Look at the paint on those bars!

At the recent CycleFit Symposium Dr. Jeff Broker presented his research on pedal kinesiology.  Whilst I’m yet to read this thoroughly, my understanding is that this points to pedalling in circles and applying power throughout the entire pedal stroke being effort wasted, based on the fact that you can’t control the ‘up’ stroke enough to make it worthwhile – his theory being something along the lines of that it’s not actually possible to get your foot out of the way of the upward motion of the pedal quickly enough because of the effectsof gravity and the weight of your leg to make the effort useful.  Or something like that.

Taking this further, I also wonder if there’s an argument that says in trying to apply power to the upward stroke, are you actually opposing the downward stroke of the other pedal, thus preventing effective application of power on that side?

Countering all of this are those who swear by the pedalling in circles approach.  It’s no secret (much as he stays tight-lipped about it) that Cadel Evans uses PowerCranks.  Pez seem to rate them too, and I have close friends who swear by them and seem to have used them to very good effect.  I have to say I’ve even been tempted to give them a try myself.  But there’s lots of doubt over their genuine benefit, and I’ve heard of riders ruining their ability to ride at previously high levels after spending time training with them.  Again there’s a lack of proof so it’s difficult to know for certain of their benefit, and it could be that they work for some and not for others.

I guess Rotor Q-Rings fall into a similar camp – there’s claims of the benefits they produce, but I found them difficult to get along with after around 700km on them (I felt like they were making me lazy, and disrupting my already smooth spin).  On the flip-side, another close friend had them off of me and absolutely loves them.

I used to be a ‘masher’ in that I would stomp on the pedals rather than pedal in circles (I blame my mountain bike background). Regular roller use turned my pedalling into a very smooth, fluid motion that has been commented on in fitting sessions and fitness tests. As an experiment, I tried a return to mashing on my LeMond trainer last night and found that I felt more powerful (whether or not I actually was is potentially a different matter) and the speed of the trainer rotation was faster (based on the ‘note’ the trainer was emitting). In applying power that way I also found that I was more comfortable in the saddle as the direct downward force actually means that less of your weight is focused on delicate tissues.

Hmmm.

Lots of people will argue that pedalling in circles is more efficient as you’re engaging more muscles meaning the larger muscles doing the crux of the work are helped and supported by the muscles around them. I’d like to consider the counter argument (with absolutely no basis to it other than a thought process) that letting the big muscles do the mashing enables them to be as big and strong as they can be, providing more direct and focused delivery of the force required to transmit power. As well as this, each leg surely gets its ‘rest’ when the opposing leg is doing the mashing?

Don’t get me wrong, I am just thinking aloud here – I don’t for one minute think I’ve discovered something that’s going to change the face of cycling! This is, in true Bike Tart style, just a brain fart… But I can’t help thinking of Jens Voigt’s style as I write this.  He definitely looks like a masher and it seems to work for him.

Will I try to become a masher again? Unlikely. I like having a smooth pedal stroke.  But if I could train myself to stay smooth whilst mashing (if such a combination is possible) then it’d be an interesting experiment – it’s a shame I no longer use power meters as it would be intriguing to see what the real world difference is.  It’s also made me wonder about trying Rotor Q-Rings again, but to adapt my riding style to suit them rather than sticking to turning smooth circles as I did when I used them before.

So should we be turning circles or mashing, or is it all as simple as it all just being ‘horses for courses’?  What do you think?

A certain kind of ‘awful yet awesome’.  Nice.

Ignoring all of that, I like it.

The chainring design is funky, and whilst the cranks don’t look mind-blowingly good, they’re not ugly either – and the new crank bolt arrangement just plain makes sense.  The new levers look set to be more comfortable, more easily adjustable and the new graphics look cool.  As for the mechs, the subtle updates to their shaping and graphics are a step in the right direction.

Borrowed from Road.cc - shhhh...

I think the chain catcher thingy is, well, a bit wanky – why design a groupset to be as light as possible and then waste time, effort and energy designing something that shouldn’t be necessary?!  I’m not overly taken by the look of the brakes either, but then I’m not one for running standard stoppers on my bikes.

