Newsletter Issue No. 1152
December 19, 2024
New Product News: Park Tool’s CC-4.2 Chain Checker
Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
With modern 11-speed (and up) drivetrains, it’s important to keep track of chain wear because if you use a chain for too long it will begin to wear. It’s not that older chains didn’t wear too, such as 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-speed ones. It’s just that some manufacturers are recommending replacement earlier than they did before on those wider chains. Read more.
Getting Back Your Motivation to Ride
By Lars Hundley
Even the most dedicated cyclists sometimes struggle to get out the door. Whether it’s age, changing priorities, or simple boredom with familiar routes, motivation can be tough to maintain. But staying excited about cycling isn’t just about willpower – it’s about smart strategies that keep you coming back for more. If you’re just not feeling it lately, here are some suggestions to get you back on track. Read more.
45NRTH Öland Cycling Boot Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
As a Midwestern cyclist, when the temperatures start to dip and the snow is flying, I reach for my 45NRth gear. This Minnesota-based company understands the challenges of winter weather and designs its gear to keep you comfortable and warm, from head to toe, in the harshest conditions. Read more.
How Old is Too Old? A Reader’s Reply
By Katherine Jeter
How old is too old to keep cycling? That was the question posed to Road Bike Rider. How old is too old to keep skiing? How old is too old to keep driving? How old is too old for women to keep dying their hair blond? Of course, there is no right answer for these questions that vex elders, their spouses, children and physicians. There was a robust study conducted in England some years ago studying serious cyclists in their 80s showing that their immune systems were that of much younger people. Of course these findings emboldened many an old cyclist to keep pedaling! Read more.
When cycling with a group, when do road-hazard and traffic warnings become excessive?
QUESTION: When cycling with a group, when do road-hazard and traffic warnings from fellow riders become excessive? I’ve done a lot of solo cycling, so I’m used to watching for road hazards and traffic myself. But recently, I joined a bike club and have started riding with a group, which I mostly enjoy, but the number of verbal or hand-signal warnings from other riders often seems excessive, and it becomes annoying to have to pass back every warning about small road cracks that aren’t likely to trip anybody up, or when on a busy highway, to keep calling out “Car back” when motor vehicles are passing every few seconds, and every rider should be expecting the traffic. —Harry H. Read more.
Question of the Week
Do you use an anti-theft tracking device on any of your bikes (like an AirTag)?
Other Cool Things to Read
CyclingUpToDate: One of the peloton’s oldest riders secures contract for 2025
Cycling Weekly: A year-long bike ride changed my life: 11 transformative journeys by bike
Garmin: A 2024 review of all the cycling data collected by Garmin Connect over the year
Road.cc: A radical new take on road bike shifters or an “ergonomic disaster”?
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Observations on Cleaning Parts With an Ultrasonic Cleaner
End Notes
New Treatment for Muscle Cramps
I wanted to pass along a new treatment for leg cramps. I suffer from these after long rides or particularly hard rides. I also get them in the evenings, or a night not related to exercise. I have tried everything out there including calcium, magnesium, pickle juice, quinine. etc. As a doctor I have read all the medical literature on the subject and discovered it is a poorly understood, but very common phenomenon. Nothing reliably works. Clearly it is important to be well hydrated and I have had some success with powders that supply high sodium and potassium. There are many brands which vary in their electrolyte concentrations and I don’t feel any one is better than another.
However, I recently came across an article, (Vitamin K2 in Managing Nocturnal Leg Cramps
A Randomized Clinical Trial JAMA Intern Med. 2024;184(12):1443-1447. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.5726.) I have begun using Vitamin K2 tablets daily for over a month and have not had a single cramp despite daily riding here in the South Florida heat. So at least for me it works and I thought I should share. Good luck!
I used these that I found on Amazon but have no evidence this formulation is better nor any financial interest in the company.
Carlyle Vitamin K2 and D3 Supplement | 300 Softgels | 200mcg K2 MK7 & 10,000 IU D3
Disclaimer: despite being a physician, ( general surgeon) this is not medical advice, just a recommendation from a cyclist with leg cramps.
Thank you for this! I too am plagued by the same cramping scenarios. Ordered the supplement immediately, and hope it works for me as it does for you.
Thanks for the information. I regularly drink pickle juice for leg cramps. I’ll try them and see how they work.