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Bike Therapy

Recently work and life has taken me on a move from the Hudson Valley to northern New Jersey.  Throughout the month long frenzy of real estate agents, closings, packing, driving, more packing and moving, there was little of substance to lean on.  Little, except for the one singular constant that has defined my free time and my life for the past half dozen years.  Even with the weather being damp and unforgiving, a ride on the trainer was like an hour long escape from reality.  Somehow, the simplicity of losing oneself within a bike ride is the perfect escape from reality.

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Reviewed: Craft ProZero Gore Base Layer

Craft WS BaselayerAsk any cyclist which element will cause them undue stress on a ride and many will answer "wind."  Not only does it sap the power from your legs, drain your willpower and slow you down, it definitely can put the hurt on your body temperature.  No matter how many layers you're wearing, without some sort of wind protection you're going to get cold.  Enter the Craft ProZero windproof base layer, but does it really work as well as advertised?  A couple months of riding in it has led me to say yep.

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Dura Ace 9000 Spy Photos

Hot on the heels of some released Dura Ace 9000 information, photos have been appearing on the web of a one Alex Dowsett's Pinarello Dogma 2 kitted out in prototype Dura Ace 9000 mechanical parts.  Apparently Nieuwsblad was the perfect testing ground for such new parts, as they were also spied on Carlos Barredo's spare Giant on the team car.  Interestingly, they were the only two bikes to be seen with the new 11 speed variant, which is surprising given the supposed Fall 2012 release date and the number of pros riding Shimano transmissions for the early classics.  The spy shots show levers, brakes and rear cluster/derailleur, all relatively unmarked/branded/finished, which is typical for prototype parts, so speculation remains as to the finish and aesthetics.  Anyway, enough posturing, let's get a look at the photos.

Looking at the shifters, they certainly look to be mimicking the current Campy line and (new) SRAM Red shifters:

Dura Ace 9000 shifter

Two more photos after the break.

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Breathing Techniques – Part 2

If you missed part 1 of this article, which details some simplified physiology of breathing and exercise, I suggest you take a few minutes to get familiar with it now, as it will help you put into practice what will be discussed below.  Ready?  Cool, let's rock.

BREATHING TECHNIQUE

Now that we understand the fundamental differences between deep belly (diaphragmatic) breathing and chest (thoracic) breathing, we can begin to work technique into the mix.

First off, we need to consider that our work load is largely going to determine our breathing and pick our battles appropriately.  If we're in an all out anaerobic sprint, there's little you can do to relax and breathe properly.  If you're slogging up a long climb, you may be able to eke out a few extra watts or keep your heart rate a few BPM lower with good technique.  The same could hold true for taking pulls on the front of a paceline during a fast group ride; proper breathing will keep you out of the red and pulling longer.

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Dura Ace 9000 Rumors

So some recent leaks have developed regarding the upcoming Dura Ace 9000 group, slated for release later this year.  As we know already, Shimano is following Campagnolo down the 11 speed road, but other than that, details have been surprisingly hard to come by.  Right now, this is what seems to be out there, along with my thoughts on each point.

First off, here's the simple “Ok, that's nice” kind of stuff:

– There will be electronic (Di2) and mechanical versions.

– The hoods on the mechanical STI levers are smaller, with a more ergonomic fit and feel.

– The brakes are all new. There are two mounting options: standard center bolt and two-bolt aero/TT style.

– Shimano did not add any more carbon: Like DA7900, only the brake-lever blades and rear-derailleur pulley cage are carbon.

Now for the meat of what Shimano is doing:

– DA9000 Di2 gets shift levers, “similar” to Ultegra Di2, as well as the narrow-diameter Di2 wiring harness unveiled on the new Ultegra Di2.

This is a good thing.  As it stands, Di2 7900 has a specific wiring harness that's incompatible with Ultegra.  By standardizing the wiring harness some compatibility is restored to the two lines.

– The cranks use a four-arm spider (like Shimano mountain cranks; current road cranks use a five-arm spider) and a new, lighter, bottom-bracket system. Shimano is sticking with their 24mm axle standard; there is no BB30 or BB386EVO option.

Christ almighty, here we go again.  Another chainring standard to try and force more chainring sales.  Now we're going to 4 arm cranks along with a new BB system?  Another BB standard?  I see this as a pretty bad move, Shimano.

– The mechanical version will use a proprietary shift cable.

Oh brother.  So we can't spend $4 on a standard shifter cable, but we'll have to buy (probably horribly marked up) Shimano cables now?  Yet again, bad move Shimano.

– Front-derailleur shifting effort is reduced by 38% (claimed).

Reduced front shifting effort is nice, but how light does it need to be?  Most people aren't needing to go to the gym in order to shift to their big chainring.

– The mechanical group’s weight is claimed at 1,908 grams, a 67-gram reduction from Dura-Ace 7900.

That's not much of a weight decrease.  Seems like Campy and SRAM are ahead in this category.

– The cassette and freehub body are wider: 10-speed cassettes will work on 11-speed wheels (with a spacer), but not vice versa. Rear hub spacing remains 130mm.

Get ready to buy new wheels everyone.  According to this, there will be different length freehubs from 10 and 11 speed, which we can assume may require different hub flange spacing.  However at this time, this is somewhat muddy and I'll need more information on compatibility to make further comment.

 

Overall, it sounds like Shimano is simply trying to introduce yet another standard, requiring people to buy yet more parts.  No just buying shifters, cassette and chain in this case…you'll be springing for a rear wheel as well and proprietary cables (which you'd better have a few of them in your toolbox in case you need one on a Sunday afternoon.)  Honestly, I'm more exited by the new SRAM Red release, and it will be interesting to see what Campy does with this.

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