A Cyclist’s Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Just when life seems too oppressing to continue, along comes this nifty little invention. In 15 years of perusing bike products, this is the first bike rack I’ve ever seen that made me want to voluntarily attach it to my own personal bike; most of them all look like identical taiwanese copies with equal ‘functions’ (normally you’d have to pay me to mount one). One look at the Pletscher ORION however makes me want to mount a set of slicks, slap on a rigid fork & embrace the life of a commuter! [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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Hello blog readers,

You might have noticed that I haven’t written many new articles in the past fortnight. That’s because I’ve been working behind the scenes on a few new simultaneous projects. One of them is called “www.bikenode.com“, a new global cycling links directory. It took almost a full day to crete the Bike Node logo… hehehe. Anyway-

The aim is to make it “the fastest growing cycling link directory for the global cycling community”. The idea is to help generate exposure for us little guys. Whatever. But the good news is that I am now taking link submissions. So please feel free to add any appropriate cycling-related links to “http://www.bikenode.com”. It’s easy & it’s free!

There are still a few features I’d like to add, such as an email confirmation of link submissions, an info page, and an easy way for you to add reciprocal links with & without the Bike Node logo (to encourage activity within the directory, reciprocal links are not mandatory but are HIGHLY appreciated).

If you want a bit of extra exposure, a featured listing (highlighted & placed at the top of each category) costs a one-time fee of only 5$ and will result in more traffic to your site. I’ll also ensure that links are added to the directory in a timely manner if you choose a paid link.

If you feel that an appropriate category isn’t listed in the directory yet, you can also suggest new categories for the directory by commenting below.

Thanks,
Les

Tags: Spoke Bed, News Reel, That's Business, Sales Pitch, Ride the Volcano!, Learning Curve by Dr. Leslie Brown
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I’ve tried and tested many seatposts over the years in all price ranges. The only purpose of a seatpost is provide support for the saddle & to offer simple adjustments of the saddle (vertical & horizontal seat position plus saddle angle). Some seatposts costing hundreds of dollars do not even meet these simple requirements! [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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This budget model fork can be had for as little as €120, so it is not intended for downhill or competition use. The model we tested boasted 120mm of travel, although at the softest setting, only about half of that was effectively utilised (even after a substantial break-in period). [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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Most motor vehicle accidents involving cyclists happen at dawn and dusk. The reason for this is that there are more commuters out there on the road at these times. At the same time, the road visibility is far less than during the day, so the chances of being hit are relatively high. I’ve taken the opportunity to gather together some very interesting products aimed at increasing your safety while riding at night.

[Read more →]

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I recently bought a set of braided stainless steel brake lines made by Goodridge. I’m using Hayes Nine HFX HD disc brakes with the more recent G2 calipers. Unfortunately, one part was missing from the new kit that I bought online from chain reaction cycles in the UK, so I had to go down to the local bike shop (Gofis Bici) and get a suitable replacement part (luckily they had the Goodridge spare parts kit handy). [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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For me, the ITM forged Lite Luxe stem is as close to perfection as I could want. It’s forged and therefore has smooth lines. It has reversible graphics, meaning you can flip the stem around to get a higher reach. It uses a face plate with a 4 bolt clamp; the socket head bolts require a 4mm allen key. By using M5 bolts with 4mm heads instead of 5mm sockets, the tendency to over-torque the stem at the handlebar clamp is reduced. The M6 bolts at the steerer clamp use 5mm heads to prevent slippage on carbon fibre fork steerer tubes. These two bolts oppose each other to help distribute the clamping force & they don’t stick out and cut your knees like some other stems. It’s available in the most common sizes: 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130mm lengths with either a 26.0mm clamp or a 31.6mm clamp for oversized handlebars. The finish of the stem is also very durable. It’s available from as little as 25 or €30.

