Persistence of these kids

Good addicts unite!

So simple, yet so true

You have the power

7 Reasons to ride your bike more often

Source: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/mother-natures-pop-science-guide-to-cycling-infographic

Move your soul

Weekend to-do list

Yes, my bike is broken...

Be careful of FAKE bike parts!

Recently, Baradine, a Pedaling Forward partner, has discovered someone has put their brand on fake floating rotors and selling them online!

According to Baradine:

"Please beware of counterfeit and reverse-engineered BARADINE® products! 

We have recently uncovered "Floating Disk Brake Rotors" and packaging bearing the BARADINE® name being sold on an online bidding site.

Please use caution as the possibility of malfunction may cause harm to people and property! 

We thank you for your support and understanding!" 

Don't Judge!

Pedaling Forward!

Initial thoughts on: SEQ lite 11-27 cassette

Initial thoughts on: SEQ lite 11-27 cassette

By : Chris Sontag

Packaging:  I have purchased a lot of cassettes over the years, and have seen what the standard packing is. The SEQ lite cassette comes in a simple and elegant box that slides open to reveal the cassette. The cassette sits on a plastic part that keeps the cassette stored safely inside the box.

Packaging:

Installation: This cassette is unique to any other cassette I have seen or used. It is made of two parts. The larger gears are made from a solid piece of aluminum, whereas the smaller gears are made from a solid piece of titanium. The cassette is extremely light weight, noticeably lighter than the sram force I was using prior. The cassette comes with a small spacer that is required to be placed in between it and the freehub body. Being only two pieces makes installation onto the wheel very easy, removing the need to fit each cog and spacer. The lock ring comes with a torque value, and secures the cassette well.

The parts supplied:

 

Installed:

First Use:  The cassette operated smooth and required no adjustments to my bike! The cassette seems to be slightly louder than a standard sram force cassette. This could be because it is made from solid  pieces of metal and do not have plastic spacers to dampen the sound. However this is not an issue that needs to be fixed.

Feedback:  I would love to try out other ranges of gearing like 11-23 and 11-25. This is a great cassette, and has held up to a few races now. I have been using it like any other cassette, and there have been no issues to date.

Taokas Striker Pro being assembled in a bike shop in Taipei, Taiwan!

Below are photos from a bike shop website (Bike Shop)

A Taokas Striker Pro road bike is being assembled in a bike shop in Taipei City, Taiwan! 

Drop dead gorgeous sexy bike.

and its fast as hell as well! 

Taokas Striker Pro in matte Black

How We Solve Problems

Problem solving at its finest

DDK R-146 Saddle Review

Initial thoughts on: DDK R-146 Saddle

By : Chris Sontag

Packaging:  No packing was provided

Installation:  This saddle has carbon rails and requires a torque wrench to install it so the carbon is not crushed. Before this saddle I was using a specialized romin pro. I noticed that this saddle has a smaller gap to the seat rail than my previous saddle (figure 1). This smaller gap made it difficult to put the top of the seatpost clamp on the seat rails. It was achieved in only a slightly longer amount of time. The seat rails were slightly tacky, so I opted not to use carbon assembly paste to see how it faired without modification.

First Use: The saddle has an almost identical curved shape to my specialized romin pro (figure 2), so I concluded that the saddle should work fairly well for me. The DDK R-146 saddle has some gel insert padding which is more than my previous saddle (figure 3). Also instead of a cut out in the saddle the majority of the interior of the saddle consists of a soft gel. When you look at the bottom you see that the shell of the saddle is only on the perimeter of the saddle, allowing the soft gel to deform beyond the shell (figure 4).

                  The first ride I found the saddle very cushy. As a road cyclist I prefer a stiff saddle. With the saddle moving each time I pedal I found it not as comfortable as it could be. The saddle was not uncomfortable, but over longer riders I feel that a stiffer saddle would be superior. I also found that having a cut out in the middle of the saddle works better for my body geometry. I will keep riding the saddle, and will see how it progresses, and breaks in.

Feedback:  I think that removing a lot of the excess padding would help the saddle be more comfortable for serious cyclists. I also feel that having a central cut out, will increase comfort.

Figure 1 Visual difference in saddle rail height                    

Figure 1

                                                                                

Figure 2 DDK saddle and Specialized Romin Pro

Figure 2

           Figure 3 DDK R-146 top             

  Figure 4 DDK R-146 bottom

                          

                   

I think we can all agree on this one...

Pedaling Forward

Seventy Years Ago

"...The landings were conducted in two phases: an airborne assault landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France starting at 6:30 AM. Below are soldiers pulling bicycles ashore during D Day invasion."

From: The Province, World Wars: A Little Known Secret Weapon. 

Seventy Years Ago.
God Bless These Men.

Chelsea Brown reviews the UNO Carbon Racing Handle Bar and UNO Alloy 3D Stem

Product: UNO Carbon Racing Handle Bar and Alloy 3D Stem AS-025

Model No/Article No: QTS-CR01/QTS-CR01

I am very happy with this carbon handle bar. It is very light and stiff which is important to road racers. Since it is full carbon, it picks up some of the road vibrations as well making rough roads easier on my hands and wrists. I am a sprinter, so I need very stiff components to transfer all of my power to the road. These handle bars are plenty stiff for my sprints. Here is a picture of a recent race I won with the handle bars and stem.

(First Place: Red Kite Criterium #3 on April 13, 2014)

Installation was not so easy. I had to install them twice torqueing them down to the correct amount (5Nm). But, it would not stay in place and was slipping during a race. After trying to tighten them down several times, I tried using carbon paste. This helped a lot, and they have not moved since I used the carbon paste. It might be helpful to package the handle bar with a small set of instructions to let the consumer know to apply carbon paste before installing. They are staying in place very well since using the carbon paste and I have been using these handle bars for about 6 weeks now.

The design is very slick. They look really great.

Installation

Installation

The stem is very light weight and stiff as well. Much lighter than the full carbon Specialized stem that I was using before I switched to the UNO stem. Recently I did a race that is nicknamed the “Paris-Roubaix of California” because the roads are so bumpy that it is comparable to the famous cobblestone race in France. I used all of the UNO components including handlebar, stem, and seat post. These quality components held up very well in the race despite the incredibly bumpy road and all of the pot holes. None of the components came loose when torqued to the appropriate levels. I also noticed a marked improvement in smoothing out the bumpy road using these components. I did this race course last year using a specialized stem and William’s seat post. This time using UNO handlebar and stem my wrists and hands were much less tired and strained than they were last year using other components.

The seat post is very light and stiff as well. I like that the seat post has lines to mark seat position, so that you don’t have to guess when raising or lowering the seat during a ride. The design of all the UNO components is very aggressive looking and looks great on my bike.