2017-

Time to look back and see the ups and downs of this year. What to learn from the sad and what to remember as good.

The big things seems to start with Racemile Showdown in the end of January, this year not so cold but really icy as seen on the picture above. My Sequoia came to it’s perfect use with 42mm studded tires:)

A weekend with friends and a big Thank You to Hagen for arranging 😀

Then came a spring with a not so fast Sequoia which didn’t seem to give me any extra leg muscles. Instead it became a dropping time on Le Peloton with a too low handlebar and I felt slow…

It may have seen like many people on the picture here but my thoughts has been Le Peloton is loosing people to other things. Like Morningspins:

Without finding the speed on my roadbike I found it on my superlight Epic ht mtb and cut my PR at Långa Billingeracet with around 20min 🙂

The fastest bike I’ve ever had and super agile. Unfortunately it didn’t have an rear damper and I seem to have been older making my back hurt after like 40-50km Marathon racing. Felt fast uphill, it felt really good downhill singletracks but on on flat singletrack with roots and rocks it felt like I was standing still.

So I ate ice-cream instead:

And I tried to ride with fast people, SUMO style:

Manage to do a Randonneur with these great people in awesome pace 🙂

And according to Strava the one I was riding most with in 2017 is Emil who’s super fast:

A thing I didn’t think was I was going to do Vätternrundan once again. Riding around a boring lake on boring roads with stressed people. But Stefan convinced me to apply and what a team. Known and unknown people having fun going fast for almost 300km 😀

I never thought I would do it at 7h27min, and remembering it as fun. Riding with Henrik, getting to know Glenn, seeing how simple everything seems for Calle and Fredrik. Everything together with Jukka and Karl keeping things together. And the biggest effort by Erik for making it all possible and making us have a calm knowing everything is in control and skipping the stress so many people got for Vätternrundan. Skoda Cycling Team is not just a team effort, it’s like being a pro with everyone trusting you 🙂

The summer passed and the next big event came.

Race Across Skåne. Another friend like Hagen arranging a top notch event. Waking up in Malmö that day not feeling on top was a bit sad as I really longed for being in top shape that day. Got dropped sitting totally wrong in the crosswind pretty early, feeling like on a spring Le Peloton but at a 190km race instead of 40km training. Ending up with meeting my good friend Emil who saved the day. Cruised on this wheel feeling shit the rest of the route:

We had a crash in a group and it started raining. Everything felt just bad so at the last stop I got an ice-cream…

It’s always fun with an ice-cream, always 😀

The day after I felt worse, driving to my mum instead of doing an recovery spin with the rest. Got fever but manage to get good until our adventure trip. Me, Emil and Emile went to Norberg with gravelbikes and target to explore some new roads in the middle of nowhere. I felt slow after my illness but I love new roads and places. I found a straight fast road on a sunny day outside Norberg, or the road maybe found me…

The end of the summer after a stupid crash. But the start of knowing I got so many kind friends always there to help out. So thankful for everyone making my recovery easier. I missed Rapha 12 Hills and many many kilometers of sunny cycling but it could have been worse.

I got back on a bike outside 😀 Have been feeling slow all autumn but I’m riding and no matter of speed cycling is a beautiful sport. And with help from Specialized Nordic and Specialized Concept Store Stockholm I’m more motivated than ever. Got the dreambike which I’m hoping to ride everywhere, all the time and with a smile (when the salt is gone from the roads)

Travelled to Girona for some sun and met some cool people:

So 15437km later the year ends and I’m still not tired of cycling. The best way to explore our beautiful world and meet nice different people from all over the world.

For 2018 I want to go to new places, new countries. Want to enjoy every moment no matter if I ride in sunny Italy or just commuting to work a rainy grey day. Want to be a good friend. Want to watch some proper roadracing and maybe even meet Annemiek van Vleuten. Want to be an ambassador of our beautiful stylish sport without judging people. Because style is important 😀 

So welcome 2018 and good luck having more fun! Let’s enjoy every moment 🙂

Ready 4 Girona

What I had in mind for August got changed, now I’m going to Girona instead. 5 days of vacation hopefully with great people, awesome roads and good coffee.

Fixed my bike yesterday with new 28mm Specialized Turbo Cotton tires and a new white Fizik 2mm superlight bar tape (the best) so now it’s beautiful and ready to see the sun.

If you are in Girona, Spain and want to ride with me Monday-Thursday, write a comment. So far no plans than enjoying. On my dreambike, let’s see how good it is on real roads in some heat 🙂

FMB Sprint2 XL graveltubulars

When I first started to think of the build for my S-Works Diverge I thought of a pair of Roval CLX disc tubulars with 36mm A.Dugast Pipisquallo tubulars on. Later I got a set of clinchers and the plan got changed. Got a set of cheap tubulars from China and a set of Challenge Chicane from a friend.

But yesterday Bikerumor got my mind going again showing this:

a 3T Exploro with 40mm FMB tubulars. Everyone who talked with me about tubulars knows how much I love FMB. Both their roadtires and their cyclocross tires is absolutely the best I’ve tried.