It’s nice to be able to use the same bar/stem/seatpost combination. Cyclists consider consistency a nice bonus, especially when they are Italian bicycle parts. Therefore, I’ve reviewed the bar and stem together as siblings. Unfortunately I can’t say too many good things about the ITM Lite Luxe wing shape bar. It’s a budget-priced semi-ergonomic aluminium alloy bar. Or rather, it’s a standard bar with flat tops. As most of you know, in recent years, the number of handlebars available on the market has exploded. Try a few and you realise that the shape of your handlebars becomes a very personal choice, just like saddles. Unlike saddles however, your hands can’t really adjust to a handlebar like your arse can adjust to a saddle. If a handlebar doesn’t feel right to begin with, it never will.

With that in mind, in comparison to several other bars that I have tried, the flat tops do not extend far enough outward where the bar curves forward towards the brake shift-levers. I really like to use flat tops, I think they’re a natural step in the evolution (or refinement) of a traditional round bar. Flat tops encourage you to place your hands on them. But because the bars are essentially round where I normally place my hands, I found myself wanting to hold the bar quite a bit closer to the centre position than what I am accustomed to. The flats extend almost all the way up to the stem - but I’ve never seen a cyclist hold their bars with their hands adjacent to the stem (you can’t get enough control of the bike). The double grooves underneath are pretty shallow also. If you’re still keen on buying this bar, remember that the width of ITM bars are measured outside to outside. I’d reccomend the FSA wing pro handlebar instead, which is in a similar price point.

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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This 9 inch beast is the biggest and baddest disc brake rotor out there at the moment. Yes of course it’s “grabbier” than smaller 7″ and 8″ rotors, but it does provide stronger braking no matter what brakes you’re using. It’s a simple upgrade although technically not compatible with many of today’s suspension forks. It only offers a marginal brake power improvement over standard 8″ front discs used for downhill mountainbiking.

The main benefit of the Hayes V9 rotor is the increased cooling capacity. [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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Bikes these days are all about fashion. The fashion changes just like anything else. Just look at sloping geometry. Carbon seat stays. Ergo bars. Compact cranks. White carbon and painted white carbon. Integrated seatposts. If you want to be a fashion victim, go with the flow. Mrazek aim to be different. To not follow fashion. I think they’ve achieved that.

Mrazek is art. And like art, whether it pleases you or not is very subjective. It’s your choice, and there are thousands of other “cookie-cutter” frames to choose from.  Some people say that they ride as well as they look. On the other hand, if you don’t like the way they look, you might not like the way they ride. And vice versa. [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed, Inspiration. by Dr. Leslie Brown
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For the most part, shimano bicycle components work extremely well. Even so, after working on my fleet of road rental bikes for the past year or more I have come to despise certain maintenance tasks. What follows is a list of all the little niggly things which I dislike about shimano road componentry (5600/Ultegra level). Neither is this a simple comparison between shimano, campagnolo and sram:

• The alloy brake levers corrode within a few months of inital sweat contact. Why can’t they anodise these like the rest of their parts? Instead, they are clear-coated. This coating crazes and then spalls off in next to no time.
• Both the gear and the brake cables are much more difficult to install than they should be. Sometimes you can spend 5 whole minutes poking a brake cable blindly where you think it should go. This is the year 2008. It shouldn’t take more than 5 seconds.
• The lockring washer is deadly. Sure it may SEEM unoffensive, but it’s sharper than a pair of laser-cut scissors. How do I know? Well just last week I was called out to change one of my client’s cassettes from a 12-25 to a 12-27 ratio. Part way through the job, the blasted thing gouged a deep cut right on my middle finger. Needless to say, it’s not a good image for your business when blood is running over your hand, the bike and the pavement as you’re attempting to do a simple cassette-swap operation.
• The chain comes pre-coated in the most tacky protective grease imaginable which can’t be removed by any known chemical method. OK, I admit its composition has improved with that of a few years ago, but it’s still not nice to work with.
• The shimano logo wears off the cranks too quickly. You’d think they’d have the word shimano laser etched on all their parts by now. Not so.
• Shimano free hub body splines are so shallow that the cogs ruin them. It doesn’t help that shimano removed half of the splines on their cogs for no apparant reason, effectively halving the contact surface area, doubling the load (and the chances of ruining the free hub body).
• Speaking of cranks, there aren’t many versions of a shimano compact crankset to choose from.
• Shimano spare parts (genuine or otherwise) are practically nonexistent - hence shifters etc are not rebuildable.
• The front deralilleur cannot be fine-tuned all that well while riding.
• Simultaneous braking & up-shifting not possible at the same time. Whenever you slow down, it means you have to change up gears. Everyone knows that. But with the combined shimano brake and gear lever, it just isn’t possible.
• Last but not least, the gear housing doesn’t go under the bar tape. Why not?

