The Cycling Thread

[Rick Danger]

Cycling News.com

Richmond announces bid for 2015 world championships
USA works to bring worlds home

By: Cycling News
Published: December 21, 15:54

The US city of Richmond, Virginia officially announced that it would put in a bid to host the 2015 UCI road world championships today. Mayor Dwight C. Jones, Shadetree Sports principals Darach McQuaid and David Kalman and USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson confirmed speculation about the bid that came out of a previous announcement of the press conference.

It has been almost 25 years since the worlds were held in the USA when Colorado hosted the event. Johnson detailed how far the country has come in professional cycling since the Olympic Games opened up to professionals in 1996 when professional cycling "barely existed" in the country.

"Fast forward to today and there are more than 130 American riders going to Europe, and we have 6000 racing and training days there and facilities Italy, Belgium and Germany," Johnson said.

"The future has never been brighter, so it's time to bring the sport back to America, which is why I'm so excited that Richmond has started developing the bid to bring the world championships back to America."

Mayor Jones described the cycling palmares of his city, saying, "We were the only city to host a stage of the Tour de Trump and Tour Dupont every year during the history of that event, as well as the Cap Tech classic from 2003 to 2006."

US Pro road champion Ben King, born in nearby North Garden, Virginia, explained how important the world championships are to every professional cyclist. "Everyone dreams of representing their country at the world championships. I've dreamed of bringing myself to the world championships, but to have the world championships come to us would be amazing."

The bid will be registered with the UCI next year.

[Rick Danger]

Williams System 30 "The Rolleur"

The Williams custom designed 30s have been created to offer the benefits of a drag reducing deep-dish rim profile while keeping the advantages of a lightweight, dependable alloy clincher. At 1580 grams, the 30s offer a fast and energy saving wheelset that cuts through wind for those long break-away efforts, or when called upon to chase at high-speeds for a team leader.

The 30s are an excellent choice for the rider looking for that all-around wheelset dependable for technical criteriums, exposed road races, or that hilly time trial where weight is as important as aerodynamics. As with all Williams wheelsets, the 30s also offer hubs built with Hybrid Ceramic Bearing Technology to reduce rolling resistance, increase durability, and improve stiffness. A 190 pound rider weight limit, etc.



• Hybrid ceramic bearings
• 700C Clincher
• Shimano 9/10 or Campy 10
• Hand built construction
• Easy maintenance
• Niobium superalloy rim material
• Bladed spokes
• Williams quick release skewers
• Williams carbon pads

Williams also manufactures tires and tubes, QR skewers, carbon brake pads, wheel bags, and cycling apparel.

http://www.williamscycling.com/


CYCLINGNEWS REVIEW
On Test: Williams Cycling Wheel System 30
November 27, 2006

Cyclingnews Technical Editor James Huang pounds on a set of all-purpose Wheel System 30 for a couple of months and finds that sometimes you actually get more than you paid for.

Impressively well-built lightweight hoops that won't break the bank. Williams Cycling isn't exactly a household name in cycling (yet?), but its ambitious sales model hopes to put top-quality wheelsets into the hands of riders with just average-sized wallets.

Who the heck is Williams Cycling?
Keith Williams is like many of us: having ridden and raced for a number of years, Williams developed a strong affection (or is it an affliction?) for high-end bicycle parts. However, those same years of riding and racing also took their toll on that equipment, and the high-end price tag with which those parts were typically associated left an increasingly bitter aftertaste.

Before long, Williams was doing his componentry homework and zeroed in on higher-value options that offered more bang for less buck. After retiring from racing last year, Williams decided to proactively utilize that research and experience in the hotly contested road wheelset market, and thus Williams Cycling was born with the goal of delivering "great wheels at a great value".

Survey says
The Wheel System 30's rather minor caveats are simply steamrolled by its outstanding value. Williams Cycling manages to offer impressive all-around performance at a truly bargain basement asking price coupled with good reliability and solid build quality. What else is there to ask for? Unless you're a label hound or the kind of person that complains that the 2-for-1 deal on cereal at your local grocery store doesn't also include a free gallon of milk, the answer is, not much at all.

