Must’ve been like 1998, maybe 1999. I got a bunch of guys together for a ride on Thanksgiving Day. Riding T-day morning has always been a good thing for me, as I get to skip all the meal-prep tension and do something safer. We had a pretty wide range of personalities going, but one rider was really talking a lot of smack. I’ll just identify him as “Russ”. Russ was a little shallow on some types of MTB experience and some basic social skills, but could push your buttons anyway.
We were out in Chino Hills Park, riding Telegraph to Four Corners, going up Bovine Delight single track and down South Ridge to Telegraph and out. Total of 11 miles and maybe 1200 feet ascended. It’s a nice loop for a bunch of working dudes, some very fit some less. About a dozen of ‘em, including me. “We’ll be back in time to eat with noooo problem.” (Famous last words, as usual.)
We roll out Telegraph and after a break we climb Bovine. At the re-group on South ridge, Russ gets me thinking it’s time to school this sucker on how_to_go_down_hills.
“Class is in session, fool.”
If there’s no hikers, South Ridge can put 40+mph numbers on your bike computer. I’m getting a solid case of testosterone-poisoning. We push off, and Russ swears I can’t drop him. We go through the first roller-section, and break left for the next section. I’m big-ringing it and feeling some pain. As we roll the next crest, and start the next descent I'm pounding it through the tricky left at the bottom, and coast to the next peak. I’m alone, but not in a good way.
Russ is stacked up, in the middle of a dust cloud. Other riders catch up to him, and they’re yelling at me to come back.
Dang it.
I roll back, and they tell me he’s broken his left collarbone. Others have his basic med needs covered, he’s being shaded and is taking some water. He has a small sense of humor now, but had landed pretty hard. After a few minutes questions of how to get him out come up. “Should we try and get him life-flighted out of here? Can we get the Ranger to drive him out?” His pupils are equal with no dizziness, so we will walk. Two guys were sent to fetch their SUV to pick him up at the next road crossing. We work up a brace for his shoulder using a spare inner tube in a figure-8, with a pump and duct tape holding it tight. He was then walked out three miles, which is an hour in those conditions. I felt a little guilty over the whole thing, so I walked his bike and mine to the pick up. The drivers were a little anxious on the way to ER, and had to tell him to “play it up” when the Motorcycle cop stopped them for going a little too fast. Another truck load of riders shouted something as they drove by, so the cop broke off with Russ's group and ticketed the others.
Post-action Review:
Negatives. A. I should not have let him get under my skin. I went through that sand-over-hardpack corner too fast, but my experience let me “float” the slippery section better. B. He blamed it on me, so his wife was “Mad-dogging” me a little. If I haven't made someone's wife mad lately I feel like I'm not selling enough bikes. It's what I do, hey! C. Walking three miles in new cycling shoes is not good.
Positives. A. I remembered how to loop a tube over his shoulders, and carried the equipment to get a brace fixed up to help him get out. B. We all stayed calm, and did the right things. C. I got a lot of credit for good cornering, and got no further static from him. D. More people wanted to go riding next year. Someone else led the downhill portion. We all ate that meal with both hands.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Radius vs Speed may = G Forces
While riding over the years I had sensed G-forces, but had always dismissed it. I've been studying a book we'll be adding "Mastering Mountain Bike Skills" by Brian Lopes, and it turns out to be a real thing. 
Doubling your speed quadruples your side force. As the side forces increase, more stress is put upon your tires and wheels. A powerful side force on a low-pressure tire can cause it to be "shoved" over, and debris can be picked up. I had wondered how I was collecting some small twigs and grit inside my tires, now I know. Pretty cool!
Doubling your speed quadruples your side force. As the side forces increase, more stress is put upon your tires and wheels. A powerful side force on a low-pressure tire can cause it to be "shoved" over, and debris can be picked up. I had wondered how I was collecting some small twigs and grit inside my tires, now I know. Pretty cool!
