Bianchi Impulso hop up parts kit.

The first crit of the year is this weekend and for the first time ever, I'm rushing to put together something that resembles a competitive bike. A handful of parts from the 'cross bike, another handful from last year's Oltre. 

I've resigned to the fact that I'll never run a stock, out of the box bike unless it's a town/market bike for getting groceries. That being said, I started the transformation this week of a stock Impulso 105 bike.

There are so many places you can get away with middle grade parts on your bike. Two places I never skimp, tires and the chain.

Dura-Ace 10 speed with a Connex quick link. Light, smooth and soon to be covered with a splash of Chain-L lube.

Something old, something new from the basement. I swapped the carbon/alu stock fork from the Impulso which uses a 45mm rake and installed this guy; full carbon 43mm rake, from back in the day... (`the bike fit in that link...geez things have changed since 2005.) Added branding on the inside of the fork legs courtesy of PG-13 Graphics.

More of the build up to come...

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!

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.

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.

#tourdownunder and Vaconsoleil-DCM

Time to get your bums glued to the couch this week! The Tour Down Under has kicked off and Vaconsoleil-DCM will be throwing it down on their new Oltre.

Be sure to keep tabs on them via team web site....[click here!]

And their team Facebook Fan Page....[and here!]

People say you'll never forget your first.

The Tacchino Cross race marked the first race for the team last weekend. Yeah, I'm a week behind on the post but when you're trying to rustle up everyone's pre-books for the 2012, things get crammed near the end of September.

We had a six pack of guys from the Keystone Velo Club p/b Simplicity Cycles at the event. Three of the six guys raced cross last season. The other three were green; me being one of the newbies to the cross scene. I've owned a cross bike, rode it as a commuter bike back in my shop days but never pinned a number on my side and decided to red line it for 45 minutes.

Located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Tacchino was what some have described to me as one of the most technically challenging courses in the area. The weather was cooperative..errrr, let me say, not the typical Belgium junk weather but the course was wet and slippery from the storms the day before.



Mike Brenneman (above two photos) was representing the Cat 4 field and had an early start time of 0830. Our team director talked me and two other guys into doing the Masters 35/45+ 3/4s, mostly because of the later start time. And seeing as I had a two hour drive to the race, took his advice.

Me, Chris and Shane pinned on our numbers and rolled to the start 15 minutes prior to launch. The field was huge; 125 starters. It was then when I found out that you are staged at the start of the race by when you register for the race. Let's just say that I didn't register too early being moved up a class four days before the event, ended up sitting back in 100th something spot, along with Chris and Shane.


Chris Sherdel after closing the door on the rider behind him. I think Chris rode better than he expected. Hell, the guy is an Ultra-marathoner and a mountain biker on the weekends. That's a toxic cocktail of potential if you ask me!


Shane McCreedy (above pix) rode a solid race as well. He has some good low end power too from those soccer playing quads. A good mid-field finish by Shane and Chris.

I won't lie, I had some butterflies in my gut entering my first cross race but as usual, clamped down on them and squashed them underfoot once the gun went off. A paved start leading into a 30 degree turn to a grassy straight, did little to spread out the field. At this point I knew it was going to be a challenging morning working my way up through the already strung out field in front of us.

During the first lap I jockeyed a couple of times with Chris and Shane and honestly it felt odd to pass them. I'd attribute this feeling from the amount of time I spent pack riding at the local training crits and doing a couple of sanctioned races on the East Coast. This time it was every man for himself for all 5 laps.

The corners were definitely slippery and off cambered. The straightaways were long and the section between the straights were littered with punchy corners. Lot's of accelerating; on the gas, brake late and then off the gas. There was a hellish run up with a telephone pole as a barrier at the bottom of the hill and then another pole 10 feet from the top. At the top was DJ AA's tent playing the beats and what I could determine; a dude and a keg pouring bevies for the spectators enjoying that part of the course. I wanted a hand up from there so bad, not a sole willing to help a brother out. Damn.

Two barriers flanked the food concessions area which provided a level of entertainment on each lap; Duval consuming fans, screamed each lap for me to bunny-hop the barriers. Not this year guys...

