Le Peloton #176

Peter is missing in the picture from this morning. I felt slow on the way there after intervals on Tuesday, Le Peloton on Wednesday and intervals yesterday. But last day of riding this week before I head to my mum for Christmas.

It felt fast in the beginning, like last spring. When Peter went around Michael before Lillängen it felt faster. Christian and Claes passed me up to Nacka Forum and I dropped… Felt just like last spring and unmotivated I turned around in the roundabout instead of trying to chase back. Rode to Älta and the last part of the loop with the feeling my rear brake was rubbing, but I don’t think it did.

In Älta my watch died too so had to stop and start my phone to continue the Strava recording.

Back in Stockholm I got warm so even opened my jacket in the end getting a bit of spring feeling 😉

Then we had breakfast and the ride was just a memory and some K’s in the book.

Map and stats: Strava1, Strava2

At work I tuned my winterbike a bit. Got aware that my pedals have seen it’s best days (from 2008) so ordered a new pair of Crank Brothers Candy. Choosed the cheap and light 1, in pink 😉

295g and the way home felt much more stabile 🙂

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.

200km Birthdayparty

It is something special when you hear 9 guys singing for you in Alunda:

Had bad legs today but I had good friends doing the work and keeping the pace high both in head- and tailwind. Sumo Cycling Club did a 200km Brevet north of Uppsala with the result that we dropped everyone except one who crashed and had go back by ambulance. Rode on small beautiful roads through small villages that should have been captured but was enough with just trying to keep the wheels. But we got a nice grouppic at the start:

Emil and Anders said I didn’t have the legs because I didn’t have my Sumo jersey, maybe they where right but my Café du Cycliste Pierette jersey was really nice in the wind today and great pockets 🙂 Tried to keep the class up with a POC silk scarf too, a lovely piece.

Did I mention we got back first? Or that my body feels destroyed? But the bike felt awesome, like home 🙂

Ended it all with having burgers in Märsta on the road home:

I may not be so much Sumo but the guys are really nice and you always know it will be hard ride riding with them 😀 Thanks for my birthdayride.

Map and stats: Strava

Sumo Safari or Le Peloton #113

The thing with Sumo’s is that they like to go faster and not thinking about easy rides. We planned for a <60min CX Peloton today (only made one of those) and my legs with 2 hard trainings yesterday didn’t feel so happy about this morning.

8(!) from Sumo Cycling today and 2 others doing the CX loop. We may not created Le Peloton but we are taking it over 😉 Eva sat off in a good pace and in the first climb where I usually get dropped by Per or Jonas I went into the front. Then the top was reached and we where some guys helping out keeping the pace really high. On Erstaviksvägen we where 5 guys and the pace was really good, felt superhard but I could keep up fine and then it came. An elk! Ran out on the road, in front of us and then into the forest again, was just too slow with my camera so just got it’s ass and the rest of the elk is behind the tree 😉

Instamoments you know. We saw many deers a bit later on the loop. Never seen so many animals riding before so was fun and something to talk about. On the way back in a long climb I went to the side and Fredrik rode up, he had a gap so I jumped on his wheel. While sitting there I thought of why I didn’t drop, it was hurting so much but I just kept on. In the end I went up in the front again and got free space down the a descent called ”Feel like Peter Sagan” before Emil came up and kept the pace high, with me on his wheel again. There you can talk about sitting too far in front, but while it was hard it felt good and not so far left.

Emil took a shortcut in the end on his mtb where I rode around and he gained a gap, Fredrik joined and passed me but he couldn’t brake enough in the 90° corner just after so I passed. Then easy down and full speed to the end. Got a PR with 31sec!

Maybe it was thanks to my socks?

Dry and dusty and really fast today. Awesome start of the CX Peloton season and happy with being able to go so fast on my Crux. Alu frame and low profile alu wheels doesn’t sound as fast as it was :p

Map and stats: Strava

Looking forward to real autumn and many more doing the CX loop. Remembering the good rides last year with me, Michael, Christian and Niklas chasing Jonas and Per and pushing each other 🙂 Laughing with 180 in heart rate is just super…

The new Crux!

13 months ago I got a Specialized Crux Elite X1. Was a great cxbike but I gave up and went gravelgrinding with a Specialized Diverge Comp Carbon 3 months later.

