Another successful {80×81} L.B. to Pizza Port {Long Beach-Solana Beach}

From left to right [Tony's Market San Clemente]: Dr.Numb-Numb, Uncle Howie, Clydsdale-I, Hobo, Fluff-Daddy, Timone, Pumbaa, Tube-Top, Dorothy, Dumpy, UberFred.

80 miles / 81″ {single speed rule in effect} ~3000 ft of elevation change [a little over 4 hours ride time].

4 rode single speeds [not fixed gear] {UberFred, Dr.Num-Numb, The Mexican,  Fluff-Daddy}.  Everyone else stayed [presumably] in their single gear of choice, although I did hear a few click-clicks through the rollers after Corona Del Mar & in Camp Pendleton {weak bastards}.   There’s a sublime satisfaction riding a single speed all the way.  Uncle Howie’s gonna convert one of his n+1/s-1♣ ponies to single speed {finally}.

Styrker, long ago, dubbed this ride: B.R.E.  {Best Ride Ever}
80 miles: the perfect distance; enough to suffer but no too much; suffering is an essential element for a notable ride.  I was reciting Rule V sawing logs the last 5 miles. Ahhhh! It felt great.

There’s a je ne sais quoi to a one way ride (even with the complications of logistics) with the promise of good beer & pizza.  A one way ride heightens the fever;  the banter; the reciting of rules and regulations; the accusations of weakness at every opportunity {no different than any ride}.  If  you can’t give your friends grief, you can’t give them anything at all.

Consider the {80×81} an official SSS* event now.  80 miles to Solana Beach, Amtrak home and the bikes on the truck after Peter’s dutiful attention to our needs along the way.

The Pizza Port offers an outside bar that stretches the length of the restaurant, where we take control and heckle the dense parade of other freddies as they pass; unknowing victims of our superiority; no one is spared.

Note: Guero & Dagwood opted out because they’re riding from LB to Santa Ynez (155 miles) on Tuesday {pussies. they need to re-read Rule V / the Dag needs to review Rule 11 or simply needs to apply a variation of Rule 12 {n+1 & s-1} to his application of Rule V}.

*Single Speed Season
♣Rule 12

Muy Uno Animaux!

Stumbling around at  bicyclestore.paris:
How could I resist the opportunity to be generous and share.  Afterall, it is [remotely] Velo related.   Evan {Freddie M.I.A. [missing in action]} posted a link to Ben Watts on Facebook a few weeks ago and serendipitously, just last week, I saw an issue of Treats! Magazine in the stacks at Barnes & Noble.

Ben Watts: London Born, New York Based.
Photographer, Videographer,  Artist.

Treats! Magazine describes itself  “as a limited edition fine art, printed quarterly. Featuring luxurious and exclusive content by the best photographers, models, stylists, writers and artists.” Ah-huh. Ok.

It’s a hyper-Details magazine for the Boy Z-Gen celebrating all things skinny girls and tits [and bikes too].
Well . . . Who are we to protest {Animaux} ?

When I visited the link from Evan’s Facebook post, I thought “Huh?  What’s the point of this video {besides the obvious}?”  After seeing an issue of Treats! Magazine it’s all clear now.

Velicious Animaux.

The new Velo Joint {Long Beach Cyclery / aka LaHabra Bixby Knolls} is almost prime time!!

Don’t miss the Limp-D Opening December 3rd.  Bring Champagne.  3756 Long Beach Blvd, 150 feet south of Bixby Rd.

The shop is featuring an Opening Special; custom wheels and bikes for the new race team {see photo}.

The Tortuga has enlisted the talents of Simôn-Esé ! ( i.e., Gian Simonetti of famed Simonetti Bicycles; one of the personalities behind the long defunct legendary Medici Bicycles {bad-ass, super-cool SoCal frame builder – everyone had a Medici } whose frames were built by Michael Howard, dubbed the Hair Bandit [that's a story in itself beyond the scope of this edition]).

That’s Gian, standing next to Tortuga, the new power behind LBCyclery, building the next generation of high performance race machines!

Bad Ass Animaux!

On the group ride this morning someone gave me a great compliment; he simply said how much he enjoyed reading  The Furnace of Love {the story about the adventure that kindled the fire of my love for cycling}.

Every rider in the peloton has a story;  a tale about the inspirational moment that lit the flame of their velo-fever or the ride when they realized they were a Freddie for life.

As Mémo use to say: Share the Wealth.

Send me a draft and any pictures .
It can be anonymous or not; let me know.

email: info {at} bitbots [dot] com.

hOwL Animaux!

Photo Courtesy:  bicyclestore.tumblr.com

Pedal Based Power Meters

Garmin debuted their pedal based power/watt meter at Eurobike {the first week in September}.

Price: $1,499.99 Available March 2012

Pedal compatibility:  LOOK Keo

Gamin’s system measures the flex in the pedal axle to determine power [cadence is also tranmitted by the pedals].  The pedals talk to your Garmin device using embedded  ANT+ technology {standard wireless communication used in some Garmin and other devices}.  You can see the communication pod attached to the pedal in the picture on the left. Each pedal transmits data.

