Iron Cycles - Chicago

Fall Colors Fest - Kettle

2010-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here is Kenny's race report....

First time racing the Fall Colors Festival at Kettle Moraine.
Team: Iron Cycles
Rider: Ken Dorado

Earlier in the week prior to the week I checked out the forecast near and around Kettle Moraine. The weekend forecast of the Kettle Moraine - Fall Colors race started out looking pretty grim. Here's what I discovered: Rain Thursday - Wind Friday - Rain Saturday. I wasn't looking forward to a muddy race and slogging back home with pruned up fingers and some other unmentionable body parts.

Closer to race day the weather lightened up enough for me to get a glimpse of hope for a fairly manageable race. I pulled the trigger and decided to race it.

- The 25 Miler -

I rode up with some friends (Anthony and Felbert) who ride the local trails and make this event the race to make every year. So, I followed in the hype and chose to ride the 25 miler. Least to say I'm glad I did it.

By the time we got to Kettle Moraine we had about 30 minutes to spare - register, pre race pee/poop (which ever is your fancy) and line up. Oh yeah, I forgot, part of my pre race regimend is to check and recheck my equipment and gear... so I got to the bathroom with 4 minutes to spare at the line. As I rode up to the line, the smell of burger patties being grilled and music filled the air. A very festive and upbeat ambiance. I ended up about 50 people from the front out of a crowd of about 95 riders.

One more thing ...

Oh yeah, I should probably include warming up in my pre-race prep, that day I ended up using the first part of the race as a warm up and gauge to see where I was at in the pack.
And they're off ...

I easily sped away from the riders behind me and avoided a couple of crashes with riders who may have touched tires. I also encouraged my friends, who rode up with me, as I cruised by them. Once the first section of the race was out of the way (the Brown Loop) we entered into the first section of the Blue trail. If you've never been to Kettle Moraine, I recommend you go and get aquainted with the trails. The Blue Loop has got alot of what a mountain biker looks for in a ride (minus mountains). This is a fast, hilly, rocky, sandy, technical, fun, annoying and pleasing (once you complete it) loop to ride.

Since it's been about 2 years since I've ridden this trail, (which happened to only be one time) it's safe to say that I have no clue what the race was going to look like. I basically used the first half of the race to navigate and use the riders ahead of me as guides - yeah there were alot of riders for me to use as guides. I passed - and got passed by - riders, so it was a bit of give and take.

Throughout the trail system, the conditions of the ground vary from dirt, sand and gravel. At one section, Sandy Bottom, I ended up challenging a tree at a corner... bad choice... I ended up getting a little bit of shell shock, had to give up two spots (one which I regained) and did a quick health check to make sure nothing was broken. Aside from a sore shoulder, cut ear, and remounted front wheel all was good. I used that opportunity to take a couple of quick breathes to gather myself and rehydrate.

And they're off ... again ...

As I mentally marked where I body slammed that tree, I targeted myself to take catch up and take on those who just passed me. Shoot, I worked hard for those spots, I planned on getting them back.

Which way? That way! <- or ->?

Literally, you know you're not going hard when you end up at an intersection and have a conversation with another racer trying to figure out exactly what the race directors were thinking when they laid out a misleading intersection. Don't get me wrong, they had signage but it was either not enough or too little. Two directional signs with one pointing straight and another pointing right, both next to each other. At the time I was already going straight as I asked about 5 times "Straight or right? Straight or right?"... an easy 2 minutes lost and about 5 spots given up with that debacle.

Thankfully, there was someone there the second time around. The answer was to go straight and then the trail loops around. Hopefully if they choose to use that route again they build a bridge there next time or just reroute.

... Rinse and repeat...

Feeling good about knowing that I'm more than half way through with the race, I push lap 2 a little harder. After passing the start/finish line, I came up to one of my friends, Felbert. I rode and chatted with him for a little bit. Thinking "Did I just lap him? Am I that wicked fast now?" - now this was going to bug me for the rest of the race and annoy the car poolers on the way home. Oh well (more on that later), thinking that I theoritcally may have lapped him, it gave me some more juice to tread on and see if I could catch up to Anthony.

... Side to side and around the corner ...

As I pushed myself harder I caught up to a couple more 25 mile riders (red numbers)... this was a good feeling considering I was still getting over a cold and I was ready for biological warfare with all the snot rockets I was firing off throughout the race. I even caught up to a good number of 14 mile riders (blue numbers) who started 30 minutes after I did. They were kind enough to pull over to the side. One (minus bike) even flew over a berm in a hasty attempt to get out of the way. **chuckle**

... Conquering fears ...

After flying through most of the second loop, I passed Sandy Bottom where I crashed, caught up to more 25 and 14 milers and battled up the technical climbs. (Note: baby head rocks, as I call them, are a pain in the butt to navigate around, you're better off riding over them if you can)

... Thank you mister course marshall ...

By the time I got to the intersection for the second time, there was a course marshall directing traffic, again riders were intersecting as though there was a stop light there... not cool but I guess it's part of the race (really my only gripe of the race).

I finally got to the final and most dificult hill of the race, a rutty and rock ridden section, I passed up a rider who was conversing with hecklers about her morning breakfast. It went something like this... "You can do it! This is the last hill before the end!" They said to her. "I just had McDonald's for breakfast...'gurgle'..." She said, walking the bike up. As I rode by her, I honestly admitted that I had McD's too and then some, she politely said that I hope I _____ it out... Well you could fill in the blanks.

... Time for a final pose ...

On the down hill right before the trail head (finish line), I posed for the photographer going about 20 miles an hour. Probably not the best idea but it's an indicator that I know I'm having a good time - which is important to me.

I ended up finishing 40th out of 87 (not counting DNF's)

... Done ...

BTW - We concluded that I did not lap Felbert, he passed me up when I was trying to figure out to right or straight in the first lap at the misconstrued intersection. Anthony, DNF'd due to a mechancial - putting down too much torque to the cranks.

Lesson's Learned
- Preparation is key
- Ride within your means
- Have fun
- Pain is weakness leaving the body

Church Cross - ready for a new season

2010-09-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ed, Chase, Brandon and I completed our pre season preparation with the Church Cross practice race at a super secret location along the Des Plaines river trail.

Here is all you need to know about Team IC as we head into the 2010 season.

Ed - he flats a lot, but he should be fast once he learns to ride a little more delicately.

Brandon - He's fast. He has hardly raced at all this summer but he is going to come out of nowhere and surprise a lot of people.

Chase - This guy could be rookie of the year. If he knew how to pre-register for races, I would pick him to be the next Russ Kuryk in the cat 4A's.

Me (Ted) - I've spent a lot less time training for tri's this summer and spending that time cycling. I'm theoretically faster than I've ever been, recording new highs in my 1 min. and 5 min. power output in the past week. Unfortunately on a power profile chart that puts me just slightly above the level of an untrained slug. Racing savvy and bike handling are my forte anyway, but still, the power is better than last year.

Based on our team practices and late summer races, there's a whole bunch of other IC riders to watch out for. Look for Katie, Kristina, and Beebe to make big improvements this year.

party over here, party over there

2010-09-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Cyclocross Cup kickoff party is at Iron Cycles tonight from 4 - ????.

Stop by to say hi and get some food and drinks.

Vuelta a Berwyn

2010-09-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I completed my 3 week Vuelta a Berwyn. The tour consisted of 24 straight days of riding on average 3 hours a day in and around the Chicago-land area. Stages included mountain bike races, cross races, team rides, Spider Monkey rides, night stages, off road stages, a time trial, 2 a days, etc.

I finished the final stage with Ed Bagley but he had to get swept up by the sag wagon due to a broken crank arm. So I had to complete the tour alone, no fans lining Sacramento Boulevard as I rode the final few miles home.

The legs are tired. And so is the butt. Why do I think of Wayne Simon every time I apply chamois cream?

Now it is time to rest and then start training for cross.

xXx Relay followup

2010-08-30T04:53:00.001-07:00

With the first day of CX racing for 2010 under my belt I had to report in. I have spent my summer thinking about cross, and it was everything I was looking forward to!

Although, yesterday was the first day I can remember in a long time (since I was about 7 years old) that I was wishing were older! One year off from being able to race Masters, and without a female partner for the co-ed, I was left with only one choice: the 1/2/3 race.

I had low expectations but high hopes going into the race. I've shed a ton of weight for this season and added some power to boot, but with guys like Mike Sherer, Mike Hemme, Scott McLaughlin, Brandon Leech, Newt Cole, etc etc, I knew a top-10 finish would be more than good to satisfy me.

