Newsletter Issue No. 816
June 28, 2018
PDF version for Premium Members is here.
Heat Training Improves Cycling Performance
By Coach John Hughes Recent research shows that training in the heat yields more improvement than training in cool conditions! Twenty very fit club cyclists’ one-hour time trial performance was tested in 55F (13C) conditions. Twelve of the riders then trained for 10 days in hot conditions of 104F (40C) riding at 50% of VO2 max, i.e., hard enough to acclimate to the heat, but not hard enough to induce training adaptations for the highly trained athletes. The other eight did the same workouts at 55F (13C). Read more.
4 Questions for Randall Jacobs, Cofounder of THESIS Bikes
By Lars Hundley A few weeks ago, I was introduced to Randall Jacobs through a mutual friend. Randall is the cofounder of THESIS, a new carbon bike brand. I was intrigued by their first bike that’s hitting the market later this summer, because it’s a road bike designed with enough versatility to do everything from traditional road riding to gravel and even bikepacking. It cuts across many different bike niches with just a single bike. Read more.
A Painful Lesson: Is Your Spare Bike Still Ready to Ride?
By John Yoder My ride started out as an ordinary loop from home to a nearby city about 12 miles away, a gentle route I’ve ridden many times before. For the most part, the country roads have light traffic and there is only one major hill, albeit at 11 percent. What was different this day was that I decided to ride my backup bike instead of my normal road bike. This trusty 20-year old, Fuji touring bike is one I keep in the garage as a spare to use for those times when my normal road bike, a Bike Friday, is in the shop or otherwise needs some mechanical attention. Read more.
Racing Bicycles, The Illustrated Story of Road Cycling, Excerpt
By Nick Higgins An illustrated excerpt from the newly released road cycling book by Nick Higgins.
Covering everything from historical bike designs and components to the famous races and pro riders we all know and love, it’s a fun and informative book for road cycling fans. Read more.
ASSOS MILLE GT Short Sleeve Jersey and T.milleShorts_s7 Bibshorts Review
By Brandon Bilyeu The MILLE GT short sleeve jersey is a simple yet refined cycling top. To keep the price reasonable ASSOS pared down all the fancy features to produce a classic style jersey that still retains all the functionality we expect: full front zipper, three back pockets, good stretch/fit, decent breathability, and moisture management. I was very happy to see they splurged on UV protection fabric. Read more.
Choosing a Bicycle Pump Head for Easy Inflation
By Jim Langley This week, let’s go over something great to know when choosing bicycle pumps, both ones to take along on your bike for flats on the road, and home pumps — also known as floor pumps — because they stand up on the ground, making pumping fast and easy. Read more.
Question of the Week
Are you particular about your bike pump?