Jorj

F-in Freezing

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0100

Another race outing for the Look, mostly because the Koga is still in track configuration but also because warming up on race gearing didn't sound attractive given that it was about 0�C when I started. The result was an impressive six seconds improvement on my Boxing Day ride, so the training is clearly working

Calshot

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:06:00 +0100

Some ropey bike-cam shots from the first few of the 350 odd laps of the track I rode last night. As much fun as the Calshot fairground ride is, the soft Thursday session isn't really the best use one can make of a whole evening if the aim is to get quicker, but I had converted the Koga to track configuration in anticipation of a family outing, so I thought I might as well have some fun having spent the time and money getting it board-ready.New kit for this session comprised Lake CX170 shoes, Look Keo Sprint pedals, Selle Italia SLR XP and a 170mm variant of the Mirage UltraTorque Pista previously discussed. The shoes didn't draw attention to themselves in 2 hours, although I'm not sure they are worth the full retail price they are a good buy even at the price I paid, even more so at the knock down rate currently on offer (grrr). The shoe change was mainly motivated by a desire to run black cleats on the track, rather than the red ones I have on my road shoes, but I might give them a go in time trials too. The change to Keo Sprints, likewise, was a track mod which saves buggering about with my road kit, as I can have dedicated track pedals with the tension wound up to the max. The pimpy white version goes with the shoes, saddle and fresh Deda Traforato tape on my track bars. On the basis of one ride, I'm yet to be convinced that the SLR XP is a comfort upgrade from the standard version, but time trial use will be the real test of that.

Thaw

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:00:00 +0100

After a week of snow and ice, we got a nice day for the Boxing Day 10. First race outing for the Look, which makes its amortised cost as a racing bike about �300/mile. Overall 4th place and my best Boxing Day time by 12 seconds.

Carbon Copy

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:07:00 +0100

I liked the Pro Vibe bar so much, I bought the carbon version. 50g lighter, and between the huge discount and the desire for an Vibe bar on my winter bike, this upgrade was barely over the �1/g mark.

Getting under

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0100

Time trial bike �2200
Outfit �420
Getting under - priceless.
On a bright cool morning with a gentle sou'westerly made to flatter the fixed gear rider on the H25/2 Ski Slope course, my four weeks of training (i.e. going for a ride now and again) paid off with a 1:15 improvement and my first sub-hour 25 in almost two decades. Getting under by 18s doesn't seem like a comfortable margin, and it certainly didn't feel like a certainty as my average speed dropped to 24.7mph approaching the Hurly slip road on the way home, but it's mostly downhill from there and the final margin amounts to about 200 yards at my eventual average speed.

1.35%

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:00:00 +0100

So this is what 5 months of training and racing amounts to; a speed increase of less than 1.35% compared with the first time I drove the Koga round Shurlock Row. With the medium gear bike put back on the rack for another year (at least as far as racing goes), I was back to my habitual 13^th place.

100rpm, take 2

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0100

Well, 99.51rpm really. A bit slower than last week, with the same howling gale hampering any attempt to set a decent time, but a bit further up the overall result and second in the medium gear contest just 20s behind Simon.

100rpm

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:00:00 +0100

You need to scroll a bit to find me in the result, as I was trying out my 72" gear on the old Brian Rourke. It was pretty breezy too, with the tailwind on the downhill Howe Lane stretch I was hitting >130rpm, which is hard work for an old bloke on 175mm cranks. Having seen the weather forecast for next Thursday, when I should be up against more people on medium gear, it might all have been a bit pointless.

Inverse proportion

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:00:00 +0100

Turning 93" at 87rpm, compared with last week's 88" at 93rpm. Would have been nice to have hit 88rpm for the sake of symmetry, but under the circumstances an improvement was never on, and I was surprised to get as close as I did. Others went back more, so I was up to tenth, but my chance of getting under 25:00 at Fifield this year has now passed.

Hot wheels

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:20:00 +0100

It took only a few months for Shimano's current year wheels to become so dull that they needed heavy discounting, so now the Look has some wheels more fitting to the overall build than the nice but porky Aksiums. The RS80s drop a pound off the bike weight, have better aerodynamics, and the UD carbon finish and graphics are an excellent visual match to the 585 Ultra. A quick spin around Dorney Lake proved satisfactory, with the wheels living up to their billing as stiff enough despite the low spoke count. Most of the weight loss is in the rims, which means faster acceleration and a surprisingly noticeable increase in turn in rate thanks to the reduced gyroscopic forces.
To match the new wheels, the new 320TPI Vittorias which everybody is getting so excited about, still in the fat-blokes-touring 25c size. They make that lovely zing sound which good tubulars make, although only time will tell whether it's sustainable to use such a nice tyre for training.