Derrick took our first lap, and even though he had a great LeMans-type run, I botch up the hand off a bit. The organization of handing up had changed since he went to the start line, but we were off.

Finishing his first lap we were in 13th place, not a bad start at all! When I took off I had two guys immediately ahead of me, but they were working together on the fast sections and I was just out of touch about 40 feet behind.

Coming out of the only technical section, a set of off-camber turns and a barrier, I stood and sprinted along some pavement and closed the gap on those two. We then had a toilet bowl, a couple more turns, a barrier, then a long straight. I went all out and got around both of them on the straight just in time to tag off to Derrick.

A few more laps go by, and now the field is spread out. For me that's the hardest part, making yourself sprint with no one around. But out of each corner I tell myself: if you aren't sprinting you're losing time, because someone else is.

About 10 laps in a guy ahead of me washes out in the toilet bowl and rolls both of his tubbies. Something has changed in my thinking because even though we were going hard through there, I didn't dabble a bit, changed my line, and stayed really smooth. I thought that put us in 10th.

A few more laps down and I hear the bell for Derrick, which means I get the last lap. Knowing this was it, I went all out. I looked down at my Garmin less than 1 minute into the lap and my HR is 187. Awesome. This is what I needed.

I throw my bike over the barrier, remounted quickly and was off to the off-camber section. This has been getting looser and looser because of all of the riding, but I wasn't about to run it! I clicked into my small ring and stayed back on my rear wheel: no problem.

A couple more hard sprints, a few more corners, and it's over.

9th place for Derrick and I in the 1/2/3 race. Take out a couple of teams that we all knew would be top-5 (assuming no technical issues) and we were better than I could have hoped for.

Now back to the grind, a couple more good weeks of training and starving!

(Photo credit to Nikki Cyp)

Sexy is Back

2010-08-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

Photo: Nikki Cyp

To kickoff the start of the cyclocross season, XXX Racing hosted a unique tag team cyclocross race in Jackson Park.

Iron Cycles represented in a big way with riders in almost every category race throughout the day.

The weather was super hot and for the Co-ed race Katie, Kristina, and I decided to race in briefs for aerodynamic advantage and to stay cool. We looked super hot as well if I do say so myself.

I wanted to race shirtless and Sharpie my number on my back, but Katie said there was some kind of rule that required racers to have sleeves covering their arms. Next year I am going to outsmart the officials and go with a Speedo sans shirt and arm warmers.

I don't know if results matter much in this race, but it looks like we had some pretty good results. Kristina continued her streak as the podium princess and was on the podium twice today, with Katie in the woman's open, and with me in the co-ed open.

It's going to be a fun season.

Palos Meltdown

2010-08-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Iron Cycles had a big turnout at the Palos Meltdown.

Making his dirt debut in the Comp class, the indomitable Steven Van Deven won the race. Also making her mountain bike debut after an 8 year hiatus, Kristina Young finished second overall in the Sport race (1st Age Group).

Watch out for them this cross season.

Also racing were Derrick, Tim, Mike and I. Additionally, Sophia was instrumental in providing race support and cookies for weary racers.

Soldier Field 4/5 A

2010-08-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

On 8/17 the Soldier Field Cycling Series held its makeup from the June rainout. A bit of rain was in the forecast, but aside from a few drops it missed us for the 4/5 races. The A race, which was the later of two scheduled 4/5 heats, included me and two other Iron Cycles teammates: Chase Negley and Ken Dorado.

I talked to Chase before the race and we had the same plan, ride near the front 5-10 positions to avoid any crashes and react to moves if they occurred. Chase being the stronger and more experienced rider, I hoped to help him out if possible.

Chase and I lined up in the first row next to each other. The first few laps were fast and I was anywhere from 3rd to 6th wheel. During the 5th lap, which was a prime lap, I sat in second wheel going into the back straightaway. This was into a headwind and as the guy pulling peeled off, I attacked and brought a couple other riders with me. Coming around the last turn I was passed by a Cutting Crew rider (who had won the first 4/5 race), who took the prime. He eased up across the line and me, a XXXer and another rider passed him. As we made the second turn, one of the guys said "we've got a gap, let's go" and they began pushing a bigger gear to see if they could make the break stick.

I went with them through that 6th lap. As we went onto the 7th, I lost their wheels and looked over my shoulder, finding the CC rider. He came around me and took a pull, where I sat on his wheel about 30 seconds but I couldn't hold that either. Meanwhile a chase group of about 5-10 riders caught me. Part of that group shot ahead, while about 5 of us stayed grouped together.

After maybe another 5 laps I was cooked and couldn't hang onto their wheels. I ended up soloing the last 7 laps by myself and averaged 24.4mph. The leaders finished were half a lap ahead of me, while we all had lapped the back 1/3 of the field twice.

My legs definitely were still hurting from racing at Glencoe on Saturday and doing 76 miles on Sunday.

Lesson learned: the tactic worked, as the prime lap attack I made created a split in the field, but I didn't have the legs to stick on a wheel and recover enough to stay up in the breakaway or the second group.

The race came down to the small break, with a 3-man sprint to the line. Chase said he basically just ran out of road and had to settle for second, still a great finish for Iron Cycles. Here's a pic of the 4/5 podium from our race.

-Henry Heisler

ChiCrossCup Title Sponsorship!

2010-08-17T10:42:00.001-07:00

After about 157,987 nagging emails to Jason Knauff, we have landed the sponsorship!

Keep an eye on the blog and our Facebook page for updates on equipment, races, training, etc.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

2010-05-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

We hope you have big plans, and in observance we're making some plans as well!

This weekend, we'll have the following special hours:

Friday May 28 - 9 am - 7 pm

Saturday May 29 - 10 am - 4 pm

Sunday May 30 - 10 am - 4 pm

Monday May 31 - 10 am - 2 pm

Enjoy the weekend, the weather is supposed to be beautiful!!

The Reader Best of 2010

2010-05-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ever thought we were doing a good job for you? Feel free to help us out in return!

http://bestof.chicagoreader.com/list/3

New blog coming, new site around the corner!

2010-05-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

We know, our website has been lacking, but it's for good reason: we work on bikes, not computers! I think we're pretty good at bikes, but our web design is lacking, and you know what, we're ok with that!

But, we do have some good stuff coming, thanks to some of our bike shop friends.

Stay tuned, more is coming!

Spring Classics - Leland

2010-04-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

A whole bunch of IC riders headed out to the far, far suburb of Leland for the Leland Kermesse. I'm not sure what Kermesse means, but I'm pretty sure it is Flemmish for crappy roads.

Before the race Jason Meshberg offered sage advice to get to the front before the gravel because those at the front will put minutes into the rest of the field right away. I told my teammates to mark the strong guys, especially the cyclocrossers, because I had a feeling they would be the ones drilling it in the gravel. I also had a feeling the first break to get away would stay away for the rest of the race.

About 2 or 3 miles into the race, before we get to the gravel I'm talking to Larson. He drops back behind me to get a better draft and then I the sound of metal and carbon I pavement. I turn around to say, "hey Larson, did you see who crashed?," but I see no more Larson. Damn, taken out by a pot hole.

In the first gravel section, I'm not in great position in the group but I'm on Russ's wheel. I know that even if we get gapped here we can work together to move up. Next thing I know, a XXXer crashes for no apparent reason other than sliding a little and takes out Russ. I swerve into the ditch and save myself. This race is so chaotic. Where are my teamates at?

It seems like the group stayed together after the first gravel section. I move to the front and sit on Ben Popper and Mike Hemme's wheel. Sounds pretty weak, but this was my race strategy. I figured they would get anxious and go soon. Once we got to the gravel sections with a tailwind they went and I went with them hitting speeds over 35 mph. We exit the gravel and look back, there are just five of us left. I can't believe everybody got popped that easily, but the guys in the break are exactly the guys I expected to be in the break, Mike (CXer), Ben(CXer), John(CXer), and Patryk(Rookie).

John is the captain of the break and he organizes us into a paceline and we go to work putting time into the field. The first two laps were so hard I thought I could blow up at any time. Hemme fell off the pace and then Ben. Two laps to go and it is just the 3 of us. A chase group was no where in sight.

