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October 25, 2008
I have already blown my 2009 bike budget. However I think I spent wisely. I used the MS Live cash back program to save almost $400 on Ebay purchases. So far I’ve bought:
- Reynolds Assault carbon clincher wheelset
- SRAM Force group with SRAM Red 165mm crankset
- Reynolds UL carbon fork
- Polar CS600 HR monitor w/power meter
- Ritchey WCS “wet look” seatpost
- Fizik Arione custom saddle (blue sides w/black center & silver lettering)
I’ll recoup some of the expense from selling gear. An SRAM Rival group, Arione saddle, two helmets and Polar CS400 all have to go…plus a few odds and ends. I can’t wait to see everything all put together.
Filed under: Gear, Road |
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October 19, 2008
I got in my first ride on the new Reynolds Assaults; a 40-miler up the coast, heading inland on Ballona Creek then back up the lower hills of Palos Verdes. It was a great ride.
The wheels definitely catch more side winds than shallower rims. It took me about 30 minutes to adjust to that. I was definitely faster on them but I attribute some of that to the hard intervals I’ve been doing on the trainer these last few weeks. I usually do this ride by spinning 50×21 on the way out. On the way back when I’m coming into some pretty strong winds, especially on Ballona Creek. The return trip is usually 2-3 mph slower as I drop back to 34×15 and I’m tired of fighting wind. I hate headwinds. HAYYYYYYYYY-TE.
I’m also often between 155-165 bpm once I’m done with my warmup. Today I had a hard time getting over 155 unless I tried pretty hard. 160 bpm is about the top end of my “all day” pace. I like to avoid that area on this ride but I usually can’t. Today it was easy. Down Ballona I wound it up 5-6 mph faster and was still only hitting 165-167. Even the climbs of Palos Verdes were pretty easy. Last year I had to stop at least twice to rest. This time not at all. I’m going to make one of my 2009 goals to finish this ride entirely under 145 bpm. I can’t wait to try these wheels on SART. There are some really vicious head winds heading toward the ocean.
One thing I noticed is these rims are wider than the Ksyriums when a tire is mounted. I was getting some brake rub so I opened them up some. I thought the wheel needed truing. Once I got back I removed the tire to true it and the wheel spun perfectly. Once I put the tire back on it started rubbing again. It seems that the tire bead is pushing the carbon lip of the rim outward when it’s inflated. I wonder if that will be an issue when the rims heat up on long descents…not that I ever do any. I set the barrel adjustment to be fully open for the Assaults and closed for the Ksyrium Elites. Another plus is there was no brake squeal or pulsing. I spent a lot of time setting up the toe-in so I would hope that would be the case.
Filed under: Gear, Road |
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October 17, 2008
I sold my Zipp 404s. I loved (keyword = LOVED) them but I was too apprehensive about riding tubulars every day to get as much use out of them as I wanted. I also sold my Easton carbon track bars and all told I brought in $1,475. I used some of the proceeds to buy……..TA DA!
Reynolds Assault carbon clinchers. These will be my daily wheels unless I’m riding in a sketchy area. The Ksyrium Elites will be the spares and the Reynolds Alta Comps will go on the fixed gear road bike. The Assaults should knock about 7oz off my bike weight which puts me pretty close to 15.0 lbs.
I’m also looking into power meters. Still not sure if I want to go with a Polar CS600 or a 2009 PowerTap Pro. The Polar system is clunky but it’s 1/3 the cost and works with any wheelset. Since I’ve already got plans to buy a new SRAM Force group Polar will probably win out. That will probably be the last of my bike changes for 2009. I’m in the pre-planning stages of getting ready for AIDS/Lifecycle 8 next June.
Training-wise I’m hitting the KK trainer pretty hard and doing circuit weight-training 3X weekly.
