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Vittoria Corsa G+ Review

Vittoria has a reputation for producing some of the best tires on the market.  Their Corsa, with its corespun cotton casing and super gummy rubber is a favorite race day tire.  It's too fragile for training, though.  The sticky tread can wear in a matter of a thousand miles, meaning you may have to replace your tires 4 or 5 times per season!

That can get expensive, so Vittoria made a few changes.  The revised tread compound and added durability led to the creation of the G+ series of tires.  Click through the jump to read my Vittoria Corsa G+ review and find out if this is the perfect training tire for you.

Vittoria Corsa G+ Review

As with all of my reviews, I've run these tires through the ringer.  I've got around 1800 miles of smooth tarmac, dirt roads, busted up asphalt and post winter salt under them.  I'll include my opinions on Vittoria's technology, tire mounting, actual size, performance and durability below.

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What Makes a Hill a Climb?

A lot of discussion in cycling revolves around the awesome climbs that separate race winners from also-rans.  Amateur cycling is no different with Sunday group rides and Tuesday Night Worlds all being known for the discussion of the “brutal climbs” on the routes.  But everyone seems to have a different definition of what constitutes a “brutal climb” these days.  So what makes your local hill an actual “climb?”

Read along and see if your regular leg buster is indeed a legitimate climb or if that monster is, by definition, just a bump in the road.

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Review: Bont Vaypor Shoes

There's an old saying that “shoes make the man” and the Bont Vaypor shoes are no exception.  The speed skating shoe turned cycling shoe company based in Australia may not have the history that some other companies do, but they've found their way onto the feed of numerous professionals, including Bradley Wiggins, Johan Van Summern and the recently retired Thor Hushovd.  But just because the pros use them does that mean they are good for everyone else out there?

I've put a season and a half on these shoes, using them for everything from training to racing to gravel grinding, and my impressions are after the jump:

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Wrenching: Sizing a New Chain

We can all appreciate a slick shifting drivetrain, and we all hate it when our drivetrain turns on us.  One of the easiest ways to prevent this from happening is to ensure your chain is sized correctly.  When too long, it can cause premature derailleur wear, shift poorly and bounce around with the potential of derailing.  When too short, it can jam the drivetrain or cause the derailleur to actually snap. But you don't have to worry about this unless you have to put on a new chain, right?

Not necessarily.  Quite often, this issue starts at the LBS: many chains are not properly sized from the factory and some shops don't necessarily check this on every bike.  If you should try to “match the length” of the current chain when putting on a new one, this can often result in a chain that is too long or too short, depending on the condition (and length) of the previous one.  But how do you become a pro at sizing your chain to the correct length?  It's as simple as doing the one thing you never should:  crosschaining.

You can read more about it after the jump:

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Zipp Tangente Tubular Tire Review

Tubular tires seem to be going out of style these days, but there is still a very loyal following of people who love the supple feel and unmatched ride quality of a tubular tire.  As I noted back in my Vittoria Rubino Pro III review, there's a huge spectrum of tires, from the “lightweight and supple for racing on smooth roads, durable, high volume and puncture resistent for riding gravel grinders, or somewhere in between for everyday training tires.”  In the case of Zipp's Tangente Tubulars, we're talking not about a high durability training tire, but a lighter weight racing tubular.  And after a season of riding (and racing) Tangentes, here are my thoughts on these “aerodynamic wonders.”

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