Newsletter Issue No. 967
May 27, 2021
Anti-Aging: How To Slow The Loss Of Fitness & Regain It During Recovery, Part 2
By Coach John Hughes
Unfortunately for many of us aging includes more time off the bike due to injury, illness, surgery, etc. Fortunately, the more years you’ve been riding the less fitness you’ll lose and the faster you’ll regain it.
Andy writes, “I’m a longtime reader of RBR. I am a 70-year-old long time road bike rider. I ride up to 100 miles a week in the good weather, and run also. Over the past couple of years I have slowed compared to the 60 year olds in the Sunday group. My Strava segment times are 5-10% longer than 4-5 years ago. Probably a loss of muscle mass.” Read more.
How to Fix a Loose Cassette on a Bike
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.” Read more.
Bad Eating Leads To Bad Cycling — Eventually
By Kevin Kolodziejski
Michelle Kwan knows what we’re all about.
She’s the former ice skater who won 5 World Championships and 9 total World Championship medals over a period of 12 years. During that time, Kwan also earned silver and bronze medals at the Winter Olympic Games. Read more.
Beware of the Dog! Avoid This Power Training Mistake
By Martin Sigrist
As you may have gathered I’m a huge fan of training with power. However it’s not perfect. It has one major drawback, one that I have experienced and one that I find it very hard to overcome. It’s a variant on the obvious one: addiction to numbers. Read more.
KOM Cycling Indoor Cycling Desk
By Brandon Bilyeu
KOM Cycling was founded in 2016, and their name is a reference to their founders’ passion for chasing KOM segment crowns. To improve their performance, they started designing and selling bike accessories for tubeless setups, bike computer mounts, and indoor riding. And unlike most things cycling-related, the price points for KOM Cycling products can be described with words like “reasonable” instead of the more common “obscene.” Read more.
Garmin Edge 1030 Plus Cycling Computer Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
Garmin launched the Edge 130 Plus and 1030 Plus at the same time. I reviewed the 130 Plus a while back and have been tinkering around with the 1030 Plus for a while. With over a dozen new features added from the previous version, I wanted to explore as many as possible before submitting my review. There were so many features available on the 1030 unit; I doubt anyone used them all, and now add a dozen more. But it’s nice to know they’re there when you need them. Read more.
The “Secret” of Finding Flow
By Greg Conderacci
In an earlier article, we talked about the magic of “Flow,” that wonderful state (on or off the bike) that is so absorbing that you lose track of time, terrain and headwinds and glide along effortlessly. That’s probably what Lance Armstrong was describing when he said it felt like the bike had “no chain” when he was on a roll. Read more.
Review of Da Brim Bicycle Helmet Visor
By Stan Purdum
Reviews are often reserved for new products, and Da Brim’s product line has been around since 2010, so their detachable helmet visors and brims are not new. But they are mostly unused by road bike riders, making them new to us. Read more.
Tifosi Optics New Clarion Red Fototec Lens – Quick Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
Yesterday was the perfect scenario for testing Tifosi’s new Clarion Red Fototec lens. My ride started on a partly sunny morning with clouds building and possible showers. If I got caught in the rain, I didn’t want to be wearing dark sunglasses. The new lens is primarily clear in low light, allowing 64% of the surrounding light to reach your eyes. Then it transitions to a darker grey tint with a Clarion Red reflective mirror when fully activated on a sunny day, transmitting only 14% of the light to your eyes. Instead of carrying two pairs of sunglasses or wearing a pair with lenses to dark or light, the Fototec lens changed darkness in response to the changing sunlight. Read more.
Lumen Metabolism Tracker Device Review
By Andrea Hundley
Have you ever wondered how to tell if your body is burning fat? There are many devices out there that will tell you if you are in ketosis, but they require you to use blood or pee on a strip of paper. Lumen is the first device that can answer this question just using your breath. Read more.
You’re Never Too Old to Make Positive Changes
By Martin Sigrist
15 years ago when I was fat and unfit I was inspired by a forum post that attained legendary status.
From memory it went something like this. Read more.
Stop Cycling’s Showstoppers
Stop Cycling’s Showstoppers is about prevention. Coach John Hughes covers all of the things that can go wrong and interfere with a ride. He explains how to avoid issues involving equipment, nutrition, weather, ailments, injuries, discouragement, and more. In addition, this eBook is a valuable primer on topics such as riding comfort, training and riding skills. Stop Cycling’s Showstoppers is a workbook to help you diagnose and prevent problems.
Question of the Week
Do you ever commute on a bicycle?
Other Cool Stuff to Read
Road.cc: Centenarian cycling record holder dies aged 109
Bicycle Retailer: Study finds bicycle-related injuries, adult deaths increase during 2009-2018
Bicycle Retailer: Bike commuting almost doubles over past two decades, according to report
Cycling Weekly: Chris Froome on dominance of young riders: ‘15-year-olds can get on Strava and see how Tour de France winners are training’
End Note
Quick advice from Coach Shultz: Pedal with your feet flatter across the bottom of the pedal stroke. Avoid over-pointing the toes.
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