Filed under: Gear, Indoor Training |
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September 27, 2008
Well I’ve decided I need to start working on my power, for once. My wattage is pretty darn low, especially for someone my size and i really pay the price whether uphill or on the flats. Essentially I have paid the price for doing nothing but long slow distance in small gears for the last two years. I figured pushing big weights in the gym and spinning on the road would keep things in check but it didn’t work out that way. I want to do AIDS/Lifecycle again in 2009 and I don’t want to have to walk up any hills (or suffer from saddle sores) like 2007.
The Kurt Kinetic power computer isn’t the greatest device for measuring watts. The readings bounce in a 30 watt range even if you spin pretty smoothly and it obviously only works on the trainer. I could turn my spare Zipp 404 wheel into a Powertap but I’m not sure I want to spend the money on it. I’m probably better off selling the Zipp and using the proceeds to buy a used Polar CS600. That would run about $400 and having wattage numbers outdoors isn’t worth much more than that to me anyway.
I found a few links for good power training links but could really use more though. I’ve found some good reading at http://twowheelscycling.blogspot.com. Today I tried to find my Peak Power Output (PPO) and T-max, which is the duration I can hold my PPO. The purpose is to find my “Ultimate Interval”. I wasn’t really feeling great today and I wasn’t supposed to do both on the same day but I was curious. I ended up holding my PPO of 280 watts for 4 minutes. The end result is that my “Ultimate Interval” session should be 280 watts x 2 minutes x 5-6 reps w/4 min. rest between.
I ended up doing 5 INTs today after doing the PPO and T-max test. I shouldn’t have but I needed to take my mind off UGA getting crushed by Bama. I rarely ride outside on Saturdays during football season unless I can be back by 11AM and since that’s my one day to sleep in I usually do. I’ll try this workout once a week along with 2 Spinerval sessions and a 3-4 hour road ride through the winter. I’m hoping to lose 25 lbs and raise my PPO by 75+ watts by next spring. That sounds like a lot but considering how poor my power is now I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I’ll probably re-measure PPO in six weeks to see if things have improved.
Filed under: Indoor Training |
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September 17, 2008
So now that I’ve had my D2 shoes long enough to get a real impression of them I figured I’d write up a full review.
First impressions
The shoes are well constructed and look very nice. The shoes appear to be made from real leather although the website says they’re made of Nytek. I can only imagine this would add some durability. I don’t have a gram scale to weigh them but holding one in each hand they definitely feel lighter than my Specialized Pro Carbons.
Fit
The fit is very snug, which is the way custom shoes are supposed to feel. I thought they were too tight when I first put them on but that feeling disappeared once I was on the road. I’ve always been a simple Velcro strap guy and these shoes only serve to re-reinforce that belief. When you have shoes that fit as well as these there is little need for fancy securing mechanisms. I fail to understand why Sidi felt the need to have 3-4 different types on one shoe. I could even see using these on the track as long as you’re not named Chris Hoy.
Performance
I’ve put in two rides of one and three hours long and I’m more impressed each time I put them on. First, as I mentioned in a previous post I had asked D2 about placing the left shoe cleat holes further inward since my left ankle bone contacts the crank in the forward position. Don Lamson said that would not be necessary because the orthotic footbed would take care of it. Suffice to say he was 100% correct. Even with my cleats aligned pretty much as they were before it takes an effort to get my heel to contact the crank now. In addition the shoes corrected another issue I never even considered. When I get tired on the bike my left knee tends to flare outward when I pedal. It’s easy to notice because my left thigh ceases to contact the top tube when pedaling even while the right one still does. The D2 shoes fixed that! Now both thighs (I have pretty large quads) lightly scrape the top tube on each and every revolution. Lastly, after receiving my fit kit Dan pointed out that my left is 4mm bigger. They built the shoes accordingly so my left toes no longer get scrunched up when I pedal out of the saddle. D2 suggests it takes about 100 miles before you truly adjust to the shoes so I imagine they will only get more comfortable in the next week or two.
