We Build What You Want

Why put up with off the shelf when you can have custom built? We recently got asked by a client if we could build a fast, light, single speed road bike. Why not? The result… Planet X SL Pro Carbon Single Speed Custom – “Black Beauty” Planet X Model B Wheels Easton Bars Shimano 105 brakes and chainset Conti GP4 Seasons [...]

Source: http://blog.bike-science.com/2011/10/12/we-build-what-you-want

cycling clothes

Winter Tuneup Projects

After a foot of snow falls in a couple of days, getting out on the bike is tough going, even on a fat bike! With limited daylight and nasty conditions making it hard to get in the saddle, it's a good time to tackle some more time consuming maintenance projects. Here's what has been keeping me busy in the garage this week.

Rust Protection
Most touring bikes out there are made of steel, and the wet winter and spring conditions can put the hurt to a steel frame and fork. JP Weigle Frame Saver only needs to be applied once every couple of years and does a great job of protecting the inside of your frame. The outside surface of your frame is protected by the bike's paint, but chips can expose portions of raw steel. Some bike manufacturers can send you a small bottle of touchup paint for this, but it might be easier to just run out to the store and pick up some nail polish that closely matches your paint scheme.

Drivetrain
After a season of riding, you may have some drivetrain components nearing the end of their lives. The chain and cassette tend to wear out quicker than other drivetrain components, so this is a good place to focus first. If the cassette teeth are looking very pointy, it's about finished and needs to be replaced. As for the chain, you can use a chain checker tool to see how much it has stretched, or look at how it overlaps your chainring teeth. If it doesn't sit flush against your front chainring it is ready to be replaced.

The bottom bracket is another drivetrain component that can wear out over the course of a season. If there is any play in the crankset side to side, the bottom bracket bearings are likley shot and you guessed it, it needs to be replaced.

Cables and Housing
It's amazing how much a new set of cables and housing can improve the quality of shifting and braking. Lately, I've been a huge fan of Gore Ride-On Sealed Low Friction cables and housing. This fully sealed cable/housing combo keeps water and grit from getting into your housing and around your cables and extends their life and quality.

Component Swap
As long as you're ripping parts off the bike left and right for cleaning and greasing, you may as well think about parts you want to upgrade or replace. For instance, maybe you want to give moustache bars a shot this season, or cut up your Brooks B17 to make it a poor man's Brooks Swallow.

Major mechanical undertakings can take a good amount of time, and you don't want to be in a rush through any of this, so don't expect to pound all of this out in one evening. If you're new to bike maintenance and want to learn how to work on your bike properly, check with your local shops or clubs and see if they have any bike maintenance clinics coming up. If you're a self taught individual, there is no shortage of bike mechanic books out there.

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TOURING GEAR AND TIPS is written by Joshua Tack of Adventure Cycling's member services department. It appears weekly, highlighting technical aspects of bicycle touring and advice to help better prepare you for the journey ahead.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/01/winter-tuneup-projects.html

pez cycling

Team RadioShack Line-up in Critérium International and Gent-Wevelgem

The Team Radioshack line-up for the next races: Critérium International (France), 26-27/03/11 Riders: Matthew Busche, Ben King, Andreas Klöden, Tiago Machado, Nélson Oliveira, Sérgio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych & Bjørn Selander Director: Alain Gallopin Gent-Wevelgem (Belgium), 27/03/11 Riders: Fumiyuki Beppu, Robbie Hunter, Michal Kwiatkowski, Geoffroy Lequatre, Robbie McEwen, Dmitriy Muravyev, Gregory Rast & Sébastien Rosseler Director: Dirk Demol

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/team-radioshack-line-up-in-criterium-international-and-gent-wevelgem/

road cycling

Levi Leipheimer Maintains 2nd in Catalunya 2011

Today?s 5th stage of Spain?s venerated Volta a Catalunya was about as mountainous as a route can be and still not be officially classified a full on ?mountain stage.? Starting in El Vendrell and finishing some 206 kilometers (128 miles) later in Tarragona, the route profile of this year?s longest stage had the [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/levi-leipheimer-maintains-2nd-in-catalunya-2011/

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TdF Stage 13 ? The Mighty Col d?Aubisque

Today?s 13th stage, a short mountain course starting in Pau, climbing over the mighty 1,709 meter Col d?Aubisque and finishing in Lourdes, France, saw many of the general classification contenders taking a bit of a break over the 152.5-kilometer, or 95 mile trek. After such a grueling first 2 weeks it was well deserved, [...]

Source: http://www.teamradioshack.us/tdf-stage-13-the-mighty-col-d%e2%80%99aubisque/

cycling plus

Huge January Sale on your Favourite Magazine

Subscribe to any of our fantastic cycling or mountain biking magazines and you can save up to 40% off every issue in our huge January Sale! The New Year brings new resolutions and if your’s involve a bike then we have the perfect tools to help you keep them! If you want to improve your mountain [...]

Source: http://magazine.bikeradar.com/2012/01/06/huge-january-sale-on-your-favourite-magazine/

cycling bib shorts

Chalking up another birthday bicycle ride

My 3-year tradition of marking my birthday with a "years-equals-miles" bicycle ride is in the books.

Actually, it's recorded on BikeJournal.com, where I jumped from 1,423rd to 605th in a single day. That could be my high-water mark for the year.

Unlike previous years, this time I couldn't get out of my head the thought that I should have started this silliness years ago, when the distance would have been a lot shorter.

With pleasant weather promised on Sunday, I headed over to Issaquah from Bellevue, then south to Black Diamond and home via Renton for 62.8 miles.

My destination was the Green River Gorge Bridge, above, a 150-foot-high span over a raging river that drains the Cascades. Whenever I visit the single-lane bridge built in 1915 ...

Source: http://www.bikingbis.com/blog/_archives/2012/1/9/4974748.html

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