The pedals are compatible with any ANT+ based head unit such as the Garmin 500, 800 and 310XT wrist unit.  Both pedals deliver data to the device but not all devices are capable of handling dual feed measurements.  Apparently the Garmin  Edge 800 will get a firmware update to enable a new interval mode that will allow you to track power across a series of intervals.

Watt meters are common, however, pedal based technology means you’re not a slave to one wheel with the meter in the hub.

Polar announced earlier in the year they were going to release a pedal based power unit with an availability date of Spring 2011, however the date has been pulled and the release date is unknown.  Sources says Polar’s pedals {also compatible with LOOK Keo} will cost about $2000.00.

Reviews:
www.dcrainmaker.com
www.velonews.com
www.garmin.com

Power to the Animaux!

2012 Assos Zegho

$399.00 – $469.00

•Werksmannschaft
-[white frames/dark lenses]

•Noire
-[black frames/dark lenses]

•Amplify
-[black frames/yellow lenses]

Assos has always been premium priced and the company has always produced exceptionally crafted products with the highest quality materials.

These look bad-ass, however, the sleek design is completely compromised by the Assos logo prominently positioned square above the nose. {The price might be more of a deal breaker for most potential customers than a blatantly positioned logo.}

Zegho glasses might give you pause to reminisce nostalgically {a bit} about those original Oakley Blades you wore in the 80s [don't try to deny it*] but the Zeghos possess a style attitude Oakley took some time to develop.

About the lenses:   Assos partnered with Carl Zeiss Vision [a leader in lens technology].  Zeiss has a reputation for producing lenses of exceptional clarity. The company [Zeiss] produces eye-wear, microscopes and camera lenses.

$how me $ome money Animaux!

*The Mexican never wore Blades

Bianchi by Gucci

Gloves:  $305.00  [buy it]

Helmet: $890.00  [buy it]

Water Bottle: $105.00  [buy it]

Where’s the Prada shit?

And do these items adhere to the rules?

{The helmet really looks like head-gear for fighter pilot.}

Muy Gauché Animaux!

Iz dat r’grrrl-freund?

She’s Velo City Girl; a marked contrast to Freddie Culture.

V.C.Girl looks dressed for a party.  I bet her group of riders appreciate a Mimosa Extravaganza.

Let’s put out a Mimosa Challenge; a call to arms, rattle the champagne flutes {so to speak}.  Take me to the bridge Maceo!

Visit her blog: http://velo-city-girl.blogspot.com/

Muy Dulce Animaux.

Campy EPS. Shimano Di2.

When you consider the advancement in the micro-technology of servo motors, batteries and their application in  derailleur componentry, the mechanical equivalent almost seems antiquated now.

When electronic shifting was first introduced by Shimano it seemed extravagant.  Now that Campagnolo has officially released their version it’s all very fait accompli.

From the beginning, the technology was perfectly understandable;  servo motors have ruled the world for decades.  In a search for solutions, it never seemed imperative to apply servo-motors to expand and contract a tiny parallelogram already well served by other simpler, and thoroughly elegant, devices.

The question, my Freddie, is why sUpER complicate {albeit sUpER sublime} an extant solution that is functionally simple and mechanically efficient with few [if any] design flaws?  The replacement solution is very elegant in many regards but absolutely ridiculous in so many others.  We removed a cable & mechanical indexing with electric wires, a battery, control buttons, servo-motors and embedded micro-circuitry.

As much as there is to appreciate and love, it doesn’t dispel an overpowering sense of ridiculousness in an over-applied technological solution to a problem that simply did not exist.  Although, it’s hard to resist being at the top of the componentry game. Mr. Bubbles loves electronic shifting.

Now, we can truly marvel at the beauty in the designs of fully mechanical derailleurs and celebrate their purity and simplicity.

The photo above was copied from a website that displays a very cool collection of derailleurs: click the link to visit http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/

Also, you’ll enjoy a discussion about the 2nd coming { Campy vs. (Shimano & SRAM) } at http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/

eLeCTric Animaux!

When you consider the new paradigm of electronic shifting, inner tubes, rim tape and flats seem so primitive.

A wheel, standing perfectly inflated for days, idly sitting in the garage, suddenly went flat overnight.  It was a wheel I’ve used for months to pressure test patched tubes.  Apparently, the repetitive replacement of tubes pushed the tape aside and exposed some spoke holes.

The shifted tape in this picture caused the flat.  The puncture in the tube lined up perfectly with an exposed spoke hole.

If you have a wheel that seems to get elusive flats, check the rim tape.

Plastic rim tape has gained popularity over cloth tape, but many riders still swear by cloth.  Plastic tape is one continuous circular strip and fits snugly around the rim.  For the uninitiated, it can can be tricky to get the valve hole lined up.

Cloth tape  is one long strip with a sticky adhesive back.  When applying new tape, position the hole in the tape over the valve hole in the rim and pull it snugly around the rim cavity until the ends overlap.

Plastic tape can become brittle and cloth tape will shift as both age.  I think cloth tape is easier to remove and apply.  I prefer cloth tape but I’ve had more trouble over the years with cloth than plastic.  Cloth tape is simply easier to roll on and take off.  I’ve not seen plastic get brittle to the point of failure, but perhaps in less temperate climates plastic may be prone to getting brittle.

Be Sticky Animaux!