When I first started to ride my road bike, it was just my ears that was primarily the oncoming car detector from the rear. As drivers begin to pass more fiercely, I started to ride with these inexpensive USB charged rear lights.
USB rear lights
I got the this pair for like less than $20 CAD on Amazon. They last for about five hours and they typically don’t need to be charged on every ride, more like every other ride. Since I got two of them, I have one as a reserve and swap the other when the active one runs out of batteries. They also do not take long to charge, typically less than an hour or so.
When I upgraded my bike computer from the Garmin Edge 500 to the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt, I was wondering whether I should get the Garmin Varia. At the time, I personally did not think it was worth it. These $300 CAD gadgets has a rear facing radar that detect passing cars, and relay their relative distances on your bike computer. The concept is seemingly, very cool, and it gives you about a 5 to 10 seconds warning before the oncoming vehicle actually pass you. The Varia also can detect and show multiple vehicles coming and it is pretty good in determining whether it is a vehicle or a bike that is passing you.
Garmin Varia RTL515
With the advent of the pandemic, it just seems there are more dangerous drivers out there when passing cyclists. I do not know whether this is a result of lower driving test standards, or simply people are out of practice because they are doing less driving. Regardless the reason, the result is more dangerous.
This week I spotted the Varia RTL515 on sale on Amazon, so I picked one up for $250.99 CAD. Also my wife was heckling me to get one. I guess safety is priceless afterall.
On my inaugural 50km ride with the Varia today, here are my thoughts on using the Varia. First the device and its vehicle detection worked extremely well. Throughout the entire ride, there was only one instance when the display showed no cars, while a car passed me in a split second. My ears still serve as backup. There was also an instance of a false detection, when a group of three cyclists were behind me.
Each detection comes with two beeping notifications. The first when it first detects one or more vehicles. The second when the way is clear. I am debating whether I should turn off these audible notifications. They were starting to get annoying after an hour, especially on busy roads during rush hours.
One area that does help a lot is when making a left turn, the device is a great early warning system whether there are any vehicles behind you. This is an excellent added assurance.
I think it is extremely easy for someone to take the detection results for granted, but I would say that this investment does not relegate the practice of checking your blind spot or cycling in a straight line into the whelm of extinction. In the end, it is just more information for you as the rider to process, but you will still have to judge your own situation (in the moment) and act safely and accordingly.
I brought my No. 22 Great Divide Titanium bike to Evolution when I found out that my bottom bracket was making creaking and crunching noises during my last few rides. Finally the crank nearly seized up on my last ride.
I was not sure whether it was the bottom bracket or the crank shaft. I have had wonderful services from Evolution before, so instead of taking apart the crank and the bottom bracket myself, I decided to leave my precious with the capable gentlemen at Evolution.
They did not disappoint. They treated my bike with respect and we had excellent communication in terms of expectation setting; what needs to be done; and the replacement parts that were required. Chris was very knowledgeable and thorough and made sure that I knew all the options.
In the end I got my bike in the best time possible, under these pandemic schedules with scarce parts. Super thankful to the entire team at Evolutions and especially Chris for making it all happen without any surprises.
I will not hesitate in bringing my bike to Evolution again for any type of issues in the future.
I like riding my bike but not cleaning my bike. Unfortunately cleaning my road bike especially the drive train is a necessity. Of course the most difficult part, the chain, is notoriously difficult to clean correctly.
In the past I have tried chain cleaners that look like the one on the right. In short, they don’t work.
SRAM Powerlink
The next evolution is to adopt a chain like the SRAM Powerlink or the Connex link, which can be easily taken apart. I still have to manually scrub the chain and it seems like no matter how many times you scrub the chain, it is still super dirty. Finally I came across the following YouTube video:
The host uses an ultrasonic cleaner and his result was really impressive. I went to Amazon and got myself one.
Flexzion Commercial Ultrasonic Cleaner 2L
I took off the chain and put it in the ultrasonic cleaner with a “cap” full of Simple Green all-purpose cleaner from Canadian Tire with hot tap water. I then run the cleaner for 10 minutes. After the first cleaning, the chain already look pretty spectacular. I lift the chain and repositioned it in the cleaner and run it for another 10 minutes. Took the chain out, rinse thoroughly with my garden hose, and put it back on. Here is the result with no scrubbing:
Click above to enlarge
Another nice thing about using this technique is that while the ultrasonic cleaner is doing its job, you can scrub the bike down. This bike cleaning session is the easiest one yet.
