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Bike Info

Wireless Bike Computer Cadence

Cycling computers come in many embodiments. My favorites, as of late, largely include wireless models. Wireless computers offer several advantages over wired models. They are simple to install, keep the bike looking clean and work well with suspension forks.

Modern cycling computers offer several features and functions for many kinds of riding. You can find simple versions that just track speed and distance. You can find very complex versions that track everything from location and altitude to heart rate and power output. Computers are designed for everyone from the most casual rider to the very intense endurance athlete. Most individuals fall somewhere in between.

If you are a casual rider looking for a way to take a greater step into the training world, cadence may be a cycling stat you should be aware of.

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Bike Info

Safety When Cycling at Night

Now that the summer is coming to an end and the winter is starting to emerge, the nights are beginning to get shorter and darker quicker. For those cyclists who regularly cycle in the evenings, possibly home from work, will soon notice the difference in the number of daylight hours and you may be riding in the dark sooner than you think.

When the evenings become darker there are several things you need to consider in order to keep yourself safe.

Lights – These are possibly the most important thing to remember when you start cycling in the evenings. Many people would have forgotten about these during the summer months as they haven’t had to use them. Some more expensive bikes such as Specialized bikes, will not have any kind of light attached due to the fact they are usually custom built. However now that the winter is approaching, you need to ensure that you have lights and they are in proper working order before setting off just in case you get caught out and it gets dark. The lights attached to your bike should not only light your way but be highly visible to drivers in order to keep you safe. You should have the brightest white light on the front usually attached between the handlebars, and a red light on the rear usually found just under the seat. Nowadays the lights available come with at least three different functions enabling it to be on constantly on or flash in a variety of ways.

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Bike Info

The History of Cervelo Bikes

In the history of cycling companies, Cervélo bikes are a relatively new and pioneering company. Having only been set up in 1995, the company has seen substantial growth and success making it one of the leading bike manufacturers around today!

The Cervélo Cycles brand was born when two cycling fanatics decided to take their hard work developing the best time trial bikes to the open market. Phil White and Gérard Vroomen set up the company after a top Italian cyclist approached them to help design the fastest possible time trial bike. The cyclist felt his sponsor could only develop traditional bikes developed through the combination of off the shelf tubesets and he had decided that he wanted more. He approached Gérard with the hope of a brand new innovative, aerodynamic design which was specifically for time trials.

Their work began analysing the current bikes available and the most important features which should be included in the new design. This resulted in a completely unique bike built specifically for that rider and pushed almost every boundary of any other time trial bike. Obviously, in the bike world, this became a phenomenon and everywhere it was seen, people asked where they could get their own.

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Bike Info

Essential Cycling Safety Rules and Equipment

Riding your bicycle can make you extremely vulnerable to danger as you are very unprotected from bodily injury if involved somehow in an accident. Usually, this results in motorists not understanding the same rights that cyclists have while sharing the road. Furthermore, many cyclists fail to understand their rights and obligations for bicycle safety and responsibilities, leading to increased confusion and unnecessary hazards. When cycling, it is imperative for cyclists to understand how not only to safely navigate the roads and sidewalks while also being preventative in avoiding possible dangers associated with sharing the roads. Understanding how to safely share the road is crucial to your safety. In order to fully protect yourself while cycling, it is first crucial to understand the potential dangers one may face while cycling.

Most Common Hazards

There are actually very common hazards incorporated with daily cycling activities. Whether commuting to work or going for a leisurely ride, one must truly understand what to look for when sharing the roads or sidewalks. One of the most common and dangerous hazards is the obstructions in roads. Parked cars, debris, or waste cans are very common obstructions and dangerous when riding a bike. Be sure to keep your eye out to avoid hitting any of these hazards. Another common obstruction is slippery roads and surfaces. Be sure to watch out for puddles and wet roads after rain for increased safety. Perhaps the most dangerous hazards you could face are reckless and distracted drivers. When sharing the road, be sure to avoid drivers who appear reckless when swerving or driving in excessive speeds. It is best altogether to remain in special bike lanes if available specifically designed for bicyclists.

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Heart Rate Vs Perceived Exertion in Cyclists

In cycling there are several ways to gauge how hard you are working. The first and most common method is heart rate monitoring. The second, less common but just as effective, is perceived exertion. There is also a third called power monitoring but most cyclists do not have access to this kind of sophisticated equipment.

What many cyclists don’t know is that heart rate isn’t as accurate a gauge as many people would like to think. In this post we will discuss why this is so as well as why perceived exertion, in many instances, can actually prove to be a more accurate gauge.

