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Condolences
2008-05-14 23:37:00
Have you realized that the world is grieving? These past few days and weeks have seen huge death tolls in Burma and recently, China. The Red Cross estimates that 128,000 may have perished in the cyclones and the AFP reports that over 40,000 may be missing or are buried underneath the quake rubble. Combine this with the rising food crisis, famine in many areas of the world, deaths in the middle east, and ofcourse, malnutrition and disease that's relentlessly killing people in parts of Africa and Asia and its a very very distressing world calamity. We're pretty fortunate to be in the safer parts of the world, to earn good money, to be able to hop on our bikes and run or go fishing and be with our families without knowing who will drop bombs on our roof or when the fault in the earth underneath our feet will give away.The moral I think is : Don't always take things for granted. Thank someone at the end of the day. And help others if you can.
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The Art of Countersteering
2008-05-14 21:49:00
I was fortunate enough to land on a video, thanks to My Shaved Legs and user IanJSeattle.. As unconscious a behavior is walking and breathing to humans, so is counter steering to the cyclist (oh of course, most cyclists are human too unless you beg to differ). I find it slightly ridiculous that a big deal is made out of this principle in most cycling books, when in fact each one of us uses it pretty much on a daily basis, whenever we ride.To handle a corner, you have to effectively lean into a turn so as to shift the combined center of mass of you and your bicycle. If you don't lean, centrifugal forces will disturb the balance of forces and throw you to the ground.How counter steering works : SourceBut the only way to cause that lean is to move the support points in the opposite direction first - a tiny jolt of the handlebars for a fraction of second depending on speed that we aren't really conscious of but it exists, as this video proves with a slow motion camera. The counter st...

1991 Colnago Ferrari C35 Collector's Edition
2008-05-14 02:17:00
I wish I were friends with Alex Wong. Because he happens to have something I don't.Mr. Wong has put up a collector's edition of a 1991 Colnago C35 up on EBAY, carved in red carbon fiber composite and 24K plated gold. Bling bling!I thought the seller's description was interesting.Mr. Wong says (unedited) : "In the summer of 1991, I was invited by Ferrari to visit the factory and test drive an Ferrari F40 that I have purchased, which I took delivery on September. While at the factory, I purchase this Ferrari Cologna C35 in Ferrari Red at the Ferrari store across the street from the factory, for $ 8,000 US (that was while US dollar was at the strongest), I had it ship back to the US. I don’t ride bicycle, this was mean to be a collector piece, I had this bike since then, it has never been ridden, and it is in museum quality."Now it is quite apparent that Mr. Wong, even though rich beyond doubt, doesn't ride a bicycle as he had the audacity not only to spell words horribly wr...
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Tuesday Shorts
2008-05-13 05:33:00
1. Fantastic racing is on in Italy. Catch all the action of the Giro on the 'Downtube' to your right.Marco Pantani Canta la sigla del Giro d'ItaliaUploaded by corfin64(Man, Pantani sings like wow... where can I buy an album? Or can I 'pirate' a cd, no pun intended?)2. Public demand for the "coffee cup" look was overwhelming. I brought it back. If you're a cycling nerd and like to learn or waste/kill clock, don't come here without coffee. You'll get a little more cozy each time (or something is wrong with me).3. Robert Riley Product Design Enterprises sells DIY (Do-It-Yourself) engineering plans to make your own Ground Hugger recumbent.Plans may be purchased as CAD drawings in electronic format (dxf format on 3-1/2-inch disks), as large 24 x 36-inch prints on bond paper, or in a set containing both CAD and printed drawings. This is probably a nice way to get into hobby bicycle building.4. A nice graphic here. The bicycle is the most popular mode of transportation in the world...
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The Weldtite Factory
2008-05-10 01:44:00
Check out how Weldtite's bicycle lubricants are manufactured. Weldtite is a popular tools,lubricant and repair accessories company in the UK.
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Broken Fork
2008-05-10 01:28:00
Seen at Gent Wevelgem '08 by photographer Tim de Waele. No idea about the rider but it seems like he's from the AG2r team.Anyone has any info?
