carleton

Hahahahaha!

I actually remember this race. We were in a match sprint and this is on the home straight on the last lap. I was coming around him with enough momentum to float on to the win. My cheeks a puffed because I was exhaling as I was relaxing and just letting my legs float over the pedals.

My RPMs were around 155 at this point because I was running a 45/15 instead of the 13t that I thought was on my wheel at the time...because I'm an idiot.

queerpunk

That is a tiny gear.

carleton

That's what she said...


Yeah, I lost the next round. I was touching 160rpm and couldn't understand why the guy was pulling away from me. When I took my bike apart later that night, I saw my mistake.

I think I had a 15t on my disc because my rear training wheel was flat and I used the disc in warmup.

carleton

Sugino 75 cranks now with an external BB option:

Dolan Bikes - Sugino SG75DD



They did it before Shimano.

gtrob

external BB ftw!

Update on the power2max, got some varied training last night with it. I noticed it 100% did not record power or cadence when I was soft pedaling around the infield. Maybe I was under whatever the minimum limit was (30rpm?), which was very likely. Looking at the data, it basically doesn't record anything under 80w or so, which probably doesn't happen much anyway, but it does bring the average power slightly lower than it likely is. Perhaps its by design, perhaps its a problem, perhaps its a problem with the track version.

Other than that its accurate for what matters. It was a hard workout and right on par with my road data. On our tight 138m track its interesting to see the power go way down in the corners even though the speed doesn't change, you sort of whip around.

Quinn8it

Take a look at your "Data Rec" on your Garmin500. It's under "Bike settings".
Make sure that you have Cadence and Power both set to "Zero Average", and confirm you are set to "every second" in Data Recording.

I had some wanky readings and a call to Stages revealed that this was my problem. Turned out that a recent firmware update had reset the unit and the new default on cadence and power was to not Average Zeros, And data is collected with "smart recording"

I had set this all up correctly originally- but the firmware upgrade reset to default

gtrob

Wouldn't be surprised, as every issue I have ever had with power meters has always been the 500 (not knocking the unit, Ive had it for years now). Ill play with it this weekend some more and see

carleton

So, I just ran across these 3.5 inch Kurt Kinetic Z-Rollers that fold into 3 pieces.



https://kurtkinetic.com/products/kinetic-z-rollers/

I still prefer 4.5 inch barrels, but if you like 3.5 inches, these are available. I like the fact that it folds into 3 pieces.

carleton

So I had a credit at my local bike shop and I used it to get a second set of Giro Empire shoes. My previous pair I bought in 2013 and only used them on race days.

The new Empire are slightly different...and better.

The sole seems to be slightly redesigned and the laces are shorter. They seem to fit better. I know this is anecdotal, but on my feet they feel like I assume custom shoes would (I've never had custom shoes).

The footbed seems to be OK. It has 3 different inserts to suit your arch. I'll likely just continue use my Sidas footbeds that came with my Fizik R1 that are currently in my 1st set of Giro Empires.

The sole also has replaceable rubber bits.

At first glance, they don't seem to have all of the cool color/pattern offerings they had a couple of years ago. But, maybe they will come as limited edition offerings or something.

So, if you have some older Empires, the new ones are even better.



Empire? ACC Lace-up High-Performance Cycling Shoes

They also offer an SLX version which seems to be lighter...and more expensive. I don't have this one.
https://www.giro.com/us_en/products/m...slx-23035.html

Hida Yanra

I have a set of these, traded my Kreitlers for them (don't ask), but I'm happily surprised with how good they are - quite nice.

nspace

I've been using these for about 3 months now and probably have about 20 hours on them. They are great, spin really smooth and are pretty easy to tote around to and from the track. The rollers do have a bit of mass to them. No complaints!

carleton

For those looking for longer stems, Specialized stems come in 140mm with angles as aggressive as -17 degrees.

Also, they use a shim system where you can tweak the angle set in the stem. It's really cool and very solid. I used this stem system on my Tarmac a while back as well as on my track bike at one time (I'd forgotten about this!).

The following ONLY works with Specialized Stems that are made for this system. This will not work with normal stems!

Here's how it works. Let's say you buy a 120mm +/- 17 degree stem. Your only options are to run it +17 degrees (pointing up) or -17 degrees (pointing down). That's it.

The way the Specialized Multi Stem system works is that they make the clamp area (where it clamps to the stem) wider and you insert angled shims to tweak the angle set in the stem. The shims look like this:



The shims come in:
0 degrees: does nothing
2 degrees: Adds or remove 2 degrees the chosen stem.
4 degrees: Adds or removes 4 degrees from the chosen stem

So, if you have all 3 shims, you get FIVE angles for a given stem position. Being that the stem I mentioned above is a "flip-flop" stem, if you flip it, you get ANOTHER FIVE angles. 10 angles total...for one stem.

So, for a +/- 17 degree stem, with 0, 2, and 4 degree shims, I get the following options:

With stem facing downwards:
-21 deg
-19 deg
-17 deg
-15 deg
-13 deg

With stem facing upwards
+13 deg
+15 deg
+17 deg
+19 deg
+21 deg

Like so:


If you started with a 4 degree stem:


12 degree stem:


24 degree stem:


One major downside to this system is that if you use any shim other than 0deg, the system changes the angle at which the stem attaches to the fork so you cannot use spacers above the stem. The stem must live at the top of your fork. You can have spacers below the stem...but none above.

Refer to the tech guide: https://service.specialized.com/colla...tion-Guide.pdf

So, if you are into tinkering with your fit...maybe consider this system. The stems are very inexpensive and I can attest that they are strong for sprint work. Kirk Whiteman (Kevin Mansker's coach) turned me on to these. He's also a super strong/fast guy in his own right.


Apparently Felt also has a similar system:


https://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2015...lloy-Stem.aspx

I've never used these so I can't say if they are stiff or not.

carleton

And if you want to know what a different stem length or angle will do for your handlebar placement, use this site: Stem Chart

J HY

Good info on the stems; I always forget that Specialized makes that. Brilliant, really.

taras0000

You can grind down spacers, or cut tube stock on an angle to offset the eccentricity back to 0, allowing you to have spacers above and below. Machine shop can do this for you with some cheap aluminum tube stock and a bandsaw. If you have access to a mitre saw, you can throw a cutting wheel into it and cut your own spacers quite easily. What are the available angle changes on this system (+X/-X). I can probably knock this off with my adjustable chop saw.

carleton

That's a great idea actually. I'd only need 2 of them. One that is 2deg and one that is 4deg and that would cover all scenarios.

taras0000

Let me get some appropriate aluminum tube and I'll pm you when it's done. You running 1 1/8th fork? Steel I can probably do over the weekend.

carleton

Yes, I'm running a standard fork. Alpina F04: Alpina F04 track fork | Retrogression

Thanks!