veloblog: bicycling in Greensboro, NC and the surrounding area

Mid-week round up

Re: my recent post about exploding R-Sys wheels, Mavic responded. Bike Snob NYC considers Mavic's Inspector Clouseau-like "investigation."

Crazy sponsorship money, and Cervelo's possibly game-changing experiment.

The new cyclingnews.com, in Twitterese: #cyclingnewsfail.

Hammering Happy Hill is coming up. Great ride, with excellent post-ride food. June 27 at Country Park. Ride your bike, help out the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

R-Sys meltdown

I'm no engineer, but when Mavic introduced R-Sys wheels my first thought was, "That's a terrible idea." Hollow, carbon fiber spokes?

Carbon fiber structures, when damaged, can fail in spectacular ways. Like this.

The weight weenie bug

Back in the day, when I worked at a bike shop, I rode nothing but tubulars. I still remember the exquisite feel of a set of Conti Sprinters on some light wheels. They were durable too; 5,000 miles on a tire, with nary a flat, was typical.

So when I came across a set of imexpensive 28h Mavic Reflex rims and Tufo Pro S33 tires the bug bit me. I've been searching for suitable hubs; an American Classic front is on the way, so I'm a rear hub away from building up a set of light wheels. I'm shooting for a set that weigh maybe 100g less than Ksyriums, at 1/3 the price. With that sweet tubular ride. Stay tuned.

My legs and lungs have decided to return

Thursday's Roaming Ride gave me a bit of a clue that my allergy problems are subsiding. During the ride I wasn't gasping for air, watching the rest of the bunch roll of down the road. Unlike the previous Thursday, when that's exactly what happened, I rolled along pretty comfortably, didn't come apart on the hills, and actually enjoyed being on a bike.

All but a couple of the group were on various Storck demo bikes. I was on an Absolutist 0.9, a frame that's apparently built more for crits than comfort. Nonetheless, it handled the local chip and seal well, with just a bit of chattering across rough surfaces. The SRAM Red gruppo (complete, other than Zero G brakes) was oh so nice.

Saturday I went to Dave's Ride, continued to feel better, didn't blow up on the hills, and decided that I'm getting back to normal. I confirmed that today, during 35 rainy miles where I was able to keep the pace and feel stronger as the ride went on. There's hope for me yet.

A compendium of thoughts from the past few weeks

Friend Deadwood pointed out that this blog sucks because I'm not posting enough. I'm not riding enough, either, but that's neither here nor there.

Yesterday I did manage to ride the annual Tour de Lions with some folks from the JDRF team. The ride is a favorite of mine, not only because of the lack of traffic and great roads, but for the brownies at the finish. The folks in Grays Chapel put on a great ride.

Things are a bit rockier at the Giro, with plenty of crashes, including a header off a 200 foot cliff. Today the riders said enough is enough and stopped after entering Milan. Following a conversation with the race chief and an apology to the crowd, the group rode piano until the final few Ks, where they let it rip. Nothing like an extra rest day.

The Greensboro Velo Club and JDRF are teaming up for Hammering Happy Hill, a charity ride on June 27. Info and online registration here.

After wearing my Sidi road shoes for three years or so I've suddenly developed foot pain. Weird -- it's not related to the pedals I'm using (it started with my Speedplays and continued when I switched to Look Keos). After about 30 miles the small toes on my right foot start falling asleep. Cleat position doesn't affect it, nor does a change of insoles. Maybe it's a sign to change shoes. I've had good experiences with Specialized shoes, and checked out a pair of Bontragers the other day that looked pretty sweet. Then there are Shimanos and the new Mavics. Lots to choose from....

Want to try out a Storck bike? This week's Roaming Ride starts at Revolution Cycles on Spring Garden St. The Storck demo team will be on hand, and riders can try a Storck for an extended time. Details: Thursday 6 PM; 25-30 miles at a moderate pace.

Finally, if a mechanic tells you to use a Park glueless patch to repair a cut in a Hutchinson tubeless road tire, don't believe it. I patched my tire in just such a fashion, squirted a can of Fast Air into the tire, and watched in wonder as latex foam shot out of the ostensibly sealed cuts. Crap.... So, a new tire is on the way, and I plan to order the Hutchinson Rep Air kit, which is designed to seal cuts. Fast Air, though spendy, is pretty cool and easy to use, so I'll start carrying a can instead of one of the two tubes that sit in my seat bag.

Artbikes from Montana Transit Authority

MTA TRAILER from Jonathan Fegan on Vimeo.

When it rains it pours

Back from Cycle NC East, which was a great weekend of riding. I'll post rides maps soon (I hope).

After raving about my seemingly flat-proof Hutchinson Fusion tubeless tires, I managed to put a couple of holes in the rear tire. No big deal, nothing fatal. But the holes are large enough to require one of Hutchinson's patch kits and a dose of sealant. Of course, these have to be ordered as they're not in stock in my neck of the woods.

No big deal, I thought. I'll use the Dura Ace/Open Pro wheels to get me through the next weekend. But then I discovered a crack in the rear rim. So there's a DT 1.1 rim (no OPs available) on the way, in a hurry, and I hope to have a rebuilt wheel by the weekend.

Worse comes to worse, I'll use the Dura Ace tubeless wheels with tubes, or put a 10 speed cassette on my trusty Velomax Circuits.

The hybrid to end all hybrids. If you don't mind me calling it a hybrid, that is.

Note to Velo-Wife: I want one of these.

Levi's New Landshark

One very nice bad weather bike.

Contrails

Yeah, then everyone will know where I've been.