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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One of the major tasks here at www.Tenerife-Training.net is swapping pedals. There are more pedal systems out there than CO₂ molecules at the moment, and I know people are finding it all a bit too confusing. Judging by the perplexed customer responses as they inevitably bend down and spin another hitherto unknown pedal on its axis and say “they’re the wrong pedals!”, by far the biggest misunderstanding lies with the Shimano Pedalling Dynamics (SPD) system. [Read more →]

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This a great tasting refreshing drink commonly available here in Spain. It’s almost identical in flavour to Staminade, another refreshing (Australian) drink that has been popular since the 1970’s.

It’s really good because it’s not only cheap, but it actually quenches your thirst, unlike those hyper-sweetened gatorade & powerade sports drinks available on the market. It is sold “flat”, i.e. it’s not a bubbly drink and contains no CO₂ gases. For the first time in history, the citrus orange flavour tastes superior to the lemon version. Although this product is not specifically aimed at athletes, it should be…

Anyway, I started drinking this a few weeks ago whenever I feel dehydrated; on a particularly hot day, I recall that one of my local relatives here in Tenerife ordered it in a traditional spanish bar. Judging purely by the label, it’s not something I would have ordered, especially knowing what some drinks taste like. Next time you’re at a roadside bar on a hot day in Tenerife, you might like to try it!

Tags: Spoke Bed, Island Life, Ride the Volcano! by Dr. Leslie Brown
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These days we have an infatuation with bike components when we should be more concerned about accurate bike fit. If you want the best peformance, you need the right-sized parts; you simply can’t win on a bike that’s the wrong size. But what if one side of your body is different to the other? If your body is not 100% symmetrical, then your bike shouldn’t be either…

[Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed, Learning Curve by Dr. Leslie Brown
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After nearly a year in development, at last it’s here:

 VÉRTEBRÆ CERAMIC GEAR LINES: US$140

Available for MTBs & road bikes
(Shimano / SRAM or Campagnolo).

Housing colours available:

CLEAR/X-RAY WHITE GREY BLACK
BLUE PURPLE RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN

(please specify when ordering)

www.vertebr.ae

True “Compressionless” housing: High Purity Alumina is FIVE TO SIX TIMES STIFFER than aluminium alloys, and even 50 to 80 % stiffer than steel. OK, so theoretically it compresses a bit. But you won’t notice it. Honest. It is also FIVE TO SIX TIMES STRONGER in compression than both aluminium & steel.

Effortless Gear Changes:Less force required to actuate gears + brakes, creating a “light-action” feel at the levers.

Less Maintenance: Due to the compressionless housing and protective Spinal Wrap, derailleurs are not only easier to fine tune during setup (they’ll work over a wider range of cable tension), but that they also don’t need to be re-adjusted as often as other systems.

Totally corrosion free!! High Purity Alumina is an extremely inert material. No coatings to peel off, no chipping and spalling paint. Zero corrosion for life!

Lightweight: The density of alumina is only 3.65 to 3.85 g/cm³. This results in outstanding stiffness-to-weight and strength-weight ratios. Total weight of vértebræ ceramic housing is only 46 to 52 g/m.