Simply put, the Wheel System 30 is an absolute screaming deal and deserves serious consideration for anyone looking for a top-quality wheelset.

Price: $479 US

Pros: Lightweight and well-built wheels with superb value, all-inclusive package, easily interchangeable freehub bodies.
Cons: Somewhat untested reliability.

[Rick Danger]

Cycling News.com

McEwen, Hunter join Team RadioShack
Sprinters get a Christmas gift after Pegasus Sports failure

By: Cycling News
Published: December 23, 21:56


Robbie McEwen___Robbie Hunter

Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen and South African Robbie Hunter will join Team RadioShack for the 2011 season, the team announced today. Both riders were facing unemployment after the failure of the Pegasus Sports team to gain a UCI Professional Continental license.

McEwen was widely tipped to be heading to the American team of Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong since the team lost its sprinter Gert Steegmans to Quick Step earlier this month.

McEwen, a three-time Tour de France points classification winner and Hunter, the first South African to win a Tour de France stage, will fit perfectly in the team said Bruyneel.

"I feel sad for the riders and staff of the Pegasus project, but most of the riders deserve to race at the highest level of professional cycling. I am happy to have been able to offer two of the guys that opportunity," Bruyneel said in a press release. "Moreover, we can really use both riders; they are real finishers and winners. They are both very fast and don't need a real sprinter's train to bring them to the last kilometer. They are ‘self-sufficient' and will also be a wealth of knowledge for our young riders."

McEwen was relieved to secure a contract for what he said will be his final season in the peloton, and said RadioShack was his first choice.

"Johan Bruyneel offered me the environment I was looking for. I am happy and grateful. I still know and believe that I am one of the fastest sprinters in the world," McEwen said. "The young guys like Cavendish, Farrar or Greipel are tough to beat but I know that I am still amongst that group of elite sprinters.

"I still have a lot to offer. I just don't want to ride one more year just to ride along in the bunch. I want to perform well and go away on a high."

Hunter was also understandably delighted to be signed with the team, and Bruyneel revealed that the team had tried to sign him in 2009. Hunter said that continuing with Pegasus Sports as a Continental team was not an "The Australians really had a nice project. I was looking forward to being part of their Team, but for me it was not an option to race on a continental team. I am still too ambitious.

"Team RadioShack suits me very well. I've proved in the past that I have no problem sacrificing my chances for another rider as I did last year for Tylar Farrar. Also in 2011 the Team can count on me and I know that they will give me the opportunity to do my own sprints, too."

With McEwen at 38 years of age and Hunter at 33, the two are some of the older riders on the team, but with Armstrong and Chris Horner at 39, Levi Leipheimer and Jason McCartney at 37, the team has plenty of contemporaries.

"Robbie McEwen is not the youngest guy in the peloton, but in our team we know exactly what riders are capable of at a certain age," said Bruyneel. "Robbie proved this year that he is still able to win ProTour races. Moreover I count on him to help our very young talented riders in the team find their way in the peloton."

The RadioShack 2011 team:

Lance Armstrong (USA)
Fumiyuki Beppu (Japan)
Sam Bewley (New Zealand)
Jani Brajkovic (Slovenia)
Matthew Busche (USA)
Manuel Cardoso (Portugal)
Philip Deignan (Ireland)
Ben Hermans (Belgium)
Chris Horner (USA)
Robbie Hunter (South Africia)
Markel Irizar (Spain)
Ben King (USA)
Andreas Klöden (Germany)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Geoffroy Lequatre (France)
Tiago Machado (Portugal)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Robbie McEwen (Australia)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Kazakhstan)
Nélson Oliveira (Portugal)
Sérgio Paulinho (Portugal)
Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine)
Gregory Rast (Switzerland)
Sébastien Rosseler (Belgium)
Ivan Rovny (Russia)
Jesse Sergent (New Zealand)
Bjørn Selander (USA
Haimar Zubeldia (Spain)
Directors: Johan Bruyneel (Belgium), José Azevedo (Portugal), Dirk Demol (Belgium), Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia) and Alain Gallopin (France).

[Rick Danger]

To all of you who have participated on this thread, and to all of yours........

