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London Baby Racing Club (LBRC.ORG) > London Baby Racing Club Blog
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23/01/2010
After the snow stopped last week in London, I thought it was about time I deleted the kilograms of dirt that had accumulated on my bike. I was happily covered in soap suds, admiring how all the shiny bits had survived the winter grime when this sight [picture above] made me swear. You are looking at a Specialized Armadillo that is suddenly past being useful – some kind of tarmac monster has bitten it clean through! In winter, I ride two pairs of Armadillos (a 23mm carcass with wire beads removed, stuffed inside of a 25mm pair). In the picture, the slash has cut and delaminated the outer rubber of the first Armadillo, exposing the first carcass underneath. The second Armadillo still lurks beneath, unseen in the picture, and un-damaged. At no time did the tyre deflate – I think I’ve ridden over 100miles with it looking just like this. In the city traffic, and snow and ice and sleet, I just didn’t notice this disaster at all. R. 16/01/2010Another 15,000kms, another new pair of pedals. Either the bearings wear out (and are non-replaceable), or the carbon-fibre wears away and won't hold onto the cleats properly.
I've looked and looked and looked at the current batch of new pedals and can't quite make my mind up. Even though I don't really like the latest Keo 2 Max Carbon pedal, I think I'll get a pair anyway. They're cheap enough, they have no weight limit (which means they're strong), and they aren't for life anyway – just a year or so until they wear out.
I've concluded the choice just isn't that important. The rain and grit of winter will pass, racing season will begin, and a new pedals will be needed.
R.
Old Look Keo Carbon Ti:
Pedal | Weight (2 x pedal+cleats) | Cost | Pros | Cons | Look Keo Carbon Ti | 220g | Around £175 | Light, stable, rust-proof, uses popular Keo cleats | No longer manufactured, wear out after 15,000kms |
So, out with the odl pedals, and in with what exactly? Pedal developments have been arriving thick and fast over the past few months. Look made a big noise about not only the new Keo Max pedals, but also the Keo Blade.
Keo 2 Max Carbon:
I'm tempted by these, but somehow they seem to be downgrade over what I already have. When I buy new parts, I like to upgrade if I can afford it. The 'Max' Keo's have a metal plate on the main cleat contact area, which in theory will protect the underlying carbon platform, however I've never once worn out the carbon in this spot – the bit of the pedal I always wear out is the clamping bit at the back – the top lip just gets ground away after thousands of cleat insertions.
Pedal | Weight (2 x pedal+cleats) | Cost | Pros | Cons | Look Keo 2 Max Carbon | 264g | Around £110 | Light'ish, cheap, more stable Max platform, Max platform protects carbon base, uses popular Keo cleats | Cr-Mo axle, presumably still wear out after 15,000kms |
Keo Blade:
Next on the shopping list should be the new top-of-line Keo Blade – these have no steel spring, instead they use a newly designed carbon 'blade' to provide tension that holds the cleat in place. Here's a few pictures of them, I can't quite work out wether these look great or horrible.
 
Pedal | Weight (2 x pedal+cleats) | Cost | Pros | Cons | Look Keo Blade | 258g | Around £220 | Light'ish, expensive, clip-in evidently feels better | Not in stores yet, presumably still wear out after 15,000kms |
Exustar E-PR200CKTi:
Exustar cleat hardware is really nice, 4mm Ti allen screws (instead of Look's standard 3mm alloy screws), and they some crazy carbon-fibre Keo cleats for sale too – if they make screws this nice, what are their pedals like? They are fully-compatible with Look Keo cleats. Reasonably prices for full carbon-Ti pedals, and a different look.
 
Pedal | Weight (2 x pedal+cleats) | Cost | Pros | Cons | Exustar E-PR200CKTi | 220g | Around £150 | ? | Not yet in stores, presumably still wear out after 15,000kms |
Exustar E-PR100KKTi:
Pedal | Weight (2 x pedal+cleats) | Cost | Pros | Cons | Exustar E-PR100KKTi | 234g | Around £180 | Nice carbon weave | Comes with rider weight limits – maybe they are weak, presumably still wear out after 15,000kms |
08/01/2010Every year - about this time – I embark on a comprehensive analysis of cycling gloves, in the usually what proves futile hope that someone out there in glove land makes something that will once and for all keep my frostbite-prone fingertips warm in the sub-zero cycling season.
