Art’s Cyclery Blog

The new Blackburn Tech Fluid Trainer

We’ve sold a lot of Blackburn trainers over the years, and we thought we knew the low-down on trainer performance, no matter what the brand is. It turns out, everything we thought we knew is wrong. Well not wrong, exactly, but things aren’t quite what they seem. According to Blackburn engineers Michael J. McColligan and Niko A. Henderson, trainers are a little more complicated than just, “Buy the most expensive trainer you can for the most realistic road feel possible.” 

It turns out that there is no such thing as an accurate or “realistic” resistance curve, at least not how we think of it. Resistance you encounter on the road is affected by many, constantly changing variables—hills, cross-winds, cornering are a few, and when you factor in the different aerodynamic resistance riders encounter based on their frontal area, it makes sense that one trainer can’t possibly provide a truly accurate “real-world” riding experience. The best that engineers can do is to attempt to create a resistance profile that matches the average rider under average riding conditions. That doesn’t mean that trainers are a hoax, however, in fact, just the opposite is true. By matching the different trainers characteristics to riding styles, we can fine-tune our training regimens to our specific needs.

If you’ve been reading this far, here comes the pay-off. Both fluid and magnetic trainers can provide a “realistic riding experience,” you just have to identify your experience. If you mostly ride flat roads at a higher speed/cadence,  especially in a pack—which translates to a more constant speed with few accelerations/decelerations, then the relatively linear resistance-curve of a magnetic trainer will provide a feel close to your real rides. This is because magnetic-resistance trainers tend to be more accurate in the lower end of their resistance-curve. Conversely, if your riding is filled with climbs, intervals, and head winds, then a fluid-resistance trainer will feel more like the real thing to you. Fluid units tend to be more accurate in the middle of their resistance-curve. McColligan and Henderson’s extensive testing found that “fluid-resistance units generally model middle- and (to some extent) high-end power output more accurately, and are more responsive to changes in rider input. Magnetic units are generally more accurate at the lower-end of the resistance curve, and tend to be more responsive to relatively small changes in rider input.”

Hopefully that helps you decide on which trainer is best for you. All trainers have their distinct resistance-curves, and some allow adjustability as well. It’s shaping up to be a long, cold, wet or snowy winter, so invest in a trainer to keep your fitness up and you’ll be the lion roaring next March.

Luke Gear, Technique

This is an encouraging little editorial by Evan, our resident Triathlete. Before you read it, please understand that Evan is quite the triathlete, placing 3rd in his age group at the International Triathlon Union World Championships in Australia for the Sprint distance. No small feat. When he talks triathlon, we listen. Enjoy.

I need to make a request to my fellow triathletes. Please work on your cycling skills this off-season. This is for your own safety, but most importantly, my own. It’s no secret that triathletes are not the best cyclists in the world (this is called an understatement), and because of this, I encourage every triathlete to set a goal to improve your cycling skills as you train through the winter months.

I am an avid triathlete and cyclist. I’ve been racing competitively for over 10 years, but I wasn’t always a good rider. I got better because I sought the help of experienced cyclists, and I gradually improved over time until I was comfortable riding in any pack.  I want to dispel the stereotype that triathletes are horrible cyclists by sticking up for my multi-sport brethren at group rides when I hear the hard-core roadies snicker at the guy with aero bars who doesn’t wear socks with his tri-specific shoes to simulate race conditions.

But a few incidents lately have made me embarrassed for my own kind. I would rather keep it a secret that I’m a triathlete when riding in a pack of road racers.

Sometimes being well informed is better than having all the right gear

Every roadie will agree with me on this one. You would think that as the sport of triathlon has grown tremendously over the last few years, the collective level of cycling ability amongst triathletes would increase accordingly. I have seen little evidence of this.

I raced for the Cal Poly Triathlon Team back when I was in school, and I decided I would re-unite with them for a Saturday morning group ride. I love the Tri Team, and racing for Cal Poly was the best part of my collegiate experience. But this ride was sketchy at best, and flat-out dangerous at worst.

The pace was inconsistent while the pace line was choppy and disorganized. The coaches of this team must have made a very bold point of telling everyone to shout out objects in the road. Every single spec of dust on the road was loudly pronounced by whoever was pulling at the time.