Conclusion
I would strongly recommend that anyone who isn’t satisfied with the fit of off the shelf shoes give D2 a call. The expense is more than reasonable compared to other high end shoes. There are several ways to view it. For one, since my feet are different lengths I would have needed TWO pair of my previous Specialized Pro Carbon Road shoes to get a decent fit. At $225 each that’s almost $500 with tax, not to mention the $50 for the Specialized BG ++ footbed. Maybe I could have sold the left 43/right 43.5 on Ebay….who knows. Top of the line Sidis go for over $500, end of season pricing notwithstanding. With tax and shipping you’re easily within $50 of D2’s price and that’s not even custom. Adding a custom footbed to most any high end road shoe will put you in the $450+ range.
I think they compare favorably to Rocket 7’s as well. Rocket 7 road shoes are $489 for completely stock, another $173 for a custom footbed and an extra $63 if you want any color other than silver/black. You’re now over $700 before shipping. Personally I’m not fond of the Rocket 7 road shoe looks although the track shoe holds some appeal after seeing Josiah Ng in them so often.
Anyway, there you go. I’m a happy customer and I’m sure I’ll go back to them when the time comes for another pair. As always YMMV.
Filed under: Gear |
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September 15, 2008
Once again I let myself get suckered by Mother Nature. Sunday I set out on the Santa Ana River Trail, 27 mile out and (unless something goes drastically wrong) 27 mile back route. I’ve only been on it once before but without my computer so I had no idea how far I went.
I started from Huntington Beach and headed inland, the same direction the wind is ALWAYS going in. After about 5 miles of warmup I’m feeling good, going a lil faster than I usually ride so the wind noise is louder. This lead me to believe I was heading INTO the wind, despite the fact that the wind always (keyword ALWAYS) goes the other way. A headwind now meant I could pretty much bury myself on the way out then have the wind with me to spin my merry way back home.
I reach the turnaround point feeling like I just pulled out of the driveway. I live in an apt and therefore don’t have a driveway but work with me. I down a couple of gels and start the return trip. Things are well until I’m about 20 miles from home then WHAMMO. The headwind hits me right in the face. The wind off the ocean is very loud when its coming at you, unmistakable. I now realize the error of my ways and I know I’m gonna be paying the price in another 10 miles. It’s in the 90’s probably and my one remaining water bottle, which I froze the night before, has completely thawed.
About three miles from home I pass a few BF’ers coming the other way. Mr. Beanz stops for a pic which he posts and wow, do I look like hell in it. Anyway, I did make it home alive. It was my first long ride in my new D2 shoes and they felt really good. I think I’ll go back next weekend with the Zipp tubs and see if the ride is any less painful.
Filed under: Road |
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September 12, 2008
I have never been able to find a truly comfortable pair of cycling shoes, due to my odd feet. My feet are not excessively wide or flat, however I do have a thick heel/ankle area. I have tried wide running shoes in the past and my toes were just swimming, too much room.
As far as cycling shoes go I have tried Sidi, Nike, Shimano, Carnac, Lake and Specialized. I have had problems with hot spots just behind the ball of my right foot. The Specialized Pro Carbons that I’ve been using for the past year is the only shoe that’s really cured that. Sometimes my ankles swell up from sitting at a desk all day, which combined with my thick heel makes it hard to get the upper ratchet closure secured sometimes. The strap is adjustable for length and sometimes that is just barely enough. I finally accepted the realization that I was not going to find a perfect fit in off the shelf shoes.
I have been contemplating purchasing a pair of D2 custom shoes for a long time. In fact I had them send me a fit kit in July of 2007. I finally decided against it for cost reasons but never sent the kit back to them. Fast forward to August of this year I finally got tired of seeing the kit on the floor of my office and decided to pull the trigger. I got the measurements done and sent it in.
About a week later I got a call from Dan at D2 to go over my order. First off he asked if I knew my left foot was 4mm longer. I said I had never given it much thought. Now that I did I recalled it’s always my left foot that feels scrunched up against the shoe end. D2 built the left shoe around a Euro size 45.5 last while the left is a 45. I also mentioned that my left ankle bone tends to rub the crank arm when its at 9 o’clock and said it might be wise to locate the cleat holes further inward to counteract it. Dan asked what type pedal I use and said the orthotic would take care of that. I was skeptical but he’s the expert so I left it in his hands.
