-house Bontrager brand to take care of the majority of the components, including wheels and tires. The only two components standing out on their own are the FSA headset, and Avid Shorty 6 brakes, which aren't too bad for stopping power, but may be a little bit bulky for mud clearance during the wet season. The drivetrain looks great with SRAM Rival throughout, and has great gearing with a 48/38 up front, and a wide 11-27 cassette in back that gives you both a great climbing and sprinting gear.

The price might seem a bit stiff at $2100, but they use a light and stiff platinum series steel, making this bike worthy for race day for plenty of years to come.

TOP NINE: 'Roubaix' Style Bikes

2011-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Over the past five years or so, the high end road scene went through an absolute flurry of activity. SRAM hit the ground running, Campy hit back with an 11spd group, while Shimano answered with their Di2 electronic system. Lighter and stiffer Hi-Modulus carbons shaved a few grams and offered improved rigidity, while the BB30 bottom bracket and tapered headtubes become more widely accepted throughout a wide variety of brands.

Another area of growth has been the race worthy comfort road bike. These often exhibit a lot of the same performance features you will find in a professional road bike, but with a more relaxed geometry that might offer a wider wheelbase for a smooth ride quality, or a taller headtube for a more upright riding position. They are a great option for people who don't want to abuse their lower back on rough roads, or with a low riding position. These are also ideal 'roubaix' style bikes, which is really helping push their performance edge along. The performance and price range on these has just as wide of a price range as anything else, I'll just run down the list in ascending price order.

9. Giant Defy 1 ($1370): On a budget, this is a really attractive option. The aluminum frame is built to be responsive when accelerating in a straight line, but horizontally plush to keep things comfy. Giving the bike a full Shimano 105 drivetrain is a huge bonus, and if you have any worries about climbing, the gear range is generous with a compact 50/34 crankset, and an 11-28 cassette in back.

8. Bianchi Via Niron ($1380): Right in there with the price of the Giant, this is another ideal budget bike with a lot of perks. First off, it's a really attractive bike with Bianchi's celeste paint scheme on an aluminum frame, and a Maddux RX 5.1 wheelset with a unique spoke lacing pattern. The Shimano 105 component package is solid for performance and durability.

7. Fuji Roubaix 2.0 ($1550): Fuji has been doing some really cool stuff on the road and time trial side of things over the last few years, and I wish they would bump up their roubaix line a bit, but for now, the Roubaix 2.0 is still pretty cool. It has a very traditional frame geometry, and an aluminum frame that has been tweaked a bit to shed a few grams. Again, they go with a 105 build kit that is solid.

6. Raleigh Capri 4.0 ($1650): A women's specific option! This hydroformed aluminum frame has some pretty long chainstays to soften up the bumps, and runs a full Shimano Ultegra component group, which is awesome for the price. It even includes a women's specific saddle, which is pretty cool.

5. Marin Verona Carbon ($2000): The Marin Verona has a long history, but has recently taken on a carbon form. The rear end has some nice sweeping seat stays to help soften up the back end, and it sits a bit tall in front to help relax your shoulders. We go back to a 105 drivetrain, and this time they make certain that you're covered on the climbs with a triple crankset. The wheels also look to be super sturdy with a good lacing pattern in both front and rear.

4. Specialized Roubaix Comp ($2700): This could be the bike that really brought this group of bikes into the forefront. The carbon frame does a great job of balancing comfort and performance, especially when you look at the taller headtube that is way overbuilt for aggressive handling. The Rival group is a great way to keep the price in check, weight low, and performance high.

3. Jamis Endura 3 ($3200): I love the look of this bike. The hi-modulus carbon frame is light and stiff where it needs to be, and with a slightly longer wheelbase over their competition series, this offers a smooth ride over rough roads. The component group looks great with an Ultegra drivetrain, and the FSA SL-K Light BB30 crankset. The rest of the kit is rounded out by Ritchey components, and some sweet American Classic 30 wheels.

2. Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod 2 ($4800): Cannondale has embraced the Synapse in a big way, maybe even more than any other bike in their lineup. There are nine models of the Synapse bike, and the Hi-Mod 2 runs near the top with a full carbon frame, and SRAM Red group. The stretched out wheelbase and S.A.V.E. chain stays keep the ride quality smooth, while the BB30 bottom bracket and oversized seat tube, and headtube keep the bike responsive.

1. Felt Z2 ($7000): It really doesn't get much snazzier than this. The Felt Z2 pulls the usual comfort stops with the taller headtube and wider wheelbase, and pulls no stops with the build. The full Shimano Di2 electronic group is top notch, and the Shimano RS80 carbon/alloy wheelset is not only pretty light for a set of clinchers, they are also super durable for harsh conditions.

One notable company left out of this list would be Trek Bicycles. The word on the street has it that they are working up a new roubaix style bike, which could be making an appearance during the upcoming classics season. No rumors on a name for the new bike, but I would like to think they will call it the Hincapie.

Bicycle Combat Tactics

2011-03-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

If you've got $3 burning a hole in your pocket, this is a pretty good place to throw it. Bicycle Combat Tactics is exactly what you think it is. How to fight or fend someone off with your bike, whether they are trying to snag your bike from you, or simply beat you up. I'm still getting over the amazement that this was filmed just a few blocks away from my workplace. You can check it out here at Amazon.com, and be sure to click the link to watch the video preview. With a 58 minute runtime, they are sure to cover almost any scenario you could encounter...

While I can't say for sure, I am 99% positive that they pulled a few of their ideas from this scene in the film "Lady is the Boss."

Big thanks to John Sieber for bringing this to my attention.

All City Nature Boy

2011-03-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

The single speed cross bike seems to have it going on. It can handle race day fairly well, is perfect for early season training, and is super low maintenance, which is ideal for a bike that takes a lot of abuse.

The All City Nature Boy is another 4130 steel cross frame to roll out of Minneapolis, and does an incredible job of paying attention to details. First off, this is a true single speed with horizontal dropouts, and no optional derailleur hanger. The area on the dropouts where the skewer makes contact with the frame is coated to prevent the paint from chipping, includes chain tensioners, and has a classy design as it flows up the seat stays.

Since this is a bike that is meant to be abused, it is really cool to see that the inside of the frame comes coated with rust protection right away, so you don't have to go through the hassle of pulling off the parts and spraying it down with Frame Saver. The rear brake cable is also internally routed to keep the appearance, and cable clean. If you decide you don't want to run brakes, and go the fixie route, the brake bosses are removable to give the bike a sleek look.

The build kit does a good job of giving you some strong components, without jacking the price up. The wheels avoid any radial lacing in both front and rear, and include a rear flip flop hub for strength and versatility. As for the crankset and gearing, the FSA Vero crankset has a 42 tooth ring with chainring guard, which is paired up to a 16t cog in back. Wheel clearance also looks good, giving you room for up to a 700x38 tire, which would give you a super plush ride quality, and could also give you some confidence to hit some mountain bike trails.

There are six sizes available, ranging from a 46cm, all the way up to a 61cm, and there are two color options in 'Blackened Blue' or 'Awesome Lime.' At $900 for the complete bike, the price is pretty solid for a bike you could put to good use for a lot of years.

In addition the All City Nature Boy, there is also a limited edition Nature Boy Zona frameset available, which uses a lighter and stiffer Columbus Zona steel, and has a more performance oriented press fit 30 bottom bracket. I do love limited edition.

Cane Creek Angleset

2011-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Of all the components on your bike, the headset could be the part you care the least about. On top of that, innovations with headsets are more a reaction to bike frame innovations, as seen with the integrated headset and tapered head tubes. The biggest thing going for headsets has been the move to cartridge sealed bearings, which has greatly extended their lifespan, and improved their quality in most cases. So with all that said, one of the coolest things to break out in the 2011 season, to me anyway, is the Cane Creek Angleset.

The Angleset headset uses offset cups, which allow you to tweak the angle of the fork from 0.5 to 1.5 degrees either forward or backwards. The benefit isn't so much fine tuning the handlebar reach and angle, as it is your wheelbase. Pulling the fork rake in towards the frame a bit will quicken the bike's handling, while letting it slack out a bit will give you a smoother, more stable ride. Mountain bikers will probably get the biggest benefit out of this, going for a shorter wheelbase on technical trails, and wider wheelbase on wide open rides.

The headset will fit in a variety of frames (1 1/8", 1 1/2", and tapered headtubes), but can only handle a straight 1 1/8" steerer tube. Still, that should be enough variety to get most riders on board. Despite the extra parts, this still has a super low stack, so you can keep your bars down low if that's important to you.

Since headsets don't often wear out, this isn't a necessary upgrade, especially at $150, but it is definitely a cool thing to keep in mind for your next build.

Soma Mini Velo

2011-02-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

If you ever wondered what would happen if a 'tall bike' and a Bike Friday hooked at a night club, and produced an offspring, you would probably find yourself looking at the Soma Mini Velo.

The Soma Mini Velo is an urban commuter bike that runs a pair of tiny little 20" wheels on a full size (non folding) frame. For riding, this gives you quicker accelerations at the lights, and super nimble handling. For big city commuters who have a cramped office and/or living space, the bike is also pretty short front to back at around 5 feet, so it is pretty easy to maneuver in tight spaces when you're carting up stairs and through doors.

As for the build, it is pretty funky with a 1" threaded headset and quill stem, along with Cardiff Cornwall saddle. If you live in a hilly city, you'll be a fan of the Tiagra 9spd drivetrain and double 53/39 crankset.

At around $1200, it is definitely on the pricey side for a townie bike, but it is pretty unique. You will either have a blast riding it, or get some serious leg speed riding to work as fast as you can before your friends see you.

2011 KHS SixFifty606

2011-02-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

Right now, 29ers are crazy hot, but 26" bikes are hanging in tough enough to stall a lot of people in throwing down their hard earned money on the bike that is best for them. If you keep going back and forth on which is right for you, the KHS SixFifty606 splits the difference with the 650 wheel size, that may be making a comeback.

The 650 wheel seems to have been a product of the touring crowd, which wanted a sturdy wheel with shorter spokes, but something that would also roll well on the open road. With wider box section rims, and stronger spokes allowing touring riders to do just fine with a 700c wheels, this size started to die out, but not before the mountain scene took after it, as it lies smack in the middle of a 29er and 26" at 27.5 inches. With this wheel setup, the KHS SixFifty can snap in and out of technical sections, in addition to roll over stumps and ruts, while cruising through the open stretches.

Much like when 29ers first came about, you don't see a lot of companies really driving this home with a high end build kit. The SixFifty hangs out in the middle ground with their component range as well, with a mix of Shimano Deore and XT components, as well as an X-Fusion Enix 100mm travel fork. All of this is built around a snappy aluminum frame.

Once concern that is often raised about this bike is how readily available tires and wheels when you need them. For tires, you're in pretty good shape, with Kenda, WTB, and CST offering up some 650 mountain options. As for wheels, American Classic is probably your best bet for a disc ready wheelset, while Weinmann and Velocity have 650 rims that can be built up to the hub of your choice.

At $1400, this bike is definitely budget minded, to help get new riders on board this setup, and provide experienced riders an opportunity to try it out.

KTM Race 1.29

2011-02-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

You always seem to want what you can't have, and I am way into this. The KTM motorcycle division has done an incredible success in the US, but they haven't been able, or perhaps haven't found the right person, to distribute their bicycles stateside.

While 29ers haven't quite taken off in Europe like they have in the US, it hasn't stopped them from manufacturing them. The KTM Race 1.29, out of Austria, looks to have about all you would want out of a 29er cross country hardtail. The wheelbase is super tight with 440mm chainstays for quicker maneuvering and accelerations, a good standover with the sloping top tube, and plenty of fork crown clearance for range of motion on the fork.

The component build is great, with a full SRAM X.0 2x1o drivetrain, and Mavic's Crossmax ST tubeless ready wheels. Its also nice to see a good Selle Italia SLR XC saddle, as opposed to something you will swap out immediately. All and all, a sweet bike that I'm really hoping picks up a US distributor someday.

2011 Salsa El Mariachi Ti Complete

2011-02-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

Over the past six months or so, I've had my sights on the Salsa's El Mariachi Ti frame. I spent more time than I would like to admit pricing out build kits for the bike, and it appears as though it was all time spent to waste, as Salsa has introduced an El Mariachi Ti Complete bike for 2011.

Stepping back from the build kit, this titanium frame along is pretty sweet for a lot of reasons. Salsa continues to stick with a more traditional wheelbase, while the current trend seems to be moving towards tightening up the rear chain stays. The downtube bend near the headtube provides space for the fork to move freely, especially if you have a mess of cables hanging out, and also provides some extra welding space along the headtube to stiffen up front end handling. The downtube is also ovalized near the bottom bracket, to help add some rigidity down here as well.

Looking at the rear triangle, I'm a big fan of the reinforcement near the rear disc brake mounts, which cut down on frame flex near your brake calipers for those who like to stomp on the gears. The frame will handle up to 2.3" tires, which is just fine, as the feel of titanium will do plenty to smooth out the trail. Continuing with the cross country style, the frame designed to mesh up to an 80-100mm suspension fork.