Knowing Ben and Mike are behind us I know they could catch a second wind if they can get some recovery when a chase group catches them, so I keep drilling it everytime I take a pull. Patryk flats about 2 miles from the finish and then it is just John and I as we make the last turn and cruise in to town.

It's a gentlemany sprint where John rides next to me and says that he doesn't want to sit on my wheel and then go around me at the end. I tell him it's all good, and do what you gotta do. I gauge the crosswind and go to the right side gutter and start riding hard leading out. John comes around me and I hope to get a nice draft on his right hip. It would have been a good strategy if I had anything left in the legs, but I get nipped by a wheel and take second.

It was a pretty good day for IC. Russ was 9th and Jordan was 10th. Tim was 10th in the 1/2/3 and Katie was 5th in the 4's.

I wish there were more road races like this. Big thanks to the Flatlandia crew for hosting such a great event.

Race Report 3/28/2010 C.O.U.G.A.R. Crit in Joliet

2010-03-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Ken, Jake, Katie, Chip, Kristina, Ed, Brandon and I went down to Joliet for the Cougar Crit this Sunday. Below is Kristina's race report:

First and foremost, a GREAT BIG THANKS to all the people who made the race possible, South Chicago Wheelmen, USA Cycling, AutoBahn Country Club and all the other cool people I don't know.

Race #1 A Good Pull

Ok so this was my second crit in a long time, the first being a Gapers Block Crit on Wednesday. I roll up with my trusty steed, a late 80's Bianchi (5sp Nuovo Record with downtube shifters...Brandon asks me "WHAT'S THAT!?" when he sees it). I got it at a yard sale for $50. I smile all excited but I have to say I was feeling a little silly lining up next to a full line of shiny carbon rigs with Zipp wheels, powertap hubs and the like. This was the womens 3/4 race. But I decided eh whatever I'm learning and who knows maybe I'll surprise somebody. So we go, and with a bit of trouble clipping in I manage to join in with the rest of the group at a light peppy pace mainly spinning and settling in and getting nice and comfortable with the nasty wind on the back stretch of the roughly 1.5 mi. course. Everybody is going along just fine for a while, a couple of small jumps here and there by some of the ladies just to see if we're all paying attention. We lost the team Pegasus rider that way and the headwind became her only companion. With 3 laps to go and no one obviously wanting to pull the group...case in point...when the front rider tries to pull to the side and let someone else up, the whole group would just stay right behind her...I decided to try and see what it was like and pulled the group. I felt good there for the 1st quarter of the lap, so I figure hey why not pull a littler harder and see what happens? Katie jumps on my rear wheel and I pick the pace up and hold it for a while...then I feel the wind in the back stretch...I'm getting tired, so I try and pull to the side to see if somebody, anybody wants to relieve me at the front...Nope nobody. Three times I try and move over to no avail. But Morgan decides shes gonna make a move and attacks, Katie and everyone else pretty much rush to catch her and leave me in the dust alone and close to imploded. Somehow I manage to keep it together and catch up in just under 2 laps and was with the group on the last lap, but I just didn't have any left in me to sprint to the finish, and that was that. My teammate Katie Isserman though, managed to sprint to a win in the end and landed a big win for Iron Cycles, so I was just glad to be around to see that. Lesson learned, if your going to pull hard w/ 3 laps to go you better be sacrificing yourself for a teammate, don't get any ideas of still placing well, especially if you get dropped.

RACE #2 The Wind and I are Good Friends Now

So after paying the extra $10 and no calls from the hubbie pleading for me to come home and relieve him of the kids, I decide to do the Womens Open Race. My legs were still aching from the race 2 hours prior so I knew deep down this was gonna hurt. And well it did. Right of the line. I couldn't clip into my pedals, I think the shoe covers were keeping the cleat from locking in initially. That on top of the cat 1/2 riders deciding to sprint at the start, pretty much took me out instantly. So I viewed the remainder of the race as a real hard training ride and learned to love the wind. Props out to Niki Cyp for cheering me on that one time, it really made me feel better. I was considering pulling out at first but that tipped the scales to stay in it. That and in the first race, the little juniors pretty much braved the wind by their lonesomes the whole time, why couldn't I? The guy in the lawn chair in the back stretch kept me company too, he was cool. I managed to not get lapped until later when I had a dropped chain cus the FD threw too far and the lead breakaway, Kristen? and Stacy rolled by me super fast. Four laps later same story, dropped chain and the main group lapped and hung with me a short while but their pace was too quick for my winded self. Yet again I was left to my own thoughts and encouragement and rolled to the end as fast as I could and tried to sprint out whatever I had in me to the end. Honestly I was just happy that my bike held up and didn't disintegrate on me. After a long talk with the wind...the wind thinks that I should train on the Bianchi, but maybe show up with something that has more than 10 speeds and weighs 10 lbs less next time. I have now decided to name the Bianchi "Headwind".

Cheers!

Kristina

Brown County Road Race

2010-03-23T14:12:00.001-07:00

Jake and I drove down to the Bloomington, IN area for a taste of some early season Midwest road race action this past weekend. Here is his race report:

Brown County Road Race

Ted and I made the drive south to Nashville Indiana for the Brown County Road Race. The course was a closed 6 miles loop inside of the state park. It starts with a screaming descent, followed by two climbs, about 200 ft each, and false flats back to the finish.

Only 11 of us showed up at the line for the Cat 3 race. I didn’t get a chance to pre-ride the course, so when it was off, it was all new territory. The descent caught me off guard and I had trouble finding a good line. Basically, you are going 50+mph, then you need to stick a steep right followed by a sharp left, then its smooth sailing. I actually got dropped but managed to bridge back up as I can now see the descent lines clearly from the others in front of me.

After the first climb, it is only six of us remaining. To be honest, I feel terrible. I had food poisoning less than a week before and I am not 100 percent back on form yet. Coming into the next lap and series of climbs, I’m worried I might actually be the next to drop off the peloton. I managed to pace myself really well and stay at the front on the climbs feeling much better.

Finishing the climbs on lap three, I get to the front and keep the pace up, hoping to shell anybody on the fence. The 15y/o junior (Andrew dillman, redzone cycling) takes my cue throws down a punishing attack. I am the only one who goes with him. Eventually the race gets back together, but other 4 guys are clearly fatigued from the attacks.

On lap four, we finally shell one of the riders making it 5 of us. On lap 5 he manages to claw his way back up to us at the foot of the climbs. Unfortunately for him, he lasts about 5 seconds before we drop him again, as well as several others.

For the remainder of the race it is just three of us, 15y/o, some 130lb guy and me. I keep the pace hot on the last climb hoping to sail away, but it’s not enough to break anything up. Instead I just get stuck on the front. I’m on the front for almost two miles. I flick my elbows begging for somebody to pull through. I start riding erratically, slowing then accelerating to no avail. Then 15 y/o attacks hard and makes a huge gap. We chase and it comes back together with about 300m to go. 15y/o makes the jump, I grab his wheel, but ultimately run out of real estate. He wins by less than a wheel length. My calves cramp like crazy and I feel like I never really got the full power into my sprint. Oh well, it was a great race, clean course and a few points toward upgrading.

-jake

A new begining is near

2010-03-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone here is excited about the new season. Fancy bikes are being built and race schedules are being planned.

If you haven't seen the new Storks, they are sweet.

Derrick is hold up an Absolutist 1.0 complete with SRAM Rival. Yes he is holding it up with only 1 finger. The bike weighs in at 17.3 lbs with pedals and pink bike computer. Just image how light that thing would be with some race wheels on it.

Nasty.

Jingle Cross

2009-12-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on the blogs, but it's not like anybody else is helping out here.

Last week the 3 day Jingle Cross Cyclocross spectacular was my first UCI Elite level race. This year I paid an extra $90 to get my UCI license so I can do races where I'll get my butt kicked really badly.

How did it go? I guess as expected. Never before have I gotten my ass kicked so thouroghly and yet felt so good about the races.

All the Chitown support, my team helping out in the pit crew, I really felt like a PRO.

Michael Young said it best when he said, "this is a nightmare of a race brother, It is a small field and everyone out there is seriously fast."

It was an honor line up with guys who competed in the Olympics, were former MTB and Xterra World Champions, and represented the USA at the CX World Championships the last few years.

On the second day, I got a second row call up and they announced my name after all the big shots with UCI points. I even got called up ahead of the legendary Ned Overend. Haha old man, learn to be faster with your computer when registration opens up next time.

