I know what you're thinking: "Kristin Armstrong is riding new pedals?" No, but Lance Armstrong is. You know this is a significant event since VeloNews decided to post a story about the switch complete with a near 20-year history of LA's relationship with his Shimano pedals. I suppose the bike media are just clamoring for another Lance story after the drought of drama since he and Contador parted ways and began preparing to actually ride bikes rather than take jabs at each other in press conferences.
For those of you who aren't get into that kind of thing this is kind this is basically the equivalent of finding out that your favorite athlete uses Colgate instead of Crest. Ok, maybe there's a little more to it than that, but the Look and Shimano pedals are pretty much the same design, even though this latest Look that Lance is now using substitutes a "crabon fibre" spring where a steel or titanium would usually reside.
The logic behind the change? Performance? No. Light weight? No. Lance wants to ride the same pedals as his teammates so that he can steal their bike during a race emergency.
Nu Freds Get Excited - SRAM to Drop Apex Group Soon
Rumor got out yesterday that SRAM is going to release a budget group called "Apex." From what little I can see in the photo the shifters appear to have the same shape and function as the Red/Rival/Force pieces and it appears that unlike their other road groups the Apex crank will use an inboard cartridge bottom bracket rather than the now ubiquitous outboard cup/bearing BB (presumably to lower costs).
I assume that the Apex group will slot in under the Rival group, which generally retails for less about $800. Since SRAM does such a great job of trickling down technologies to their lower-level groupsets while still beating up on Shimano and Campy in terms of weight, value and (quite arguably) performance you should expect to see this grouppo on all kinds of "upper entry-level" bikes. I predict that once again SRAM will undercut Shimano and that the Apex group will provide similar or better performance than 105 at a lower price.
Quick Take - Clif Quench Fruit Punch Sports Drink
Last night I tried Clif's Quench sports drink in Fruit Punch flavor and I have to say it wasn't too bad. I liked the fact that with 90 calories per 16 oz. serving it fits somewhere in between traditional sports drinks and low calorie electrolyte replacement beverages. It wasn't particularly "quenching" for my tastes, however. It does tastes a bit salty (more like PowerBar Electrolyte) and Clif even lists "Real Salt" on the ingredients. I remember reading an article once where a nutrition company said that they tried to mix hot-weather drinks that actually weren't too thirst quenching for their athletes, the logic being that such a drink would actually encourage them to drink more. With that in mind the nearly all-organic Quench might be just the thing for long, hot summer training rides.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Product Review - Specialized Miura Sunglasses
Sunglasses are an essential part of any cyclists kit. They protect your eyes from both flying debris and harmful UV rays, prevent strain from "squinty face," and perhaps most importantly ensure that you never really have to look another roadie in the eye.
With that in mind I'd like to take a look at Specialized's Miura model ($145 retail) and compare it to one of the most popular pairs of cycling sunnies out there, the Oakley Radar ($155 retail in black/black).
The Miura frame is constructed of Grilamid (read "fancy plastic") and the particular model in this review features the NXT lens which, according to Specialized, is superior to their Adaptalite photochromic model in both light weight and shatter resistance. The Miura is available in both Regular and Small lens versions and I found the regular version to fit my face just fine.
The Miura is my first venture into a lens color other than standard black. I have to admit to being an Oakley fan and generally I choose their Black Iridium lens because my eyes are extremely light-sensitive. The Miura's red lens does let in a little more light which I found allowed me to wear them in more overcast conditions, however, I didn't have any issues when the skies opened up. Although I personally wouldn't choose them for cloudless days I think most folks could wear them under sunny skies without issue.
I assume the red tinted lens is intended to increase visual acuity (although Specialized makes no such claims on their website). I can tell you that the lens makes my red Castelli gloves and red road bike look AWESOME. As far as visual acuity, the roads I generally ride on a so boring that if there were anything to see it would stick out like a neon sign anyway. The cows I ride by weekly still look like cows, and I don't believe I see them with any more definition. I also found that after extended wearing everything looked extremely blue immediately after I removed the Miura.
Ventilation seems on par or perhaps slightly less than with the Radar, which is important in our sweat-soaked southern summers. Lens coverage is excellent, and as with the Radar I never get an errant beam of sunshine in my eye nor do I have a lens edge splitting my field of vision when I look back over my shoulder.
