The Tour de Snore....

I don't know, the TDF had some interesting parts but some of the "epic" battles of the past never seemed to materialize. I waited every day, and while there were some great moments, it was a boring Tour.

How come Cadel Evans can't attack? They FINALLY made him have to take over and he couldn't! Last year was the same. The cool thing about Lance Armstrong (BTW I do not worship LA, I just think he out "toughed" his competition) was at some point, he would step up and destroy his competitors.

Oh well there is always the Vuelta :)

Everthings coming up carbon...

Check out what Mountain Bike Action's Richard Cunningham has to say about the current trend of adding bits of carbon to frames...

Q.
Hi RC! I've noticed that a lot of mountain bikes are coming out with carbon seat stays. I would like to know what are their disadvantages over aluminum seat stays and if your bike has one, what can we do to protect them from damage. Thanks
A.
RC: I know I will incur some wrath here, but, of all the stupid places to use carbon fiber, the seatstay of a mountain bike is the dumbest yet. Does it save weight? No, not unless the previous aluminum stay was poorly designed. Composites are weakest in compression--exactly what the major stresses are on a seatstay. A paper-thin aluminum stay would do a better job and for less money. Basically, it's the easiest place for a bike maker to put carbon where its customers will see it and say "Wow, that is cool."

R.C. You did get the answer partialy right in regards to no weight savings in you answer to if there is any advantage to carbon seat stays. BUT, your comment about composites being weakest in compression is so far off the truth it is not even funny. If composites were weak in compression as you state they would not be used in race car suspension, race car chassis, wheels, powerboats, sail boats including masts of up to 50 meters in length that withstand tons and tons of compression, let alone bicycle frames wheels and components of which most all work primarily in compression. If you don't know the answer, do a little research first before writing

RC: Blah blah blah carbon, blah blah blah carbon. Yeah, I follow most forms of racing and am up on the strength of carbon composites. Race car suspension and racing sailboat masts are probably not the best examples, however, considering they are usually the causes of the carbon fiber yard sales that quite regularly occur in both sports. It is no secret that carbon composite structures can be optomized for compression--but there are places where metal is more cost effective and a better choice. Carbon fiber dropouts, for instance, are popular weight savers for road bike frames, but are easily broken and do not interface well with existing quick releases--repeated compression breaks down the resin matrix. Still, the answer to the seatstay question remains the same--not because of the properties of the most holy carbon fiber in compression--but because the bonded-in aluminum plugs that attach the brake caliper mounts, seat stay arches, pivot locations and such, eat up any weight savings that the maker might have achieved by substituting a cool-looking carbon tube instead of welding the bits together using a thin aluminum tube and eliminating the overlapping bond interfaces. I aplogize for oversimplifying, but it is a necessary evil in Ask R.C.

HEEEEYYYYY, Interestingamundo! So what do YOU think?

Ain't gonna bump with no...

My old Manitou II fork's urethane bumpers have hardened up to the point that I have a rigid fork. I have been trying to find replacements for years. Any time I do (usually on eBay) they sell for more than the fork is worth.

Well, I found a substitute!!! I am not going to tell just yet, but they fit in the fork and seem to be working. I just have to try some different densities to get the right feel. I will be riding on Sunday and will report what I have found.

Hope springs eternal!

Too Many Choices?

Remember when you only had to decide which 10 speed you wanted? Then you had to decide if you wanted a mountain or road bike. At least with those, the choice is easier to make. Now I have to figure out if someone needs a road (drop bar or flat bar), mountain (hard tail, full suspension, single speed, 29'er, etc.) , hybrid, comfort (flat foot or regular), crusier, etc., etc, etc..
The funny thing is most people just want to ride along the river (on the bike path) for a couple of miles! It is amazing how many of them want a full suspension mountain bike. So it is up to me to guide the little bicycle urchins to what they need, not necessarily what they want. (ok the urchins part was a bit much)
Anyway, I am not sure why I am even posting this so I will leave now!

What the World Needs Now...

Well just what we need...a new blog! This one is about all things cycling. It should be used hand in hand with my running blog. For what, I am not sure, but try to use it for good not evil.

One thing you are going to get to see is the rebuild of my 1987 (I think that's when I bought it, it could be 1988) Specialized Rock Hopper Comp. The rims have grooves from the brake, the Manitou II (I put it on around 1990) urethane bumpers are shot etc., etc., etc. A picture is coming. I might be able to help anyone with an older bike wade through the process of trying to find old equipment with modern solutions. Ciao.