The American Way: part 1

The American Way: Part1 from MovePress, LLC on Vimeo.

Video First Impression of 2013 Shimano Saint

I think this guy knows what he is talking about...

Skratch Labs is the brain child of Allen Lim, PhD. (yep a doctor).  Here is a video of said Dr. Lim talking about hydration.  I bought and have used some of his drink mix when it he called it Secret Drink Mix X.  Tastes good didn't have any issues with it.  But after seeing this video, I am making this my permanent drink mix.

Full Post and Here

My New Bike

I should of put this together a lot sooner.  But once I got my hands on my new custom Kelson steel frame road bike I couldn't stop riding it long enough to put this together.

Last spring I was riding this. 

2010 Fuji SST 1.0  Fast, Stiff and Aero....  As well as amazing hard to sit on for more than 75 miles. 

Last spring I also decided to follow the masses and sign up for LOTOJA.  A 206 mile one day epic race/ride from Logan UT to Jackon WY.

Putting together the fact that I had a bike that was built to sprint 75 miles or less and a 206 mile ride to make, something had to change.

First was the fit.  Yes I liked the feel of a low front end and being stretch out to make the bike feel faster.  I knew that was the first thing that was going to have to go.  Not to mention I am an terrible fit for most stock bikes.  I am 5'11" with a 30" inseam (yep all torso).  With no trust fund available I knew a custom carbon frame was not going to happen.  Next idea was a custom ti bike.  Yes the fit would be far better than my carbon sprint machine.  But I was not sure I wanted to feel ever 206 miles of a stiff ti frame.  Then came along this.

http://www.mensjournal.com/the-rebel-king-of-custom-bikes

STEEL!  CUSTOM STEEL!

Yep Steel....

Next question.  Who was going to build my new steel steed?  

I live in Utah and there are several builders in the area that build beautiful custom bikes.  But an old coworker of mine had a close friend in Aston Idaho who had build him a bike in the past.  So I decide to start the project with a few questions.  First, How much for a custom steel road bike frame?  Second, How light do you think you can build it? And third, How fast can you make it happen?

Brian Williams owner and builder of Kelson Bikes gave all the right answers.  Price was as good as it get for a custom steel bike frame, $1250 fitted, painted and ready to build.  Weight, he was confident that with the right tubing he could do it around 1500 grams (which he did).  Time Frame, once the fitting was done it would take about 30 days to get my new whip rolling.

After the down payment was made and a small detour on a family trip to get fit.  My new bike was on its way...

Here is the basic measurements that Brian sent me after my fitting (way different from what I thought I needed).










Brian was also nice enough to send me these photos of my bike while it was being built.

 

 The day it was delivered and built I took it up Little Mountain.  I could of not asked for more.

Shimano Dura Ace Shifters, Derailleurs, Chain and Cassette.

Fulcrum RSS Crankset

Enve Handlebar, Stem, Seatpost, Fork and Rims

Chris King Headset and Hubs 

Yokozuna Brake and Shifter Cables

 After completing my first LOTOJA last September I have updated a few things!

Enve SES 3.4 Clincher (built again w/ Chris King R45 Hubs)

SRAM Red XG 1090 Cassette 

KMC X10SL Black 

  

So to say the least, yes I am very happy with my decision to switch from uber pro carbon frame road bike to a very small independent custom steel frame road bike.  You can also bet that I am very excited to see the new 11 speed  Di2 come out.  Because the best part of having a bike like this is, I can send it right back to a very skilled frame builder to have it repainted, cable stops removed and internal electronic cables routed.

 

Binary Transition TR250 stop motion build

Binary Transition TR250 stop motion build from Binary Bike on Vimeo.

En Route Alaska Nimbus Independent

Since I expect to see some snow on the tops of the mountains this weekend, I thought this would be nice to watch.....


En Route Alaska from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

A2J new light weight bike from Sweden

A2J is a new brand out of Sweden “born from a shared passion for cycling” whose stated mission is to build top-end, no-compromise bicycles.
Their first creation, the A2Z shown above, looks like it’s well on its way to accomplishing just that. Designed by a team of folks with backgrounds in F1, aerodynamics and, well, here’s how they put it in on their website:

With our team’s experience and backgrounds, we had ready access to the most sophisticated and advanced computer aided engineering (CAE) and a thorough understanding of the most advanced composite materials and resin systems. Our first decision was to make a monocoque frame rather than tube to tube because of the freedom and customization options it would afford us. Among other things, this choice allows us to tailor a frame’s lay-up and ride characteristics to your personal specifications. The carbon layup system is a mix of UK company ACG prepreg resin-weave system and Swedish company Oxeon’s Textreme weave. The frames are made by hand, laid over a firm core into a carbon clamshell and baked in an autoclave by Richard Nordlöf at CarboComp in Linköping. Thomas Mertin from THM is overseeing the tube layup testing at their facilities in Alt Duvenstedt, Germany. Finished frames are being tested at Zedler Institute für Fahrradtechnik und -Sicherheit in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

But that’s really just the beginning…


A2J has wind tunnel testing planned for the frame and a complete bike with rider in the Toyota Wind Tunnel down the road. Regardless of the outcome, aesthetically, this bike is on the right track (our opinion). Technologically, it’s trying to get ahead of the curve. With the frame design nailed down, they moved on to cable routing and functionality. Since their goal is to build dream bikes, why not try to hit it out of the park?

Thanks to Shimano’s intentionally easy-to-hack Di2 system, they’ve built custom programmed shifting controls, electronics and battery inside the frame. Rather than traditional shifters, it’ll have simple up-and-down shift buttons that’ll automatically select the next best gear, combining whatever chainring and cassette cog makes the most sense. From there, they integrated cadence and speed sensors into the frame, too. All this creates a slick, clean frame with nothing strapped to it to mar the lines…or air flow.   (do you think the boys at Fairwheel have added this form of data to there autoshifting MTB?)



The frame is made to accept either traditional mechanical shift cables or Di2, and you can upgrade to the electronics after the fact if you want to get started, uh, on a budget. I write that half chuckling because the base frame starts at €6,000 to 6,500, which includes an Acros integrated headset and MCFK seatpost clamp .
A frameset is available for €8,000 to 8,500 and includes a THM Scapula F fork, THM Clavicula M3 crank and spider, THM Fibula rear brake and MCFK non setback seatpost. Other parts are available and yes, you read that correctly, only a back brake is included because the Scapula fork has an integrated front brake. Complete bikes are also available with whatever you want on it.



Each frame is hand built in Sweden to order with the statement that nothing they make comes from a “low cost environment.”
The frame shown here is the first one out of the mold and comes in under 850g, and it’s only a proof of concept. Production models will have full carbon rear dropouts and carbon front derailleur mount from MCFK. Word is they get one under 700g with bespoke carbon layup, and their “normal” frames have a 150kg rider weight limit (330lbs).

Borrowed from BikeRumor  (who looks like they borrowed it from Jason at FreshBikes)