Wheels are often over looked, yet often over obsessed about for the wrong reasons. Thanks to the guys at Just Riding Along Bike Shop for keeping mine rolling through 'cross season last year!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Bianchi Sempre Nero Chorus 11
One requirement of being an employee at a bike shop is a love for bikes and having an artistic approach to building up your personal ride. After all, you can usually tell the difference between a custom shop build by an employee who has lovingly selected each part to go on their bike, and the dude on the local group ride who spent an entire winter cherry picking a discount online parts retailer. Baller versus buster. Although I still see high end builds where the builder doesn't match the stem and seat post via brand. It goes without saying you shouldn't wear a brown belt with black dress shoes so match those bits please.
Knoxville, Tennessee Bianchi dealer, Biketopia has a good selection of the mid to top self bikes from the brand. Shop employee, Adam Sandling started off with a Sempre Nero SRAM Red bike. Really, the guy just wanted the Nero frame and since it's not offered this year as a color option in a frame set, Adam took the road less traveled. He now has an extra build kit on his hands after installing the latest Campagnolo Chorus 11 group. This 59cm bike scales in a 16.09lbs as shown in the photo below with the stock carbon/alu clinchers.
Feedback via Adam:
Knoxville, Tennessee Bianchi dealer, Biketopia has a good selection of the mid to top self bikes from the brand. Shop employee, Adam Sandling started off with a Sempre Nero SRAM Red bike. Really, the guy just wanted the Nero frame and since it's not offered this year as a color option in a frame set, Adam took the road less traveled. He now has an extra build kit on his hands after installing the latest Campagnolo Chorus 11 group. This 59cm bike scales in a 16.09lbs as shown in the photo below with the stock carbon/alu clinchers.
Feedback via Adam:"I did pull the SRAM Red off though, loaded it up with a full Campy Chorus group and even got FSA to send me a Campy free hub body for the Vision wheels. I got to ride it the other day and I couldn't be happier. It's everything I wanted and didn't know I wanted. Stiff, stable, fast..."
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Vacansoleil-DCM PR guy talks spring classics.
Vaconsoleil-DCM's marketing and PR guy shares his positive outlook on the team's racing schedule for the Spring Classics, aboard the Oltre, no less.
What bike is Frank riding? Classico!
What bike is Frank riding? Classico!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Bianchi Bicycles Infinito Ultergra Di2
One of the top selling bikes in the territory just got a whole 'lot tastier!
Arriving at a respectable dealer near you near the end of February, the Infinito Ultegra Di2.
Estimated retail is set to be $5100.00 USD/ Fulcrum Racing 5, FSA cockpit bits and Ultegra Di2.
Photo courtesy of Bianchi USA.
A small batch of about a 100 are coming ashore for this much desired bike build and you can have any color as long as its celeste.
As Shimano states, 'Don't ride Di2, unless you're prepared to BUY Di2.' so I'd expect the dealer's typical Infinito customer to make their mind up a bit faster with this build kit. Estimated weight, based off the Sempre Ultegra Di2 should be a tick under 17lbs for the 55cm complete bike, sans accessories.
Arriving at a respectable dealer near you near the end of February, the Infinito Ultegra Di2.
Estimated retail is set to be $5100.00 USD/ Fulcrum Racing 5, FSA cockpit bits and Ultegra Di2.
Photo courtesy of Bianchi USA.As Shimano states, 'Don't ride Di2, unless you're prepared to BUY Di2.' so I'd expect the dealer's typical Infinito customer to make their mind up a bit faster with this build kit. Estimated weight, based off the Sempre Ultegra Di2 should be a tick under 17lbs for the 55cm complete bike, sans accessories.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
New SRAM Red, does it taste better?
After spending 2011, flicking away on SRAM's top shelf Red build kit, there's a new version launching this season. You can grab the announcement....here!
This isn't the first mention of the parts giant, making severe changes to their top level kit. Blurbs on the Twitterverse cropped up from the likes of @ryantrebon, pro cx racer and my 6'5" idol. (Hey, us tall folks need someone to look up to...or look at, depending on your height.)
Photos and a video of a newly shaped brifter silhouette, brakes, crankset got many salivating.
Having ridden Shimano on the road since '88, a handful of years on Campagnolo, and what I can describe as my most product year on the bike from a training and racing perspective in 2011, my Red build kit ran flawlessly. Now some of that might be due to having a top notch mechanic (ahem!). Because of this, there weren't many tools put to the build group over the course of the 2011 season.
Having been on Campagnolo Chorus before moving to Red, I was already used to a slightly noisy drivetrain and a more communicative shifting system. When I say noisy, I'm referring to the slight buzz that resonates from the idler pulleys on Campy's rear derailleur while pedaling down the road. Communicative, in the sense that when you shift the rear using the PowerDome cassette, there's no mistaking your high gear selection. Personally, I like that. Some cyclists...meh, not so much. Terms like clunky have been tossed around to describe this characteristic. I'm guessing these are Shimano users who have become accustom to the shifting traits of Shimano and need to remember that SRAM is SRAM and Shimano is Shimano; so stop wishing SRAM is Shimano and make a decision based on open-mindedness, not long term complacency.