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Bugno And Mozart : The Little Secret
2008-05-07 20:01:00
The Tour de France has produced some of the greatest champions cycling has ever seen. It takes more than just the ability to ride with the toughest competitors from around the world. It takes more than just passion to race or the will to survive 3 weeks of grueling punishment and harsh terrain. These boys are tough, made of a certain kind of caliber and mental toughness that we can't define. Little wonder is it that some of the biggest names in cycling had tough pasts and incredible stories of overcoming challenges behind them that often looms larger over what they actually achieved in racing. For example, if you asked me if winning the Tour seven times was the biggest achievement for Lance, I'd probably say it could be. But he beat cancer. He beat cancer and then he won more races. Thats two different things.What is greater then? - the will to survive and the will to live, to throw a middle finger at death or drinking champagne to victory seven times at the Champs-Élysées.Anyway,...
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TREK Design and Engineering Screencasts
2008-05-05 23:31:00
When I hopped onto the Solidworks main webpage this afternoon, I was pleased to see a head banner enclosing screencasts of TREK designing bicycles with the software. If engineering and bicycles piques you, then you may be very interested in watching these screencasts and going through the case studies. Click here to view the page.There is no doubt in my mind that CAD (computer aided design) applications have revolutionized the way modern bicycles are designed and manufactured. When you think of CAD, Solidworks quickly comes to mind. Over the past few years, it has been on top of its game, enabling mechanical engineers and designers all over the world transform design ideas and intent to fruition, increasing efficiency, decreasing lead times and importantly, time to market. It is no wonder then that recently, Solidworks 2008 was chosen as the Product of the Year as part of the NASA Tech Brief's Readers Choice Award.
More About: Design , Engineering , Trek , Modern , Manufacturing

Ideas for New Cycling Products : Part 2
2008-05-05 20:43:00
Continued from the past post, Part 1.7. Adaptive Stiffness - Wacky idea. A bike that will adapt its stiffness the more you ride it. Say Sam is a new bicyclist, knows nothing about bikes and goes out an purchases a new road bike model. Initially, for say the first 500-1000 miles, the bike is very compliant and accommodating, hence it is comfortable and he loves it. The more he rides it and perhaps races on it, the more the bicycle's stiffness adapts to his riding patterns. I'm thinking that the material of construction is a "smart" material that detects how the stresses it is subjected to changes as a function of time and then suitably "adapts". A cyclist knowing this, may perhaps be inclined to put more miles to get his bicycle to 'change'. This is the most perfect symbiosis I can think of in any sporting equipment - as a cyclist gets stronger and is able to ride more, the bicycle adapts too, yielding the rider more confidence in sprints and climbs.8. The Smart Bicycle - Oh boy,...
More About: Ideas , Products , Cycling , Modern

Ideas for New Cycling Products : Part 1
2008-05-05 20:29:00
There's a fair number of people out there who think that the bicycle industry is stagnant. That there is no engineering, no new ideas and not enough, you know that certain something compared to other industries which I don't know how to define. I have come up with some of my own ideas for possible new cycling products/ideas. Some of this may be practical, some over the edge and wacky and some swims in the realm of science fiction (hey, but look what Arthur C. Clarke did for space exploration!!)I haven't gone too much into the technicalities of any because that will defeat the purpose of me writing this. They are simply ideas and I hope they will influence, stimulate or even inspire your own thinking. If you're willing to contribute more, do drop in comments. If you have a winning idea, keep it for the patent office.1. On the go tire inflation/deflation system - A monitoring system mounted on the handlebars detects tire pressure while riding. If pressures are too low and in orde...
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Sunday Shorts
2008-05-04 06:12:00
1. While lightweight carbon frames have nothing to do with cycling performance, they are absolutely critical in this situation.2. Continental borrows the condom vending idea for its "tubes".3. This summer, just pull down someone's pants to know what sport they're into. Make friends!4. The KING of all punctures. Bow down and pay your homages.5. New meanings are added to the Lore of the Victory Salute post. Read if you haven't dared to.6. I thought the dorkiest cycling commercial would be the "I am Tom Boonen I am Specialized" nonsense, but seems like Selle Italia has taken over. This video can happily kiss our bottoms.7. While the spectators began leaving and the podium was taken down, an aero trike crossed the finish line in record time. Say, have you kept options open and ever explored walking.....8. Last but not the least, on a more serious note, Dave Moulton highlights the colorful history behind the Paris Galibier frame design, legacy of the late London frame maker Harry...
