Review: Shimano SH-M310S
The author's shoes -- just after their first use.
Background: I bought these shoes because I have a history of foot injuries stretching back almost two decades, to my time in the army, and my last two seasons of cyclocross have both been curtailed by sprained feet. Historically, I've used the same shoe for 'cross racing and commuting, an older Nike model, paired with Crank Brothers pedals. Prior to the Nikes, I had a pair of Pearl Izumis that I picked up for cheap during my days working in customer service at REI. With 'cross season fast approaching, I opted to give Shimano's heat-fitted shoe a try as I've loved my R300-series road shoes (not heat-fitted) for the past couple of years.
The shoes, like high-end ski or snowboard boots, are custom-fitted. You acquire the correct size, and then you work with a bike shop employee to have them fitted -- a process involving a small oven, plastic bags, and a vacuum pump. This, actually, proved to be the only real snag in the ownership experience.
I’m Back
So it's been awhile since my last post. Partly because I had a short week at the office last week and a normal workload. I got everything done, then blew town for Vegas, which was awesome, as usual.
The first thing you'll have noticed is that I reverted back to the old theme I'd been using. The garish one was too damn obnoxious for my tastes. The second thing you'll notice is that I deleted all the accumulated spam in here. (Okay, maybe you didn't.)
Life: Wedding preparations are starting to roll. We've got a location, but it's going to necessitate two separate lists -- one for the ceremony (small) and one for the reception (huge). I want Kate to walk down the aisle to "Brick House" by the Commodores. She's having nothing of that.
Bike: 'Cross season starts this weekend and I'm not really ready. But I'm going to hit it anyway. Might as well suffer a bit and use it as training. Worst case scenario is that it becomes training for next year. Framebuilding class is starting soon. Real soon. Oh yeah, and the debacle with my RA'ed mountain bike shoes has been resolved. Got them. Heat treating them tonight.
Writing: I think I'm finally completely burned-out on reading. Vacation'll do that. To maintain my relationship with the written word, I'll be trying to wrap-up the rough draft for Bubble over the next few weeks. Hoping to keep it under 130,000 words. Going to be close. After that, I have to start my next novel, which is about humanity's first (indirect) contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.
Review: NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB Light
The NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB Light is an ingenious little product despite it's slightly clunky name. NiteRider, who has always produced high-quality lighting systems for bikes, has created a device that is great for the office commuter.
The highlights of the system are it's easy mounting and removal from your bike -- the battery mounts to the top tube via a velcro strap, and the light is secured to the handlebar with a rubber o-ring. (It can also be helmet mounted.) Where this gets interesting is the charger -- plug the battery into a mini-USB cable (the same as your digital camera likely uses) and it'll charge off of your laptop or desktop machine. The system also includes a "wall wart" that you can plug the USB cable into, should you live the computer-free life.
The performance of the light (110+ lumens) is admirable, and the battery life-- about three hours -- is equally impressive, given the size of the device. The beam is strong enough to illuminate signs 200 feet away, and there's no doubt that cars will see you when you're using this. It hasn't got the strength of a car headlight, but at bicycle speeds and in urban/suburban areas, it will suffice to supplement existing lighting.
Greg LeMond’s Dumbshit Idea
As the years have worn on, Greg LeMond has taken a turn in my eyes and appears to have become a bitter, curmudgeonly old man. As soon as Lance Armstrong won his first Tour, Greg has begun muttering about doping and cheating as if it's this new, horrible thing that has ruined cycling. As Lance won more Tours, more events, and eclipsed LeMond's success, Greg's complaining, drama-creating, attention-seeking garbage became more loud and more pathetic. When Floyd Landis won* a Tour, Greg was vaulted into the limelight more directly. I always found it strange that Greg never gunned for Tyler Hamilton -- but oh, that's right, Tyler Hamilton never "tainted" Greg's legacy by winning a Tour de France.