I wish you the fruits of the holiday season everyday of your life:

Joy. Peace. Love.

[Rick Danger]

Tech news: Is electronic Shimano Ultegra on the horizon ?
Shimano isn't denying rumours about possible groupset addition

By: Matt Pacocha, Bikeradar.com
Published: December 26, 01:41

Shimano launched its electronic Dura-Ace road groupset, dubbed Di2 (Digital Integrated Intelligence), last year to acclaim from racers, riders and the press alike. Just about the only issue anyone had with it was the price – over $3,000.

Rumors now suggest that a cheaper electric groupset based on Shimano's second-tier road group, Ultegra, may be on the horizon for 2012.

The French wheel building blog Roues Artisanales published a story earlier this month claiming confirmation of a new group that "will probably be called Di2 Ultegra 6770 and will certainly make electronic [shifting] more affordable".

When BikeRadar contacted Shimano North America for comment, PR manager Devin Walton said he could not confirm the rumours – but he didn't categorically deny them either. "What they're tweeting [writing] about is certainly nothing that they've heard from Shimano or any Shimano employee," he said. "So for now, it's rumour."

It seems obvious that Shimano would want to capitalise on the accolades and rave reviews given to its Di2 group by bringing its price down and making it available to a wider ridership - this Walton didn't deny. But timing is everything and he stressed that if an electric Ultegra group is in the works, it's much too early to talk about it.

Walton gave 2008's Dura-Ace carbon crank as an example. "That ended up coming out a year after we announced it," he said "And then at that point, even though we ended up taking some pre-orders, we ultimately decided that the value was just silly. When you compared it to the aluminum crank it just didn't make sense, so we never went into production."

While no details are known, we imagine that when an electric Ultegra group is unveiled it will likely be a supplemental transmission supported by the current Ultegra 6700 brakes, crank, cassette and wheels, in the same way the current Di2 is supported by Dura-Ace 7900 components.

Cyclingnews' technical editor, James Huang, predicts that the Ultegra version will be identical in terms of use, actuation and function. "In typical Shimano style, I'm guessing it'll just be heavier but share the same electrical components internally," he said.

[Rick Danger]

YAHOO ! News Weekend Edition

Mountain biking indoors? Try Cleveland, Ohio
By Harry Hurt
Thu Dec 23, 6:39 pm ET



I mounted a seven-foot-high wooden platform inside Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, Ohio, trying desperately to channel the daredevil spirit of Evel Knievel so that I wouldn't embarrass myself in front of my jumping instructor, a 16-year-old girl named Lindsey Prososki. Once again, the situation I had gotten myself into was -- in a word -- terrifying.

Prior to that morning, I had never ridden a mountain bike, outdoors or indoors. Crouched in the saddle of a borrowed Trek Mullet, I was now preparing to hurtle down a ramp off the seven-foot-high platform and then -- assuming all went as planned -- up a ramp to a five-foot-high platform and into a pit of red and gray foam squares.

Lindsey, a petite blond whose high school classmates tease her for being a "tomboy," flashed a smile that could have launched a thousand BMXs off a cliff above the nearby Cuyahoga River.

"You can do it," she assured. "I was 13 when I jumped the pit for the first time. Just get down with it, and you'll be beasting."

Down with it or up with it, I figured my chances of emulating Lindsey's youthful athleticism were between Slim and None, and Slim had just left town to join the Miami Heat with the former Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James.

I'd spent less than three hours under Lindsey's tutelage, progressing from the beginner area to the intermediate area. It was like going through an obstacle course in some strange medieval castle. Sprawling over 135,000 square feet inside a former parachute manufacturing plant, the park features a literally dizzying array of wooden-planked trails, teeter-totters, humps, ridges, ramps, and rocky outcroppings designed to simulate outdoor mountain biking conditions.

For an expert like Lindsey with more than four years' experience, my forthcoming jump into the foam pit was no big deal compared to turning 360s off a series of plywood moguls. But according to the park's general manager, no rank novice had even attempted such a feat before completing at least three to four weeks of practice.

That's why I was channeling Evil Knievel. After busting his pelvis in a failed attempt to jump his motorcycle over 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in England in 1975, he refused a stretcher. "I came in walking, I went out walking," he noted.

