One thing I learned recently is that the printed grid lines on the bottom of the shoe are really meaningless, even between two pairs of the same model shoes. I've spent weeks now trying to dial in the cleat position on a new pair of shoes and it's still not quite there.

I like the GURU thingamajigs for that reason. I used the shoe heel as a reference point and lined everything up on that. This way I know that the cleat is in the same relative spot.

I chose the heel because I felt that the margin of error was much smaller if I based the cleat angle/position on a point further away from the cleat. If I tried to use the toe and I was off by 1mm then that would be probably 3-4mm of error at the heel. The fitter let me take the plate (for the Keo) home with me and I dropped them off a day or two later.

Same brand/size shoes, different model, just to be clear. With a different sole I'd still use the heel as a reference point but I'd look and see how my foot sits in each heel so I'm basing the cleat position on my foot, not on the outside of the different shaped soles.

I thought I was being clever and put the shoe against the corner of a room and traced the cleat position on a piece of paper. That seemed to work for fore/aft but the shape of the shoe is different enough that it didn't work for the rotation of the cleat, for the new shoes (Lake) the apparently identical cleat rotation ended up pointing my heels in more than the old shoes (Bontrager). I'm not sure how those template things could work either, unless they are somehow based on the actual position of your foot inside the shoe.

Are they S-Works? If so they are guaranteed for life. Go to your shop, find out, and offer to pay for the overnight shipping. Ask if they will ship the new shoes first. My shop will. You won't have them for KSR but not much later. Good luck.

yeah sworks, the older version with two boa dials. they've already been warrantied twice, but i love them nonetheless. unless i get hung up at work, i'm planning to stop by the shop tonight. i think mine are fine to last through KSR but if i could get new ones setup next week I'd be very very happy.

I'm kind of amazed by what Specialized will cover under their shoe warranty. A few years ago, my uppers separated from the carbon outsole on my BG Pros. The shoes were probably three years old and well worn, but Specialized replaced them.

Unfortunately, they had changed the shoe design a bit and the new ones never fit as well as the old. But I digress.

shop said they'd warranty the shoes. probably doesn't hurt that the head guy at the shop is a teammate. i was planning on buying new sworks shoes next year, but i'm not complaining about a replacement set this year! these shoes have definitely been worth the price.

I made the mistake of trying on some bonty xxx shoes last week. Made my old Shimano 132s feel like lead weights.

I'm pretty sure my Sidis are 200-300g heavier than the light shoes out there.

One of my dream thoughts is to get one of my older Sidis, cut the top off, and make a mold with the sole out of a carbon-kevlar combination (kevlar to keep things from disintegrating if things go south). I have two pairs of Aerolite shoes, from a brief period when they made them, and they're basically a sole that slips into a mesh "shoe" that has been dipped in something resembling Plasti-dip (to make the bottom somewhat durable). It could be an interesting project.

anyone tried the new vittoria tires with graphene? the old open corsa was my go to race tire. need to re-up my supply and it looks like they've been discontinued/replaced with the graphene version.

I've read all the "do you really want to trust your life to a $50 carbon handlebar from China yadda yadda" but has anyone actually bought one and used it?

I know it's hard to test sturdiness without crashing, but I'm really curious if you really do need to spend $150-250 on a carbon aero drop bar to get quality, or if you're just paying for a 3T, Zipp, Enve, etc decal.

I've bought a "branded" (Hylix. I also used a saddle from them and it didn't break under my 190lbs in more than 6 months. I trusted the brand enough to try the bars) chinese carbon bar (a 3T aeronova knockoff) and after a few months of using it, I noticed some cracks. I got sent a warranty replacement but I won't be using it. I decided I'll stick to alloy bars.