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Liege '08, 10 K to go
2008-05-04 03:48:00
Here's a very interesting move I watched on TV last week. Its one of a kind because it involves two brothers on the same team working for each other. Watch.At 261 kms and with a road profile that'll make the jaws of a shark look poor, this race is not for the weak.With 10K to go, the younger of the Schlek brothers, Andy on the CSC team attacks the other trio consisting of the magnificent Rebellin, the cunning Valverde and his older brother, the temperamental Frank.Frank lets Andy go because the brothers have devised a 1-2 move. Frank will sit in and do no work while the other two give everything they've got to bridge the gap. Andy is only too ready to put it on the line for Frank, who missed his chance at the Liege in 2007 when he finished third.The move goes as planned. When the two catch Andy (not shown in the video above), the older brother counter-attacks. The oldest trick in the book!Unfortunately, Rebelling is only too wiser and gets onto Frank's wheel taking Valverde with...

Brano's 'C-Thru' Frame
2008-05-04 01:03:00
Courtesy : BMEBrano Meres' C-Thru frame and bicycle, one which he displayed at the NAHBS 2008 earlier this year, is not to be mistakenly confused with an isotruss frame as some of you may. The geometries are quite different. While one has a well defined open lattice structure, this one just has "holes". For more pictures, visit Brano's website link here.Brano is a mechanical engineer and when I caught up with him last week to ask him what his plans are with this bike, he did mention that "I just wanted to use and test this framed structure for the bicycle. I built just this one frame and I don't want to build another one."For a fun show bike project, I have to say that it looks really marvelous.By now ofcourse, you should have known that the isotruss bike (famously the Arantix Delta 7) although very creative and original, has come under overwhelming criticism from critics and riders all over. Personally, when I look at this frame, I first ask the question : "What great need is it...
More About: Modern , Frame

"E-Textile" Turn Signal Jacket
2008-05-02 04:31:00
Picture Courtesy : Leah's Flickr StreamA few of you will remember that I ran a post a few weeks back on the Reactiv Cycling Jacket , an Dyson award winning design by Michael Chen from Middlesex University.I stumbled on a very similar project by Leah Buechley, a post doctoral researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Leah's research interests are in a one of kind field called "E-Textile s", what she describes as an "intersection of computational and physical media, focusing on computational textiles or electronic textiles (e-textiles) - soft, flexible, fabric-based computers." Her research was the recipient of the best paper award at the 2006 International Symposium on Wearable Computers (L. Buechley, A Construction Kit for Electronic Textiles) and has been featured in the New York Times, Popular Science, CRAFT Magazine, the Journal of Architectural Design, the Boston Globe, the Denver Post and the Taipei Times. Wow, talk about pu...
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The Ideal Weightweenie
2008-04-30 18:40:00
Times have changed. Brothers and sisters, I speak unto you the truth, with the shining light of the table above. The destination of the ideal weightweenie is not a quest for the philosopher's stone, as some of our purist brothers and sisters will have us believe. To live and act the purposeful climber's life, we must look to our inner selves. Literally. There are multiple avenues to buy power. We do not see. Look to your inner self, yes inner self.Times have changed, brothers...Fat is our enemy, and duplicated body parts superfluous. Oh I tell you, when the road turns up to the heavens, and gradients become hurdles, the struggles of life blends itself with the pounds of waste we carry and every gram magnifies itself by tons, until they turn into evil demons in the air and tingle our feet with lactic acid and our lungs with the fire of Shahmuth. Lactate is our foe, weight its foot solider! We must leave no stone unturned! Yes, we must destroy both with one sprint!Must we toil and b...
