Half a decade of self indulgence

In cycling it's a case of more waist, less speed

This little piece in today's Age newspaper confirms two of my strongly held beliefs: there is a very deep connection between middle-aged anaesthetists and cycling, and the weight of the rider has a much bigger effect on performance than the weight of the bike:

CYCLISTS, forget the expensive, lightweight new bike this Christmas if you want to go faster on your ride to work. Instead, consider shedding a few kilos.

Over six months, British anaesthetist Dr Jeremy Groves conducted a one-man study, alternating between his new $1500 carbon frame bike and his $80 steel bike, on his 44-kilometre ride to work from Sheffield to Chesterfield.

Dr Groves, writing in the British Medical Journal's light-hearted Christmas edition, wanted to see if he could cut his 55-minute commuting time.

The time difference between the doctor's 9.5-kilogram carbon bike and his 13.5-kilogram steel bike? Virtually nothing.

''I didn't notice a dramatic decrease in commuting time, nor did the cycle computer I had fitted to my new bicycle to record any notably swift journeys,'' Dr Groves wrote after 56 journeys to work (30 on the steel bike and 26 on the carbon) taken between January and July.
Dr Groves would decide which bike to take by tossing a coin. He covered 1302 kilometres on the steel-frame bicycle and 1144 kilometres on the carbon-frame bike.

He concluded after six months of riding that there was no measurable difference in commuting times.

And he observed that, while a noticeable reduction in bicycle weight would appear to be likely to make a large difference, the reduction in total weight of both the bicycle and rider was less impressive when taken together.

''A new lightweight bicycle may have many attractions,'' Dr Groves concludes, ''but if the bicycle is used to commute, a reduction in the weight of the cyclist rather than that of the bicycle may deliver greater benefit and at reduced cost.''

Super Mario

Mario Cipollini shows once more what a man of the past he is on cyclingnews.com:

Mario Cipollini has launched a stinging attack on what he called the lack of machismo in modern cycling. The Italian, who recently joined the Katusha team as a consultant, said that he is bemused by the reaction of certain riders in the current peloton to defeat.

“I lived a very different cycling,” Cipollini told L’Equipe. “At the beginning of a sprint, I felt like a gladiator, ready to do anything to keep my place. And when I lost, I wasn’t capable of going to congratulate whoever had beaten me, like Andy Schleck did at the Tour. Me, I’d hate him because he’d taken the bread from my mouth.”

The friendship between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador is something that Cipollini finds difficult to fathom and he echoed the thoughts of the late Laurent Fignon on the aftermath of the “Chaingate” incident.

“Seeing Schleck and Contador embrace on the Tourmalet after crossing the line and then seeing Contador affectionately pinch Schleck’s cheek during his interview was unreal for me,” Cipollini exclaimed. “Logically, Schleck should have been raging, he had just lost the Tour after all.
“After the chain slip incident on the Port de Balès, he should have attacked the Spaniard day after day, in front of the microphones and on the air too, without giving him time to piss!”

Nor did Alberto Contador escape Cipollini’s criticism. “Machismo is disappearing, I can’t find it in Contador,” he complained. “Contador has the anonymous face of a surveyor or an accountant.”
Cipollini was also left bemused by the reaction of Italian leader Filippo Pozzato at the end of the world championships road race in Geelong.

“Pozzato has just been beaten for third place and a second later he has only one idea in his mind, to congratulate the winner,” Cipollini said incredulously. “What can be going on in his head? Has winning become so incidental at this point that there is no joy or disappointment? Are they only working men now?”

“I read an interview with Umberto Veronesi, a scientist, a reputed oncologist and Minister for Health,” Cipollini continued. “In five hundred years or more, human beings might have both sets of genitalia, male and female. I don’t want this evolution to have started already in cycling…”

On the other hand he knows how to keep the media spotlight well and truly on himself.

And the band played on..

Thanks again to Velogogo. Must have been tough to be a drummer.

Great Ocean Road Classic

A quality short from Rapha on the GORC'S Great Ocean Road Classic.

Even if the product placement is a bit much it's well worth spending two and a half minutes having a look at the circuit that's one of the World's best:

http://vimeo.com/17556346

The Muur

For those of us fortunate enough to be going to Belgium next year...a taste of things to come:

Elevation 110 m
Location Flanders, Belgium
Start Geraardsbergen
Altitude 92 m
Length 1075 m
Average gradient 9,3 %
Maximum gradient 19,8 %

End of an era

This was reported in the Italian Cycling Journal site earlier:

The end of an era has arrived at Cannondale. All aluminum frame manufacturing has ceased in Bedford, Pennsylvania, and now the auction of equipment will take place on December 9, 2010

It was in late 1996 when Saeco, international maker of pump-driven espresso and cappuccino machines, engaged Cannondale to sponsor its Italian-based Team Saeco professional cycling team. Cannondale became the first U.S. bicycle maker to supply frames under its own name to a European professional team.

The 1997 cycling season became very special for Cannondale. Mario Cipollini won five stages in the Giro d’Italia, and also won two stages at the Tour de France where he also wore the yellow leader’s jersey for four days. And from there...the rest is part of cycling history.

It's always a bit sad to see great brands sending their product manufacturing to China. But if consumers are not prepared to pay a premium to keep the process at home then it's an inevitable consequence.

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I guess that makes both Jim and Andrew's bikes with their 'Made in the USA' stickers into collectors items. Well... maybe one day anyway.

Fabian says...

Thanks to Phil for spotting this on Fabian's website.

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We can but all agree.

Watch this space....

If 30-54 refers to the age range of the riders we may have to move HQ to Coburg.

Drivetrain Care

Everyone's favourite tour leader Larry has some wise words in his latest CycleItalia newsletter for those of us that like a clean chain and set of sprockets:

This cleaning method uses a tiny amount of diesel fuel as a solvent. A gallon-sized gasoline can will hold a lifetime supply for the average bike owner. I use less than a liter (quart) of diesel fuel to service (many times) our entire rental fleet and our own bikes after weekly washing during our season. A tablespoon (1 oz) is enough to clean your entire drivetrain. Brush it carefully onto the chain (top and bottom) as you rotate the cranks. Brush both sides of the chainrings and the front and rear derailleurs. Hold the brush against the derailleur pulleys as you rotate the cranks. Finally, brush the cogset.

Now, soap up the rest of the bike. Then, using a very soapy sponge reserved strictly for this messy job, sponge off the dirt and solvent from the drivetrain. When that's done, wash the rest of your bike. Once you've washed everything with soap and rinsed everything well, wipe the entire drivetrain with a dry rag. Use the rag to clean between the rear cogs - like you were flossing your teeth - by working the edge of the rag between the cogs, moving back and forth.
Now your drivetrain is clean, but retains a bit of oil on all its moving parts, including inside the chain rollers!

With our rental fleet or our personal bicycles, no further lubing of the chain is needed for a few hundred kilometers - though as they say on TV, your mileage may vary.