Every year this takes quite some time to analyse, and it then costs me real money to purchase my chosen gloves, and then it never ever fails to disappoint me the first time I ride with my shiny new nowhere-near-as-warm-as-they-said-they-would-be gloves. Over the years I have built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of cycling gloves, and an under stairs cupboard-full of useless gloves. In short, I have become an expert in cycling gloves that do not keep your fingers warm. It doesn't seem to matter how much you spend, whether they are Japanese, American or Italian, whether they are windproof or waterproof, not even the colour affects the performance – nothing ever worked for me.
Until this year.
This year, I tried something completely different. I stopped my search for perfect cycling gloves, and started to explore what gloves people wear in sports that have a similarly hostile amount of freezing air to winter cycling. I found a rich body of knowledge from the sport of ice climbing (references: http://www.psychovertical.com/?truegloves , http://www.alpineascents.com/pdf/suggested-gear.pdf, http://www.adventureconsultants.com/content/library/NZ_ICC_Equipment_Notes.pdf , and so on).
The way I see it, the received wisdom is that no single pair of gloves will work at sub-zero, you'll need three pairs – each of which should have the following characteristics:
Liner gloves. These are your base-layer, preferably made from polypropylene (but not silk and not wool – neither of those materials ever worked well for me – it has to be polypropylene) so that they do not hold water. Useless on their own, except for the mildest of weather conditions, but crucial nevertheless. These liners should make your hands feel warm even if you are trying them on the shop for a minute. Many many liners I tried on made my hands feel colder not warmer, for reasons I don't understand. They should be really thin, almost like underwear thin, and they must fit quite literally like a glove. These liners are available everywhere, even in football shops.
Fleece gloves. This is layer that keeps you warm, these preferably should be made from something called Polartec PowerStretch (apparently this is the best finger-hugging 4-way stretch fabric). You could ride with these gloves (plus the liners) in low temperatures, but they aren't warm enough for sub-zero temperatures. These gloves should also make your hands feel warm even if you are just trying them on the shop for a minute. These gloves will be thicker – like the synthetic fleece in a fleece). Time to quote some text, from someone who really knows this stuff (Andy Kirkpatrick at http://www.psychovertical.com ):
Of all the liners on the market by far the best are Powerstretch models (TNF, Mountain Hardwear, Extremities etc), both as stand-alone gloves and as liners (most fitted liners in expensive gloves are poor). We all (or we should) know how amazing Powerstretch is and on the hands it provides the perfect next-to-skin layer, keeping your hands warm when wet, wicking moisture and drying faster than a French Alpinist up a North Face
I found these Mountain Designs Powerstretch gloves on the shelf in my local ice climbing store.
Lobster Gloves. These are the gloves that keep the wind, rain, snow, sleet and ice away from your other two pairs of gloves. The lobster-configuration is a nice-to-have-feature that lets pairs of fingers keep each other warm, ahhh. You might need these one size larger than usual to accommodate the other two pairs of gloves you'll be wearing with them. It turns out that lobster gloves aren't so easy to purchase, but after much money and import duty, I managed to buy these Pearl Izumi Barrier Lobster gloves:
And that's it, job done. I have now purchased precisely these three pairs of gloves, and ridden them all week in sub-zero rides of up to 2 and half hours (in the snow and on the ice). I am very pleased to report that this system works, it really does. Those people who climb at altitude on the ice seem to have really thought this through.
Finally, my fingers are happy.
R.
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Ps. You don't have to pick and choose your own individual glove system if don't want to, because Assos make a box set of gloves that conform to the guidelines above, and some cyclists (but not all) report the Assos system really works well too.
- 30/08/2009
Thanks for LondonCycleSport for the picture
Last race of the year for me. The week before ended with me lapped by the bunch as the final lap bell rang out, not a good result, I figured I was probably still recovering from my Italian days out. During the week leading up to this race, I concentrated solely on recovery – trying to sleep, trying to rest, trying to eat and drink just right.
Another good turnout for the race, over seventy riders I think. I was determined to make a good showing. I've learnt the hard way that the tight twisty Palace circuit requires a good starting position (much like the Monaco F1 circuit), as the gun went I bullied my way into the top five, hoping I could somehow hold onto the position.
The benefit of a front position in the bunch soon becomes clear – I was able to race pretty much without braking. So many races I've been nearer the back, when the 'caterpillar effect' means I was forced to brake all the time, and then forced to sprint like crazy to re-catch the bunch. This doesn't happen near the front, and I almost started to enjoy the smooth way my heart rate rose to its red line and just stayed there.