On day 3 I even rode on Ned's wheel for the first 1/2 lap. next time I'm just going to sit there and let him pull me to the front :-o

On day one I won $19, day two I took $3 in hand ups, and day 3 I took 2 or 3 beer hand ups (supposedly one of only 2 elite racers to take the beer. In the SS division everyone took a beer :) )

Even though you can't tell by my results, I felt like I was doing things at a higher level than ever before. Hopefully it will carry over to Montrose.

In conclusion, is it worth it to put in all the hard work to get to this level even if you are going to just get your ass kicked? For me I would have to say heck yes it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnI3Nd352Kw

It's been a long time...

2009-11-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

Photo by Chris. Tim is so fast, the little girl in the back ground can't believe it.

Did I ever mention cyclocross is fun? I am having a blast racing this year. Xterra was fun during the summer, but that was more of an individual thing. Cyclocross is so awesome because you don’t have to travel very far and you can race with all your friends. The team support from Iron Cycles has been fantastic. Best season ever.

The race promoters designed another challenging and fun course at the Indian Hills Golf Course. To add to the fun, the prize purse was the largest and deepest in Chi Cross history.

Iron Cycles wasn’t operating at full strength because Derrick was on an off week (he still came out to cheer rocking a Mohawk), Sofia hosted a party and partied too much the night before, and Brandon and Matt had to hold it down at the shop.

Larson and I started the day off in the 30+ race. I overcame a second to last row start and an early crash into a down rider in the sand pit to latch onto the first chase group with Walid, Gatto, Heck, and Whipple. I attacked early on the last lap and held off the chase to take 7th and felt that was a successful race.

Next, Chip held it down in the cat 3 race beating more people than he usually beats. It looks like he won’t be our sole representative in the cat 3’s next week because Larson and Brandon are applying for their upgrade soon.

In the Ladies 4 race Katie had her best finish of the season in 8th and solidified her spot in the top 10 in the series.

In the 1/2/3 race, in what was possibly the biggest and most competitive 1/2/3 race in Chicross history, Tim took the fourth place spot for the second week in a row. I overcame a couple crashes and moved up into the top 20, finishing 14th overall. Tim is now solidly in 3rd place in the series and it looks like he is only getting better.

Russ looked like the strongest rider in the 4a race, but he was undermined by a crash and a mechanical. He ended up 4th when he was outsprinted by a mountain biker (c’mon Russ) and Larson had his best race of the season and held down the 13th place spot in Matt Daniel’s absence.

Katie raced again in the 4b race and beat more boys than she did last week.

Matt, Katie, RUSS, Tim and I took advantage of the deep payouts and brought home some prize money. Everyone looks like they are getting stronger as we head into the last few races of the season.

The next day Russ, Michael Young (XXX Racing) and I headed up to Janesville for a WCA CX race. On a mountain bike type course Russ took second in the cat 4 race and I took second in the 30+ race.

It’s been a long time since I actually had a profitable weekend racing my bike. I took home prize money that exceeded my entry fee in every race I did. Unfortunately it doesn’t even cover half of the cost of the new Dugast Ryno’s I bought this week. Oh well, that’s bike racing. We really just do it because it’s fun.

Iron Cycles rider of the week - Tim Yuska

2009-11-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

I nominate Tim the IC rider of the week for the Northbrook race. Tim has been killing it all year and he pulled out his best finish ever in the 1/2's with a 4th place finish. This makes him the number 3 ranked rider in the Chicross series.

I remember when I used to beat him all the time, now he's at a higher level and one of the best cyclocrossers in the Chicagoland area.

Tim got Iron Cycles a little press, prominently featured in a bunch of pictures in the following article:

http://www.triblocal.com/Northbrook/Detail_View/view.html?type=photos&action=detail&sub_id=116477

Maybe Tim will write a race report. (hint, hint)

In other race related news, I just have to say Chi Cross rocks and I think this was a really fun course. Before the race I read on the chicrosscup web site how they were going to change the course and they had all these rules we had to follow regarding our behaviour. I thought this would be a really lame venue, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

The course was challenging with a good mix of off camber turns and open power sections and the fans were just as rowdy as ever. Everywhere on the course I could hear someone cheering my name. That keeps me motivated because then I know I can't soft pedal and look weak anywhere on the course.

My favorite moments of the day:

1) Spectacular crashes in the sandpit. Luckily the sand was soft and I don't think anyone hurt themselves too bad.

2) The little Half Acre dude trying to get up the hill in the junior race. He was so persistent, he wouldn't let the hill defeat him.

Liz took a great series of pictures here titled Determination:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tippingpointphoto/sets/72157622640358739/

3) In the 4b race, in the battle for last finisher of the day, the race came down to racer number 441 (Rodrigo?) and Flannel Mike (a.k.a. BC) riding wheel to wheel. At the sand pit the crowd was so loud cheering them on to the finish, it was insane. Glory is not just for the victors. A great finish to a great day.

Iron Cycles rider of the week - Russ Kuryk

2009-11-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

I'm anointing Russ the Iron Cycles rider of the week. Ever since I convinced Russ to buy a cyclocross bike earlier this year, I've never seen anyone pursue the sport so passionately. I took him under my wing and taught him everything he knows :-) This week he took his first win in dominating fashion in epic conditions. Here is his race report:

First Win...

So, I have never won a race in my life, ever. This bewilderment totally took me by a surprise. Especially from being sore all week and missing on training. Could it be because it was the Halloween weekend and my competition partied the night before? I guess I will find out next week.

It was a fairly chilly day with some sun rays. The course was the first muddy course at the Chicago Cyclocross Cup (CCC) series this year. It included fairly challenging climbs and a bunch of technical sections with somewhat sharp rocks, 2x4’s in the ground, single track in the woods, and mud dips.

Tim Yuska

Photo by Liz Farina Markel, Tipping Point Photography, Chicago, ILhttp://www.tippingpointphoto.com/

Warm up

This was my first time racing in the mud. During the first lap I went slow because I didn’t want to get myself or my bike dirty. The second lap was a bit faster but still fairly slow as I tried to learn the course. I still couldn’t believe I was getting dirty before my actual race. A thought kept coming up, “What if my bike gets too muddy and something will go wrong in my actual race?“ But I kept pre-riding. At one point Scott McLaughlin from SRAM passed me. I tried to keep up but no avail.

There was a pretty slippery and muddy section right after the woods that I could not ride and had to dismount to get though. I was not happy. I think I pre-rode that section about ten times to gain enough confidence where I wouldn’t have to get off my bike. I was still not comfortable. I managed to pre-ride 2 more laps prior to Men's 1/2/3 race.

The Race

So before I jump into race specifics, I’ll briefly mention nutrition. I have been playing with different types of nutrition for the past 5 races. Last week it was a disaster for me. I read an article in triathlon magazine which mentioned that caffeine could boost performance. I believe it recommended to consume 3-7mg of caffeine per kg of body weight. And what happened? I went overboard. I’ve had so much caffeine that my heart felt like it was going to explode. I finished the race my heart felt like it continued to race, without me. That definitely scared me. So this time I only had 100mg of caffeine (1 ZYM Catapult Berry tablet mixed with water) prior to the race, instead of – I don’t even want to mention!

On to the race. The whistle fired and the race went on. About five or six riders charged to the front and I tried to stay behind them. I think it was the $20 prime for the winner of the first lap that caused such furiousness. Then I don’t know how but I managed to pass one rider at a time. After the first lap I passed the last two riders and I was in the lead. Apparently I tried too hard because towards the end of the second lap someone yelled out to relax because I had over 10 second lead. I couldn’t believe it. I kept telling myself to take it easy and slow down so I wouldn't fall or do something silly. Which has been the case in the past where I was in the lead. This time the mud was on my side.

On the final lap I started lapping other riders. Right before the slippery climb I dropped my chain, not sure how, but managed to get on the bike and without running up the climb. I passed some more along the way, said “Hi” to super girl, and on to the finish. Then I watched the officials while they flipped the lap counter. I won? Really? I still couldn't believe it.

Russ Kuryk
Photo by Nikki Cyp

Prior to the race someone asked me if I was a “mudder.” I didn’t know what it meant but after they described it, I answered, “no.” This is my first cross season and I have never raced in the mud. Apparently I enjoyed the mud so much that I suppose I could now consider myself as one. :)

There are four more wonderful CCC races left in the season, and Jingle Cross. Some of the team members will race Jingle Cross during the Thanksgiving weekend, three days in a row. I’m not sure what to think of Jingle Cross, but future will tell.