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A New Header
2008-04-30 02:30:00
A new header for this blog has gone online tonight. How do you like it? Does it represent this blog better? Does it suck? Can you view it? Is it too distracting?What do I think?! I think its pretty stimulating but I'll leave it there.I credit the overall design to Divya Daniel from Long Island, NY so give her a holler ya'll! We did it fairly quickly today, taking us about 2 hours. Its all done in good ol' MS Paint since I'll frankly admit that Photoshop simply escapes me. Someday, I'll master that rascal. The images were my idea, including that weird bee but we hope it's friendly enough.
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Nokon Brake Cable Failure
2008-04-29 21:34:00
My front Nokon cable snapped at the race this Sunday. Thankfully it happened in the last stretches of the race so I was able to use both my brakes for the most part. Now this is a dangerous situation, especially if you're riding somewhere hilly. The front brakes are crucial. I think a fair share of good luck was with me.Now I haven't paid too much attention to the cables, but I'll just presume that they started fraying around the clamp point, and the brakes were also not sufficiently adjusted closer to the rim. When that happens, you keep braking on and off with a larger travel and soon the cyclic tensioning snaps it at some point in time. The rear brake cable looks fine though.I don't think this should have happened so early. I rode only 1200 miles this season so far. :(Bontrager Tubular Spoke Failure Another friend, a young 17 year old racer broke one of his spokes on his Bontrager tubulars. I wish I had a camera to catch it. This boy is pretty talented but the fact is, he's ...
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BBC Marilla East 2
2008-04-29 21:16:00
Lets do some racing!Local champs - (left to right) Bryan Bonn, Attilio Nicosia, Mr. X and John GarrettIts a communal time post race. Everyone goes to everyone else and yaps about how well he rode and how better he could have done if it weren't for "insert main complaint here".Coach Frank Grillo's ZIPP hubs from the early 90's... he says they suck. Giggle.Bananas and cold water make the nutrition corner. Thank you guys.
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BBC Marilla East 1
2008-04-29 20:55:00
A Race B Race Time: 1 hours 55 minutes Time: 1 hour 47 minutes Distance: 47.5 Miles Distance: 40.0 Miles Plc. Name Pts. Team Plc. Name Pts. Team 1 Jason Skalski 39 Handle 1 David Van Horn 47 Berts 2 Joe Cooke 38 TBS 2 Gary Nadeau 46 3 Steve Burgett 37 Dundees 3 Adam Trost 45 TBS 4 Ken Thomas 36 Wachovia 4 Cameron Townsend 44 TPB/P2P 5 Dan Youhess 35 Handle 5 Stephen Hoadley 43 Job One 6 James Cowle 34 Wachovia 6 Greg Jensen 42 TBS 7 Peter Nuessle 33 Ingram 7 Vince Lorenz 41 TBS 8 David Hawkes 32 Ingram ...
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Economical Carbon Fiber?
2008-04-28 05:59:00
Are we heading into the age of cost effective carbon fiber composites? I sure hope so. The only way its going to come down is to continually invest in new technologies, particularly on the manufacturing side (automation, saving energy and time for production and less scrap/wastage for efficiency).Check out this cool video from Fiber forge Composites that details a new patented manufacturing process that promises to bring down costs of advanced composites in high volume for wide variety of applications. Its educative and makes you think why someone else didn't come up with this ages ago. A section of the video shows some examples of products they have tried the process on, including a glass fiber shoe insole for a cycling shoe.I think they're definitely onto something here. Should bicycle companies start consulting them? I think they should keep an open mind and make an effort. The cost of performance bicycles continues to grow to ridiculous proportions, making many people rethink e...
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Wheel Tags : Self Expression for the Hoops
2008-04-28 02:59:00
Not everyone agrees with the so-called 'stealth' look of plain deep rims. Atleast not a company called Wheel Tags and its customers.The brainchild of three avid cyclists, Wheeltags was the ultimate solution to melding passions, experience, friendship and intuitive design. Kevin Koval, Matt Tanner and Jenn Vona created Wheeltags with an eye on today?s bicycling industry and the thrust of customization and personalization into commercial markets.Inspiration came when a business acquaintance at Roark Custom Titanium Bicycles asked Matt to assist him with a custom disc wheel design. Although airbrushing was the standard method of obtaining unique colors and shapes (with impressive coverage), the Wheeltags team quickly realized there had to be a better way. Unmatched in durability and ease of application, vinyl lettering and full-press printing could offer bike rims the opportunity to finally stand out amid the grim, gray rolling masses.Read more here.I want one that'll say "Follow me...
