Reviews revisited

While other more, how shall we say, reputable sites might thrash test products for months or years, we tend to roll out our reviews the instant we think that we have 51% chance of not being full of it. Naturally, omissions are inevitable, so here are some follow ups:

FSA TriMax Racing Bend Integrated Aerobars

@##=#<4,r>@##=#In the original review I expressed reservations about the pad placement on these bars. They go almost directly under your elbows, and I was concerned that road shock would have too direct a path up your arms and shoulders. Little did I realize then that the CRCA TT would be held at Floyd this year. Even though the road was rough enough that my computer (which was resting against my arm) gave me a bruise, I felt totally comfortable and in control during the race. Those composite armrests must really absorb shock as advertised. The pads, which I hadn’t taken note of before, also shone. They’re molded instead of die cut, and have nice, rounded edges. I’ve had die cut pads shrivel up, exposing the abrasive velcro below. Not these babies – smooth and cushy all the way.

Another nice feature highlighted by Floyd’s rough tarmac was the bar’s integrated stem. No, you can’t change stem length with these bars, but it’s nice to know that no matter how bumpy the ride, the bars won’t rotate. Just for fun, check out the photos and look for riders whose bars are at a different angle each lap.

Bottom line? The more I ride these bars the more I like them.

Zipps 404’s original review
 
These wheels are fast becoming the most notorious in the NYC area. At races, people ask when the wheels have to be returned, and I tell them that I’m still actively dodging the kind Zipp Rep, Sandy. So it makes perfect sense for me to post this follow-up review on the internet – how could that come back to bite me?
 
 I have been testing the 404’s since May and in that time I’ve done horrible, horrible things to them. I’ve taken them to FBF every Tuesday, I raced them on the Harlem Circuit, along with Central Park, Prospect Park and the wilds of New Jersey. I have raced them on every circuit in the NYC area that comes with the recommendation that you not use your fancy equipment.
 
The rap on Zipp wheels is that they can be fragile, but in their ten-race schmalz stress-test, I haven’t noticed a ding or scratch or anything cosmetic of that sort. I was also wary of the brake pad situation – you should use Zipp’s special carbon brake pads with the wheels – but I found the braking to be solid and predictable, even while racing in the pouring rain at Central Park. I even use the pads with my normal aluminum training wheels and they have been durable and predictable. I’m still on the set of pads that came with the wheels.
 
As far as the performance of the wheels goes, they have been outstanding. I find I can save a little energy by just dropping my face to the stem and letting the wheels roll and do their work. Once the wheels get up to speed I find that they keep the speed rolling with what seems like less effort. What else can I say? They are fast! I love them more than some members of my extended family. If you’ll excuse me now, I have to take the wheels back into hiding again so that I won’t be deprived of my precious, precious wheels.
 
Schwalbe Tubulars original review
 
These tires have been the icing on my Zipp cake. I’ve been riding 25mm and they have been great. Over the roughest courses, they’ve performed without incident. I raced in the pouring rain with no slip-outs whatsoever while others were sliding out. Great tires, I don’t know what else to say. No flats, durable, good grip – that about covers it – don’t you think?

Fifteen hours on a cheese grater and nary a flat.

Sweat Gutr

Well, ’tis the season to be sweaty, so what better time to try out the Sweat Gutr. The Sweat Gutr is a a PVC strip that fits over your forehead and channels sweat away from your eyes. The gutter channel ends just past each eye, where the sweat is allowed flow down the sides of your face. It’s supposed to be worn just below the rim of your helmet on the front, and under the retention device on the back. Each unit comes with three different sized elastic bands for adjustment, and can be further tweaked with velcro straps.

Time Trialing
This is really what I wanted the Gutr for. Sweat in the eyes is a distraction, and distractions cost time. I did the NJ TT with a DoWrap SweatVac, which sprung a leak. By the end I might as well have been riding underwater. I got the Gutr the day before the Floyd TT, and I promptly violated the ‘don’t race with untested equipment’ rule. I used the Gutr…and I rode underwater again.

@##=#<3,L>@##=#In the TT position your head is usually 45 degrees from vertical, so instead of channeling sweat to the sides, the Gutr sends it to the middle, where it overflows and runs down your eyes and nose. Kind of like a Sweat Funl. Greg Thurmond of SG insists that it can work, so I took his suggestions and tried again. I put the Gutr as high on my forehead as possible, and as low on my neck as it would go. It worked perfectly with a regular helmet one day, and it didn’t work with a TT helmet on another day. So for me, the jury’s still out.

Road Riding
I used the Gutr on some long road rides on hot humid days, and I got a total of one drop of sweat on my sunglasses. And it was on the far outer edge, where it didn’t impede my vision. The Gutr works like a charm with a more upright position. Yahtzee!

Rollers
Rollers on a nice summer day, while sporting the Merrill Lynch team haircut (bald). That’s pretty much the Thunderdome of perspiration. Greg tells me that no human can generate enough sweat to overwhelm the Gutr – they’ve tested it with a drip on mannequin heads. For the most part that’s true. If you keep your head up, you can feel a steady stream of sweat flowing down the sides of your face. I did find the sensation of having a thoroughly wet head somewhat disconcerting: the running beads felt like Chinese water torture. It was all I could do to resist wiping my head. But as soon as I looked down the levee was breached, after which I was underwater again. By the end of an hour I was just as sweaty and disgusting as any other roller ride. My guess is that those Coolmax helmet pads (or hair) slow the sweat enough to make the Gutr work better. No helmet, no hair, flood.

So where does that leave us?
4 hours on the road without ever wiping sweat from my eyes is nothing to sneeze at. I’m still searching for a good TT sweat solution, and riding rollers is still boring and nasty. But for the road, the Gutr works better than anything I’ve ever tried.

Time for hate
Shallow superficial people like Schmalz will make fun of you for wearing something different. But evolved, mature people like you and me know that form follows function, and besides, you never look cool when you’re squinting out of one eye because the other’s stinging with sweat.

Tour Fever

Guest hater, cycling spouse Jill Austin

@##=#<1,L>@##=#You will probably never read Tour Fever by J.P. Partland. Most of you could be considered ‘tifosi’ (see page xvi in the intro), and probably assume you know enough about the Tour de France. In most cases, you do know enough, but spend an hour with Tour Fever and you will know more.

The book is very comprehensive and, as billed, is ideal for the cycling neophyte. All elements of the Tour de France are discussed, from crashing to EPO to how gentlemanly, but tough, the riders really are. Particularly interesting, maybe even to a seasoned Tour follower, was a section about the race history.

A non-bike racer, my knowledge of the Tour was limited to the Discovery Channel team and the Champs-Elysees finish. Partland’s book opened up the Tour for me, offering an in-depth view of many aspects unfamiliar to the casual spectator. In years past, I admit that I would only watch the stage endings and the occasional “vicious attack,” usually because my husband was yelling at the television. Partland’s book may have changed that. Watching the Tour as a hyper-informed viewer will be a whole new experience.
Come July, I should be a much more tolerable viewing partner.

Tour Fever is a fine addition to your library, an interesting reprieve from your shelves of bike repair books and back issues of Velo News. Tour Fever will come in most handy, however, when, for the seventeenth time, your non-“Feverish” husband or wife asks, “Why is that guy wearing Lance’s yellow shirt?” You can simply hand over Tour Fever and keep watching with nary a pause, not missing a second of Bob Roll’s genius.