Russ

Mountain Bike Equipment Review

2009-11-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was competing in the Xterra World Championship. I knew that the course has a lot of climbing so I wanted to get some new components to make my bike lighter. I also knew there would be a lot of cool bikes there since it is a World Championship, so I wanted to make my bike much more cooler than it already is.

So before I shipped out to Hawaii I went to Brandon and threw some ideas off him and we came up with some ways to make my Titus Fireline 29 both lighter and more cool. Below is the back story / review of the upgrades.

Thompson Elite X4 stem and Alpha Q X Roc flat bar handlebar

I broke my stem at Xterra Nationals and needed to replace it. However I discovered they no longer make stems in the old 25.4 standard and all stems and handlebars now come in the OS standard 31.8. Therefore I needed to replace both my stem and handlebar. Looking for the best combination of weight, price and what is pretty to look at, I chose the Alpha Q X Roc Handlebar and Thompson Elite X4 stem.

The Alpha Q X Roc has a nice shiny finish and is quite light compared to my old aluminum bar. I can’t say I noticed any difference in the handling characteristics of carbon vs. aluminum bar, but then again, if you are looking for a performance upgrade, a handlebar is probably the last thing you’ll upgrade. It is light and that is why I like it.

The Thompson Elite X4 stem is really pretty to look at. They machined away all the extra metal not necessary to the function of the stem. The X4 is also simplified compared to the old Thompson Elite stem with the elimination of the insertable steerer tube clamp set. It is also much lighter. Again, I notice no difference in the handling characteristics of the 25.4 clamp vs. the 31.8 OS clamp. I don’t know why the industry changed the standard. I guess it was to make everyone buy more stems and handlebars. However, the X4 stem is light and does what it is supposed to do, so that is why I like it.

Total weight saving gained from the new parts is at least 100 grams. Nice, every gram counts.

Fizik Tundra saddle with carbon rails

The Tundra is Fizik’s new mountain bike saddle. The surface is much flatter than the Arionne and the Gobi. Therefore it took a few rides to get used to it. Once I got used to it I liked it. I cannot ride a saddle that is hard or has too much padding. In my opinion they got the texture right for this saddle. It is firm but not hard.

I was skeptical of the carbon rails on this saddle. I questioned whether or not the rails could handle the pounding of a hard mountain bike race. Well, this saddle has been tested on two of the hardest Xterra courses in the country and in multiple cyclocross races (when a saddle is this expensive, you swap it out to whichever bike you happen to be riding at the time). It stood up to the test and is still structurally sound.

The most impressive thing about this saddle is the weight. It is like a bag of feathers, so light at 203 grams. My Fizik Gobi weighs in at over 250 g. Weight weenies who are hard on their equipment will want to get this saddle.

Time ATAC XS Titan Carbon pedals

I’ve been riding Time ATAC pedals for years. All my shoes have cleats that match these pedals so these are the pedals I run on all my bikes. I really like the redesign of these pedals that they did a couple years ago. The new design allows more space for better mud clearance. They are now much better at clipping in in mud than the older models and each clip in feels more precise.

The Time ATAC Titan pedal is the top of the line pedal and it has performed flawlessly in the most demanding conditions in both mountain biking and cyclocross. The clipping in is so easy I really believe these pedals have improved my cyclocross remounts.

Total claimed weight savings of the ATAC Titan pedal vs. the ATAC XS Carbon is 68 grams.

SRAM XX 42-28 crank set with SRAM Red ceramic bearings bottom bracket

I was over geared running a 1 X 9 at a mountain bike course with lots of climbing like Xterra Nationals in Ogden UT. I needed more range to climb steep mountains. When Brandon told me his shipmentment of XX came in I told him I had to have one of the cranksets.

The range of a 42-28 paired with a 12-34 cassette gave me all the range I needed to climb the steepest, loosest climbs I could find in Maui. I don’t know why it took so long to come out with cranks with this chainring combo. As far as I’m concerned, triples are now outdated.

Performance wise, this is the most impressive of the upgrades. Even though I set it up with a X.0 9 speed shifter and a XT front derailleur the performance of this crank set shines like a star in the drive train. It was a pain to set it up like this just right, but once dialed in, the shifting was effortless. You can shift under load with no problems. The chain moves from small ring to big ring so quickly, I can’t even remove my thumb from the shifter before the chain has caught on the big chainring.

If small details like this are impressive to you, you will want to get this crankset even if you are still running 9 speed. However, I cannot wait to get the rest of the XX group because I am sure it will impress even more.

BB/VP Bar-B-Cross

2009-10-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Across the board, everyone associated with ChiCross has been stepping up their game!

1) Beverly Bike Vee-Pak put on a great event with awesome free BBQ
2) The event was run as well as any I've participated in. Thank you to all the ChiCross volunteers
3) The course was a perfect mix of power and tech sections. The park was a gem in the south side
4) Racer turnout remains high which increases the level of competition

This has been a great year of CX racing, and we're only through the 4th week!

Each race I appreciate my Lynskey ProCross and Reynolds wheels a bit more. After racing CX on clincher wheels with a 20+ pound bike for the past couple seasons, I’ve seen the light.

This is my first top shelf race bike and it is a rocket! I’m stronger than last year and this bike allows me to push the envelope when cornering and accelerating out of corners. Several of us on the team have bikes built in the mid-16 pound range. It’s nice to know that equipment wise, I’m on equal footing. Fitness and handling will decide the race. Let the best man win.

Ted and I both got call ups for the Cat1/2/3 race. It’s nice to get front row seats. After the start I was about 5th heading into the trees for first time up the hill. The group clogged up as expected and that gave the first couple riders all the leash they needed, never to be seen again.

I dropped my chain later during the first lap, but with Ted’s help worked to regain a few spots. I finally caught the OTHER Tim. I enjoy riding around with him for encouragement. Tim's a pretty popular guy, so even though people weren't cheering for me, I got a boost hearing my name.

We kept challenging each other in our attempt to reach Hemme. During the wooded hill climb on the previous lap, TimB stalled on some roots near the top. The next lap I darted in front of him before the woodchips, rode it clean and had the gap I needed. I chased Hemme for a couple more laps, but couldn't reach him and finished 5th.

Iron Cycles had another great turnout, representing in the Masters 30+, Cat3, Cat3/4 Women, Cat1/2/3 and Cat4 (in that order)
I had a great time cheering for everyone and I’m already looking forward to Carpentersville next Sunday

DeKalb CX

2009-10-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend the team traveled west to the city of DeKalb for round 2 of the ChiCrossCup. Half Acre put together a great race with a course that was unrelenting, allowing very little time for recovery. The course had plenty of technical features such as off camber turns galore, but with the soft grass and false flats, horse power would rule the day.

In the 1/2 race Tim made the break in the first chase group. With the complacency of having a pretty decent race last weekend at Xterra Nationals, I lacked the desire to put myself through the pain of staying on Tim's wheel and settled into my own pace. In hindsight, I kind of regret it because Tim said once you get into the draft the pace eventually settles down and it is not as hard as you think it would be.

I settled into the second chase group with Greg Heck. We took turns pulling lap after lap, but kept giving up a few seconds each lap to the group ahead. Our only hope was to reel in straglers falling off the pace up front.

Two to go and we are finally about to catch someone ahead. Unfortunately I roll a tire and get gapped. Oh well, the rest of the race I ride alone. In the end Tim finished 7th and I was 13th. I think we both have enough points to get a call up for next weeks race, so that's pretty good.

Tim's been off on some secret training plan, but whatever he is doing, it's working. Everytime I ask him to come out and ride he looks away and mumbles something about being busy at work. There are rumors that he's doing VO2 max intervals on the recumbant exercycle 4 days a week.

In the 4A race, Russ A.K.A. Crash, showed quick improvement and finished 7th. He should be close to getting a call up next race too.

For the 4B race, Matt Daniel put down the wrench and put out notice he can drop the hammer too. A great start put him at the front of the pack and he finished 6th.

Overall it was a pretty good day with Iron Cycles representing in nearly every race.

Storck's are in!

2009-08-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Friday we received the much-anticipated Storck delivery. Not everything showed, some of the frames aren't due for a month or so, but we now have a 51cm Scenario C1.1 built and ready to ride.

The C1.1 frameset is lighter and stiffer than the Madone, not to mention cheaper. If you want carbon for everyday training, the C1.1 is pretty much impossible to beat.