Does it look ‘too MTB’? Possibly a little, but why is that a bad thing (and how the hell does something ‘look MTB’ on a road bike)?  Then there’s the haters saying it’s barely any different from the old Red – again, so what?  The old Red served SRAM well, worked well (I’ve never had an issue in the 3+ years I’ve used Red) and looked good (its looks was part of the reason I switched in the first place).  Sure, this ‘lick of paint’ is probably a good eighteen months overdue and is really what the launch of SRAM Red Black should have been, but I’m not alone in thinking that sticking with 10-speed is a good decision and the weight loss is undeniably impressive.

Elsewhere, the groupset seems to cover off my own biggest gripe – noise.  Much as I loved the design of the old Red cassette it just echoed horribly (many folk, me included, run the Force cassette or Shimano cassettes to alleviate this).  Not only does the new cassette look every bit as good but it’s designed to run more quietly.  The jockey wheels are too.

Finally, the biggest change seems to be the front mech.  It’ll be interesting to see how well this works, but I like the fact that they’re trying something different.

The haters can hate – I’m going to sit happily and like it.  So nerrr.  And if it does end up on my new Baum I’ll be well happy.

You can read all about the new SRAM Red here.

Ok so I think the front wheel would look much nicer with a few more spokes, or even just with a different spoke pattern; and the graphics are questionable (although removable, as seen here) but they’re still very cool…

… well, perhaps it’s actually that they’re so ugly they’re cool… or something. All I can really relate them to is that I love them the same way I love my EE Brakes, which I’ve always liked because they’re so damn ugly!

I was also keen to move away from the Enve-Smart option as everyone seems to be going that way at the moment – and rightly so, if the reviews are to be believed. I’m just not one for following the crowd.

If nothing else, they’ll be a talking point. My new tyres are stretching awaiting the arrival of the wheels for gluing as we speak.

One day I’ll learn. One day…

There’s a certain something about singlespeed ‘cross bikes…

P.S.  To the owner of this bike:  *PLEASE* turn your front skewer around – the lever should be on the other side!

It’s not a word that sits well with me, but is one that gets banded about all over the shop at this ‘pre-season’ time of year.  Talk of intervals, pyramids and tabatas is rife, and I can feel my motivation cowering in the corner looking like the school bullies are about to descend on him (or is it an ‘it’?).

Late on in 2011 I harped on about my plan – one that barely even made it through the first week before going utterly, well, that other t-word, up.

It’s fair to say that for me I should never consider it as ‘training’, but more as ‘drilling myself into the ground by riding hard indoors’ – something that in recent weeks I’ve actually been enjoying a little more. So what’s changed?  Tools.  Another t-word, but much cleaner this time.

You see, whilst I like the videos on offer from The Sufferfest, after two or three sessions I know what’s coming and that means I’m less motivated to use them until the next one becomes available – which can be weeks or months, depending on how busy their creator, David, is in his real day job.  The beauty of a new video from The Sufferfest is that once you’ve done that two or three times you can re-visit the earlier ones and forget what’s coming.  It’s still nice to mix it up though, and I’ve often thrown in the odd tabata session to bring a change of workout style and to save me a bit of time (not only is the workout shorter, but I don’t have to set anything up to do a tabata).

In recent weeks I’ve found three useful tools which, when combined with using Sufferfest videos, means I now have four options (all of which have options within themselves) to help me get through my traini… sorry, my ‘drilling myself into the ground by riding hard indoors on an un-natural torture device’ (I hate it so I added an extra bit).

1. 3LC Videos - Ignoring the Cav link, there’s a bit of chatting going on and some instructional information and detail to help you know what you should be doing and when – although I have to say they’re not the greatest of the options, and I hate the fact that you can constantly see a count-down timer that shows you how long you have left!
2. AudioFuel ‘Ride Harder’ series – a set of three MP3 files that have Chrissie Wellington talking you through a workout with encouragement and music set to the RPM you should be working at.
3. Tabata Pro app – an iPhone and iPad app that times you through a tabata session with different settings to include countdown beeps, vibrations and a flashing screen if you want them.

The latter of these is my newest addition, and given that on a good week (not often, but they are out there) I’ll do two tabatas it’s good to have something that means I can totally take my mind off of watching the time and really focus on working hard through the session.  For me, what I really liked about this was that I didn’t even need to look at the screen – I’ve programmed my tabata workout and it will give me a 3-buzz vibration, countdown pips and a “work” instruction to do my 20s ‘on’, followed by 3-buzz vibration, countdown pips and a “rest” instruction for my 10s ‘off’.  You can set it to play music from your iPod playlists whilst you work, and you can change the number of on-off cycles you go through and how long each one is.  You can also set your warm-up time, and if you want to you can link it to a TV to display the timer *REALLY* big!

