Speedvagen Integrated Stem

Vanilla Bicycles' Speedvagen branch just released this awesome integrated stem as an option for regular consumers - rather than just for their Speedvagen bikes. While it looks awesome, I am not sure I can justify $350 for a stem - even one this nice!
They also offer a special limited edition World Championships edition -

Even cooler with a custom paint scheme, and limited quantities, although with a higher price-tag as well.
If you have the funds, these stems are an awesome upgrade to your cross rig. Order here - http://boutique.vanillabicycles.com/category/stems
Maybe order and extra and send it my way too!

Cyclocross Worlds 2013

Yesterday was the World Championship of Cyclocross, the first ever raced on the US shores. We had an awesome year of professional racing in the US this year. Jeremy Powers, as the reigning US champion, put on an amazing season littered with wins and easily led the US in points for the Elite men. His Rapha-Focus teammate, Zach McDonald, in his final year as a U23, also raced incredible as national champion. Unfortunately neither was able to defend their title for 2013/2014, but they did race and win in style all season. Zach almost took home the Elite national title with an amazing ride to finish behind Jonathan Page. Flash forward to the Worlds, and surprising it was Tim Johnson who managed to grab the highest finish for a US Elite, coming in 19th, ahead of Page and Powers who finished in the mid 20s.
Going into the races I, like most cross fans, figured our best bet for a win rested on Katie Compton - the most dominant US crosser for the past for years. Katie was on a roll and managed to win the World Cup this year - no easy task. Yet, in the Elite Women's race, she was unable to hang with Marianne Vos - perhaps the winningest woman in cycling history.
Similarly, in the juniors race, an incredible Logan Owen raced well, but had to settle just off the podium in 4th place.
Not the finished we were all hoping for, but impressive non-the-less, and hopefully next year we have better luck.
Read more here - http://www.cxmagazine.com/

MadFiber - part 1

Some of you may remember that I was lucky enough to ride on MadFiber's carbon hoops back in December for the Washington State CX Championships. I am very happy to say that I was able to get another set for a longer test and I just picked them up the other day.

My visit began with a quick tour of their facilities, over by Seattle landmark Gasworks Park. Amongst the various work stations, you could not only see each step of the assembly process, but also a visual lineage of the revolutionary wheel. It is very interesting to see the original wheel, #001, which looks like the result of a Spinery Rev-X and a Mavic Cosmic Carbone. You can truly see that they were trying to do something new, and the jump to the first production units made the dream a reality. Since then, the MadFiber wheel has evolved into a more polished and well-developed product. Where the originals were using White Industries hub internals, the current version have custom-built internals, along with numerous other changes to increase performance.
After the tour, the MadFiber staff began to get a set of wheels together for me to take home - luckily I received a set of the uber-light tubular model - perfect for some cross and road experiences. In addition to the wheels (packed into that great double-wheel bag shown above), MadFiber also sends you this little goodie bag:

These skewers are very light - what you might expect when you are playing with a set of wheels that comes in around 1085g (actual weight of my set will be in part 2). The skewers are a titanium shaft with lightweight aluminum caps and a carbon fiber arm on the lever. You also get a set of MadFiber valve extenders and a spacer for the 11spd cassette free-body to adapt it to use 10spd. You also get a set of the MadFiber cork-composite brake pads.

The pads are designed specifically for the carbon brake track on the MadFiber wheels, and are built to provide a consistent brake feel during use (avoiding the pulsing that many carbon wheels are prone to create). Since my only experience with the wheels at the moment was during a cross race, I will have more on the actual stopping quality of the pads in the next post.

One thing that I kept reading online while researching the wheels is that people were not happy with the finish of the hubs. The fronts look pretty finished to me - smooth lines and an even surface. The rear is a little trickier, due to the complex shape -

Here you do end up with a small amount of unevenness in the carbon, but nothing distracting or even extremely noticeable - unless you are purposely examining them.

Another thing that comes up is that people aren't fond of the large and bold graphics. MadFiber has started offering specialty decals to help win over these customers, although they also pointed out that the graphics are just vinyl stickers - and are easy to remove if you want a stealthy look.
Overall, the finish on the wheels is very high, part of the benefit of low-production wheels - they have the time to carefully inspect each wheel and ensure it meets their demands. Areas like the valve-stem hole are carefully finished and blend into the wheel. The tubular bed is equally impressive and is part of the strength of the wheels. Now it is time to brake out some glue and get some tires on these wheels. Check back for part 2!