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How a Bicycle Cassette is Made
2008-04-28 01:28:00
The new SRAM "Powerdome" OG-1090 - from birth to finished productCourtesy : HuangHere's an excellent picture showing the life of a rear cassette (cluster) as it is starts out from a 10lb block of steel to something cyclists can recognize. The process is handled by a CNC machine for quick, precise and cost efficient machining.Producing this is a two-step process.1) A block of chromoly (chromium-molybdenum) steel is milled into a dome, with the cog teeth. Then its CNC-machined into the dome (3rd picture from left). SRAM states that one cassette requires a full hour of milling and machining before it's done.2) The steel gets a nickel finish to give it immense hardness (last picture). SRAM's testing indicates that it's 35% harder than titanium. They wear out at a slower rate, so you end up replacing your cassette less often. This steel 8-cog block then gets paired with two additional "floating" cogs to make 10 cogs total. [Competitive Cyclist]One of the most important performance as...
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Collier's Destroyed Cannondale System Six
2008-04-27 00:52:00
Courtesy : STLTodayStiffness, vertical compliance, lateral rigidity or attractive aero shapes - none matter when you and your machine succumb to the ineviteble. What Cannondale dubs "the most explosive frame that we've have ever developed" lies before us in a state that truly stands nowhere far from exploded.This is the aftermath of Corey Colliers? bicycle after a high-speed crash 40 miles into Stage 3 of the Tour de Georgia last week. Timmy Duggan who went down with him suffered a severe concussion, a broken scapula and clavicle and was rushed to a hospital.The crash happened just after the peloton descended down a bluff to cross the Broad River, 65km into the stage. Up to that point the terrain had been flat like the first two days, but the peloton was crossing the bridge at speeds reaching 80km/h when Collier's wheel became wedged in the concrete surface, sending him over the handlebars. [Cycling News]3 different pieces here, no steerer tube ...
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What Dave's Thinking
2008-04-25 22:52:00
Money(with sly, villianish smile).. 'mmmm, that team bonus for attracting further sponsorship will soon be mine.. Gillette, here I come!'Pleasure"Aaah! The pleasant sensations of hair after a hard race!"Proud(nodding to audience) "..yes yes, we did some test runs in the wind tunnel. this setup was more you know, aero... aaiyy sheynem dank!" (yiddish for thankyou)Entrepreneur (Chamois Cream)"These nuts is finally coming to fruition finally after years of tweaking different creams..."A Better Idea(with exasperation, faking podium smile) "..boy, I've gotten to such a bad plateau in fitness that shaving this off should add some speed. Ok, definitely tonight."What do you think Dave's thinking?Picture Courtesy : Frank SteelePost Idea Courtesy : TDFBlog
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A Pop Quiz
2008-04-24 02:50:00
I'm confident that a wide spectrum of people from all walks of life and experiences read this blog. Thank you and keep reading. Take it a step further and contribute to comments. I'd like to be senstitive to your issues and problems as well. Cross talk and reaching out is great, especially with this web 2.0 phenomena. Furthermore, if any of you are experiencing problems such as color disparities, slow page load times, browser hangups etc, do get these things out to me by email if possible. I will optimize as much as I can with the resources that I currently have. It will be a loss on my part if none of you can read what I post.I have 2 more things to add :1. I need the experience and knowledge of you readers to help me fill out the 'Failed Bicycle Ideas' section on the left sidebar (scroll down, underneath 'Bicycle Industry'). I filled one out today called the Itera plastic bicycle, which was a total failure with customers. Other ideas that come to mind are the electronic shif...