So now that I have these tools will I become a dedicated, focused rider who trains (*bleurgh*) on a regular basis?  Highly unlikely.  But at least when I do decide I’m intent on ’drilling myself into the ground by riding hard indoors on an un-natural torture device that I would really prefer to throw out the window’ (I added some more) at least I now know I have some things to get me through – and frankly, that alone seems to already be giving me more motivation to get on with it.

With any luck I might even have some semblance of fitness by the time we fly to Sydney…

It’s their fault, they contacted me first and once the seed was planted… I don’t think I need to explain much further really do I?!

It’s all because of my awkward dimensions. I was beginning to eye up Colnagos and was even considering trying their ‘Tailor Made’ custom option – given what that would have cost it was actually stupid of me not to consider my other full custom options anyway, so when Baum approached me it was a real lightbulb (well, more of a “duh, of course”) moment.

Why did they approach me? Well, on their part it was actually an incredibly kind and unexpected offer, seemingly prompted by twitter ramblings and my article about my need for freaky geometry, and as a thank you for the coverage I’ve given them through my Corretto build. It’s also, in part, a bit of a ‘safety net’ of sorts as it’s a bike that’s being built to display at NAHBS – meaning that whilst they’re building a show bike they know it will be bought and paid for after the show is done and dusted. And why not?!

So what am I having? No titanium this time around – it’s going to be the latest version of their steel Ristretto. The geometry will be the same as my Corretto, and I’m actually even going to increase the head tube height by 5mm so that I have a greater range of movement without hampering the look of the bike should my own flexibility either improve or decline.  It’ll be a standard seatpost, and a standard cable drivetrain.  There will also be a few features I’m not allowed to talk about.  I think it’s going to be a cracking companion to my dream bike, just without having to worry so much about it!

Fear not though, as not only is the paint design already sorted but the groupset and finishing kit is too – all of which should make life much less painful than the whole ‘Lugs to Lightweights’ episodes where I was fretting over BBs, cranks and all manner of other details. The plan for this one is PressFit30 BB and full SRAM Red, including brakes and cranks.  If Baum can get it in time (and at the last time of asking they believed they would) it’ll hopefully be the new 2012 version of SRAM Red too.

The only thing that isn’t sorted is the wheels. I have a few ideas, and they’ll most likely be deep-ish carbon. I’ll probably go tubular this time as – unlike my Corretto – this Ristretto will be raced when the season starts in Sydney. Besides, I already have both my Lightweights and my R-SYS SLRs to run if and when I want to run clinchers. Given that I can’t work in Sydney until my visa gets approved I need to keep the price in check a bit on the wheel front too so (as long as I can reign myself in) they probably won’t be anything special.  That said, those damn Mad Fibers are calling my name again…

There’s just a few details to sort and the deposit to pay, but essentially the bike is go and will be displayed at NAHBS in early March. This time around there’s no smoke and mirrors, and many of you may even see it before I do.  You’ll know it’s mine when you do see it though, believe me (although it might have some display wheels in it, rather than what I actually intend to run).

I’ll probably book a flight down from Sydney to Melbourne in early April to collect my new toy.  Expect constant raving, pictures and waffle as soon as it’s in my possession.

Don’t expect the Corretto to be forgotten though – trust me, it won’t be.

I used to wear a pair of black and silver Sidi Genius 5 ‘Mega’, but switched to yellow Mavics – a switch that was driven by looks rather than fit, and one that triggered a “I’ll never wear white shoes” amnesty (yes this is driven by a staunch dislike of people banging on about how ‘pro’ white shoes are!).  I liked them, but they got dirty and never quite cleaned up enough to look nice again.  Time to change.

After the Mavics came a set of S-Works shoes which very nearly put paid to that amnesty just one pair of shoes after it started.  I found them so comfortable that I simply had to have them, but as the 43 was too tight and the 44 too loose I held off.  This proved a crude move as not only did I find a pair of 43.5 in the US, but I also found the limited edition ‘Ion’ colourway.  Lairy?  A little…

But most importantly, they weren’t white.  Win.  A year on though and the colour is fading and scuffed.  That, and the fact that I’ve realised an ache I’ve been getting in my feet is actually down to the fact that they’re not wide enough.

So, what next – and is it time to relax that “down with white shoes” rubbish in favour of something that actually works properly?

