New Wheels

Following my 'incident' at Basildon a couple of weeks ago I found myself needing a new front wheel.

To be more accurate, I destroyed my old wheel - a trusty, Mavic MA3 rim on Deore hub with the manliest of spokes - a heavyweight that was built for 'cross.

So, accepting a replacement wheel was required, the thought processes began. Having some very nice, generous clubmates, there was no shortage of offers of loans, but as everyone knows, your own kit is best - you just don't want to trash someone else's. No alternative -  I definately needed to buy a new front wheel.

Being a typical bloke and cyclist, I rationalised that to mean I needed a pair of wheels and started trawling the internet, gazing longingly at all kinds of circular weaponry before realising this was an emergency expense, was not budgeted for and frankly, if you stick me, a new set of wheels and a cross bike together something is going to break eventually - probably sooner rather than later. No point spending hundreds!

A clubmate, Tony Sheppard, mentioned to me that Planet X were selling pairs of CX  wheels for £99 - this got me looking at the budget options.

Despite the massive increase in sales of CX bikes and growth of the sport, if you google "cyclocross wheels" you get very little of use apart from some nice looking Campag stuff. So, I started researching what "road wheels" were available and what standard wheelsets were offered on "off the shelf "cross bikes.

It took a while, but I eventually had a match.



The rather nice Kinesis EVO4



Kinesis are well known in CX circles, particularly for great value performance frames, but they also sell complete, off the peg rigs. These bikes come with Shimano R500 wheelsets (WH-R501 to be geeky).

http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/crosslight/evo-4

Reasoning that if a company with the reputation and Cyclocross expertise of Kinesis can offer this wheelset as standard it must be OK, I did some more research.

Merlin Cycles came up trumps - one pair of said Shimano R500 wheels for the princely sum of £72.95. P&P was about £6 but having ordered on the Sunday night, they were with me by Tuesday morning - very efficient.

A pair for £72! Being me, this very nearly became the perfect excuse to buy another pair for the pits, but I resisted my natural urges and stuck to the cheap option for once. One pair was actually twice as many as I "needed" anyway. If I was having this dilema closer to Payday, I might easily have ended up with 2 pairs.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Wheels/Road+Wheels/Factory+Road+Wheels/Shimano+R500+Wheels_SHIMANO-R500.htm

The wheels were also in great shape - namely round and true. After a week of good use, they still are.

Some might consider them a little heavy, but this wheelset also came as standard on my Cannondale roadbike, with the only difference being colourscheme and spokes. These ones from Merlin with beefy stainless steel spokes - no bad thing in my book considering the beating they are likely to get over the coming months.

My new wheels in the wild

They also look quite nice on my bike.

I'll let you know how they fare over the course of the season.

Podcast Review - Rouleur UPDATE

Its back.

Following a solid debut with a couple of teething problems but bags of promise, Jack Thurston has returned to host the second Rouleur Podcast.

Rouleur Editor, Guy Andrews and author Richard Moore (I am saving his Slaying The Badger, together with Matt Rendell's Olympic Gangster, for my holiday reading) replaced Ian Cleverly and Geoff Waugh as guests on this episode.

I like the idea of a rolling panel of guests, particularly when the participants have treated us to some highly intelligent comment, insight, conversation and analysis. I look forward to hearing the next guests, and I hope, the return of Ian and Geoff at somepoint in the future.

My biggest problem with the first show was sound quality - I am pleased to report this has improved massively and increased my enjoyment of the discussion on this year's Tour de France, Trek and ground-breaking 80's and 90's Soigneur, Shelley Verses.

Of course, this podcast exists to promote the latest issue of the magazine and it does this very well - it sounds like a great issue.

However, don't let the thought of this plugging put you off... this 'cast is up there with the very best of the current crop of cycling podcasts. It actually fills a gap in the market by avoiding the fanzine style comedy of a number of my other favourites.

If there were such a thing as a Gentlemen's Cycling Club, this podcast would be like sitting in a fine leather chair, eavesdropping on the learned opinions of the senior members. The comparitive sobriety of this podcast is completely appropriate and works - it carries an air of comforting authority.

Listen for yourself

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rouleur-podcast/id445620088

If you do Twitter, Jack and Richard can be found @thebikeshow @rbmoore73 while I suppose @rouleurbooks would be best for Guy.

Official Tour de France iPad App - Review

The official 2011 Tour de France iPad App is now available from ASO through iTunes for £2.99.

They say:

Official 2011 Tour de France application for iPad powered by ŠKODA

By Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O)

View More By This Developer
Open iTunes to buy and download apps.

Description

The Official Tour de France Application powered by ŠKODA.

This is a must-have for cycling fans this July to stay up to date with the race as it happens. Get LIVE minute-by-minute race updates, real-time GPS Tracking of where the riders and breakaways are on the course, and after the race access highlight videos, daily race results and standings.