In the middle of the race, a fellow Dulwich Paragon rider made a break off the front. For lap or two I tried my best to hold the bunch back while he made a decent gap. But he wasn't really getting away, so I made a break for it myself (the first time in 5 years I've been strong enough to do this). I was soon able to join him, and shouted that we would work together. This turned out to be tad optimistic on my part – after another lap or two off the front, I was seriously tired, and couldn't contribute to our break. Some forced relaxation allowed the bunch to catch us, although I did have the legs to re-gain my top 5 position.
By now more than half the race (total: 25 laps) had passed, and was beginning to feel confident of a strong finish. So confident that I wanted to see who was behind me. I faked some exhaustion on the hill climb, and let 10 riders go past me, before tucking back into the bunch. Those 10 riders seemed like a fresh freight train of legs to me, and that wasn't good. Down the next straight I returned to 'my' top 5 spot and concentrated on concentrating.
The bell went for the final lap with me still easily in top ten. The freight train behind me decided to let rip, and I strived but struggled to hold on to any of them. By the time the finish line appeared for the final time, we were all out-of-the-saddle sprinting. I managed about 15th (unconfirmed), some 5 meters behind the winner. Not bad for an old bloke on a cheap bike (my killer carbon wheels were left hanging in the garage today – due to a ceramic bearing failure some weeks ago).
It's been a hard season. I finished in the final bunch at Palace in most races, usually in the top 20 – but frustratingly just outside the points-paying top 10 positions. I missed at least three races due to bad weather, another three due to overriding commitments, and one because I just couldn't face racing (that race was the first I've ever missed by choice – I've raced every other race I was able to race over the past five years).
So now it's off season. My Italian-tanned shaved legs will go back into hiding for winter, and my training plan for the next six months needs re-creating. I'm not racing this winter, so my training plan needs careful attention if I'm to re-appear in even better form at Palace next year...
R. 22/08/2009 | Item | Value | | Distance | 164km | | Ascent | 2,937m | | Time (including lunch) | 9.5hrs | | Temperature | 33 degrees C | I carefully studied the map to find the tallest mountain anywhere near Terni, it’s name is Terminillo. It’s what I’d call a proper mountain (unlike Crystal Palace hill, or even Denmark Hill), rising to 2,216m and having previously hosted stages of the Giro d’Italia in 1936-39, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2004 and 2007. Near the top in summer, it looks like this… 
My computer data from the day’s ride looks like this…(click for big) 
This is without a doubt a new personal best climbing day, almost 3,000m! Getting up Terminillo required more than 30kms of serious uphill grind. If I’d have realized, I think I would have fitted proper mountain climb gearing. As it was, I only had my flat London racing gears (smallest: 39x23, biggest 53x12). Many times during the day, as the pain from the oxygen-starved lungs and salt-encrusted eyes started to get to me, I wished for a triple-chainring and a 26x32 gear ratio. Still, you know what they say: no pain, no brain. The roads climbing up the mountain were filthy, and as I rounded some of the final bends I finally worked out why: 
I shudder to think of the resulting carnage if I’d hit one of these coming down the mountain. More pics and stages shortly… Some more numbers… Duration: 9:27:25
Work: 3772 kJ
TSS: 327.7 (intensity factor 0.589)
Norm Power: 177
VI: 1.59
Pw:HR: 16.71%
Pa:HR: -35.29%
Distance: 164.008 km
Elevation Gain: 2937 m
Elevation Loss: 2927 m
Grade: 0.0 % (10 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 674 111 watts
Heart Rate: 89 165 130 bpm
Cadence: 30 199 65 rpm
Speed: 0 73.4 17.3 kph
Pace 0:49 0:00 3:28 min/km
Altitude: 3 1680 543 m
Crank Torque: 0 112.1 17.0 N-m 17/08/2009Item | Value | Distance | 160km | Ascent | 1,810m | Time (including lunch) | 7.5 hours | Temperature | 33 degrees C |
I've taken a break from racing in recent months, mostly due to clashes with other commitments. In preparation for tackling the last remaining races of the crit season, I took my bike to Italy for my own personal four-day Tour of Umbria. As the only entrant, I was guaranteed first place.
Mountains. Umbria is full of medievally-walled-in-villagers, scenic routes and 2,000m+ mountains- which serve to make it an ideal training ground. Today was the first time I think I've ridden for more than a continuous hour uphill. This makes me think my usual London commuting ritual of climbing up the 50m Crystal Palace hill in the mornings is somewhat laughable. I've never climbed more than 1,000m in a day, so today's 1,800m was something of new personal record.
