Trailing it Off…

A recent post I penned on the LeanIn Cornering site…

LeanIn Cornering© Concepts

Welcome to the next article in the BST© (BrakeSteerTurn) series

Dem’s da brakes chum

The rear brake on road bikes are a bit mis-understood in my opinion.
The following basic information will hopefully clear up some of the misconceptions and misinformation that has added to the confusion on an already intricate topic. Therefore, this article will try to dispel some of the long-standing advice and narratives that have been published on the subject.

Let me state that I am not saying the front brake is not the better choice most times, or am I denying the fact that the front brake is the most powerful and effective brake to use- when riding in a relatively straight line. But when cornering or on less than dry roads, rear braking when used properly can and will assist in slowing and stabilizing a bicycle as vertical force decreases and lateral force increases… More…

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Carlin “They’ve got you by the balls…”

Fucking amen, so TRUE. A little REALITY from one of the greatest commentators on life…

“People are fucking nuts. This country is full of nitwits and assholes. You ever notice that? Nitwits, assholes, fuckups, scumbags, jerkoffs, and dipshits. And they all vote. In fact, sometimes you get the impression that they’re the only ones who vote.

There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education sucks, and it’s the same reason it will never ever ever be fixed. It’s never going to get any better. Don’t look for it. Be happy with what you’ve got… because the owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the real owners now… the real owners.

The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls.

They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want.

They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. That’s right.”

Deutsche Ingenieurskunst… (or the Canyon Concept)

Even though this is from the London Bike Show in 2014, it is still relevant and what I predict will eventually be the future of most all road bikes. Can I get a whoo hoo!
Full suspension… likes me the sound of that!

 

Canyon shows off a full suspension, cloud-connected road bike and it’s sporting some amazing tech…

“It’s a full suspension platform. Obviously, we’re not talking about masses of travel but there’s a carbon leaf spring at each end; Canyon already use that tech in their VCLS seatpost. The really clever bit is the bearing that acts as the pivot of both front and rear suspension.”

“Filled with a special fluid that changes viscosity when it’s subjected to a magnetic field, so the damping of the suspension can be altered electronically, all the way up to a full lockout. It’s called a magneto-rheological fluid, if you’re into that kind of thing. Canyon aren’t the first to think about using the technology: Fox have been playing about with it on their mountain bike suspension for a couple of years.”

Full article here

Run for Your Life: The American Police State Is Coming to Get You

“Oppression is designed to compel obedience and submission to authority. Those who voluntarily put themselves in that state – by believing that their institutions of authority are just and good and should be followed rather than subverted – render oppression redundant, unnecessary.”

John W. Whitehead, Constitutional Attorney

“We’ve reached the point where state actors can penetrate rectums and vaginas, where judges can order forced catheterizations, and where police and medical personnel can perform scans, enemas and colonoscopies without the suspect’s consent. And these procedures aren’t to nab kingpins or cartels, but people who at worst are hiding an amount of drugs that can fit into a body cavity. In most of these cases, they were suspected only of possession or ingestion. Many of them were innocent… But these tactics aren’t about getting drugs off the street… These tactics are instead about degrading and humiliating a class of people that politicians and law enforcement have deemed the enemy.”—Radley Balko, The Washington Post

Daily, all across America, individuals who dare to resist—or even question—a police order are being subjected to all sorts of government-sanctioned abuse ranging from forced catheterization, forced blood draws, roadside strip searches and cavity searches…

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Beware the Dogs of War: Is the American Empire on the Verge of Collapse?

” If there is any absolute maxim by which the federal government seems to operate, it is that the American taxpayer always gets ripped off, especially when it comes to paying the tab for America’s attempts to police the globe. Having been co-opted by greedy defense contractors, corrupt politicians and incompetent government officials, America’s expanding military empire is bleeding the country dry at a rate of more than $57 million per hour.”

John W. Whitehead, Constitutional Attorney

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes… known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. — James Madison

Waging endless wars abroad (in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now Syria) isn’t making America—or the rest of the world—any safer, it’s certainly not making America great again, and it’s undeniably digging the U.S. deeper into debt.

In fact, it’s a wonder the economy hasn’t collapsed yet.

Indeed, even if we were to put an end to all of the government’s military meddling and bring all of the troops home today, it would take decades to pay down the price of these wars and get the government’s…

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Tested & Ridden: Quick review of the Duro Hypersonic Tyre

Testing Duro Hypersonic 25mm tyres.

The word Duro is of a Latin, Asturian and Galician origin. Duro, as is durable, as in durometer…

From dūrus (“hard”)

• 1 harden, make hard
• 2 last or endure
• 3 tough, resilient, strong

As the 2017 R002 iterations continue, I have been experimenting with different tyre widths and brands on the rear Ekay 23mm wide wheel. I have gone through the Conti Ultrasport II 28mm, which winds up being 30mm on a 23mm rim, which was too wide for the chain stays.