Enhanced Flexibility: The special segmented design is more flexible compared to traditional bowden cables; this design allows shorter cable routing using tighter-radius bends, resulting in less overall weight. Despite this, there is also reduced friction between the cable and liner, since the outer segments do not squash the inner cables like conventional housing.

Low Friction: Ceramic materials have an inherently lower frction than metals. Combined with our stainless steel cables and teflon liner, this results in considerably less friction and practically zero wear.

Extremely hard & durable: In fact, most engineering ceramics are so hard, they normally require different testing procedures to metals as it is not practical to make the same economical test specimens! In comparison with all metals, hardness is best described as “off the chart!”.

Tags: Spoke Bed, Lucky Dip by Dr. Leslie Brown
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I’ve been using the speedplay X-series pedals for a full decade now, essentially since I started road biking. After reading about speedplay in the infamous bikepro catalogue, I browsed their website & I was already sold on them after reading about their special advantageous features (dual sided entry plus free float). They instantly received many rave reviews and I was 100% convinced to get a set.

My first road bike, a Shogun Ultegra, came equipped with some nasty pedals which were essentially a cheap copy of the look system. Although I can’t remember the name, they were a veritable deathtraps. Clipping into these particular pedals was never truly an autonomic experience. They were top heavy, weighted so that they remained in the awkward upside-down position! When starting off from a set of traffic lights, you had to fumble about and flip the pedal over with the tip of your shoe. Wobbling around in dense traffic, looking down at my shoes instead of the road, I soon realised that was an accident waiting to happen…

I began with the X2 pedals, which I had to special-order from Clarence St. cyclery, as no one in Australia stocked them in 1997 / 1998. I then moved up to the X1 titanium version, and have since bought the cheaper X5 version which work equally as well. Possibly their best feature for a road pedal is the double engaging mechanism. They feel intuitive to use. “Just stomp down and go” was the expression people were throwing about.

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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Les has just purchased 6 new aero framesets from Leader bikes for the new road rental bicycle fleet here in Tenerife. These bikes are available in a wide range of sizes from a tiny 46cm (50cm centre-top) all the way through to a whopping 61cm (50cm centre-top)! While they look like a time trial frame, they have traditional road racing bicycle geometry.

We’re very proud to partner with Leader bikes in 2008.

Tags: Spoke Bed, News Reel, Ride the Volcano! by Dr. Leslie Brown
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I’ve been a cyclist for 15 years now and used a lot of different tyre levers that are available on the market. Several years ago, I encountered these rather strange yellow tyre levers embossed with the single word “michelin”. Of course, they’re not really embossed, they’re injection moulded, but that’s beside the point.

They’re manufactured from some sort of special polymeric material. I have a doctorate in Materials Science and I still don’t know what it is. It looks like polypropylene or nylon, but I don’t have an infrared spectrometer handy, so I couldn’t tell you exactly what they’re made from. Let’s just say that they’re way better-than-average in quality.

You get three of them, but most of the time you can get away with using only two. The other good thing is that they are just the right size and shape. The end that hooks onto the rim sidewall fits all rims perfectly. The other end will never bruise your hand. They’re not too narrow, otherwise they’d break; neither are they too wide, else they wouldn’t work as well. They’re also just the right length. Not too long, so you can’t more leverage than necessary -but not too short either! They are also flat and don’t take up any more space than needed.

Some French product engineer deserves a medal for this under-appreciated little bike tool. They’re like the “chris king of tyre levers” and for the price (3€), this is possibly the best thing you can buy for any bicycle rider as a christmas present!

Every time I go to decathlon, I buy a set. They’re the only tire levers I can whole-heartedly reccommend to cyclists. They’re the ones that I supply in every tool kit with all the road and MTBs I rent out here in Tenerife. No one has ever complained. They never break, although I hope Michelin never stops making them.