I found this absolutely hilarious. I was riding at the front toward the end of the ride when the guy riding next to me shouted, “Gravel!” He took his hand off the bars to point out a few small pebbles in the road that posed no serious threat, almost swerving into me while unnecessarily startling the entire group.

I calmly explained that shouting out everything in the road is not a good idea, and if you used this tactic on a real group ride, you would get laughed at, mocked, and ridiculed while continuing to contribute to the negative stereotype that triathletes are clueless when it comes to pack riding.

So, for any triathletes still reading, here are a few tips to help your pack riding skills:
1.    If you come to a group ride, road bikes are preferred. Only elite-level triahletes have the competence to handle a tri bike on a group ride.
2.    Try to resist your triathlete instinct to be sketchy. Think about going straight, being calm and riding smoothly.
3.    If you don’t feel comfortable taking your hands off the bars, practice doing so.
4.    Observe what others are doing on group rides and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
5.    Put your helmet on the right way (See picture).

Hopefully I’ve raised some awareness and I’ll see some more competent triathletes out on the road. Post a comment if you have a question or would like to share your experiences. Good luck and happy training!

Just because we’ve talked about triathletes doesn’t mean we haven’t seen you Roadie-who-can’t-look-over-his-shoulder-without-swerving-into-the-road.  Has any one seen the Tour footage where Robbie McEwen bunny hopped a curb because the peloton had forced him onto the center divider?!  A little bike handling will get you out of most jams. Maybe do a Cyclocross race or some mountain biking this winter. Both these will force any rider to improve his/her handling skills and make them safer on the road.

Until next time,

Hammer On

Bradstone General, Road, Technique

Former Art’s Cyclery employee and current World Cup DH racer Brad Benedict said it best, “A clean bike is a happy bike…” If your bike is happy, then you will be happy also. Keeping your bike clean has several benefits; your parts last longer, your bike runs better, you’re more motivated to ride if you have a clean, mean machine leaning against the wall, and you’re more likely to notice and replace worn out parts before they cause problems. Keeping your bike clean is easy and lets your bike know you love it and appreciate all it does for you. Cleaning your bike is easy and fun, and although all you need is water, soap and a couple of towels, you’ll get better results with a few key items and techniques.

To make cleaning your bike as easy and effective as possible, put your bike in some kind of holder, like an Ultimate repair stand, or this Park PRS-20 repair stand, which is what you’ll find most pro team mechanic’s using. Once your bike is in a repair stand, it’s time to clean the drive train. The easiest and fastest way to do this is by using a chain cleaning machine, like the Park CG-2 Cyclone Chain Cleaner  or the Pedro’s Chain Machine.  Simply remove the top of the chain cleaner, fill it with bio-degradable solvent (Park and Pedro’s both make excellent solvent’s), and close the chain machine (after shifting your bike to the small cog/big chainring) so that the chain runs through it. Turn your cranks backward for a couple of minutes and you’re left with a sparkling chain that will run smoother, quieter, shift better, and last longer. Be sure to properly dispose of the used solvent. After cleaning the chain, remove the bikes wheels and scrub down the cassette and crankset with a stiff-bristled brush. Using a spray-on metal cleaner like White Lightening Clean Streak or Simple Green Foaming Degreaser will make this immensely easier, but be careful about where the over-spray goes. 

Since the wheels are off the bike, you might as well clean those now. Spray them down with water and a gentle soap (dish-washing detergent is good) or a specific cleaner, like one of these. Scrub the tires, hubs and rims with a brush, and spray down with a very gentle stream of water—if your hose has a “mist” setting use that. Go back and clean the rims braking surface, (if you are using rim-brakes) or the disc rotor with rubbing alcohol or a cleaner that doesn’t leave a residue when it dries. It’s also not a bad idea to gently sand those surfaces down a few times per year. Leave the wheels off as it makes cleaning hard-to-reach areas on your bike easier.

