Two Wheel Blogs

This will be my final installment of tire tech/latex tube. This post is a follow up to Part 1 and Part 2. I am confident that I have enough data to formulate a conclusion, and I will likely revisit the topic in the future (so this is a sort-of final conclusion).

I am taking the latex tubes off my bike today. Not because they failed or because I do not like them. The truth is, I like these so much that I am taking them off to preserve them for better times.

Two consecutive days in the Centaur wind tunnel. I'm feeling it. This old guy is used to getting up early, but 4:45am is a bit earlier than I prefer.

Ah, but it's a small price to pay for the knowledge gained. Plus I get to see the sunrise; and when I get home I get to have another breakfast.

Sunday's session was a continuation of the previous day's look at Timetrial helmets. Saturday I looked at my Giro Advantage II and a borrowed LG Rocket. Today my plan was to look at Andy's LG Rocket and a Spiuk Kronos he'd borrowed.

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I got another rude awakening this morning at 4:45 AM when my alarm went off. Time for more aero testing at the Centaur Road wind tunnel.

Today's test was one I had been really looking forward to. I had in mind a head to head test of timetrial helmets. Today I tested a Giro Advantage II against a Louis Garneau Rocket.

I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but a couple of weeks ago Andy Coggan and I wrapped up an aero testing session by switching helmets. He took my Giro Advantage II, and I took his LG Rocket. We each did a single pair of runs - just two data points each - in the hope of getting some idea about which timetrial helmet was faster.

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I think it is time to say a bit more about the Brooks Swift Titanium saddle.

I have owned this handcrafted leather saddle for over a year now and ridden it through many conditions. This saddle is clearly not for everyone, so if you are in the market for a new saddle, perhaps this review will help you to either add or subtract one from your list.

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Let me start by saying that Giro has great customer service.

You may recall my elation with the warranty coverage of my Giro Atmos recently. After considerable urging from Mark and Pam at the Cycle Depot, I contacted Giro with regards to my Pneumo.

Let me start by saying that I have (over the past year) really learned to appreciate good customer service when I encounter it...A few BAD experiences will do that for you...

I bought a Giro helmet a few years back (a Pneumo). It was great, but over time it became rank from great amounts of sweat and body funk...and it cracked....perhaps from being packed into a duffel bag? All I know is; I never crashed in this helmet, but I also got a lot of use out of it and figured it was time to retire it for a new (Atmos) helmet.