The features of the upcoming Red kit seem to have addressed concerns of operating noise as well as the firmer shifting tension at the crank by using a Yaw design for the front derailleur. Maybe it's my long leverage fingers but shifting at the crank has had zero issues. The ergo controls have been very comfortable and the ability to 'ham fist' shifting during cx racing was an eye opener last year.
Clicking off shifts, bouncing across grassy fields and single track on Sundays, last fall during the MARBRA Super8 Series, reminded me of why I like SRAM on my mountain bike. No mis-shifts, no skipping or chain dumping on the front (no I didn't run a chain watcher during cx races), just flat out, gear banging like Jenson Button in his McLaren.
On the road, my first experience of contesting a sprint finish at the local Wednesday Worlds was an eye opener. Honestly I was a bit gun shy the first time I needed to reach for another gear while in the drops, at top speed. I flicked the wrist, cringed slightly for what may happen, then, snick! Right into the next gear with no hesitation or self destruction-over the handlebars- FAIL. Confident inspiring. Love it.
The GXP bottom bracket has been terrific. The way the crank shaft engages against the non-driveside bearing in order to unload the driveside bearing has allowed me to run the same bottom bracket all year, through training, road racing and a season of cyclocross. I did develop a clicking sound at the 2 o'clock position of the crank, after my first cross race. This was remedied by removing the crank and the bottom bracket dust shields, cleaning the seals of the bb and installing everything with a fresh skim of Park Took grease. Noise gone!
I'm excited to try the new group. Will it make me dislike the generation of Red I'm on currently? Not sure. I can see the ergonomics being my favorite improvements due to my bear paw size hands. The newly designed front derailleur has sparked my interest too.
2012 is looking to be another exciting year for us bike geeks.
This isn't the first mention of the parts giant, making severe changes to their top level kit. Blurbs on the Twitterverse cropped up from the likes of @ryantrebon, pro cx racer and my 6'5" idol. (Hey, us tall folks need someone to look up to...or look at, depending on your height.)
Photos and a video of a newly shaped brifter silhouette, brakes, crankset got many salivating.
Having ridden Shimano on the road since '88, a handful of years on Campagnolo, and what I can describe as my most product year on the bike from a training and racing perspective in 2011, my Red build kit ran flawlessly. Now some of that might be due to having a top notch mechanic (ahem!). Because of this, there weren't many tools put to the build group over the course of the 2011 season.
Having been on Campagnolo Chorus before moving to Red, I was already used to a slightly noisy drivetrain and a more communicative shifting system. When I say noisy, I'm referring to the slight buzz that resonates from the idler pulleys on Campy's rear derailleur while pedaling down the road. Communicative, in the sense that when you shift the rear using the PowerDome cassette, there's no mistaking your high gear selection. Personally, I like that. Some cyclists...meh, not so much. Terms like clunky have been tossed around to describe this characteristic. I'm guessing these are Shimano users who have become accustom to the shifting traits of Shimano and need to remember that SRAM is SRAM and Shimano is Shimano; so stop wishing SRAM is Shimano and make a decision based on open-mindedness, not long term complacency.
The features of the upcoming Red kit seem to have addressed concerns of operating noise as well as the firmer shifting tension at the crank by using a Yaw design for the front derailleur. Maybe it's my long leverage fingers but shifting at the crank has had zero issues. The ergo controls have been very comfortable and the ability to 'ham fist' shifting during cx racing was an eye opener last year.
Clicking off shifts, bouncing across grassy fields and single track on Sundays, last fall during the MARBRA Super8 Series, reminded me of why I like SRAM on my mountain bike. No mis-shifts, no skipping or chain dumping on the front (no I didn't run a chain watcher during cx races), just flat out, gear banging like Jenson Button in his McLaren.
 |
| From Bianchi 1885/ SRAM Red |
On the road, my first experience of contesting a sprint finish at the local Wednesday Worlds was an eye opener. Honestly I was a bit gun shy the first time I needed to reach for another gear while in the drops, at top speed. I flicked the wrist, cringed slightly for what may happen, then, snick! Right into the next gear with no hesitation or self destruction-over the handlebars- FAIL. Confident inspiring. Love it.
The GXP bottom bracket has been terrific. The way the crank shaft engages against the non-driveside bearing in order to unload the driveside bearing has allowed me to run the same bottom bracket all year, through training, road racing and a season of cyclocross. I did develop a clicking sound at the 2 o'clock position of the crank, after my first cross race. This was remedied by removing the crank and the bottom bracket dust shields, cleaning the seals of the bb and installing everything with a fresh skim of Park Took grease. Noise gone!
I'm excited to try the new group. Will it make me dislike the generation of Red I'm on currently? Not sure. I can see the ergonomics being my favorite improvements due to my bear paw size hands. The newly designed front derailleur has sparked my interest too.
2012 is looking to be another exciting year for us bike geeks.
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