Monday, August 28, 2006
“Man, Brake set-up is hard”
Setting up a rim brake correctly can be challenging, especially when you’ve been working without any standards. Sometimes you get ‘em to work awesome, some you shouldn’t have even touched. What makes the difference?
Factors.
Frame quality- a more flexible frame reduces your braking power.
Caliper and lever quality- lower quality parts will be less stiff and have looser bushings.
Cable quality- stiffer outer housing and smoother inner wires give a better response.
Pad quality- generally a softer or more abrasive pad will stop better.
Any of these factors can be argued to death, but let's use these as a starting point.
Set-up.
Would you prefer a trained Surgeon, or a 10 yr old child to set a broken arm? A mechanic that has gone through any of our training will be able to understand how to set a brake up to stop to it’s best performance. We need to set the pad to caliper arm positioning so that the pad has the most compression force to the rim. Because there is frame flex and bushing play in almost every caliper arm, we must set the pad so the front edge contacts the rim first. If set this way, the rider will experience a steadily increasing response to greater lever pressure. The “toe-in” amount is suggested to be at a minimum, to reduce brake drag and give a better feel to the rider. Everyone has a different shaped hand, but some things are constant. The human hand can generate the most power when it is almost closed. Brake wires may stretch a bit, and pads will wear. To compensate for both factors we set the cable tension so that on a new bike, lever squeezed firmly, the lever does not come closer than parallel to the grip. This usually allows for a one to two millimeter gap between the rim and pad when the brake is released, for quiet coasting.
Well, yeah but…
Your first experiences at this may be difficult, but so are most first experiences. It takes work and determination to become a proficient mechanic; you must decide to do it until you are great. Evaluate your work, and when it does not meet the standards fix it. Some brakes will require more attention, but your instructors have the confidence that they can improve the braking performance of any bike on the planet. You should too, so come to class and keep at it!
Factors.
Frame quality- a more flexible frame reduces your braking power.
Caliper and lever quality- lower quality parts will be less stiff and have looser bushings.
Cable quality- stiffer outer housing and smoother inner wires give a better response.
Pad quality- generally a softer or more abrasive pad will stop better.
Any of these factors can be argued to death, but let's use these as a starting point.
Set-up.
Would you prefer a trained Surgeon, or a 10 yr old child to set a broken arm? A mechanic that has gone through any of our training will be able to understand how to set a brake up to stop to it’s best performance. We need to set the pad to caliper arm positioning so that the pad has the most compression force to the rim. Because there is frame flex and bushing play in almost every caliper arm, we must set the pad so the front edge contacts the rim first. If set this way, the rider will experience a steadily increasing response to greater lever pressure. The “toe-in” amount is suggested to be at a minimum, to reduce brake drag and give a better feel to the rider. Everyone has a different shaped hand, but some things are constant. The human hand can generate the most power when it is almost closed. Brake wires may stretch a bit, and pads will wear. To compensate for both factors we set the cable tension so that on a new bike, lever squeezed firmly, the lever does not come closer than parallel to the grip. This usually allows for a one to two millimeter gap between the rim and pad when the brake is released, for quiet coasting.
Well, yeah but…
Your first experiences at this may be difficult, but so are most first experiences. It takes work and determination to become a proficient mechanic; you must decide to do it until you are great. Evaluate your work, and when it does not meet the standards fix it. Some brakes will require more attention, but your instructors have the confidence that they can improve the braking performance of any bike on the planet. You should too, so come to class and keep at it!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
What's the business profile of all the Euro-velo-not cleanness?
Does all this really affect the local riders in our area? Cycling was on the path to eminence, as can be seen by all the past stories on Lance Armstrong's sportmanship. With all of the recent scandals, we may need to think of the effect in our area. Our average rider does not know much about the racing side of the sport, and usually does not care. They are riding not for competition, but for just the love of the sport and being with friends. Will they ride less just because the French are passionate to fry any American race winner? Definitely not, the casual rider is more affected by weather than the Pro-circuit. So our business is unlikely to feel any effect.