This year my plan was Adventures, ride new roads and explore with Transferrides, Emileadventures and Basemilecamps. Wanted to follow the new hype. Specialized made the Sequoia which seemed perfect, who doesn’t want a cool fast steelbike made for everything? but it won’t arrive before the end of November…

So until that I got a Crux again 😉 Got a alu frameset, alu handlebar and a used Sram Red crankset with a Garbaruk Melon chainring. Borrowed a couple of awesome custom Roval wheels and got a pair of cheap Chinawheels which are waiting for tires and a cassette. Took the Force1 parts from my Tarmac, got a saddle and mounted it all together.

It may not be the flashiest Cyclocross in Stockholm but it’s really good for the money. After all the thing you’re after is the geometry and framestyle for the your riding and Specialized knows their cyclocross 😀

Thanks to Specialized Concept Store Stockholm and specially Patrik who let me borrow his wheels and gave me a saddle 🙂

And the weight then: 8,16kg, don’t think it will be so much lighter with the new wheels but maybe some as I’m changing QR and rotors too. Now I’m ready for autumn

I Sliced the wind, or a try at least

I can honestly say that if I were rich I would have a Time Trialbike on my wall, so cool and can be so mean looking in a perfect way. I like problem solving and making a TTbike perfect.

Yesterday I got the question if I wanted to borrow a bike and race tomorrow. Not so often I get the opportunity to borrow a ok fitting great TTbike and there is a race nearby. So said yes and was happy. 🙂 Got it at work today and with some help I sat up the saddle descent, but with a little bit too low handlebar:

Then it was time for some testing. Scariest bike in a very long time, never thought it would be so different, couldn’t go so fast. Down to Saltsjö-Duvnäs with some speed but it felt like I rode faster on my roadbike, out towards Fisksätra and the place to train using those bars proper. Felt like shit first time, had a hard time to sit proper. Like this on the way back:

Second time out it went a bit better and I could hold the bike straight and understand how to do.

Third time there was no problem except with my back and neck 😉

Rode back towards work, on the main road from Nacka Forum where I got a car in front of me. A car that did around 50km/h and I had to keep up, felt awesome to ride so fast and it was even a bit comfortable there for a short period of time. Thought of keeping up with the car instead of everything else.

Specialized say the new Venge ViAS is as aero as a Shiv TT, but now I understand the difference. So much better position on a TT bike that takes aero to another lever. Let’s hope I can go at least a little fast on tomorrows race.

From today: Strava

And the bike without me, a great start of my TT mission:

Wish me luck let’s hope I survive :p

The Specialized Allez for you

The bike I’ve ridden the most is up for sale. Got new wheels, tires, tubes, cassette, chain and bar tape in the end of last season and now it’s just hanging collecting dust. As my heart seems to dream of Italian things all the time I’m selling this beauty for an older more classic bike.

Are you interested?

Size 52.

Price around 16000SEK. Send an e-mail to me at cerrol.jl (at) gmail.com for more info and buying. Can be this years best deal if you want a really good alu frame with very good components.

Aero + speed = ViAS

When a bike should be allround it’s usually not best at anything. A bike that is supposed to be best is the new Specialized Venge ViAS. As aero as a TTbike and it’s made to go fast, or faster.

Today I built this beauty. The most aero roadframe Specialized ever created with the fastest regular clincher tires. Red is the fastest colour they say and this in Rocket Red may be even faster. Wheels faster than Zipp 404. Crank stiffer than anything else on the market.

You should see and feel this bike irl, like the Trek Madone 6 I had this got many nice shapes that is hard to see on a flat picture. And every shape there for a reason, not made to brag with, made to beat Strava KOM’s with 😉

Sram Red eTap weights

The red plastic cover on the derailleurs are 3g, battery is 24g so 21g extra on those two.

Pictures are from Bikeradar where you can find a lot of more info on this. Not superlight derailleurs but think that you can drop the wires and frameparts for that which saves a bit 🙂

 

Keep the weight down, lighter crankset

My plans for 2016 is a supermodern classic roadbike. No electronics but otherwise with the latest technology like Sram Force 1 groupset:

As you see on the picture the bike (not mine) doesn’t have a Sram Force 1 crankset. My first thought was a Force 1 crankset but it’s pretty heavy. 2nd thought was a Specialized S-Works crankset. 3rd thought is lighter and cheaper (not as stiff as S-Works).

Like the picture shows except I will go for BB30 of course. A Sram Red22 crankset with a Force 1 chainring.

A Sram Red crankset:

And taking of the chainrings:

371g!

Compared with an S-works:

Or why not a Cannondale Hollowgram SiSL that also is in the same league:

Impressed by Sram 😀