Weight Weenies

Image via Wikipedia

By Brent:

I love my bike. I love that it's carbon. I love that it looks like it's moving 62 kph all the time. I love it so much, it makes me speak of things using the metric system.

However, I am a weight weenie, kinda. I am constantly aware of all the weights of some of the products on my bike. Every little part still adds SOME kind of weight. This can drive me crazy. To think adding 2 bottles of water can weigh half as much as your bike itself. Keep in mind being 6'3" I ride a size 60 bike, which is one of the biggest sizes out there, so I am instantly penalized for having to have the larger frame. This made me want to do some investigating. Lets take some of the most popular and heavy products on a bike and shop around and see how much weight we could lose if we picked a "reasonable priced" item and quality brand and see what it would total out to. Notice I used air quotes? This is still cycling we are talking about. A cyclist sees a tyre for $45 and sees a DEAL! A normal consumer sees a "bike tire" for $20 and freaks out. The one thing I will not put on this list is wheelsets. They don't start until you hit the $700 price range and there are almost too many options. The costing would come from 2 sources: competitivecyclist.com and amazon.com. Honestly I have never bought from "cc.com" but they carry tons of brands and do a good job listing weights.

The line up will follow this format:

Product / Current Brand / Model / Weight

NEW Brand / Model / Weight / Savings
CC.com price / Amazon price

Stem / Cannondale / C2 / 128 grams
Ritchey WCS 4 Axis OS / 122 g / 6 g
$75 / $51

Handlebars / ControlTECH / ONE / 315 g

PRO / PLT Compact II / 257 gr. / 58 g
$60 / $60

Brakes / Tektro / R580 / 314 g

SRAM / Rival / 288 gr. / 26 g
$115 / $79

Saddle / ProLogo / Scratch Pro T2.0 / 279 g

Fizik / Antares VS Kium / 208 gr. / 71 g
$180 / $162

Seat Post / Cannondale / C2 / 268 g

Easton / EA70 / 220 gr. / 48 g
$90 / $70

Crankset / FSA / Gossamer BB30/ 808 g

SRAM / Force BB30 / 658 gr. / 150 g
$355 / $249

Cassette / Shimano / 105 / 245 g

SRAM / PG-1070 / 229 gr. / 16 g
$95 / $79

Front Derailuer / Shimano / 105 / 95 g

Shimano / Dura Ace / 66 gr. / 29 g
$159 / $85

Tires / Vittoria / Zaffiro Pro Slick / 250 g ea.

Continental / Ultra Sport / 235 gr. ea. / 30 g total
$67 for both / $36 for both

Pedals / Shimano / R540 / 330 g

LOOK / Keo Classic / 256 gr. / 74 g
$120 / $85

So the totals are as follows....

508 grams saved at a price of $1,316 through competitivecyclist.com OR $956 by luck shopping on amazon.com.

508 grams? Umm.... here in the States, that means 1.1 POUNDS!

For $1300 you save 1 pound. Really? So how about hitting the road, or treadmill or put the cookie DOWN!

Thanks for not shopping!

Slackers and a brand new purchase!

By: Jeff

Well it has been awhile since we have posted, well, anything.  Quite honestly it is because not a lot has been going on.  For some reason as the summer has become very hot we have decreased our workouts, minimal running, and a little better on the biking.

It is with that apology that I am very excited to announce my new purchase:  A Cannondale Synapse 6 bike!!!! Brent and I have been have been looking at road bikes for quite some time now.  We have visited several local bike shops.  I had my eye on two bikes,  the first a Felt Z85 and the second a Cannondale Synapse 6.  The main thing I was looking for in a road bike was something that would be comfortable on a century bike ride.  The Felt has a very stiff frame.  It has a somewhat upright riding position, but you feel every bump.  The synapse also has an upright riding style (for a road bike that is), but with its' S.A.V.E. rear frame it absorbs the bumps much more effectively.  Both the Z85 and the Synapse 6 are in the same price range.  With the Z85 you do get to move up to Shimano 105 components, as compared to Tiagra components on the Synapse 6.  So with all that being weighed, and with comfort and century riding as my goals, I decided on getting the Cannondale Synapse 6.

Now for the good news about purchasing a new bike.  Suddenly my biking mileage for July has gone way up!!!  It will easily be the most miles I have ever covered in one month.  So far, after having the bike a little over a week, I am loving my purchase.  As with any new bike there are things setup wise and fine tuning on components that will need to be tweaked, but overall it is a fun smooth ride.  It is something that when I get done with a ride I can't wait for the next one to begin!  When we were trying out bikes, Brent and I went on our first group ride.  I will let him write about that.  For now welcome back, to us I guess, it is time to get back to work, on getting fit.

Becoming One With the Bike

Image by JeffKamp via Flickr

By: Jeff

I have read many blog postings and magazine articles touting the use of clipless pedals. I have decided try them out.  So I bought my first clipless pedals and my first biking shoes.

In deciding what type of pedals and what type of shoes that I would be purchasing I decided to come up with some sort of criteria.  First, they had to be practical.  Seconded they had to be easy to use.  Third they had to look good!!!   Fourth they obviously had to be in my price range.

Image by JeffKamp via Flickr

The first decision, and this goes with the practical, is whether I would go with a mountian setup or a road setup.  Since my current bike is a mountian bike I defaulted towards a mountain setup.  This, however, was not my only reasoning for this setup.  A mountain biking shoe uses an SPD cleat setup, which is reassed into the sole of the shoe.  This makes for easier walking and is more practical for cross country trips.  As for the second decision I wanted something the would be easy to use, something with a low learning curve.  Minimally I was looking for something with dual sided entry.  As I got farther along in the decision making process I was also liking the Idea of getting something with a small platform.  This would be just in case I was in a situation where couldn't clip into the pedals.  The third decesion was primarily just based on the astecitics of the setup.  I just wanted something that I liked looking at.  The fourth decision, that of price, made me look to alternative models, ebay, and numerous online bike shops.

Image by JeffKamp via Flickr

With that being said. I ended up with Crank Brothers Smarty Pedals and Shimano M076 shoes.  It is winter here and very cold, (I know, I know,  man up right?!?).  Anyways, I did install the pedals and have had several sessions on the bike stand.  I don't think it is fair for me to review how easy or hard it is to get into the pedals until I am actually out on the road.  I will review these in full when I get them out on the road.  Until then I will keep practicing clipping in and out on my bike stand.