OK, this won't be as sick as the tag line suggests (but it got you to look!)
First up, I picked up the new Novara wool sweater. About the only thing that's cycling specific about it is that it say "Novara Bicycles" across the back. It's a nice coffee brown stylish piece though not really something you'd wear riding. It's not cut for cycling, lacks pockets, and the fit is kind of funny. I got a medium and it's crazy long. OK, that seems to be pretty much par for the course with wool. Don't know why it is but every wool cycling top I try seems to be way too long in the torso and too short in the sleeves. I've tried tops from Swobo, Kucharik, Castelli, and a few others.
On the French front it appears the frogs took a dig at Lance during the presentation of the 2006 Tour route. Why is anyone surprised by this? While it's easy to write off as yet another example of the French being French I'm not show sure us Americans are any better. How do you think we'd react if a French team won the Super Bowl? Or a German team won the World Series? Of course we'll never know because the "World" Series is only open to American teams (Toronto doesn't count - I doubt anyone in their line-up is actually Candadian!) as is the Super Bowl. It's pretty easy to say you're the best in the world when you don't allow the rest of the world to play. Hell the good old US of A baseball team didn't even qualify for the Olympics! Probably just as well since chances are none of the top American players could pass an IOC drug test. Bitch all you want about the French ripping on Lance but face up to the fact that we're no better. Actually, we're probably worse - at least the French let foreign teams enter their race!
Monday, October 31, 2005
Thursday, October 27, 2005
It's a material world
Was in a bike shop the other day and heard a sales person tell a potential customer that they shouldn't buy a Cannondale because "aluminum is stiff and will beat you up."
You hear and read this a lot in the bike business. Too bad it's not true. It amazes me how much misinformation is propagated by ignorant bike shop employees and bike magazines. I guess this is what happens when companies are run by marketing people instead of engineers. Like "waterproof breathable rain gear" this is yet another example of where marketing people seem to act in complete defiance of the laws of physics and most consumers are too ignorant to know any better.
Didn't any of these people stay awake during science class in high school? Heck, let's put down the textbook for a second and just focus on the bike world and ask ourselves a couple of simple questions:
1) If aluminum is stiffer than steel why are track handlebars (where stiffness is of paramount importance) preferred over aluminum?
2) If aluminum is stiffer than steel why don't we have aluminum ball bearings, hub axles, BB axles, etc?
3) If aluminum is stiffer than steel why were the aluminum Alan and Vitus frames of the 90's criticized for being too flexible?
The reality is aluminum is softer and more flexible than steel (assuming same dimensions). That's not an opinion but rather a fact of science. This also explains why it's lighter. A lighter material has a lower density. A lower density means lower weight. You can see the pecking order by busting out the periodic table of the elements (yeah, the one from the high school chemistry class that most marketing people seem to have slept through):
Iron (the main component of steel) is # 26
Titanium is # 22
Aluminum is # 13
Carbon is # 6
The lower the number, the lighter and less dense the material. The lowest numbers on the periodic table are the gases hydrogen (# 1) and helium (#2) - which have both been used in balloons and blimps because they're actually lighter than air. At the other end of the scale you have tungsten (# 74) and uranium (# 92) which are used to make the armor piercing rounds fired by tank cannons. Anti-tank armor piercing rounds actually have no explosives in them, they're simply solid darts of tungsten or depleted uranium that rely on their high density and extreme velocity to penetrate the armor plating of their target (I spent several years as a M-60A3 and M1-A1 Abrams tank crewman). Gold, well know for its heft is also pretty low down on the list at # 79.
What makes most (though certainly not all) aluminum bikes so stiff isn't the aluminum at all. Rather it's the diameter of the tube. In a nutshell, the larger the diameter the more resistant to twisting. A great example of this is to ride a Klein or Cannondale and an old Vitus or Alan. All four are made from aluminum but the Klein and Cannondale feature massively oversized tubes while the Vitus and Alan feature tubes not much larger than conventional steel tubes. As a result the Klein and Cannondale are almost impervious to flex making them excellent bikes for climbing and sprinting at the expense of comfort. The Vitus and Alan on the other hand are notoriously flexible and were prized for their smooth ride and all day comfort.
The next time someone in a bike shop or bike magazine tries to tell you aluminum is stiffer than steel tell them to go back to school and learn some basic science.
You hear and read this a lot in the bike business. Too bad it's not true. It amazes me how much misinformation is propagated by ignorant bike shop employees and bike magazines. I guess this is what happens when companies are run by marketing people instead of engineers. Like "waterproof breathable rain gear" this is yet another example of where marketing people seem to act in complete defiance of the laws of physics and most consumers are too ignorant to know any better.
Didn't any of these people stay awake during science class in high school? Heck, let's put down the textbook for a second and just focus on the bike world and ask ourselves a couple of simple questions:
1) If aluminum is stiffer than steel why are track handlebars (where stiffness is of paramount importance) preferred over aluminum?
2) If aluminum is stiffer than steel why don't we have aluminum ball bearings, hub axles, BB axles, etc?
3) If aluminum is stiffer than steel why were the aluminum Alan and Vitus frames of the 90's criticized for being too flexible?
The reality is aluminum is softer and more flexible than steel (assuming same dimensions). That's not an opinion but rather a fact of science. This also explains why it's lighter. A lighter material has a lower density. A lower density means lower weight. You can see the pecking order by busting out the periodic table of the elements (yeah, the one from the high school chemistry class that most marketing people seem to have slept through):
Iron (the main component of steel) is # 26
Titanium is # 22
Aluminum is # 13
Carbon is # 6
The lower the number, the lighter and less dense the material. The lowest numbers on the periodic table are the gases hydrogen (# 1) and helium (#2) - which have both been used in balloons and blimps because they're actually lighter than air. At the other end of the scale you have tungsten (# 74) and uranium (# 92) which are used to make the armor piercing rounds fired by tank cannons. Anti-tank armor piercing rounds actually have no explosives in them, they're simply solid darts of tungsten or depleted uranium that rely on their high density and extreme velocity to penetrate the armor plating of their target (I spent several years as a M-60A3 and M1-A1 Abrams tank crewman). Gold, well know for its heft is also pretty low down on the list at # 79.
What makes most (though certainly not all) aluminum bikes so stiff isn't the aluminum at all. Rather it's the diameter of the tube. In a nutshell, the larger the diameter the more resistant to twisting. A great example of this is to ride a Klein or Cannondale and an old Vitus or Alan. All four are made from aluminum but the Klein and Cannondale feature massively oversized tubes while the Vitus and Alan feature tubes not much larger than conventional steel tubes. As a result the Klein and Cannondale are almost impervious to flex making them excellent bikes for climbing and sprinting at the expense of comfort. The Vitus and Alan on the other hand are notoriously flexible and were prized for their smooth ride and all day comfort.
The next time someone in a bike shop or bike magazine tries to tell you aluminum is stiffer than steel tell them to go back to school and learn some basic science.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Apple
How does Apple do it? Unless you've been under a rock, you're no doubt aware that Apple has launched a version of the iPod that will allow for the playback of video. This isn't a new concept and several other vendors have had portable video devices on the market for sometime now. However, to look at the press you'd think the introduction of the new iPod was the second coming! How does Apple manage to get so much press? Apple fans will say it's because they deliver groundbreaking and well designed products. Unfortunately, history says otherwise. Apple was not the first to come to market with MP3 players, portable video devices, or all-in-one compact computers. Truth is many of their much-hyped products have been duds: the iPod Photo, the Power Mac G4 Cube, the Newton, etc., etc. This failure rate is probably no greater than that of most other consumer electronics companies. The difference was when was the last time a new MP3 player from Sony or Creative made front page news? I wonder how well the Mac Mini is selling. It sports a slow processor, weak video card and paltry hard drive. But who cares, it looks cool!
Don't get me wrong, I think Apple has the lead in design. I can't imagine living without my iPod and iTunes and I'd love to see Apple purchase Tivo (fat chance, I know). I just don't get how every time they introduce something it's treated as a groundbreaking event even though in most cases they're not the first to have come out with such a product.
Update: Two days after I posted this what should arrive in my mail box? The latest issue of Time magazine. The cover photo: Steve jobs holding an iPod Nano while standing in front of an iMac. Never mind devastating earthquakes, floods, storms, wars, political shenanigans or the economy. Apple coming out with revisions of two already existing products (both in categories Apple didn't invent) was apparently the most important story the editors at Time could come up with. Amazing.