So, eventually, everything went away. Landis was found guilty of doping and was summarily suspended. Lance was in retirement. And we didn't hear much from Greg.
Powertap/Garmin Update
System works. For those of you configuring it, you'll need to get out on the road to see any real watts. There has to be resistance on the rear wheel, something you don't get in the workstand.
It did a good job of reminding me what a desk job will do to you. My power output is way down. My average speed is way down. My cardio response is screwy. I'll post data tonight.
ANT+Headache
So I got the Powertap wheels on the bike last night, but have been having a bunch of issues getting them to talk properly to the Garmin Edge 705. Been prowling the various forums out there in an attempt to get this resolved, but I suspect it's going to be a huge hassle.
Once I get it sorted out, I'll post a HOWTO here.
Review: Pedro’s Vise Whip
It's not often that I see a bike tool that makes me salivate, and really I can't remember the last innovative idea I've seen in bike tools. Sure, there's new items every year from Park and other companies to accommodate the various new foo-foo standards -- and these days that's mostly around the plethora of bottom bracket styles. My first thought upon encountering the Pedro's Vise Whip was, "Holy crap! Why didn't someone think of this twenty years ago?"
What Is It?
The Vise Whip looks like a normal set of vise grips at first glance. A look at the jaws, however, will show you that something's amiss. What you have is a classic tool that's been modified to replace a cumbersome and annoying tool called a "chain whip" (example: Park's SR-1) -- in which you wrap a length of chain around the cassette to keep it from spinning while you use another tool to loosen the lockring.
The problem with the chain whip solution is that you frequently will have issues with the chain portion slipping, and it's a nightmare to loosen track cogs, which are frequently tight enough to require a cheater bar to leverage off. The Pedro's Vise Whip solves this problem neatly, by slotting the jaws of the tool to allow accommodate a gear, while providing two pegs that will fall in between the gear teeth, neatly securing the cassette or track cog. Lock it in-place, hold the grips while you turn the lockring, and you're done. It's that simple.
MSRP: $70.
Pros: neatly solves the annoying process of removing a cassette lockring
Cons: cost, doesn't work with 1/8" cogs
Verdict: a god-send in the bike shop; a nice touch for the home mechanic
Bikey Bikey
So tomorrow, I am probably going to race the Black Dog TT. I use the term "race" loosely, as I won't even be close to competitive, what with my "extensive" training program I've undertaken this spring, and the aerodynamic 20-pound beer gut I'm toting.
Tonight, I'm heading out to Burnsville to give the course a quick drive -- I'm told that it's a mish-mash of potholes and meteor craters and I'm not sure I want to put the Zipps into that kind of a situation. I got a couch to buy in the next few weeks and am not big on the idea of having to shell out $250 to crash-replace a wheel.
While down there, I'm picking up my dad's old Peugeot, which I am going to park in the basement of my place. I've got some ideas afoot for what to do with it, but more on that later.
Tonight, I've got to get some minor maintenance work done on the fleet and gear:
- the Salsa Campeon needs new brake pads on the rear -- it has for awhile now, it's just that the process of using a hammer to pound the Jagwire pads into the Zero Gravity holders isn't what I'd call a fun time
- put the pedals back on the Cervelo
- install speed/cadence sensor on Cervelo
- wash my cycling clothes
- clean out gear bag
- tune up the Surly Cross-Check for commuting
Got to throw some stuff on MplsBikeLove and Craigslist tonight. Old cyclecomputers, a crankset/BB, and so on.
My Holy Shit List
So being the weird hybrid geek/marketer type, I've been reading Rands in Repose lately, and found it a fascinating source for information on tech, management, etc. He has a post called Your Holy Shit List, which is something I wanted to write about here today. His HSL is about technology/IT, and while that would be an appropriate topic for this blog, today I'm due to write a bike post, per that schedule I never follow, and I'm sticking with it.
Here's some bike stuff that's made my Holy Shit List.