For the most part, their complete bike is close to spot on my ideal build for performance and price. The SRAM X.9 2x10 drivetrain is light and quick to shift, and Salsa uses their own in-house components for the seatpost, bars, and stem. Their alloy seatpost is actually one of my favorites for ease of adjustment, and for the bars and stem, they go pull out their premium components for this premium frame with a titanium stem and carbon bar.

Like the frame, the wheels also look to be pretty sturdy with 32 Stans Arch rims laced up to SRAM X.9 hubs with DT Swiss spokes. The Continental Race King tires that come setup on the bike are a good all-around choice that should make most riders happy. As far as braking is concerned, the Avid Elixir R disc brakes have some smooth action, and aren't too finicky once they settle in.

I haven't seen an MSRP price tag on these yet, but it does look like they will be near the $3500 area, which is going to be super hard to beat for a titanium 29er with this kind of build. If you were budgeting for more, you will have a lot of flexibility to upgrade/swap a few parts.

Meat Bicycle...

2011-01-31T08:44:00.000-08:00

Rolf P-Town Wheelset

2011-01-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

If there was any question as whether or not urban/townie bikes continue be on the rise, this should provide some additional answers. Rolf Prima, a wheel company best known for their paired spoke technology and lightweight race wheels, has entered the commuter scene with the P-Town Wheelset. Contrary to what you might think (and to what I initially thought), the 'P' does not stand for Prima. It instead, it stands for Rolf's neighboring bicycle commuter metropolis, Portland.

There are a bunch of options with this wheelset, the most simple being the color scheme, which like most of their other wheelsets, is a choice between silver and black. There are two options for rear hub spacing, with a 120mm and 130mm size. In the 130mm spacing, there is also an eccentric hub option that will allow you to get good chain tension with horizontal dropouts. All hubs are flip flop style for a fixed gear on one side, and a freewheel cog on the other. As for the rim, they do have a machined braking surface, so you are in good shape with rim brakes.

For a commuter wheelset, these are definitely on the high performance side with paired spokes offering high tension and rigidity, in addition to being lightweight at 1595 grams (1655 grams if you go for the eccentric hub). These are pretty pricey at $700 for the standard wheelset, and $750 for the eccentric hub option, but they do include wheel bags, which you may or may not be into.

2011 Cannondale CAAD10-4 Rival

2011-01-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

The Cannondale CAAD10 frame had a lot of buzz around it last fall, not only because it continues to grow the roots of Cannondale's aluminum design, but it also takes a much more predominant seat next to the SuperSix. The price break between the Supersix and CAAD10 is pretty massive, and there are four component options that should do a good job of attracting elite amateur and beginner riders alike. No matter which category you are racing, I really like the CAAD10 with the Rival build.

There are a lot of new features that the CAAD10 brings in, such as a tapered headtube, hydroformed main triangle, and SAVE chainstays, which soak up road vibration a little better. The frame is a touch lighter than the CAAD9, and continues to feature the BB30 bottom bracket shell.

The SRAM Rival group is lightweight, helps keep the price down, and shifts well. Riders who are just getting into riding may like the double tap shifting better than those who grew up on Shimano, but you'll get used to it. The crankset is actually upgraded to SRAM's Force level, and unlike many bikes in this price range, comes standard in the full 53/39 gearing, while a compact crank is optional.

The color options on this bike are pretty hard to beat. There is black with white accents, and white with black accents, both which match the group quite well, in addition to any team kit out there.

Cannondale uses their in-house alloy components to fill out the smaller details, helping this bike come in at an impressive $1800 complete, which could leave some room to invest in a light wheelset for race day. If you're on a budget, this is definitely a bike to consider.

2011 Focus Cayo 4.0

2011-01-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Focus bikes made a big push during the 2010 season, sponsoring Team Katusha at the Pro Tour level, and Jelly Belly on the domestic scene. As the season progressed, the German outfit got a good number of bikes over to the US, and built up their momentum by taking a co-title sponsor position with the Rapha-Focus cyclocross team.

Looking at their full range of bikes, its hard not to like the Cayo 4.0 for a solid race bike. The carbon frame has a fairly classic geometry without a lot of slope in the top tube. The bike still looks to be quick despite the laid back appearance with a short wheelbase. Two key frame upgrades that have been made to the frame over the 2010 edition are the BB30 bottom bracket, and the tapered headtube, which should help add to some stiffness to the frame.

While the bike still comes stock with a 105 group, the redesigned 105 components can be considered a good upgrade, as they shift a little sharper, and seem to be more durable. The DT R1900 wheelset is ideal if you are looking for a durable training wheel, but bigger riders may find them a little flexy for racing, especially if you really like to stomp on the pedals and corner hard.

At $2460, the 2011 model is only $160 more than last year's edition of this bike, which really isn't that bad considering the improved frame and components. Definitely a cool bike coming from a company that I think will be popping up a lot more often on the local scene in the upcoming season.

Portlandia Premieres Tonight @ 10:30PM ET/PT on IFC

2011-01-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Soulcraft Bikes

2011-01-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a sweet video of the custom steel frame building process by Soulcraft Bikes. As far as a montage goes, the music doesn't get you super pumped, so you may want to mute the video and blast some of this in the background.

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

2011 Jamis Xenith Race

2011-01-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

It's never too early to start looking forward to the 2011 road season, and as far as bikes are concerned, there is a ton of cool stuff to be looking forward to. One bike that I'm really excited about for the upcoming season is the Jamis Xenith Race.

The Xenith Race is near the bottom of the totem pole in Jamis' Race/Competition category, but don't let that deter you from it. The frameset has the same geometry as the top-end Xenith SL, with the same hi-modulus carbon layup as the Xenith Pro. Some nice performance minded features are a BB30 bottom bracket, and a 1 1/8" to 1 1/2" tapered headtube, making this bike ideal for crits where rigidity and sharp handling are a high priority.

At $2650 complete, it is sweet to see an Ultegra group that is plenty light, provides quick shifts, and is great for durability. The Ultegra group isn't totally complete, as it comes with an FSA Gossamer compact crankset and Tektro R540 brakes to help keep the cost down. The crankset does have a 50/34 tooth range, which you may find a bit low, but its not a huge hassle to jump to a 52 ring if you find that you want to put a little more stomping power to the pedals. As for the brakes, Tektro can sometimes be hit or miss, so see how they work for you. As for the wheelset, the Aksium continues to keep Mavic in business by being a solid go-to wheel for a lot of mid-high range bikes, and will do just fine for both training and racing.

Putting this bike over the top for me is that it is available in both a standard and women's specific geometries, and I would personally take the women's color scheme over the men's. Between the frame and components, this bike is solid all around, especially for the price.

Justin Bieber Is Down With Bikes

2011-01-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

If you're burning up in January, the only explanation is Bieber Fever. Luckily, there's good news for you in the form of a 34x22 poster of Justin keepin it real on his bike. I fully expect to see this popping up in bike shops everywhere, while One Time takes up the air space.

Bont Vaypor Shoes

2011-01-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

I generally don't spend a ton of time checking out shoes, but they are a rotating component, and therefore worthy of investing a little bit of time and money on. One shoe that I'm really excited about for the new year is the Bont Vaypor, which the Australian company is pushing super hard right now with not one, not two, but three offerings in a standard, premium, and world champion model.

Like the Bont A-One shoe, this is a heat moldable shoe that you can perform from your own home. The entire chassis is molded through the heating process, so you not only get a good fitted platform, but an excellent heel fit as well. They can be molded over and over again, so if you don't get it just right the first time, you can give it a second go.

As for weight, these are crazy light for a stock shoe at 240 grams, which will definitely reduce your rotating mass a little bit near the crank. For the standard model, you can choose between a leather or microfiber upper, which I think is a pretty tricky decision. For maximum comfort, it can be hard to beat a soft leather upper, but the microfiber will vent better, making the shoe a bit cooler in the hot summer months.

So far, the only knock I have seen on these shoes is that they aren't the most aesthetically pleasing shoe out there, but like most pro jerseys out there, they will start to look good when they start winning races. At $370, they are priced pretty well for a high end performance shoe.

Ultegra Di2 Group in 2012?

2010-12-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

The big rumor to come about over the holidays seems to be a more affordable version of Shimano's Di2 electronic group at the Ultegra level, which could be available for the 2012 season.

For the most part, I can see this as a pretty good move. The electronic shift system has been fighting hard over the past 20 years to become accepted in the market, and the Dura Ace group was mostly seen as a success. If Shimano wants to bring their Di2 technology to the masses, they are ultimately going to have to make it affordable to the everyday racer. To do this, they can either wait a few years for the price to naturally come down, or they can trickle the technology down to a cheaper group.

Not knowing anything about an alleged Ultegra group, I'm going to go ahead and assume anyway that shift quality would remain the same between both Dura Ace and Ultegra groups since there are no cables to deal with, and the shift lever internals would remain more or less the same. The derailleur might be a little looser, but I wouldn't think the difference would be as huge as it is now. It seems as though the gap between the two groups will have to come down to weight, and not as much quality as the case has been in the past.

All and all, I know nothing, and am just rambling on, but either way, it would be sweet to see electronic shifting become more affordable, and perhaps even the standard at some point. I just hope they continue to hold off on electronic brakes.

Don't Let the Bells End!

2010-12-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I write this blog is to try and continue staying on top of new gear, while learning more about current equipment.

The second reason I write this blog is to post this video every holiday season. Happy Holidays!

Building a Surly Pugsley

2010-12-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Surly Pugsley will finally be available as a complete bike for 2011, but if you still have the itch to build your own from the ground up, there are definitely some bizarre quirks to know about. Here's a quick rundown on getting the bike up and running.

Wheelset: The Large Marge wheelset is the easy way to go. Both the front and rear dropouts have 135mm spacing, so just be aware of that if you're building your own wheelset. Since this bike will be ridden in some harsh conditions, a good hub is worth investing in. Something around the Shimano XT level should be fine. Also, the frame has horizontal rear dropouts, so make sure you have a rear skewer you can really crank down, as there is a lot of torque going into the massive rear wheel, which can cause some slippage.

Tires: Like the wheelset, you are pretty limited on options here, but that's not horribly bad. If you have mostly level to gently rolling terrain to ride on, the Endomorph tires roll pretty well. If you do a little more climbing, you may want to check out the Surly Larry tires for better grip.

Disc Brakes: The new frames are doing away with the cantilever break bosses, which never made a lot of sense to me in the first place. Anyway, both front and rear mounts are 51mm IS disc tabs, so you will want two rear brake calipers. I went with 180mm rotors, but wish I had gone for a 160mm instead.

Crankset: The wide 100mm bottom bracket shell is going to limit you on crankset options, but there are still some good ones out there. The TruVativ Hussefelt is a good budget option, but you may want to keep your cadence up in sand and snow, making a light crank a good place to spend some money. The RaceFace Atlas is a good light option and comes in some snazzy colors.

Front Derailleur: The wide bottom bracket shell means you're not going to be able to reach a standard seattube clamp derailleur out to the chainrings, so you are going to need to go with an E-Type bottom bracket. Kind of a pain, but they aren't tough to find. If you are looking at a single chainring, this also means the 3rd Eye Chainwatcher is out. I'm a big fan of the MRP 1.x chain guide for a single ring setup.

Handlebars: Stability is going to be important on the snow and sand. If you are twitchy on the front end, you will spend more time digging out ruts than tracking through loose terrain. Going with a wider handlebar, similar to what you might ride on a 29er would be ideal.

As for gearing, I went with a 1x9, but that is going to come down to personal preference. I've seen a lot of single speed options out there, and a 3x10 would give you a huge range or gears. From there, just fill in the finer details and you are good to go.

Masi Fixed/SS Bikes

2010-12-18T16:45:00.000-08:00

As far as urban bikes go, I've been a big fan of what Masi has going on right now. Owned under the same umbrella as Haro bikes, it makes sense for them to excel here, and they have seven bikes in this category.

Ranging from $600 - $800, their bikes are priced pretty tightly. At the entry level, the Speciale Uno goes with a solid steel frame, and Brevo M components. There's nothing too flashy with this bike, but it will get you going, and includes both a fixed and freewheel cog. This is available in either a drop bar, or riser bar.

Moving up to the second tier is the Speciale Fixed, which comes with either a drop bar, flat bar, or riser bar. The frame is the same, but the wheels are upgraded with a little more style, and durability. The crankset is also upgraded, and the color schemes are much flashier.

At the top tier is the Masi Speciale LTD. The big upgrades here are a 535 Reynolds steel, FSA crankset, and MKS pedals with some really nice metal toe clips. At $820, this is pretty good for a low maintenance and strong bike to roll around town on, and like all of their bikes, it has 46x16 gearing with a flip flop hub.

Sidi Spider SRS MTB Cycling Shoe

2010-12-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

It doesn't seem as though there has been a clear cross specific shoe to break out, on the scene but one that could come close is SIDI's Spider SRS mountain bike shoe. Available in black, red, or white, these are styled similarly to the Dragon 2, but uses two velcro straps with a micro lock buckle, and isn't quite as stiff.