I do have a couple of gripes with the Miura. The first one is that after 2-3 hours the ear pieces can begin to irritate that bone above and behind my ear. I was surprised by this as the Miura frame feels much flexier than the Radar frame, however with some side by side comparison I realized that while the Miura flexes more near the lens, the thin earpieces of the Radar allow more flex in this critical area. The Radars do receive a demerit for having earpieces that are so long they can interfere with hats or sometimes helmet retention systems, a problem I've found with all Oakley models I've tried.
I also like the fact that Oakley includes multiple nose pieces with their sunglasses, allowing cyclists to effectively raise the lens off the nose a little more. This helps with keeping the brow portion of the frame out of the line of sight while in the cycling position. I noticed that although both models are roughly the same height from nose bridge to brow, the Muira blocked my line of sight slightly while the Oakley did not with its optional taller nosepieces installed. Specialized sells a style called the Arc which starts at $155 retail and features a one-piece frameless lens that remedies this issue.
Bottom line: the Miura offers similar performance as well as a bolder style statement (I'll let you decide if that's good or bad) than the Radar at a similar price. If you've got to customize and color-coordinate to the Nth degree or simply want more lens options the Radar may be a better choice, otherwise they're both equally well suited for cycling use.
With that in mind I'd like to take a look at Specialized's Miura model ($145 retail) and compare it to one of the most popular pairs of cycling sunnies out there, the Oakley Radar ($155 retail in black/black).The Miura frame is constructed of Grilamid (read "fancy plastic") and the particular model in this review features the NXT lens which, according to Specialized, is superior to their Adaptalite photochromic model in both light weight and shatter resistance. The Miura is available in both Regular and Small lens versions and I found the regular version to fit my face just fine.
The Miura is my first venture into a lens color other than standard black. I have to admit to being an Oakley fan and generally I choose their Black Iridium lens because my eyes are extremely light-sensitive. The Miura's red lens does let in a little more light which I found allowed me to wear them in more overcast conditions, however, I didn't have any issues when the skies opened up. Although I personally wouldn't choose them for cloudless days I think most folks could wear them under sunny skies without issue.I assume the red tinted lens is intended to increase visual acuity (although Specialized makes no such claims on their website). I can tell you that the lens makes my red Castelli gloves and red road bike look AWESOME. As far as visual acuity, the roads I generally ride on a so boring that if there were anything to see it would stick out like a neon sign anyway. The cows I ride by weekly still look like cows, and I don't believe I see them with any more definition. I also found that after extended wearing everything looked extremely blue immediately after I removed the Miura.
Ventilation seems on par or perhaps slightly less than with the Radar, which is important in our sweat-soaked southern summers. Lens coverage is excellent, and as with the Radar I never get an errant beam of sunshine in my eye nor do I have a lens edge splitting my field of vision when I look back over my shoulder.
I do have a couple of gripes with the Miura. The first one is that after 2-3 hours the ear pieces can begin to irritate that bone above and behind my ear. I was surprised by this as the Miura frame feels much flexier than the Radar frame, however with some side by side comparison I realized that while the Miura flexes more near the lens, the thin earpieces of the Radar allow more flex in this critical area. The Radars do receive a demerit for having earpieces that are so long they can interfere with hats or sometimes helmet retention systems, a problem I've found with all Oakley models I've tried.
I also like the fact that Oakley includes multiple nose pieces with their sunglasses, allowing cyclists to effectively raise the lens off the nose a little more. This helps with keeping the brow portion of the frame out of the line of sight while in the cycling position. I noticed that although both models are roughly the same height from nose bridge to brow, the Muira blocked my line of sight slightly while the Oakley did not with its optional taller nosepieces installed. Specialized sells a style called the Arc which starts at $155 retail and features a one-piece frameless lens that remedies this issue.
Bottom line: the Miura offers similar performance as well as a bolder style statement (I'll let you decide if that's good or bad) than the Radar at a similar price. If you've got to customize and color-coordinate to the Nth degree or simply want more lens options the Radar may be a better choice, otherwise they're both equally well suited for cycling use.
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