Fast and Easy Winter Bike Maintenance

Here it is January 7, 2012 and we're in a massive snow drought. I use the word massive because it adds drama to our lack of ability to enjoy 'winter activities' that I would love to be doing right now...skiing, ice climbing, snowshoeing, you get my point, but with all this amazing weather, what are we cyclists to do? Ride! If that's what you said, then you got the answer right. 

I wanted to write up a quick post about 15 minute bike maintenance and how to wash off the salt and road grunge that can build up on your bike this time of year. It's really quite simple and though I may have been a little fussy and exceeded the 15 minute time limit, you can really get it done in that amount of time.

Here's what you need-

1. A bucket of hot water, no soap.

2. An old crusty water bottle.

3. Chain lube

4. Three rags- one goes in the bucket of hot water, one greasy rag used to wipe off chain lube, the other used to wipe the bike clean and dry.

5. If you go over the 15 min time limit, you'll also want to have some de-greaser and frame polish.

6. One dirty bike.

 Basic tools for the job.

One dirty bike.

It's really easy to start, you don't need a repair stand as pictured above, leaning the bike against some object that still allows the pedals to rotate backwards works great. I put the chain in the large chain ring, small cog so it spins easily during the process. So fill your crusty water bottle and spray away!

I suggest spraying the whole frame, wheels, tires, drive train and anything else that may have got salt or other grime on while you were enjoying your sweet winter bike ride. I feel the hot water is great to really clean off the gunk and salt, especially if your bike is cold, maybe it's just psychological, but what ever works for you. After you've sprayed most of the salt off, I take the rag from the bucket and give a good wipe down of the whole bike, wheels, spokes, frame, chain and derailleurs and other frame parts. Soak the rag in the bucket as needed and scrub all the salt that wasn't removed from just spraying water over your bike.

When you're done this, use your nice dry rag (I like to pamper my ride with a nice soft, cut up, old towel) and give the bike a good wipe down, wiping dry all the same parts you just washed off.

Giving a nice wipe down and special attention to detail.

The last thing I do is grab the greasy rag from my cleaning kit and wipe the chain down real good to soak up some of the water. Then I apply chain lube to the chain. Again, I'm pretty fussy so I put a drop of lube at each roller pin and bushing. You really don't need an excess amount of lube all over the chain and link plates, just enough to keep the moving bits lubed and happy.

Now that your bike is clean, dry, and chain well lubed, you'll be ready to ride on the next time, no rusted chain or ruined components from the salt and winter road grime.

 That is one brilliantly clean bike!

What I did in my extra fifteen or twenty minutes. 

Lubed all the spoke nipples at the rim with chain lube, cleaned and wiped down both wheels and hubs, used de-greaser to clean my derailleur pulleys taking off all the built up crud, pulled both wheels off the bike to give a little frame and fork inspection and polish. As well as, just a general close eye over every part of the bike, so I'm confident it's absolutely clean and ready to roll.

Bike repair isn't rocket science by any means, but if you're not into cleaning your bike, bring it down to our shop and we'll give it all the love it deserves.

Thanks for reading,

Steve

Upcoming Mavic Wheel Demo

Please join us at Papa Wheelies for a Mavic Wheel Demo Day. Mavic will be on hand Saturday June 25 with their entire line of road wheels available to demo. We will combine the Demo with our normal Saturday morning group ride where you will be able to take a pair of wheels for a nice long test spin. The Mavic Team will also be available for an open demo from 10AM- 2PM that same day. For those testing wheels at the 7:30 AM shop ride, Mavic will be available at Papa Wheelies from 4-6pm on Friday 6/24 to exchange wheels. Otherwise, riders are encouraged to arrive at Papa Wheelies 45-60 minutes before the group ride departs. *All demo wheels are first come-first served. However, an effort can be made to reserve wheels for specific times by contacting MAVIC directly prior to the event.

A new pair of road wheels can be a great upgrade investment and can enhance your ride significantly by saving weight, while decreasing rolling resistance, and adding strength and rigidity. Which all translates to increased performance & speed, and lastly adds confidence to your bike riding adventures. Anybody who participates in the demo event and purchases any pair of Mavic wheels from Papa Wheelies within Two Weeks of the event is entitled to a complimentary pair of Mavic tires.