We also have a super-fly 55cm Fenomenalist built with SRAM Red and Reynolds carbon wheels and a PowerTap. With all that business goin' on, it's still weighing in at 15.2 lbs....whoa. This frameset could easily be built up to 12.5-13 lbs any day of the week with off-the-shelf parts.

We will soon have a Vision Light in stock, the Storck aluminum frame. "Aluminum" you ask? Yes. This is the Storck crit machine. Light, stiff, aggressive, fast. Plus you won't have to cry yourself to sleep if the Vision Light hits the ground in a race. Retailing at $900 for frame, fork, and headset, it's a lot easier on the pocketbook than say a Fascenario, and still a race-worthy frame. Thinking about a Cannondale CAAD9? Give this Vision Light a ride first and see which is the better frame.

Want to test one? Come in! Scheduling a ride would probably be best so we can ride along and guard you from popporazzi.

We're famous!

2009-08-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

The Storck demo event went awesome at the shop, and we made it onto the Storck Demo Blog. I think that means we've "made it". Right? Come on, right?!

http://storckdemotour.blogspot.com/2009/08/iron-cycles-chicago-il.html

The first of many Iron Cycles Racing wins!

2009-08-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

In the words of Tim Yuska, our first race winner. The team has been around for roughly 2 weeks, the uniforms aren't even in, yet we are starting on the right foot!

Take it away Tim:

Tour of Elk Grove - Cat4 recap

My first 1st + the best prize purse of the season + primetastic solo ride = Perfect day

The Race: On the first lap Ben Widoff did his usual mountain bike hole shot start and picked up a couple guys willing to go with him. Beginning from the third row, I stayed in the pack. After a few laps the breakaway had taken down their second prime and I worried that they would be able to keep adding seconds to their lead. Knowing that a break a four working together would have a good chance to stay away, I put in a big dig near the start/finish to leave the pack and bridge up. After joining I took a few seconds to recover and moved to the front for a pull.

Everyone was willing to work as able, but it wasn’t very coordinated. Rain had started to sprinkle by the next time the prime bell was rung for $75. We cautioned each other to take it easy through the turns and watch for slippery pavement markings. I knew that Ben W. would jump for the prime, he’s stolen a few from me this year, so I beat him to the punch by jumping first and held off his charge. $75, sweet! My first ever successfully contested prime. Our break of four was now down to two. As we hit the apex of the 180degree turn, I’m thinking of how Ben and I can work together … and then Ben slides out on the wet pavement.

Go! Go! Go! Go! My mind is screaming. I shift a gear and exit the corner like I stole something. Each lap you are able to look across the divided road at the chasing pack to see how close they are. I don’t remember how much time I had left when I went solo, too busy looking at my stem, burying myself, rather than checking the clock. I prayed that they would ring the prime bell each time I passed the start line. I picked up another $25 dollars and a few laps later another $50. Each time through the 180degree turn it looked like the pack was closing in, but I must have been quicker entering and exiting in the slick conditions to maintain my gap. The final lap bell rang and I knew it was all or nothing. I shifted down another gear … and my legs said “Hell No” so I shifted back and kept my cadence up. With 400 meters to go after exiting the final turn I knew I had it won. Now what, I’ve never done this before!?!?! With 50M to go my hands were still stuck to the bars, afraid of being that guy who wipes out before the finish. I finally muster the courage to post up and give a big shout. Man that felt good!!! I need to do that more often

The reflection: I’ve learned a lot of skills and met a lot of great people from different teams this summer. These crits are a tough riddle. Being strong is not enough to win. Tactical thinking, positioning ability and DETERMINATION to win is a huge asset. A mental slip will cost you several positions and possibly a win. I know that I still have a lot to learn, but I submitted my Cat3 upgrade and have been approved. I am preparing myself for another learning curve, but look forward to pushing myself against better competition. For now, I’m heading back to fat tires and dirt. I have a couple big mountain bike races, Ore2Shore and Chequamegon, before ramping up for Act 2 of my season with Cyclocross. Hopefully it ends as well as Act 1.

Tim

John's family Schwinn Tandem Town & Country

2009-08-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Every so often I get the opportunity to work on a really cool bike, which is not always the latest carbon race bike or the bike with the most gadgets or pivots. Every summer I look forward to seeing what challenges “wheel” through the door.

If I could describe the experience, it would closely resemble how most of us feel right before a birthday, or the night before Christmas. I love working on bikes, its something that I have done for most of my life and can easily see myself doing happily for the rest of it.

So from time to time I get to work on a bike that reminds me of what this whole professional bicycle mechanic thing is all about. It might be a bike that I have to pull completely apart from bearing to brake. It could be a bike so out of control expensive that, even in my dreams I could never afford it.

Or, it could be a bike that just looks cool.

Ed's Turner Flux

2009-08-01T06:35:00.001-07:00

Our buddy Ed is a true cyclist through and through. He loves sweet bikes, awesome beer and hanging out at our shop. He came to Iron Cycles with a little project in mind revolving around a Turner Flux full suspension frame. Now, to fully understand just how excited I get about building a Turner we have to track back about fifteen years to my very first bike shop, The Single Track Factory. This is the part in the story where both Wayne and Garth warp us back in time.

The Single Track Factory is a killer little shop in the heart of my hometown of Denver, Colorado. This was the first shop that I ever walked in to where I felt welcomed by the way cool guys that worked there. I think that this initial impression that clued me into the idea that a bike shop can be fun and exciting to visit. So, a few visits later I had somehow convinced Brian, the owner, to let me work there for the summer. He took me under his wing and taught me everything I would ever need to know about bikes.

A few years went by, in which time I’d gotten into racing downhill and slalom and survived a few bike trips to the far corners of the States. However the bikes that I had been riding just didn’t feel right. I had officially broken my first downhill bike in a crash that should have taken my life, but instead left me with a concussion that I swear has made me see double ever since.

Every summer STF provided technical support for the Fat Tire Classic in Winter Park. The coolest part about the Fat Tire Classic, aside from the riding, was the dirt demo. The Single Track Factory would always find some way to get the coolest companies to let us borrow bikes for this event. It was there that I first set my eyes on a Turner. Turner was building bikes for all the fastest pros and was holding their ground against other companies like Intense and Santa Cruz which were all cool bikes too. For some reason I had just never seen a Turner in person let alone ridden one. I had plastered a million Mountain Bike Action Magazine pages to my walls with some rider railing some perfectly groomed trail on a Turner. I was boarder line obsessed with owning an Afterburner DH.

Turner had lent us three bikes, an 02, an XCE, and an RFX. I remember just how anxious I was waiting to jump aboard any of them. Because I was more into the gravity bikes at the time I was dead set on riding the RFX which was considered a “long travel” machine. I was in love from the first pedal stroke. The bike had amazing acceleration and gobbled up just about anything I could throw it at All of the reviews I had ever read, all of the rumors and hype, were right on! I had never felt more confident on a bike in my life and was certain that my next purchase would be a Turner.

Ok, back to Ed’s bike. So my life long obsession with the Turner brand has led to a rather exaggerated excitement when I get a chance to build one. Ed’s Turner Flux is an awesome example of why…

This four inch travel trail machine is built for serious speed. From the Mavic Cross Max SLR wheels to the Tune Bar ends, no expense was spared! We built the bike up with a mix of Shimano XTR drive train components to keep the shifting super smooth and precise. The Truvative Noir cranks are among the lightest and stiffest carbon triple, mountain cranks out on the market, not to mention some of the sexiest!

At Iron Cycles we love to see Sram made components on just about any bike. The Avid Juicy Ultimate brakes are some of our favorites. I have thrashed a pair on my all-mountain bike for over two years now and they work as well as the day I first installed them.

Of course I’m a fan of both the Thomson X2 stem and the Elite seat post. If you ask me every bike should have these parts on them. Thomson stems and posts are light, durable and are made with the highest tolerances you’ll find anywhere.

Fox has possibly the most fine tunable stock suspension components I have ever found. We equipped Ed’s machine with the F80 RLC which has both rebound, compression and lock out feature for those long climbs out west. The coolest thing about this fork is that you have 100% control over how this thing performs. Some of the best racers in the world use this fork because of its features and its incredibly low weight.

Chris King makes some of the best headsets hands down. Not only does King back up their headsets with a TEN year warranty (not that you’ll ever need it) they perform flawlessly for years. In all my years as a bicycle mechanic I’ve seen more frames fail than King headsets. Come to think of it I’m not sure that I have ever seen a King headset fail. It’s in the name.