The rubber protection on the toe box will help soften the blow when you stub your toes while running, or jumping over barriers. The heal cup is also modified a bit compared to the Dragon, 2 and doesn't come up quite as high, which is great for time spent running off the bike. These features also make this a great bikepacking shoe, for anyone who sees themselves bushwacking, or hiking relatively long distances in cycling shoes.

Since running and walking in cycling shoes wears the tread out slightly quicker, Sidi makes sure that the tread can be replaced, so these can last quite a while. The tread pattern is also spaced out well to clear mud around the cleat and heal, helping you clip back in quickly on remounts, and maintain traction throughout a race.

At $350, these are priced pretty well for a high end off-road shoe, and in Italian form, the upper material is not only designed to be comfortable, but also easily cleansed, so they will look good race after race.

Surly Rolling Daryl Rim

2010-12-13T21:18:00.001-08:00

With the growing popularity of snow bikes, Surly continues to add options for their Pugsley frame. The newest edition to their lineup is the Rolling Daryl rim, which is more than just a drilled out Large Marge rim.

The lack of material may be the most obvious feature, but the most important feature of this rim is that it has 64 spoke holes drilled out. Fortunately, this is not to make room for 64 spokes, that would require one intense hub. Instead, one set of the spoke holes is intended to be laced up asymmetrically for the Pugsley, or any other snow bike with an offset frame, while the second set can be laced up to a hub symmetrically, for a snow bike such as the Salsa Mukluk, which does not have an offset geometry.

In addition to some added wheel building versatility, the rim sits super wide at 82mm, as opposed to the 65mm of the Large Marge rims. This gives the tire some more room to spread out, giving you a little better footprint in the snow. Couple this with a lighter rim, and it should improve your ability to float on softer snow.

If you spend a lot of time riding in the snow, this could be a worthwhile upgrade, and if you are looking into moving from a Pugsley to a Mukluk, this rim would make a lot of sense as far as moving parts from one frame to another.

Embrace the Off-Season

2010-12-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

There are some people out there who can hit a hard racing season, and jump straight back into training for the upcoming season without skipping a beat. I'm not one of those people, and have come to realize that in late November-early December, there is going to be a natural 2 week period where I don't even look at a bike. In fact, it has come to the point where I actually look forward to this stretch, which led to the purchase of a PS3, and some excellent movies on the Netflix queue, such as Krull, and Zardoz.

Anyway, I'm a big believer in taking a step back and getting out of shape for a bit, if for no other reason than to add some extra padding to help stay warm for the winter. It could be likened to the rumspringa period for the Amish, where you let loose for some time, only to come back with a greater level of commitment.

Movies vs Reality: Cycling Fights

2010-12-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Movie

Reality

The sweet spin move made up for the fact that no one managed to land a punch.

Thank You Tim de Waele of Cyclingnews.com

2010-12-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

For making my day with this photo of Bjarne Riis.

Danny MacAskill - Way Back Home

2010-11-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

Headlights For The Darkness

2010-11-22T17:42:00.001-08:00

The Darkness has officially set in, with lights becoming necessary after work at 5pm. If you're interested in picking up a set of headlights for your commute, or night ride, you will quickly notice that there are an insane amount of options, ranging anywhere from $20 up past $1000. Here's a quick breakdown on different styles of lights, and what type of riding they can work well for.

Just a quick note, if you do go and check out different lights, you may notice that some lights measure output in lumens, while others tout candlepower, which is super annoying. Candlepower is a little tricky to gauge, as it refers to the measurement of light at the source, and as we all know, its not what you have but what you do with it. Lumens are a measurement of what is actually being illuminated beyond the source (i.e. the road), making them a little more relevant.

Starting from the least expensive category and working on up, I'll call these 'be seen' lights. These are lights that really don't provide much visibility for the rider, but will succeed in making your presence known to vehicles, or riders/pedestrians coming towards you on a path. These are a great choice for commuting, and generally run from around $15-$30. Some examples would be the Knog lights, or the Planet Bike Spot.

Bumping up in price a bit are super commuter/emergency road ride lights. These have pretty good output, allowing you to see some of the road directly ahead of you while under city lights, and will also give you some decent visibility if you get caught out in the dark unexpectedly on a road ride. These are still really well priced in the ballpark of $30-$65, with some great examples being the Cateye Uno, or the NiteRider UltraFazer series.

The last group before hitting the high-output lights are a variety that does really well for gravel/casual trail riding. These step up the brightness quite a bit, but usually maintain a user friendly AA or AAA battery source, while some are moving towards a USB charging style. When you're away from the city lights, these are great for cruising double track, or gravel roads. They don't always have great burn times on high settings, but will get the job done for a quick two hour spin. The Cygolite ExpiliOn 180 is an example of a USB rechargeable light, while Princeton Tec's new Push throws out some good light using AAA batteries. These are broad ranging in price, from $40 on up to $150. The higher you climb in price, the more power and features you get.

Moving to high output lights, these have a dedicated rechargeable batter that is separate from the light head, and will definitely light up the trail. As for output, they create a pretty descent gap between themselves and the previous category. They will give you the confidence to take on single track at a good pace, but don't always have the throw to encourage you to bomb descents at race pace, or the wide angle to fly into hairpins. That aside, they are perfect for training rides, and depending on the power settings you use, they can work well for long nights in the saddle. One thing you will notice as you hit this level is that there are fewer manufacturers putting out products, which usually run in the $140-$200 arena. Two great lights in this range are the NiteRider NiNewt 350, and the CygoLite MityCross 320.

So between the 300-350 lumen lights, and the 1000+ lumen units lies an awkward category. I think of it as the 'high school' group. These are pretty expensive at around $250-$500, so its hard to call them a budget racing option, but they would be great for racing, or fast trail riding. The Lupine Tesla and Light and Motion Seca 700 fall into this group.

Moving straight to the top are the lights that will just about turn night into day, and certainly blind anyone coming at you, so be aware of that. As far as lumens go, they hit ridiculous proportions in excess of 1000 lumens. They also introduce some more advanced features that let you program a variety of light settings ahead of time, which can be helpful for managing your battery life for long rides or 24 hour races. In addition to throwing a beam way down the trail, they also tend to give you a good spread for your peripheral, which is great for technical single track. The price is high with these, so make sure you are going to put it to good use. The Light and Motion Seca 1400 is a great light, while the NiteRider Pro 1400 offers some good programing features, both running in the $650-$700 range. Lupine's Betty is about as bright as they get at 1850 lumens at around $1050.

This probably isn't the best grouping of categories, but hopefully it will help ease the search a bit.

Winter Super Commuter

2010-11-21T20:21:00.002-08:00

Depending on where you live, winter can be a pretty nasty time to commute/ride. As if the slippery roads aren't bad enough, dirt mixed in with snow and ice can really wear a drivetrain down in a hurry, making for a lot of maintenance in the spring.

To combat icy roads, studded tires are always a great call. They will add to your confidence, but like most things in life, don't get carried away. Racing to beat the light for a left turn may not always work out in your favor. Innova makes some really good studded tires that aren't crazy expensive at around $40/tire for a 110 stud count. As you might expect, the more studs, the greater the price. If you plan on rolling your standard tires, there's nothing wrong with that, and it will likely help you improve your pedal stroke and handling.

As for the drivetrain, single speed conversions are super easy, and not that expensive. For about $25, Wheels manufacturing has a single speed spacer kit with a chain guide that can be tossed onto your existing freehub body. Just pull off the derailleur, cassette, and cables, and cut the chain down to size. If you don't have a horizontal, or semi-horizontal dropouts for chain tension, there are a bunch of chain tensioners out there, such as the Shimano Alfine chain tensioner, which works pretty well. When setting up your gears, one big thing to pay attention to is chain line. With the chain set in place, look down the chain from behind and see if it forms a straight line from the back cog to the front chain ring. If not, reconfigure the spacers to adjust the rear cog to where it would create a straight line. Also, just because you don't have any gears doesn't mean your chain no longer needs to be lubed up every now and then.

From here, just toss some fenders on the bike to prepare for the spring slush, and you're pretty much good to go.

Winter Antics

2010-11-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

The ice and snow can't come soon enough...

Brief History of CAAD Technology

2010-11-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Cannondale CAAD10 is already getting some good reviews as it gets ready for the 2011 season, so I thought I would cruise through series of CAAD technology that leads us to where we're at now.

Cannondale 3.0 (1990): Named the 3.0 because the frame came in around 3 pounds, this was Cannondale's first foray into racing frames, available in either a Criterium or Road Race model. The Criterium frame had a larger 2 inch downtube diameter, as opposed to 1 3/4" for the Road Race, a taller bottom bracket, and steeper headtube, which made for a pretty compact wheelbase, and snappy bike. This was also among the first bikes to feature a replaceable derailleur hanger. Another unique feature for the bike was that the rear dropouts were spaced about an inch behind the junction of the seat and chain stays, which tightened up the rear triangle and shaved a bit of weight as well.

Cannondale 2.8 (1993): This is where Cannondale started playing around with tube profiles, creating the 'power pyramid.' With the power pyramid, the downtube's radius increased as it approached the bottom bracket, and the top tube was ever-so-slightly ovalized vertically near the headtube, and horizontally near the seat tube.

CAAD3 (1997): The Cannondale Advanced Aluminum Design catch phrase finally makes an entrance. The CAAD3 frame hung onto the power pyramid front triangle, and moved to a more traditional rear triangle, placing the dropouts at the junction of the seat and chain stays. This was to address complaints about the bike being too stiff, but it was still a pretty stiff ride, which was good news for Saeco-Cannondale's sprinter Cippo.

CAAD4 (2000): With the CAAD4, S-bend seat stays were introduced to help smooth out the ride quality of the bike, despite adding a few grams. One minor updateswas that they did away with the downtube shifter bosses, as STI levers were taking over in popularity. The frame started out with a 1" steerer tube, but migrated towards a 1 1/8" steerer tube later down the road, so I suppose you could consider that change a CAAD4 1/2.

CAAD5 (2001): The CAAD5 wasn't the first bike to feature an integrated headset, but it was pretty close. The integrated headset added some front end rigidity to the bike, but also gave Cannondale some extra flexibility to re-design a lighter Slice fork.

CAAD6 (2001): Coming out in the same model year as the CAAD5, the CAAD6 added Cannondale's proprietary integrated bottom bracket/crankset to the mix, the Hollowgram crankset. This not only reduced the weight of the bike, but increased stiffness, and reduced the Q-factor. After a few years, Cannondale released the proprietary design to the rest of the industry to make it more widely accepted.

CAAD7 (2002): This was more or less the same bike as the previous two bikes mentioned (available with or without the Hollowgram crankset). The difference was that Cannondale finally upgraded their stock of aluminum, which they dubbed 'Optimo.'

CAAD8 (2005): Not a huge update with this model. They made a few changes in tube profiles to stiffen the bike up a big further, which has been a trend ever since they calmed the bike down with the S-bend stays at the CAAD4 level.

CAAD9 (2007): Knocking it up another notch, Cannondale continued to stiffen up their ride, this time by shaping the top tube to flare out to a larger diameter at the headtube, in addition to increasing the diameter of the seat and downtube near the bottom bracket. This bike kept a low profile as Cannondale pushed their carbon frames pretty hard, but made a comeback in 2010 with a full Dura Ace build and BB30 bottom bracket.

CAAD10 (2011): For the first time, this series will not feature a 'Made in America' label. The rear triangle will add Cannondale's SAVE chainstays, which, like the CAAD4, will soften the ride a bit in back. The front end is bolstered with a tapered headtube, a larger ovalized top tube, and a huge downtube that flares out quite a bit at the headtube junction for a stiff front end. The newest edition rolls in around 1150 grams for a 56cm frame.

Pretty crazy that after all the updates that have taken place, the newest edition rolls in less than a half pound lighter than the bike that kicked it all off. While it didn't shed a ton of weight, it did bring on some sweet new innovations that allowed lighter and stiffer components to be incorporated into the build, such as a full carbon steerer tube with the integrated headset, and the BB30 style crankset.

Looking at the past is pretty cool, but now that we can see the CAAD10 in action, what do you think the future holds for a CAAD11?

TOP NINE: Single Speed Cyclocross Bikes

2010-11-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

In a sport that absolutely beats the crap out of equipment, a single speed cyclocross bike isn't a bad call. They are reliable, can be built crazy light, making them easy to handle through barriers and corners, and the absence of gears means there is less to clog up on muddy and snowy courses. If you notice a lot of single speed categories in the races around you, or want a new challenge, here are some bikes to check out. I'll start out with some single speed frames, and move into complete bikes.

9. Surly Cross Check Frameset ($425): The steel frame and fork combine for close to 7 pounds, so this might not be the best example of a single speeds lightweight features, but it will showcase durability. The frame has semi-horizontal dropouts, which makes tensioning the chain tool free and easy, and the rear dropouts are spaced at 132.5mm, so you can run either a road or mountain bike hub.