Heart rate monitoring tells you just that, how fast your heart is pumping. If you take a sedentary person off of the couch, put them on a bike and tell them to go at a decent clip for five minutes, by the end their heart rate will have raised drastically, even though they may not be working that hard. On the other hand you can take a very fit athlete and have him pedal at 120 RPMs for five minutes at a decent resistance and his heart rate only increase slightly, even though he is putting forth a great effort. To overcome this discrepancy many elite cyclists prefer to use perceived exertion in conjunction with heart rate.

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Bike Info

Remember When Cycling Used to Be Fun?

Everything has gotten so complicated in today’s world that we often lose sight of the simple pleasures that we once treasured as children. When I was younger, I didn’t spend the majority of my day sitting in front of a television or playing video games. I came home from school and after a brief wave to my mother I was headed out the door again to get some fresh air and sunshine. I would get together with my friends and we would play, when it came time for dinner, there would be fresh healthy meals to enjoy. The funny thing is, not a single one of us was overweight.

Fast track to twenty years later… over 60% of my friends are now battling weight problems (and several depression). They try dieting, not by eating healthy foods, but eating strange pre-packaged and prepared foods that wouldn’t have been recognizable as sustenance twenty years ago. They drag themselves to the gym every day to run in place while staring at a television screen. And some, even resort to pills or surgery. Why is it that no one has bothered to look at the habits that we had as thin healthy children, and incorporated them into your lives now?

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Bike Tips & Trick

Mountain Biking – Fun For Beginners

Mountain Biking can be an exciting and fun way to spend time outside and get healthy at the same time. Before you can begin, you need to do some research. You will need to learn about safety precautions, the correct equipment, and training. Sporting good stores can be helpful, the internet can be a great resource, as can fellow mountain bikers. You may want to join a group who can provide you with guidance and you can ride with or compete against once you get started. They can show you the rules of the road and the best places to ride. Whether you join a group or not, you should contact your local parks to learn about what trails are available and any rules and regulations you should be aware of.

As with any sport, there are many dangers. Much like other types of biking, it is imperative that you wear a helmet. Knee pads and elbow pads are also a great idea. While regular biking is generally on flat, even ground, mountain biking involves uneven terrain and steep angles. It can also sometimes include wooded areas so some eye protection may be in order.

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How Cycling Can Improve Fitness

With so many different machines out there in the gyms across the country, many people tend to forget about the easiest, cheapest, and the best way to get into shape. A cycle exercise, such as riding your bike, is a great fitness routine to get into. Health should be the number one priority for people because there is nothing more important. The healthier you are the more you will get out of life in the end.

One of the most obvious benefits to cycle exercising is that of getting out into the world and enjoying the scenery while getting all of that fresh air. Breathing that clean air is another thing that is excellent for your health. Instead of staring at the same four walls at the gym and smelling all of that stale sweat, you could be watching the blue skies and getting all of the fresh air you could ever want.

Another reason why this type of exercising is so beneficial is because it is low impact. Those who have a little trouble with their joints will enjoy this exercise, as the motion of the exercise of cycling does not stress the joints too much. You will be able to exercise for a much longer period of time this way. Those trying to get their joints back to tip top health after joint surgery find cycle exercises to be a great rehabilitation path.

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Bike Tips & Trick

Cycling Interval Training

Cycling interval training is an important part when you build up improvements in your performance. Cycling interval training means that you train in consecutive periods with a high heart rate combined with resting periods and low heard rate.

Winning any cycling race can never happen without using Cycling Intervals in your training plan. You will be able to train even harder on the next interval training day when you train intervals combined with resting periods.

It is important to remember that it is in your recovery period that you rebuild and increase your capacity. However, your capacity cannot begin to increase until you train close to your max heart rate. With subsequent recovery you muscles compensate by further building up muscle so the muscle can handle even tougher training the next time. It is popularly called muscle over compensation.

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Bike Tips & Trick

Position Your Cleats Like a Pro

How do I position my cleats? It’s one of the questions we often get following the purchase of a pair of pedals or new cleats. Many customers want to know how they can ensure the best placement. Some customers admit they haven’t adjusted their cleat position in years and question if it could be wrong.

Lateral Adjustment

Let’s start with the lateral position, often called the ‘Q’ factor. A rider should have their legs and feet in a natural position, not forcing their body to pedal in an unnatural manner. Forcing your legs wider or narrower than is natural will elicit undesirable results. For a majority of us this means moving your cleats to the outside of our shoes, to allow them to get as close to the crank arm as possible. Riders with wider hips will benefit from moving their cleats to the center or even as far as the inside of their shoes to push their feet further out.

Angling the cleat

In many cases riders don’t ride with perfectly straight feet. To compensate for this and to take full advantage of the float, the cleat needs to be angled so that when in the natural position the cleat is centered on the pedal.

Heal out (further away from the crank than the ball of your foot) requires the tip of the cleats to be pointed away from the crank. Heal in will require the cleats to be pointed towards the crank. The amount will vary depending on how far off center the foot is while riding and it is likely different on each foot.

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