Winter Miles

Here we are in the midst of Winter and in preparation for the 2013 season. This means long stints in the saddle and big mileage to get ready for the 1/2 races. Today was my longest stint yet this winter, and I am glad to relaxing now.
After my 3 hour ride yesterday I started my morning by cleaning and regreasing the chain (an important step for maintaining your gear and sanity - nothing is more draining than listening to your chain squeak the entire ride!) I then rode out to meet my teammates for a few hills and some good miles. After some delay in the main group, Mike and I started off along the route on our own.
Riding along at a slow place we discussed wheel sets for the Baron Outsider bikes we ride in the winter and rainy day training. Since the Outsider uses disc brakes for all-weather stopping, choices aren't as plentiful, but many narrow 29er wheels work perfect. This was something I have been looking into since I really need to replace this Kona Payroll rims that I took off my girlfriend's bike. She is riding happy on the velocity/white industry wheels I ran before, so once I get some new wheels I can finally unload these silly Konas.
After finishing the first hill, the rest of the group was still nowhere to be seen. We kept riding the route and started the 2nd climb where we ran into our teammate Andrew. He hopped onto our wheels and finished the climb with us. At the top we decided to turn around and redo the climb, hoping we would run into the rest of the team. We were right, and about halfway down we saw everyone climbing up. A quick turn-around and now we were climbing again. At the top we regrouped and then rode into Juanita for the final climb of the organized ride. Some of the team kicked up the pace on the climb, but I chose to hold my pace and slowly passed the people who had tried to go all-out and ran out of juice.
At this point it was time to head home. Heading back along the river, I unfortunately battled the wind the entire way, not the best way to end a long day. After the wind tunnel I finally turned off the path and heading up one last hill for my destination. This hill is a long grinder, and by the top you are definitely ready to be done. A nice shower and some lunch is a great reward for these miles, and hopefully come racing, all this work will pay off with some solid results during the season.

Camp 9 Firestation

One of the great rides that I managed to sneak in during my recent trip to California was to the Camp 9 mountain-top firestation in the hills outside of Santa Clarita. This route was nice since you quickly escaped the hustle of the city and you were soon onto a nice open climb up to the station.

After a few rolling hills you arrived at a small farm that claimed to be a filming site for tv and movies. It looked a little small for that work to me, but it was a great place to get a view of the hills you were heading into.

From this point it was all climbing. The road slowly turned up past a small park and started to cut a path along the sides of the mountain as you climbed up. The view along the entire climb was great since you had a open side to the valley and could watch the road as it climbed up ahead of you. After the main climb you ended up in another small park area where you could rest before heading deeper into the mountains or turn onto the fireroad and climb up to the firestation at the top. This road was a little rougher, with large cracks and a rougher chip-seal finish, but the climbing was still great. Since the fireroad was up so high, each corner offered a new view of the valleys, a great little prize for the work of climbing up this far.

Finally you arrived at the top and into the parking area for the firestation. It was surprising to see so many cars there since the climb was so quiet. From this vantage point you could look one way to see Santa Clarita and look the other way and see Los Angeles and even the shine of the ocean.

Once you were ready to move again (and throw on a wind jacket or a vest to keep the chill out) it was time for the long descent. Once again you were subject to the rougher pavement of the fireroads, albeit at a much quicker rate this time. Turning back onto the main roads you were able to really kick up the speed and settle in for an awesome descent. On the smooth and open roads you could really tuck in and fly down. Before you knew it, you were back to the farm and heading back into town. If you are ever in the Santa Clarita area, look up the Camp 9 and plan out a ride. I promise you won't be disappointed.

California Dreaming

Just returned from a brief holiday trip down in the Los Angeles area, and was lucky to borrow a S&S travel bike for the trip. This nice titanium machine was built by Davidson bicycles, a fixture in the Seattle area. Lightweight and strong, titanium is a great choice for a travel bike, ready for anything you might run into, and ready for years of service.

The great part of the S&S design is that these bikes are full-size and ride like a standard bike, while breaking down into a plastic case that is standard luggage size (no oversize charges or random surcharges here). Once you arrive at your final destination you simply reassemble, and within a hour you are ready to hit the road.

The Davidson looked and rode great, and this model has already seen more than 4 years of good use. I had never ridden a titanium frame before, but this beautiful machine was a perfect first example. Fine, even welds and a clean brushed finish drew a few looks on my rides, and the beefy tubes created an excellent ride. I have heard plenty of talk about titanium running soft after years of hard use, but from my brief experience, I noticed nothing to give that impression. I put the bike through only about 200 miles and about 15,000 feet of climbing, but it felt stiff and ready for each climb I approached. Multiple trips into the mountains around Santa Clarita were solid tests, and I also accompanied some friends on a hilly trip through some great spots in LA.
I hope to get some more ride time on this great bike in the future, but was definitely pleased with the performance this time. Some great ride reviews shortly!

Glimpses of Cyclocross

My girlfriend just forwarded me a collection of Instagram photos she took this past Cross season. Even though the racing is over, it is fun to look back and remember the races. Enjoy!