Happy T-Day

Thanksgiving is a time for being grateful for all that we have. So, to celebrate this holiday I thought I’d stop and take some time to reflect on all of the many things there are to be thankful for, such as:

• Carbon fiber
• Gore Tex Windstopper fabric
• The DI2 electronic shift option for Dura Ace
• Wonderfully Dura Ace components like derailleurs and pedals
• Hell all those other gruppo’s too for the Campy and SRAM crowds let’s not be bigoted in our hardware selections
• The Zipp Sub 9 aero wheel
• Brooks saddles
• Balloon tires
• Lance and Alberto likely dueling to the death in the 2010 TDF
• Bike lanes
• Phil Ligget
• Embrocation
• Tom Boonen getting off the rock
• 3 months to get back into shape
• Universal Sports covering cycling
• Cadel finally getting a big win so he’ll shut up for a while about not getting a big win
• The new ACA website
• Team rides
• Solo Rides
• Cruiser rides
• Those rides to the store when you forgot to get bread and Cheerios
• Commuting to work…on even the not so nice days
• Johnson and Johnson’s Multi-Day Ultra Wound Care Pads
• The afternoon mail delivery when you get the new VeloNews
• Fat Tire (its bike related)
• Finally getting your mis-matched Velo Swap parts to work
• Selling the mis-matched Velo Swap parts you couldn’t get to work
• Hipsters…they give people something else to make fun of instead of roadies
• Catching at the light that bastard in the SUV who buzzed you and giving he/she the “kiss my ass” gesture of your choice
• 3 feet to pass
• Lube
• Following the Tour of Missouri in a Vanagon
• Having Levi and Lance show up at the Rock the River Time Trial outside of Glenwood Springs
• First Places…Last Places and all places in between
• Pro Race 3’s
• The end of Goat Head season
• Chrome Bags
• Leg shaving
• Roadie tan
• Railing the descent down Lookout…or any of your favorite descents
• California courtroom justice
• Jens Voigt

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Better safe than sorry

Trainer Tires

After two winter's of riding my Cycleops Fluid trainer for most of my evening workouts, I decided to get a dedicated trainer wheel and tire for use with my road bike (I'd like to say that I upgraded to a Computrainer, but for now the tire will have to do.) Typical road bike tires wear at a faster rate than normal when used on a trainer due to the constant contact with the resistance roller and heat build up from friction. You can usually spot a trainer rider by their characteristic squared off rear tire. Last year when I was riding the trainer during the evenings and then riding on the road on weekends, I went through a couple tires due to the harsh transition from trainer to sandy streets. This year I plan to reduce the wear on my wheel and outdoor tire by using a trainer specific one.

There are handful of trainer specific tires on the market. Many of them employ a harder, less supple rubber than a typical road tire and usually have some type of ribbing or tread to help dissipate heat. While riding a trainer tire on pavement is generally not advised, the guys at my local bike shop told me that it technically could be done and probably wouldn't hurt the tire too much (Continental expressly suggests warns against doing this with their tires.)

The Continental Ultra Sport Home Trainer tire is a popular and well rated Home Trainer tire. It comes in a standard 700c size, has 3 ribs that run along the circumference of the wheel and has a suggested max psi of 120. The tire typically runs $34-$44 from what I could find and seems to be long lasting and reliable; typical of what I've come to expect from Continental (I think their Gatorskin tires are bomber).


The Continental Ultra Sport
The Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer Tire is structured identically to the Continental aside from a red rubber instead of orange. The Zaffiro is technically lighter than the Continental, not that it matters when mounted on a stationary set up, has the same profile and tread for heat dissipation and supposedly can be pumped up to 145psi--though with the force and heat generated from trainer riding I'm not sure if this would be advisable. The Zaffiro Pro tire typically ranges $24-$34 and therefore is more of a bargain than the Continental.
The Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer Tire
I've also historically had good experiences with Vittoria tires, and although I generally don't think they are cheaper than Continentals because they were in this case I went with the Zaffiro Pro.

Everything needed for the job, picked up for under $100.
I picked up a standard, cheap Shimano rear wheel with 8-9-10 hub. Mounting the tire was no different than a regular road tire. I used a cheap tube and made sure to use a rubber liner strip to protect the tube. Since I have more than one cassette lying around I put my Dura Ace 11-23T on this trainer wheel to allow for a pretty good range of gears for training.

The whole job was really straightforward, and now I have a dedicated setup that I can leave in the basement and will not have to worry about trashing my outside tires.

Hopefully I can get through the off season with my Gatorskins and then not have to worry about them wearing out before April, when it will be time to switch to summer race tires.