Now move on to the frame. If your bike is exceptionally dirty, you might want to gently spray it down with water first (use the “mist” setting), and never aim the water directly at any bearings. So, start with a spray under the seat, and spray down the entire bike with the same cleaner you used on the wheels. Use a soft brush or large sponge to scrub the dirt off the frame and all the components. Make sure you get around the bottom bracket junction, behind brake calipers, and all suspension pivots. Once you’re satisfied you’ve scrubbed everything, gently rinse the bike down and dry it with a soft towel. If you really want to show your bike some love, spray it down with some Pedro’s Bike Lust. 

For all you stylists with white bar tape out there, use Windex and a clean rag to keep it looking new. 

Now it’s time for a little maintenance. It’s likely that soap or cleaner touch your brake pads, and since they probably need to be cleaned anyway, now is as good a time as any. If you’re cleaning a road bike or a mountain bike with rim brakes, this is easy; simply sand down the surface of each pad that contacts the rim until the “glaze” is gone and the surface looks new and sticky again. Usually just several seconds of sanding does the trick. Disc brakes are a little trickier, in that you must remove the brake pads to sand their surface down. Make sure you keep track of the pads orientation when you remove them, and watch for small parts that may fall out as well. I will put a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface and then rub the pad’s braking surface back and forth a few times until it looks clean. Replace the pads and you’re almost done.

Check your bike for damage, looking for cracks in the welds or carbon fiber, and contact your bike shop if you discover anything. Do Not ride a bike that has a cracked frame!  

That’s it. Put the wheels back on and go out and get that thing dirty!

Luke Gear, General, Technique

Thanks to the volume of custom fits our trained bike fitters perform here at Art’s World Headquarters, we get a lot of one-on-one time with everyday cyclists, and thus get to hear a lot of feedback about cycling—which products are hot, opinions on pro racing, thoughts on gear, and questions about riding technique. Since many of the fits we do are for first-time bike-buyers, we get a chance to impart a few nuggets of wisdom to help speed up the learning curve. These might seem basic to experienced riders, but it never hurts to hear old information presented in a possibly new light. And if you’re just starting out, then listen up—I’m going to tell you the easiest way to get faster, without changing your diet, training more, or ingesting illegal drugs.

Spin. It’s a magic word. That one syllable contains immense power. The ultimate goal for cyclists both on-road and off-road is to have a perfectly smooth spin. In this case, spin refers to the motion of your pedals, and thus your cranks, and thus your drivetrain, and the influence it has on your power output. The goal is to “spin in circles,” meaning you should apply even power to your pedals all the way through your pedaling motion, as opposed to pushing only during the downward part of the pedal stroke. By “pulling through” the bottom of your pedal stroke, your power output continues all the way around, which keeps your speed constant, eliminating constant slow-down/acceleration cycles which waste energy and slow you down. The easiest technique I’ve heard of to improve your spin is to pretend you’re wiping mud off the sole of your shoe as your foot nears the bottom of your pedal stroke, which makes you pull back, and through, the bottom of your spin. Simultaneously, with your other leg, you want to lift your foot as if you are walking up stairs. When your foot reaches the top of the pedal stroke again, you will naturally apply force on the downstroke. By pulling through the bottom and stepping up to the top of the pedal stroke, you will consistently apply power to your pedals, and you will be using larger, more efficient muscles.

So, that’s a quick lesson on lower-body efficiency, what about your upper-body? You didn’t think that your legs did all the work, did you? Well, when it comes to creating an efficient spin, they do. Your upper body does have a prominent role in advanced techniques like sprinting and cornering, but for now, let’s try to forget about anything above your waist. Actually, forgetting about your upper body is what wastes energy and slows you down. Instead, concentrate on keeping your shoulders, arms, hands, and back as relaxed and as still as possible. By eliminating upper body movement, and by not tensing-up your shoulders, or applying a death-grip to the handlebars, more energy is available for your legs, and it’s easier to react to changes in terrain or obstacles in your path. Keeping your torso relaxed and as still as possible will save energy and increase your level of comfort.

Now you’ve got the basic tools to create an efficient, comfortable riding technique which will help keep you on the bike longer. Of course, none of this is possible without being properly fit on your bike, so be sure to visit us or your local fit specialists and set up a fit appointment if you need one. It will be money well spent!

Luke Mountain, Road, Technique