Twin 6 / Opsal

Spotted a good online sale yesterday:

http://www.twinsix.com/gear/gear_t607j005.htm

Riding gear can get rather expensive over here in the UK but given the USD/Sterling exchange rate this stuff is a bargain - particularly because the designs are nice. In the UK you can pay a real premium for this kind of thing.

Hopefully the better half likes her new "I love cyclists" t-shirt!

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The other site I found whlst trawling through all the Interbike coverage which is coming online is OPSAL. Check out the posters and the jerseys - these are dope (maybe not such a good description but just keeping it street).

http://www.artbyopsal.com/pages/home.html

Interbike antidote

I like new gear but its pretty safe to day that when I bring home my latest new geegaw that I'm only the one in my domicile who takes the slightest bit of interest in it - although my Alpina B10 BMW got a little bit of notice from the boss, mainly because she now gets wafted around in air conditioned performance car comfort. Other than that, zippo.

Normally, I'm very interested in what happens at Interbike, the cycling cornucopia that happened last week in Vegas. It's the high temple of bike shows and gets all the shiniest stuff. This year, I've found the coverage rather boring and the stuff kind of uninteresting. Although that might be a reflection of the interweb coverage this year, when the single most interesting thing I find is a new way of attaching crank arms to chain rings it seems like a bit of a bad year:



(image from www.pezcyclingnews.com).

Because of that, I thought I'd share (with anyone that is bothering to read this blog), my favourite cycling find of the year. I've got some stuff this year that I think is quite nice, like my toupe saddle, my bargain basement Reynolds Alta Race wheels and my Bob Jackson 953, but the thing I think is nicest and better than anything I saw in the recent interbike coverage is this:

Its the Trek Angel bottle cage and it costs about £5. In real life its a bit shinier than this too. I can report that it fulfills its main purpose in life - holding your bidon securely, admirably.

I'm not big on stuff from the Trek Bicycle making company (except for the new Madone which looks great apart from all the weird non proprietary part sizes on it) but this bottle holder is the shizzle. Light, cheap, stylish and a lot better value than the carbon cages that are sold for upwards of £30.

Possibly it was inspired by the Nitto R Cage? I don't know. Anyway, its the Interbike antidote bike cage and I quite like it.

City Police in crackdown on Cyclists

"Dear City community,
The City of London Police Cycle Squad and Wards officers based at Snow Hill Police Station are working together to target cyclists committing road traffic offences, which we know is one of the key residential complaints in the City. During a week of action they will target the four 'hotspot' junctions in the City with the aim of the initiative is to highlight the ongoing cycle related offences e.g. Contravening Red Traffic Signals, Careless Cycling and Lighting offences especially relevant during the run up to winter with visibility of cyclists being a key issue. The officers will also engage with the cycling community and offer crime reduction advice on cycle security and promote 'Immobilise' the free to register national property index recording system."

Excerpt from London Fixed Gear and Single Speed: http://www.londonfgss.com/discussion/1875/rlj-clampdown-just-so-you-know/#Item_0

Good to see that the City's finest are getting their priorities right and that cyclists are a "key residential complaint". I'm not sure who the bigger morons are, the residents or the Police for listening to them. Personally, I'm more concerned about the gangs of youths robbing and assaulting pedestrians, road rage directed at cyclists and gun crime - but hey, I'm just an evil red light running cyclist. What would I know?

You can email your views to: CycleProblemsSnowHill@city-of-london.pnn.police.uk

Here is my response:

Dear Sir/Madam

As a cyclist and resident, I am constantly concerned by pedestrians walking out in front of me at various junctions in the city of London when they do not have a green cross signal. I have experienced numerous instances of nearly being knocked off my bike and having to swerve to avoid pedestrians which places me and other road users in danger.

In the same manner as you are currently highlighting your initiative against cycling related offences, I look forward to the announcement of an initiative against pedestrian related offences.

In the meantime, I also look forward to you concentrating your resources on countering bike theft and possibly gun related crime if you have some resources spare.

Bettini - Victorious gesture explained

I must admit to a bit of confusion when Bettini crossed the line in the recent world champs road race. Was he pulling back on a bow a la the buddy building move bow and arrow or was he loosing off a burst from a machine gun at the UCI?



