Volume 1 / Issue 002

I recently visited the Guru Bicycles factory in Montreal Canada. Since I was an industrial designer in a past life, I was very interested in seeing how the bike frames were designed and manufactured. Montreal is an aerospace manufacturing center that includes Bombardier, so it was no surprise to see advanced aerospace techniques and processes at Guru. The factory is new, large and complete. They do all of their processes in house, from engineering to paint.

I like how the carbon fiber layups are done using “pre-preg” or pre impregnated unidirectional cloth. This is a fancy term for carbon fiber sheets that have the epoxy resin already mixed in, and the sheets are kept refrigerated to prevent the resin from curing. With a CNC cutting plotter the parts of the bike frame are cut with the exact shape and orientation. This means when they are assembled and placed in the mold that every part is the same. I like that!

Guru has high quality carbon and titanium frames that I am proud to offer to clients. Since I consider frame builders as the ultimate solution providers for my business, I want to know that the data from our fitting sessions is being analyzed carefully and that the resulting frame will be perfect. I am happy to confirm that Guru is a real winner!

On a few other notes, over 94% of the people who received our first issue read it. Thank you! I have gotten feedback and will continue to work hard to answer the questions you have about a cycling lifestyle. Please let me know what you want to see and I will make it happen for you.

Thanks again for letting me share with you a little about cycling. I respect your time and will strive to continue to make it worth it.

Dallas Fitting Trip, October 3rd through October 6th. We will be holding fittings at the Cooper Guest Lodge.

Dallas Fitting Trip, October 17th through October 20th. We will be holding fittings at the Cooper Guest Lodge.

Dallas Fitting Trip, October 31st through November 3rd. The Cooper Guest Lodge is booked this weekend so we will use the Hyatt Summerfield Suites at Lincoln Park.

We received a comment from Peter on our first installment of Claim Your Lane! and want to share it with you. Thanks Peter for commenting and giving us your opinion. We hope others will as well.

“Good article on safely riding the roads. As an experienced rider (twice across America, and about 35,000 miles in past 8 years), I think it should be mandatory for cyclists to wear helmet or sunglass mirrors. Without a mirror, you are naked, and using a handlebar mirror causes you to take your eyes off the road.”

Dear Peter,

Thanks so much for your insightful comments. I hope to soften the blow a little, but in this issue, I will share my perspective on mirrors which both agrees and disagrees with you. I think that for the most part that mirrors cause more problems than they fix, we are all still naked from behind as avoiding a car that is aiming at us from behind is really difficult and we lose focus on the stuff in front.

Can we agree to disagree on this one, and agree that careful, attentive, focused riding is important? I don’t think another law is going to help nearly as much as more awareness and responsibility shouldered by cyclists.

Kevin

Feature Article – Claim Your Lane! Part 2

Part One of “Claim Your Lane!” had  some points about us as vehicles. We share the road with bigger, faster vehicles driven by people who may or may not pay attention. I ask people what their biggest fear is while riding on the road and by far the answer is “being struck from behind.” It is a harsh reality that when we are struck from behind we are powerless and “naked.” The bigger reality, however, is that we have more likelihood to hit something ahead of us than being struck from behind. Since the topic of this article is Claiming Your Lane, here are some things I have observed over my lifetime of riding bikes. As in all my articles, these ideas are observations and opinions that I feel are valid and while you may not agree with me, maybe it will foster thoughts and discussions on why and how you ride a bicycle.

When riding on the road one needs to be in a position that allows them to be seen from behind as well as provide navigating room in front. I know what it feels like to have cars WHOOSH by a little too close for comfort. I have pondered what my riding would be like if I took evasive action every time I saw a car in my mirror. First, I used a mirror on my helmet for a time. Second I tried one on the handlebars. I don’t use one now. This is my perspective on mirrors: providing one has good hearing and is aware of the conditions in front, I say a mirror can hurt more than it helps. Here is my logic: A mirror is a device that allows one to focus on things behind us without turning our heads. The problem with this statement is “focus” on things behind us. I have found it is very difficult to focus on traffic approaching from the rear and maintain the appropriate focus on what is in front. I am not saying it is impossible; I compare it to focusing on adjusting the radio in the car and reading station information while driving. The road can still be seen ahead, but is it really in focus?

This controversial stance needs clarification: I think we need to be aware of our surroundings, simultaneously looking around, listening, having a backup navigation plan, etc. I know that so much information is coming at us from the front that our real ability to avoid a car approaching from the rear and discriminate between a “real” threat or a “perceived” threat while looking backwards in a mirror is very difficult to do. I believe that we don’t see much of what is ahead while focusing constantly on what is behind. That said, I propose that we claim our lane and press on with awareness, confidence and competence.

