April 29, 2021
7 Tips for Bike Fit for Older Riders
By Coach John Hughes
I lived and coached in Boulder, CO for 24 years. I took about 100 clients to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine (BCSM) for bike fits by my good friend Andy Pruitt and his staff. Andy founded the BCSM. He’s the dean of bike fitters. He’s fitted riders in the pro peloton, causal riders and everyone in between. I took one 50-year-old client to see Andy. Andy measured the client’s power output, fitted the bike correctly and re-measured the power output: five percent more power! Read more.
Park Tool HBH-3 Extendable Handlebar Holder
By Jim Langley
If you’ve ever had a frame or nice brake damaged by the front end of your bike flopping to the side, you’ll appreciate this new gem from Park Tool. Bicycle front ends tend to swing to the side most when you’re working on your bike in a repair stand – especially if you raise the front of the bike more than the rear. Read more.
Sponsor: Delta Cooling Tee from Aero Tech Designs
The new Delta Cooling Tee from Aero Tech Designs uses advanced fabric cooling technology by Polartec, a leading athletic performance fabric manufacturer. The Delta is a non-traditional jersey that is very versatile, and can be worn in other day to day activities. This fabric is lightweight, excellent at wicking moisture, and regulates body temperature. This jersey can also work as a baselayer underneath a jersey.
The Aero Tech Delta Tee Shirt is made entirely of Polartec Delta™ fabric.
This fabric disperses perspiration to increase cooling surfaces and dry quicker. The unique composition of the fabric increases airflow which keeps you cooler.
The Aero Tech Delta Tee features two back pockets that are secured with zippers. These pockets were placed off center on the back. This helps prevent the jersey from sagging when the pockets are in use. Each zipper has reflective elements on them to increase visibility.
The Delta Tee is available at aerotechdesigns.com and retails for $49.99. We make this tee at our Pittsburgh, PA sewing facility.
10 Reasons to Ride
By Martin Sigrist
One of the nice things about cycling is that it gives you time to think and recently my thoughts turned to all the other nice things that cycling has to offer.
I came up with 10 “reasons to ride” but I am sure I’ve missed some so would be interested to hear find out what those might be. Read more.
What Makes a Good Fork?
By Rick Schultz
I recently had a customer come in for a bike fit who didn’t realize he had a damaged/cracked carbon fork. The fork came off a 2014’ish Giant TCR Advanced Pro. I usually perform a quick safety inspection of my customers bicycles to see if there is anything that stands out as an issue. The issue was that whoever built or fixed his TCR in the past cut the steerer tube a little too long causing the stem cap to bottom out on the stem just shy of being able to correctly preload the headset bearings. This caused the fork to rock back and forth. So, instead of correctly diagnosing the actual problem, someone took the easier way out and just cranked down on the stem cap screw and stem pinch bolts ever tighter. Their action caused the fork to crack in 2 places. Read more.
Polar Breakaway Muck Insulated Bottle Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
We’ve all been there: A rainy road ride, dusty gravel grinder, or a muddy trail ride. You go to take a drink and the bottle is a filthy mess. You try to wipe it clean with your jersey but who knows what grimy residue is still lurking. Polar took their best-selling Breakaway® insulated bottle and added a Muckguard™ to addresses just this problem. Read more.
Consume Macros Mindfully, Drop Weight (and Your Buddies on Climbs) Definitely
By Kevin Kolodziejski
My last article, “How Much Does Bicycle Weight Matter?,” gives example after example where shaving grams from your bicycle is the financial equivalent to dry shaving your legs with a dull razor after a long winter of negligence. The conclusion of the column, though, offers an alternative that neither nicks nor cuts or causes any bleeding of your bank account. Read more.
Focus, Form, Flow: Disciplines of the Elite Rider
By Greg Conderacci
Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, you can ride the Tour de France against hundreds of other riders in your basement and post your results on Strava. Chasing avatars on your trainer provides motivation and great training. Read more.
Honey Stinger Rapid Hydration Mix Quick Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
On April 12th Honey Stinger introduced their new Rapid Hydration Mix, an all-natural, three-part system designed to help athletes of all levels to perform at their peak. The powder mixes are designed for each phase of training and competition: Prepare, Perform, and Recover. Read more.
Exercise and the Gut Microbiome
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
The hottest area of research in medicine today is about the bacteria in your colon called the microbiome. More and more studies show that exercise, in addition to a healthful diet, helps to increase the numbers of healthful bacteria in your colon that may prevent or treat obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, inflammation and even certain cancers. Read more.
Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process
Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process by Coach John Hughes explains why intensity training is important and the pros and cons of gauging intensity using rate of perceived exertion, heart rate and power. It includes how to do intensity exercise and different intensity workouts. The book explains how to get the most benefit from your endurance rides. It has sample training plans to increase your annual riding miles and to build up to 25-, 50-, 100- and 200-mile rides. It integrates endurance and intensity training into an annual plan for optimal results. Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process incorporates the latest research and is your comprehensive guide to continuing to ride well into your 80s and even your 90s.
Question of the Week
Are you concerned about gut health?
Other Cool Stuff to Read
NY Times: If You Build It, They Will Bike: Pop-Up Lanes Increased Cycling
VeloNews: Sealant in inner tubes; breaking titanium pedal spindles
Cycling Weekly: Ranked: Cycling’s 10 biggest badasses
Cycling News: 10 Unconventional Ways to Become a Very Fast Masters Cyclist
Sticky Bottle: Playing it cool: The things cyclists should never reveal about themselves
End Note
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