Filed under: Bike discussions, Bike parts, Commuting, News, Tips for new riders
It is easy to talk ourselves out of doing things we know are good for us. Eating our veggies, doing the dishes after dinner, going to the dentist, and riding our bikes year round.
Maybe you have toyed with the idea of keeping your trusty steed out of the storage closet for the winter. Well quit toying with the idea and keep your bike from sharing its winter with lawn chairs and mice. Now is the time to make the commitment to ride your bike as often as you can this winter. We know what you are thinking: are we crazy? No, we live in Utah; we know cold. We also know icy streets, white out conditions, wind chill and rain. Not to brag, but we know Jack Frost and all his trickery. We want to pass on a few words of advice from our years on the winter roads so you can stay fit and happy on your bike without regret nagging at you all winter.
When it comes to base layers, less is more, and the type of fabric is key. Always remember this: cotton kills. Cotton may be great for all your summer riding, but it won’t cut it in the winter time. Wool and synthetic base layers will wick away moisture and keep you warm, but don’t go crazy with them. With your legs pumping away, your core will stay warm no problem if you have a good jacket. Its the arms and legs you need to focus on the most.
Cannondale Jacket
You need more than a good jacket for commuting. This doesn’t mean you need to run out and buy the burliest down coat on the market.
A jacket that is breathable, weather proof and will shield the wind is ideal, since the elements are going to be your biggest competitors this winter. The Cannondale L.E. Max Jacket is a good option for those who want to stay visible, warm and stylish.
A great pair of gloves will keeping you riding, since cold hands are what keep people off their bikes the most. Avoid any frost nip, bite, or meal by investing a couple dollars in gloves like the Giro Proof Cold-Weather Cycling Gloves, which are rated 30-0 degrees. The Giro gloves are a good option, but if neoprene is more your style, the Neo Work ‘n’ Sport gloves will keep the elements at bay and your fingers functioning.
Giro winter gloves
If you are like us and carry a few extra pounds around, you may not think you need tights. But let us entice you with something that will keep you far warmer than any pair of jeans, cordorroy-poly-cotton-spandex-shimmy-shake-pants. Tights man, it’s where it’s at. Sure, they fit a little snug, but what are you trying to hide? A pair of warm tights will keep your joints happy, your muscles warm, and will save your work pants from getting stuck in your chainring…again. Our tights page has so many styles, you could get lost. So we’ve picked out a few that we support for winter riding.
Bellwether Windfront
If you want the option of wearing shorts or knickers under your tights, the Bellwether Thermaldress tights are the best option. They don’t have a chamois and have reflective piping so you stay safe while commuting when the day light hours are shorter.
When the weather isn’t at its most extreme, or you want something a little lighter with a chamois, Bellwether Thermaldress Bike Tight With Pad deliver it all: warmth, chamois and comfort.
Some people are shy about parading around town in a pair of skin-tight tights, we understand. Bellwether understood the need for a more flattering fit too when they designed the Windfront Bike Tights. A looser fit, but tight around the knees to keep the joint warm, the Windfront is flattering and winter worthy.
Headsweats Sweat Tech II
Helmets are breezy; this isn’t the best thing when it is 15 degrees outside and you are bombing down hills. Cold ears and foreheads are the makings of a cold weather migraine. Keep your ears from turning into icicles with a Neoprene ear warmer or a winter scull cap. If you want a balaclava to keep your face covered up, we support that too.
Your bike might need some extra gear to keep it working in the winter so invest in a good pair of fenders, keep your bike clean, and lube your chain at least once a week.
If you decide you really want to sissy out on winter, get a trainer.
Giro Proof Cold-weather Cycling Gloves 30/0-deg
Filed under: Bikewagon Trips, New products, News | Tags: Interbike, Interbike 2010
The day started off with a less-than-satisfying Las Vegas breakfast buffet. But besides one guy almost losing said buffet later in the day, we didn’t let the bad food keep us down. There is always plenty (maybe too much?) of cool stuff to see at the nation’s biggest bike trade show. Here are few of the highlights for us. Look for them in the not-too-distant future on the mothership (that’s bikewagon.com, in case you’re wondering):
Ritchey’s got some sweet new red and silver handlebars coming out:
Crank Brothers continues to expand their beautiful lineup with their latest addition, carbon stems:
Ergon’s coming out with some cool platform pedals, as well as gloves to match their grips:
And Fizik is releasing some custom heat-molded shoes. Unfortunately, their 1st-year production will be very limited, but they look awesome, so you have something to look forward to.
