Newsletter Issue No. 1240
September 3, 2026
Product Review: Saris Cycle-On 2 Bike Hitch Rack – E-bike Ready
Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
We’ve reviewed many hitch-type vehicle racks for bicycles over the years. Most share a common basic design feature, which is that the bicycles are held solely by their wheels. No part of the rack touches anything except the wheels and tires. Some only touch the tires. Read more.
Focus and Breathing on the Bike
By Arnie Baker, MD
Focus has intensity, width, direction, and relevance. Athletes can learn to intensify, narrow, internalize, and associate their focus and thereby improve their performance. Learning focused, coordinated breathing is one of the best tools to achieve this gain. Read more.
Showers Pass NEW Century Jacket – Quick Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
In May, Showers Pass launched a complete technical and fabric overhaul of their Century jacket. The company’s iconic rain jacket, around for three decades, is specifically designed for cyclists, keeping riders covered even in the drops. The elongated sleeves keep arms and wrists covered even when riding in the drops. A shorter front hem prevents the jacket from bunching up, and a drop-tail rear hem protects the rider’s bottom from road spray. Read more.
Your Ride Getting Tough? Try Self-Talk
By Kevin Kolodziejski
“If You Can Believe It, You Can Achieve It”
When I see that oh-so-common poster saying adorning school walls, I want to pull an Oedipus and poke my eyes out. Read more.
Can I tour self-supported with my Trek Domane AL5 ebike?
Question: Due to lung cancer and removal of half my left lung, I switched to a Trek Domane AL5 ebike, which I like. The range of the battery from all the research I did says 50+. I get maybe 30 to 35 max, so I bought an additional external battery, and with both of them, I’m getting max 70 miles out of them. Next year, I’m planning on riding the Pacific Coast Trail from the Canadian to Mexican border on that bike. I know there are more touring type bikes available, but I really don’t wanna spend another $4000-$5000. Do you think it’s worth setting this bike up with fenders, racks, panniers, etc.? I am staying in hotels along the way, not camping, so I won’t be carrying a lot of weight. —Kevin O. Read more.
Quick Tip: Indoor Training Has One Major Advantage
A modern smart trainer does more than just keep you riding when the weather is bad. The biggest advantage of using one is a controlled environment.
Outside, even a well-planned interval can be interrupted by traffic, stop signs, wind, hills or another rider. On a smart trainer, a training app can give you a defined workout. If you use ERG mode, you can even tell the trainer what resistance to apply for each interval. That lets you focus on cadence, breathing and form instead of watching for the next intersection.
Of course this doesn’t mean indoor riding is automatically better. Long outdoor rides teach pacing, handling and the judgment needed for real roads. But when you want a specific physical workout like steady threshold intervals, short hard repeats or cadence practice, the trainer removes many variables.
Training apps make it much easier to find a workout that fits the time you have. Zwift, TrainerRoad, ROUVY and other services offer libraries of structured sessions, so if you have 45 minutes, you can choose a 45-minute workout with a clear goal instead of inventing one as you ride.
Smart trainers also give you more options if you have a specific plan. If a coach gives you a workout, most of the apps that work with them let you build it yourself or import a compatible workout file. That means the trainer can guide you through the exact warm-up, intervals and recovery periods your coach intended.
The trainer does not make the work easy though! In ERG mode it’s often just the opposite, because it will force you to pedal the wattage you’re supposed to hit for the workout. You can’t go a little too easy like you can outside. The trainer simply makes the work clear. That is a major advantage when your goal is a focused session, not a tour of the neighborhood. Leave a comment.
Other Cool Things to Read
Cycling Weekly: Everybody is going shorter on cranks, but the science on power, fit and comfort is more complicated than the hype
PezCycling News: Your FTP drops the moment you ride indoors, and the reason isn’t that you’re getting weaker
road.cc: Meet the U-lock that survived 10 angle grinder discs
CyclingAbout: Carbon rims or aluminum? He crushed both in a lab press, and the results aren’t what most riders assume
Velora: Carrying his own shelter and food across 1,275 miles of Kyrgyzstan, Justinas Leveika won the Silk Road Mountain Race by a full day
Question of the Week
Do you ever buy used cycling gear from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace?
Most Clicked Last Week
End Notes