8. Salsa Chili Con Crosso Frameset ($970): The new 2011 Chili Con Crosso frame features replaceable dropouts in either vertical or horizontal, both included. The aluminum frame has a tapered headtube for confident handling, and includes a Cane Creek headset, as well as a carbon cross fork.

7. Raleigh SSCXWC Frameset ($1200): I'm always a sucker of limited edition, and Raleigh's limited run is a tricky one to beat. It does take a certain flair to ride around on a bike donning the world champion rainbows without earning the jersey, but its a great looking bike, and I couldn't blame anyone for doing so.

6. Redline Conquest Pro SS Frame ($399 frame, $529 w/carbon fork): Built off the great geometry of the popular Conquest, this aluminum frame features s-bend seat stays to mellow out the ride a bit, and has simple track style dropouts. Its a pretty good price on one of the higher performance pure single speed cross bikes.

5. All-City Nature Boy ($900): Named after Minnesota's own Nature Boy, Ric Flair, this bike is about as basic as they come. Like the Surly Cross Check, it has a full 4130 CroMoly construction, but has dedicated horizontal dropouts, with no derailleur hanger option. The build is pretty basic as well, with Kalloy and Tektro handling most of the components. For the price, its a good way to get started.

4. Motobecane Cross Uno ($895): With horizontal track dropouts, this steel frame and fork comes complete at just over 22 pounds. The bike is pretty stout, and will handle tires up to 700x42, which can really help smooth out the road.

3. Swobo Crosby ($999): This is Swobo's first run at a cross bike, and it looks pretty sweet. It has a snappy aluminum frame with a carbon fork, flip flop hub for fixed or freehub single speed, and uses sliding dropouts for easy chain tensioning. It is also ready to take on the UCI's new tolerance for disc brakes, but they start you out with some cantilevers.

2. Felt Breed ($949): For the price, this is a crazy good deal on a fast and light single speed cross racer. The aluminum frame is jumpy, while a fairly long wheelbase keeps it from getting too harsh. The price is held down pretty well mainly because Felt is able to supply almost all the components in-house. They really only have to stretch out to grab the FSA Gossamer crankset, and Tektro levers and brakes. At just over 18 pounds for a 55cm frame, you can get this bike way down in weight with some light race day wheels.

1. Spot Brand Mod SS ($3300): So here's where we find out why I never said single speeds were necessarily more affordable than geared bikes. That being said, this bike is pretty sweet using the Gate Carbon Belt Drive, taking minimal maintenance to another level. Aside from the belt drive, this bike is speced out incredibly well, with a Ritchey WCS carbon cross fork, DT Swiss R1900 wheelset, SRAM Rival crank, Truvativ Sylo World Cup stem, and Noir carbon seatpost. The only thing I would upgrade on this bike would be the Avid Shorty 6 brakes.

This list took quite a bit of scrapping to get together, but hopefully as the single speed category gets a little more popular (possibly even moving SS Cross Worlds away from the west coast), we'll see more bikes become available. In the meantime, you can always convert your current cross bike pretty easily with eccentric hubs, or single speed conversion kits.

Vuelta MTB Nine 29 Wheelset

2010-10-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

There are tons of components out there that have price tags that make you wonder about their quality or durability. With bars, stems, and seatposts, I tend to think its a great idea to go for the bargain items if you're on a budget. With wheels, its a bit trickier. A cheap stem or bar is simply going to be heavier, but the quality is going to be fine. With wheels there are a lot of pieces you don't necessarily want to skimp on, as shoddy spokes and hubs can lead to some annoying issues down the road. A smooth, long lasting ride is always a good thing.

There are a couple companies out there offering some really competitive, and quality wheels at prices that seem too good to be true. Williams is one, and Vuelta is the other. Looking at Vuelta, I've had nothing but good experiences with their road wheels, which makes me pretty excited about their mountain bike wheels.

The MTB Nine 29er wheelset retails for $360, and weighs in just under 1900 grams for the set. Not crazy light, but a good mid-range for a racing/training wheel. They look to be built tough with 3x lacing patterns in front and back (28 spokes in front, 32 in rear). The steel bearings are cartridge sealed, keeping water and dirt out. As for the rim, they sit at a nice 24mm width, with a 21mm profile.

If you're in the market for a new 29er wheelset, definitely keep these in the back of your mind. The more money you save here only means more money to throw around on the rest of the bike!

TOP NINE: Last Minute Cycling Costumes

2010-10-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Time is ticking by fast, and if you're like me, without a Halloween costume, here are nine quick cycling themed ideas.

9. Breaking Away: Jeans and a white t-shirt with 'CUTTERS' lettered across the front. Bonus points if you ride around on an early 70's road bike yelling 'buon giorno!' to everyone you see.

8. Paperboy: With a BMX or mountain bike, just dawn a Canadian tuxedo along with a yellow baseball hat on backwards, and you're pretty much set. Also, attach a front basket to your handlebars, and fill it up with newspapers.

7. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory: If you have the hairstyle, I highly recommend tracking down some red sweat pants, grey t-shirt, and yellow tank top. Its obscure, but most things in cycling are.

6. Laurent Fignon: Aside from Cipollini, Fignon could be one of the most easily recognizable figures in cycling history, and his costume won't entail a great deal of expensive Italian style. Find some round clear glasses, a large headband, and if you're blond with long hair, go for the pony tail. Otherwise, you can look for a blond wig and thin it out a bit... or a lot.

5. Cru Jones: From the movie RAD, all you need for attire is a white t-shirt, jeans, and a red bandanna to keep your jeans out of your chain. The BMX bike will help with recognition, and be sure to try and impress the ladies with your sweet moves.

4. Pee Wee's Big Adventure: Getting the red cruiser bike will be tricky, but a gray suit, white shoes, and a bow tie isn't too difficult. Don't forget to slick the hair, and add some makeup.

3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: There is a good bike scene in this movie that shouldn't take too much effort. The hat will be a bit tricky, but if you can get a continuous loop of 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head' going, you should be in good shape.

2. Albert Einstein: There's a famous photo of Einstein that you could try and emulate. The clothing is pretty easy, with dress pants, sweater vest, and tie.

1. Celebrity Environmentalist: Just dress up as your favorite environmentally conscious celebrity, and ride around on a bike.

Campagnolo Electronic Shifting

2010-10-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Campagnolo will be outfitting the new Team Movistar (formerly Caisse d'Espargne) with an electronic group for the 2011 season, but doesn't have a set release date for the public. To say that this is a long time coming is an incredible understatement. Initial planning of Campy's electronic system kicked off about the time Vanilla Ice released his first hit album 'To the Extreme,' which was quickly followed by 'Extremely Live,' in addition to his hit single, 'Ninja Rap.' Another ill fated player of the times was Mavic's Zap electronic shifting system due to ill communication, which consequently occurred in the same year as the Beastie Boys' fourth studio album.

To get back on track, one of the biggest struggles Campy dealt with when trying to get a production model to the public was price, as the cost would have been well beyond that of their already expensive Record group. In 1996, they went ahead and patented an electronic system, but it never quite made it out the door. Campy did play around with wireless prototypes, but found that they were actually heavier, and skeptics often worried of interference issues.

In 2002, some buzz started to pick up with a few Italian riders testing out prototypes in key races, which led to rumors that Campy would come out with a full blown version for the public. There was a huge buildup of anticipation moving into the 2005 season that they would finally pull the trigger, but the rumors faded pretty quickly. Despite the reduction in hype, you could always count on spotting a few electronic setups here and there in the pro peloton.

With Shimano releasing their electronic version a few years ago, it seems pretty likely that Campy will finally make their move. They may have been delayed a bit with their 11spd push, but this seems to be the right time to go for it. The model that Team Movistar will be using through the 2011 season should be a good indicator of what to expect, but it will be yet another testing period for Campy, and it seems reasonable to expect a few tweaks before a public model is released.

Throughout all of this, the biggest shocker is that Campy will making this exclusive to a Spanish team, as opposed to their home Italian squads.

MCipollini RB1000 Road Bike

2010-10-22T20:03:00.001-07:00

You'd be lying if you said you didn't want one. Super Mario Cipollini was pretty quick to brand his own bike after retirement, riding it in a few celebrity crits, as well as during his stint with Rock Racing, and for the 2010 season, the brand was the bike of choice for Italy's ISD Cycling Team.

Now that the bike have gone through a season in the pro ranks, it's garnering a bit more attention in the US, much like what Lampre did for Wilier, and Silence-Lotto did for Canyon bikes. There are two road models to choose from, the RB1000 and the RB800. For a little better name recognition, the RB1000 is also labeled the 'Champion's Bike,' while the RB800 takes on a lesser call-tag as the 'Racing Bike.' Clearly we're going to check out the Champion's bike today.

There's really no other way to say it, the RB1000 is simply hot... so hot. It's a muscly looking carbon frame with curves flowing here, and angles pointing there. Certainly a far cry from the Ferrari red aluminum Cannondales I'm used to seeing the Lion King aboard.

The bike seems to be setup well for long road races that cheat the wind in breakaways, and roll pretty comfortably all day, with some snap in it for the final leg. No matter where you finish in the peleton, at least you'll be looking good... real good. The only complaint that I can come up with is that the head badge doesn't look something like this:

Specialized Crux

2010-10-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

The Specialized Crux bikes haven't been out for very long, but they are already making a strong showing. Within the Crux lineup, there are two main options to choose from, which both offer strong characteristics that can favor different riding styles and terrain, making neither frame better than the other.

The Crux Carbon has a fairly traditional cyclocross geometry, with longer chainstays, and a semi-compact front triangle. This helps contribute to a softer feel that smooths the roughest of courses, and helps you hold good traction at high speeds through long bumpy sections. The smooth ride characteristics will slow down acceleration a bit, but the lighter frame helps limit how much you will notice that. The longer wheelbase might not be ideal for super tight U-turn style corners, but the front end of the bike is beefed up, so you can certainly dive into just about anything with little flex up front. The carbon frame has two complete stock builds, with the Pro version setup with a SRAM Rival group at $3100, while the Expert build has SRAM's new Apex group at $2500. The top end S-Works Crux is available as a frame only, and uses a lighter/stiffer carbon, and includes a BB30 bottom bracket shell with an S-Works carbon crankset featuring ceramic bearings. The only surprise on the carbon bikes is that they route the cables on the bottom of the downtube, which may not be ideal if you ride through a lot of mud.

The aluminum Crux frame doesn't quite have the high end component groups that the carbon bike gets, but the frame itself is top notch, and retails for only $660. For punchy riders who don't ride a consistent tempo throughout a race, this could be your bike. The aluminum frame becomes even snappier with shorter chainstays that tighten up the wheelbase. This bike is ideal for technical courses, but won't have the plush ride quality. If it ride is rougher than you can handle, you may want to toss on some wider tires for some added cushion. Another cool features is that the aluminum frame has internally routed cables, which can help keep your shifts smooth through muddy days.

While there are a couple good stock options for the aluminum Crux, the frameset is a great deal, and does give you the chance to build up a nice bike at the same competitive level of the carbon versions. They will just be aimed at a different style of riding, but no slower, and no faster.

Cyclocross Clinchers

2010-10-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I cruised through the benefits of tubular tires for the cross season, however, there is absolutely no reason to poo poo cross clinchers, especially if you are on a budget, or simply don't care. Here are three different clinchers that will handle the three different conditions mentioned the other day.

For a dry weather tire, the Michelin Cyclocross Jet is a good pick. The tread patter is pretty smooth with not a lot of grit to it. It rolls really well on hard pack, and seems to sit a little wider than it's 700x30 size would indicate, which helps it form nicely to the ground. There are some light knobs over on the side that help give you some confidence if you get way into a corner, but nothing that will come into play on the straightaway stretches. They usually run around $35 per tire.

There two things that are hot in Montana right now. Cross and Wolves. Its too bad we don't have wet weather, because then I could actually go somewhere with this, but regardless, the WTB Cross Wolf tires is ideal for anyone who spends a lot of time racing in loose conditions. The sharp knobs are spaced out well to flick mud away, and will bite hard for quick steep climbs, mud/sand pits, and loose corners. You can usually find these in the $35-$40 range.

As for the all-condition tire, I'm becoming a huge fan of the Vittoria Cross XG Pro. It has the same tread pattern as it's tubular counterpart, but with a sturdier casing. The tread keeps a relatively low profile on top, but just enough to let you know its there when you need it. As for corners, the tread rounds out a bit, letting you lean the bike over without grabbing too much. They are little pricier, ranging from $40-$45 per tire, but still well under the cost of tubulars.

Interbike to Stay in Vegas

2010-10-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

Some will like it, others won't, but Interbike does what Interbike wants, and Interbike looks as though it wants to stay in Vegas for at least another two years, despite a huge effort by the city of Anaheim to bring the show to California. Anaheim definitely has the capacity to host the event, but tried to move the dates back to early August, possibly to get a jump start on Eurobike. The problem Anaheim ran into was that most dealers are in the middle of their busy season at their respective bike shops, making a week long getaway unrealistic, and Vegas took advantage of the blunder. For 2011, Boulder City will again host the Dirt Demo on September 12th and 13th, with the indoor expo taking place in Vegas from the 14th - 16th.