With the bike finished we sent Ed out for a ride. I don't know if he was just being nice, or if he really meant it, but as far as I can tell, it was love at first ride.

Damien's Trek TTX

2009-08-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Watch out Chicago! We’ve officially let Damien out the door with his Iron Cycles Fit Trek Equinox and he’s gunning for top ranks at the Accenture Triathlon this year.

Damien came into Iron Cycles just after we opened our doors riding one of the meanest looking Carbon Bianchi’s I’ve ever seen. We got to talking about his goals for competing in some local triathlons this season and asked what my thoughts were on a dedicated race bike. I suppose that my opinions on dedicated race machines come from my own experience trying to race my downhill bike on slalom courses way back when I was in high school. I found it a much better idea to use the proper tools for the job. When it comes to competing in a physically exhausting event like a triathlon its always best to use a bike built for comfort, aerodynamics and speed.

One of the most important aspects of fitting Damien was first to understand what type of races he was participating in. The fit of an aero bike or “tri-bike” can be tailored differently depending on what type of event the rider is competing in. For example, if an athlete is competing in a short course or sprint triathlon, it might be acceptable for the rider to be in the most aerodynamic position instead of the most comfortable. Reducing wind resistance by lowering the frontal profile of the rider might put them in a position that might not be the most comfortable. However, the concern with a short course is obviously to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. As long as the rider can maintain the most aerodynamic position over the duration of their bike event and still produce power, comfort does not necessarily need to be the focus of the positioning on the bike.

Don’t get me wrong, comfort is very important. If a rider is not comfortable they will not be able to produce power to the pedals which in turn will make them far less efficient. With Damien, we wanted to find the perfect balance between his comfort level and his ability to produce power while helping him maintain the most aerodynamic position possible.

Damien’s bike is the Trek Equinox TTX which is among some of most well thought out carbon aero bikes I’ve ever built up. One of the details I appreciate most about the TTX is the front end of the bike. Trek made some design decisions based on real world riders not just the elite racers that we all admire. Not everyone is as flexible as Hunter Kemper ( or paid to put their bodies through multiple hours of pain on a bike), unfortunately some bicycle manufactures think you should be. One of the biggest problems I’ve seen with tri bikes is that they use head tube lengths that are too short. Unfortunately this ultra short head tube length leaves most triathletes with an excess of steer tube looming above the top of the frame. In some cases this pushes the boundaries of what most carbon steer tubes can handle and in many cases compromises the handling characteristics of the bike.

Not here ladies and gentlemen. The Trek TTX has a reasonably tall head tube, which makes for a very versatile long or short course contender. Not only does the bike work exceptionally well for a wide range of body types it is also an extremely stable machine at speeds.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Trek had thought out the TTX’s cable routing also. Most bicycle companies producing tri-specific or aero bikes usually come up with excellent wind tunnel tested frame designs. For some reason cable routing has always seemed like an after thought for some of these designs. I cant tell you how many times I’ve had to refrain from shouting out obscenities while running cables in Kestral Talon’s from years gone by. It was refreshing to see how smoothly the routing for the TTX came together. Another detail that I loved was the front derailleur cable, was guided by an aluminum plate, which was designed to protect the carbon in the event that the chain falls off between cranks and the frame. Little details like this make me happy when I come across them, it makes sense, its execution is meaningful and it flat out works.

Don’t be surprised if all you see of Damien this race season is a flash of silver as he passes the competition. His bike is dialed in and fast as can be. We here at Iron Cycles can't wait for that podium finish!

Without further ado, let's see a picture!

The new series....

2009-08-01T06:20:00.001-07:00

Here at Iron Cycles we come across some very cool machines. Even though we may not necessarily sell them, we do service many brands and see some of the best bikes the industry has to offer.

Matt, our head mechanic, has graciously offered to share his experiences with repairing, building, and even fitting some of these machines. The bikes in this series will range from high-end carbon tri bikes, to custom Ti and steel bikes, to classic tandems, and everything in between.

Rather than holding you up any longer, please read up on some of the cooler stuff that comes through our doors....

Transitions and The 9ball Diaries

2009-07-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

Tim helped us out yet again with some reviews of a couple of our favorite shop videos. The 9ball Diaries is a documentary about Tim Johnson, Transitions is about the Kona guys heading over to Europe and racing 'cross.

It’s 90+ degrees outside!! That must mean Jackson Park, the first ChiCross race of the year, is just around the corner, right? Unfortunately not. Chicago is experiencing its first heat wave of the season and Palos is STILL un-rideable in mid-June. I needed a distraction to keep from going crazy, riding so much pavement, so I picked up "The 9 Ball Diaries" and "Transition2 - Cross the Pond" cyclocross vids from Iron Cycles to get into a “cool” state of mind.

I expected a mildly entertaining recap of top domestic pros racing in the US and Europe. After finishing both films I realized that there were a lot of good pointers for a cyclocross enthusiast to gain from watching these movies. Bike racers aren’t the most interesting folks to film, so race footage is what I was really interested in, and these movies have a lot of it.

Last year I had the opportunity to watch a few UCI races in person and was awed by the power that the pros put out. When watching the DVDs I noticed more of the finesse and the little things, in addition to raw power, that the top pros have also refined. Cyclocross rewards the complete rider. These people have worked on their bike handling, dismounting and remounting skills, CX starts and the full range of power zones starting with Freaking Hard!!! and then increasing. Many of these skills require just practice with minimal suffering (compared to intervals) which I appreciate.

I enjoyed 9 Ball Diaries a bit more than Transition2, but both are definitely worth watching. 9 Ball is short, only about 50 minutes, but I think that it has better race footage. It follows Tim Johnson during his ’08 USGP of Cyclocross and CX Nats campaign. The movie starts with Tim riding his cross bike through singletrack as he explains how it helps him with handling. At times during races we see him carving tight corners and using those handling skills, incredibly in tune with the cornering ability of his tires. Most people who race would benefit from spending more time practicing ripping around on grass and dirt during the week like they race on the weekends. Testing the limits of their equipment and improving handling ability.

Transition2 has a broader focus and more footage of the lifestyle and travels of US EuroCrossCamp racers. It also shows some cool euro courses with pumptracks and a lot of run-ups. Bike shouldering (picking the bike up and carrying it with the top tube on your shoulder) isn’t as vital of a skill in Chicago, but it is still easy to work on and good skill to have.

When watching the films or any races notice the little things other riders do that add up over the course of a 30-60 minute race.

-Finding the pedal and getting clipped in immediately at the start
-Getting the hole shot.
-Taking corners like they are on rails
-Fast dismounts and remounts
-Immediately finding the pedals on remounts
-Digging deep to hold onto a stronger rider’s wheel to draft and recover

Hopefully Palos dries out soon so I can take my CX bike out and practice these skills.

Superweek is here!

2009-07-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Tim sent me this today to recap his weekend of racing:

Superweek - Blue Island and Elgin Race Recap:

Blue Island: When deciding my race schedule I almost skipped Blue Island. Some people complain that it is a “boring” rectangle crit. I decided the course, which almost a guarantees a large field spint, is what most Chicago area crits are about. Learning how to sprint and win out of a pack is a necessary skill in Chicago.

We start almost on time and get rolling for 25 one mile laps. I’ve raced here the past three years and knew exactly what to expect. The first few laps had some break attempts, but they never gained more than a few seconds on the field before being reeled back in. The racing continued that way until mile 13 when I made a jump. I had a few people come with, but they didn’t stay for long and I was out front alone. I had a decent gap and felt good so I committed to it and put my head down. The gap grew to nearly 20 seconds and I kept pushing. After 6 miles out front I saw that the pel was getting organized and I would be caught. With 5 laps left I backed off the pedals until I was caught. 15 minutes in a solo break, let’s see what’s left in the tank.

With 2 laps to go a South Chicago Wheelmen rider was on point and did an awesome job setting a good tempo. Usually there are people swarming to the front and then hitting the brakes, not wanting to do any work once they get there. He is setting a great pace and the pack is kept at bay. I’m sitting 2^ndwheel coming into turn 3 on the final lap when the swarm finally came. I was pushed back to about 8^thplace. Turn 4 I took an outside line as I hear pedals skidding across pavement to my inside. Thankfully I stay clear and look ahead to choose a wheel to follow. The riders ahead separate into a right and left group, so decided to go for daylight and shoot up the middle. I’ve been working on my sprinting and it felt great to actually pull ahead! I thought that I was clear, until I saw the wheel of Ernie C. closing and nip me at the line by about a wheel length.