Then I fitted the Ultrasport II 25mm, which measured in at 26.75mm and that was fine for clearance. There is no questioning the performance of the Ultrapsort II, but I wanted a true 28mm on the rear. Next I went with a Vee Rubber V055 28mm, which measured in at a true 28mm on the wheel. But after initial evaluation, as I put more speed and lean angle into it, I did not like the ‘feel’.

So the next lucky contestant was a Duro Hypersonic 25mm wire bead (Bought for $15 usd on Amazon). The 25mm measures in at 26.5 mm on the 23mm wide wheels. No, still not what I am looking in for in terms of width, but the performance of this tyre is amazing. Really. Duro? Never herd of them you may say… Duro is a company out of Taiwan and has been around for a long time and their products are expanding and their quality consistently improving.

Billed a ‘training’ tyre, the Duro is what I refer to as an intermediate (both tread and compound ) or,designed with a semi-slick type tread. It has a 120 rated TPI casing, weighs 205g, with a 60A durometer compound. (50A being the softest and 70A being the hardest of bicycle tyres) The tread/surface design is very utilitarian (also very cool looking imo) and provides excellent grip both on the edge of the tyre and under braking. The only downside with the tire is its inability to soak up small pebbles and rocks. They slip just slightly off slight ripples, bumps and very small rocks/debris.

A nice round profile, with more ‘slick’ surface than treaded surface, which I believe is the Hypersonics advantage. It has just enough tread for damp/wet and cool conditions while in normal conditions is a stellar performer in my humble opinion below… (Note: 38 mph apex speed on Kitchell and 35mph apex speed on Fairfield)

Ride	Into the South Wood-Lands…of LBR		0.5km	13m	51s	Apr 2, 2017
Ride	Kitchell Süd Kurve		0.5km	22m	41s	Apr 2, 2017
Ride	[F]-Airfield (cleared for takeoff!)		0.4km	8m	33s	Apr 2, 2017

Allen Rd Descent 1.6km -5%	AVG	MAX
Speed	60.2km/h	68.8km/h

Now I’ve been thinking about so-called Training Tyres or Tires…which ever you might prefer! If a tyre is good enough to train on…meaning your training, typically starting off easy but wind up with a rider pushing very hard as their goals get closer. So are riders not riding similar to race or competition conditions as they progress? I find that hard to buy. In fact, I don’t buy it. So that aspect imo, is hog wash. Now, as far as weight goes, okay, so a ‘race’ or premium tire will be lighter, no questioning that.

So, is 50 to 60 grams +/- a tyre really worth somewhere around $100 or more dollars? LMAO! I suppose if you have money to burn…okay, but it’s not only weight you say…it’s rolling resistance! Ah ha! Perhaps, I reply… perhaps, a few watts here and there ( btw, you do know that tire companies test RR on a drum in perfect conditions, right? ) Insert laughing emoji…

Folks, it’s mostly ALL marketing rhetoric, yes, there are some discernible differences from a race tire to a training tire, but mostly negligible for us mere mortals. Except for the best of the best riders, the differences are not going to be that noticeable or provide any real world gains. here’s an idea…drop a pound or two off of your body or not… chances are, you’re not going to be making the Movistar or Astana or Trek squad… 😛

Also, wider is faster… (WHAT? Uh huh. It’s been proven…so forget the 23mm at 120 to 140 psi… they are actually slower…than a 25mm or 28mm at lower volume pressures. How can this be???!!! Well, it’s contact patch my friends! The more the rubber that stays in contact with the surface, the less speed you forsake…a narrow high pressure tire on real roads (not velodromes) will bounce and you will lose speed as compared to a wider tyre with lower pressure.

So, my $15 to $20 training tyres allow me to exploit fast corners and fast downhill speeds. They LAST, they are more puncture resistant and save me money! It’s a win-win imo. I have never paid more than $25 for a tire or $50 for a set. I try to stay in the $15-$20 range per tyre and have only once experienced any issues in 13 years and that was on a CST tire. (Maxxis second tier line. A real shit load of a tyre imo). It should also be noted that many tyre companies utilize the SAME compound on their lower models but don’t tell you that! So, you get the same level of performance-  grip wise in a slightly heavier BUT more reliable tyre…. Bingo! Yahtzee!

In conclusion, the Duro Hypersonic is a great tyre now matter what the price is. I’m now searching for a value priced 28mm Duro as we speak… and I just ordered a Schwalbe Lugano 28mm for $12 bucks off of eBay. Stay tuned…