In my fitting a few weeks back I tried the Lake 401 shoe.  Seemingly very good, but I’d need the wide version with Speedplay-specific sole (and preferably in custom colours).  Achievable, but it would also be a leap of faith that the uncomfortable heel counter would mould into something more acceptable.  I tried the new Fiziks too, but their not a shoe for the wide of foot (annoyingly as it happens because they’re lovely).  Shimano just wasn’t going to happen, even if they do offer a wide fit and mouldable shoe (logically, probably my best bet, but just not interesting or exciting enough).

A chance discussion reminded me of Bont.  I’d previously wanted the new Vaypors but struggled to find them (even in Sydney where the company resides).  These are heat mouldable too which should serve my wanky foot quite nicely, and as I preferred the design it seemed less of a gamble than the Lakes.  The reminder served as a trigger, and before I knew it I’d measured my foot and placed an order on a pair of the Vaypor Premiums.

So oven on, shoe in (yes, this did feel quite weird), shoe out, juggle it as it cools whilst prodding and poking for it to take shape, put my foot in whilst it’s still warm to wind the straps tight and help the moulding process.  Repeat.  Repeat again.  Odd though it may be, it works and the shoe begins to take shape quite nicely.  On the bike though, the change is significant.  And a bit alarming, but in a good way.  I think.

Again, harking back to my most recent fitting it was highlighted how I was forcing power through the outside edge of my shoe and through my toes.  Having switched away from the Specialized shoe I was wearing then I now wonder if this was a consequence of the Varus Wedge that Specialized build into the outsole of the S-Works shoe – technology which cants the shoe over by 1.5mm “to compensate for its natural tilt, giving better alignment for increased efficiency and comfort”.  But this is surely a sweeping statement that may not necessarily apply to all?

Now that my foot is back to being flatter on the pedal I feel like the power is being applied more directly through the sole of my shoe, with the eSoles I switched to after my fitting further enhancing this.  The compound effect is that I now find it much easier to engage my glutes and I feel like my quads are firing differently.  It’s as if dormant muscles are now being triggered and contributing more – so much so that I initially thought it was my lack of riding recently that was making my legs ache!  What I find most pleasing is that this change has reminded me of how I used to ride, and it’s a long time since I had that feeling.

As for the Bonts themselves; they’re very good, although not perfect.  They could probably do with some further moulding, and in reality I probably need the wide fitting and an extra half size up.  The build quality isn’t great either – one of the cleat fitting bolts moved during cleat mounting which then made it tricky to tighten.  That aside, the power transfer through the *stupidly* stiff sole feels incredible.

Being completely honest, I miss the Boa dials from the Specialized – particularly when it comes to slackening the tension as ratchets have a habit of loosening right off rather than just backing off a notch or two.  The velcro strap across the front of the shoe doesn’t feel like it does much either, but the construction of the main ratcheted strap is such that the shoe does feel incredibly secure and very comfortable.

In a nutshell, I’m probably going to order that half size up wide fitting version, so they must be pretty good.

What was the point of this article?  I guess what I’m saying is to choose your disco slippers carefully.  Get fitted for your shoes, and I mean get fitted properly – nice though it is to get those spangly Sidis / Fiziks / Mavics / etc., they might not actually suit your foot and then you’re just risking discomfort.  Line up some options you like the look of and try as many as you can.  Have backups, be prepared for new suggestions and don’t get sucked in by technology because it might not be right for you (although mouldable shoes now make complete sense to me and I’ll be recommending mouldable Shimanos even if I don’t want to wear them myself).

Don’t try some in a shop and then buy online either – the person doing your fitting has invested time and effort to try and help you so (assuming you can then buy what you want from them) do them the service of thanking them in kind (or at least go back to the shop that could supply what you wanted).

In my experience with shoes, spend what you can stretch to as buying cheaper cycling shoes is often a false economy (buy cheap buy twice and all that).  Consider whether you get toe overlap on your bike as a shoe with a rubber front ‘bumper’ might make the shoe last longer.  Also think about your cleat fitting as a Speedplay-specific sole is often available and will make for a lower stack height and more direct fitment if you can use such a thing – just don’t forget to tweak your saddle height by that extra few mm to compensate.

And lastly, consider your sock colour – yellow shoes and white socks look awful for example.  Don’t knock it, this is a critical factor!

The best thing about my Bonts?  They’re not white.  The amnesty continues…

I mean, check out the logo in the tube end!  Too cool: