21FIXES

7 WAYS TO BOOST SPEED, COMFORT, POWER 

FAST 

21FIXES 

FLATS, DROPPED CHAINS, 

TIRE PRESSURE—SOLVED! 

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW 

OF 2015 

THE SIMPLEST 

TRAINING 

PLAN EVER 

November 2014 | BICYCLING.COM 

HOW TO TAME ANGRY DRIVERS P. 46 

WORLD’S LEADING BIKE MAGAZINE

A grocery bag full of 

free-range chicken, 

because it’s natural. 

Another bag full of 

organic fruit, 

because it’s healthy. 

*Available feature.

A bag full of 

farm-to-table vegetables, 

because it’s responsible. 

A bag full of 

antibiotic-free milk, 

because it’s pure. 

And a can of 

aerosol cheese, because 

America the beautiful. 

When your arms are full, your foot can lend a hand. 

2015 ESCAPE with foot-activated liftgate.*

WITH 

LESS FATIGUE, 

MORE CONTROL.

INTRODUCING NEW COUNTERVAIL ® 

VIBRATION CANCELING TECHNOLOGY 

BIANCHI’S INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO CANCEL VIBRATION 

Bianchi collaborated with Materials Sciences Corp. to develop our innovative and exclusive application of the patented Countervail ® 

integrated vibration canceling system for cycling. The result is the new Bianchi Infi nito CV. 

*Scientifi c studies prove that long term exposure to vibration, typically absorbed by the rider, causes muscle fatigue and discomfort, 

resulting in reduced performance. 

Photo: matteocappe.com 

INTEGRATED SYSTEM PROVEN IN NASA AEROSPACE OPERATIONS 

Traditional passive damping of the frame using superfi cial rubber inserts and isolators are only marginally effective compared to the 

integrated carbon Countervail ® system developed by Bianchi and proven in the extreme conditions of NASA aerospace operations. 

With its patented carbon fi ber architecture and viscoelastic material, Countervail ® carbon material, embedded within our unique 

Infi nito CV carbon lay-up, immediately cancels vibration while increasing the stiffness and strength of the entire frame. 

ADVANTAGES 

· Maximized ride control and handling under normal to extreme vibration loads 

· Reduced muscle fatigue and increased energy savings in distance rides 

· Increased rigidity and peak power output over long distances 

*As noted by the Journal of Sciences and Medicine report. 

ROAD TEST VIBRATION PLATFORM MACHINE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM 

SINGLE IMPULSE FORCE REACTION 

COUNTERVAIL ® MATERIAL EMBEDDED WITHIN THE 

CARBON STRUCTURE 

Countervail ® layers 

Carbon layers 

Acceleration 

TRADITIONAL CARBON FRAME CONTINUES TO 

VIBRATE 

Acceleration 

BIANCHI FRAME WITH COUNTERVAIL ® 

IMMEDIATELY CANCELS VIBRATION 

75% 

INCREASED 

VIBRATION 

CANCELLING 

CAPACITY 

Time 

Time 

www.bianchi.com

FEATURES 

Our November cover models. 

Contents 

NOVEMBER 2014 / VOLUME LV / NUMBER 10 

52 

2015 BIKE PREVIEW 

Seven brand-new models dripping with 

the freshest innovations, eye-catching 

graphics, and game-changing technology. 

Next year can’t come soon enough! 

By BICYCLING Staff 

66 

THE HERETIC WILL SEE YOU NOW 

He may be the world’s most obsessed bike 

fitter. Or the most outlandish. But one thing’s 

for sure, Steve Hogg’s over-the-top approach 

to meshing rider and bike isn’t for everyone. 

And he’s totally fine with that. By Andrew Tilin 

76 

BOOM! 

Riding your bike just got a whole lot easier 

thanks to these 21 simple solutions to 

cycling’s most vexing problems—including 

flat tires, crosswinds, and more. 

By BICYCLING Staff 

FOR BONUS TABLET CONTENT FROM THIS AND PAST ISSUES, GO TO BICYCLING.COM/IPAD AND DOWNLOAD THE APP. 

Photography by JONATHAN PUSHNIK 

NOVEMBER 2014 • BICYCLING.COM 7

WOMEN 

Baggies, bibs, clipped in or flat. 

There’s no trail judge, here. No switchback jury. 

A whoop, a scream, a yeehaw whoohoo!? 

It’s your joy, at your volume. 

Expressed in the now. 

To get rowdy, get after it, get brave, or get strong. 

It doesn’t matter why—it just matters that you do. 

YOUR RIDE. YOUR RULES. 

Why, how, and where you ride—that’s personal. That’s why we focus on 

designing everything you’ll need to ride your way, for whatever reason. 

No matter if you’re just starting out or a seasoned rider, we make bikes 

and equipment for women who write their own rules. 

SPECIALIZED.COM/WOMEN

Contents 

DEPARTMENTS 

32 

IN EVERY ISSUE 

20 | The Selection 

A lube like no other 

22 | The Feed 

You went nuts for PB&J! 

108 | This Way 

Custom wheelbuilder Jude Gerace 

36 

KNOW HOW 

25 | One Zesty Climb 

Tucson’s Mount Lemmon 

26 | Yummy Gummies 

Chewy treats that fuel your rides 

28 | Light-Up Lid 

A flashy new helmet we love 

32 | City Guide: Tucson 

Why cyclists flock to this 

southwest city 

34 | A Life Well Honored 

The Amy D. Foundation empowers 

young women through cycling 

36 | Fan-tastic Fun 

Cowbells, costumes, chaos! The 

best ways to watch a bike race. 

38 | Eat Up! 

Five rides where food stops rival 

the scenery 

40 | Take a Number 

At this shop, repairs are by appointment 

only—and totally worth the wait. 

42 | Got Road Rash? 

Here’s how to heal up fast 

44 | Pedal Stronger 

Baby your muscles to change the 

way you ride 

46 | Take the High Road 

How to outsmart aggressive drivers 

48 | You Can Hang 

Five ways to stick with a fast pack 

48 

COLUMN 

50 | King Me 

Training the soul is as important 

as training the body. By 

Ted King 

GEAR 

26 

83 | Top Bracket 

Chris King’s Press Fit 30 

bottom bracket is a winner 

86 | Dream Hoops 

Tear up the tarmac with these 

lust-worthy road wheels 

88 | Recommended 

Four great full-suspension 29ers 

90 | Totally Tubular 

Peek under the skin of the 

Challenge Grifo CX tire 

88 

92 | Editors’ Choice 

$100 men’s and women’s 

road shoes 

96 | One of a Kind 

SRAM’s single-ring, 

’cross-specific drivetrain 

83 

ON THE COVER 

Photographed by Jonathan 

Pushnik. For this issue, we 

created five covers, each featuring 

a model in our 2015 

bike preview (page 52)—the 

Bianchi Infinito Disc, Colnago 

V1-R, Liv Avail Advanced SL 0, 

Trek Émonda SLR-8, and Yeti 

SB5c. Which one is on yours? 

92 

Illustration: Zachariah Ohora; Tucson: Chris Hinkle; Personal Trainer: Beardy McBeard; Training, Bottom Bracket: Thomas MacDonald; All others: courtesy 

10 BICYCLING.COM • NOVEMBER 2014

Fast, Precise and 

Powered by Light 

protrek.casio.com 

V3 

ENGINE 

TRIPLE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY- 

3 RD GENERATION 

Altimeter 

1 Meter Increments at 1 Second Intervals 

Barometer 

Pressure Difference x 0.3% and Barometric 

Pressure Alarm 

Compass 

60 Seconds Continuous 

Measurement Duration 

PRW3000-2 

©2014 CASIO AMERICA, INC.

CHOOSE 

YOUR 

WEAPON 

Trek performance race bikes have what it takes to get you 

to the line first, however you ride: climbing the high Alps, 

sprinting off the front in a solo break, putting in the 

long, hard miles. Trek has the perfect road 

weapon for every kind of victory. 

ÉMONDA 

THE LIGHTWEIGHT ADVANTAGE 

For riders who want the ultimate lightweight advantage 

on the lightest production road bike line Trek has ever created. 

Lightweight is faster with Émonda.

DOMANE 

THE SMOOTH ADVANTAGE 

For riders who want the all-day smooth advantage 

on the road—and sometimes off the pavement. 

Smoother is faster with Domane. 

MADONE 

THE AERO ADVANTAGE 

For riders who want the ultimate aero advantage. 

Aero is faster with Madone.

Bill Strickland 

editor in chief 

EDITORIAL 

executive editor Leah Flickinger 

managing editor Jennifer Sherry 

articles editor Louis Mazzante 

deputy editor Emily Furia 

staff writers Caitlin Giddings, 

Elspeth Huyett 

site director Brad Ford 

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copy editor Nancy Wallace Humes 

editorial interns Jacqueline Itsines, 

Julia Naftulin 

ART 

design director Jesse Southerland 

art director Colin McSherry 

designer Jimmy Cavalieri 

photo assistant Kat Hanegraaf 

tablet producer Jennifer Giandomenico 

prepress by Quad Graphics 

CYCLING TEST GROUP 

test director Matt Phillips 

test editor Ron Koch 

mechanic Michael Yozell 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Frankie Andreu, Christie Aschwanden, Ian Dille, 

Bill Donahue, Brian Fiske, Steve Friedman, Bill Gifford, 

James Herrera, Ted King, Dan Koeppel, Mike Magnuson, 

Bob Mionske, Jen See, Selene Yeager, Whit Yost 

fuoriclasse Joe Lindsey 

european correspondent James Startt 

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EDITORIAL OFFICE 

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November 2014 Vol. 55 No. 10 

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

Join The Ride to Conquer 

Cancer ® , a fully-supported, 2-day, 

over 150 mile cycling adventure 

through awe-inspiring landscapes. 

Thousands of Riders of all abilities will unite in 

the fight to conquer cancer – a disease affecting 

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GLOBAL EDITIONS 

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rodaleinc.com

The New 

End of Discussion.

+RIGID 

% 16 +BALANCED 

120 

gr 

+LIGHTER 

+IMPROVED 

% 47 AERODYMNAMICS 

% 12 New technology, materials, and exclusive 

partnerships with Jaguar and Torayca have 

facilitated the re-invention of the winningest 

bicycle we’ve ever made. 

The New Dogma F8 improves upon its predecessors 

in every aspect: Stiffer, Lighter, Faster, 

more Aerodynamic and more Comfortable. 

The Dogma F8 is truly the best racing 

machine we’ve ever produced. Which in 

turn makes it the best race bike in the 

world: End of discussion. 

PinarelloUSA.com

The Selection by 

BILL STRICKLAND 

THIS MONTH’S TOP TIPS, BEST ADVICE, AND PERSONAL PICKS FROM OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

WE HAD FUN PUTTING TOGETHER “BOOM!” our simplified guide to 

1 

some of cycling’s complicated elements (p. 76). But distilling each topic to its 

essence was also hard—partly because we want to tell everyone everything about 

this thing we love so much. I really wished I could have explained more about gear 

ratios, for instance, because that knowledge brings some small, extra satisfaction 

and enjoyment to riding. Silly as it may sound, I’m happier because I know that if 

I spin a 53x19 at my natural cadence (around 90 rpm), I go about 20 mph. One of my favorite gears for 

unthinking delight is 39x16, about 17 mph at my go-to cadence. You can do some complicated math 

to more fully understand your gearing, or just use one of the gearing calculators found online. 

2 

“Evennumbered 

gears 

are for 

cement 

mixers.” 

Almost every time I think about gearing, 

I remember something strange 

and wonderful Andy Hampsten told 

us years ago. America’s first great 

pure climber—winner of the ’88 

Giro d’Italia, thanks to his legendary 

attack in a blizzard on the Passo 

di Gavia, and victor of the Tour de 

France’s Alpe d’Huez stage in ’92— 

would only pedal uphill in oddnumbered 

cogs. “Even-numbered 

gears are for cement mixers,” he said. 

COLIN WAS PREPPING FOR A PHOTO 

3 

shoot and had the separated pieces of a 

Challenge Grifo on his desk. Yozell, Jimmy, 

and I couldn’t leave. We kept rubbing the latex 

tube between our fingers, smelling the cloth of the casing, 

picking at the threading. So much handcraft in a tire. 

So much hidden quality. That’s what Revealed (p. 90) 

does best—makes you feel like the day when, as 

a kid, you first picked apart the red stitching, peeled away 

the hide, then unraveled a baseball’s 370 yards of wool 

threading until you got to the rubber-coated cork core. 

5 

A LITTLE BIT 

DOCTOR WHO, A LIT- 

TLE BIT ELLY BLUE 

(except for the price), 

Nau’s Modus Trench Rain 

is a great around-town, 

waterproof jacket. Made 

from recycled poly, the 

$500 coat is long enough 

to keep my thighs dry 

(fenders are no protection 

against falling rain). Then, 

at the office or in social 

situations, it cuts a classy 

but somewhat raffish look. 

When I tried NFS a couple 

4 

years ago, I didn’t believe 

the instructions that only 11 

drops would protect my entire 

chain, so I put on more. And 

when everything got gunked 

up, I stripped the lube off and 

put the bottle away. This spring, 

Tom Kellogg talked me into 

another try. I put on nine drops. 

I rode almost the whole season—rain, 

mud, cinders, grass 

clippings—on those nine drops. 

My new favorite lube. 

Portrait: Brakethrough Media; Hampsten: David Madison/Getty Images; Jacket: Courtesy; Tire, Lube: Colin McSherry 


I’ve nixed typical sports 

nutrition for Smucker’s 

Uncrustables—210 calories 

of fast- and slow-release 

carbs, plus a little protein. 

Stick a frozen one in your 

pocket and pop it after an 

hour. You’ll thank me. 

CHRIS STALEY VIA FACEBOOK 

Sweet Advice 

Of all the tips, tricks, and hints 

I’ve read in BICYCLING, Heidi 

Swift’s no-waffle-left-behind 

policy (August) seems the rule 

I’m most likely to adopt. 

RICHARD JOHNSTON 

YAMHILL COUNTY, OR 

The Unforgettables 

I just finished Ted King’s 

“From Everyday to Exemplary” 

(September). Every year I hope 

for one or two rides that are 

exemplary, that stand out in 

such a way as to define why I 

ride. Lance was right about one 

thing: It’s not about the bike. 

It’s about the environment and 

those with whom we share it. 

ROBERT BERNSTEIN 

ELLICOTT CITY, MD 

Old Faithful 

I got a kick out of Bill’s Silca 

SuperPista pump writeup (“The 

Wow Stuff,” September). I 

bought the same pump in 1988, 

when I got my first road bike, 

a Miyata 712. It performs flawlessly. 

I still use it today—on 

more modern bikes, of course. 

RALPH KOLBUSH 

GARDEN GROVE, CA 

Trust Issues 

While I agree that cyclists 

should not be licensed (Road 

Rights, September), I have great 

concern regarding cyclists 

who don’t know, or choose 

not to follow, the rules of the 

road. I’ve witnessed dangerous 

and unlawful cycling, and 

more often than not it isn’t the 

motorist who causes me angst. 

DOUG MCKAIN 

NEW HAVEN, VT 

The minute I put my faith in 

traffic rules and obey all regulations, 

I put my life at risk. 

What good is it to be right when 

you’re lying in a ditch? 

CHIP DENNISON 

VIA BICYCLING.COM 

WE’D CALL IT 

THE TRIP OF 

A LIFETIME, 

BUT EVERYONE 

COMES BACK 

Trans-Challenges 

Ride across a mountain chain or country 

Grand Tour VIP Race Trips 

Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta 

Gran Canaria Training Camp 

You’ll never think of Mallorca again 

WWW.THOMSONBIKETOURS.COM 

VALLEY OF THE TEARS 

GRAN CANARIA 

TRANS 

DOLOMITES 

PYRENEES 

ALPS 

SWITZERLAND 

CANTABRIA 

LOMBARDY 

AUSTRIAN ALPS 

PORTUGAL 

TASMANIA

FACEBOOK POLL 

WHAT’S THE 

HARDEST 

THING ABOUT 

CYCLING? 

Word Wizardry 

Mike Magnuson did a great job 

of transporting me to the D2R2 

(“The Most Magic Moment,” 

September). I felt relaxed in the 

ride and excited about the history. 

Thanks for the imagery. 

TOM CARSON 

OCALA, FL 

Books ’Bout Bikes 

In “Words to Ride By” (September), 

I was reminded of my 

all-time favorites: Miles from 

Nowhere by Barbara Savage 

and Bicycle Consciousness by 

ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS AT FACEBOOK.COM/BICYCLINGMAG. 

Deciding 

which bike 

to ride. 

James Patchin 

Trying to 

explain that 

$7,000 for 

a bicycle is 

worth it. 

Chris Witek 

Peter Cummings. Both books 

show the many levels at which 

cycling can affect us. The final 

paragraph in Savage’s book still 

reminds me of just how brief 

and fragile our lives can be. 

BILL WHEELER 

UPLAND, CA 

Watching 

better 

climbers 

pass me by. 

James 

Diefenderfer 

Before You Go 

“Safer Streets? Yes, Please!” 

(September) is why you should 

never leave for a ride mad at 

your significant other, without 

hugging your kids or saying 

I love you. We’ll all get hit 

Having a 

job. 

Jill Morrison 

eventually; it’s just a matter of 

how bad. Until we start fighting 

back, this crap will go on and on. 

JAKE CALDER BURBY 

VIA FACEBOOK 

TALK 

WITH 

US 

Absolutely 

nothing. 

It’s all 

about 

perspective. 

Thomas 

Wallace 

bicycling@rodale.com 

Bicycling magazine 

@BicyclingMag 

@bicyclingmag 

Sign up for the BICYCLING 

Reader Panel (BICYCLING.com/ 

readerpanel) to take our quick 

surveys—you’ll be the first to know 

what’s new, and have the chance to 

win great prizes! 

WINNING NOTE 

Love Seats 

I’ve ridden a road bike 

for several years. My girlfriend 

rides a mountain 

bike on paved paths at 

a slower pace. When we 

bought a tandem, my 

riding buddies questioned 

our “bicycle built for 

divorce.” We’ve since done 

several long rides successfully—even 

weathering a 

dropped chain. 

MARTY KANNER 

WASHINGTON, DC 

Way to prove them wrong, 

Marty. We hope your new 

Park Tool Home Mechanic 

Starter kit will keep your 

tandem, and your relationship, 

rolling smoothly. 

DON’T LET ICE THERAPY FREEZE YOU OUT. 

Break free from ice therapy with Arctic Ease. ® 

Combining both cold and compression therapies, 

Arctic Ease ® is a cooling wrap that gives you 

the benefits of ice therapy without the ice. And 

because Arctic Ease ® conforms to your body, you 

can remain active as it reduces pain and swelling 

for hours. Learn more at arcticeasewrap.com 

Available at 

and other fine retailers

Rides | Nutrition | Advocacy | Training | Style 

ONE SWEET ROAD 

With nearly 300 days of sunshine each year and 

more than 1,000 miles of bike lanes, Tucson 

is an ideal cycling city. Those are two reasons 

so many bike racers spend their winter here. 

Another one? The road ascending Mount Lemmon 

is one of the best climbs in America. 

Tucson’s Catalina Highway winds upward from 

town, gaining 6,000 feet of elevation over 27 

miles. Leave the heat and saguaro cacti behind 

as you ascend on a wide lane toward the summit, 

passing under igneous rock buttresses 

that radiate with the morning sun. The grade 

is manageable—just about 4.5 percent over its 

length—so the climb is taxing but not punishing. 

The descent, that’s pure sweetness. The 

gentle pitch means you can swoop from curve 

to curve without turning your pedals or squeezing 

your brakes. You don’t have to go fast, but 

you’ll want to. For more reasons cyclists love 

Tucson, turn to page 32.—LOUIS MAZZANTE 

Photograph by CHRIS HINKLE NOVEMBER 2014 • BICYCLING.COM 25

TRAINING 

Yummy Gummies 

Like nutritious candy for 

cyclists, these delicious 

chews deliver a jolt of 

fast-acting carbs and other 

essentials to fuel your ride 

BY JESSICA CASSITY 

BLOK PARTY 

Clif Shot Bloks come in 

eight fruity flavors—three 

with added caffeine—and 

are made of mostly organic 

ingredients. Three cubes 

(33g, half a pack) supply 

100 calories and a small 

helping of potassium and 

sodium. One of our favorite 

flavors, margarita, has 

150mg of sodium to help 

restore electrolytes. sweet 

stuff: Dried cane syrup, 

maltodextrin, tapioca 

syrup; $2.30, clifbar.com 

SWEET AS HONEY 

Our testers liked the soft, 

gummy texture of Honey 

Stinger’s Organic Energy 

Chews. They come in seven 

tasty flavors—pomegranate 

passion fruit and pink 

lemonade were big hits. 

One pouch (50g) supplies 

150 calories and 80mg 

of sodium; two of the flavors 

have added caffeine. 

sweet stuff: Cane syrup, 

honey, tapioca syrup; $2.20, 

honeystinger.com 

CITRUS SNAP 

GU’s Energy Chomps 

were the stickiest of the 

bunch and tasted vaguely 

like the company’s sports 

drink mixes. That’s not a 

bad thing—testers liked the 

tangy, citrus flavors. Each 

180-calorie pack has 100mg 

of sodium; three of the seven 

flavors provide a dose 

of caffeine. sweet stuff: 

Maltodextrin, sugar, tapioca 

syrup; $2.25, guenergy.com 

ENERGY SHOT 

The jelly center of Powerbar’s 

Performance 

Energy Blasts delivers a 

shot of sweet fruit flavor. 

Some testers enjoyed the 

chewy exterior; others said 

all that chomping made it 

harder to breathe when 

climbing. A pack delivers 


of sodium. sweet stuff: 

Glucose syrup, sugar; 

$2.20, powerbar.com 

BERRY BLAST 

All four flavors of these 

chews taste like fresh fruit 

and ranked high on our list 

of favorites—not surprisingly, 

ProBar’s Bolt Energy 

Chews are made with 

real pomegranate, apple, 

and acai. They also come 

stocked with vitamins C, B 6, 

B 12, and niacin, and two of 

the flavors have caffeine. A 

60g pouch is packed with 


of sodium. sweet stuff: 

Sugar, tapioca syrup; $2.50, 

theprobar.com 

BANANA BITES 

This delicious option combines 

a proven ride fuel— 

banana—with sweet chocolate. 

Barnana’s Organic 

Chocolate bites taste great 

(if you like bananas) but 

they can melt on warm days. 

You also will want to save 

them for the longest rides: 

A pack of 18 (100g) has 425 

calories and 1,200mg of 

cramp-fighting potassium. 

sweet stuff: Organic 

cane juice, organic dried 

cane syrup, organic tapioca 

syrup; $5, barnana.com 

KNOW YOUR 

SUGARS 

CANE SYRUP A liquid form of sugar | GLUCOSE SYRUP Corn syrup, though it can also be made from rice, potatoes, or wheat | HONEY A natural 

sweetener with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals | MALTODEXTRIN An artificial sugar typically derived from corn | ORGANIC DRIED CANE SYRUP 

An organic and less-refined form of sugar | TAPIOCA SYRUP A natural sweetener made from cassava (or yucca) root 

Thomas MacDonald 

26 BICYCLING.COM • NOVEMBER 2014 

TO SEE OUR FAVORITE RECOVERY MEALS, GO TO BICYCLING.COM/RECOVERYFOOD

“ After nine years, four Priuses, and over 300,000 

miles, we wouldn’t drive anything else.” * 

The Huangs, Prius owners 

toyota.com/prius 

Options shown. *Vehicle life is dependent on a variety of factors. Toyota basic warranty covers 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Actual Prius owner made previously aware their 

likeness and statement may be used for advertising. ©2014 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

A Brilliant Idea 

With the Torch helmet, you never again have 

to worry about forgetting your lights 

BY LOUIS MAZZANTE 

CYCLISTS HAVE BEEN AFFIXING matchbook-size 

taillights to seatposts and backpacks for so long that 

we seemed destined to carry on the practice in 

perpetuity. But why are the lights so small, and why 

do we sandwich them into such hard-to-see places, 

like the gap between our saddle and rear tire? 

That’s what industrial designer Nathan Wills asked 

himself one night on his commute home along 

10 

Number of mini-LED 

bulbs (five front, five 

rear) integrated into 

the helmet body 

$140 

Price of the Torch 

helmet (a model 

with blacked-out 

lenses costs $150) 

$68,170 

Total amount 

pledged on Torch’s 

45-day Kickstarter 

campaign 

793 

Total number 

of helmets preordered 

through 

Kickstarter 

366 

Weight of the 

helmet in grams 

12 

Weight, in grams, of the 

two USB-rechargeable 

batteries that power the 

Torch for up to 12 hours 


Photograph Photograph by THOMAS by ARTIST MACDONALD NAME

#DEFYLIMITS

A Brilliant Idea 

Los Angeles’s chaotic La Brea Boulevard. 

The street has six lanes for 

cars, but none for bikes, and the tiny 

lights he saw other cyclists using did 

little to make them more visible to 

drivers. The tinkerer in him saw a 

better way—why not add lights to the 

helmet, where they’d be easier to see? 

At home he cobbled together a 

prototype with rows of integrated 

LED lights and promoted it on 

Kickstarter. It turns out that Wills 

wasn’t the only one who thought 

that adding lights to a helmet was a 

good idea—within weeks the first 

Torch model had received nearly 800 

orders. Sales haven’t slowed, either; 

since launching in 2013, Wills has 

sold more than 2,000 units. 

It’s easy to see why. The Torch 

is more than an ingenious idea; it’s 

smartly designed, highly functional, 

and nearly elegant. It’s not the first 

helmet with integrated lights, but 

it’s the most successful so far. Clusters 

of five LED bulbs are embedded 

cleanly into the front and back, casting 

off beams of red and white light 

that shine 360 degrees. The lights’ 

twin rechargeable batteries weigh so 

little that you won’t notice them. 

What you—and drivers—will 

notice are bright lights pouring 

forth. The Torch is the rare helmet 

that does more than protect you in 

a crash; by making you more visible 

to drivers, it can prevent an accident 

from ever happening. 

DON’T Take a photo at 45mph on a screaming descent 

DON’T Take a selfie midpack 

DO Capture your friend riding in a beautiful setting 

THE RIGHT WAY 

SNAP A 

SELFIE 

U 

ploading 

ride 

pics on Instagram 

and Facebook 

is a fun 

way to share your 

love of cycling. But 

what to post? Did 

you discover a rustic 

bistro with rhubarb 

pie and bike racks? 

Share it. Your friend 

ripping down scenic 

singletrack? For sure. 

Snapping a shot of 

your own mug as you 

scream down Pike’s 

Peak? Not so fast, 

Ansel Adams. 

As we witnessed 

during this year’s 

Tour de France, our 

obsession with selfies 

can put us (and other 

cyclists) in dangerous 

situations. No amount 

of social-media adoration 

is worth a 

broken collarbone. If 

you snap a photo on 

your next group ride, 

make sure the road 

is free of traffic and 

then move ahead of 

or behind the pack— 

swerving can create a 

major pileup. 

One more thing: 

Make your photos 

worthwhile. Think 

interesting people, 

exciting action, and 

cool places. Snap a 

few, choose the best, 

and crop out boring 

parts. Then play with 

Instagram’s filters and 

use photo-editing apps 

such as Fontgram, 

which lets you add 

text to your images. 

For unique angles, 

try a selfie-stick—but 

only when the road is 

clear.—Molly Hurford 

Hot or Not? 

BICYCLING’S totally indefensible list of what’s trending this month 

ascending 

Powerful women, 

powerful stories: 

Shannon Galpin and 

Kathryn Bertine 

publish new books. 

Avocados: 

It’s prime season 

for this superfood; 

try the lighter, but 

savory-sounding 

Bacon variety. 

Retro-cool, 

lace-up shoes: We 

love Bontrager’s 

Classique and the 

slick new model from 

Sommerville Sports. 

Skratch Lab’s 

apple-cinnamon 

recovery drink: 

Enjoy it warm. 

Stylish hi-vis 

winter gear: POC’s 

bright orange 

Essential Rain Jacket 

will get you noticed. 

Fans support 

cash-strapped 

pro teams through 

crowd-funding sites. 

descending 

Boise, Idaho, 

removes buffered 

bike lanes despite 

a reduction in 

congestion. 

Calorie 

counting: It’s 

the offseason. 

Mandatory fun at bike 

races: Costumes are cool; 

forced pub crawls are not. 

Candy corn 

as recovery 

food 

Cash-strapped race teams 

resort to crowd-funding. 

Illustrations: Colin McSherry 


MORE THAN JUST 

A BIKE COMPUTER 

GPS 

TRACK 

NAVI 

Now with a customizable 

training screen 

www.sigma-rox.com 

COMPATIBLE 

BAROMETRIC 

TRAINING 

ANALYSIS 

NEW DATA CENTER 4.0 

Now available on computers, tablets, 

and phones. Training software that 

can MOVE with you. 

The new cloud service synchronizes 

your training data on all of your devices. 

BUTLER GPS 

Out-in-Front Mount 

Team Europcar 

Training Video

The City of Light is 

also a city of cyclists. 

CITY GUIDE 

Tucson 

Pros come for the warm 

weather. Everyone else 

loves the hundreds of miles 

of car-free bike lanes. 

BY STEPHEN EDWARDS 

ITS SUNNY, ARID CLIMATE AND PROXIMITY 

to high mountains makes this Arizona city a 

favorite winter-training destination for pro 

cyclists. But there’s more here than fast 

group rides and bike shops that cater to hammer 

heads. Alongside world-class athletes, 

urban riders from all backgrounds cruise 

down a robust network of bike routes—the 

city boasts more miles of bike lanes than any 

other midsize metro region in the country. 

And things are getting even better: Tucson is 

installing 23 miles of wide bike boulevards 

through downtown and nearing completion 

of the Loop, a 131-mile shared-use path circumnavigating 

the city. There’s also a bikeshare 

program in the works, which means 

residents and tourists alike will have an even 

easier time rolling through town. 

RIDE 

1. Mount Lemmon 

Ascend 6,158 vertical 

feet over 27 miles 

from the desert 

scrublands into thick 

pine forests atop Arizona’s 

Santa Catalina 

Mountains. 

2. Fantasy Island 

Weave around 

saguaro cacti and 

under a canopy of 

palo verde trees in 

this 350-acre oasis 

of urban singletrack. 

3 6 

W SPEEDWAY BLVD 

4 

W CONGRESS ST 

1,021 

MILES 

OF REGIONAL 

BIKE LANES 

20,000 

ATTENDEES 

AT CYCLOVIA 

TUCSON, A 

BIANNUAL 

BIKE RIDE 

ALONG 

CAR-FREE 

STREETS. 

5 

E TOOLE AVE 

1 

7 

E 6TH ST 

2 

SHOP 

3. Transit 

Cycles 

This unique boutique 

caters to commuters—its 

bikes, 

apparel selection, and 

maintenance department 

are geared 

toward city riders. 

4. Bicycle 

Inter-Community 

Art & Salvage 

(BICAS) 

Swing by this nonprofit 

collective 

and pick up some 

cycle-themed art— 

proceeds help fund 

refurbishing of bikes 

for Tucson’s underserved. 

EAT AND DRINK 

5. Tap & Bottle 

Wear your cycling 

cap if you stop by this 

tap house on Tuesday 

night—bicyclists 

receive a discount. 

You’ll need it: There 

are more than 20 

beers on tap and 600 

varieties in bottles 

for sale. 

6. Stella Java 

Fuel up on cronuts 

and coffee made 

from microroasted 

beans before heading 

up Mount Lemmon 

or cruising around 

town—this popular 

barista house is two 

blocks from the Loop. 

7. Martin’s Comida 

Chingona 

Fresh ingredients 

(including vegetarian 

and vegan options) 

make this artsy, holein-the-wall 

Mexican 

joint a favorite place 

to relax and refuel. 

CHECK OUT OUR 

OTHER CITY GUIDES 

AT BICYCLING.COM/ 

RIDEPLACES. 


Photography by CHRIS HINKLE

CONVERSATION 

Inspired by Amy 

Dan Dombroski channels the loss 

of his sister into greater support for 

female cyclists BY NANCY AVERETT 

A YEAR AGO, Amy Dombroski, 

a 26-year-old cyclocross and 

mountain bike national champion, 

was hit by a truck and 

killed while training in Belgium. 

Within days, her brother, 

Dan Dombroski, and his 

wife, Nicole Novembre, had 

started The Amy D. Foundation, 

which aims to empower 

young women through 

cycling. Here he explains their 

plans for creating more equity 

for female cyclists, and how 

the memory of Amy continues 

to inspire them. 

The foundation seemed to 

form overnight. How did it 

come together so rapidly? 

It was absurd how quickly 

everything happened. 

Thursday morning Amy 

died. That night, we had 

people over at the house 

drinking and telling stories. 

Around 11 p.m., a good 

friend who owns a shop 

here in Boulder, Colorado, 

called up a graphic designer 

and asked him to make a 

logo. That weekend, stickers 

were shipped overnight 

so people could distribute 

them at cyclocross races 

around the country. In a 

week, we had accumulated 

$10,000 in merchandise 

sales. It played a huge part 

in laying the groundwork 

for the foundation. 

What’s the significance 

of the logo? 

It’s a heart with a lightning 

bolt through the center. The 

bolt [is from] a tattoo that 

Amy got after our mom was 

killed by lightning in 2004. 

She put it on the inside of 

her wrist so that she could 

be reminded of our mom 

while cycling. The heart signifies 

the community that 

loved Amy, and the bolt 

through the middle is like a 

strike through its heart. 


Photograph by JEFF NELSON

How did you come up with 

the foundation’s mission? 

We were in such a state of 

shock early on that it was 

hard to think strategically 

about what to do with the 

money. At first we thought 

of erecting some sort of permanent 

memorial at the bike 

park in Boulder [where Amy 

lived] and then we talked 

about stacking the payout for 

the women’s field in a couple 

of local cyclocross races. We 

were really excited about 

that for a while. But then we 

decided we wanted to do 

something more meaningful. 

We started brainstorming 

and decided we wanted 

to encourage and support 

young women through developmental 

cycling programs. 

How are you achieving 

that mission? 

This summer, we ran a mountain 

bike camp in Boulder 

for girls ages 7 to 14 in collaboration 

with Little Bellas, 

a program started by two 

TRAINING 

women who Amy and I grew 

up with, national XC champion 

Lea Davison and her sister, 

Sabra. Right before Amy 

died, she was in Vermont for 

some races and also helped 

out with the Little Bellas program 

there. Sabra told me 

that Amy had turned to her at 

one point and said, “Racing is 

great and all. But this is what 

really matters.” 

You also hope to fund an 

Amy D racing team, right? 

Yes, we’ll start this fall with 

one rider, Erica Zaveta, paying 

for her equipment and travel 

costs to domestic UCI races in 

the Under-23 category—and 

growing from there. We eventually 

want to have a team of 

up-and-coming young female 

racers, and we hope some can 

go to Belgium to race. That 

was something Amy really pioneered 

and felt was an invaluable 

experience. 

Amy wanted more equity 

for female cyclists. What 

were some of the 

issues she faced? 

Certainly there is an unbelievable 

disparity in pay between 

women’s and men’s cycling. 

Cycling is one of those sports, 

regardless of gender, that 

very few people make a good 

living doing. But at least on 

the guys’ side the UCI mandates 

a minimum wage [for 

some professionals]. Nothing 

like this exists on the women’s 

side. 

Has the foundation 

helped you cope with 

Amy’s death? 

Amy had this amazing ability 

to take something negative— 

whether it was the passing 

of a loved one or just a bad 

day on the bike—and turn it 

around. This ability of hers 

was something I thought a 

lot about after her death and 

wanted to emulate. 

TO MAKE A DONATION, GO TO 

AMYDFOUNDATION.COM. 

BREAKING AWAY 

Surging ahead of the group takes an explosive 

effort. Here’s how to do it. BY SELENE YEAGER 

IF YOU WANT TO leave your riding 

mates in a swirl of dust, you need 

a powerful surge in speed. A study of 

power data collected at pro road races 

shows just how hard you have to 

pedal. Breakaways are extremely 

explosive—on average, riders who 

form a gap crank out more than 1,000 

watts for 5 to 15 seconds before easing 

into a sustainable pace. 

Few of us can produce that much 

power, so we asked Hunter Allen, 

coauthor of Training & Racing with a 

Power Meter, to break down the numbers 

for us mortals. The following 

guidelines are based on the maximum 

watts you can generate for an 

hour, sometimes called your functional 

threshold power (FTP). 

If you don’t have a power meter, 

just go by feel: Your FTP is the max 

effort you can endure for 60 minutes. 

1. To Get Away 

You need an explosive surge for five 

seconds that’s 300 percent of your 

FTP. feels like Your lungs are going 

to explode. 

2. To Get a Gap 

Settle in at 200 percent of FTP for 

15 to 20 seconds. feels like You’re 

hyperventilating. 

3. To Stay Away 

Ramp down to 120 percent of your FTP 

for one minute. Then maintain 105 percent—just 

above threshold—for as long 

as you can. feels like This is when Jens 

tells his burning quads to shut up. 

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from sweat and rain. 

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BEGINNER’S GUIDE 

Be a Superfan 

We love everything about watching bike races in person, but most of 

all we love the crowds of flag-waving, cowbell-ringing, face-painting 

fans. You will, too. Here’s how to join the fun. BY ROBERT ANNIS 

FOR PRO ADVICE ON 

CONQUERING YOUR 

FIRST RACE, GO TO 

BICYCLING.COM/ 

STARTINGLINE. 

 

 

COME PREPARED 

Whether you’re watching a 

road, ’cross, or mountain bike 

race, the course will offer few 

spots to escape the elements. 

Bring water and sunscreen on 

sunny days. In foul weather, 

pack a rain jacket, waterproof 

boots, a hat, and gloves. 

MAKE NOISE Ring cowbells, yell, and 

cheer. An enthusiastic crowd motivates 

racers and adds energy to the scene 

between laps. Got a vuvuzela? Bring it. Or 

bang on an old bike frame with a wrench— 

the creativity will earn you serious cred. 

 

 

FOLLOW THE CROWD 

Avoid the finish line— 

you can find out who 

won on Twitter—and 

seek out the largest 

gathering of fans you 

can. The most boisterous 

spectators typically 

gather near a crucial corner, 

steep climb, or tricky 

descent. That’s where 

you want to be. 

STAY ALERT 

Riders are focusing on the 

race, not the crowds, so stay 

out of their way. Leash your 

dog, keep off the course, and 

whatever you do, don’t pose 

for a selfie in the path of 

oncoming riders. 

LEARN THE LINGO 

CRITERIUM 

(cry-teer-i-um) 

A road race on a short 

circuit closed to cars 

PRIME (preem) 

A prize awarded during 

a lap in the middle of 

the race to create more 

excitement 

ALLEZ (al-lay) 

A French word that 

means “go on.” Fans at 

the Tour de France shout 

this at passing riders. 

TIFOSI (ti-fo-zi) 

An Italian word for 

passionate sports fans, 

particularly those along 

the Giro d’Italia course 

HUP (hup) 

Borrowed from Dutch 

football fans, this rhythmic, 

motivational chant 

is often yelled during 

cyclocross races or a particularly 

tough mountain 

stage in a road race. 

HAND-UP (hand up) 

Small gifts spectators 

give racers; typically 

beer or dollar bills. 

JOIN THE ACTION 

No, you can’t take your bike onto the course 

during the race, but you can sometimes hand out water, food, 

or even dollar bills as racers blow past. Just make sure the event 

you’re attending allows you to give assistance to riders. 

IT’S OKAY TO... 

Aggressively encourage 

riders by heckling 

or goading them as they 

pass. 

Add to the festive atmosphere 

by showing up in 

costume. The sillier the 

better. 

Bring your bike and ride 

the course before the 

race starts. 


Illustration by ZACHARIAH OHORA

RIDES 

Savor 

the Road 

Phil Gaimon, a professional 

racer for Garmin-Sharp and 

noted cookie connoisseur, 

recommends five rides with 

decadent dessert stops 

Fit & Fuel Café 

I CALL THEM COOKIE RIDES. THEY’RE ROUTES—SOME PAINFULLY 

long, others short and mellow—that pass a place you can stop 

for a slice of homemade apple pie or stuff your jersey pocket 

with a warm, gooey chocolate-chip cookie. At races and on 

training rides, I’ve kept an eye out for these roadside cafes and 

mom-and-pop bakeries. I could go on for days about the best 

rides with the tastiest, cyclist-friendly snack stops, but these 

five top my list—each is guaranteed to satisfy your love of riding 

as well as your craving for dessert. 

Tour of 

the Gila 

1Mountain Salvation 

With multiple routes up 

Southern California’s 

Palomar Mountain, you 

can plan an ascent that 

matches your ambition. 

From the south, the most 

direct route reaches the 

summit in about 12 miles 

and offers scenic views of 

beautiful Lake Henshaw. 

Fortunately, all the roads 

converge on Mother’s 

Kitchen, a rustic outpost 

near the summit known 

for its rich homemade 

desserts and cheesy chili. 

You can see the oven 

from the counter, so I just 

order whatever brownie or 

cookie is coming out, and I 

always leave with a smile— 

and a smudge of melted 

chocolate—on my face. 

2Beachy Bistro 

From Naples, Florida, roll 

north toward Sanibel 

Island on wide bike lanes 

and lightly traveled roads, 

soaking in views of sandy 

beaches, seagulls, and 

the Gulf of Mexico. The 

terrain here is pancake 

flat and the entire 75-mile 

out-and-back route climbs 

only 300 feet. Upon your 

return to Naples, recharge 

at the Fit & Fuel Café. 

Locals love the gourmet 

coffee, beet salad, nutritious 

wraps, and savory 

sandwiches, but leave 

room for one of its oversize 

chocolate-chip cookies—you’ll 

thank me later. 

3Desert Oasis 

From Silver City in southern 

New Mexico, climb up 

and over the Continental 

Divide in Gila National 

Forest. From the high 

point, you could ponder 

that half of your sweat 

will eventually end up in 

the Pacific Ocean, and the 

rest will find its way to the 

Fit & Fuel Café: Erik Kellar; Tour of the Gila: Mitchell Clinton; Palomar Mountain: Embry Rucker 


FIND YOUR IDEAL CYCLING WEIGHT AT BICYCLING.COM/MYWEIGHT.

Atlantic, but you’ll be too 

busy gasping for air to 

worry about it. The roads 

here have been used in 

stages of the Tour of the 

Gila, some of which punish 

riders with more than 

11,000 feet of climbing. 

But unlike racers, you 

can recover at Javalina 

in Silver City. Go for 

the freshly baked Amish 

chocolate-chip cookie 

and grab a second one to 

stash in your pocket. 

north of Los Angeles. 

The trick is to pile on 

the miles so you can 

indulge guilt-free on the 

restaurant’s artisanal 

desserts, which include 

strawberries-andcream 

macaroons and 

chocolate-chip-cookie 

cake. Mention my name 

and they might give 

you a discount. Or they 

might charge you extra, 

depending on how much 

I made them suffer on 

the last group ride. 

Palomar 

Mountain 

4Classy Treats 

Fit riders can join the 

fast-paced group ride 

that leaves the Sweet 

Salt Food Shop in Toluca 

Lake, California, every 

Friday morning, or set 

out on your own through 

the Hollywood Hills just 

5Southern Hospitality 

From the cycling haven 

of Athens, Georgia, 

numerous roads (some of 

them dirt) roll through 

forests heavy with the 

scent of pine and past 

sprawling horse farms. 

Some of the most popular 

loops head southwest 

toward Watkinsville 

and pass the Kumquat 

Mae Bakery and Café, 

an establishment known 

for its fresh pastries and 

friendly service. You’ll 

get a taste of Georgia 

hospitality to go with 

your buttery, warm 

croissant. One more 

reason to stop: The 

Kumquat offers cyclists 

discounts on everything 

from cookies to bottles 

of locally brewed Terrapin 

beer. 

Phil Gaimon is the author 

of pro cycling on $10 

a day: from fat kid to 

euro pro. 

ENJOY THE 

HARD WORK 

Craft baselayers focus on temperature regulation: 

maintaining the optimal body temperature to 

perform, ventilating the body as it gets too warm 

and insulating the body as it gets cold. 

Enjoy every ride! 

PERFORMANCE 

BASELAYER 

GUARANTEED 

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facebook.com/craftsports 

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twitter.com/craftofsweden 

ACTIVE EXTREME CONCEPT PIECE 

Available for both men and women 

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SHOP 

SEE MORE GREAT 

BIKE SHOPS AT 

BICYCLING.COM/ 

BESTSHOPS 

KEEP IT 

RUNNING 

At Your 

Service 

Boulder cyclists who want the 

job done right head to Vecchio’s 

BY JOE LINDSEY 

WALK INTO ALMOST 

any bike shop and you’ll 

likely find grease-stained 

mechanics in the back, 

hidden from customers 

and away from the gleaming 

bikes displayed on the 

sales floor. Not so at Vecchio’s 

Bicicletteria in Boulder, 

Colorado. Its two 

mechanic stations occupy 

the heart of the store, 

punctuating the shop’s 

philosophy and focus. 

“We’re not the place you 

come to buy your bike,” 

says owner Jim Potter, 

“we’re the place you take it 

to for expert service.” 

Vecchio’s, which means 

“old” in Italian, specializes 

in repairing high-end road 

bikes and components, 

including unusual jobs 

like rebuilding Campagnolo 

Ergopower shifters. 

Need a set of hand-built 

wheels? Vecchio’s offers no 

other kind. The store sells 

Vecchio’s is as 

much a musem as 

it is a bike shop. 

some frames from Gunnar, 

Moots, Soulcraft, and 

Waterford, as well as sleek 

townie bikes from Linus, 

but its business prioritizes 

service. That focus—and 

expertise—helps Vecchio’s 

stand out in a town where 

there are nearly twice as 

many bike shops as there 

are Starbucks. 

Because of its limited 

floor space, Vecchio’s 

requires an appointment 

for major repairs, but it 

promises to complete 

almost any job in a single 

day. When you drop off 

your bike, stay and admire 

the vintage frames, signed 

posters, and jerseys that 

hang from the ceiling. Or 

grab a beer from the fridge 

and sit on a barstool to 

chat. “People come here 

just to hang out,” says Potter. 

“Friday afternoons, it 

feels more like a bar than a 

bike shop.” 

Vecchio’s owner, 

Jim Potter, offers 

three simple tips 

to keep your bike 

humming 

1 / Show Some Love 

Properly maintaining 

your parts will keep 

them from breaking 

prematurely. Check 

to make sure your 

bolts are tight, tires 

inflated, chain lubed, 

suspension set to the 

right pressure, and 

derailleurs adjusted. 

And yes, frequently 

washing your bike 

helps, too. 

2 / Maintain 

Your Drivetrain 

Before applying lube, 

wipe or brush the dirt 

from your chain. “If 

you lube it without 

cleaning, all the grit 

in there will be 

wet-sanding your 

drivetrain,” Potter 

says. That accelerates 

wear on your 

chain, cassette, and 

chainrings, which 

can be expensive to 

replace. 

3 / Replace 

Your Cables 

The combined shift 

and brake levers on 

modern road bikes can 

fray cables, causing 

them to bind in their 

housings. “The levers 

eat cable heads,” Potter 

says. Keep yours 

sliding smoothly by 

replacing them yearly, 

or whenever shifting 

starts to feel sluggish. 

No need to get fancy, 

he says; basic cables 

work fine.—J.L. 


Photography by JEFF NELSON

MUNGA 001_AUG2014

FIND TIPS TO TREAT MORE SERIOUS 

INJURIES AT BICYCLING.COM/FIRSTAID. 

Heal Thyself 

Everything you need to treat common cycling wounds—from road 

rashes to deep gashes—and heal up fast BY BERNE BROUDY 

CUT Short, shallow laceration 

soap and water antiseptic 

washcloth 

adhesive bandage 

SCRAPE Small abrasion with minor skin loss 

soap and water 

antiseptic 

healing ointment 

ROAD RASH Shallow abrasion with 

greater area of skin loss 

soap and water healing ointment 

antiseptic 

nonstick pad 

anesthetic 

GASH A wider, deeper laceration 

soap and water nonstick pad 

irrigation syringe gauze 

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TREAT IT RIGHT STOCK YOUR MEDICINE CABINET WITH THESE ITEMS TO CARE FOR ANY SKIN WOUND 

ADHESIVE 

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Prevents dirt from 

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ANESTHETIC 

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ANTISEPTIC 

Sterilizes wound; 

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and won’t burn 

your skin 

FLAP Horseshoe-shaped or angled 

laceration with loose skin 

soap and water healing ointment 

irrigation syringe butterfly bandage 

antiseptic 

BUTTERFLY 

BANDAGE 

Adhesive to help 

close deep cuts 

COMPRESSION 

BANDAGE 

Used with gauze 

or nonstick pad 

to slow or stop 

bleeding 

GAUZE 

Absorbs blood 

and other fluids 

HEALING 

OINTMENT 

Keeps wounds 

moist and 

reduces scarring 

PUNCTURE A small, deep hole or incision 

soap and water compression 

irrigation syringe bandage 

antiseptic 

butterfly bandage 

gauze 

IRRIGATION 

SYRINGE 

Rinses debris 

from wounds 

NONSTICK PAD 

Prevents contamination; 

water-tight 

dressings, such as 

2nd Skin, promote 

healing 

SOAP AND 

WATER Wash 

away infectioncausing 

debris; 

use with washcloth 

or brush 

Source: Mitzi Mathews, MD, Family Practice and Sports Medicine, Liberty, MO 


Illustrations by TODD DETWILER

48 % 

52% 

368 

WATTS 

3025.445 7905.86 425.445 

2025.445 0305.25 405.546 

24897.25 425.445 825.445 

3025.445 7905.86 425.445 

2025.445 0305.25 405.546 

24897.25 425.445 825.445 

Measure where it matters. 

You’ve poured untold hours into your passion and selected the very best training 

tools. Now it’s time to step up to Vector — the pedal-based power meter that objectively 

measures your work and erases the barriers to owning power. It’s easy to buy and install, 

like swapping out your pedals. Measures cadence, total power and left/right power, 

displaying it on compatible Edge ® cycling computers, Forerunner ® multisport watches 

and other ANT+ enabled head units. 

Learn more at Garmin.com/vector 

©2013 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries 

Vector

Turns out that a postride 

rubdown is even healthier 

than experts thought. 

Rubbed the Right Way 

Pedaling a bike takes heart and muscle. A good massage 

helps you strengthen both. BY SELENE YEAGER 

LONG HOURS IN THE 

saddle and hard workouts can 

leave your muscles riddled with 

knots and scar tissue created as 

they repair themselves. And 

because all your muscles are 

connected, those sore spots can 

spread throughout your body if 

not treated—a tight lower back 

creates an achy hip that leads to 

a twinged knee. That’s why so 

many cyclists swear by massages. 

They help loosen tight spots, 

flush toxic chemicals, and keep 

your fibers smooth and limber 

so you can ride pain free. 

Now a new study finds that 

the same benefits that relieve 

post-exercise pain might also 

boost heart health. Researchers 

in Chicago asked 25 volunteers 

to crank out leg presses until 

their quads and hamstrings cried 

uncle. Then half of them received 

a massage. A separate group of 

11 received a rubdown without 

doing any exercise. Researchers 

tested all the subjects in two key 

areas: soreness and blood flow. 

The first set of findings confirmed 

what many of us already 

know—a good massage helps 

reduce muscle pain after a hard 

workout. The exercisers who 

received a rubdown reported 

that they were free of soreness 

90 minutes later, while the 

exercise-only folks were still 

hobbling the next day. 

More surprising were the 

results of a second test that 

measured blood flow through 

the subjects’ arms. Researchers 

found that leg pressers who 

received a massage enjoyed 

improved circulation for up to 

72 hours. Compare that with 

the exercise-only group, which 

experienced hampered circulation 

for more than 48 hours. 

Because researchers tested circulation 

levels in a part of the 

body far from where the subjects 

received a rubdown, the results 

suggest that massage triggers 

a full-body response that 

improves blood flow. 

“That’s important because, 

as we showed, exerciseinduced 

muscle damage slows 

circulation,” says co-author 

Shane A. Phillips, PhD, of the 

University of Illinois, Chicago. 

It also suggests that massage 

could promote cardiovascular 

health off the bike as well, he 

says. That’s a compelling reason 

to get regular rubdowns, even if 

you’re not training hard. 

How They Work 

When a massage therapist glides 

his or her hands across your 

muscles, blood vessels open and 

waste can be flushed. This helps 

reduce tenderness after a hard 

ride or workout. “The increase 

in blood flow speeds recovery 

from muscle injury by providing 

more nutrition to the tissue 

Roller: Courtesy 


Photograph by EMILY MAYE

and maybe also by improving 

the removal of waste products,” 

explains Phillips. 

Massages also have a rejuvenating 

effect. When muscles are 

stressed, the fibers of the fascia 

that cover them suffer microtears. 

As they heal, these fibers 

become stronger, but they also 

can form scar tissue, called adhesions, 

which can limit your range 

of motion and cause discomfort. 

Deep pressure applied by a therapist 

to the fascia breaks up these 

adhesions. You’re left feeling 

fresh and rejuvenated and ready 

to tackle the next big climb. 

When to Get Them 

Timing is everything when it 

comes to massage. Wait too long 

and those adhesions will tighten 

and multiply. Here is a timetable 

from licensed massage therapist 

Janine Verstraeten, who has 

worked with the Specializedlululemon 

and US national teams. 

Before a big race or event: 

Go for a deep-tissue massage 

three to five days before a physically 

demanding ride to break up 

adhesions and ensure your muscles 

move freely. Verstraeten also 

recommends going for an easy 

spin and then lightly rubbing 

your muscles one to two days 

before the event to boost blood 

flow and flush out waste. You can 

use your hands, a foam roller, or a 

massage stick. 

Following a strenuous effort: 

Your muscles will be sore, so get 

a light rubdown within 48 hours 

of the event (try a softer Swedish 

massage or give yourself a quick 

kneading). When your muscles 

are less tender—three to five 

days later—get a deeper rubdown 

to break up adhesions before they 

become tight and painful. 

For regular maintenance: 

If you ride several times a week, 

a monthly massage will help 

keep your muscles limber and 

free of knots. Opt for a deeptissue 

rubdown, which might 

also include trigger-point therapy 

(concentrated pressure to 

loosen isolated, painful spots). 

If you are training hard, Verstraeten 

recommends a massage 

every two weeks. Casual cyclists 

should get one as needed. 

FIND MORE SOOTHING MASSAGE TIPS 

AT BICYCLING.COM/RUBDOWN. 

DIY RUB 

Between appointments with my therapist’s healing hands, I keep my muscles supple with a foam roller. A study recently 

published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reports that foam rolling reduces muscle soreness while improving range of 

motion and muscle activation. My current favorite roller is the TriggerPoint Grid X ($50), which is extra firm to tackle my toughest 

trouble spots. Try this short, sweet, supereffective routine: 1 / OUTER HIP AND THIGH Lie on your side with the roller under your left hip. Slowly roll up 

and down between your hip and knee. Switch sides. 2 / HAMSTRINGS Sit with your left leg straight, your hands on the floor behind you, and your right knee 

bent at a 45-degree angle. Place the roller under your left hamstring. Roll up and down from your knee to just under your left butt cheek. Then work the 

other leg. 3 / QUADS Lie facedown with the roller under your hips. Lean on your left leg and roll up and down from your hip to your knee. Switch legs.—S.Y.

ROAD RIGHTS 

Be a Roadside Saint 

When confronted by aggressive drivers, 

fight back with reason 

Bob Mionske is the author of 

Bicycling and the Law. 

Stay calm, even 

when drivers 

behave badly. 

BRYAN LARSEN WAS RIDING along California’s Pacific Coast Highway near 

Dana Point on a sunny spring day this year when a driver he had passed began 

harassing him. So Larsen did something smart: He reached for his cell phone 

and hit record. While the video doesn’t show what sparked the confrontation, it 

clearly captures the Ram Heavy Duty pickup truck swerving into the bike lane as 

a passenger hurls a bottle of Gatorade at Larsen. The video went viral, so naturally 

cyclists expected that authorities would prosecute the culprits. 

Police tracked down the passenger, and she faces assault and battery charges. 

But Larsen was shocked to discover that he also faces charges related to profanity 

he used during the altercation. In California, it’s a crime to say anything 

offensive that provokes a violent reaction. 

Unfortunately, this is a common turn of events. One cyclist I represented 

was arrested after police officers witnessed him breaking the passenger-side 

mirror of a car with his U-lock. What authorities didn’t see was that the driver 

had repeatedly swerved at the cyclist before he retaliated. 

The drivers in many of these cases accuse cyclists of wrongdoing—even 

when they’re clearly victims—so avoid doing or saying anything that supports 

those claims. Even if you’re not recording the incident, another witness might 

be. Here are four ways to stay on the right side of the law. 

STAY 

COOL 

If you are involved 

in an altercation, 

you want the driver 

(or passenger) 

to look like the 

obvious culprit. So 

act like a saint— 

that means no profanity, 

threats, or 

aggressive actions. 

You don’t need to 

teach the driver a 

lesson; leave that 

to the criminaljustice 

system. 

FOLLOW 

THE LAWS 

If you video a 

road-rage encounter, 

be mindful of 

where and how 

you ride—authorities 

may take a 

close look at your 

position on the 

road. Follow traffic 

signals and maintain 

a steady, even 

pace; erratic riding 

can make you look 

dangerous. Use the 

bike lane if there 

is one; if not, stay 

as far to the right 

side of the road as 

reasonable. 

Q /A 

STATE 

YOUR CASE 

When police show 

up, you want to 

make it easy for 

witnesses to clearly 

identify the victim—you. 

The best 

way to do that: 

Remain mellow as 

the driver rages out 

of control and avoid 

direct confrontation. 

Screaming at 

or physically threatening 

the driver 

makes you look like 

the aggressor. 

DEFEND 

YOURSELF 

If you are verbally 

or physically 

attacked, defend 

yourself—just make 

sure your actions 

are clearly beyond 

reproach. In many 

cases, authorities 

and witnesses 

won’t know what 

led to the initial 

altercation; they 

see only the aftermath. 

Avoid charges 

by defending 

yourself only when 

you are in immediate 

danger. 

CAN I BE FINED FOR LITTERING IF 

SOMETHING FALLS OUT OF MY 

JERSEY POCKET? LITTER LAWS VARY FROM 

STATE TO STATE, SO DON’T RISK IT—AVOID 

DROPPING ANYTHING ON THE ROAD. IF SOME- 

THING SLIPS OUT, GO BACK AND RETRIEVE IT. 

Thomas Trutschel/Getty Images 


FIND FIVE WAYS TO AVOID COLLISIONS AT BICYCLING.COM/RIDESMART.

PERSONAL TRAINER 

James Herrera, MS, is 

the founder of Performance 

Driven Coaching. 

Don’t be one of them. 

Maintaining a steady 

spin in a comfortable 

gear (around 70 or 80 

rpm) will keep your 

muscles fresh and 

ready to respond to 

surges in pace. Shift 

often to match changes 

in terrain. 

Go from back 

of the pack to the 

front of the group. 

ATTACK! 

Riders sometimes 

shoot off the front of 

peppier group rides. 

Listen for the sound of 

shifting gears—a sign 

that someone is about 

to jump—and go with 

them if you can; it’s 

easier to go hard for a 

short distance than to 

catch up after you’ve 

been dropped. 

Hang 

with 

the 

Pack 

Everyone enjoys 

the camaraderie, 

competition, and 

excitement of a 

group ride—until 

you get dropped. 

Here’s how to 

keep the pace in 

a fast pack. 

PERFECT 

THE DRAFT 

Conserve energy by 

riding 6 to 12 inches 

behind the rear wheel 

of the rider in front 

of you. On rides that 

alternate leaders, it’s 

okay to skip your turn 

at the front if you’re 

tired. Just move to the 

back of the line and 

stay there until you 

recover. 

ANTICIPATE 

ACCELERATIONS 

Many groups, even 

those moving at a 

social pace, tend to 

pick up speed at strategic 

points: sprinting for 

a city-limit sign or galloping 

over a short rise, 

PACK-RIDING WORKOUT 

for instance. If you can, 

move toward the front 

before accelerations 

happen—you won’t 

have to cover as much 

ground to catch up. 

KEEP IT SMOOTH 

Some cyclists keep 

their bikes in a gear 

combination that 

makes pedaling hard. 

EAT, DRINK, 

AND BE HAPPY 

On rides longer than 

an hour, eat something 

every 30 minutes 

and drink at 

least a bottle of water 

per hour. Otherwise 

you risk bonking and 

becoming dehydrated, 

both of which can 

make it harder to keep 

up with the group. 

Staying with the group means maintaining your speed over the entire ride. Pack on the 

power—and finish with the group—by doing this one-hour ladder of intervals once or twice 

a week. As you get stronger, repeat the workout a second or third time. 

80% EFFORT (hard 

to speak while riding) 

50% EFFORT (just able 

to hold a conversation) 

20 minutes 5 2.5 8 4 10 5 

Portrait: Kagan McLeod; Group: Beardy McBeard 


TEST YOUR PACK-RIDING ETIQUETTE AT BICYCLING.COM/GROUPRIDES.

Official sock of the 2014 

UnitedHealthCare 

Pro Cycling Team 

Alison Powers 

Road, Time Trial and 

Criterium National Champion 

Find your dealer at 

swiftwick.com/ 

dealer-locator.htm

KING ME 

by 

Ted King 

A Season for the Soul 

SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENS WHEN 

FOCUSED TRAINING BECOMES JUST RIDING 

In his ninth year 

as a professional 

bicycle racer, Ted 

King rides for the 

Cannondale Pro 

Cycling team. Read 

more of his stories 

at BICYCLING.com/ 

kingme. 

ONCE WE START RIDING THROUGH ALL THE 

months ending in ber, professional cyclists get 

O a giddy feeling. For the first time all year, our 

training plans extend past the date marking 

the end of just one more session of intervals. The necessity 

to complete another muscle-searing training effort will 

soon be (or already is) behind us, and now we can head 

out onto the road for the simple love of the ride. This 

freedom is invigorating. 

With only a few more races left in the season, our form 

is no longer at risk of hitting peaks or valleys. Instead, for 

the rest of the year we’re simply milking the fitness we’ve 

meticulously fine-tuned over the previous 10 months. We 

need to ride—we still want to do well when we race—but 

the rides don’t have to be intensely targeted workouts or 

mandated recovery sessions. We can do what I think of 

as soul rides—outings that are about nothing more than 

being out on a bicycle, and therefore calm the mind, the 

body, and most important, the soul. 

This wondrous aimlessness stands in stark contrast to 

the anticipation that weaves its way through the rest of 

the cycling season. On day one of a training block, we’re 

already mapping out the final day. From those individual 

efforts that kick-start the year, we next find ourselves at 

an organized camp (usually two weeks), and from the 

first day are already counting the days until we return 

Ted King 


King Me 

home. The first day of a stage race tugs at our 

curiosity—where things will shake the standings, 

or how the hunt for stages will go, how 

we will finish up. At kilometer one of a race, 

we begin setting up the strategies we hope to 

employ by the time we hit the sign that tells us 

there’s just a single kilometer to go. 

Although I began cycling at a relatively late 

age compared with my ProTour counterparts, 

I progressed quickly, so for my first few years 

racing professionally I was always the youngest 

member of my team. Vying for the title of Best 

Young Rider at races always added an additional 

challenge to the already heated competition. 

Over the past four years, though, I’ve progressed 

to the point in my career that I’m no longer “that 

young American.” The Cannondale Pro Cycling 

team has a youthful roster, including four of our 

five captains, all under the age of 25. At 31, with 

as much as a decade of racing still ahead of me, 

I’m surprised to frequently be the oldest on my 

team at a race (a fact that comes up often, as age 

is one of a pro’s mainstay topics of conversation 

during dinner). 

Cycling has been good to me. I’ve crisscrossed 

the globe, have an apartment in Spain, 

“ 

It’s autumn, and winter is coming. 

For pros, this means that instead of 

focusing on the minutiae, we can just 

enjoy the ride. We can just spin along. 

have tallied more visits to states and countries 

than I ever could have imagined, and have 

taken part in Grand Tours as well as Classics 

and World Championships. Plus, I’ve had 

hundreds of adventures related to all those 

travels and races. When I started out, sometimes 

my mind would wander for a moment to 

the idea that someday I’d retire and leave all 

of this behind, but it was never something I 

seriously considered or confronted. My anticipations 

were those I mentioned early—the 

end of the race I was starting, the end of my 

current training block. For the first time, I 

have that same awareness that someday my 

professional career will end. 

The most stalwart (and perhaps the most 

animated) rider in the ProTour peloton, despite 

his age, is the one with whom I alternate this 

column space—Jens Voigt. He has been in the 

ber phase of his career for a long time, and 

announced his retirement at the end of this 

season. Yet all year he attacked and raced with 

an uncanny, youthful charisma more characteristic 

of riders literally half his age. It’s 

impossible to know Jens, or to race against him, 

and not be inspired. 

It’s autumn, and winter is coming. For pros, 

this doesn’t mean only that the season is ending. 

It also means that instead of focusing 

on the minutiae, we can just enjoy the ride. 

Instead of making sure each ride takes us one 

step closer to some goal or is in pursuit of some 

result, we can just spin along. It means we can 

go soul riding. 

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2015 BIKE PREVIEW

We got our hands (and butts) 

on seven bikes that—whether 

for value, technology, ambition, 

or simple, outright fun and 

love of the ride—promise to 

be some of next year’s most 

exciting new releases. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN PUSHNIK 

WILIER ZERO.7 

THE NEW SUPER IN 

SUPERBIKES 

The best of the next-tech race bikes 

have an unprecedented connectedness 

to the road BY BRAD FORD 

Earlier this year, Wilier’s topof-the-line 

Zero.7 won the 

new Superbike category in 

our annual Editors’ Choice 

competition. In retrospect, 

it was a nice retirement gift 

for that frame—Wilier has 

rolled out a redesigned version for 

2015. The most evident changes 

on first look: a new, hourglassshape 

head tube, which cleanly 

integrates with the fork crown to 

create a more aero profile and 

stiffer front end, and the graphics 

(available in the blacked-out 

version you see here, the Italian 

tricolor, and Colombian colors), 

which, to my eye, have the most elegant 

look of any Wilier. The frame 

I tested, with sparing use of hi-vis 

highlights, is especially refined and 

somehow suggests the bike is superlight. 

The scale confirms this: At 

14 pounds and 14 ounces for a size 

medium (54 cm), including cages 

and pedals, this Zero.7 is just under 

the UCI weight limit. No Grand 

Tours for me this year, I guess. 

Less obvious is how Wilier 

tuned tubes throughout the 

frame, thanks to improved manufacturing 

processes that allowed 

greater control over wall thicknesses. 

Well, sort of less obvious: 

A CliffsNotes of the proprietary 

technology is splayed along the 

top of the top tube, the one blemish 

on the classy aesthetic—and a 

distraction that can catch your eye 

when you glance at your Garmin or 

take a peek at your gears or bottles. 

And that’s the only criticism I 

really have about the Zero.7. It is 

one of those modern superbikes 

that has transcended the limit 

of what we used to think of as 

a superb ride, and added some 

other elusive, amazing quality. 

Here at BICYCLING, we’ve collectively 

started thinking of this 

as a whole new sense of connectedness 

to the road. The ride is 

remarkably forgiving for a bike 

that has an edgy, aggressive feel. It 

cut through corners smoothly, yet 

abruptly adjusted lines at my will. 

It was equally stable and predictable 

when flicked with a push of the 

hips to avoid riders in a tight group. 

The sensation of unity between the 

frame and fork may be the most 

identifiable aspect of what creates 

this magic connection between 

rider and bike, then bike and road 

(and, thus, rider and road). 

Here’s an example: When pedaling 

desperately, trying to hold 

off—or onto—another rider, the 

bike seemed to surge so equally 

to the energy I threw at the pedals 

that it almost didn’t matter if 

we succeeded. There was nothing 

left to give, either by me or the 

bike, and nothing wasted. It’s a 

supremely satisfying, harmonious 

sensation to give your all on 

a bike that gives its all. 

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

As tested, the Zero.7 was 

fitted with Dura-Ace, but 

it’s also available with Campagnolo 

Super Record. 

The Mavic Ksyrium SLR 

wheels may look plain 

compared with popular 

deep-section wheels—but 

they’re light, responsive, 

are durable enough to ride 

every day, and they roll 

and stop well. 

The Zero.7 is also available 

as a frameset (frame, fork, 

headset, bottom bracket, 

and seat post) for $5,000. 

price $9,500 

weight 14.9 lb. (M) 


YETI SB5C 

UNIQUE—AND 

INFINITELY 

FUN TO RIDE 

This new suspension 

rides like nothing 

we’ve ever tested 

before BY MATT PHILLIPS

Alot of excellent trail bikes 

are available today, and 

this new Yeti SB5c—with a 

never-before-seen suspension 

design—is one of the 

best. Critics have told me 

that the SB5c’s Switch Infinity 

design is just a more complicated 

way to do something existing 

bikes already do. But I’ve ridden 

all those others, and there is something 

different about this ride. 

The suspension system is an 

evolution of Yeti’s original Switch, 

which used an eccentric pivot to 

create a very short (less than 15 

millimeters) lower link. In the 

new design, the rotating pivot is 

replaced with a device that slides 

up and down on a pair of shafts. 

This effectively creates an infinitely 

long link, explains Yeti’s design 

engineer Peter Zawistowski. 

A different design, however, 

doesn’t mean different goals. Like 

the original Switch system—found 

on the Editors’ Choice-winning 

SB66 and SB95—Yeti is trying to 

tune the suspension to generate 

a pedaling platform early in the 

travel, so the bike pedals without 

squishy-feeling bob but also is free 

later in the travel to absorb bigger 

bumps without any side effects. 

And like the original Switch, says 

Yeti, the key to getting the blend 

right, and the reason Switch bikes 

ride like they do, is that the lower 

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

The Switch Infinity suspension 

design is patented and 

available only on Yeti bikes. 

This versatile bike combines 

stable handling, sensitive 

suspension, and efficient 

climbing qualities. 

Upgrade from a rigid seatpost 

to a Thomson dropper 

for $350 (our test bike has a 

RockShox). 

Only 1x11 builds are available 

(for now), but the frame is 

front-derailleur compatible. 

price $9,000 (X01 with Enve 

wheel upgrade) 

weight 26.1 lb. (M) 

link switches direction partway 

through the suspension’s travel. 

On a bike with Switch Infinity, 

as the suspension compresses, the 

lower link moves upward initially 

then deeper in the travel, switches 

direction, and moves downward 

even as the suspension continues 

to compress. “The upward 

motion creates the pedaling platform 

while downward [motion] 

enables the suspension to work 

efficiently at the end of the travel,” 

says Zawistowski. 

The Infinity design provides 

much finer control than is possible 

with a rotating link, says Yeti, 

and works | continued on p. 100 


LIV AVAIL ADVANCED SL O 

ALL OURS 

Bikes for women used to 

be modified men’s models— 

and aimed for mid to low 

price points. Not anymore. 

BY SELENE YEAGER

It’s hard not to draw comparisons. 

Abby Santurbane, Liv’s 

global category manager, 

admonishes me every time I 

start. “How do the head-tube 

and seat-tube angles of the Avail 

compare with the Giant Defy for 

men?” I ask. And Abby says, “We’re 

not making those comparisons 

anymore. Avail is built from the 

ground up, not tweaked from the 

men’s mold.” I note that the junctions 

where the Avail’s seatpost, 

top tube, and seat stays intersect 

look different than on the Defy. 

Same answer, less patient this time: 

Stop comparing. Though Liv grew 

out of Giant, and was originally just 

the women’s line of the brand, it is 

now not only a separate brand but 

also a completely different bike. 

I get it. Slowly. Sort of. I think. 

I love that this bike exists. The Liv 

Avail Advanced has joined a small 

but growing selection of top-ofthe-line 

bikes built sketch pad to 

carbon mold for women. Liv mined 

its global dimensions database on 

how women are built and how they 

ride, such as where we carry our 

center of gravity (under bun one 

and bun two) and where our power 

comes from (see center of gravity). 

Then the designers built a mold to 

fit those needs. And they went for 

it—big—not only discarding the 

notion that women can be accommodated 

with a modified men’s 

bike, but also the perception that 

women won’t spring for a high-end 

bike built just for them. The result 

is this nearly $9,000 carbon-frame, 

disc-brake-equipped endurance 

road bike built, spec’d, and lovingly 

detailed for women. 

It’s also pretty. Sure, one tester 

made a face and asked, “Who 

chooses that paint scheme?! A 

4-year old girl?” But for me, a bike 

can’t be girlified enough. Mock 

me. Hate on me. I don’t care. Just 

give me some more glitter paint. 

It only makes me feel more awesome 

when I’m flying down the 

road in an aggro pack, which is 

exactly what this bike is made for: 

riding long and hard and fast and 

aggressively, a characteristic that 

has been underrepresented and 

at times outright missing in the 

women’s market. In fact, Liv is so 

determined to sell this as a performance 

bike that the C-word is 

off-limits. You can call it compliant 

(an acceptable C word), but don’t 

pigeonhole it as comfortable. Liv 

doesn’t want the stiff, springy Avail 

to be associated with all the bikes 

marketed specifically for their 

comfortable rides. 

After putting hundreds of miles 

on it at the launch in Scotland and 

back on my home roads in Pennsylvania, 

I can attest that Liv should 

not worry about the bike’s reputation. 

There’s nothing cozy about 

the ride. An integrated seatpost 

is designed to allow up to 12mm 

of flex to take a little edge off, but 

enough road feel comes through 

that one tester described the bike 

as a bit harsh on choppy pavement. 

The ride is like a good whiskey: 

powerful, yet surprisingly 

smooth. You can hammer away 

for hours without feeling battered 

when you finally dismount—pretty 

much what I did the first two days 

I was on the Avail. 

My first impression as I pushed 

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

Liv! Hear us roar. 

Disc brakes are at the top 

of the line. 

Climbs well on everything 

from rollers to long ascents 

Built, designed, and decaled 

by women 

Super light thanks to 

weight-saving features like 

single-sided internal cable 

routing and tapered tubing 

Blurs the lines between race 

and endurance performance 

price $8,750 

weight 16.4 lb. (S) 

on the pedals when our pack of riders 

pulled out of the driveway and 

onto a rolling country lane was that 

this bike might weigh less than my 

shoes. Indeed, at under 2 pounds, 

the frame is only slightly heftier 

than my winter boots. A few guys at 

the front, eager to put the new Defy 

to the test, cranked up the pace. I 

glanced at my Garmin, saw 21 mph, 

and was amazed at how effortlessly 

the bike got up to and held speed. 

Liv credits the beefy 86mm bottom 

bracket for delivering solid power 

transfer and pedaling efficiency. 

The Avail popped over a long 

string of punchy rollers as if on 

springs, then we hit the first sustained 

climb. Unlike some endurance 

road bikes that feel slightly 

spongy when you big-ring power 

climbs, the Avail shot forward. 

The rear wheel stayed planted, but 

I didn’t feel as if any watts were 

wasted in absorbing road chatter. 

The road tipped down through 

a deep, green, V-shape valley dotted 

with white sheep. It was like a 

postcard. Except the sheep sometimes 

left the picture and walked 

in front of you. I was humming 

down one stretch of chattery pavement 

at 33 mph, enjoying how stable 

the Avail was, when a ewe leapt 

a fence about 10 yards ahead of 

me. Whenever I look back on the 

moment, I’m thankful for two 

things: that the Avail is responsive 

without being twitchy, and that 

it’s one of a very select few women’s 

road bikes equipped with disc 

brakes (in this case, Shimano’s 

R785 hydraulic disc, 140mm). It 

didn’t take much lever pull to slow 

the bike in a hurry, a good thing 

when you | continued on p. 101 


CERVÉLO R2

IT PAYS TO WAIT 

In cycling, high tech eventually 

comes at a low price BY GREG KAPLAN 

Financial theorists might still 

be debating the efficacy of 

trickle-down economics, but 

we’re here to tell you that 

trickle-down technology flat 

out works. This $2,500 bike 

uses aerodynamic, Squoval 3 

tubes that were introduced on Cervélo’s 

$10,000 RCA frame in 2013. 

This version of Squoval—a combination 

of square and oval—has 

a rounded leading edge to channel 

airflow around the tube, and 

a blunt trailing edge that causes 

the air coming off the tubes to 

be less turbulent (and thus create 

less drag). The seat stays look 

wispy and fragile, but they’re the 

same design used by Garmin- 

Sharp pro racers, and the entire 

rear triangle feels comfortably 

compliant without giving the ride 

a numb or squishy, power-sapping 

feel. Cervélo says this latest version 

of the frame is 24 percent stiffer 

at the head tube—which leads 

to snappier and more confident 

steering and a nice, secure feeling 

in sprints—and 8 percent stiffer 

at the bottom bracket for better 

power transfer. It also weighs 

less than 1,000 grams in a size 

56cm, as measured with hardware 

and paint. (Some companies weigh 

bare frames to get a lighter figure 

to brag about.) The bike comes 

stock with a mechanical groupset 

and built-in electronic cable ports 

that are plugged with rubber stoppers 

to keep dirt and moisture out 

until you upgrade to electronic. 

To get to such an appealing 

price, Cervélo outfits the frame 

with a careful mix of componentry. 

I understand the necessity, 

but still found myself wishing for 

a full Shimano 105 group—the FSA 

brake calipers felt slightly underpowered 

compared with the bike’s 

capabilities, and the FSA crankset 

is workmanlike but doesn’t complement 

the drivetrain with the 

crisp action and looks that a 105 

model would have brought. 

Those are really just quibbles, 

though. The bike did everything I 

asked of it, and did it well, whether 

I was on gravel, a tight-cornered 

crit course, or cruising along farm 

lanes bordered by corn. Unusually, 

Cervélo pairs road-racing geometry 

with longer head tubes, so an 

average rider’s handlebar height 

can be reached without a mountain 

of spacers. The frame expresses 

its racing pedigree when speed or 

ambition sharply lifts. I thought it 

required a little more input when 

carving turns than the most intuitive 

race bikes I’ve tested—the feel 

is more swoopy than darty. When 

I accelerated out of corners or 

stood on climbs, I could feel no 

flex under me, but the bike never 

quite leapt ahead; it was more 

like the R2 would always obey me. 

I don’t know if this pleasant but 

never unruly ride comes from the 

Squoval tubes plus a forgiving fork 

and more upright stance, or from 

some other combination of elements; 

all I know is that the bike 

is fun to ride, is just at home in an 

inner-city park loop as it is on rolling, 

rural roads, and is one heck 

of a buy. 

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

Squoval (square plus oval) 

tube shapes for aerodynamic 

advantage 

Pairs racing geometry with a 

longer head tube to achieve 

higher handlebar position 

Compliant but firm frameset 

climbs well, but doesn’t 

leap out when accelerating 

Reliable Shimano 105 drivetrain, 

and wheels 

price $2,500 

weight 17.7 lb. (58cm) 


TREK ÉMONDA SLR 8 

LIGHT’S OUT? 

Maybe, just maybe, we’re 

starting to realize that cutting 

frame weight is secondary to 

ride quality BY JOE LINDSEY 

When Trek unveiled its 

Émonda line in July, 

all the talk was about 

the flagship SLR 10. 

Some gawped at its 

claimed 10.25-pound 

weight; others opined 

that a near-$16,000 bike surely 

meant the apocalypse was upon 

us. Lost in the buzz: The Émonda 

is not a single bike, but a line with 

16 models, including women’s versions 

and two framesets. 

Just a few steps down from the 

gossamer SLR 10 is the SLR 8, at 

less than half the price. Trek made 

much of the lightweight story, 

even pointing out that Émonda is 

a play on the French verb émonder, 

to prune or cut. Less romantically, 

it’s also an anagram of the company’s 

long-running Madone line (as 

is Trek’s other main road model, 

the Domane). 

Yes, the Émonda is light. But 

past that, it’s such a remarkably 

well-balanced road bike that 

its overall performance is what

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

Deft all-arounder 

Direct-mount calipers offer 

confident braking 

Slightly buzzy ride 

Oh yeah, it’s light, too. 

price $7,450 


wows you. For instance, the 

direct-mount Shimano Dura-Ace 

brakes offer a measure of power 

and control I haven’t experienced 

in conventional single-post 

calipers except on the pricey aftermarket 

eebrake (yes, that’s the 

name, not a typo). Dive in hard to 

a downhill hairpin, and you can 

scrub speed at will; braking is sure 

and solid from the hoods or drops. 

And bless Trek for putting the rear 

caliper on the seatstay, where rim 

brakes belong, rather than the 

under-chainstay mount used on 

the Madone. 

As expected, the Émonda climbs 

beautifully, whether you’re in or 

out of the saddle. But that’s due as 

much to efficiency as it is to weight; 

the broad, flat down tube and BB90 

bottom bracket provide ample real 

estate for the all-important tube 

junctures; any perceptible flex in 

the bike seems to come from the 

wheels, not the frame. One quibble: 

The excellent Dura-Ace midcompact 

(36/52) crankset is available 

only on Émonda models with the 

aggressive H1 fit and its short head 

tube; The H2 bikes, which probably 

fit a larger range of people, 

get consigned to a less-versatile 

34/50, obliquely suggesting flexibility 

has some relation to climbing 

ability. Otherwise, the parts kit is 

spot on, particularly the excellent 

rims on the Bontrager Race X Lite 

TLR wheels. 

Ride quality is nicely balanced 

front to rear; road buzz filters up 

through the frame, but it’s not 

noticeably more prominent at the 

handlebar than the seat. On long 

rides, the vibration can become 

irksome, and noises like shifts, 

rattles, or even the routine mumble 

of the road audibly amplify 

through the frame. But I never 

felt my performance was compromised. 

Anyway, the Émonda isn’t 

designed with comfort as a paramount 

goal. (For that, look to the 

Domane.) The wispy weight is a 

neat trick, but what impressed me 

most was that Trek didn’t sacrifice 

a well-rounded ride to get it. 


COLNAGO V1-R 

ERNESTO 

GOES 

AERO 

Colnago is known 

for its beautiful, 

clover-shaped 

tubes, and its 

legendary 

founder—neither 

of which are too 

aerodynamic. 

Hence, this 

speedster. 

BY LOUIS MAZZANTE 

a lot of bike for 

2-5-10,” Strickland 

said, eyeing the Colnago 

V1-r from his 

chair in the shade of 

an E-Z-Up tent. I had 

“That’s 

just rolled into the 

throng of cyclists waiting to begin 

the sixth lap of the event, which 

climbs Second, Fifth, and Tenth 

Streets in Emmaus—about 1,500 

feet of climbing per 10-mile lap. 

His comment spoke to both the 

bike’s character, and to 2-5-10’s 

come-as-you-are vibe. He started 

the event 11 years earlier with 

some friends as a lark, and it has 

remained waggish—there’s just 

too much stupidity involved in 

doing the 20-plus-percent grades 

of Tenth 10 times for anyone to 

take the ride too seriously. 

The V1-r, however, was made 

for very serious affairs. It’s a lightweight, 

aero road bike that Pierre 

Rolland and Thomas Voeckler used 

for some stages of this year’s Tour 

de France. The wind-cheating 

tube shapes wouldn’t help me on 

the climbs, but the low weight was 

what I needed to get over those 

hills, even for the single lap I hoped 

to eke out on my lunch break. 

This is the second race bike 

introduced by Colnago this year. 

The first, the C60, uses the company’s 

signature clover-shaped 

lugs to join clovered carbon tubes. 

That frame is pieced together in 

Colnago’s Italian factory, and the 

marriage is of more than materials—the 

C60 blends old-world

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

Fast as a rocket, stable as a 

yacht; nearly as expensive 

as one, too 

Calm in any situation 

Aero tube shapes designed 

with an assist from Ferrari 

Less exotic (and less 

expensive) than Colnago’s 

made-in-Italy C60 

price $4,750 frameset 

($12,700 as tested) 


craftsmanship with modern bike 

design. The V1-r has no such nostalgia. 

It’s made in Taiwan, and 

instead of lugs it has a monocoque 

carbon design. The process freed 

Colnago to nip, tuck, and tease 

more performance while also 

reducing weight—at a claimed 

835 grams, a 52cm frame is 215 

grams lighter than a comparable 

C60, and costs $1,450 less. The low 

weight, aero tubes, and unyielding 

frame make it the sort of bike 

many professional riders (and riders 

who dream of being a professional) 

demand. If the C60 is the 

bike Ernesto Colnago wanted to 

build, then the V1-r is the one he 

needed to. 

Colnago has never built an aero 

frame, so it sought advice from 

Ferrari, which has more carbonmanufacturing 

and wind-tunnel 

experience. The tubes are sleek 

and egglike on their front edge 

with a squared back, similar to 

those found on aero road bikes 

from Trek, Pinarello, and others. 

The fork is aero shaped, too, 

to help direct air away from the 

wheels, and its narrow 27.2mm 

seatpost has an aero profile. 

To reduce drag, the powerful, 

dual-pivot, direct-mount brakes 

sit flush with the fork (in front), 

and in the rear are tucked under 

the chainstays near the bottom 

bracket. Despite some squealing, 

the brakes stopped me quickly 

every time. A disc version of the 

V1-r will be ready this fall. 

Given the low weight and stiff 

frame, I expected the bike to leap 

forward and was surprised when 

it didn’t. Instead, speed increased 

steadily rather than in chaotic 

bursts. The bike maneuvered with 

a similar calmness. Initiate line 

changes with your hips and the 

bike snaps across the apex. 

Over several weeks, I tested 

the V1-r on Pennsylvania roads 

that are as fractured and fissured 

as the beds of shale that lie 

beneath them. The frame blunted 

the impact of the cracks in the 

pavement, yet I still felt some of 

the blow—like being punched by 

DECODER In 1952, Ernesto 

Colnago quit his apprenticeship 

at Italian frame maker Gloria 

to open a humble workshop in 

Cambiago, Italy. The centerpiece 

was a workbench handcrafted by 

his father from a mulberry tree. 

Ernesto embraced that traditional 

view of craftsmanship and 

excelled as a mechanic and bike 

builder—doing things carefully, 

by hand. He wrenched for threetime 

Giro d’Italia winner Fiorenzo 

Magni and on his own bikes he 

tinkered with geometry to make 

them handle sharper. Gastone 

Nencini won the 1957 Giro riding 

a Colnago and later came 

Merckx. After Eddy set the hour 

record in Mexico City in 1972, he 

slumped on Ernesto’s shoulder 

and said only, “Thank you.” 

someone wearing a boxing glove 

rather than getting hit by his bare 

knuckles. Colnago declined to say 

how much the aero tubes reduce 

drag, but the bike felt slicker than 

most. Dropping down a straightline 

descent, tucked into a low 

crouch, I could keep up with 

heavier riders without pedaling, 

which is rare. 

As I headed up Second on my 

lap of 2-5-10, the Colnago ascended 

smoothly, allowing me to maintain 

a conversation without gasping. 

When the road pitched down, 

our group of 20 spread out as we 

gained speed. Heading toward the 

first left-hander, I closed in on 

two riders pedaling side by side. I 

thought about braking, then didn’t. 

A crease had opened between them 

and I slipped through, instinctively, 

nearly impetuously. Perhaps 

Strickland was right: As enjoyable 

as the V1-r is to ride, this bike 

might be too much for a friendly 

challenge like 2-5-10. So I did the 

only thing I could: I let it rip. 


BIANCHI INFINITO CV ULTEGRA DI2 DISC COMPACT 

DON’T CALL IT 

A COMEBACK 

Bianchi never went away—but 

it hasn’t been this enticing in 

a while either BY MIKE YOZELL

One weekend I headed down 

to Philly for a ride with 

some old friends. Among 

the things I love about that 

city is its vibrant bike culture. 

Everywhere I looked, 

on the lanes and paths as 

well as the roads, there were people 

on bikes—kids and parents, 

college students, all ages and sorts 

of adults riding for every reason 

from sport to transportation to 

recreation. I saw bikes locked 

everywhere, too—hoopties and 

whiskey-runners, BMX and road 

bikes, repurposed mountain bikes, 

and, as in every big city these days, 

fixies. Many of these fixed-gear 

bikes were Bianchi Pistas, the 

model that, with some smart 

marketing behind an eye-catching 

all-chrome frame, became the de 

riguer vehicle of the hipster-fixie 

craze starting around 2004. 

I was riding the Bianchi Infinito 

CV Ultegra Di2 Disc Compact you 

see here, an $8,000 machine that 

pushes the boundaries of modern 

race technology. But my Bianchi 

and those Pistas aren’t so different. 

Both are emblems of how cycling’s 

oldest and most vaunted brands 

keep reinventing themselves to 

remain relevant and exciting. 

Bianchi, which has been around 

since about 1885, lays claim to 

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

Di2 and hydraulic disc 

brakes mean much less 

maintenance is required. 

Internal routing keeps the 

lines clean. 

Good for long days, bad 

roads, and long days on bad 

roads 

Lars Boom rode a rim-brake 

version to a win in Stage 5 of 

this year’s Tour de France. 

price $8,000 


being the world’s oldest continually 

producing bike company, and 

to being one of the first to install 

derailleurs and pneumatic tires on 

bikes—big technological advances 

at the time. Until the past few 

years, however, it seemed to me 

that, at least judging from the company’s 

presence in America, Bianchi’s 

biggest accomplishment was 

catching the wave of fixie obsession. 

The geared bikes were never 

bad, and the race bikes were on 

pace with other companies, but for 

most of my cycling life, Bianchi had 

evoked respect and near reverence 

instead of “not bad.” 

All of that changed with the 

Infinito CV Disc. This is my third 

time testing a version of the bike, 

and each year its ride has become 

more refined and tuned—and the 

tech has moved forward. As with 

the previous models, this one has 

a monocoque frame on which 

engineers paid intense attention 

to tube shape. Cables, wires, and 

hydraulic lines are all routed internally. 

(If you choose a model with 

Campagnolo EPS, you even get 

dedicated mounting points for 

the internal battery without compromising 

one of the water-bottle 

mounts—and a predrilled hole for 

the charging port.) The disc-brake 

calipers bolt on via integrated postmount 

fittings, with the rear one 

tucked neatly onto the chainstay. 

The first Infinito I tested incorporated 

Kevlar into the carbon at 

the fork ends. This muted some 

road noise, helping me stay loose 

and relaxed on long days. The next 

model, and this one, use something 

Bianchi calls Countervail technology. 

It’s a viscoelastic material layered 

in with the carbon that, Bianchi 

says (while refusing to divulge 

exactly how) is able to cancel some 

vibrations. Indeed, on long days 

over my region’s most unfavorable 

roads, the bike proved comfortable. 

As the name implies, the Infinito 

Disc is built around the new style 

of brakes. | continued on p. 101 


THE 

HERETIC 

WILL 

SEE YOU 

NOW

HE’S BEEN CALLED OUTLANDISH. AND HIS METHODS ARE, WITHOUT QUESTION, 

UNORTHODOX. SO WHY IS STEVE HOGG’S APPOINTMENT BOOK OVERFLOWING 

WITH THE NAMES OF CYCLISTS WILLING TO FLY HALFWAY AROUND THE 

WORLD FOR JUST A FEW HOURS WITH THIS OBSESSIVE BIKE-FIT GURU? 

BY ANDREW TILIN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN LAXTON 


“IS THAT AN iPHONE 4?” 

STEVE HOGG ASKS ME 

ON A COOL WINTER 

MORNING IN HIS SYDNEY, 

AUSTRALIA, SHOP. 


Wearing only cycling shorts and holding my 

phone, I’m standing in one corner of Hogg’s 

modest 1,600-square-foot store, experiencing 

the early stages of a singular process. Hogg, who 

makes his living fitting cyclist to bike, is unlike 

anyone else in his field. None of his peers inventory 

every last thing you bring on a ride: items 

such as eyewear, lights, even a cell phone, like 

the one in my left hand. No other fitter believes 

there’s a connection between a mobile device 

and how a rider meshes with his bicycle. 

“Yes,” I say. “Is that bad?” 

“The 4 is OK,” he says, loosening the saddlebag 

from my bike. “The 3 is a problem. It’s a 

polarity issue.” 

Polarity? I thought I was here to talk about, you 

Steve Hogg, 

photographed 

in his shop on 

July 1, 2014. 

know, seat height. (He’ll later tell me that the 

iPhone 5 can be a problem, too.) 

In a business dedicated to tailoring bicycle 

to rider like it’s a suit—reach to the handlebar, 

where cycling shoe meets pedal, and so 

on—Hogg has built a global reputation for his 

contrarian approach. On his blog he questions 

established fit procedures. He eschews the 

technology that blankets the industry. He’s 

called out one of America’s biggest bicycle 

companies for making fit-benefiting products 

that he says do the opposite. Hogg argues at 

length about his theory that there’s a relationship 

between a rider’s nervous system, 

assorted cycling paraphernalia (like rubbery 

charity bracelets), and proper bike fit. 

As you might imagine, Hogg has critics. The 

fitting world’s established players question his 

claims. Then there are the lab researchers who 

have studied bicycle positioning, and debate 

the worth of professional fits altogether. 

Those scientists argue that moving a saddle a 

smidge has no impact on performance. They’ll 

tell you that the $250 or more demanded for 

a bike fit can be money misspent. 

Meanwhile the bike-fit business is on the 

rise. Across the United States, more and 

more shops offer fitting services. Companies, 

including Retül and Specialized, have 

exported their bike-fitting systems outside 

the United States, promising more comfort 

and/or better performance for riders from 

Estonia to Shanghai. As for Hogg’s work? I 

interviewed physicians and alternative-health 

experts alike who are impressed by it. His blog 

receives tens of thousands of monthly hits. He 

also has more work than he can handle, often 

performing multiple four-hour fits daily and 

looking down a waiting list that can extend 

for months. Hogg is arguably the ne plus ultra 

of the bike-fitter universe. Who else can claim 

that 40 percent of his clientele—and Hogg 

works with commuters, executives, and pro 

cyclists—board airplanes just for a bike fit? 

So as a seasoned masters rider obsessed with 

bettering my speed and riding happiness, I 

traveled to see Hogg in Sydney, bringing along 

questions, my bike, and a healthy dose of cynicism. 

I’ve had previous professional fits, all 

of which provided refinement rather than 

revelation. Would Hogg’s be any different? Or 

would his roughly $700 service disappoint? I 

understand why comfort-seeking beginners 

and riders with physical challenges might 

benefit from fittings that result in substantial 

changes. But could Hogg prove himself— 

let alone the merits of an entire industry—to 

the rest of us? In other words: Did I have a date 

with a fit wizard in Oz? 

Back in his cluttered shop, I set down my 

phone. Hogg adjusts the spectacles on his 

smooth face framed by ears with lobes so negligible 

that they look aerodynamic. Indeed, 

from head to toe, he’s a curious vision. At 

57 years old, Hogg is youth defined—a rodstraight 

torso and shaved, muscular legs— 

save for his bare scalp. He looks like a work in 

progress, 80 percent of the way to becoming 

25 again, a contrasting aesthetic that could be 

a metaphor for the career he’s built on solving 

problems both infinitesimal and large. 

Hogg, who arrived at his ways not from 

degrees in science but rather from playing in 

Australia’s violent rugby league football and 

studying obscure biofeedback methodologies, 


soon unzips my saddlebag and pulls out its 

contents. He’s already inquired about my dairy 

intake (too much, he says, may compromise 

intestinal function) and the state of my lower 

jaw. By observing me in front of a mirror and 

digging his fingers into my sides, Hogg has 

established that my pelvis is out of alignment. 

Apparently I list to the left. 

“I don’t have a by-the-numbers system,” 

says Hogg while placing my tire levers and 

two spare inner tubes atop a counter. “To me 

there are no absolute rules in fitting.” 

Beyond reasons like genetics and past injuries, 

Hogg wonders if riders are askew because 

of the molecular, electrical charges given off 

by some of the things that join us on our rides. 

In a nutshell, he theorizes that virtually every 

object, including the human body, holds a 

charge. On a bike ride, he believes that like 

charges might literally “repel” and the result 

sometimes causes a bodily twist or turn. 

“That’s my best guess,” he says, and grabs 

a magnetic disk from a work stand. 

What happens next is practically a wave of 

a wand. While I stand half naked in front of a 

mirror, Hogg repeatedly asks me to perform 

a simple muscle-resistance test—the details 

of which he says are proprietary and asks me 

not to reveal—whereby he places, one by one, 

the individual contents of my saddlebag at my 

feet. I “pass” the resistance test when he puts 

the empty saddlebag and then one of the tubes 

near me. After I fail the test when he places the 

second tube before me, Hogg picks it up with 

one hand and sweeps the magnet over it with 

the other. Hogg tells me he’s changing the tube’s 

polarity, then puts it at my feet again and digs 

his fingers into my sides. His hands come to rest 

on the top of my hipbones. They still aren’t level. 

“That tube wasn’t the problem,” he says. 

We go through a similar process with my 

tire levers, and when my hips remain cockeyed, 

Hogg walks the levers across the shop 

and comes back carrying ones that he sells. 

He places them at my feet. His levers aren’t 

notable, but Hogg insists that some things are 

to cyclists what kryptonite is to Superman, 

and even a change of polarity won’t help. He 

suggests exorcising such offending objects. 

He then administers the simple muscleresistance 

test again. I pass it. 

“I’m not a raving alternative weirdo who’s 

living his own illusions,” he says, moving this 

time to kneel behind me. He digs his fingers 

into my sides again. 

I look at the reflection of the two of us in the 

mirror. Hogg smiles. 

His hands are just about level. 

You could call today’s systematized, 

high-tech bike 

fits un-Hoggian. In a typical 

fit, after you are interviewed 

and given a basic physical 

assessment, usually you’re 

placed under the scrutiny 

of video cameras that capture your position 

and pedal stroke while you ride on a stationary 

trainer. Then the fitter studies the footage 

and crunches the data to assess positioning and 

the appropriateness of the saddle, handlebar, 

For Hogg, 

no detail is 

too small.

and pedals. The goal is to deliver a fit that’s a 

blend of comfort and efficiency (although one 

computerized system aspires to create nothing 

short of a man-machine, and it tells you what 

bike to buy—see “If the Fitter Fits,” page 61). 

Because the futuristic and relatively standardized 

machinery of fitting services help bike 

shop employees do their jobs, and because the 

gleaming equipment generates customer interest, 

bike fits are more widely available than ever 

before. The promise of precision technology 

creating a better ride has attracted everyone 

from comfort-seeking beginners to professionals. 

Superstars from top road teams including 

Astana, Garmin-Sharp, and Sky frequently consult 

with fitters and the latest programs. 

Hogg has also worked 

with top pro riders, and 

his shop, Pedal Pushers, 

features a sophisticated 

bicycle ergometer called 

a Velotron. But he doesn’t 

like relying on technology 

or name-dropping (higher-profile 

clients include 

Jonathan Cantwell, who 

currently rides for the 

UCI continental team 

Drapac Professional 

Cycling, and World 

Champion track racer 

Marion Clignet). At best, 

Hogg sees the former as 

backup. When I visited 

him, the Velotron was 

out of service. His shop, 

which is dusty and crowded 

with both modern and 

vintage bike hardware, is 

void of video equipment 

and flat-screen monitors. 

“What can you see on 

a screen that you can’t see more clearly in the 

flesh?” he says. “Video cameras are for people 

who aren’t sure what they’re looking at.” 

Hogg refuses to follow a cookie-cutter 

approach to fitting because he says every customer 

is a wildly different, two-wheel-riding 

mystery. He believes his job is to probe for fit 

clues and devise solutions. 

“How you learn anything in this world,” he 

says, “is by seeing what you can and can’t do.” 

Hogg’s entire life has been dedicated to satisfying 

his curiosities. He grew up poor in a 

small town southwest of Sydney—the son of 

a limestone miner and a schoolteacher—and 

was reading by age three. Hogg was a lean kid, 

but he still had dreams of making it big in the 

bruising game of rugby league football, and 

HOGG IS 

NEVER 

RELUCTANT 

TO PUNCH 

MORE 

HOLES 

INTO 

FITTING- 

INDUSTRY 

GOSPEL. 

went pretty far. Injuries, however, ultimately 

drove him from the sport, and when he bought 

a bike to help rehab a torn-up knee, he discovered 

that he loved to ride. Meanwhile Hogg 

skipped college and instead took jobs as varied 

as hauling bricks, bouncing at nightclubs, 

and doing corporate sales at Xerox. 

In 1986, newly married and soon to be a father 

of two kids, Hogg arrived at one of those dowhat-makes-you-happy 

moments and opened 

a bike shop in Sydney. He taught himself the 

business, put in long hours, and raced, notching 

podium finishes in state championships. He 

became a top wheel builder and manufactured 

and sold custom frames. Part of Hogg’s job was 

to fit buyers to their custom bikes, and by 1996, 

he intuited that Internet 

companies would soon 

undercut and kill his 

retail business. Though 

Hogg knew no one else 

making a living as a 

bicycle fitter, he made 

it his career. 

During the early 

days, when business 

was dauntingly slow, he 

arrived at a realization. 

Hogg found that all of 

his clients had physical 

asymmetries, due 

to the likes of a tilted 

pelvis, a shorter limb, a 

curved spine, or a previous 

injury. He decided 

that his objective, no 

matter how he reached 

it, was to close the gap 

between imperfect bodies 

and a machine that 

asks its user to function 

symmetrically. 

There was more discovery, too. One day in 

2002, Hogg went to a chiropractor who used an 

alternative treatment known as applied kinesiology. 

Among other things, applied kinesiology, 

or AK, proposes to tie together the state of 

one’s posture and alignment with neurological 

function. AK posits that the way we stand and 

sit is directly affected by our nervous system’s 

ability to communicate with our body parts. 

It uses a form of muscle-resistance testing to 

assess an individual’s condition. 

Hogg saw logic in AK and soon surmised 

that some sort of brain-body connection also 

informs a rider’s position on a bike. The fact 

that his theory was unproven didn’t deter him. 

Nor did Hogg’s lack of acceptance when he 

tried to enroll in an advanced class in applied 

BEYOND THE FIT 

A GREAT FIT WON’T HELP 

YOU IF YOU DO EVERYTHING 

WRONG WHEN YOU’RE NOT 

RIDING. HERE’S WHAT HOGG 

ADVISES TO MAXIMIZE YOUR 

POSITION ON THE BIKE. 

Stand—and 

sit—tall. 

Slouch in life, 

says Hogg, and 

you’ll slouch 

on the bike. 

Slouch on the bike and you invite 

problems from neck to knees. You 

need a strong core, and Hogg suggests 

the all-day, everyday core 

workout otherwise known as good 

posture. Try this: Stand or sit 

upright, touching your index finger 

to the sternal notch (the soft 

spot at the base of your throat), 

then elevate your rib cage and 

extend your spine to lift the finger. 

Stretch long, 

not hard. 

Hogg recommends 

stretching at 

least twice a 

week, when your body is already 

warm (either after an easy warmup 

or at ride’s end). While others 

say stretch for 30 seconds at a 

time, Hogg differs: Hold each 

stretch for 60 seconds to several 

minutes. Hogg says that connective 

tissue responds to duration 

rather than force. 

Ditch 

your shoes. 

Hogg insists 

that feet push 

pedals only as 

efficiently as the 

brain and central nervous system 

tell them to. To keep “neural pathways” 

open you must strengthen 

your feet or “your nervous system 

becomes lazy.” Hogg advises clients 

to go shoeless off the bike 

or wear minimalist running shoes 

like Vibram FiveFingers to make 

your feet more responsive. “Does 

anyone pretend to have the same 

sensitivity wearing gloves instead 

of using bare hands?” asks Hogg. 

Illustrations by DAVID FLANAGAN NOVEMBER 2014 • BICYCLING.COM 71

kinesiology. The teachers felt he lacked the 

necessary background. 

“I thought, fuck it,” he says. “I’ll work it 

out for myself.” 

Hogg says that some of his fitting practices—like 

the aforementioned muscle-resistance 

test, or how he manipulates a shoe insole with 

extra foam to angle a foot just so because “one 

degree of cant too much or too little will cloud 

the proprioceptive response”—may be influenced 

by AK. But he insists that his practices 

have “ended up somewhere else.” 

Nonetheless, precisely where Hogg’s obscure 

methodologies land on the bike-fitter-science 

continuum doesn’t seem to matter to his sophisticated 

and often affluent clientele, which has 

grown right along with the sport of cycling. 

“[Hogg] demonstrated to me that I was capable 

of much greater downward thrust,” Bernard 

Pearn-Rowe wrote to me in an e-mail. Pearn- 

Rowe is a cyclist, as well as a family physician, 

professor of medicine, and a former president 

of the Australian Medical Association. “I still 

don’t quite understand why this should be so,” 

he added, “but it was absolutely undeniable… it 

was like a lightbulb moment.” 

Hogg has also accumulated fans—and critics—ever 

since he started to write about fit, 

first in Bicycling Australia magazine in the 

late 1980s, and then online for Cycling News 

in 2006. Today he writes for his own website, 

and as always he doesn’t mince words: In his 

sometimes lengthy dispatches, Hogg doubts 

the worth of standard fitting tools like plumb 

lines, and disparages the use of video technologies. 

Perhaps most famously, he questions 

Specialized’s plastic wedges, which like similar 

products, slip into cycling shoes to tweak 

foot position. After observing recurring fit 

problems in thousands of his customers, Hogg 

knit together his theories and concluded that 

Specialized’s wedges, as well as other popular 

products like Oakley sunglasses and those 

once-ubiquitous yellow Livestrong wristbands, 

cause a shift in pelvic alignment that clouds 

the communication between brain and feet. 

Predictably, when he first reported these 

beliefs back in 2011, Hogg was trashed in 

cycling forums. 

“People wrote that I had completely lost the 

plot,” Hogg recalls. 

His peers still question him. Specialized’s 

fitting experts, as you would expect, are particularly 

opinionated. 

“I find it interesting that he’s found such 

differences in an in-shoe wedge made by 

someone else versus the one we make,” says 

Scott Holz, global director for Specialized 

Bicycles Component University, the teaching 

arm of the bike company’s Body Geometry Fit 

and other programs. “I mean, they’re both 

plastic, and they both go under a foot bed, 

and there’s a bazillion foot beds out there, 

and the wedge isn’t touching your foot. It’s 

hard for me to imagine how this all works.” 

Andrew Pruitt, EdD, a bike fitter of 35-plus 

years who has worked with numerous top 

pros and is the driving force behind the Body 

Geometry Fit program, is less politic. 

FIT FUNDAMENTALS 

WHILE BIKE FITTERS OFTEN SQUABBLE OVER 

THE DETAILS, THEY LARGELY AGREE UPON SOME 

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOOD FIT. HERE ARE 

SEVEN KEYS TO SITTING RIGHT ON YOUR BIKE. 

4 

6 

1 Throughout your pedal 

stroke, retain some bend 

in each knee. Straightening 

or overextending your legs 

can put undue stress on 

other joints and cause your 

pelvis to list to one side. 

1 

3 

2 

2 Position your 

handlebar and brake-lever 

hoods so that your elbows 

are not locked and your 

shoulders don’t tense up— 

no matter where you grip 

the bar. 

3 Be sure that your 

frame allows for proper 

stand-over height: Aim for 

at least 1.5 inches of clearance 

between your crotch 

and the top tube. 

4 Put comfort over 

aerodynamics or aesthetics. 

A low-slung, pro-style 

pose (shown above) may 

hamper performance 

and/or cause pain. 

5 Don’t settle for tingling 

or numbness. You can 

tweak the way your shoes 

fit (perhaps through custom 

insoles) and your cleat 

position (fore/aft and sideto-side) 

to help avoid foot 

discomfort and hot spots. 

5 

6 Our bodies aren’t 

static—they undergo 

constant change. Your 

riding position will likely 

evolve too, which is why 

some fitters see their customers 

annually. The good 

news? The most common 

piece of equipment 

updated by fitters is the 

relatively affordable stem. 

7 Following a fit, ride 

easy for three weeks, and 

check in with your fitter. 

Discuss what feels right 

or wrong, and perhaps 

schedule a follow-up visit. 

Muscles and connective 

tissue require time to work 

optimally in a new position. 

Illustration: David Flanagan

“Hogg is outlandish,” says Pruitt. “He doesn’t 

deserve to be talked about.” 

But others are drawn to Hogg. His blog 

receives upwards of 92,000 hits each month. 

Dozens of fitters have contacted him about 

learning his ways, which is impressive considering 

that he charges $4,000 per week for 

someone to shadow him. He’s agreed to work 

with only a few candidates. 

One of four Hogg-endorsed fitters worldwide 

is Colby Pearce, a former U.S. national team 

track-cycling coach who owns a coaching and 

bike-fitting business in Boulder, Colorado— 

the same town where Pruitt works. Pearce is 

convinced that Hogg’s unusual thinking isn’t 

mistaken but cutting edge. 

“The methods can be wacky by some people’s 

standards, but they made sense to me,” 

says Pearce. “Steve’s always challenging himself 

and evolving his process. Those are values 

I try to hold.” 

Hogg uses magnets and muscle-resistance 

techniques to 

help align my hips and position 

my feet just so with 

aftermarket insoles that 

he doctors with extra foam 

and packing tape. Then he 

reaches for an electric drill. He’s never reluctant 

to punch more holes—literally—into what 

is arguably fitting-industry gospel. 

“Stop pedaling,” he tells me. I haven’t been on 

the shop’s old and banged-up stationary trainer 

for more than 15 minutes. 

“Take off your shoes,” he says. 

Soon one of my carbon-soled shoes is in 

Hogg’s left hand, with its cleat removed. The 

drill is in his right. 

“We need to move your cleats much farther 

back,” he says. I confess that the shoes were a 

gift that I was too lazy to exchange for a properfitting, 

smaller size. Hogg rolls his eyes. Then he 

pulls the trigger, and the drill whines. 

After the dust settles, Hogg elaborates on 

his process. In those relatively few minutes I’d 

spent riding the trainer, he’d walked around 

me the way an art critic circles a sculpture. 

More than once, he’d laser-locked on my pelvis, 

saying that if the pelvis is asymmetrical, 

then everything above it (torso and arms) and 

below it (legs) is more likely to be off-kilter, 

too. (Hogg consistently wonders out loud as 

to why today’s modern fitting systems don’t 

position a camera behind the rider.) I listed, 

he says, something like the Tower of Pisa. 

Meanwhile he’d listened to the whir of the 

trainer as I pedaled. The noise I generated 

was, in his terms, “fragmented.” 

“YOU CAN 

THINK I’M 

AWITCH 

DOCTOR. 

THAT’S 

OK. I’M 

INTERESTED 

IN THE 

RESULT.” 

Many of Hogg’s 

clients travel 

long distances 

for a fit session. 

“I want you to have more leverage on your 

pedals,” he explains. “And I want you to 

smooth out your stroke.” 

Hogg has spent years criticizing the fitting 

industry for almost universally suggesting 

that the ball of a rider’s foot be positioned 

directly over the pedal axle. It’s a position, 

he argues, that forces the lower leg muscles 

to work unduly hard to both stabilize the foot 

and apply power to the crank arms. Move the 

cleats farther toward a rider’s arch—Hogg 

also denounces the bicycle-shoe industry for 

limiting how far cleats can be set back on footwear—and, 

if other conditions are met, the 

rider will exert pressure on the pedals over a 

greater portion of each revolution. 

Hogg explores this concept to its extreme. 

He may not have invented the notion of putting 

a cleat directly under the arch, but he estimates 

that he’s converted about 70 customers to the 

position. He’s blogged about it. He, himself, 


Hogg has 

no problem 

drilling 

holes into 

a shoe to 

place cleats 

in a new 

position. 

used to ride with his cleats set that way. 

“Nobody goes worse,” Hogg later told me. 

“Some people go astoundingly better.” 

Again, there are folks in the fit industry, as 

well as in the court of public bike-fit opinion, 

who believe that Hogg has it all wrong. 

“You only have to look at the professional 

riders who will try anything that gives them a 

slight advantage over the competition,” wrote 

a contributor who goes by the name “Welsh 

boy” on a Road.cc forum earlier this year. “Do 

you see any of them using that position? No.” 

But when it comes to the science behind ideal 

cleat placement—or any bike-fitting practice— 

no fitter, racer, or Internet avatar on the planet 

can absolutely distinguish good from bad. In the 

40 years since the Italian book Cycling initially 

attempted to systematize bike fit (“during the 

pedalling (sic) action, knees and arms do not 

touch”), researchers have never established laws 

that guide everyday riders to an ideal position, 

at least from a standpoint of performance. One 

hurdle for scientists trying to create such formulas 

is the overwhelming number of variables 

involved, including physiological differences 

between individuals, the dozens of muscles 

used while riding, and the myriad ways that 

one changes position within a ride. So when it 

comes to cleat position or the significance of 

pelvic tilt, nobody can say for sure that Hogg’s 

insights are correct—or mistaken. 

“What’s the best crank-arm length for 

you?” asks James Martin, a coach, former 

national masters sprint champion, and exercise 

scientist at Salt Lake City’s University of 

Utah. “The length that you like best.” 

Pruitt, the longtime American fitter whose 

signature piece of clothing is a lab coat, believes 

that the science will come. “Folks at universities 

often look at just one piece of fit. While that’s 

where you start, it’s not a complete picture,” he 

says. “In some ways, fitting is in its infancy.” 

For days in Hogg’s Sydney shop, I witness 

unconventional work. I watch him fit stockbroker 

Julian Constable, whose helmet and 

pelvis presented Hogg with a polarity problem. 

I meet emergency-room physician Marty 

Hocknell, who thinks so much of Hogg’s 

work that he’s had the fitter tweak his golf 

shoes. I follow along as Hogg lowers the seat 

THE FACT 

THAT HIS 

THEORY 

WAS 

UNPROVEN 

DIDN’T 

DETER HIM. 

of 37-year-old Grant Webster, a food-safety 

officer and longtime amateur road racer and 

mountain biker. Hogg says that many professionals 

ride with their saddles high and 

handlebars low and extend themselves far out 

over the front wheel. This may strike an ideal 

and heroic aesthetic, but for some of them and 


for many mortals, the position isn’t comfortable 

and therefore is relatively inefficient. 

Webster, who in the past has driven more 

than 400 miles to see Hogg, doesn’t doubt 

the fitter’s tweaks for a second. 

“I’d rather ride a Huffy that Steve has fit than 

a $10,000 bike that’s ill-fitting,” he says. 

I leave Sydney for home several days later, 

thinking about Webster’s utter faith. My bike 

fit, which I briefly road-tested Down Under, 

has been overhauled. The seismic highlights: 

Seat height down 18 millimeters. Seat position 

forward six millimeters. Height of bar relative 

to seat elevated nine millimeters. Reach to bar 

increased by 23 millimeters. Cleat position 

back 10 millimeters on each shoe, with seven 

millimeters’ worth of shims placed between 

the sole of my left shoe and the cleat. 

Will I soon sing Hogg’s praises? Hate the 

way I feel on the bike? Become injured and 

be happy I live so far away from this bicycle-fitting 

lunatic? Hogg’s work comes with a 

no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. 

He says he’s given just a handful of refunds in 

18 years. He encourages me to stay in touch. 

“You can think I’m a witch doctor,” he says. 

“That’s OK. I’m interested in the result.” 

Soon after coming home I 

e-mail Hogg explaining that 

his fit has, so far, had surprisingly 

profound effects. I 

tell him that what initially 

felt like a clown-bike position, 

with a dramatically 

lowered seat and feet more centered over the 

pedals, now feels powerful. My pedal stroke 

is smoother, almost buttery. I’ve discovered 

added comfort in every handlebar position. 

But not all the news is good. 

“My left knee is sore,” I write. 

Hogg’s responses are numerous and thorough. 

He explains that I’m likely enjoying 

added power because the lower saddle height 

helps me work around my tight hamstrings 

and back muscles, and lets me pedal with 

more strength through every stroke. My longer 

reach has given me extra room to breathe. 

My new foot position offers supplemental 

torque. He also says that it’s possible that the 

shear forces on my knees have increased. “Or 

I’ve just plain got your seat height wrong,” he 

wrote in one e-mail. “I would be surprised, 

but I can’t ignore the possibility.” 

Virtually every fitter will tell you to ride 

easily for a stretch after a fitting, especially 

one that results in significant changes to 

IF THE FITTER FITS 

A BIKE-FIT IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE 

FITTER, SO BEFORE COMMITTING TO ANY SHOP OR SERVICE, ASK 

OTHER RIDERS FOR REFERRALS. AND WHEN CHOOSING, CONSIDER 

YOUR BUDGET, THE SERVICE’S FEATURES, AND WHETHER YOU’RE 

SHOPPING FOR A NEW BIKE. HERE ARE FOUR SYSTEMS YOU MIGHT LIKE. 

BODY 

GEOMETRY 

FIT 

The system analyzes 

the rider from 

the side as well as 

from the front, and 

some Body Geometry 

Fit service 

providers employ 

sophisticated 

image-capturing 

data and share it 

with customers. 

CONSIDER IF 

Seeing is believing, 

because the most 

sophisticated Body 

Geometry Fit systems 

will give you 

ample visual proof 

of the changes 

being made to your 

positioning. The 

system is developed 

and marketed 

by Specialized, so 

don’t be surprised 

if a provider suggests 

you buy the 

company’s parts. 

$175–$400 

GURU 

FIT SYSTEM 

Ride a proprietary, 

sophisticated, and 

fully automated fitting 

machine (as 

opposed to your 

own bike) that’s 

capable of moving 

its saddle and handlebar 

underneath 

you, and can simulate 

climbing and 

descending. The 

machine crunches a 

lot of data with the 

goal of helping to 

determine everything 

from ideal 

frame geometry to 

proper stem length. 

CONSIDER IF 

You’re bike shopping. 

Guru’s system 

will recommend 

specific, brandnew 

bicycles—the 

company claims 

its database contains 

more than 

6,500 models—to 

its fit customers. 

$300–$400 

your riding position. Connective tissue and 

muscles need time and gentle miles to adjust. 

Weeks and then months of solution- and 

soul-searching follow. I dial back my intensity, 

and pack my jersey pockets with a ruler, 

screwdriver, and wrench so I can, per Hogg’s 

suggestions, make tiny tweaks during rides. I 

buy new cycling shoes—in Sydney I’d resisted 

Hogg’s urging to put me in a smaller pair—and 

return them for different ones that fit even 

snugger. I monitor the dull, intermittent ache 

in my left knee the way a day-trader watches 

a coveted stock. I occasionally curse Hogg’s 

name. Then one day, maybe four months after 

returning from Australia, I realize something 

toward the end of a 60-mile ride: I haven’t 

thought about my knee for several days. All 

that remained of Hogg’s work was the good 

stuff, and to this day that knee is essentially 

RETÜL 

A tracker that picks 

up infrared light 

gathers data from 

markers placed on 

your body’s key 

points—including 

the shoulder, elbow, 

hip, and toe— 

which provides 

three-dimensional 

information 

about your pedal 

stroke and other 

movements. 

CONSIDER IF 

You appreciate 

the oversight of a 

coach, independent 

bike fitter, or chiropractor. 

While 

Specialized acquired 

Retül two years ago 

(some Body Geometry 

Fit providers 

also employ the 3-D 

hardware), Retül 

retains independence 

in terms of 

selling its technology 

to medical and 

coaching professionals, 

as well as 

fitters unaffiliated 

with bike shops. 

$150–$400 

STEVE HOGG’S 

CYCLEFIT 

Whiz-bang technology, 

no. Attention 

to detail, yes. You’ll 

spend about four 

hours with one of 

only several fitters 

in the world who 

have been taught by 

Steve Hogg. Expect 

a comprehensive 

fit analysis—everything 

from diet 

to posture will be 

scrutinized—and a 

money-back, 100 

percent-satisfaction 

guarantee. 

CONSIDER IF 

You’ll go to any 

length for a fit 

focused on the 

minutiae, and are 

open to Hogg’s 

non-mainstream 

ideas. You can find 

certified North 

American fitters in 

Austin, Boulder, and 

the small Ontario 

city of Gananoque. 

$400 and up 

content. I feel really great on my bicycle. 

Had I ridden too hard too soon, even though 

I tried to do otherwise? Had my musculature, 

connective tissue, and joints finally grown 

accustomed to a relatively radical new position? 

Those things very well could’ve happened. 

But nobody—not Hogg, Andrew Pruitt, or 

the multiple scientists and doctors I interviewed 

for this article—can answer my questions 

definitively. Even the companies that 

promote high-tech fitting services admit that 

the profession is still as much about nuance as 

it is about data points. Others in the industry 

simply call fitting an art form. Which is why 

one might come to believe that a Down Under 

bike fitter with over-the-top methodologies 

is on to something. “If I tell you a fairy tale 

and it works,” Hogg says, “it was a pretty good 

fairy tale.” 


illustrations by ryan quickfall 

by bicycling staff 

For something that seems so simple, cycling can 

be maddeningly complex. It doesn’t have to be. 

Here’s how to get your head around dropped chains, 

gear ratios, the right way to blow a snot rocket—and 

18 other puzzles that will never confound you again. 

(Riding your bike just got easier.)

NO. 1 

CONQUER A CROSSWIND 

1If there are just two 

of you, the person in 

front should move 

to the side, into the 

wind, and the rider 

behind can seek shelter 

by riding slightly overlapped 

on the lee side 

(downwind). 

2The more 

riders in 

your group, 

the farther 

toward the wind 

the lead rider 

should move so 

everyone can 

find shelter. 

3In groups, this formation 

is called an echelon. The 

number of riders who can 

fit is limited by the width 

of the road. If you get stuck 

behind the last rider, try to get 

other riders to form another 

echelon with you, otherwise 

you won’t be protected. 

4When the lead rider 

needs a break, he gradually 

drifts back and 

away from the wind 

to the sheltered end of the 

echelon. Meanwhile, everyone 

shifts over one position 

into the wind to make 

room at the back. 

no. 4 

UNTIE 

YOUR 

TONGUE 

Never 

mispronounce 

these words 

again! 

REAR DERAILLEUR 

Say “derailer” 

not “derailyer” 

The bike part that moves the 

chain from cog to cog. You 

might not think about it until 

it’s ripped off by an evil rock. 

JENS VOIGT 

Say “Vote” not “Voyt” 

The pro racer with no legs. At 

least not any that he’ll listen to. 

MARIANNE VOS 

Say “Mariana” 

not “Mary Anne” 

Maybe the greatest bike racer 

of all time (sorry, Eddy). 

PANNIER 

Say “panyer” 

not “paneer” 

A rear wheel-mounted beer 

carrier. Often spotted in pairs. 

CHAMOIS 

Say “shammy” 

not “shamwah” 

(unless you’re in France) 

The padded part of your 

shorts that makes riding long 

distances bearable. 

Lineart Illustrations: Colin McSherry 

no. 2 

No More 

Fumbling with 

Rear Flats! 

Before removing your rear 

wheel, shift the chain into the 

smallest cog in the cassette. 

Reinstalling the wheel is then 

as simple as placing the chain 

back onto the same cog. 

Why it works: It positions 

the chain and cog to center 

the wheel between the dropouts 

(where the skewer rests), 

making it go in easily. 

NO. 3 

EMBROCATION 101 

DO 

KIT UP FIRST. USE (THEN TOSS OR 

SAVE FOR THE NEXT APPLICATION) 

A DISPOSABLE LATEX GLOVE. 

APPLY ATHIN LAYEROFEMBROTO 

EXPOSED SKIN ON LEGS. 

DON’T 

RUB YOUR EYES, SCRATCH AN ITCH, OR 

TOUCH YOUR CHAMOIS OR JUNK WITH 

ANY EMBRO-TAINTED DIGIT. JUMP 

INTO THE SHOWER AND EXPECT IT 

NOT TO STING. THINK THAT IT WILL 

SUDDENLY MAKE A FREEZING, WET 

RACE OR RIDE NICE AND COZY. SOME- 

TIMESEMBROIS JUSTNOTENOUGH. 

MADONE 

Say “madohn” 

not “madonay” 

Trek’s aero race bike and 

the weapon of choice 

for Jens Voigt. 

WILIER 

Say “vee-lee-air” 

not “willy-er” 

The brand behind this year’s 

Editors’ Choice-winning superbike 

(Zero.7, reviewed p. 52) 

PUNCHEUR 

Say “puncher” 

not “punshyoor” 

A powerful rider who excels 

on short climbs—with sharp 

bursts or attacks. See: Gilbert, 

Philippe or Sagan, Peter. 


KEEP 

CALM 

AND 

PEDAL 

YOUR 

CHAIN 

BACK ON 

NO. 5 If you drop 

your chain on a 

downshift (big 

ring to little), 

soft pedal in a 

smooth, steady 

rhythm. Shift 

back to the big 

ring and the 

chainring will 

catch the chain. 

If you drop it on 

an upshift, lightly 

spin and shift 

back down. 

NO. 6 

SNOT- 

ROCKET 

SCIENCE 

CHOOSE A SIDE 

Avoid spraying the pack: 

Blow to the side facing 

away from other riders. 

AIM TO PLEASE 

Blow down, not out. 

For an inside nostril, 

point your chin toward 

your outside arm; outside 

nostril, point your chin 

toward your thigh. 

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES 

In a big group or a fast 

pack, sometimes it’s better 

to blow into your hand 

and wipe on your shorts. 

(We won’t judge.) 

NO. 7 

FOOLPROOF PEDAL REMOVAL 

The “righty tighty, lefty loosey” maxim doesn’t work for pedals— 

the left one is reverse threaded to prevent it from coming undone 

while you ride. Here’s a no-fail way to remove them without damaging 

your spindles—or taxing your brain. 

1Place your 

bike in a 

workstand 

or have a 

friend hold the 

rear wheel off 

the ground. 

2Attach 

a hex 

or 

pedal 

wrench to 

one pedal. 

3Hold the 

wrench tight 

with one 

hand; grip 

the same pedal 

firmly with the 

other hand. 

4Keep the angle of 

your wrench constant 

and spin your 

cranks forward. 

(To install pedals, do 

the same thing, but 

spin rearward). 

NO. 8 

MTB TIRE PRES- 

SURE MADE EASY 

Individual preferences, terrain, 

and tire type play a role in finding 

the ideal pressure, but here’s a 

simple formula to get you started: 

STEP ONE 

If tires are tubeless: 

Your body weight ÷ 7 = x 

If tires have tubes: 

Your body weight ÷ 6 = x 

STEP TWO 

Front-tire pressure = x - 1 

Rear-tire pressure = x + 2 

NO. 9 PREVENT PACELINE PANIC 

PACELINES ARE GREAT—UNTIL SOMEONE SURGES OFF THE 

FRONT AND BLOWS THE ENERGY SAVINGS TO SHREDS. 

WHEN IT’S YOUR TURN TO PULL, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T ACCELER- 

ATE. KEEPANEYEON YOURCYCLINGCOMPUTERANDMATCHTHE 

GROUP’S PACE, SAYS SHANE KLINE, A PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST WITH 

TEAM SMARTSTOP. NO COMPUTER? FOCUS ON HOW HARD YOU’RE 

WORKING. YOUR EFFORT SHOULD FEEL MARGINALLY HARDER, BUT NOT 

LIKE YOU JUMPED UP AN ENTIRE LEVEL. 


no. 10 

FIVE 

STUPID 

RULES 

YOU 

SHOULD 

BREAK* 

Rule SUNGLASS 

ARMS GO OVER 

HELMET STRAPS. 

Break It Anyone who 

notices you doing it— 

and who cares—is not 

to be trusted. 

Rule CYCLING 

SHORTS SHOULD 

BE BLACK. 

Break It Have you seen 

the green ones at 

tenspeedhero.com? 

Game changers. 

NO. 11 HOW TO 

ENCOURAGE 

A SUFFERING 

RIDER 

The biggest mistake 

we make when trying 

to help struggling 

riders on climbs is 

assuming we know 

what they need. 

Instead, study them 

for clues: 

If a rider verbally 

references a weakness, 

frequently 

shifts gears, slides 

around on the 

saddle, or has an 

erratic cadence, 

share some advice 

on technique. 

If he recurrently 

cranes to see 

the crest or sighs 

upon the sight of 

another turn, offer 

some information 

about the specific 

ascent. 

NO. 12 ONE SIMPLE TIRE TRICK 

THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE 

If she seems to 

be lost in mute 

dejection, distract 

her with a light 

story about some 

other ride. 

In all instances, 

start with a simple 

sentence or two. If 

there’s no immediate 

response, hush 

your inner humanitarian 

and just ride 

side by side in companiable 

silence— 

which is often the 

kindest deed of all. 

No tire levers? No problem. Before you attempt to pull the tire off the wheel, work your way around the 

tire, pinching the sidewalls together as you go. This allows the bead to fall into the center of the rim where 

the diameter is smallest, so you’ll have more room to maneuver the bead over the rim with just your hands. 

Rule CYCLING CAPS 

ARE ONLY FOR 

CYCLING. 

Break It Caps are 

appropriate anytime a bike 

is in sight, such as café 

stops, wrenching at home, 

or watching a race. 

Rule TUBES, TOOLS, 

AND REPAIR 

KITS MUST BE 

STORED IN JERSEY 

POCKETS. 

Break It Um, saddlebags 

are a fantastic invention. 

(Related: Who says you 

always have to ride in a 

cycling jersey?) 

Rule CYCLISTS MUST 

EAT PACKAGED 

BARS, GELS, AND 

CHEWS MEANT FOR 

ATHLETES. 

Break It Bagels, raisins, 

Red Vines. You will survive 

even if you don’t ingest 

the perfect carb-toprotein 

ratio. 

*Why? Because rules just complicate 

things. Especially stupid 

rules. And often, they become 

excuses not to ride. 


no. 13 

AVOID 

EXCESS 

AIRLINE 

FEES 

Flying with your bike can 

set you back up to $200— 

more if the bike-and-case 

combo is heavier than the 

airlines’ typical 50-pound 

limit. And with many hardshell 

containers weighing 

30 pounds empty, it’s easy 

to hit that ceiling. “Avoiding 

those fees comes 

down to smart packing 

and finding the right 

case,” says Doug Sumi, 

team mechanic for Jamis 

Hagens-Berman. Here’s 

your guide. 

bike weight 

< 20 LB 

case type 

HARD OR SOFT 

packing tip 

Come in under 50 

pounds? Add riding 

clothes, water bottles, 

and tools to save room 

in your luggage. 

bike weight 

20–30 LB 

case type 

SOFT, OR A 

CARDBOARD 

BIKE BOX* 

packing tip 

If you’re close to the 

weight limit, pack pedals, 

seat, even tires in your 

checked bag. 

bike weight 

> 30 LB 

case type 

CARDBOARD 

BIKE BOX 

packing tip 

Buy a second one, cut out 

the sides, and use them to 

reinforce the box. 

*Buy one from your local 

shop for a few bucks. 

20% 60% 15% 5% 

LIGHT/ 

RECOVERY 

You can speak 

easily in full 

sentences 

NO. 14 GET FIT WITHOUT 

A TRAINING PLAN 

When you’re trying to become a better rider, it’s easy to get 

distracted by gadgets and numbers. But here’s a secret: You 

don’t need a heart-rate monitor or a power meter (or even a 

training plan!) to build fitness. “People become too reliant 

on tools,” says Neal Henderson, founder of Apex Coaching in 

Boulder, Colorado. Instead, pay attention to how your body 

reacts to different efforts. Coaches call it perceived exertion 

and they plot it out on a scale. To get stronger on the 

bike, use the guide above to gauge how you should feel—and 

roughly how much of your week you should spend—at each 

effort level, says James Herrera, BICYCLING columnist and 

founder of Performance Driven Coaching. 

no.16 

INSTALL NEW 

HANDLEBAR TAPE 

WITHOUT LOSING 

YOUR MIND 

Fresh bar tape is 

one of the easiest 

and most affordable 

ways to make 

a bike look new. 

Watch our howto 

video at BICY- 

CLING.com/bar 

tape, then use 

these tricks to 

breeze through it. 

PREVENT 

CONFUSION 

Lay out tape, scissors, 

and bar-end 

plugs before you 

start. Then stick 

your finishing tape 

to the stem so it’s 

front and center 

when you need to 

complete the job. 

MODERATE/ 

ENDURANCE 

You get out 

three or four 

words at a 

time 

HARD 

You almost 

can’t form 

words 

PREVENT 

UNRAVELING 

Before you start, 

attach the bar tape 

very low on the end 

of the drop or ideally 

just underneath 

it. Let it hang so the 

sticky side faces the 

head tube. This one 

trick will ensure you 

wrap in the correct 

direction so the 

tape is less vulnerable 

to friction when 

you’re riding. 

PREVENT 

WRAP GAP 

Go slowly and keep 

an even tension on 

the tape as you wind 

it around the bar. 

MAX 

Your eyeballs are 

going to explode 

NO. 15 

ATTACH NEW 

CLEATS IN 

EXACTLY THE 

RIGHT POSITION 

Before removing your old cleats, 

trace the outline or the corners of 

each one with a silver Sharpie (on a 

dark-colored sole) or a black Sharpie 

(on a light-colored sole). Place your 

new cleat within the lines. 


no.17 

GEAR RATIOS, EXPLAINED 

Gear ratio—or “gearing”—is determined by which chainring (in front) and 

which cog of the cassette (in back) the chain is on. Chainrings on road bikes 

usually come in a “standard” pairing of 53 teeth and 39 teeth (abbreviated as 

53/39), or in 50/34 or 50/36 combinations that are known as “compact.” Cassettes 

are most commonly made up of 10 or 11 cogs that range from 11 teeth to 25 teeth. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

It tells you how far your bicycle will 

travel with one complete revolution of 

the pedals. For instance, in the most 

common biggest gear, with the chain 

on the 53-tooth chainring in front and 

the 11-tooth cog in back (or 53x11), you 

move forward about 33.5 feet with 

each revolution. In one of the most 

common smallest gears, 34x25, you’d 

move only about 9.5 feet—a big drop 

in distance, but much easier to spin. 

THE RIGHT RATIO FOR YOU 

* If you like to sprint, live in a 

flattish region, or go fast downhill, 

you probably want a 53 as your biggest 

chainring and a cassette with an 11 or 

12 as its smallest cog. 

* If you live in a hilly area, hate 

climbing in general, or just prefer 

pleasure over speed, you probably 

want your smallest chainring to be 34 

or 36, and a cassette with a cog that 

has 25 teeth or more. 

NO. 19 

WRANGLE A 

WRAPPER 

It was the fueling mishap heard around 

the world: Alberto Contador crashed out 

of this year’s Tour de France after fumbling 

with an energy bar. Food should 

fill you up, not take you down—and the 

secret to staying upright is simple. Tear 

wrappers open before you start riding. 

“Then, place the open side facedown in 

your pocket,” says Allie Dragoo, who rides 

professionally for Team TWENTY16. 

That way, when you grab it, you can just 

lift the bar to your mouth without flipping 

it around—or hitting the ground. 

NO.18 

NAIL YOUR RECOVERY RIDES 

What part of “ride slow” do we 

not understand? Cyclists frequently 

cannot resist the temptation to 

go hard even when they shouldn’t. 

Why? Because easy just feels too 

easy, says Benjamin Sharp, power 

education specialist at Stages 

Cycling in Boulder, Colorado. But 

that means you’re doing it right, 

he says. Sharp likens it to walking. 

“You should feel like you’re 

taking a post-dinner stroll with 

your significant other.” 

NO.20 WEAR YOUR 

HELMET RIGHT 

We see too many riders with a helmet game so sloppy 

they may as well leave the lid at home. Follow this 

advice for proper fit from Randy Swart, director of the 

Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute in Arlington, Virginia. 

Place the helmet on 

your head so it’s level 

front-to-back—when you 

look up, the front should 

barely be visible—and not 

listing to one side. 

Adjust so that the lid 

is snug but not too tight. 

(It shouldn’t move when 

you shake your head, 

or leave a mark on your 

forehead.) 

The Y of the strap should 

fall just below each ear. 

Tighten the strap just 

enough against your chin 

so that it pulls your helmet 

down a bit when you 

open your mouth. 

final test 

Gently push the front of 

your helmet up and back. 

If it moves more than an 

inch, readjust. 

NO. 21 RIDE YOUR BIKE Cycling is a pursuit that forever rewards dedication, diligence, and tenacity—you 

can immerse yourself in the study and execution of ever-finer nuances of the practices, techniques, lore, etiquette, 

and obligations of the accomplished cyclist. But riding a bicycle is also, remember, an activity mastered by bears, 

monkeys, and 4-year-olds—and perhaps never enjoyed by any of us more than it is by the 4-year-old. (We can’t 

say for certain about the bears and monkeys.) Go ahead, work hard at cycling. Just play harder. 


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12 • LEHIGH VALLEY, PA • 10, 25, 50 & 90 MILE ROUTES 

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 

REGISTER TODAY: BICYCLING.COM/FALLCLASSIC

Bikes | Equipment | Apparel | Maintenance 

WINNING BRACKET 

We love the Chris King Press Fit 30 

because it keeps pedal strokes silent—and 

comes in nine colors BY MATT PHILLIPS 

Photography by THOMAS MACDONALD NOVEMBER 2014 • BICYCLING.COM 83

Chris King PF30 BB 

continued from p. 83 

By now, it’s gospel that the 

larger, press-fit bottom bracket 

shells found on most new 

high-end bikes allow engineers 

to improve the performance 

of a frame—stiffer, lighter, 

snappier, and lots of other 

superlatives that are generally true. 

But press-fit BBs—which are pushed 

into the frame under force instead of 

screwed into it—also have a reputation 

for being noisy and not all that durable. 

It’s unfair to put the entire blame on 

the bottom bracket, because the frame, 

cranks, improper assembly, and other 

factors also contribute. But since the 

BB is the part that fails, it receives our 

scorn and wrath. 

When yours finally quits, we suggest 

replacing it with the Chris King. 

The company (like the man himself) 

is respected for its fastidious attention 

to detail and precision, and for 

backing the vaunted workmanship 

with generous warranties. If your 

frame was built to the proper tolerance 

and was properly prepped, and 

the BB is correctly installed, you will 

be rewarded with quiet pedal strokes. 

The made-in-house bearings are serviceable, 

and King’s $55 injector tool 

simplifies the process—it purges old 

grease and fills the bearings with 

fresh lubrication in one shot, and all 

the while the BB remains in the frame. 

You just might never need to take 

King up on its five-year warranty. 

The Chris King Press Fit BB is made 

in the USA and is offered in PF30 and 

PF24 (aka BB86, BB90, and BB92) formats, 

with stainless-steel or ceramic 

bearings. Adaptors are available for 

an additional charge to accommodate 

popular 24mm and 24/22mm crankaxle 

options. Even though the BB is 

barely visible once installed, it’s nice to 

know you have your choice of nine colors. 

Prices range from $149 to $240. 

Let us praise 

Chris King—he 

gives you the 

chance to match 

your bottom 

bracket to your 

headset.

TEST 

Dream Hoops 

Four sweet wheels—and why 

you’ll eat them up BY MATT PHILLIPS 

1 

3 

2 

4 

1 

BONTRAGER AURA 5 TLR 

GO AERO WITHOUT GOING BROKE 

The 50mm-deep carbon-fiber 

fairing offers triathlon-worthy 

aerodynamics Aluminum rim 

accommodates regular or tubeless 

tires and provides steady braking 

Compatibile with all drivetrain 

systems One drawback: Recessed 

nipples make truing difficult 

$1,200; 1,780g 

2 3 4 

ZIPP 30 CLINCHER 

GOOD FOR ALL-AROUND RIDING 

The curved sidewall profile is 

more aero than a box rim The 

smooth, machined braking surface 

provides confident stopping 

in all conditions The aluminum 

rim and hub laced to Sapim 

spokes are relatively light but also 

durable enough for gravel and 

broken pavement $850; 1,660g 

MAVIC COSMIC CARBONE 40 T 

TO RACE ( OR JUST BE RACE-WORTHY) 

Tested on the cobbles of Paris- 

Roubaix 40mm-deep carbon 

tubular rim Unique interior 

double wall increases impact resistance, 

says Mavic Low weight 

plus stiffness make it feel quick 

Comes with smooth-riding, grippy 

but narrow 22mm Mavic Yksion 

Pro tubular tires $2,750; 1,430g 

XENTIS XBL 4.2 

TAKE A LUXURY RIDE 

Integrated spoke magnet 

for wireless computers 

Rattle-reducing valve sleeve 

Proprietary rim treatment 

shaves a layer of resin so you 

can use any brake pads, not just 

carbon-specific models gives a 

lush, smooth ride, and is stable in 

crosswinds $2,000; 1,460g 


Photography by KENT PELL

“Carpe Diem!” is how I live. 

But “Call 911!” is how it sometimes ends. 

That’s why I wear Road ID. 

It’s who I am. 

Bob Roll 

Cycling Legend 

Distracted drivers. Loose gravel. Dogs. Potholes. 

These are just a few reasons to wear Road ID. In an accident, it will be your lifeline to 

proper medical treatment and immediate contact of family. Road ID is sleek, durable, 

comfortable and lightweight - it could even save your life. 

NEW: Add a badge! 

the Wrist ID Elite - only $29.99 

www.RoadID.com 

Toll Free 1-800-345-6336 

Check out Bob and the rest of Team Road ID at www.RoadID.com/Team

Recommended! 

Here are four $3,000 full-suspension 29ers (all 

with 120 to 130mm of travel and aluminum 

frames) we’d advise our friends to buy BY RON KOCH 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTINCT 950 

PRICE: $3,100 WEIGHT: 30.4 LB 

SUSPENSION 130mm travel; Fox CTD shock; Fox 32 Float 29 CTD 

fork, 130mm travel COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS Shimano XT Shadow 

Plus direct-mount rear derailleur, SLX disc brakes; Race Face 

Evolve crank with 36/22 chainrings; Sun Ringlé Wheeltech Inferno 

25 rims; Continental Mountain King 2.2-inch tires WHY IT’S WORTH 

YOUR MONEY Those who love to tune and tinker will appreciate the 

adjustable suspension that lets you change geometry and suspension 

leverage ratio in minutes. The speedy Conti tires measure at 

a skinnier 2.05 inches, and hook up in a variety of conditions (but 

had a greater tendency to flat in rocky terrain than higher-volume 

tires). SCENE FROM OUR TEST RIDE With the suspension in its lowest, 

slackest position, the Instinct carved a high-speed singletrack 

descent like an enduro bike and confidently flicked between pines 

with less than an inch to spare. 

SPECIALIZED STUMPJUMPER FSR COMP 29 

PRICE: $2,900 WEIGHT: 29 LB 

SUSPENSION 130mm travel; Fox Float CTD Evolution shock 

with Autosag; RockShox Revelation RC3 fork, 130mm travel 

COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS SRAM X9, Type2, 10-speed midcage 

rear derailleur, S-1250 crank with 36/22 chainrings; 

Formula C1 disc brakes; Specialized Roval 29 wheels and Purgatory 

Control 2.3-inch tires WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR MONEY A 

refined package with plush suspension and razor-sharp handling. 

It’s light—in the way you feel while riding. Testers raved 

about the comfy saddle, the grips, and the guide that kept the 

chain in place on the roughest trails. The rear brake tends to 

chatter, but the 2015 model should run silent with Shimano’s 

Deore brake. SCENE FROM OUR TEST RIDE Moments after passing 

a road rider on a paved climb and powering up a rocky 

abandoned skid road, I was flying downhill using the exposed 

tree roots as jumps, floating over craggy sections of trail. 

Courtesy

TREK FUEL EX 8 29 


SUSPENSION 120mm travel; Fox Evolution shock with DRCV 

and CTD; Fox Evolution Series 32 Float CTD fork, 120mm travel 

COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS Shimano XT Shadow Plus rear derailleur, 

SLX disc brakes, FCM552 crank with 24/32/42t chainrings; 

Bontrager Duster tubeless-ready rims, XR3 Expert 2.3-inch 

tires WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR MONEY The Trek is easy to navigate 

along steep descents, but it really shines on climbs. Its 

suspension is active under big pedaling loads yet resists excess 

movement that reduces efficiency. The triple chainring crank 

will be replaced by a racier double ring for 2015. SCENE FROM 

OUR TEST RIDE At a point in the 12-mile trail climb where I often 

bail out and take the last two miles of pavement to the top, the 

Trek’s crisp yet active suspension coaxed me to continue up a 

rock-strewn climb steep enough to keep me perched on the 

nose of the saddle. 

DIAMONDBACK SORTIE 2 29ER 


SUSPENSION 125mm travel; Fox Float CTD shock; Fox 32 Float 

CTD 29 fork, 130mm travel COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS Shimano 

XT SGS Shadow Plus rear derailleur, M446 disc brakes, FCM552 

crank with 24/32/42t chainrings; WTB Speed Disc 29 rims, 

Wolverine Comp 2.2-inch tires WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR MONEY 

The stout-feeling frame and wheels give a solid ride that big, 

aggressive cyclists will love. The rougher and steeper the 

descent, the better this bike works. (The stiffness costs you 

in weight, however, which you will really notice on climbs.) Its 

685mm handlebar width feels narrow and old school compared 

with most others that are typically well over 700mm wide. 

SCENE FROM OUR TEST RIDE Landing farther than expected 

from a small high-speed jump, I braked hard and late into a 

berm. But the Sortie held its line, staying composed and exiting 

the turn with plenty of speed for the next section of trail. 


REVEALED 

Full Contact 

Tubular tires astound riders with control, 

comfort, and speed. A look inside the Challenge 

Grifo CX shows you why. BY BERNE BROUDY 

Tread 

Made from natural rubbers, Challenge’s treads are 

hand glued with temperature-sensitive latex rubber 

cement, not bonded to a casing as in a vulcanized tire. 

The process keeps natural rubber flexible, so the tire 

is more likely to deform around bumps instead of 

bouncing off, reducing rider fatigue. 

Casing 

Sheets of polyester and cotton 

or silk threads—up to 1,000 per 

inch—are folded diagonally back on 

themselves two or three times so 

threads lie on a bias (in opposing 

directions) to allow the casing to 

flex more easily. 

Inner Tube 

Tire casing is stitched into a hoop 

around a seamless latex inner tube. Roll 

over something sharp, and the latex 

tube is more likely to flex than puncture. 

If you do flat, a tubular stays on your rim 

as you brake and stop. A clincher is much 

more likely to fly off your rim. 


Base Tape 

Like a rim strip between spoke and tube, an 

inner, cloth base tape prevents casing stitches 

from rubbing a hole in the tube as you ride. An 

outer base tape protects stitches from rim rub 

and gives glue a textured surface to adhere to. 

Coating 

The casing’s sheets 

are infused with lightweight 

latex to fill 

interstitial spaces. 

High-thread-count 

tires are supple. With 

the flexible tread 

and tube, they grip, 

minimize vibration, 

and reduce skidding 

better than harder 

vulcanized tires. 

Photograph by ADAM VOORHES 


EDITORS’ CHOICE 

Happy Feet 

The best $100 road-riding shoes 

for men and women 

WHAT YOU 

NEED TO KNOW 

All women’s shoes, 

and the men’s Giro 

and Pearl Izumi are 

two- and threebolt 

compatible; 

Specialized men’s 

is three only. 

All have reinforced 

nylon soles and use 

three Velcro straps. 

MEN’S 

Giro Treble II 

Our testers almost unanimously voted the Giro Treble II as their top choice, praising its good looks and comfort. The shoe was snug 

with a roomy toebox, and kept hot spots at bay. During hard efforts and climbing, the heel cups held the feet of every tester in place— 

even when standing and thrashing the pedals—there was no rubbing of skin, and the power transfer felt strong. The nylon outsole 

provided a surprising amount of support and has a generous lug at the heel that makes off-bike excursions safer. Most testers thought 

the shoes ran slightly small. sizes 39–48 (whole sizes only) weight 596g/pair (44) 

ALSO ON THE PODIUM 

Pearl Izumi Select Road III 

The best-looking kicks in our test, these also fit well across our 

testers’ range of feet shapes, and felt comfortable on daylong rides. 

The sole was stiff under hard pedaling. The diaphanous uppers 

vented well and were the coolest in summer heat without exacting 

too high of a cost in support. Of note: These were the only shoes in 

our test available in half sizes. sizes 38–46.5 (includes half sizes), 

47–49 (whole sizes only) weight 591g/pair (43.5) 

Specialized Sport Road 

Generous venting and a solid connection to the bike were the 

hallmark of this shoe. The sole felt the stiffest of the three 

tested—the best power transfer, and a solid platform from which 

to launch and attack. Some riders found that the metatarsal 

button and varus wedge, which position the feet according to the 

company’s Body Geometry philosophy, improved performance 

and comfort, while a few never got used to the sensation. sizes 

38–48 (whole sizes only) weight 570g/pair (44) 

Courtesy 


go for long escapes. 

ARIZONA 

- Tucson Endurance Performance 

Center, Tucson 

CALIFORNIA 

- A Bicycle Odyssey, Sausalito 

- King’s Bicycle Store, Seal Beach 

- MVP Cycle Center, Lake Forest 

- Napa River Velo, Napa 

- Stan’s Bike Shop, Monrovia 

- Carbon Connection, Carlsbad 

- Pegasus Bicycle Works, Danville 

COLORADO 

- Estelle Bicycles, Denver 

- Full Cycle Bikes, Boulder 

FLORIDA 

- Bike Bistro, Fort Myers 

- Bicycle Sport, Vero Beach 

- Sun Cycling, Miami 

- St Petes Bicycle and Fitness, 

St Petersburg 

- The Bicycle Lab, Delray Beach 

MASSACHUSSETTS 

- BikeWorks, Swansea 

- Grace Bicycles, Holliston 

- The Spoke, Williamstown 

- Woody’s Cyclery, Middleton 

- Cycle Lodge, Pembroke 

MARYLAND 

- Parvilla Cycle & Multisport, 

Edgewater 

NEW YORK 

- Chain Ring Rhythm, East Aurora 

- Chelsea Bicycles, New York City 

- Enless Trail Bikeworx, Dobbs Ferry 

- Victory Cycle Works, Burnt Hills 

- CH Cycles, Brooklyn 

OHIO 

- Velo Science Bike Works, New Albany 

RHODE ISLAND 

- Brumble Bikes, Westerly 

TENNESSEE 

- Gran Fondo Cycles, Nashville 

TEXAS 

- JT Cycling, Brownsville 

- PlayTri, Dallas-McKinney-Colleyville 

- Bicycle Speed Shop, Houston 

- The Bike Rack - Washington DC 

www.eddymerckx.us 

1 - 855 - 525 - EDDY

EDITORS’ CHOICE 

WOMEN’S 

Bontrager Race 

Road Women’s 

With just the right amount of cushioning and a surprisingly 

stiff nylon sole, this shoe exceeds its entry-level label. A cutout 

in the sole, called the PowerTruss, is said to increase stiffness 

while shaving weight—and this is the lightest of the bunch. (One 

tester, however, said this feature also added enough thickness 

that she needed to raise her saddle: “It felt like my foot was 

raised off the pedal platform.”) This shoe received the highest 

scores for overall comfort, with a padded tongue, generous 

toebox, and foot-hugging upper. They run huge, so try before you 

buy. As with some other shoes, if you use three-hole cleats, be sure 

to tighten the two-hole mount or it might rattle when you walk or 

pedal. sizes 36–43 (in half sizes) weight 464g/pair (42) 

ALSO ON THE PODIUM 

Shimano SH-WR32 

Decent venting, a fairly stiff sole, and a secure and close to 

perfect fit (that as a bonus ran nearly true to size) almost 

earned this shoe our top spot. But some testers found them 

less comfortable than the Bontrager after about an hour of 

riding. Others preferred the trim upper compared with the 

other shoes, though not without wishing for a little more 

padding on the inside. sizes 36–44 (in half sizes) weight 

516g/pair (42) 

Louis Garneau Women 

Ventilator 2 

While some riders might appreciate the high volume of this 

shoe, all testers agreed that it felt bulky—one said it felt like 

a sized-down men’s shoe. The sole had some give, and one 

tester said the shoe flexed and felt uncomfortable on climbs. 

None of the other riders noted any significant dropoff in 

performance or experienced any hot spots or rubbing. Of 

the three tested, this one has the best venting, but is also the 

heaviest. sizes 36–44 (in half sizes) weight 600g/pair (42) 

Courtesy 


LIMITED SUPPLY AVAILABLE AT 

BICYCLING.COM/ APPAREL

SRAM’s simple, single-ring cyclocross drivetrain drops weight and mud—but not your chain 

BY MATT PHILLIPS 

Photograph by ARTIST NAME

TESTED / 

T 

raditionally, much of the equipment used for cyclocross 

racing—excluding frames and tires—came from the road. 

That’s been changing with the sport’s increased popularity, 

and now SRAM pushes this further with its new, 

’cross-specific, single-ring drivetrain, Force CX1. 

This drivetrain is based on SRAM’s well regarded 1x11 

mountain bike groups. A new rear derailleur ($235, 261g) 

works with a single chainring and has a cable-pull ratio tuned to 

SRAM’s road shifters (compatible to either rim or hydraulic disc 

brakes). Because there’s no changing between chainrings, the 

left shifter is fitted only with a brake lever. The ’cross-specific 

chainring ($126–$152, 80g/40-tooth) has teeth that are profiled 

to grip the chain in a way that keeps it from bouncing off, and 

additional cutouts keep mud from accumulating. You can get a 

crankset with a special logo on it, but that’s strictly for style—it’s 

the same as SRAM’s Force 22 road crank. 

The chainring teeth, made with alternating thicknesses, grab 

the sideplates—a simple solution that we can attest, after more 

than a year of testing, is effective. 

However, the bulk of the chain-retention technology happens at 

the rear derailleur. Most modern rear derailleurs use a slant-parallelogram 

design: As it moves down toward harder gears, the upper 

pulley moves up toward the cogs. This helps keep the chain close 

to the cassette for easier, crisper shifts—great on smooth roads. 

But when you hit a bump, vertical inputs also introduce some 

lateral movement of the chain, unseating it and causing ghost 

shifts. In contrast, the CX1 rear derailleur has a straight parallelogram—it’s 

limited to purely horizontal motion. The derailleur 

Photography by THOMAS MACDONALD NOVEMBER 2014 • BICYCLING.COM 97

SRAM CX1 

Cyclocross enthusiasts often spend years amassing sets of 

10-SPEED COMPATIBILITY tubular wheels, each glued up to maximize performance 

in a specific course or weather condition. SRAM, like 

Shimano, recently transitioned to 11-speed drivetrains that aren’t compatible with its old 10-speed 

wheels—forcing many ’cross racers to choose between scrapping their quiver of 10-speed wheels 

and starting over with 11, or forgoing the latest tech and upgrades. CX1, however, works with 

10-speed cassettes, chains, and shifters even though it was designed for 11-speed. Just buy the 

rear derailleur and a chainring, and you can enjoy today’s technology on yesterday’s wheels. Your 

10-speed drivetrain will have fewer ratios and bigger jumps than 11-speed, of course, but for many 

riders that’s an acceptable trade-off for saving thousands of dollars in new wheel purchases.—M.P. 

SEE BETTER. RIDE BETTER. 

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Light Adjusting Lenses s Progressives & Bifocals s Interchangeable Lenses s Digital Lens Technology 

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Oakley Half Jacket 2.0 XL Under Armour Ingniter 2.0 

can’t move in the same direction as bumps. 

The derailleur also has a one-way clutch that 

damps the pulley cage’s forward rotation, reducing 

the chain’s tendency to bounce and slap on 

rough terrain. And the pulley teeth have the 

same profile as the chainring. 

During testing, the chain stayed on across 

bumps harsh enough to bounce us out of the saddle, 

and also when we accidentally dropped the 

bike after a carry. We’ve jolted chains off SRAM’s 

1x11 mountain groups, but only in extremely 

rough terrain while riding full-suspension bikes, 

because of moving frame members. We haven’t 

dropped one on a ’cross bike. 

Shifting performance is smoother, crisper, 

and more positive than with SRAM’s multiring 

drivetrains, particularly when you force 

high-torque shifts in bumpy situations. The 

straight parallelogram and one-way clutch 

system doesn’t seem to require more effort to 

shift, but there’s a nice resistance, and clearly 

audible and tactile detents let you know you’re 

in a new gear, which we appreciate in the chaos 

of a ’cross race. 

Though the rear derailleur is heavier than 

regular Force 22 (261g vs. 186g), the system 

eliminates the front derailleur, the front shift 

mechanism, one chainring, and a cable and 

housing which, combined, shave around 200g. 

There are always compromises, of course. The 

double-tap action of the shifter can occasionally 

cause consternation—it’s easy to bump the 

paddle in rough terrain and fire off an unwanted 

upshift, and sometimes if jostled midshift you 

might fail to throw the lever far enough to activate 

a full shift, causing the chain to partially 

ride up and then drop back down. Experience 

reduces these occurrences, but they still happen 

to us after many years of riding SRAM. 

And the rear derailleur isn’t compatible with 

multi-ring drivetrains. You have to use a single 

ring, which can limit your gear choices or, if 

you choose the cassette with the biggest range, 

leave you with larger jumps between gears than 

you’d like. Rings are offered in 38, 40, 42, 44, 

and 46 teeth (all sized for 110mm bolt-circle 

diameter). Cassettes come in 11-25, 11-26, 11-28, 

11-30, and 11-32. If you’re planning to do a lot 

of racing on different courses in a variety of 

weather, we recommend getting a few different 

cassettes and rings so you can fine-tune your 

range on race day—and go for the longer-cage 

derailleur needed to use the 11-32 cassette, if 

it comes to that. 

CX1 isn’t for all ’cross bikes. Adding it makes 

your bike less versatile, especially for riding outside 

course-marking tape. But we think that, for 

most ’cross racers, the benefits are worth the 

compromises. 

©2014 SportRx.

Aspen/Snowmass 

10 AUG 2014 

Beverly Hills 

28 SEP 2014 

Atlanta-Roswell 

19 OCT 2014 

Miami-Coral Gables 

09 NOV 2014 

Rio de Janeiro 

16 NOV 2014 

CIAO MONDO! CYCLE WITH US AT GFITALIA.IT 

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MIAMI

Yeti 


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more efficiently as well. It’s also 100 grams 

lighter. 

I had questions about durability, particularly 

in mud, since the link is low in the frame and 

exposed to the elements. Yeti says that three 

years of riding prototypes and extensive testing 

by its suspension partner Fox has confirmed 

hardiness. The shafts have the Kashima hardanodized 

coating found on Fox’s high-end forks 

and shocks, and the seals and bushings come 

from the division that makes suspension for 

off-road-racing vehicles. Our 30-day test window 

wasn’t enough to rate long-term durability. 

Yeti plans a full line, in a variety of wheel 

sizes and travels. This first one is a do-it-all, 

carbon-frame, middleweight trail bike with 27.5- 

inch wheels and 127mm of travel. At 5.1 pounds 

the frame is light, and has an extensive list of 

features: full-length housing, stealth dropper 

routing, a press-fit 30 BB, removable ISCG tabs, 

12x142mm rear thru axle, collet pivot axles, 

tapered head tube for zero-stack headsets, and 

a water-bottle mount under the down tube. 

At launch, the SB5c is offered in two versions: 

The $6,600 model has SRAM’s X01 

drivetrain, Shimano XT disc brakes, and a 

140mm Fox Factory 34 fork with DT-Swiss 

Spline wheels. Enve M60 wheels are offered 

as an upgrade for $2,400. A SRAM XX1 build, 

with XTR Trail brakes and Enve M60 wheels, 

is $10,600. There are five sizes and two colors—black 

and turquoise. 

The original Switch bikes, like most of the 

better designs these days, had excellent pedaling 

manners and great suspension performance 

without one quality that negatively influenced 

the other. Sometimes you need to poke into the 

dark corners of a bike’s performance to discover 

how it differs from others. We gave the original 

our Editors’ Choice awards not because they did 

anything different than the bikes they were up 

against, but because they did the same things 

just a little bit better. Switch Infinity elevates 

that bar. I tested the SB5c on a wide range of 

terrain in my home state of Colorado: From 

epic, high-country rides above 11,000 feet to 

the in-town singletrack four minutes from my 

house in Durango; from hour-plus climbs to 

30-minute-plus descents; from the flowy to the 

technical, the loamy to the kitty litter. 

Even with the shock set on descend mode, 

the bike climbed well, with little motion on 

the smoother sections, and excellent traction 

when the terrain became steep and technical. 

This is one of those bikes that fights and 

claws and finds every bit of traction—without 

noticeably stiffening the suspension, feeding 

back into the pedals, or wallowing into the 

IF YOU UNDERSTOOD 

ALMOST NONE OF THIS 

First: You’re not alone. Most of us barely 

know what Matt’s talking about—at least 

sometimes. But he’s one of the best technical 

minds in cycling, and people who know 

what’s what comprehend and respect him. 

Second: In simple terms, this is why this bike 

matters. Yeti has taken the most versatile 

style of mountain bike—the trail bike—and 

made it even more capable and fun to ride. 

Instead of the typical compromises (sacrificing 

uphill performance for downhill, or vice 

versa) the SB5c is one of the best climbing 

and best descending bikes of its type. 

travel and upsetting the bike’s balance when 

slamming the rear wheel into ledges. 

Rolling terrain revealed a well-balanced 

and planted ride. The suspension is sensitive 

without feeling overactive and spongy. 

It felt stuck to the trail but not stuck into the 

trail. This is a lively, quick-feeling bike. The 

127mm of travel is metered out well, providing 

control on larger hits so the bike feels like 

it’s a bigger-travel model. But when pushing 

through G-outs, popping out of corners, and 

stabbing the pedals to punch over that obstacle 

or small rise, it was crisper, quicker, and 

faster than I expected such a plush, sensitive 

trail bike to feel. 

The characteristics are largely the same 

when pointing downward, except that Yeti’s 

quasi-signature geometry comes more into 

play. The suspension is really good at keeping 

the wheels hooked up; the geometry lets the 

rider make the most of everything. It’s low and 

stable, with a rangy top tube that favors short 

stems and wide handlebars, and encourages 

fast, aggressive riding. 

As other reviewers have noted, the suspension 

has a unique and hard-to-describe feel. 

I sense a smoothness and quietness I haven’t 

experienced in a full-suspension bike before, 

as if everything a suspension can do is happening 

just slightly more . . . efficiently, I think. 

This bike sits between the cross-country 

category and the brawnier enduro. Its stability, 

low bottom bracket, and the capability of the 

suspension push it slightly toward enduro, but 

its efficient pedaling qualities and light weight 

mean this bike fears no climb. It’s a middleweight 

that can be used for some occasional 

enduro racing and maybe a “what the hell” XC 

race, but it’s best for just going out and charging 

up then ripping back down trails of almost 

any sort, all day.

Liv Avail 


Bianchi 


want to avoid becoming part of a bloody wool 

blanket. 

But as I also discovered, the powerful stoppers 

can work against you until you get used to 

them. I have a habit of occasionally feathering 

the rear brake through corners. That didn’t 

work out well in the first tight turn with the 

discs, which translated my feather into a fistful 

of brake. The bike sat me right back up just as 

I entered the turn. A fast release of the levers 

and a hard lean saved me, but the habit proved 

hard to break, so I took corners a little easier 

for the rest of the ride. This was okay, because 

I was also having a little difficulty pitching the 

bike into sharp turns. I felt like my weight was 

a tad farther forward than I prefer. 

Even testing the bike back on my wellworn 

test loops in Pennsylvania—and after 

our mechanic, Mike Yozell, dialed in the fit— 

I felt like I had to set up for turns earlier and 

work a bit more to carve through them. I’m not 

a superaggressive cornerer, so this compromise 

wasn’t a deal breaker—and after all, this is an 

endurance bike, not a crit specialist. But maybe 

because the bike was so speedy at everything 

else, I found myself wishing it were just a flick 

faster coming into the corners. 

And here’s where I confess that I couldn’t 

help but wonder about a boy-girl bike comparison. 

As a muscular woman who carries a fair 

amount of weight in my shoulders, arms, and 

back, and who has a relatively longer torso and 

shorter inseam, I feel as if my build somehow 

must be more suited to the Defy. So, like I said 

at the beginning, while I adore this bike and 

even more adore that it exists, what I’m not 

sure I love about women’s bikes in general is 

that some of us could find ourselves on a bike 

that doesn’t work optimally for us. For companies 

like Liv, the women’s category has come to 

mean more than just geometry. It’s the whole 

transaction: Stores, or at least segments of 

stores, are being devoted to creating a buying 

experience that caters to female cyclists—to 

make choosing a bike more like a boutique shopping 

experience. There’s no doubt that many 

women will be served by this movement. But 

I’ll bet some outliers—and that includes men 

who might be better served by women’s geometry 

but don’t want the whole program—will 

find themselves on bikes that aren’t the best 

option for them. 

When it comes to women’s bikes and gear, 

it’s tough, at least right now, to separate the ideals 

and philosophies from the physical objects. 

I think we’ll get there. This bike is a big step 

toward that goal. And don’t you just love the 

paint? 

(How long until those become expected enough 

that companies release bikes with names something 

like Infinito Rim?) Shimano’s hydraulic 

R785 discs are great stoppers and showcase what 

discs can do for your riding—more control, more 

speed into corners, and more confidence in the 

wet. With Ultegra Di2 and FSA making up the 

rest of the components, reliability and great shifting 

are a given. The chainrings are a climbingfriendly 

compact 34/50. Riders who want to swap 

to standard or midcompact rings can do so by 

replacing chainrings instead of the entire crank. 

I loved the wheels—once I swapped tires. 

In a departure from the norm calling for prebuilt 

wheels, Bianchi chose Shimano’s excellent 

HB-CX75 hubs and laced them to 17mm wide 

(internal) Vision Metron40 carbon rims via 28 

bladed spokes. They were durable and snappy, 

lending extra control and precision. 

Labeled 25mm, the Hutchinson Fusion tires 

historically round out significantly narrower 

when mounted. On the wide Vision rims, however, 

they measured just a forgivable squeak under 

25mm, and the extra volume added some suppleness 

to one of the stiffer casings on the market. 

Still, in combination with the 40mm-deep rims 

and the high spoke count, the tires helped transmit 

more buzz than I knew was necessary. The 

Infinito has clearance to handle up to a 28mm 

tire. I swapped to a 25mm Vittoria Rubino, and 

suddenly the bike was filtering out the road but 

still allowing a pleasant amount of feedback. 

Bianchi is a venerable brand emblematic of 

eleganza, a legendary name that builds bikes 

imbued with destrezza and connects you in some 

way to Fausto Coppi, Gianni Bugno, and Marco 

Pantani. That’s always been true. The difference 

is that the Infinito is a great bike right now— 

fun to ride, capable, and interesting. Some other 

brands just might catch up in a few seasons. 

BICYCLING (ISSN 0006-2073) Vol. 55 No. 10 is published 11 

times a year (monthly except bimonthly in January/February) 

by Rodale Inc., 400 S. 10th St., Emmaus, PA 18098. Periodicals 

postage paid at Emmaus, PA 18049, and at additional mailing 

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to BICYCLING, 2930 14th Ave., Markham, Ontario L3R 5Z8; 

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If the postal authorities alert us that your magazine is 

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a corrected address within 18 months.

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This Way 

OUR ONGOING EXAMINATION INTO THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE, THE MEANING OF LIFE, AND WAY MORE IMPORTANT STUFF 

JUDE GERACE 

32, PORTLAND, 

OREGON 

Custom wheelbuilder 

and founder of 

Sugar Wheel Works 

Racing 

Climbing 

x Riding 

x Descending 

Fast x Strong 1 

x How 

Flat 

Paved 

x 

Classics 

x Caps 2 

x Giro d’Italia 

Chase 

Why 

x Rolling 

x Unpaved 

Grand Tours 

Hats 

Tour de France 

Escape x 

x DNF 

DNS 

x Drop bar Flat bar 

x Breakaway 3 Sprint 

Allez! 

x Venga! 

Hours 

Miles x 

x Arriving 

Leaving 

x Low socks Tall socks 

x Handbuilt High-tech 

CO 2 cartridge x 

Pump 4 

x Pack 

Solo 

Grace x 

Power 

x Dirt 

Gravel 

Color x 

Weight 

Round True x 

5 

Tubeless Tubular x 

1. “That’s like asking a woman if she wants to be muscular or thin. You want to be both.” 2. “I’d rather do a mixte—the hap.” 3. “The sprint seems more humble, the breakaway to have more 

glory. I fancy myself to be important in my imagination, so—breakaway!” 4. “Are you kidding me? So much more sustainable.” 5. “True includes round.” 

108 BICYCLING.COM • NOVEMBER 2014 Photograph by TY MILFORD

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