Newsletter Issue No. 804
April 5, 2018
By Lars Hundley On Facebook this week, one of the biggest eyebrow raising posts of the week was this one about a guy who sued a 10 year old girl after he jogged into the back of her bike and fell.
Check out this ride that appeared in our Road Bike Rider Strava cycling club. 107 miles, 14,400 feet of climbing, more than eight hours of riding and the giant suffer score that goes with it! Super impressive.
This week’s bike of the week is really two bikes, owned by reader Tom Riley. Tom writes:
“In the early 90s my wife and I lived in Belgium for a time, which required a visit to the Merckx factory just north of Brussels. While there I was measured for and purchased a Corsa Extra. It was the latest and greatest for that time period, Campy Record components including Delta brakes. This was my primary road bike from 1994 until 2015 and it currently serves as my hot standby bike and also Zwift bike.
In 2015 I purchased, on the occasion of my 50th birthday, a Merckx San Remo outfitted with Campy Chorus. Although there were plenty of high end bikes from which to choose I went with another Merckx, not because it was the lightest or most advanced or most popular but because I subscribe to the Merckx philosophy. Merckx, it seems to me, has always focused on the quality of the ride and controllability of the bicycle rather than following trends. Likewise with the Campy components.”
Dealing With a Loose Cassette
By Jim Langley The other morning on my short almost all-downhill commute to the office my Cervelo S5 started making an awful rattle. I knew straight away what it was because nothing else on road bikes makes quite as loud and metallic a sound. What had happened is the cassette lockring had loosened. That’s the small part that threads onto the rear wheel’s hub to lock the sprockets in place. The whole part, lockring and sprockets, is called the “cassette.” And the individual sprockets are called “cogs.”
It’s a simple design and easy part to work on and fix as long as you are capable of removing your rear wheel and have the right tool for the brand of cassette used on your bike. You can have a bicycle shop mechanic do it for you because it’s a quick and inexpensive repair. But, if it happens the day before a bike event, it’s nice to have the tools to do it yourself to take care of it ASAP. Read more.
In the Bookstore: Intensity Training For Cyclists
Adding intensity to workouts is the fastest way to improve. Whatever your goal in cycling, intense training will benefit your body in various ways. This article explains how the right amount of intensity (and recovery) produces a significant improvement in speed, power, strength and even endurance. It includes daily workouts, weekly schedules, and a yearly plan.
Delta Cycle Shop Bike Rack Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum I’m a firm believer in the N+1 rule, but storage can become an issue. Currently I own 4 bikes and all have different size tires. From 23mm road bike to a 32mm cross bike to a 5” fat tire.
Hanging the two road bikes and cross bike by hooks from the garage ceiling isn’t too bad, but I struggled to find a convenient way to store my fat tire bike. That’s until I was roaming the isles of CABDA (Chicago Area Bicycle Dealers Association) in February. I came across the Delta Cycle booth and saw their Shop Rack.
It was exactly what I had been looking for and more! Read more.
Anti-Aging: Aging Is a State of Mind
By John Hughes I exercise for recreation — to re-create. Different physiological systems inevitably start to worsen with age. However, by enjoying re-creation in many ways I’m fitter than I’ve been for years and I have more FUN getting this fit than I’ve had in years.
While road cycling remains my primary sport, I’ve incorporated a number of other sports and activities into my overall recreation. For aerobic exercise and to keep our bones strong my wife and I hike with packs in the summer and on snowshoes in the winter. We XC ski together a lot — we’re planning a trip to Norway to ski to celebrate my 70th birthday. To keep my muscles from atrophying, I do strength training with simple equipment at home. And because I’m a roadie, I ride my road bike year-round for cycling-specific exercise. Read more.
Three Advanced Techniques for Roadies
By Coach Fred Matheny Got your basic riding techniques all figured out? Make sure you also know these three advanced moves that come in handy and raise your road cycling skills to a new level.
How many can you do with confidence?
Question of the Week
This week’s question related to Sheri’s bike rack review. Whether you own one or many bikes, you have to put them someplace. How do you store your bike or bikes? Answer here.
From Our Sponsor: Tailwind Rebuild
I had a great phone call last week with Jenny Vierling, co-founder of Tailwind Nutrition, an RBR sponsor. She told me about their brand new recovery product called Tailwind Rebuild which I’ll be trying out soon. “We start with organic rice protein, and supplement it with amino acids to make that protein complete. Then we add carbohydrates, some healthy fats from coconut milk, and just the right amount of electrolytes.”
There’s a window of time after an exercise effort when your body is primed to replenish glycogen stores. As Tailwind puts it, “For 30 to 60 minutes after exercise, your body is in a special state, where insulin secretion is back to normal, but the body’s sensitivity to insulin is still increased. This is the best time to replenish your glycogen energy stores. This is when you want to refuel after exercise and why Tailwind Rebuild also contains carbohydrates in the form of dextrose and sucrose.”
Ever been in a situation where you finish a big ride but aren’t anywhere near home to replenish with a real meal? That would be a perfect time for using Rebuild. Learn more.
Need higher resolution pictures of Tom’s bikes, any zoom in on the ones above is immediately fuzzy.
Sorry Tom. After seeing the great picture of the bike last week I agonized over the quality of the pictures that I had sent. I never expected to be the centerfold!