On the other hand, the worst ones you can get are the thin steel ones available from Kmart, and other supermarkets;  they’d rather dent your aluminium rim (or crack your latest carbon fibre wheelset) sooner than flip that kevlar tyre bead over the edge.

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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There have been many funky pedal designs in the last decade, and the original “eggbeaters” by Crank Bros often draw some strange looks. What could be better than 4 sided entry and terrific mud clearance? Nothing, except whenever I ride with standard eggbeater pedals, I feel like I am riding on the tiny little spindles, nothing more. They just don’t feel right because they don’t provide any solid pedalling platform at all.

Enter the Candy:

Although they look like they word work better than the original eggbeater, the platflorm can interfere with the souls of some shoes. I was forced to use a plastic spacer to raise the cleat height. On several occasions I felt the cleat twisting dramatically on the soul of the shoe, and I was unable to release my feet from the pedals. Despite over-tightening the two cleat bolts, the problem persisted. Since this is a potentially dangerous situation, I now refrain from using these pedals. Perhaps they work with other shoes, but not with mine (Decathlon rockrider 8). Other people I lent them to complained about the very same problem with different shoes. With the addition of the platform they are also no longer quadruple sided, but double sided.

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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Swapping pedals on our rental bikes is the most common chore here at www.Tenerife-Training.net. In my business, I have tried and tested many types of pedals on the market.

I’ve tried a number of road & MTB pedals over the years, and I was pretty impressed with these, considering the price was only €40 per pair. Although they are heavy, they have the most positive retention of any pedal I have tried. You hear a single, well-defined “snap” upon each entry and exit. The feeling of security they provide is second to none, and I noticed it from the outset. The only down side is that this model doesn’t come with an adjustable float, so your knees are locked into place the entire time.

The zone where the cleat engages with the pedal is larger than with SPD pedals, so you never have to fumble about trying to find the entry point. Although I haven’t tested these in muddy conditions, they release whenever the need arises. All in all, I’d reccomend these to anyone who wants a fixed-float MTB pedal.

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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It is written/edited by someone with a PhD, in a reporting style which may annoy some people. It is well-referenced, though I think most people will not care less for seeking out the various journal articles. For example, it often starts a paragraph in this manner: “one study shows that…”

A quote: “Our baseline modeling condition has used a coefficient of rolling resistance (Crr) value of 0.0032, which is representative of an average racing clincher tire (Martin et al. 1998). Kyle (1986) has reported the Crr for high-performance road-racing tubular and clincher tires to be 16 percent lower (0.0027) when measured on an asphalt surface. Some road-racing tubular tires, however, exhibit Crr values as high as 0.0059 (Kyle 1986).

Now what is the point of that? The findings (on whether tubulars or clinchers offer lower rolling resistance) seem to be inconclusive. It doesn’t tell us which brand + model tubulars had the higher rolling resistance, so you’d have to look up the article by Kyle if you really wanted to know which tubulars to avoid. At the very least it can be gleaned that the chapter concerning equipment isn’t much help.

This book creates a very small niche for itself, perhaps too small. It seems to be aimed at coaches or deadly serious cyclists. I can’t imagine there are too many of those in the world. But if that is the case, why bother defining the terms “prologue”, “criterium” and “stage race”? [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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I don’t know what the others say, but I think the author is an anti-technological stick-in-the-mud. If you are looking for tips & info on how to build your dream lightweight wheelset, then look elsewhere because you won’t find it in this book.

I read the whole book in one sitting. The diagrams are much bigger than neccessary, for example one per page, and you get the idea they’re just added as “filler”. Some of the diagrams are repeated throughout the book, further giving that impression.

All you are going to find here is the standard way to make 36 spoke 3-cross wheels with double butted spokes. [Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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I think this is a great book IF you’re a scientist (like me!). Like the other reviews say, it is a little dated - but results are results. There is a wealth of info in this book, most of it is technical, and there is some fascinating things on human powered flight & HPVs. I can’t remember the exact figure that was quoted for the weights of some of the older historical bikes, but I find it hard to believe that there were such lightweights a hundred years ago (like 6kg). Knowing what I know, I just don’t think it would have been feasible. If you are interested, I wouldn’t wait for an updated edition, because they might not make it, and this one is getting pretty darn hard to get.