- STI shifters (1991)
- the welds on a Seven Axiom Ti (1999-2000)
- the Giro Atmos helmet (year unknown)
- the HED H3 wheel
- the "new" Trek Madone (2008)
- Zero Gravity road brakes (2007)
What's on your list?
Review: Clif Shot Bloks
The number of energy foods on the market seems to have been exploding the last few years -- ingredients are cheap, marketing's easy, and the science doesn't need to be rigorous, so it's easy to bring your own brand to market. All you need is a gimmick! And that's either change the ingredients, or change the format.
In the case of Clif Shot Bloks, we're looking at a change in format. Where you previously had gels, bars, and beans (yes, jellybeans), you now have "bloks" -- what amounts to a square gummi bear, laden with flavor. The ingredients haven't changed significantly from other energy foods and don't seem to have some goofy "magic ratio" of carbs-to-protein, meaning that Shot Bloks work the same as any other energy food that relies upon the basic understanding that complex carbs are good.
So the Shot Bloks work. But what do they taste like? I snagged the six flavors we had in-stock at the bike shop. One packet of each, with the intent of testing them more for flavor than anything else. On my way home, I decided to double my data points and incorporate my girlfriend in the process.
The Testers
Dan (me!) -- has been riding bikes seriously for over two decades. Well-versed in energy foods and their usage, flavor, and reputation.
Kate -- not an athlete. May never have eaten a Powerbar. I don't know. I can't imagine a non-athlete submitting themselves to such an indignity.
The Process
On Monday night, while watching TV, we nibbled at each of the cubes, analyzing strictly for flavor. We didn't cleanse our palettes between cubes unless a flavor was particularly nasty.
The Flavors
"Cran-Razz"
Kate: Tastes good -- like, uh, something. Not 'cran-razz', though.
Dan: Hello, cough syrup!
Strawberry
Kate: Good. Weird aftertaste. It's got some chemical taste to it.
Dan: Tastes like strawberry with an aftertaste of ass.
Cola
Kate: Bites you. Yuck.
Dan: Tastes like it was stored in the same room as the world's last can of RC Cola. I had high hopes for this -- like the Gummi Coke Bottles. I was saddened.
Orange
Kate: Tastes like orange slices. No chemical aftertaste on this one.
Dan: Reminds me of Pedro's Orange Peelz degreaser. Complete with the vaguely oily residue.
Margarita
Kate: Ahh. *gagging noises* Too much fake salt!
Kate + 20 Seconds: Ugh. Nasty.
Dan: I would only eat these if I had a bottle of tequila to wash them down with. That's not conducive to energy or sports!
Mountain Berry
Kate: Alright, but could be more "mountain berry"...
Dan: Do I have to keep eating these things?
The Favorites
Kate: Cran-Razz
Dan: ANYTHING THAT'S NOT THE MARGARITA FLAVOR.
The Verdict
They work like most energy foods. The gimmick is in the format. Kate will never eat these things again and may never even ride a bike again, based on her experiences in this tangent of the sport. Dan will stick with Clif Bar Harvests and Gu.
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.@nickhobart dude this one is SLAYING me. http://www.dontevenreply.com/view.php?post=84 [fontosaurus]
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Dude. Last hour VERY productive. Spent it trying to get a migrated contact lens out of my eye. Fuck. [fontosaurus]
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I'm at Wells Fargo (425 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis). http://4sq.com/6e3CnI [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at Wells Fargo
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I'm at Don Pablo's - Roseville (2700 Lincoln Dr, Roseville). [fontosaurus]
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Checked in at Don Pablo's - Roseville
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I favorited a YouTube video -- Cycles http://youtu.be/-0Xa4bHcJu8?a [fontosaurus]
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have my Friday off, so here's my Follow Thursday: @mightywombat, @veloveggies, @Scoutwell_Cat, @kilgette, @actualmiles, @DoWhatITellYou #ff [fontosaurus]
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Man, talk about enabling commerce. http://is.gd/aeKE9 [fontosaurus]
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