In summary, I highly recommend that you get an ultrasonic cleaner!
Update: Someone asked about cleaning the ultrasonic cleaner. There was no issue whatsoever. The grease did not stick to the container, and all I had to do was pour the dirty liquid out and give it a quick rinse. That was it. Simple. I see others on YouTube use a ziplock bag to contain the chain and the detergent, but I opted not to do that.
Last week on August 23rd, we organized a neighbourly ride to the bakery in Goodwood, Ontario. On the way back, 60 km into the ride or about 5 km away from home, I heard an extremely loud ping as I try to accelerate from a stop sign on 19th and Woodbine. As I feared, a spoke had snapped.
Didn’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on the carbon rims, so I called home and asked my wife to give us a ride back. The broken spoke was a surprise, since I only had about 10,000 km on it. Thinking that it should be an easy fix, I dropped the wheel off at Evolution Cycles the next day, and was quoted $30 to fix the broken spoken. By the way, the guys at Evolution are great guys with excellent and friendly service. I would recommend them if you have any bike troubles.
So my expectation was to pick up the fixed wheel in the next few days and all would be good. Unfortunately, within an hour of the drop off, I received a call from Evolution and they informed me that the wheel’s axle is damaged.
Damaged axle
As you can see in the above picture, the hub’s housing has come apart and the inside thread can no longer be put back. I decided to fix the broken Reynold Assualt 2017 rear wheel at a later date. I’ll probably have to visit LaBicicletta, where I original purchased the wheel and the bike, and see what they can do to either fix or replace it. However, I want to ride my bike as soon as possible, so I decided to purchase the Shimano Dura Ace C24 rear wheel.
Bike with new Shimano C24 rear wheel.
I took out the bike twice now with the new wheel. It seemed quieter and smoother. This is probably not surprising, since the old damaged wheel was rubbing or grinding internal parts. The bike may not look so good with mismatching wheels, but I’ll wait until I can spot a good deal on the front wheel.
So far so good, now just have to take the old broken wheel back to LaBicicletta to get it fixed. It is no longer urgent, since I can continue to ride my bike.
This week I came a cross a bike computer article and saw this picture. A Wahoo Elemnt Bolt with a gear selection display. Raw emotions took over and I immediately purchased one from MEC.
I longed for a bike computer that can show my current gear selection so that I can avoid looking down and see which gear I am at, or finding out whether I am on the small or the big ring. When I got the SRAM Red eTap two years ago, I totally forgot that it has the ability to communicate its status with a compatible head unit. I was totally okay to continue to use my Garmin Edge 500 until it dies.
The new Bolt unit arrived yesterday. After downloading the companion app on my iPhone it was a breeze to setup and I customized the data pages that I wanted during the ride. It was also super simple to pair the Bolt with my Heart Rate monitor, Power meter, and the SRAM Red eTap.
Garmin Edge 500
If you are a data head, then you will love the Bolt. It has more metrics than you know what to do with. I particularly like that fact that it sync’s with my iPhone and when my ride is done it automatically uploads my ride to Strava.
I also allowed the unit to upload health related stats to my iOS Health App. But to my disappointment, it seems that it doesn’t quite sync the calories count. Instead, the Health App got the calories reading from my Apple Watch which has a very skewed reading because I did not turn on the Workout App. I think for my next ride, I will use the Workout App so that the Health App will get a more accurate calories count, and I will turn off the Health App upload on the Bolt to avoid a duplicate recording. I may change my mind later as I am still experimenting which sync’ing technique is best. This is a first world problem, when you have too many health gadgets to manage at once.
As an added bonus, I don’t need to reconfigure my head unit whenever I decide to ride indoors. I can keep my old Garmin Edge 500 to be my indoor bike computer and permanently affix it to my Cervelo R5.