Aside from sticking with the September dates, some other influences could very well have been the huge success of Cross Vegas, cheap flights to Vegas, massive amounts of lodging options, and the fact that most exhibitors and dealers are comfortable with the layout and logistics of the current setup. Give some credit to Anaheim for playing the family friendly card with Disneyland, but with the show running from 9am-6pm, plus a few more hours of post show mingling and dinner, there's not a lot of time to take in the sights.

While there are plenty of good reasons to keep the show in Vegas, I don't think anyone will be looking forward to another round at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill.

Cross Tubulars

2010-10-11T21:05:00.001-07:00

For me, I'm still hanging out in the dark ages of clinchers, but for those who are serious about cross, tubulars are the way to go. They eliminate the worry of pinch flats, allow you to run a wider range of tire pressures to improve rolling efficiency and traction over a variety of conditions, and can grip better through corners and reduce your rotating weight for quicker accelerations out of the corners. Their only drawback is that they tend to cost more than clincher tires, and require a dedicated tubular rim.

Since most weekend warriors are probably going to be outfitted with one jazzy wheelset, and a mediocre backup, you definitely want to make sure you spend your money wisely and get to know the styles of tires out there. For the most part, you can break tire treads down into three groups. Dry condition, Mixed, and Muddy. If you spend your season racing in the desert, a dry season tire is probably going to be your best bet. These generally have a fine, low profile tread pattern that rolls smoothly over hard ground, and rolls through corners with hardly any catch. One good example of this is the Tufo Flexus Dry Plus.

Tufo Flexus Dry Plus Tread

Moving into the Northwest and and Northeast regions, you may find that the bulk of your season covers some muddy conditions. Mud/sand tires definitely have taller and sharper treads that will dig into the mud for grip, but its also important to have space between the knobs to ensure that the mud has some wiggle room to flick off your tire on each rotation. For an example of a mud tire, check out the Dugust Rhino Cotton.

Dugust Rhino Cotton Tread

For the bulk of riders out there, an all-around/mixed condition tire is probably the best choice. It can cruise through hard pack, and can hold some good traction through soft patches. As you probably expected, the tread height lies somewhere between a dry and mud tire. The knobs are usually fairly long through the center part, and a bit wider on the sides, with a bit of space between. This helps them roll smoothly in a straight line, and grab a bit in the corners. Among the best all-around tires would be the FMB Cotton SSC tire.

FMB Cotton SSC Tread

In the end, I'm far from an expert at cross, and I'm the first to admit that. One of the best things you can do is find out who the knowledgeable and fast riders are in your area, and check out what they are riding.

If you're not ready to commit to the tubulars, don't worry. Cross clinchers keep getting better every year, which I'll cover more on later this week.

Bianchi Cavaria and Zurigo

2010-10-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

For 2011, Bianchi has made some upgrades to their cyclocross line by introducing two new bikes, the Cavaria, and the Zurigo.

The Cavaria is their flagship model, featuring a full carbon frame and fork. The frame has a nice wide open geometry that gives you plenty of room for shouldering through run ups, and features a nice flat top tube for comfort, which also flares out to provide a ton of material up front to help add some rigidity to the front end handling. In standard cross fashion, the cables are routed over the top tube, but I really like how they position the cable stops further away from the headtube and seat tube, which gives the housing more room to flow, as opposed to crimping up against the headtube. At $2700, you get a competitive component group that features an Ultegra drivetrain, FSA Energy crankset, Fulcrum Racing 7 wheelset, and Vittoria Cross tires.

For a more economical bike, that is still competitive, the Zurigo sits at $1600, and features a light aluminum frame and carbon fork. The geometry is pretty close to the Cavaria, but it does run a shorter wheelbase, which could help you out in tight situations. Instead of dropping down to a Shimano 105 group, they made the move over to SRAM's new Apex 10spd group, which gives you a huge gear range with the 11-32 cassette.

Seasucker Racks

2010-10-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

There was no shortage of bike rack vendors at Interbike this year, but Seasuckers hands down had the most intriguing option.

Instead of the rack mounting to your vehicle through a fit kit, receiver hitch, or series of straps, the Seasucker racks vacuum seal themselves to any smooth metallic or glass surface. The big benefit through this is that you can mount the rack to any vehicle at any time, as opposed to swapping our hardware for a different rig.

The vacuum sealed pods that attach to your vehicle will definitely take some getting used to, as first hand appearances don't inspire a ton of confidence. The first thing to know is that they aren't suction cups like the 'baby on board' decals you see stuck to windows every now and again. You just stick them firmly on a smooth surface, and then start pressing a little pump that removes all the air from inside the seal, creating a super tight grip. To remove the pod, you have to pry underneath it to break the seal, and then it pops right off. As for how much force these can handle, each 6" pod is rated to take on about 210 pounds.

Initially, this concept was put to the test on marine equipment, so as far as adverse conditions are concerned, they have been well tested through the torrential storms of Florida. Some nifty features that are built into the pods are a loop hole for a cable lock, as well as slots for wheel straps. There are plenty of configurations to choose from, depending on how many bikes you want to outfit on your vehicle, and in what formation.

All and all, it seems like a cool system, but definitely places itself outside the norm.

Pinarello Lungavita

2010-10-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

I generally don't associate Pinarello with urban fixies, but considering that the commuter scene is so hot right now, I do see Pinarello as a company that keeps up with current trends and styles.

The Lungativa is one of two urban bikes available through Pinarello this year. The aluminum frame and fork make this a light and spry little bike, and it is all set in a tight geometry with steep seat tubes forcing the rear wheel up against the seat tube with no room for fenders.

As far as the build is concerned, the rear wheel has a flip flop hub, with one side for a fixed gear cog, and the other side a freewheel cog for when you knees blow out. To get you started, the 46x14 gearing is a great choice for city riding. The bike is setup with front and rear brakes, but to keep the track drop bars aesthetic almost intact, they give you top mounted auxiliary brake levers, as opposed to drop bar levers.

For a complete bike, these run around $950, and there are five colors to choose from, which vary from eye catching, as in the paint job shown above, to more subdued looks.

Kask TT Sky Helmet

2010-09-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

With Cancellara taking a record 4th world championship time trial ride, it seems fitting to check out some time trial gear. As far as hilarity is concerned, its really hard to beat a time trial helmet, and of all the helmets out there, I think the Kask TT Sky helmet is a hard one to beat.

Most time trial helmets make you look like something out of one of the Alien movies, but not the Kask. This will make you look like either a bobble head, or a pinhead. Neither choice is outstanding, but in the end, time trialing is about going fast, and not looking good, which is horrible news for me, since I can't pull off either.

Looking at a few of the helmet features, it's pretty compact compared to most TT helmets out there, which can be an advantage for nasty cross winds. Since there's no venting, chances are you will build up quite the sweat, so its a good thing the inside padding is removable and washable. The front eye shield is actually pretty cool, provides a bit of tint, and almost gives off a Top Gun sort of appeal... almost.

The helmet runs in at $400, which is well above most options, but it does have the pro allure as the helmet of choice for team Sky. If the price is a little overboard for you, but you want to keep with the space fighter pilot look, you can score one of these for around $50, and they even have a British flag model for Wiggins.

Yeti 25th Anniversary 575

2010-09-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Over the years, the 575 has been one of the best selling bikes for Yeti, so its fitting that they give it the limited edition touch for their 25th anniversary. Despite the snazzy retro paint job, the anniversary edition 575 has a lot of newly updated features for the new decade that don't take away from the aesthetic of the 575 heritage.

The most noticeable change to the bike is that it has become much stiffer. The front triangle hangs on to it's hydroformed tubing, but adds in a tapered headtube for sharper handling. The middle of the bike seems to be where the main event is at. The pivot points have been updated to give a cleaner look, and allow for a little more clearance. The bike has taken on some ISCG tabs if you want to run a chain guide system for more aggressihttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1602782707854263303ve riding. The bottom bracket has also lowered a bit for quicker handling, while the suspension has been stiffened up a bit at the mid-stroke to help keep you from digging a pedal. The seat tube has been tilted a bit more upright, and a nice small touch is some cable stops for a dropper seatpost.

In back, the chain stays have moved from carbon over to aluminum, and have taken on a massive oversized look. This helps further stiffen up the frame, but also allows for internal cable routing through here, which will help keep your rear derailleur cable clean.

This bike has always been a great all arounder, but it looks to be even more so, with some features that should make all-mountain riders pretty happy. The only thing that might not make you happy is the $3000 price tag on the frameset, which includes a painted to match turquoise Fox float fork, Fox RP23 rear shock, 25th anniversary saddle, and a Chris King headset and bottom bracket. The frame is also numbered, as there will only be 250 of these produced. If you're thinking about going for it, I would suggest hitting up the complete bike, which is setup with Shimano's XT 10spd group.

Voodoo Aizan 29er

2010-09-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Voodoo Aizan has been around for quite awhile, and was one of the first bikes jumping on the 29er train. There are a couple things I really like about this bike, starting with their description of the frame material, Taiwan scandium. That's some solid transparency that I can get behind, although they do camouflage it with a titanium scheme.

The lightweight scandium material meshed up to a fairly relaxed geometry (longer wheelbase and S-bend rear seat stays) makes this bike pretty cool, making it competitive enough for XC racers, yet comfortable for the trail rider looking for something they could grow into as a rider. In other words, its strikes a great balance, covering a wide range of rider types.

At $550 for the frame, it's one of the better priced frames for a scandium tubeset. The frame is designed to take on a 100mm fork, and includes a set of threads on the rear stays to attach brake bosses for V-brakes if you want to take that route. Definitely a fun bike.

Ritte Crossberg

2010-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ritte made their Interbike debut last week, and had some pretty cool stuff to show. With cross season winding up, it seems appropriate to check out their cross bike, the Crossberg... so here it is.

The Crossberg is a full carbon frame with replaceable aluminum rear dropouts, while the front fork is full carbon from the steerer tube all the way down to the dropouts. The bike features all the cross quirks you could ask for, with top routed cables, a flatened top tube for comfy shouldering, and some massive seat stays for rock solid tracking through the twists and turns you will encounter. It is mentioned that this bike is 'beautiful, and extremely badass.' I have a hard time refuting that, so I won't.

There is a very small detail about this bike that pretty much blew my mind, and if you look closely at the photo above, you'll catch it too. This bike is equipped to accept a rear rack and fenders! I don't care what that adds for weight, that's just a classy move that you'll be way into during the off-season training months. Speaking of weight, a 54cm frame is claimed to tip the scales around 1200 grams, so it's doing just fine on that end.

Currently, the only bummer about this bike is that you can't have it... yet. It won't be available until after the current cross season, so don't get too excited yet. Definitely keep this brand on your radar, though.

Interbike in Vegas by Tommy Seebach

2010-09-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back home, and decompressed from a week of Interbike. For the most part, it's all a blur to me, but I'll be running through my photos and try to make sense of it all for a barrage of posts this week. In the meantime, here's more or less what the week looked like...

New Bikes from Surly

2010-09-23T06:57:00.001-07:00

After discontinuing the Instigator, Surly has taken two steps forward and released a pair of pretty sweet bikes for 2011. The first of the two is the Troll. Like you may assume from the name, it does a little bit of everything. The frame is setup with Surly's 1x1 geometry, has horizontal dropouts for a single speed option, but also includes a derailleur hanger for gears. There are both disc brake tabs, and brake bosses on the bike, and the headtube is designed to accommodate a 100mm travel suspension fork if you're not crazy about the rigid still fork. The only thing this can't do is move between 26" wheels and 29er wheels like the Karate Monkey, and is stuck at the 26" size. It also can't fall in love.

The second bike released by Surly is a long time coming. The Surly Long Haul Trucker has finally taken on S&S couplings, and will compliment the LHT as the Trucker Deluxe. Aside from the couplings, the Trucker Deluxe will include all the bells and whistles of the LHT, aside from third set of bottle mounts on the down tube, which have been crowded out by the couplings. To start out, it will only be available in a frameset for 26" wheels. Since many bicycle tourists hit the air before hitting the ground riding, I can definitely see this becoming a popular bike in a hurry.

Going back to the Troll, if you noticed the trailer being towed behind it, Surly has also released a cargo trailer for in-town commuting. Like all things Surly, it's pretty simple with two-wheeled flatbed design that hooks up through the quick release skewer. It seems incredibly sturdy, and lighter than I expected, which makes Surly one for two on those expectations.

Gates Carbon Belt Drive

2010-09-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

The belt drive bikes were out in force at the Dirt Demo, overshadowed only by electric bikes and snow bikes. The Gates Carbon Belt Drive system has definitely been getting it's name out over the past few years, but hasn't been heavily spotted in the real world. The way they have been pushing them this week, though, that may change. They have been re-working their system, and have not only been able to improve their design to give it a longer lifespan, but have also brought more bike manufacturers on board.