Despite not winning, I was really happy with my performance. Soloing for 15 minutes and then having enough left to take 2^ndin a sprint is nothing to be disappointed about. Well, it would have been nice to finally get a W, but I can tell that my form is improving and hopefully it will come soon.

Elgin Road Race: This recap will be short. 25 mile road race that was more like a narrow crazy crit course. One long stretch of road was used twice, for out and back, with metal fencing set up to divide the road. The back in portion was ridden in the left lane which led into a left turn (foreshadowing).

I was riding well floating between 1^stand 10^thposition most of the race until the “back in” portion of divided road on lap 4. I took the left turn too fast and my wheel slid out. I had a bad feeling about that turn before the race, and now I know why. I ass and elbow skidded until running into the curb. I jumped up, worried that someone else would make the same mistake and run into me. I was a bit shell shocked and had trouble getting my chain back on until the SRAM support gave me a hand. Everything was in working order, so I decided to try to chase and finish strong. I chased for the final 5 mile lap but wasn’t able to make up ground.

During the last lap, after making my way past that same left hand turn, there was an equally questionable right corner that dipped into poorly patched asphalt. Off to the left of the street I saw a Tower Racer laying in the grass being attended to by medics. Coming into the final turn I saw 3 more people off to the left in the grass, taking stock of their wounds, and a bit farther up the road a Bicycle Heaven rider was shouldering his bike and walking away from the course. There must have been some real carnage on that last lap.

Give me a “boring” race on good roads any day over attempting to stage a race with questionable pavement and too narrow courses. Now I have to replace my shorts and jersey. Actually, I think I'll patch it up and wear it for the next few races until I end my road season. Why risk it with nice new stuff. Give me dirt and grass. Bring on Cyclocross season.

It's the first of our race recaps for the newly formed Iron Cycles Racing team. Thanks Tim for getting us going!

Lynskey Cooper tested

2009-04-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

I received my M/L Lynskey Cooper about 6 weeks ago. Built with SRAM Force which was leftover from my cross bike last year, DT Swiss RR1850's, 3T Ergonova aluminum bars, and Thomson stem/post, it came in at about 17 lbs. Not bad for a road bike with nary a wieght weenie part in sight. I couldn't help but to dress her up for the photo shoot with some Zipp 808's, so enjoy the eye candy:

Initally I was blown away by the finish more than anything else. The hand brushed Ti just does it for me. With the white decals the frame just screams class.

Background: The Cooper is a new frame for Lynskey. If you can do without custom sizing, the Cooper may be a good idea for you. It comes in small, medium, medium/large, large, and extra large. Geometry can be found on the site, but with this kind of size run, there's a Cooper for most everyone.

My initial rides are hardly something to base a review on. Not because there was anything wrong with the bike, quite the contrary. The rides were short and very spirited, so I was able to test the stiffness of the bottom bracket for power transfer.

From a near stop at a light and jumping on the pedals at full-force (which for me right now is less than impresive!) showed a very stiff bottom bracket and no flex. At the same time, while tooling around Chicago I noticed the frame did a very good job of keeping the harshness of the road at bay.

Flashing back to the finish, after a somewhat wet ride which included a couple of not-so-nice roads, I got back to Iron Cycles with a very dirty bike. I threw my bike into the stand, wet down a shop towel with some Green Fizz from Pedro's, and about 4 minutes later I had a bike that looked brand new. You can't beat Ti for durability.

As the weather gets better I plan on putting some more miles on my Cooper. With such spastic weather in the Midwest in the spring, you never know when a good day is to ride, so she'll be ready when the time comes.

Continental Mountain King 2.2 Supersonic tested!

2009-03-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

After my last little trail ride on semi-slicks in the mud, I decided I needed something with a bit more bite. After reviewing some catalogs and getting some suggestions, I placed an order for some Conti Mountain King 2.2 Supersonics.

Out of the box they were weighing in at a hair over 500g each. Not the lightest tire out there, but in line with other tires. The rubber also seemed really thin-walled, but nothing that some Stan's sealant won't take care of.

Now, 2.2 isn't normally my style. But these things measured under a caliper at 1.96 at the outer-most part of the casing. I was surprised, but that's what I was looking for.

Installing them wasn't as east as my Stan's The Crows, they didn't want to seat very easily. But, after throwing a tube in, getting one side into the bead and removing the tube, I was able to get them mounted. They did seem to leak air until the ride was actually under way, so I must have not gotten the Stan's Sealant to fully cover the inside of the tire. But once underway they held air just like they should.

More prepared this time with Matt (spare tubes, CO2, etc) we set out on the same loop as Sunday. Today was just as muddy as Sunday, maybe more so since we had some rain yesterday. Out on the road the Continentals didn't roll quite as fast but they were a long way from slow.

Once we hit the trail I saw the advantage to carrying the extra weight and suffering through slightly more rolling resistance. I was really able to lean in the bike and was really surprised with the grip climbing the small, muddy climbs we have here in the Midwest.

The Mountain Kings didn't seem to shed mud as quickly as I was hoping for, but then again I didn't get to ride far without plowing through more mud.

I won't go too far with this review since I only have about 2 hours on the tires on the trail, but initial impressions are good. I'll keep rolling these tires for a few more weeks and see what happens.

Stan's Notubes ZTR Race wheelset

2009-03-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'd rather not write a full review on one ride, so I'll give you a basic rundown with specs and initial impressions:

First, out of the box my wheelset came in at 1,180 grams. Yes, 1,180. That includes valves and rim tape. I couldn't really wrap my head around it either, so you're not alone. I got them built in standard form, with black DT Swiss spokes (I think Revolutions), red alloy nipples, and American classic hubs.

This is my first experience with American Classic disc hubs, and so far I like them. I have heard a number of stories about older models from AC having bearing trouble, but from what I understand those issues have long-since been worked out.

Back to the wheels. Out of the box they were perfectly true vertically and laterally. Not a single nipple needed to be turned which is nice. Matt has gotten me used to building wheels, so grabbing a pair out of a box was nice.

After a quick shot of air from the compressor the tire bead set in. I decided to give the Notubes The Crow a shot since I liked them some much last season on my 29er. Once the bead was a filled the tires with some Notubes sealant and was on my way.

Today's ride started out with about 20 min on the road to warm up. I was shocked on fast those wheels spun up. A hard burst of power and I was rolling down the road at 27-28mph!

Once Matt and I hit Labaugh Woods since it was the only thing that wasn't closed because of mud. We dropped in from the road and tore through the first mile or two of single track. This was my first ride offroad in months now and my training has really been lacking, so I happy to have some super light wheels and my new ride.

Matt ended up flatting just a few miles in, so our ride was cut short, but the ZTR Race wheelset held air that was put in last night without losing pressure, which is something I noticed on previous Stan's wheelsets. Left overnight, I always saw a couple PSI lost.

I'm going to be spending as much time on these wheels as possible to see how they hold up. Any light wheelset can spin up fast and impress off the bat, but how will they do after months or even a year of riding under me? My technical skills are not going to impress anyone, I hit things hard and I'm not super smooth. We'll see how they do!

Welcome!

2009-03-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

This will be the new spot to catch up on everything bicycle related in Chicago. We plan to have reviews of new drive trains, components, frames, clothing, and anything else we can get our grubby hands on.

So far we've played with a Campagnolo Super Record 11 kit, the new Lynksey Cooper and Ridgeline 29 models, the DT Swiss XRC100 fork and XR Carbon shock, some white Nokons, Zero Gravity cyclocross brakes, and Scrub Components brake rotors to name just a few.

Now, don't get the idea we'll only cover super-high-end parts. We'll cover some Endura clothing made with the commuter in mind, some tires made to last longer than your legs ever will, and everything in between.

Finally, we'll be posting some good info on bike fit. As I write our WAterford Fitmaster is on it's way to the shop. In about 60 minutes we'll be ready to fit anyone to anything and we'll be sharing those experiences and some good tips as we go.

Please follow along with us through the trials of opening a new shop dedicated to everything that cycling and triathlon has to offer. We've takenour passion and (hopefully) turned it into a business so we can share what we love with others, and if we're lucky learn a few things along the way.

Stop in at see us at 2860 W Montrose in Chicago. Maybe you'll be geeked over bike stuff just like us!