There are many types of cycling, and each type of cycling comes with their own types of bikes and enjoyment. This web page from CenturyCycles.com does an excellent break down. I love road cycling primarily because of its team work, speed, and relative simplicity in comparison to other forms of cycling. Of course different strokes for different folks. However on this post I am only going to discuss about road cycling since this is the basis of my own personal experience. Here are some fun times which I enjoyed with our local chain gangs.
Getting a bike
Before getting a bike, you will need to know about your own personal dimensions, such as your height, inseam, foot size, etc. These measurements are critical for determining the size of the bike that will work best for you. Different brands can have different sizing metrics. Here is a more in depth article at LiveStrong.com discussing fitting to a Cannondale bike. Below is a table selecting a Trek road bike frame size by your height.
A proper fit is important as you can potentially be riding your bike for hours at a time. An improper fit will result in discomfort and potentially repetitive, body injuries.
Once you know the type and size of the bike that you want to get, you will now have to decide whether to get something new or used. Stay away from buying bikes at major merchandising stores like Costco, Walmart, and Canadian Tires. Those bikes have inferior components and they will not work well and will break within a few rides.
Budget may be an issue here. Be prepare to spend $1500 to $3000 for either a high end Aluminum frame bike or a low end Carbon bike. As a sample, here is a sample link to a local bike store at D’Ornellas listing road bikes that are less than $2000 in price.
Alternatively, you can tap into the local used market. Here is an example from Facebook, a $1200 2015 Specialized Allez Comp. Kijiji is another popular site for locally used road bikes. I personally stay away from eBay, but you may find that more convenient.
I think both Aluminum or Carbon frames have their merits, and I would stay with at least a Shimano 105 group set or higher. The group set is the collection of components on the bike that relates to its transmission system, which is everything from brakes, chain rings, gear shifting, head sets, etc. Here is a quick guide to the different hierarchy of the Shimano road group set from Road.cc.
Pedals and shoes
Shimano Ultegra Pedal
For road cycling all of us use clipless pedals. There are two main types, the road racing (on left) and mountain biking style pedals. I personally use a pair of Shimano Ultegra Pedals. Pedal selection can be an exercise in finding religion. Instead of me going into details here, I will refer to this wonderful article from the New York City Bike Shop.
The only thing I would stress is that going clipless is a must if you want to keep up with a group. Your choice of the clipless system is really up to you.
Get kitted up
Cycling requires proper attire, primarily for safety, comfort and temperature control. Of course different weather will require different kits (the type of clothing you wear). Things to consider are:
Helmets
Cycling Gloves
Cycling Jersey
Cycling Bibs
Socks
If you decide to ride in the cold, then different linings, jackets, and long tights will also have to be considered.
When considering helmets, you want one that is locally certified for safety. Everyone rides with a helmet now and you will get yelled at on the road if you do not ride with a helmet. Other considerations when selecting helmet is fit, ventilation, visibility, weight, and the style you like. When it comes to bike attire MEC is a good reference for goods and information. Here is short article on helmets.
Personally I am definitely on the practical (or cheap) side when it comes to attire. I prefer fit and function over style and looks. If something works and is cheap then I am all in. I do not really care about brands and colours. I am not keen on any bling bling effects. Having said that, if you do ride in the dark it may be good to invest in some glow and bright clothing, so that you are more visible on the road. I like the sun and try to do all of my riding when it is light and dry.
Accessories
These are the things to have on your bike or on you when you go out for a ride. They fall into two general categories, items that keep your body fuelled and comfortable, and items that look after your bike in case of mechanical issues or road side mishaps and emergencies.
For myself, I usually bring some snacks along for the ride just in case I get into a hunger spell. For rides longer than 1.5 hours, I start bringing high carb content food such as a peanut butter and jam sandwich (cut into bite size units) or a banana. I also love these Endurance TAP maple syrup gels. I usually have one or two in my back pockets.
Aside from energy food, you will also need lots of water to remain hydrated. This means water bottles and bottle cages that fit on your bike to carry them. Everyone is different. You will have to experience how much water you will need. I typically carry a single bottle for rides between 1 to 1.5 hours, and 2 bottles for longer rides. For rides longer than 2.5 hours, I will need to seek an on route water source (eg. a convenience store) to refill the bottles. The amount of water you bring is also weather dependent. You will find that more water is required on more hot and humid days.