The Raleigh SSCXWC was one of many bikes I wouldn't mind having in my garage, and it looked pretty sweet with the belt drive design. While the belt drive was predominantly featured on single speed bikes, internal hubs would probably be their biggest asset, allowing the belt drive to mesh cleanly with gears.

Either way, no bike looked better with the belt drive than this 36" wheel bike from Black Sheep.

Carousel Design Works

2010-09-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Frame bags were on display earlier today at the Dirt Demo. Carousel Design Works had a bike decked out with full frame bag, handlebar bag, seat bag, and gas tanks.

For touring, adventure riding, or even commuting, these are a nice lightweight and compact option that will squeeze you through single track, or tight city streets. The seat bags are available in a few sizes and can expand or snug up to hold firmly to your gear in place. It is also shaped so your legs will not rub up against them when pedaling.

As for the frame bag, this is a custom job that will ensure a tight fit to your frame. This not only maximizes the available space, but helps keep the frame bag from bulging out the sides. Depending on how you prefer to organize your gear, it can be setup in different pocket configurations. The front handlebar bag is designed to be the most durable near contact points, so any cable rub won't burn it's way through the bag. For any of this gear, I would recommend hitting it with a light water proof spray to make sure your belongings stay dry in all conditions.

Compared to most bags you're used to seeing, these are pretty pricey, but they are well built, super durable, and will add a new element to your existing bike without the large weight penalty of racks.

Interbike via the Interweb

2010-09-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

This week I'll be posting up in Las Vegas for the 2010 edition of Interbike. I'll be representing my employer, Adventure Cycling Association at booth L30, so if you're in the area, definitely stop on by. Since this is a work outting, most of the material I pull out of this visit will be touring related, but fortunately, there will be a few windows of opportunity to take a look at some road, cross, and mountain bikes and accessories along the way.

One of my main objectives during the one week stint is to get an idea of the direction of the industry. Last year the big news floating around was that commuter and utility bikes were outpacing the rest of the market, while performance bikes were lagging in sales. You can get a feel for this movement by looking at the influx of new bikes coming out of companies such as Cannondale, Giant, and Kona.

So what will the big news going into 2011 be? Here are my predictions:

1. Commuters/Cargo bikes will continue to grow. Its hard to see the dominance of these bikes fade after just one year, and it is sounding like a few companies will be upgrading a few of their bikes to electric versions to make them more versatile with heavy loads.

2. Performance-Comfort bikes. You know what style of event is so hot right now? Grand Fondos... so hot right now. The non-competitive, but fast paced group ride is picking up some steam, and it's attracting a crowd that appreciates performance features, but prefers a smooth ride. Bikes like Cannondale's Synapse are starting to build some steam throughout the movement, and is creating a new market for the industry.

3. Epic. I have been hearing rumors that there will be a national summit to look into updating the definition of the world 'Epic' due to overuse. Any given person should not experience more than one or two epic rides per year, which is why a couple people have come forth and offered 'difficult day in the saddle,' and 'i went for a bike ride today,' as potential replacement definitions.

4. Are 29ers cementing their position in the bike industry? Yeti and Breezer are just a few companies to finally embrace the 29er craze, while a few other manufacturers, such as Giant and Trek, are bolstering their current lineups. The only thing holding them back is the resistance from the European market.

So those are my predictions. So far the trip has been nothing short of hilarious. We saw a Ferrari on I-15 through Idaho with clothes hanging out the window to dry, as well as some Polygamy Porter in a Utah sports bar. You can have just one.

Crank Brothers Multi-17

2010-09-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Somewhere within a 100m radius of my current position lies a significant stash of multi tools that I have managed to loose over the past few years. While this is consistently frustrating, it does mean that I get the chance to try out a good number of tools. Currently I'm on the Crank Brothers Mutli-17, which I'm really hoping to hang onto, although it's durable construction means I will likely loose it before I break it. I think that's a good thing.

Anyway, one thing to know about the Multi-17 tool is that the name is a bit deceiving. It really only has 13 tools, but the spoke wrench counts as an additional three since it handles 1, 2, 3, and 4 sized nipples, and the open ended wrench will take on both 8mm and 10mm nuts. This makes me a bit surprised that they don't count the 8/9/10 speed chain breaker as ten tools. It is ultimately a moot point, because in the end, its a really good mix of tools that will cover you for just about any mechanical mishap.

At 168 grams, the tool is pretty light, which isn't always ideal considering you may find yourself torquing on it pretty hard. Fortunately, this has an all metal construction, which makes it pretty rigid, and allows you to torque away at that bolt that you swear a monkey must have tightened. The side rails of the tools also have a textured surface for excellent grip of the tool.

The tool rolls in around $27, which is priced in the same vicinity of comparable tools that I have managed to misplace. The lifetime warranty also makes this an attractive option.

Krieg Saddle Bags

2010-09-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

As of late, a lot of the stuff I've been tossing up on this site has been pretty spendy, so its time to back it down, and check out some stuff you can actually go out and buy on a whim. One of the accessories that I've consistently been excited about, and only runs $22, is the Krieg saddle bag. I've posted about this in the past, but since then, Sam Krieg has been busy growing his company, and an update is most certainly overdue.

Krieg saddle bags have some pretty sweet features that set them apart from other bags, but the big draw to them is that they have a pattern to fit about any personality. I was drawn to the spotted cow design. As far as features are concerned, they are contoured to keep a pretty tight profile, which prevents them from bulging out and rubbing against your legs as you pedal. Despite a more streamlined shape, they still have a good amount of carrying capacity, leaving plenty of room for a road tube, tire lever, multi tool, spoke wrench, and a C02 pump. If you park and ride, there is a key chain sewn inside the bag that will hold secure your keys, just in case you forget to zip it up when you hit the road. The two straps that loop around the seatpost and saddle rails are plenty long and wide for a secure grip, and after a year of riding through snow, mud, dusty roads, and rain, they continue hang on tight.

As I mentioned earlier, these are priced at a modest $22, but if you're patient, every Friday they select a bag and price it at $15. Looking at some new products they have coming down the pipes, I'm pretty excited about their Bento bags, which velcro to your top tube, next to the stem. These are ideal if you want some food storage space for a long day in the saddle, or a spot to stash easily accessible on-the-fly items. They are running in at the same $22 price point.

2011 Salsa Chili Con Crosso

2010-09-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

I really like the way Salsa has been sneaking their new bikes out this year. They hint to a new bike on their blog for a bit, toss up a few grainy photos here and there, and then provide a full release on their website, only to start the process over again for the next bike. The latest bike to pop up after their Mukluk preview is the updated Chili Con Crosso.

The Chili Con Cross has been a fast bike for years, and has taken on some significant changes in the latest edition. First and foremost, they have dropped the scandium tubes for an EV6 Extrolite aluminum frame. This will hopefully make the bike a little more economical, and continue to provide a lightweight, and snappy ride quality.

Moving from the front of the bike to the back, the headtube is tapered to stiffen up the front end steering. This will be great for holding onto a tight line when the ground beneath you loosens up. The frame is semi-compact, but not too much so that you lose out on space for shouldering through runups. Don't worry about the bike getting too stiff on you, as the rear stays are shaped similarly to the previous Chili Con Crosso, which allows the rear end of the bike to flex a bit vertically.

There are two big surprises about this bike that you may or may not be stoked about. The first of the two is that the bike comes stock with a single front chainring. While most cross riders prefer this setup, it makes the bike a little more exclusive. Fortunately, its not a huge investment to grab an inner chainring, and front derailleur.

The second of two surprises is the replaceable dropout options, which can be installed horizontally for a single speed, or vertically for gears. The design is pretty sweet in the sense that it doesn't us an annoying sliding dropout system, which can a pain to setup, and often slips over time.

This is really going to be a hard bike to beat for the price. The complete build will be coming in around $1650, which is close to a $300 price drop over last year's model. The SRAM Rival drivetrain shifts well, and is pretty light, and a Paul Chain Keeper will keep your chain from getting away from your front chainring. The wheels have moved away from the Mavic Aksiums, over to a DT Swiss rims laced to Formula hubs, which I think is an improvement. For anyone looking into a custom build, it sounds like the frame/fork/headset will be priced in the vicinity of $800.

As for the next bike to make its way into the official lineup, it looks as though the Fargo will getting a few tweaks for 2011 as well.

Dromarti Cycling Shoes

2010-09-12T20:08:00.001-07:00

While I'm far from a becoming a snazzy dresser, I can still appreciate high class when I see it. The Dromarti Sportivo cycling shoes are ideal for obtaining a classic appearance, or making a quick getaway from the office to the trail.

There are two color options with these shoes. The black shoes would work well for the white collar crowd, as well as weddings, and black tie events, while the brown leather shoes would be ideal for a blue collar/academic crowd. Either color would be great on the bike. The shoes are SPD compatible, and have a fairly low-profile tread that hides out of sight pretty well. The only bummer is that the shoes do not appear to be available in half sizes.

What I'm way into about these shoes is the price. It seems as though the retro wave is churning a bit out of control right now, making the image a little too exclusive. and expensive At $210, these are priced super well, considering the comfy Italian leather, and curb appeal.

Cyclocross Clinic

2010-09-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Cyclocross could be thought of as the coming together of the collective cycling community. It has a wide open and high speed dynamic for the roadies, plenty of technical handling for mountain bikers, and a relaxed atmosphere for non-competitive cyclists who want to test the waters.

If you are thinking about hitting a few cross races this year, my best advise is to limit mistakes. The race pace is quick, and there is no free lap, which doesn't provide a great deal of room to catch back on and recover.

Try and think of cyclocross this way. You and that special someone have put a month or so of preparation into what is looking like a solid relationship. You've played your cards pretty smooth up until now, and the day has come where you want to see what it has amounted to. The evening is going well, dinner was good, the movie was gender neutral, and here you are rounding second base with a full head of steam... and then you realize the cat is sitting on the bed staring at you... no doubt, there are some people who can recover from that, but for most us, it's game over.

The point of this is that you need to enter a race with all of your bases covered. Training, equipment, technique, and experience all come into play. With the cross season not quite off the ground yet, you can't rely on a race to get you the experience you need, so a clinic is in order. For those of you in the Missoula area, you're in luck. MontanaCyclocross.com has put together a solid schedule at 10am this Sunday, September 12th, at Fort Missoula. It will pull some of the best racers, trainers, and shop owners in the area to help educate you on cross, and remove a few of the pre-race butterflies from it's cage. There's no better edge than knowing what to expect going into your first race.

If you don't have the luxury of a clinic in your area, take a look at the outline for this one, and try and emulate it in your own region. Grab a few shop owners, check out the race teams and get a few of their experienced riders on board, set a time and place, and you have yourself a clinic.

Personal Fleet of Bikes

2010-09-02T14:14:00.001-07:00

I spent an afternoon last weekend pulling all of my bikes out of the garage to make sure they were all tuned up so they could be taken out on a ride at any given moment. I thought that this might also provide a good opportunity to post up a personal inventory, so here they are, in no particular order...

Cannondale CAAD9

Build: Dura Ace drivetrain, Cannondale Hollowgram Crankset, Alpha Q stem and post, FSA K-Force carbon compact bars, Tioga Spyder Twin Tail saddle, Rolf Prima Elan wheelset, Michelin Pro3 race tires, Speedplay Zero pedals, Tektro brakes.

Cannondale F4 CO2

Build: SRAM X.9 9spd drivetrain, Lefty Speed DLR2 110mm fork, 26" DT Swiss rims, Left front hub, Sun Ringle Dirty Flea rear hub, FSA K-force bars, POS seatpost and saddle, Crank Brothers Candy pedals, Kenda Nevegal tires, Avid Juicy 5 brakes.

Giant TCX 0

Build: Shimano Ultegra drivetrain, SRAM Red crankset, FSA SL-K brakes, Gaint seatpost, Easton EA70 stem, Easton EC70 bars, Selle Italia SLR saddle, WTB cross wolf tires, will be racing on Shimano RS80 wheelset, Crank Brothers Candy pedals. Also note the Krieg saddle bag.

Trek OCLV 9900

Single Speed Build: Race Face Evolve crankset, White Brothers rear hub w/eccentric bottom bracket, Mavic CrossMax rims, Shimano XTR V-brakes, Manitou R7 fork w/lockout, Chris King headset, Thomson seatpost, Kore stem, generic brakes levers and bars, SDG Comp saddle, WTB Mutano Raptor tires, Crank Brothers Candy pedals.

Cannondale XR800

Build: Pretty much just holds spare parts. Generic wheelset, with SS rear hub, Dura Ace 9spd crakset, non-functional Dura Ace 10spd STI levers, Cannondale stem, FSA Vero compact bars, TRP EuroX front brake, Fizik Pave saddle, Shimano chain tensioner, neat green carbon fork, and Crank Brothers Candy pedals.

Surly Pugsley

Build: Shimano XT drivetrain, RaceFace crankset and bars, Ritchey WCS stem, TruVativ seatpost, Bontrager saddle, Avid BB7 brakes, Surly Large Marge rims, Endomorph tires, Oury grips, Crank Brothers Egg Beater pedals.