Tags: Spoke Bed, Science Simplified by Dr. Leslie Brown
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If there is only one book about cycling you should own - then this is it!

Everyone who owns a bike should get this, especially if you’re just starting out. It is really what got me started off, now I own my ultimate dream machine and I still refer to it now and then. You see so many riders out there with incorrectly set up bikes. The three things I can notice from about 100 feet away are: their seat is too low; their chain is insufficiently lubricated; and the derailleurs are not adjusted properly. This book will teach you how to set up your bike correctly, and provide you with essential knowledge on cycling.

This has all the info in it for beginners and intermediates alike. The main sections are: mountain bikes, racing bikes and touring bikes, future bikes and cycle maintenance. Within these pages, you’ll find info about bike set-up/positioning, sizing of frames, clothing, riding techniques, racing and stretching. Plus more info on other specific bike parts, such as: frame construction, types of wheels, gears/brakes, etc. Also specific info about various types of bikes used in: observed trials, the tour de France, criterium races, time-trials, triathlons, track racing (& classic bikes).

The maintenance section is quite extensive, and will generally be adequate for most people’s needs. It covers tools (and there’s a lot!), wheel truing, fixing flat tires, adjustments for comfort, brakes, chains, pedals, derailleur adjustment, and cleaning/lubrication.

There are plenty of good colour photos, it is well written and very informative - what more could you ask for? If you haven’t actually flicked through this book and you’re still having doubts about getting it, go to your local bookshop and just have a look through it, you’ll see what I mean. All in all a very comprehensive guide to cycling - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for youngsters and/or beginners. The only problem is that it is getting quite dated, but if you can live with that, it’s perfect.

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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First let me say that I’m not a beginner, I’ve been riding for 8 years (no not all in one go!). Yet this book taught me so so much. Thankyou to both Ed Burke & Ed Pavelka!! I thought I knew a lot, until now that is. I’ve bought other cycling books, before but nothing compares to this one. There is no “filler” in this book.

This book is not just concerned with ultralong distance races, it uses words like “the event” and “personal goals”. You can read it and not feel too ashamed that you’re not a pro, if you know what I mean. It caters for everyone. It also has a humurous style, which will make it enjoyable reading. It is very easy to pick up and start reading anywhere.

It has chapters on nutrition, stretching, off-season training, lots on training and technique…and that HYDRATION is the key. Ed & Ed (the authors) give you lots of tips (e.g: about how to maximise your time on the bike when you have other important things in your life; get everything ready for a ride the night before; how to cycle efficiently, etc)

[Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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I’m writing this review  because I want people to know how well-designed this product is. I think this is the best bicycle product I have ever bought – simple as that. I didn’t realise how much difference a comfortable bar would make. It definitely deserves the following detailed review.

[Read more →]

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This is one of my very own personal beasts I use for daily errands around Tenerife. Here’s my review:

By far the best thing about this bike is the power transfer. This baby has 37.4mm chainstays which are quite possibly the shortest in the industry (for a 57cm frame anyway). Delivery of power through the bike’s rear triangle feels instantaneous. The only down side to this is the extremely limited chainstay clearance; with such short chainstays, you must remember to keep your feet in line with the bike, otherwise the heels of your shoes hit the frame on every pedal revolution. This is an old frame (~10 years old?), which I recently bought new on ebay. It was made when Klein was 100% committed to aluminium, so there is no carbon fibre anywhere on this frame. Compared with a modern-day monocoque carbon frame, comfort is practically non existant, but then I only use this bike for a maximum of 10km (1000m ascent) of climbing.

[Read more →]

Tags: Spoke Bed by Dr. Leslie Brown
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