2011 Specialized Roubaix Expert SL3

Ninety nine percent of us don't need the absolute fastest, stiffest race bike. We don't put out over 1000 watts of power in an all-out sprint like Mark Cavendish, we're not going to pull ahead of a world-class group of climbers headed up Alpe d' Huez like Alberto Contador. We're going to go out for a few 1-2 hour rides a week and throw in an occasional century ride or 60-miler, and we're going to ride New England roads with pavement that is cracked and rutted with frost-heave lumps.

The Specialized Roubaix was built for exactly this kind of riding. Well, actually, it was built to win races like Paris-Roubaix, where the race course includes dusty, muddy, rough cobblestones covered with a patina of tractor gear oil with myriad unexpected obstacles placed between the start and finish lines. Luckily, that just so happens to describe a lot of the roadways here in northern New England too!

The Roubaix SL3 is a fantastic frame whose technology was only available on the $7000+ S-Works version of the Roubaix as recently as last year. Carbon is a fantastic material to build a bike frame out of, since it is almost infinitely tunable in terms of compliance - shaping of the tubes, layup of the carbon fabric make it possible to keep significantly stiff lateral and torsional rigidity while adding a substantial amount of vertical compliance, resulting in microsuspension that both smooths out the potholes and dampens the smaller inconsistencies of the roadway.

The thing that makes the SL3 version of the Roubaix so much better than previous versions is the way it is laid up in better sections. SL2 and earlier versions had a separate bottom bracket piece that chainstays and downtube plugged onto, which resulted in extra structural carbon overlapped and bonded together. The SL3 chainstays, bottom bracket, and seattube make up one piece that makes the bike about .25 lbs lighter, and BB30 carbon bottom bracket shell also contribute to a stiffer, lighter weight system. Size specific stays for EVERY frame size mean that there is specific thought going into every size bike, not just the 56cm one like a number of competitors.

THE RIDE
The geometry of the Tarmac is relaxed. This gives it a longer wheelbase than a race bike, which makes it more stable and predictable at speed. It is still a light (16 lbs.), stiff, responsive bike, just more like a sport sedan than an F1 race car. The ride is plush and forgiving, but there is a sort of positive springy feel to the ride that seems to drive you forward with every pedal stroke. The headtube is probably at least as tall as any of its competitors, and with the 4-position stem that comes spec'd on every level Roubaix there is a huge range for fitting you comfortably (or aggressively) on the bike.

Full Shimano Ultegra 6700 drivetrain, Fulcrum Racing 4 wheelset, and FACT carbon seatpost w/ Zertz insert all add to the ride. Specialized's own Avatar saddle is plush, anatomically correct, and comes in three widths to fit any rider's sit bones.

We have Roubaix SL3 bikes in our Test Bike fleet. Come in, get fitted, and take one for a long ride over any road, smooth or rough!

First Ride: 2011 Specialized Tarmac Expert SL3

Specialized has concentrated an awful lot on their road bikes over the last few years. They have poured resources galore into sponsoring not one, but two Pro Tour teams: Saxo Bank and Astana, and new for this season: HTC-Columbia. Their Tarmac carried the reigning champion of the Tour de France to victory last year, and their Roubaix has been ridden by the winner of the race it was named for (Paris-Roubaix) for the last three years running.

Specialized seems to always be evolving their road bikes, and none so much as the Tarmac. For 2011, the SL3 frame has trickled down from the S-Works model to the Pro and Expert, making the Expert a fantastically stiff, light bike weighing in around 16 lbs at less than half the price of the 2010 S-Works version!

THE RIDE
The geometry of the Tarmac is very neutral. It is quick and nimble, yet stable and predictable. It holds a solid line in the middle of a pack, yet feels playful and positively springy dancing up a climb. The carbon layup, creating the downtube, bb and chainstays as one unit, dampens the rough New England roads, but doesn’t adversely effect the responsive road feel. The bike is a race fit, with long top tube. The headtube is long enough when paired with the Pro Set 4-position stem to put you in a fairly upright riding position if desired, but not so long that you can’t slam that stem if you want to ride like the boys in the TdF.

Full Shimano Ultegra 6700 drivetrain, Fulcrum Racing 4 wheelset, and FACT carbon seatpost w/ Zertz insert all add to the ride. One last spec note: Specialized has been producing their own line of saddle for over a decade, generally offering all their saddles in 3 widths and testing bloodflow with their saddle to help keep you safe and comfortable. The Specialized Romin may be the best spec’d saddle on any road bike offered by any bike manufacturer in the world! It is lightweight, attractive, and jam-packed with technology and comfort.