Dan asked what type of riding I do. Probably 80% of my road riding is tempo at 80-85% max HR or charity/fun rides. I do my recovery, interval and lactate training indoors because it’s easier to control the variables like terrain and wind. Dan suggested the Recreational model would be more comfortable and form fitting. It does not have the sail cloth connecting the velcro straps. The Pro Elite shoe, which is the one you usually see on the Intarweb, has the sail cloth and is more resistant to stretching if you’re going to be pulling up hard when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle. To be honest I don’t like the looks of the sail cloth anyway and I’m all about some vanity, especially when it comes to $600 shoes.
Two weeks later I had shoes in hand!
No sail cloth on the sides here.
The last of the shoe is mostly flat and the orthotic footbed is customized to your foot…very nice.
Look closely at the red leather on the inside and you can see the left shoe is a little longer.
They are nice looking shoes. I have always been partial to the “three velcro strap” look that older high-end Shimano and Adidas shoes had. I loved the white/pink ones T-Mobile used to wear. Trying them on they fit like a glove, or should I say a firm sock. You almost feel TOO constricted at first because you’re not used to have shoes follow your every contour. However they are customized for YOUR feet so they’re supposed to be snug. The thin layer of padding around the heel and tongue is nice. The insole was a MAJOR concern of mine since as I mentioned before the Specialized Pro Carbons finally solved my hot spot issue and I was reluctant to give them up, especially for something so expensive…and unreturnable. D2 even places white markers on the sole to help you line up your cleats properly. The marker shows where the middle of your cleat, and therefore the pedal axle should be.
Sunday will be my first outdoor ride in them (40-50 miles) so I’ll know more after that. Right now I am very happy with them. $600 is a lot but I look at it this way. Due to my different sized feet I would have had to purchase two pair of Specialized shoes at a cost of nearly $500 and still not had nearly the same quality fit.
Filed under: Gear |
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September 1, 2008
Woops! Didn’t mean to let the blog go as long as I did. I am lazy like that though. Anyway, I have had a change of plans. After finishing the track bike but never actually taking it to the track I decided I’d get more use out of a fixed gear road bike. It’d be perfect for two hour spins on the long river trails we have out here. So, I sold the Fuji frame and the Lake shoes.
I’m going to build up my old custom BREW road frame and build a rear wheel around a White Industries ENO hub. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
- custom BREW road frame/fork
- Reynolds Alta Comp front wheel
- Flyte alloy bars
- Ritchey stem (
- Sugino 75 crank
- Ritchey Comp seatpost
- San Marco Rolls saddle
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All I’m really lacking beyond the rear wheel are some cheap brakes and a bottom bracket. I just arranged a trade of my previous Specialized Pro Carbon shoes for some Shimano 600 brake calipers. If i can’t find matching levers for a good price I’ll get some Crane Creeks from Nashbar. I may have to switch my crank from a Sugino 75 to an RD to get the chain line right. I can use any Shimano 110mm bottom bracket with that. It should be done within a month or so. I’m about to move so it’s not a high priority.
Filed under: Gear, Track |
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April 23, 2008
Okay, so not all all Spinervals workout DVDs are created equal. Last night I did Spinervals 14.0, which is relatively old by now. To oversimplify it’s a warmup then four 15 min. intervals with 2-3 minutes rest between for a 90-minute workout. I usually spin for another ten minutes before starting each DVD. You’re supposed to be right around your lactate threshold for the first, or roughly 80%. You change gears pretty frequently to keep monotony to a minimum. One drove me nuts – each interval increased in intensity until by the 4th you were supposed to be at 95% max HR. I don’t know many people that can hold 95% for 15 minutes but I’m not one of them. The expression on the faces of the riders onscreen never changed from 80% to 85% to 90% to 95%, so I don’t think they were increasing their intensity to match what Troy (the onscreen coach) was saying. I was dying 3/4 through and they looked fine. Another thing was the gear shown onscreen didn’t always match what Troy said to use. Spinervals 22.0 is a much better TT workout in my opinion. That one has four progressively harder intervals of 20, 15, 10 & 5 minutes with 5 minutes between each.