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Build: Shimano XT 9spd with bar end shifters, FSA Energy compact crankset, Brooks B17 saddle, Alex Adventurer wheelset, Continental Contact tires, Thomson seatpost, Kalloy bars and stem, Cane Creek auxillary brake levers, Tektro Onyx brakes, Planet Bike Cascadia fenders.

Ross EuroTour

Build: Heavy.

Cannondale F1 Caffeine

Don't really know why I even have this...

Don't Call it a Comeback: 650B Wheels

2010-08-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

The 650B wheel size simply refuses to die. It seemingly found a place with touring bikes for a bit, but seemed to drift out of fashion as rims and spokes became stronger, which made the need a more durable short-spoke design less important. Since then, the 650B wheel has pretty much been an awkward size to have around... until now... well... it is still awkward, but there's a new use.

For anyone out there that can't seem to decide on which they like better, a 29er or 26" mountain bike, they can split the difference right down the middle and hit up the 650B wheel size. This combines the lightweight and quick handling attributes of the 26" wheels, as well as the improved climbing and smooth rolling qualities of 29er.

Currently, Jamis and Ventana are playing around with this idea on a few bike models (Jamis Dakar SixFifty, and the Ventana El Bastardo). With both companies, this wheel size is finding it's way into the full suspension, all mountain grouping, which is a great place to start it off. The 650B wheels are ideal for a riding style that takes you through some nasty ruts and boulders, but also requires agile handling for technical sections.

How deep into the industry will the 650B wheel size make it? With 29ers taking a huge load of momentum into the 2011 season, it will be hard to compete with, but I think its a great level of compromise that is worth being aware of.

Electric Bikes from Kona

2010-08-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

In true form, Kona has once again been quick to load their bikes for the upcoming season to their website, and so far, every year Kona has offered at least one new bike to their ever growing lineup. Looking ahead to next year, Kona is among the first mainstream bike manufacturers to embrace the electric bike.

There will be three electric bikes available. The Ticket, a women's specific version of the Ticket called the Token, and the Ute. The Token and Ticket are pretty sweet if you put in some big commuter miles. They are decked out with racks, fenders, and lights, and both come in at $2000. It's important to note quickly that the electric motor doesn't mean you can just kick back and cruise to your destination. You still have to put some effort in, but the electric motor will assist the pedal motion, so you can get more power out of each stroke. This is pretty sweet if you have a massive load of groceries, and you have a big hill to tackle on your ride home.

Kona also applies the electric motor to their popular Ute cargo bike, which makes good sense considering the amount of load you can put on these things. This makes for a pretty pricey bike at $2600, but might be a good bike for a small bike courier business.

As far as the batteries are concerned, you can toggle the power output a bit to fine tune your commute. For heavy loads, there is a power mode that will motor you for roughly 30km on a full charge. For a middle-of-the-road assist, you can hang out in normal mode that will cover you for close to 60km. When set at the most modest mode, you can cover up to 100km, which would handle most home-to-work and back commutes for a couple weeks. The battery is rechargeable, and claimed to have a life-cycle of 700 rides, which I assume means 700 charges.

Considering that these bikes are pretty spendy for commuters, I'm not sure how well they will do, but I think the pedal assist system is a good way to ease people who normally wouldn't ride a bike into bike commuting.

2010 Douglas Matrix

2010-08-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

There always seems to be some skepticism around mail order bikes. Sometimes the prices are too good to be true, but the biggest reason for doubt is that you can't walk up to it, ride it around the block, or pick it up before buying it. That's a very legitimate reason for staying away from mail order frames, but if you know your geometry pretty well, and are looking for a good frame with excellent components, which you can always check out on other bikes before hand, then the Douglas Matrix isn't a bad option.

Coming at you through Colorado Cyclist, the 2010 Matrix has made some significant improvements over their previous carbon frame, which was thought to be a little clunky. The updated Matrix has shed some weight, and maintained it's rigidity with a BB30 bottom bracket, and a redesigned fork for a new tapered headtube.

The real draw to the bike is the component package. At $2799, its hard to beat a full-on SRAM Red group, with 3T's Team components, and Easton EA70 aluminum clinchers. To take it a step further, they offer some easy to use drop down menus that let you specify stem and cassette sizes at no extra charge, although to be fair, most shops will be willing to work with you on stem and handlebar sizing to ensure that you have a proper fit on your bike. While I really like the Easton EA70 wheels, you can choose to upgrade those with further options from Easton, Mavic, and Reynolds.

If you are confident on the sizing, this can be a really good option at a great price, but be sure to check out your local shops first, and see what they have in stock. Its hard to be personal service, and the ability to step over a bike before buying it.

Cyclocross Brakes

2010-08-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

For road riding and racing I'm not too concerned with the stopping of my brakes, but for cyclocross, its an entirely different story. The terrain is more technical, and the conditions very diverse. If your brakes aren't crisp, you will find yourself hitting the brakes much sooner than you would like to, which slows down your speed into barriers, and through tricky corners. Over the last few years, I've checked out a decent variety of brakes, and here are my picks for the upcoming season.

TRP EuroX Series: You really can't go wrong with these brakes. Great mud shedding clearance, and quality springs with excellent tension. The base model EuroX brakes can be found on a few mid-high range stock bikes, and aren't badly priced at $150. To knock the level of performance up, you can jump to the EuroX Magnesium brakes, which are a little bit lighter, but more importantly, allow for much more adjustment to really dial your brakes in. They do come at a stiff price of $330, but are among the best you can find.

FSA SL-K Cantilevers: I'm only a month or so into these brakes, but so far I'm loving them. At $110, the price is right, and the spring tension seems really snappy. Initial setup isn't as smooth as the TRP brakes, but once you have them up and running, they are solid. I'm also a fan of the easy access cable adjustment dial on the brakes.

Tektro CR720: I was pretty surprised with the stopping power of these brakes, but the springs will soften up towards the end of the season, making them less efficient. No fine tuning adjustment either, but at $45 for the set, these are pretty sweet, and hard to pass up if you're on a budget.

One important note to hit, no matter how nice your brakes are, it's key to have some good cables and housing linking your levers to the brakes. I've had great luck with Teflon coated cables, but the Gore Ride-On low friction systems are ideal, keeping mud and dirt out. For wet conditions, you might also want to look into upgrading the stock brake pads to some Kool Stop Salmon pads, which will grip a little better in wet and cold weather.

This post wouldn't be complete without some attention to disc brakes, now that they are legal for competition. I've never been a big fan of the Avid Shorty series for cantilever brakes, but their BB5 and BB7 mechanical disc brakes are hard to top. There aren't a lot of disc brake compatible bikes out there right now, so this isn't going to be on the minds of many for now, but I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of these for the 2012 round of cross bikes.

Stevens Carbon Team

2010-08-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

I recently teamed up with Montana Cyclocross to bring you some video reviews of the cross bikes you're going to be seeing on the local scene here in Montana. Here in Missoula, we are fortunate to have 7 well stocked bike shops, so there's no shortage of gear to check out. After checking out the video, I'm clearly not as smooth as I have always envisioned myself, but oh well.

Our first stop is Hellgate Cyclery, located in the alley east of Higgins, between Broadway and Pine. The bike we pulled out of their shop this week was the Stevens Carbon Team cross frame with a Dura Ace build. This is Dave Hartman's personal bike, and will hit the Montana series with other elite riders Scottie Herzig and Toby Meierbachtol. On the world scene, this is the bike of choice for the best of the best, such as Neils Albert, Marianne Vos, and Katie Compton. Enough talk, check out the bike:

Stevens Bike Review from Montanacyclocross.com on Vimeo.

TOP NINE: Fast As Crap Cyclocross Bikes

2010-08-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today should finish off the 2010 model year cyclocross bikes. Some of these will be back for 2011, while others will be refined into something new, but either way, these are fast bikes.

9. Jamis Supernova ($2575): Visually, this is a super appealing bike. The aluminum frame is setup pretty well, with a well shaped top tube that re-routes the cables off center a bit, which lets the housing flow more gently, which reduces some friction for shifting and braking. I'm a huge fan of Ritchey components, and am happy to see their carbon fork, and Pro level components around the bike. Some other good highlights are the American Classic 420 wheels, and TRP EuroX brakes. The SRAM Rival group isn't crazy high performance like some of the other bikes we'll see, but it gets the job done, and is still pretty light. The only bummer is that you may get Champagne Supernova stuck in your head.

8. Ridley X-Fire ($2500): This bike was hugely popular last season, offering a sweet carbon frame with a great Rival build. Definitely one of the better bikes at the price, especially considering the jump to the X-Night was a huge one. As I'm writing this, I'm noticing the Ridley website is down, so perhaps their getting ready to roll out their 2011 lineup, which will be including an aluminum X-Ride, with the same component build as the X-Fire for under $2000.

7. Cannondale Cyclocross Red ($5300): With CAAD9 technology, this puts out a pretty smooth ride for an aluminum bike, but maintains a good plenty of edge for cornering and accelerations. As of 2011, Cannondale will be entering the carbon realm, but for now, this bike is crazy light with Cannondale's Hollowgram crankset, SRAM Red drivetrain, as well as light and durable Mavic Ksyrium wheels. If this is out of your range, you can jump on the same frame, with an Ultegra build, awesome FSA SL-K Light crankset, and Aksium Race wheels for half the price with the Cyclocross 3.

6. Giant TCX 0 ($2350): Giant has held back a bit on their cross line over the past few years, but that will be changing shortly. For now, their top tier TCX 0 has a really nice Ultegra 6700 group, built around a snappy geometry, and strong front end that powers through corners and crud. For 2011, Giant will be joining Cannondale and Kona by debuting their own carbon cross frame, but the big story is that Giant will be the first company to release a women's specific TCX cross bike!

5. Scott Addict CX ($3850): One of the lightest cross frames out there, the CX model forgoes the integrated seatmast found on the Addict CX RC, which I'm not a huge fan of. The spec sheet says that this comes built with Shimano's Ultegra SL kit, but considering the short lifespan of that group, you may want to double check on that with your dealer. The rest of the components are outstanding, with Ritchey WCS parts all around, TRP Carbon EuroX brakes, and Ksyrium Elite wheels.

4. Specialized Tricross Carbon ($5500): Specialized took a big bite out of the cross scene last season thanks to the Tricross series. Light and nimble, aside from the SRAM Red group, Tektro brakes, it's hard to find anything on this bike that doesn't bear the Specialized name. Specialized did manage to get tons of feedback on this bike last year, and have refined it to create the Crux, which is already available. The Crux brings the Tricross a little closer to the Specialized Tarmac, for quicker movement, and a little more rigidity.

3. Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie ($4000): They took the well received geometry of their Gin and Trombones, and applied it to a carbon frame. There are a number of available builds for this frame, but my favorite is the SRAM Force option with FSA alloy components. Light, durable, and efficient.

2. Redline Conquest Team ($3000): I love the price and the build on this bike, and sticking with their aluminum frame with shaped dropouts is a great call. The 2010 SRAM Force components are a little more durable than Red without adding much weight. The A-Class wheelset is setup with Hutchinson tubeless tires, so you can run low tire pressures without worrying about pinch flats. Add in the TRP EuroX brakes for stopping power, and this bike is really hard to beat.

1. Felt 15X ($2800): Felt's finest cross bike is decked out in SRAM Red, and manages to come in under $3000. The big reason for this is that Felt is able to apply a lot of in-house components to the bike, which includes the wheelset. I have to give props to the designer on this bike as well, the painted to match Easton EC70X carbon fork, and they even anodized the TRP EuroX brakes to match. Aesthetics aside, this bike is fast.

That rounds it out for 2010 model bikes, with a few mentions for 2011 editions thrown in. Hopefully this gets you stoked for the upcoming cross season, which will be here in no time.

TOP NINE: Cyclocross Bikes Under $2000

2010-08-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

After a good weekend, we're back with the cross bike countdown. Up next are complete cyclocross bikes under the $2K mark. If you like to take a high level of competition throughout your region, this is a really good price point to be checking out. The frames are starting to become fine tuned, and the component packages are raising the bar.

9. Yeti ARC-X ($2000): Correction, this list includes bikes that are less than or equal to $2000, for the sole reason that I want to sneak this in. Yeti usually sticks to the steeps, but they laid out a really good flat lander with this bike. Their signature U-shaped dropouts add a bit of comfort on the rear end, and the beefed up front triangle will help you steer a fine line. The build on this bike is pretty sweet, with an Ultegra/105 drivetrain, and a super nice Easton component range that fills out the rest, including the wheels. It's not the easiest bike to find locally, but a good one regardless.

8. Trek X0 1 ($1650): Dropping down $350 from the Yeti, the Trek X0 1 has a good 105 drivetrain setup, while their in-house Bontrager brand completes the rest. The aluminum frame has a pretty compact design, with the sloping top tube, and short seat stays. This bike is ideal for technical courses, but will require some good upper body handling with rocky/bumpy terrain.