A Typical Multitool for Cycling
For the bike, a multitool to tighten, loosen, or fix odds and ends; one or preferably two spare inner tubes – when (and not if) you get a flat. For quick fills in seconds, a CO2 canister system is the way to go. However, you get infinite air if you use a hand mini pump. Make sure you buy one that can sustain high pressure (90+ psi). A patch kit is great when you run out of spare tubes. I have been on rides when I got more than 3 flats!
Last but not least is a fully charged cell phone so that you can call for help as a last resort or communicate with your riding buddies in case you get separated.
Garmin Edge 500
There are other items that people buy to measure their performance and accomplishments. Things like a cycling computer with GPS, a speedometer, and a power meter. I will not go into details here. I personally own a Garmin Edge 500 and it has served me well. All this hard work must be recognized somehow! It also helps to pace a ride.
Your local bike store, or Mountain Equipment Co-op is a good start to procure these accessories.
Join a group
Road cycling is exhilarating, exciting, and will certainly make you more healthy. It gives you more energy when you are not riding, and increase your sense of accomplishment. However, cycling on the road can also be dangerous. In the end, you cannot control who is sharing the road with you and their level of maturity and competence. It is always safer to ride with a group so that you have a bigger presence on the road and you look after each other. So once you are all geared up, join a local club or find some riding buddies in your neighbourhood.
Improve your riding skills by being attentive, tune your riding skill by learning from each other. Before you know it your group quickly turns into a coherent team. You will pleasantly discover a priceless sense of fulfillment and enjoyment once you are a part of an integral group. You will get there before you know it!
In January of this year, I decided to purchase a Titanium bike and decided on the No. 22 Great Divide. I went from Aluminum to Carbon and thought I should give Titanium a try. The solid space age material has a long lasting appeal and the metal finish is super cool.
Yesterday it was finally ready, and we went to La Bicicletta to pick up my brand new road bike. Henry and Davide were excellent help from the store and together we customized the bike with:
SRAM Red eTap Shifters
SRAM Red front and rear brakes
SRAM Red DZero Power Meter
SRAM Red 50/34 crank set with 172.5 crank length
SRAM Red 11-28 cassette
3T cockpit with ARX II Team Stem
3T Ionic Seat Post with Prologo Saddle and TiroX rails
Reynolds Assault Wheelset
Continental Grand Prix 4000 S II 25mm tires
Chris King ThreadFit T47 bottom bracket and headset
Stock carbon forks from No. 22
Here she is:
My No.22 Great Divide with SRAM Red eTap
It was effortless to pair my old Garmin Edge 500 to the DZero power meter. I did have to 3D print an extra Garmin holder. I pulled the file from Thingiverse . It fit like a charm. Took it out for a test ride to make sure that all the gears are working and nothing is loose.
This morning, did a 49km ride with friends:
This is my first time riding with a compact gear ratio. There were many thing that I had to get use to, first the new eTap shifting; I came from Shimano Di2 shifting. The 50/34 ratio allowed me to stay on the big ring for the majority of the ride, but I had to get use to when to switch between the big and small rings up front. The new bike is about 0.5 lb heavier than my old Cervelo R5, but I did not notice the weight gain on the road this morning. When I made the decision to buy a Titanium bike I had some reservations. The biggest one was will it be more bumpy on pot-hole filled roads? The answer is not at all! I was very surprised how smooth the bike was on both bumpy and smooth roads. The power transfer was excellent when I stood up to power through some of the short hills this morning. My knees thanked me for the switch to compact gear ratios.
I am really grateful for the attention to detail and the service that I have received from Henry and Davide at La Bicicletta. Davide did a superb job in the bike fitting process, and the bike felt really natural this morning. I think the new dimensions work so well, that I’ll be copying them to my old R5. I would recommend any one to go there if they are seeking to purchase a bicycle for any purpose. They were super professional and friendly, and they delivered an excellent bike with a quality purchasing experience. Even if you have issues with bike fitting, they can help you out with that.
All in all I am super happy with my new mistress, and I’ll be riding her a lot this summer.