Proper tire pressure is your friend at every race. It's the easiest thing to over look and sometimes the hardest thing for amateur racers to understand. I weigh 180lbs in the buff so I decided to roll with 30lbs in the front and 35lbs in the rear of the clincher Grifos. I was very happy with this pressure and how well the Grifo tires worked on this type of course. As the race unfolded, I realized how much mountain bike handling skills crossed over into 'cross. And if you aren't a diesel, you need to make up time in the corners.

As each lap clicked by, I could hear our DS, Sean Mealey yelling updates to me. At the third lap I hear heard him shout that I was closing in on another group of riders. That would explain why there wasn't much traffic on that 3rd lap. Despite feeling like my head was going to pop off from my heart rate being pegged the whole time, his words were encouraging so I continued to dig deep; i.e. don't get out of the 46t ring unless approaching slow off camber sections or traffic in that area.

With two laps to go, I closed in on a guy after rounding the first 160 degree, rising muddy turn to the right. He stops pedaling and launches his pre-race meal over the course tape. Yuk! I'm closing in fast and he hits the brakes and launches another protein spill, this time his bike has come to a complete stop. At this point a guy rolls past him, around the 90 degree left but looses speed when watching the gory display of exhaustion. I lean into the bars a bit and pass them both with out missing a beat.

The last two laps reminded me of racing this summer in Annandale, VA during the Wednesday at Wakefield races. Fast, hard, no spots to take a breather and technically complex. One lap to go and I'm trying to see straight, keep the mistakes to a minimum and keep the wheels turning. My mouth is dryer than I've ever experienced. It's not tradition to have a water bottle during this short 40 minute race. Imagine eating handfuls of mulch in the middle of the summer; yeah, that dry.



Two laps then becomes one lap to go and I'm up in traffic again in the last hillside before crossing the pavement to the straightaway finish. By now I'm running on fumes, loads of dopamine, and blurry eyed from the sweat running into my contacts and me not blinking enough for fear of missing a line through the last few corners. I reach for the drops, lower my head for one last sprint down the straight, and......done.

Mens 1/2/3


Clark in the foreground and Mealey in the back approach the final bend before the first set of barriers near the food concessions. I aspire to keep up with these two in the future.

Barrier time! Mealey flows like water according to Bruce Lee.




After the barrier section. The dynamic duo are back on the gas looking for some kill points.



Clark tackles the off camber section after the concessions/barrier area. Again, much hairier than it looks when you're riding it as apposed to spectating.



Mealey in the drops as he slices one off in the corner. Keeping low and balanced is critical through all the off camber sections.



The six amigos? Four Zurigos, a Carbon Cross Concept and my Cavaria Red litter the ground after our first team showing of the season. The guys were all smiles with regards to the handling of their new Zurigo bikes.

Takeaway:
Having seen my wife give birth to my two beautiful children, her pain and all through pregnancy and child birth, only to finish delivery with the comment of, I'd do that again......

Cyclocross, I'd do that again.

Thanks to Mike and Chris for the photos.

Bianchi Sempre Review Pt. 2

Mock Orange Bikes in Winston-Salem, NC are sinking their teeth into the 2011 Bianchi Sempre. Last season the shop's Pro 1/2 team rode our B4P Mono-Q and this season, the new Sempre has started infiltrating their team bike fleet. Zach Lail has had some saddle time on his SRAM Force equipped Bianchi Sempre... [more]
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2011 TX Active Team roster announced.

From over the pond...click!

2010 Leadville 100- SS winner on a SOK.

Last weekend, one of my bike shop bros got married. Best wishes Jason!

Anyway, at our table was another ex-shop friend, Blake, who I found out nailed 17th place at this year's Leadville 100 in the Single Speed class. The first place single speed category victory went to Alfred Thresher; riding a rigid Bianchi SOK. Searching the interweb, I found the YouTube vid below containing a clip of the 1st place racer... Good work Blake, you're still a diesel!

The green runs deep.

Fanboy, E. Harding of Team PG-13 Graphics proudly displaying his collection of race bikes.