Tanning. Euro-style Road Cycling Rule 5 states: "A prominent line where one's kit ends and where one's deep tan begins is essential to one's image. Artificial tanning is BANNED. The tan shall reflect the level of training commitment". I have always struggled with this rule. There's something about one-hour rides in the English 'summer' that always made a deep tan impossible. Today, I was very pleased to finally achieve compliance with this rule in a single day of 7.5 hours riding in 33 degree sunshine. I've even have tan-lines where my socks used to be!
Water. My Italian host had informed that most hill villages have a public water well of potable drinking water, often with a constantly running tap. Up in the mountains, it was so quiet, I could actually hear the running water as I rode past the village. I was drinking a water bottle every 30 minutes, and even then I'm not sure it was enough. In the village wells I soaked my gloves to keep my hands cool, only to find they dried out on the bike in about 10 minutes.
Shorts. The one thing I've ever said about shorts turns out to be just as true as I thought it was – every 30 pounds you spend on cycling shorts will keep you comfortable for 30 mins. After 7.5 hours riding I think my rear was more saddle-shaped that my saddle. Not chaffed, just bone-achingly bruised and sore.
Air. Touring with latex tubes (and their inherent ability to leak air all day) may not have been that smart. Luckily, a very kind chap in Norcia who runs a car tyre fitting centre allowed me to re-fill my tyres to 7 bar. That little Presta-to-MTB valve adapter I carry around finally came in useful.
Saddle. The other not-so-smart thing I took with me was a 140g carbon fibre racing saddle. This saddle is great for a couple of hours riding, and horribly painful for 7.5 hours riding. I should have fitted a super-comfy heavyweight gel saddle for touring.
GPS. After getting lost on a Switzerland-France ride a few weeks ago, I invested in a Garmin Edge 705 for this trip. One of the best things I ever bought. Every morning I'd consult my Italian road map, pick out a route, write the village names on a small card, and simply set GPS to take me to each village in turn.
Stage 1 in Google Earth
Me in Norcia (half-way through the day)
R. 03/07/2009Under the FaceBook list of Religious Organisations, you'll find a site that lists all "The Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist". [SPOILER ALERT}
Those of you like me (if there is one) will understand my anguish at being informed of so many rules all at once. In my previous experience, I've struggled to learn more than one rule per year; to be overwhelmed with more than 60 rules all at once is more than I can bear. It has caused to re-think much of what I do, although perhaps obviously not such much that I've actually trained on my turbo trainer or in the gym in a way that may eventually convey racing success. The rules, the rules, they... well... rule everything.
Let's take the rule in focus tonight: Rule#41 (reproduced in full below).
41. Naked black ALL CARBON water bottle cages (manufactured by ELITE CAGES) shall be used on ALL BIKES. Exceptions include:
i) Special edition 24k gold cages, acceptable in certain cases such as photo shoots, prologues or where colour coordination dictates (e.g. gold cage with Olympic gold/white team kit).
Rule#41 is a comforting rule, I'd already independently worked out this rule (almost). I knew that that all bottle cages must be made by Elite, but I didn't know the other part of the rule (about the naked carbon, or the expensive part (i).
Luckily, I'd been saving some cash for just such an eventuality, an unforeseen transgression, an oversight, something obviously wrong that other Euro cyclists would lampoon me for. It gives me great pleasure to announce, that as of today, I am fully compliant with Rule#41 Out with told Elite Inox cage c.1994, and on with a brand-new Naked black ALL CARBON water bottle cage manufactured by ELITE.
WRONG | RIGHT | 
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I think it's much too much work for a single lifetime to obey all 63 rules, but one does what one can.
R.
20/06/2009I chose the LBRC (London Baby Racing Club) moniker on a whim many years ago. I was thinking (but not doing anything) about a new range of baby clothing based around pit crew shirts with customised badges and race numbers- and the certificated membership of the London Baby Racing Club.
Still an OK idea I think, but pointless unless I actually do something about it. I had consigned this idea to the giant wheely-bin of ideas I've had over the years (like the creating the first online shop before Amazon etc).
Imagine my surprise this past month, when I see a news article about an actual baby race! Ladies and gentlemens, this story has results, pictures stars and a little controversy.
Who would have thought.
[full story]
http://gizmodo.com/5273899/lithuanian-baby-racing-champion-mired-in-performance+enhancing-laptop-scandal
R.
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