They have made their regular 33mm diamond thread in 40mm, protected them with latex and made the tires of my dreams:

I have to get a pair when they become available and I think you should too if you want to go fast on gravel. Like you can with an Specialized S-Works Diverge or 3T Exploro 😀

Campagnolo brakes

This isn’t so common on this blog, rimbrakes… And pretty heavy ones too. But when looks, function and price comes before weight it end up like this. Sold my Engage brakes that was 130g lighter as they wheren’t feeling that good and didn’t suit my Colnago perfectly. My C40 demanded Campagnolo Skeleton brakes.

And while Potenza is a cheap group I think the brakes looks pretty good 🙂 Satisfied and the bike is ready to be used again (after winter passed).

Dream vs reality

Mauve Leroy shows the French beauty in this Rapha video. Like a dream with sun, good weather and a beautiful language. Composed with the French style which sometimes makes me think that Swedish design isn’t the best after all…

The other side was me today mounting fenders on my workhorse:

Not perfectly set up yet but good enough at home. Specialized Dry Tech 45mm that I hope will keep me dry all winter. Prepared for rain, dreaming of sunshine.

The national style

Read a blogpost about cycling getting too hip with a lot of do’s and don’ts and with a big step to get into a closed group. Not so familiar if you aren’t correct and not consuming the right things. Things that differ as you sometime should have a clubkit to fit in and sometimes a clubkit is the last thing you should have…

I’ve learnt to appreciate style in different ways. I like when people care about how they dress and look. No matter which style. I like people being different and them selves rather than just following everyone else.

But there is always a certain style and people in different regions/countries dress in certain ways.

My point is I saw some pictures at Café du Cycliste and it really breathes France, not Sweden, not Italy, nor U.K. French style according to me is proper, clean and sometimes a bit old fashioned but straight lines and they aren’t afraid of using soft colors. Not bright screaming like Italy. But like this:

Who would dare to produce bibs in blue, green and purple with matching legwarmers? I like it but not sure if I could hold up a pair of purple bibs, or?

Specialized S-Works Diverge a.ka. Divergett

2 years ago when I sold my Crux and got a Diverge Comp Carbon I felt like I found right. Last year I heard rumors they would come with a new Diverge and as it felt a bit boring to get the exact same bike 2 years in a row I changed to a Sequoia. Bigger tires was a lot of fun but I was missing the roadbike feel of a Diverge.

When they released the new Diverge I knew I had to have one. When I read about it I felt even more that I had to get it. And thanks to Specialized Nordics I got the only (?) S-Works frame in size 52 that is coming to Sweden. Thanks to Specialized Concept Store Stockholm it ended in a top of a line bike that felt awesome from the first pedal stroke:

Specialized S-Works Diverge size 52 frameset

Specialized S-Works SL seatpost

Specialized S-Works Toupe saddle

Specialized S-Works Shallow handlebar

Specialized Trigger 38mm tires

Specialized S-Wrap Cork bar tape (will be changed)

Sram Red Etap HRD levers/brakes with 140mm rotors

Sram Red Etap Wifli rear derailleur with a Wold Tooth Roadlink

Sram XG-1195 10-42 cassette

Sram Red Quarq 170mm BB386 crankset with Ceramic Speed bearings and a 44t Garbaruk chainring

Sram Red22 chain

Challenge latex tubes

Fizik Cyrano R1 110mm -20° stem

Roval CLX32 disc wheels with Enduro Zero Ceramic bearings

Time Xpresso 12 pedals

The Futureshock may look a bit odd but it feels really nice. And the bike in total feels really awesome! Will vary with wheels as I got a set of cheap tubulars too for road mostly. And will probably change for a 3T Bailout cassette when it is released. And am waiting for my Berk saddlecombo from the mtb to come back from repair to have the possibility to save even more weight.

But as it is now it feels really really good. Road it on gravel yesterday and it’s just what I wanted and dreamt about. Can really recommend it to everyone wanting a fast gravelbike suitable for every terrain (except terrain) 🙂

And as everyone asked, the totalt weight as on the picture but with the right cassette which I changed for today: 7,72kg

teaser

It includes a Ceramic Speed hybrid BB386 bottom bracket with a alu sleeve too. 😀

New Specialized CX tires

I saw them already last winter, they came on Annika Langvad’s S-Works Crux for this season and now they are released for public. more or less.

The Trigger made for gravel and commuting more or less so no more Trigger tubulars and maybe not even new rubber.

Tracer get’s faster and with Gripton compound. No both in 33 and 38mm:

Terra get’s bigger and a bit different studs. More for mud than before and the other end of the lineup compared to Tracer:

Both tires available in tubular too of course. And as the customers want, tan sidewalls:

Read more and get more info about these on: CX Magazine

Norco Search XR

Norco has searched in their other frames, they searched by other brands and in the end they came up with a bike made for everything, working with everything and is for everyone. A new gravelbike so to speak with space 45mm 700c tires or 27,5×2,1″. With 2 chainrings and a roadbike group, or why not a Shimano mtb Di2 group? With or without dropper post, with or without fenders.

Just your imagination that set the stop for how to build it. Or if you buy it complete. You can even get it in steel… Just listen to what they have to say:

No matter how you build it, buy it. Get a proper fit so the bike isn’t getting to big like for the guy on the steelbike, or too small.

Conclusion: I think it’s too much everything and a bit too much small special parts, including the big Das Boot seatclamp. Sounds like a Kia if Open U.P is BMW, you get everything with a Kia but you will always be wanting the BMW…

What do you think?