Judging by the calendar, he should be getting in some ride time on that Cross Concept. Best of barriers for the fall Eldon!

Mock Orange Bikes-race rigs

I payed a visit to the MOB crew back in January of this year. (sorry for the late post guys).

This year has been pretty amazing with the feedback we're receiving on the Mono-Q frame set. With it's 300GPa modulus carbon and full carbon steer/fork, it's race ready, out of the box for the 3/2 class or with it's average height head tube, comfortable enough for an old guy like myself. Please don't misconstrue 'comfort' on this B4P frame with the C2C geometry. The chain stay lengths are still shorter than the C2C platform and the MQ head tube is steeper than the C2Cs as well.


With this in mind, the Mock Orange Bikes guys ordered up an 8 pack of the Mono-Q Ultegra spec'd bikes and stripped the 2009 kits; damn that white looks good!

Here is Brad's bike, having the fit dialed in a bit more.

Shimano supplied them with the new Ultegra 6700 build kits along with the Dura-Ace carbon wheel sets. The guys are very impressed with the overall build weight of the bikes with the 6700 kits as well as the power of the newly designed brake calipers. Shifting on the front is on par with the Stiff-as-usual chain ring designs that Shimano has become well known for.


Alan Thomas Trip. MOB race member. (Hope you don't mind I stole this off your FB profile picture...anything goes when you're on my Friend List, haha!)

I love this shot as it embodies what good positioning looks like when carving a turn; carrying speed through the corner, outside pedal down with your weight dumped on it, head up looking at the exit, arms relaxed. Oh yeah! And the sweet bike he's on!

Best of legs for the season guys!

Justin Raynes Pro level SOK SRAM

This guy is a pro-racer after my own heart.


Justin is an employee of Bikes Unlimited of Williamsburg, VA. After years on the race circuit with a Bianchi Oetzi, this year he added a 29er to his quiver of race bikes. A tool for every trade, a bike for every type of course.


The bike is roughly 50% stock, here is Justin's take on his race-ready 29er and a bit regarding his carbon hardtail Oetzi:

Here are a few pics of the bike and my setup. Hope you like the looks of the bike, what I like most is my gearing on my crank, I got TA specialty rings, and Blackspire. The 22-34-44 is too much to push on most MTB trail. Running those combos makes it feel a lot more like my carbon Oetzi. I got it weighing around 22.5 lbs depending on my tires and wheels. My Oetzi weighs 21 lbs, so I’ve got the 29er pretty light.

FRAME: 17.5 2009 Sok
FORK: Rock shox reba race, remote lockout
WHEELS: Mavic crossmax 29er(mainly for training and little races), SET #2-- American classic hubs, DT revolution spokes, aluminum nipples, No-tubes 355 rims(hand built by myself, only for racing)
CRANKS: Shimano XTR crank(picture shows a triple, I run a 2x9 setup with either, 28-40t or 26-38t depending on the climbing; this saves weight and the gearing works a lot better with the bigger wheels).
CASSETTE: SRAM 991 12-34
CHAIN: SRAM 991 hollow pin
FRT DER: sram X9
RR DER: sram xo
SHIFTERS: SRAM XO twist shifters
BRAKES: Magura Marta SL red
ROTORS: Magura SL
STEM: Truvativ team
HANDLEBAR: Truvativ Noir World Cup carbon
SEATPOST: Thompson setback
SADDLE: Selle Italia SLR Gel flow
GRIPS: ESI chunky
TIRES: Hutchinson Python, No-tubes Raven, Kenda Karmas & Smallblock eight (all run tubeless with Stan’s Sealant)
PEDALS: Time carbon/ti
OTHER ADDITIONS: Ti rotor bolts, red aluminum bottle and brake bolts, Elite cages(usually run one cage)

The Nokon cables are a classy touch for the twist shifters. That makes 2 of us that would choose twist shifters for a race machine.


There's no denying that Shimano's XTR crank is among the stiffest on the trail. There's no denying that Justin's wife's tat on her foot had to hurt like hell, ouch!

Thanks for the support Justin and best of legs in 2010!

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Will Mahler