Features:

• LIVE Minute-by-Minute Race Updates and Breakaway Tracking
• LIVE GPS Tracking showing the location of the race on the map and race profile
• Highlight videos of every stage (streaming over 3G and Wifi)
• Results and daily standings for each stage
• Photos from each stage and Tour de France Twitter feed.
• Rider profiles
• Detailed profiles of all stages and categorized climbs

ŠKODA Auto the official sponsor of the Tour de France, the world's premier cycle race.

 

 

 

 

iPad Screenshots

I say:

This is all very promising and looks like £2.99 well spent - particularly when compared with the prices of the many Tour de France guides in print currently available through the nation's newsagents.

However, it really has to work, and work well to be of any value.

There are a few days left for ASO to iron out the bugs so this App can fulfill its promise, but they need to get on it fast...

So far, the things that have bugged me include:

Slow start up, poor quality video, crashing video and poor navigation (I couldn't find a way) between stage data.

The poor quality video is a particular disappointment as this is where the iPad itself excels. The fact that it keeps crashing, renders it almost useless.

It remains to be seen how this App will handle live data once the race actually starts. I expect this to be its real strength, but only time will tell.

The map data shown for Stage 1 on the access page doesn't appear to be matched by any of the other stages - it would have been useful to be able to scroll through, particularly if you were planning places to watch. You can find introductory info on each of the stages through the calendar function, but this is just not the same.

I understand from someone in the know that there will be an ITV Tour de France iPad App which will be "the nuts"... I do hope so, because this effort from ASO a couple of days out from the Grand Depart is pants.

Podcast Review - Rouleur

Lets dispel any illusions immediately. This podcast has been produced as a promotional vehicle.

Like any business, Rouleur want to showcase their product so that our appetites, suitably whetted, lead us to our local stockist to part with a crisp tenner, or online to order a subscription.

That's not a bad thing for me, as I happen to love their magazine.

Rouleur - Issue 24

Anchored by The Bike Show's Jack Thurston, this first podcast is a 32 minute plug for Rouleur Issue 24, which is now on general sale. Jack is joined by Rouleur Deputy Editor, Ian Cleverly and funky super snapper, Geoff Waugh for background conversation on some of this issue's key pieces.

I have to admit, it didn't start well for me. I found the cut glass tones of Jack Thurston jarring, while the sound quality from the two contributors was dodgy to say the least. Production quality is never the first thing I look for in a podcast - in fact some of the classics are shambolic at best, but you expect more from a brand like Rouleur - I guess I was hoping for the aural equivalent of their beautifully crafted magazine. How I expect them to transfer the unique smell of their mag to audio, I have no idea... but that's up to them, and if they do it, they are on to a winner.

That's the negative out of the way - I thought the content was great and my initial pickiness was placated by a genuinely well balanced conversation about David Millar's new book and fascinating behind the scenes discussions on current articles, including the African Racing Scene and flying Scotsman, Graeme Obree.

By the end, I had completely forgotten my initial misgivings - Jack's accent possibly tempered by the familiarity of Geoff's much more manly North East Essex drawl and the listener friendly tones of Ian Cleverly.

7/10 for this first effort - I will be back for more and hope to give it a higher mark next time. This podcast has real potential and I hope they achieve it.

Listen for yourself - http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rouleur-podcast/id445620088http:/itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rouleur-podcast/id445620088

If you are into Twitter, you can find the guys here:
Jack Thurston @thebikeshow
Ian Cleverly @iancleverly
Geoff Waugh @theWarhead

Riderific - What I am and what I am not

Yes, this is another general cycling blog. No, it has not been thought through and it is not a business - this is a sideline to my hobby. I am not a writer, but I do ride a bike.

I am a relatively recent member of my local cycling club - an old established institution which celebrates its 120th birthday this year. I have two seasons of cyclocross and one and a bit of time trialling under my belt. I am not fast, but I love competing and trying to improve. I have never ridden a Road Race or Crit - a gap that is likely to remain unfilled on my cycling CV, but who knows? Although I have only competed for 2 years, I have ridden a bike, on and off, for as long as I can remember. I am 43.

I also like going on trips - I have done a few, and hope to do a few more. Some might categorise this as "touring" but for me it is purely leisure cycling - riding around the world (not done) or to a local pub with your family (done) are pretty much the same thing - its just that one takes a bit longer and requires a bit more stuff.

I admire people and I admire things. There are lots of both of these to admire in cycling. There is also a lot of rubbish. I am more likley to blog about the things I like than the things I don't although this is not a hard and fast rule. I shy away from the concept of "reviews" - I am not a reviewer but I will pass on my opinions of the things I come into contact with as a cyclist - bikes, accessories, races, events, clothing, food, websites, podcasts, books, magazines, DVDs etc etc.

Keen cyclists consume a huge amount of stuff - if you, like many others are just starting out with "serious" cycling this will cost you a huge amount of money and you will make mistakes. If my opinions help minimise those mistakes, great. Whatever you do, don't just take my word for it - there is a wealth of information out there, and where possible, I will point those sources out.

Cyclists are good at sharing their opinions - sometimes a little too good - but whatever opinion is being shared they are mainly born from a passion for the bike. This is Riderific.