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Japanese Automated Bicycle Parking System
2008-04-22 19:48:00
Courtesy : Danny ChooThe Problem : Tokyo is an overcrowded city, with 15 million bicycles registered to Tokyo's 30 million residents. Land is expensive. Bicycle s here are only the first link in the long commuting chain from home to work by rail. Bicycles also tend to be parked illegally because there is almost no railway owned bicycle parking. These bicycles are then raided and confiscated by officers, and a fine of almost 20 dollars or more is incurred to get it back. The density of bicycles parked on sidewalks or roadsides severely hinder road traffic and pedestrians.An Engineering Solution : The railways and subways realized they have a duty to provide parking for their customers using the bicycle as the first mode of access. Nishi-Kasai Station in Edogawa now boasts something thats easily the first of its kind - a huge multi-level bicycle parking tower that is fully automated. The system can store upto 9,400 bikes. There are similar facilities for cars and can be found in many...
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Stash Folding Helmets For Easy Storage
2008-04-21 21:53:00
Sometime back, UK based company Stashkit brought out a multi sports helmet that can be folded and inverted at the sides to about 60% claimed reduction and 330 grams of weight. Attractive organic styling is used for the injection-molded ABS (acrylonitrile?butadiene?styrene copolymer) outer shells bonded to EPS (expanded polystyrene foam) liners. Stash uses quality ABS material from brand name Terluran® known for its high-quality surface finish and good gloss. It also has a high scratch and abrasion resistance and is unique in such an application.German company Edelrid Sports also came up with something similar in their Madillo but it is for rock climbing.The background idea though will tick with bicycle commuters, especially those with big heads that don't really know what to do with their 'pots' when off the bike.Click here to view a Stash helmet drop test for impact absorption, if you have not seen one before. This is a standard metal anvil test done in a laboratory setting (wi...
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Carbon Composites One of Top Ten Materials Science Advancements
2008-04-21 20:59:00
In an article titled "Top Ten Advances In Materials Science ",editor Jonathan Wood of Materials Today named carbon fiber reinforced plastics as the 6th most relevant advancement of our times. The article throws out a nice picture of the Olympic Lotus bicycle to represent the developments and applications of the material.The article also states :"The development of carbon fibers, together with advances in design, modeling, and manufacturing, has given rise to composite materials with controlled, specific properties. ?Rather than an engineer using a constant set of material characteristics, organic-matrix composites and the associated manufacturing methodology now enables the engineer to design the material for a specific application,? says Richard A. Vaia of the Air Force Research Laboratory. ?The manufacturing science has opened up new frontiers, effectively moving component desig...
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Hincapie and Backstedt Break Wheels
2008-04-21 06:39:00
To win a race, you need to finish with good time. Having a mechanical in a grueling race like Paris-Roubaix will obviously take a huge chunk of time out of your advantage. So smart wheel choices seem the way to go. The norm for the Queen of the classics are strong, traditional box section rims with tubular tires, anywhere from 24 to 27mm in casing width.George Hincapie and Magnus backstedt both lost their wheels. Amazingly, George made it in 9th place but Backstedt wasn't so lucky this year.Backstedt's Wheels : ZIPP 404Courtesy : Cycling NewsCourtesy : James WatsonMaaskant?s finish stood as sweet vindication for Slipstream, which saw its classics man, Swede Magnus Backstedt, felled by mechanical difficulties during the race?s 18th sector of pavé, the dreaded 2.4km slog through the forest of Arenberg. Backstedt, the 2004 Roubaix winner, emerged from the forest with two cracked deep-section carbon wheels. During the wheel change, one of the Swede?s brake pads slipped out of the cali...
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How I Won The Tour of the Battenkill
2008-04-21 03:18:00
On a trainer I mean....That's right folks. It was a blazing hot day (80+ degrees) for a 60 mile bike race, which is one of the reasons the photo of me above has almost angelic substance to it (or the photographer is horribly bad. Or the camera sucks, which cannot be the case. Its mine!)Earlier, the previous evening, the Mayers hosted our short stay. Howard Mayer, with his long white beard which must have a lengthy tale behind it itself, treated us to a story of his 20 or more tractors, volkswagons and his Ford Model-T before a much more interesting session on how to drink Guinness beer Irish style.Caught an old Model T in the garage. She needs a paint job, don't you think?An auspicious full moon hangs aboveAfter a night of peaceful slumber, we woke up to find ourselves in the midst of rural country.Calves in the backyardOff Howard goes early morning in an intimidating tractorWe headed to Salem to do some racing. The lots were full of cars. If anyone was caught riding around on gr...
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