My current schedule is:
- Sun: 3-4 hour road ride
- Mon: recovery spin or rest
- Tue: Spinervals 22 – TT intervals
- Wed: Gym – legs, abs/core, stretching
- Thu: Spinervals 16 – Big Gear strength
- Fri: rest day
- Sat: AM Gym session – legs; PM Spinervals 17 – Aero Base Builder II
Yes, I ride indoors a lot, especially for someone living in Southern California but there’s a reason for it. It’s outrageously hilly where I am. I either have to schlep the bike somewhere by car or finish each ride with a 3 mile climb of about 6-8%. I rarely feel like doing that except on weekends so I do all my structured rides indoors. I’m getting in 75-100 miles/week just on the trainer. I’ll be interested to see what my progress is a month from now. My Polar CS400 has a feature that guesstimates VO2. I’m hoping my number will go up 5-8 points or so. That says as much about how poor my condition is now as it does about my training. I’m also hoping to be down another 6-7 lbs.
Filed under: Indoor Training |
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April 17, 2008
I finally got a new stationary trainer. I spend so much time training indoors it was worth spending more to get one that would replicate the road more closely. It came down to a Cyclops Fluid2 or a Kurt Kinetic Pro Road Machine. I got the KK and this thing is great. It has a 6 lb flywheel built in with a removable 12 lb flywheel. It is MUCH better than my Performance Travel Trac Century, which really was not bad. I have a bunch of Spinervals DVD’s to go with it.
It was very easy to put together and heavy as heck, so you know it is constructed well. The base is nice and wide so there is no worry about tipping over. I really like the flywheel effect even more than I thought. It comes with a skewer that fits into the grooves well w/o scuffing up your good ones.
With the Perf trainer if you stopped pedaling your rear wheel would stop within a few seconds. Essentially, you were almost accelerating just to maintain your current speed. With the 18 lb flywheel, you have over a minute of coast down before it stops completely. Noise isn’t bad either. I live in a 3rd floor apt and there’s no issue at all with the 6 lb flywheel. I do have a rubber mat and carpeting underneath. With the 12 lb flywheel, there is more vibration in the floor but I don’t think the actual ear noise is much louder. I have ridden it at 9:30pm without any complaints so far. I’m sure if I wind the full 18 lbs up to 90rpm in a 50×12 there’d be a whole lotta shakin goin on. The racket cannot be too loud because my chickensh*t dog will come in and lie down while I’m riding now. He never did that when I rode the Perf trainer. I only use the 18 lb flywheel for LSD/temp anyway. Nevertheless, I think I will save the sprint sessions for weekends or weekdays off.
I also bought the Power Computer off Ebay so I can see my wattage. I can see why people get so excited about Powertaps now. I usually just watch the rpm’s during indoor intervals but seeing the watts is pretty cool too. I got it up to 1102 watts in the 50×15 last night. It has definitely caused me to ride more. I couldn’t stand to be on the Perf trainer much more than 45 minutes. Now I do a 15-20 minute warm up THEN start a Spinervals DVD. That’s another 60-90 minutes depending which one I do.
This definitely makes trainer easier for me since the terrain around here isn’t my liking. It’s either super steep hills or pancake flat (and crowded) beach paths. There is very little in between. A trainer is almost a necessity for doing sprints and intervals around here. At this point, I’m only outside for group rides and long slow distance and I could do that indoors too. I am actually considering getting Spinervals 26.0, which is the 5-hour century training DVD.
Filed under: Gear, Indoor Training |
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