A story from Velonews explains: "Everyone's been shooting at me all week, so I decided to try myself," said Bettini, who became only the fifth rider in world's history to successfully defend the rainbow jersey. "It wasn't directed at anyone in cycling. Problems come from people who know nothing about cycling and whose only interests are economic."



http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/13429.0.html



I suspect that the reference that the gesture "wasnt directed at anyone in cycling" is not completely true, although if it was directed at the local politicians who tried to keep Bettini out of the race I'm not sure I understand the money reference. Still, maybe Bettini's moves will spark a new direction in post race celebration. I'm looking forward to seeing Boonen do the NFL Dirty Bird dance.

Paolo Bettini - World Champion x2

After a rather lacklustre season, Paolo Bettini won a hard fought sprint to take the Worlds road race for the second time. As I type, Bettini is in tears at the post race interview. He puts the win down to great team work which, if it wasn't for Eurosport getting their published schedule wrong (again), I might have got to see. What I did see was Bettini urging the break on in the last lap and attacking on every climb. Kolobnev went early with Schleck, Evans and Schumacher rounding out the final sprint. In a situation like that everyone knew Bettini would probably take it and it looked to me like Bettini knew it too, powering past a brave Kolobnev in the final few metres.

Notwithstanding the doping rumours around Bettini over the last few months (certainly his results wouldn't indicate it but as always, who knows?) and the pre-race shenanigans, I'm pleased to see Bettini win it. I admire his conviction in not signing the UCI code. There is enough doubt in testing processes that having to give up your past year's income on the basis of a false test seems a real risk. His past season hasn't set the world on fire and the death of his brother last year must have been difficult. Plus, I just like the way he rides.

Seeing Bettini in tears at the end of end of the race and whilst singing the Italian anthem at the end of the race reminds us that even given the farce that was this years' Tour cycling is both inspiring and emotional.

Just like it always should be.

(Special thanks to Eurosport for helping me to miss the first half of the race. Nice one. Again.)

The best lead out man in the world?

Julian Dean shows everyone how to do it properly.

Cycling Crimes # 1: Not locking your bike properly

Anyway, it pays to always lock your bike - properly.

They say that there is a lot of money in the City of London at the moment. Given the number of Porsches and Astons that I share my commute home along Embankment with every evening I'd say that is probably true. High priced automobiles aren't the only evidence though. The number of people now riding expensive bikes to work has also increased. In this respect, there has also been an increase in the "cyclist with nice gear but generally without a clue" phenomena:

Either this guy didn't figure out that they are called "quick releases" for a reason and his rear wheel got stolen or he had to take his rear wheel for a puncture repair at the LBS and left a brand new Canondale Synapse sitting there, frame locked to a post, with lights on I might add, for three days. Around the corner from me at home sits a new model Specialized Stumpjumper locked securely to a lamppost but sans front suspension for the same reason.

If you live in the city, it pays to lock it properly. I saw some tips on a useful Bike forums thread. I thought these were the best ones:

- always lock it (pretty obvious you'd think but I've seen a few sitting unlocked).

- use two locks (one on each wheel and and the back one also round the frame).

- take off any other quick releases (ie on your saddle if you use one) and use bolts.

- park it where the bike is visible.

- try not to always park a nice bike in the same place (its only liable to tempt someone).

- once you have your position right, superglue a ball bearing into your saddle and stem allen bolts - they come out with some nail polish remover.

Some guys that I bought my good bike from in NY also told me to use a U lock with a smaller U as its harder for a thief to get leverage with a crow bar on a smaller lock (ie a Bulldog lock) and use these:

http://www.pinheadcomponents.com/

I bought a set of pinhead skewers a year ago and reckon they are pretty good. They also save you the need to carry two locks around and if you are a roadie/commuter weight weenie they are also lighter than most quick releases.

I also found this article which contains some interesting views:

http://www.velorution.biz/?p=1016

The article is based on an interesting statistic "a more expensive bike is less likely to get stolen" as it harder to get rid of. Whilst I'm not sure about that (particularly as the store sells some pretty expensive bikes), I certainly don't agree with the statement that its fine to leave a fixie unlocked outside a shop "confident that a druggie would not manage more than 100metres before falling face flat on the tarmac". I've seen plenty of anecdotal evidence on the net that even "druggies" can ride a fixie and if you have a look at www.fixedgeargallery.com I'm sure that many fixie riders are on lsd when they construct their bikes given some of the colour combinations.

Anyway, it pays to lock your bike - properly.

Tour De fRance Prologue: Robbie McEwen checking out the course