The buzzword at Interbike 2010 is “urban,” and the bike fashion show certainly reflected that movement:
At the end of the day, we stumbled upon the air guitar competition Yakima was holding. Jon, Nathan and Paul all jumped in to try and impress the crowd. They rocked it, if we do say so ourselves. Check out the vid:
Unfortunately, another conetstant had a few more compadres in the crowd, so his cheers were a little bit louder. But Yakima still hooked us up with some sweet consolations.
For more updates, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. And check out our Flickr pics, too.
Filed under: News
We’ve been busy over here at the Bikewagon lately. “Busy doing what?” you may ask. Well, if you haven’t visited the site in a few weeks, you’ll notice almost 6,000 new parts online. That’s right, 6,000! That’s one heck of a lot of bike parts and accessories. Check it out by clicking on the link on the sidebar. We’re fairly confident you’ll find something you need. (Yes, we realize that “want” and “need” are pretty much synonymous in the cycling world.)
Salt Lake’s own Jeff Louder won the Redlands Classic over the weekend. I dug deep for a great win on Stage 1 in Beaumont and his team took control of the race putting two riders on the podium in the Stage 2 crit. Jeff lost 4 seconds in the final stage to the leaders but held on to his 5 second margin to take the overall. He adds his name to an elite list of race winners of the 25 year old American Classic.
Lance Armstrong crashed out of the 1st stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon in Spain yesterday. It could spell disaster for his comeback plans. He will miss at least two weeks of training and racing. Most people take 4-6 weeks to race again after a broken collar bone, though some say that Lance could be back within two weeks to prepare for the Giro and the Tour de France.
Broken Collar Bones are the most common injury in road racing (other than road rash). When you go down in a fast paced race there is little time to react. Someone crosses wheels and you all fall down. If you don’t have time to drop a hand or twist your body to change the path of your fall, you’ll go down on your shoulder and brake the clavicle. You’ll sit on the ground for a while, head in hands, one shoulder a bit lower than the other. Somehow Lance had managed to avoid this common injury until wheels crossed in front of him and it was his turn to sit on the side of the road. In all of Lance’s time racing bicycles his worst accident saw him go down and fracture a vertebrae in his neck. He quickly got back on the bike and won Tour again that year. I predict that his second comeback of the year will be closer to two weeks away than six.
Filed under: News
Did anyone else follow this year’s Tour of California? Living in Utah, I couldn’t help but cheer for some hometown heroes. Levi may not live here now, but he did spend a big part of his early cycling years in Salt Lake. Of course Zabriskie’s second place was awesome to watch, especially with the field that we saw this year in California. Jeff Louder also had an incredible stage, riding in a break for most of the day and staying away until the final kilometers. It was a good race for Salt Lake cycling fans. It was a great race for America to show the world that we can throw a great race that draws the world’s greatest cyclists and put a couple of our own on the podium.
Looks like the Team Astana truck needs a new lock, of maybe they need to back it up against a wall or something. Lance Armstrong need not be without his beloved TT Bike. Well, it’s back now so no harm done.
Funny that one of the papers quoted that it was worth about $10,000. How much would that go for on Ebay? Probably worth $50K+ to Lance.
I just need to negotiate now with Trek to make me a one and only numbered bike for my rides to work and back, maybe the Trek commuto 1357. When I make bikes, I will definitely take such requests.
Filed under: News
Hey everyone! This is the new blog from Bikewagon.com. It looks like the old site we used to host our blog on suddenly shut down, so we’ve moved here, new and improved (hopefully). We’ve got lots of great, new features that will be coming soon, so check back on a regular basis to learn more about bike parts and how you can make your bike into something all the cool kids will want.