We have Tarmac SL3 bikes in our Test Bike fleet. Come in, get fitted, and take one for a long ride on a twisty road!

Papa Wheelies Hill Climb Training Rides

Papa Wheelies Hill Climb Training Ride Series

We will begin our 6 week Hill Climb training ride Series on Mount Agamenticus on Monday, March 21, weather permitting week to week. The ride will leave from the York Park and Ride parking lot, at the York exit of I95 before the toll. Take a left off the exit ramp, the P&R is located on the west side of the highway. We will rollout at 5:30 PM then move to a 6:00 PM rollout as daylight allows. Both head and tail lights will be required the first few weeks. As usual helmets, proper dress, water, food, flat & chain repair equipment is required for all riders. This is for moderate to advanced riders looking to dedicate a night per week improving and building their climbing skills and strength.

The general idea and overall ride goals will be as listed:

Week 1, March 21: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 1-3 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 16-18, Ride Time 1.5/2 hrs.

Week 2, March 28: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 2-5 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 18-22, Ride TIme 1.5/2 hrs.

Week 3, April 4: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 4-6 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 20-24, Ride Time 2 hrs.

Week 4, April 11: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 5-7 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 21-24, Ride time 2 hrs.

Week 5, April 18: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 6-8 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 23-26, Ride time 2 hrs.

Week 6, April 25: Warm up ride to the base of Mt. A, 8-10 hill repeats, return to the cars.
Mileage 25-27, Ride time 2/2.5 hrs.

For more info on all shop rides, check out our Rides & Events section on our website.

First Ride: 2011 Cannondale CAAD10 3

A quick ten miles on this early spring morning before the rain and snow swept back through New England was all I needed to get a good feel for the new CAAD10 from Cannondale.

Cannondale could have taken the easy route with the tenth generation of their flagship aluminum race frame, shipped the CAAD9 blueprints off to Asia, trimmed a little weight and called it a day, devoting their engineers to working on another carbon bike.

Instead, they devoted resources in time and money to creating a revolutionary aluminum bike, borrowing technology from their Flash mountain bike and Synapse road bike frame designs, coming up with a new 1 1/8 - 1 1/4" headtube standard, and dropping nearly half a pound off the CAAD9 frameset!

THE RIDE
Snappy, peppy, ready to sprint! The CAAD10 retains Cannondale's 25+ year race pedigree. It is as light as most competitor's standard carbon bikes, has similar vertical compliance (this means that the spring potholes don't rattle your fillings like they usually do on an aluminum bike). Gone are the wishbone seatstays of the last few generations of CAAD frames, replaced with SAVE stays that are super rigid laterally, but give you micro-suspension vertically.

The CAAD10 3 has some pretty big shoes to fill. For the past decade its predecessors: the R2000, then R1000, then CAAD8 Optimo, then CAAD9 3 have been the best-selling workhorse race bike in our store - perfect for hill climbs, crit races, anywhere that speed, lightweight and precision handling are called for.

Look around at the next criterium you go to in New England - you'll see more CAADs than any other bike! It is fast, light, stiff, and won't cost you a mortgage payment when some wingnut takes you out in a tight corner.

Shimano Ultegra 6700 drivetrain, FSA SL-K Light carbon BB30 crankset and Mavic Aksium wheelset rounds out a solid package and keeps the weight of the bike to just over 17 lbs!

Our First Shop Road Ride of the Season

Spring is here! Well nearly, at least we're over the Day Light Savings hurdle!  We had three riders on our first ride tonight.  We rode from the shop out through Pease, into Newington, looped around Fox Point Rd, Little Bay Rd and Old Post Rd, back into Pease then returned to the shop.  It was a total casual pace for the most part, but we worked on a quick pace line session which helped with the moderate head wind on the long stretch through Pease on New Hampshire Ave.  We'll be going out again on next Monday, March 21.  Join us soon.  Here is our loop from last night.

Winter Clothing Sale

All Winter riding clothes and gear on sale now! Save 30% on all winter clothes!

We also have Cycleops Mag Trainers on sale, save $60! 
Stop into the shop and check out our selection of trainers and winter clothes.
 Warm gear you can use now!

Cycleops Mag Trainers

Cannondale Booties