Don't get me wrong, I think Apple has the lead in design. I can't imagine living without my iPod and iTunes and I'd love to see Apple purchase Tivo (fat chance, I know). I just don't get how every time they introduce something it's treated as a groundbreaking event even though in most cases they're not the first to have come out with such a product.
Update: Two days after I posted this what should arrive in my mail box? The latest issue of Time magazine. The cover photo: Steve jobs holding an iPod Nano while standing in front of an iMac. Never mind devastating earthquakes, floods, storms, wars, political shenanigans or the economy. Apple coming out with revisions of two already existing products (both in categories Apple didn't invent) was apparently the most important story the editors at Time could come up with. Amazing.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Interloc B-57 brake review
I chose the Interloc B-57 brake for my Soma for a couple of reasons. For starters, they're less expensive than the Shimano long-reach brake. Also I've always like Interloc - they're a smaller company doing some really nice parts at some really nice prices. My old shop had a good relationship with them and they took one of my ideas and made it happen (a long drop cable hanger for cross bikes)
Still, this doesn't give them a free ride. When I pulled the brakes out of the box the first thing that struck me was the finish. The calipers are very nicely polished. Much nicer than the finish on the Shimano long reach brake. These brakes wouldn't look at all out of place on an otherwise all DuraAce or Record bike. Even the caliper quick release is a faux chrome plastic.
The only glitch I had with installation was with the fork crown fixing bolt. Between the thick crown on the carbon/alloy fork, the fender tab, and the light mount the stock bolt was a tad too short. Fortunately, I had a spare longer bolt in my parts bin. Ideally, they should spec a longer bolt since many people choose to run 57mm reach brakes so they can also mount fenders which often attach to the brake. Brake pads are of the cartridge variety ensuring a long life of easy maintenance. The cable adjuster is a two piece design. The actual screw is the part you turn to make adjustments while the washer with the rubber o-ring is used as a locknut to hold the adjustment. This two step approach is a little different than the method used by Shimano but it works great and even allows for finer adjustments.
Out on the road the brakes worked just as well as anything from Shimano. That's pretty high praise. Plenty of power and plenty of modulation. Really not much more to say.
With a retail price of $85-90/pair (about $20-30 less than the Shimano brakes) the Interloc B-57 should be your first choice in 57mm brakes.
(Photo courtesy http://www.interlocracing.com)
Monday, October 03, 2005
First flight
Well I finally took the Soma out for it's inaugural ride on Saturday morning. Nothing too fancy but a good 75 km shakedown ride. For Puget Sounders my route started at my place in Ravenna, along the Burke to Fremont, south to downtown, along Boeing Field to the Interurban, took the trail to Tukwila, over to Renton, up Rainier then MLK and finally to Montlake and back onto the Burke for the last leg home. The route had a couple of hills and some pretty bumpy roads at points. The new bike handled it all very nicely. Just a little rattling from the SKS fenders.
Conditions for the ride were pretty wet throughout and I was quite happy I had fenders mounted. On the final leg I saw some cyclists on racer/poser bikes who didn't have fenders and they looked pretty toasty wearing rain jackets to deal with the spray even though it had stopped raining and was quite sunny. Fenders and a saddlebag are really great for rides like this.
This ride also gave me a chance to wear my new REI Conversion jacket/vest and REI wool zip top. I wore the wool top as a base with a short sleeve D'Allesandro wool jersey over it and the Conversion jacket over that. This turned out to be pretty much perfect for light rain and temps in the 50's/60's. The zip off sleeve/shoulder panel on the Conversion jacket is especially nice.
Conditions for the ride were pretty wet throughout and I was quite happy I had fenders mounted. On the final leg I saw some cyclists on racer/poser bikes who didn't have fenders and they looked pretty toasty wearing rain jackets to deal with the spray even though it had stopped raining and was quite sunny. Fenders and a saddlebag are really great for rides like this.
This ride also gave me a chance to wear my new REI Conversion jacket/vest and REI wool zip top. I wore the wool top as a base with a short sleeve D'Allesandro wool jersey over it and the Conversion jacket over that. This turned out to be pretty much perfect for light rain and temps in the 50's/60's. The zip off sleeve/shoulder panel on the Conversion jacket is especially nice.
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