I think it is terrible that Landis is stained by this, regardless of his level of innocence. Alexi Grewal, a rider from the famous 7-11 team of the eighties has been recently quoted that during any race you have moments of excellence and failure day after day. Some times in the same day. Floyd's performance from stage 16 to 17 to 18 does not convict him of anything beyond being a competitor.
Does this mean they'll be fewer people on my favorite trails? Probably won't affect that either...
I think it is terrible that Landis is stained by this, regardless of his level of innocence. Alexi Grewal, a rider from the famous 7-11 team of the eighties has been recently quoted that during any race you have moments of excellence and failure day after day. Some times in the same day. Floyd's performance from stage 16 to 17 to 18 does not convict him of anything beyond being a competitor.
Does this mean they'll be fewer people on my favorite trails? Probably won't affect that either...
"B" test, what ever. Ullrich implicated to be out of control in other stories.
From Velonews, more info on the test.
Lab chief calls for new testosterone strategy By AFP This report filed August 1, 2006
The head of a leading international anti-doping laboratory on Tuesday called for a complete change in the strategy used to fight illicit testosterone use in sport, warning that current detection methods were inadequate.
Martial Saugy, the head of the Swiss anti-doping laboratory in Lausanne, said the science of detection had fallen behind because of fears of legal wrangling, while testosterone doping methods had become more sophisticated.
Doses used when the approved testing methods were set up in 1982 were "massive", he explained in interviews with Swiss radio RSR.
"We are no longer in that situation now and so the whole anti-doping strategy against testosterone must be changed," he added.
The current controversies surrounding positive tests for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin showed that testosterone is still a problem, Saugy said.
"This is not biotechnology, highbrow genetic doping. We simply need to be able to refine the testing system to go and find these products."
However, Saugy cautioned that anti-doping laboratories were exposed to far more intense legal challenges than before. Laboratories should be supported in their bid to pursue testing methods that are tailored to each individual athlete, exploring a broader range of markers than currently available, he added.
Research undertaken by the WADA-accredited Lausanne laboratory indicated that there were major differences in the way the human body absorbs additional doses of the male sex hormone and reacts to it.
"There is a very big variation between individuals, as much in the effects as in the ability to detect the product," Saugy said. "The study does not conclude that dozens or hundreds of athletes are doped with testosterone, but that athletes are not all equal before testosterone doping."
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/10625.0.html
Lab chief calls for new testosterone strategy By AFP This report filed August 1, 2006
The head of a leading international anti-doping laboratory on Tuesday called for a complete change in the strategy used to fight illicit testosterone use in sport, warning that current detection methods were inadequate.
Martial Saugy, the head of the Swiss anti-doping laboratory in Lausanne, said the science of detection had fallen behind because of fears of legal wrangling, while testosterone doping methods had become more sophisticated.
Doses used when the approved testing methods were set up in 1982 were "massive", he explained in interviews with Swiss radio RSR.
"We are no longer in that situation now and so the whole anti-doping strategy against testosterone must be changed," he added.
The current controversies surrounding positive tests for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin showed that testosterone is still a problem, Saugy said.
"This is not biotechnology, highbrow genetic doping. We simply need to be able to refine the testing system to go and find these products."
However, Saugy cautioned that anti-doping laboratories were exposed to far more intense legal challenges than before. Laboratories should be supported in their bid to pursue testing methods that are tailored to each individual athlete, exploring a broader range of markers than currently available, he added.
Research undertaken by the WADA-accredited Lausanne laboratory indicated that there were major differences in the way the human body absorbs additional doses of the male sex hormone and reacts to it.
"There is a very big variation between individuals, as much in the effects as in the ability to detect the product," Saugy said. "The study does not conclude that dozens or hundreds of athletes are doped with testosterone, but that athletes are not all equal before testosterone doping."
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/10625.0.html
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