This is a really easy method for bringing the position of your foot to the outside of your shoe. I've had this done by a fitter and done it myself, very repeatable once you get a feel for finding the joint center. He tapes the cut off head of a plastic wire tie on the spot then puts a dot on the shoe over the top of it. You can use that as a repeatable reference point for fore/aft (RH & LH feet may be different).

https://vimeo.com/9589645
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...w-their-nails/

I've started riding my new wheelset (HED Ardennes Plus, 25mm wide) with S-Works tubeless 700x24c tires. After a couple of weeks on the rims, the tires measure about 26.7mm wide on the front and about 27.2mm on the rear. I'm liking the way they work but have been wondering if there's a downside to having the rim and tire widths so close. For context, up until about a year ago I was running Michelin Pro4 Endurance tires that measured 27+mm on 19mm-wide rims...it just looks weird when I look down at the front wheel. ;)

I broke my Giro Synthe last week. I'm thinking of replacing it with a Kask Mojito or Protone. Anyone have any experience or thoughts on Kask helmets? The fit seems pretty good when I tried them on, but the Kask has a lot more padding than the Giro. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing in the long run. Basically all the reviews I've read online are extremely positive about all helmets.

It's a good thing, aerodynamically, that's why the exterior widths of modern rims have gone up.

When you have a "bad style" valve extension, the kind that screws on to where the valve cap would be, and it's not quite sealed, and you pump it up and the pump gauge goes up as you pump and fades immediately because pressure is escaping above the actual valve, do you use the highest reading on the gauge (at the very end of the pump stroke) as the actual tire pressure?

If you go to Paceline forums they have a whole thread about them. They aren't flat proof.

Just wrap the threads in plumbers tape to remedy the situation. And I would use the highest pressure because the valve is open for that pressure then closes when the air starts escaping through the unwrapped threads.

It is also recommended to thread open the valve a little too far so it won't rattle closed on you. I recently switched from removable core extenders to the regular thread onto any tube style because it's a pain in the ass on the roadside if you need to remove a core.

thanks, i'll check it out. i'm definitely willing to sacrifice flat protection for better ride quality/rolling resistance in a race only tire.

I'm thinking hard about the $370 5700 stages unit on sale right now. Can you tell I'm home from work today?

Me too. I would be pairing it with a 5800 drive-side. I know the two are compatible, but does anyone have a sense as to whether there is a noticeable difference in the coloring of the silver 5700 v. 5800?

You can order 5700 in black so you're good to go.

yes. i'm a long-time Corsa user (tubular and clincher), and i decided to give the graphene version a shot.

for context, the Corsa was not a long-wearing tire (~1,200-1,500 miles on a rear; i'd often replace race tubulars before then, though). i'd flat on them very rarely -- and mainly if the tire was near the end of life.

my expectation was that the graphene version would offer similar life. i was curious if it would have lower rolling resistance and/or better traction in the wet. i put ~500 race miles on a set on my east coast trip + a bunch of other miles, and they're about what i expected--pretty solid, but a couple incidental (~1-2mm) nicks in the tread.

i haven't tested the rolling resistance, at least not yet. i think vittoria's claims are probably overstated, but again if they come in at least as good as the Corsa i'm fine with that.

cornering...they are great in dry conditions. i haven't been in them in the rain yet; the non-graphene Corsas left a little something to be desired there compared to other tires.

i'd buy more...for racing.

no tire we'd want to ride is flat-proof.



my philosophy is that life is short, so i ride good tires all the time. however...if i commuted through broken glass all the time that would be different. on my regular rides i (almost) never flat....some years (yes) it is literally zero.

with vittorias i have learned their limits in terms of my riding, my roads and their wear. if i let them wear too far, then i would get flats in bunches. i learned when to just toss the tire vs drop in a new tube.

vittorias offer better wear than the turbo cottons IME. i liked the ride quality of the turbo cottons (subjective) and the objective lower Crr, but i had some issues with the construction (tread separation).

anybody have experience with garmin 500 and 520? healthpack was very kind to let me use her extra 510, and I'm really digging the upgraded features, except the touch screen. The 520 doesn't cost that much more than the 510, and is more refined in just about every way, especially the map feature, which I like to use for training. After some research, I'm considering it.

A couple of questions:
how much does the battery life differ? with/without bluetooth? If it drains significantly more battery, it uses up more cycles, and the capacity depreciates faster.

any weird function quirks? my 500 sometimes is slow at switching screens, and sometimes saves rides really slowly. There are other quirks, which I can only assume has to do with the firmware, not the hardware, but not certain. what quirks does the 520 have?