I had the exact same aim. To accomplish it, I had to do three things: (1) keep my pedals level going down and up the ramps; (2) stay "light on the bike" by standing up out of the saddle while I pedaled between the ramps; and (3) keep my eyes focused on the white line marking the front lip of the foam pit.

The moment I arched out of the saddle of my borrowed bike and pushed off the top of the seven-foot platform, my stomach plummeted to my heels. Everything became a blur. I had no idea if my pedals were level or not. My heart ballooned like it had been injected with an air pump. My leg muscles throbbed.

Suddenly, and quite miraculously, I flew over the lip of the foam pit and landed upright on both wheels. Within a nanosecond, I tumbled down to the right and my bike plunged away to the left. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of red and gray waves. Then I heard Lindsey cheering. I whooped and hollered, tossing up foam squares. Even though I was hardly a match for Evel Knievel, I had dared my personal devil and won an adrenaline rush beyond compare -- I was beasting!

[Rick Danger]

Atlantic City, NJ_________________Brooklyn, NY___________________Manhattan, NY_________________Newark, NJ

As you probably know the East Coast was hit hard by a blizzard on Sunday. New Jersey was especially hard hit, with as much as 32" of snow - most of it falling between 6PM Sunday and 2AM Monday. (the first picture is the boardwalk in Atlantic City !).

Needless to say, snow tires for my MTB have been on my mind for the past two days. I looked at the major manufacturers to see what they offered, and here's what I came up with.


Continential http://www.conti-online.com/generato.../index_en.html

Spike Claw - available with either 120 or 240 studs of hardened steel. Size 26 x 2.10.


Kenda http://www.kendausa.com/en/home/bicycle/

Klondike Standard - features 169 carbide tipped studs. Size 26 x 1.95.

Klondike Wide - a 252 carbide tipped studded tire, designed for long life in the harshest of conditions. Size 26 x 2.10.

Klondike Skinny - Designed for cyclocross with 100 studs. Sizes 700 x 35 and 700 x 40.


Schwalbe http://smtp.schwalbetires.com/

Ice Spiker - features 304 specially long spikes offer maximum traction on snow and ice. The Ice Spiker Pro features 361 tungsten-carbide core spikes clad in aluminum. Size 26 x 2.10.


For you 29'ers, there appears to be only two options. The Innova Studded Tire is constructed of a steel bead and uses replaceable studs. It is available in 700 x 35C with 110 studs or 700C x 45c with 114 studs. This appears to be the bargain basement of studded tires at just under $40 retail.


The Nokian Gazza Extreme 294 is available in 29 x 2.10 with a whopping 294 studs.


Studded tires are pricey so shop around !

[dill99]

Cool FUJI Road Bike-Go to performancebicycles.com for more details (forgot to download the specs-my bad).

[Rick Danger]

This appears to be a 2010 Fuji SST 1.0 Road Racing Bike, on sale for $4,999.00:

•C-7 Monocoque High Modulus carbon frame features an aero seat mast, RIB Tech and oversized tubing to maximize stiffness while reducing weight, and an asymmetric head tube for front end rigidity, resulting in a super-light chassis with responsive handling and resilient performance that resists torsional flex

•Featherlight FC-330 full carbon fork, monocoque construction, with Rib Tech smoothes road vibration and handles steep descents without a quiver

•Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrain delivers unparalleled performance for incredibly smooth precision, flex resistance, and ergonomics in an extremely lightweight yet strong design

•Shimano Dura-Ace brakeset exudes CAT-1 racing performance in a robust body that maximizes braking power and modulation while minimizing weight

•Ritchey WCS EVO carbon handlebar and WCS 4-Axis carbon stem offer lightweight strength and aesthetic appeal

•Mavic Ksyrium SL wheelset sets a standard for light, stiff, and smooth-rolling performance that sails through the wind and screams through vertical challenges

•Schwalbe Ultremo R tires feature Radial Technology and High Density Guard to deliver exceptionally low rolling resistance and puncture protection in an extremely light casing

[dill99]

Here's a great workshop in San Fran. Hit the jump for a look.

http://www.bikekitchen.org/