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Quarq Cinqo Installation

Quarq Cinqo unpacked

With the release of the 2012 Sram Red Quarq, prices for the previous Quarq Cinqo Saturn have been dropping precipitously.  That being the case, now is the perfect time to grab them before they disappear from the market and used becomes your only option.

Since mid-season rest weeks are always prime tinkering time for me, what better time to change things up and swap out my Powertap in favor of one of the aforementioned Cinqo Saturns?  After scoring a brandy new 130mm bcd Cinqo and having it arrive safely at my door (thank you UPS for not throwing it from 15 feet away) it was time to get my hands dirty and swap cranksets.

 

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Dura Ace 9000 Electronic: Dura Ace 9070

After the much hyped Dura Ace 9000 has been floating around for a while, details were released today about the new Di2 group which will be numbered 9070.  Expect significant changes in the styling and functionality of the group; the most significant highlights are discussed here.

DA 9000 crank

You've already seen the crankset several times in the past.  But now we get more information on it: Shimano is offering the crank in a single BCD.  That's right, gone is the standard and compact options, replaced by a single 110mm, 4 bolt BCD.  The hollow chainrings will be available in a multitude of sizes from compact to cyclocross, standard and TT configurations.  Supposedly, the chainring design allows any chainring produced to be stiff enough to work with the compact BCD.  Be wary though, those chainrings won't be cheap, so choose your gearing very wisely or be prepared to lay out a large sum in order to change it out.

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Keeping Cool in the Heat

With spring here in full force and summer right around the corner, most cyclists are switching gears from cold weather preparation to warm weather preparation.  While warm weather certainly has its own challenges, one of the biggest (aside from remaining well hydrated) is keeping cool to prevent heat-related illness.  Keeping cool can often mean the difference between ground breaking success and crushing failure on rides, races and gran fondos.

If you're finding yourself wilting in the sun, check out my top tips for keeping cool in the heat after the break:

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Vittoria Rubino Pro Tire Review

When looking for tires, most people have a set of requirements based upon their riding conditions: lightweight and supple for racing on smooth roads, durable, high volume and puncture resistant for riding gravel grinders, or somewhere in between for everyday training tires.  In most cases, training tires are durable, all condition clinchers that won't leave you stranded by a puncture from a road cinder the size of a pin head.  Vittoria's [easyazon_link identifier=”B000HDNCHI” locale=”US” nw=”y” nf=”n” tag=”taicoaandthed-20″]Rubino Pro[/easyazon_link] fits all these requirements, which is why I've put about 5000 miles on a pair of them.  Here are the results of a season's riding:

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Facepalm Files: The Defiled Dean

StarTrekFacePalmI'm all for self expression, and I'm all for people riding their bikes.  If people need some kind of eccentric bike to motivate them to get out and pedal, then good for them.

Sometimes though, the power of the internet drops something into our lap that defies convention and circumvents all common sense.

The “FacePalm Files” chronicles these tales.

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