7. GT GTR Type Cxi ($1800): GT is on a comeback quest, and they are making good progress with this bike. SRAM Rival group, smooth geometry with plenty of available shoulder and mud clearing space, and a sweet Easton EC70x fork. They also did a great job with the Maddux wheelset, and grippy Kenda Kwicker tires.

6 Fuji Cross Pro ($1650): Huge fan of this bike. At a sweet price, you get aboard a great SRAM Rival group, solid wheels, and a very compliant frame geometry that has tons of space for clearing mud and shouldering the bike. I would definitely swap out the Avid Shorty 4 brakes, but other than that, this bike is ready to roll.

5. Redline Conquest Pro ($1900): One of the few bikes ready to take on disc brakes in the rear if need be. The aluminum frame doesn't offer much for frills, but the SRAM Rival group and FSA components are very nice. The frame is a great all-arounder, and they go with 700x34 Hutchinson Bulldog tires, which will soften up the ride a bit.

4. Giant TCX 1 ($1675): Another bike tucked in a great price range with a SRAM Rival build. This bike is for anyone who likes it rough and fast, and also happens to pretty confident about themselves. The hydroformed aluminum frame with a compact geometry accelerates like a bullet, and holds a good line through mud, sand, and gravel, but won't absorb much with vibration.

3. Salsa Chili Con Crosso ($1900): This bike uses a scandium frame, and some heavily shaped tubes to make for a super light bike, with a smooth ride that doesn't flex too much in loose conditions. Paired up with a SRAM Rival build, it's a good light bike that won't fatigue you, which is ideal for any course.

2. Scott CX Team ($1850): Breaking the mold of SRAM components, Scott chooses the Shimano Ultegra range for this bike. This bike is setup in a snappy compact geometry, but they do a great job of tossing in a soft set of wheels to keep the ride smooth. Scott is able to use their in-house components to fill in the details, and are keen on stopping power by tossing in some TRP EuroX brakes.

1. Focus Mares Expert ($1800): What's not to like about this bike. Durable and performance oriented Ultegra group, wide open frame that will shed mud, handle easily through transitions, includes a sweet Fulcrum wheelset, and is rounded out with FSA components. Nice.

I hope you enjoyed these race ready bikes. Next on the list is the high performance breed. These will be the no-compromise bikes that are ready for stiff competition. While not always the most practical choice, they are fun as crap to check out, and even more fun to ride.

TOP NINE: Cyclocross Bikes Under $1500

2010-08-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the cross bike countdown, we come to the under $1500 range. This is by far my favorite price range of bikes, as these will give you a lot of bang for your buck, as they say. For the most part, these are all going to give you an aluminum frame, carbon fork, and a Shimano 105 level of components, which is plenty competitive to race on, and durable enough for off-season training.

9. Redline Conquest Classic ($1150): Yes, I'll admit that the days of steel cross bikes are running thin (unless it's a Richard Sachs), but this bike is pretty sweet. It steel frame will put out a smooth ride, and is plenty strong enough to warrant the disc brakes, which are now UCI legal. The 9spd Tiagra/105 9sd drivetrain isn't bad for the the price, and by the end of the season, you will probably be replacing the chain and cassette anyway, so might as well toss some 10spd shifters in there and give yourself some smoother shifting.

8. Scott CX Comp ($1400): I'm a little bummed that they mix Shimano's 105 group with their generic ST-4500 9spd group, but I really like Scott frames, so I'll toss them in here. Scott puts some emphasis on the front triangle, to help this bike power through wet and muddy terrain, making it a good bike to manhandle.

7. Jamis Nova Race ($1175): Really nice frame on this bike with a hydroformed top tube, and large front triangle to give you plenty of space to shoulder the bike on runups smoothly. It would be sweet if this came with a 10spd drivetrain, but at $1175, it's pretty good.

6. Cannondale Cyclocross 5 ($1389): This is a solid all-around frame. The CAAD8 geometry is a little more relaxed than their race specific cross bikes with a taller headtube, which your back will enjoy over rough terrain. The wheels are laced up for a plusher feel, and the 105 10spd drivetrain shifts smooth and accurate. I have had great luck with Tektro's CR720 brakes, that put out some good stopping power.

5. Fuji Cross Comp ($1300): I'm super stoked about this bike at $1300. Full on 105 group, and a no frills aluminum frame with a carbon fork make this a really good bike to get started on. It will handle a good variety of riding styles, and has tiny features a cross rider can enjoy, such as the top routed cables, keeping the downtube clean. My only complaint is the Tektro Oryx brakes, and radial laced front spokes. Other than that, this bike is solid.

4. Focus Mares Disc ($1500): Just making the price point, here's another bike running the disc brake option, this time on an aluminum frame and fork. Focus is relatively new to the US market, so you may not see a ton of these out, but I really like the build with a full 105 10spd drivetrain, and FSA filling out the rest.

3. Kona Jake the Snake ($1400): One of the most popular cross bikes out there, the Jake the Snake has the same aluminum frame as the Jake, but adds in a carbon fork, and full 105 10spd drivetrain lighten it up, and add a ton of performance. It's a great all-arounder that will do well in a wide range of conditions, and has eyelets for a rear rack to make it a little more versatile through the off-season.

2. Stevens Cyclo Cross ($1480): Stevens has already had great success on European soil, and they are now looking to make a splash on the US market. I have a feeling that there will be a fair number of these bikes spotted throughout the season, and for good reason. The Cyclo Cross aluminum frame has a pretty mellow geometry that will carry you through the bumps efficiently. It has been awhile since I've seen V-brakes on a cross bike, which you may want to swap out if you find yourself picking up a lot of sticky mud. Otherwise, this 10spd build with strong wheels is ideal.

1. Raleigh RX 1.0 ($1425): As if the paint job weren't sweet enough, the geometry is wide open for great handling and hauling, and I love seeing a SRAM Rival group, which is durable, light, and provides great shifts. The Easton EC70 fork is really cool to see, as well as the BB30 bottom bracket, and auxiliary brakes. You will be happy to know that the build is unchanged for the 2011 model, so you will only be missing out on a snazzy new paint job if you scoop up the 2010 bike.

Just two more price ranges to hit. Tomorrow we'll hit up the under $2000 category, which will be followed up with a greater than $2000 high performance list. After that, I'll venture in to cyclocross single speed options.

TOP NINE: Cyclocross Bikes Under $1000

2010-08-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

We're only a week into August, but cross season comes at you fast in the US. If you have plans on giving cyclocross a go this season, the time to grab a bike is now if you haven't already. While we're getting sneak peaks at 2011 bike models, they are probably going to be tricky to get a hold of, so over the next few days, I'll be cruising through different price ranges of 2010 model cross bikes, starting with the under $1000 range. Also, due to a lack of bikes in this price range available, this is more like a top six list.

6. Redline Conquest Sport ($730): If you have heard news of the Redlne Conquest recall, there are no worries here. The recall only affected the Conquest, which is one tier above this Sport model. Aside from buying a used bike, this is your most economical way of getting into the cross scene at $730. The bike runs on Shimano's 2300 8spd group, which works just fine, but will have some bigger jumps between gears in the low range. Its pretty sweet that they toss in some auxillary brake levers on an entry level bike, and there are disc brake tabs available on the frame and fork just in case you decide to convert over to disc brakes later down the road. With an aluminum frame and fork, this would be best suited in regions with softer riding conditions.

5. Specialized Tricross ($940): I've been wondering why Shimano has kept an 8spd STI road group hanging around, and now I know why as we come to another bike outfitted with the 2300 group. The big surprise on this bike is that it comes with a road triple crankset with 52 tooth big ring. Components aside, the Tricross aluminum frame is sweet, especially when paired up with the Specialized carbon fork. This would be a perfect bike to get started on, and then upgrade later down the road as you get more involved in the sport.

4. Kona Jake ($900): It's really hard to go wrong with Kona for cross. The Jake is Kona's base model cross bike, but uses the same aluminum frame as the Jake the Snake. The steel fork handles better than you might think by soaking up some bumps, but also handling pretty well in sticky situations. The 2011 specs will be almost identical to this bike, with a 9spd Tiagra group, and triple crank. The only big change moving into 2011 is a sweet paint job, and a stiffer and lighter fork.

3. Felt 95X ($999): Much like the Specialized Tricross, you are getting a solid frame/fork base that can be upgraded over time to make a very competitive race bike. To get you going, the Sora/Tiagra group gives you a 9spd, cross specific drivetrain that will get you through any course. The frame isn't too compact, so it won't ride super harsh, making it a good all-condition bike.

2. Giant TCX 2 ($975): This is the same frame I raced last season, and spent a good amount of time training on. My setup had a carbon fork, while this runs an aluminum version of the same design. Combine that with a hydroformed aluminum frame, and this is going to be one stiff ride. Give Giant some credit for tossing in a soft set of wheels to help tame this beast. Definitely consider this bike if you will be riding/racing through a lot of slop, but dry and bumpy courses might be a bit too much.

1. GT Type CX ($999): I have loved seeing GT start to put out some nicer bikes over the past few years. The Type CX is solid for the price, and includes a really nice Tiagra 9spd group that will be very reliable throughout the season. The aluminum frame/fork combo will keep the bike snappy, but they go with a pretty classic style geometry that will help soften up the rear triangle. Definitely worth a look.

That does it for today's short list. Next up will be cross bikes in the $1000-$1500 range.

29er Wish List

2010-08-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Now that I have turned 29, it makes perfect sense to think that I should treat myself to a 29er this year. With a few more manufacturers jumping on the 29er train this year, there is no shortage of options to look for, but after a summer of contemplating, I have it nailed down to three bikes that mesh well with my inconsistent riding style.

1. Salsa El Mariachi Ti: For whatever reason I have always associated titanium with getting old, and I'm not there yet, so this one may have to sit on the burner for a bit. In the end, there is nothing old about titanium, and I probably have this view because they are a premium material with a premium price that I won't be able to afford until I'm older. The El Mariachi Ti is based off the same geometry as the steel Mariachi, which brings in the bent downtube, and sloping top tube to help put the rider in a more aggressive position over the bike. Tuned for an 80mm suspension fork, the full package can be super light depending on how you build it. The frame retail is set at $1800, which is incredible compared to EverTi and Moots.

2. Yeti Big Top: Every year I get closer and closer to going after a Yeti. Two years ago it was the ASR5, last year it was the ARC-X, and this year it is the Big Top 29er. I love their looped chain stays, which add strength and improve traction, and the ISCG mounts give it some versatility. The bike will be available complete with a SRAM X9/X7 10spd drivetrain, Avid Elixir brakes, DT Swiss wheelset, and Fox F29 RLC 100mm fork. With this setup on a carbon/alloy frame, it should be light and snappy.

3. Niner AIR 9: Its really hard to look past a company that produces 29ers, and only 29ers. The AIR 9 has the race geometry dialed in, and the Easton scandium is pretty solid for durability. I like that the scandium AIR 9 forgoes the BioCentric bottom bracket that is found in the AIR 9 carbon, and the scandium frame retails for just $800, which is $1000 less than it's carbon counterpart with a minimal weight penalty. This could leave some spending room to grab a snazzy XTR/XT build with a good wheelset, and fork.

Friday Tunes

2010-08-06T12:10:00.001-07:00

Salsa Mukluk Snow Bike

2010-08-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

Initially I was going to talk about the mystery bike that Salsa Cycles general manager, Jason Boucher, has been talking about on his blog over the past few months, but I recently noticed Salsa sneak the Mukluk on their website.

The Mukluk is an aluminum snow bike, meaning it can handle the massive 4 inch tires, which is pretty sweet for floating over super loose conditions, such as snow and sand. Prior to this, the Surly Pugsley has been the snow bike (or sand bike) of choice for affordability. There are unfortunately two big drawbacks to the Pugsley. First and foremost, like all Surly bikes, it is made out of a low grade, heavy as crap steel. For a bike that is destined to be ridden through snow, and along sandy beaches (near salty water), this means you had best unload a can of frame-saver throughout the bike to avoid corrosion. On top of that, the riding conditions that this bike is intended for are plush enough, so the last thing you need is a soft steel frame to help smooth out the ride.

The second drawback is that the Pugsley is available as a frame only, and there are a lot of subtle component quirks you have to pay attention to when building this bike up. For example, you have a wider bottom bracket shell to look at, as well as rear brakes for both the front and rear mounts.

The Salsa Mukluk takes care of both of these issues by providing a complete build, and an aluminum frame that is lighter, and won't rust. As far as the build is concerned, the SRAM X-7 9spd drivetrain is a good middle-of-the-road kit that will do you well. Depending on the riding conditions you put this through, which I hope are somewhere between extreme, and to the max, you may want to swap the mechanical BB7 brakes out for some hydraulic ones. The only big surprise with this setup is that Salsa opts for rims from Vicious Cycles, as opposed to their in-house Surly Large Marge rims. Other than that, I really like the Surly Larry tires, which offer a little more grip over the Surly Endomorphs.

I haven't seen a price on the bike quite yet, but I'm going to throw out a random guess that it will come in around the $2000 mark. Don't be surprised if you see my Pugsley pop up on eBay!