I had stated that my favorite place on the road was the right hand tire track which is about 3-4 feet from the white line. This is the cleanest part of the road, usually the smoothest and is a place where one is much more visible than a little further to the right. The next logical question would be, “why?” and I have to reference a study I saw in college, but can’t find today. Here is the Reader’s Digest version: An experiment was conducted that showed how people see while driving a car. Rather than scan smoothly, apparently people will focus on a point, then another, then another. The researchers were able to then record these scan points while subjects were driving and came up with a shocking discovery. The scan points were overwhelmingly either straight ahead or to the left! Only 5% of the scan points were to the right.

This explains why we all have missed speed limit signs and other things to the right. We really didn’t see them. Traffic engineers now paint signs on the road knowing that they are more likely to be seen than a sign on the right. The situation as I see it is as follows: If I ride far to the right at all times to stay off the lane I am in a position of minimal maneuverability. If a pothole or trash or gravel is in my path, I have nowhere to go but in the ditch or into the lane and darting into a lane with traffic, which is not a good thing. Not only this, I have the least chance of being seen. To make matters worse, the cars don’t perceive me as a “threat” when off to the right and won’t slow down. This is why I Claim the Lane!

Since I am spending so much time in Dallas at the Cooper Aerobics Center doing bike fittings, I am riding a lot in the city streets. I have found that even though Bicycling Magazine stated that Dallas is the least bike friendly city in the country, that I have fewer problems in Dallas than in San Antonio. I feel that the greater numbers of riders combined with the fact that people ride two abreast in the lanes taking the whole lane, causes cars to avoid them and cut them more slack than in San Antonio. I find that many more riders in San Antonio do not claim the lane and believe that we train drivers of cars to expect that we will either dive for the ditch when they pass or that we should ride so far off to the right as to allow them to pass without slowing or giving way.

In closing, I know that we all have to make value judgments every time we get on a bike, get in a car, or get out of bed. Life is risky and fun at the same time. Don’t take unnecessary risks and learn to assess the risks you encounter in a way that you have the best chance of making it to the next ride! Next time I will discuss strategies that will help you place yourself in the best possible position to ride safely and some things to watch out for while Claiming the Lane!

Until next time,

Kevin
President
KGS Bikes

Q & A with Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I have a question that I thought I knew the answer to but now I am not sure. I have had 2 close calls over the last two weeks and just wondered if you would know what the law says.

If there is a shoulder on the road do I have to use it and stay out of the lanes? If there is no shoulder am I supposed to stay off those roads? I thought I had the same rights to the road that the cars do.

John

Dear John,

This is an excellent question. Since this newsletter goes out globally I will ask that people learn the local laws, but here is what happens in Texas. There is the “road” and there is the “shoulder.” All vehicles can occupy the road, and cars cannot drive on the shoulder. Bicycles may ride on the shoulder. I interpret the word “may” to mean that I can use judgment to determine what is safer and more practical (the term in the Texas law is “practicable”). What this means in the real world is, I usually ride on the road. I want to be seen. I don’t like riding through trash or broken glass.

Since I ride many of the same routes I have learned where the shoulders may have big cracks or glass and where it is ok to ride on the shoulder. While the law states that we can ride on the road, we have to stay as far to the right as is “practicable” and we may not impede traffic. This is very vague and we all have to make value judgments. As stated in the article above, I like it when cars see me as a “threat” and will slow down. I may be a threat to their insurance company if they hit me, but I am a threat nonetheless. I don’t like it when people blast by and clip me with their mirror.

John, we have close calls in cars and on bikes. Be aware and diligent and please do, claim your lane and keep riding.

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

How often do I need to wash my bike? Do I really have to clean it after every ride?

Kim

Dear Kim,

This is a big topic and you asked two questions which will be feature articles soon. Keeping a clean, lubricated bicycle is the best way to make it last. Period. It is not hard to do and everyone should, but lots of us don’t! Here is what I do.

While my bikes live in the KGS Bikes showroom and stay pristine, I find that many of my clients have cleaner bikes than me. My friend Mark from Houston takes great pride in noticing a piece of dust on my bike when his is perfect. The easy way to clean a bike is to keep it clean and this is a two step process.

Step one is to wash the bike with car washing soap and a good degreaser for the chain and gears. I can recommend great products if you ask. Once the bike is clean, I lube the chain and all pivot points plus the links of Nokon cables if the bike has them, to keep the cables from creaking.

After every ride, I do wipe the chain clean, run a towel inside the cogs and chainrings and get all the dirt off the drive train. After that, I use an automotive quick detail spray or Pledge to clean the rest of the bike and in about five minutes the bike is ready to display.

I take the opportunity to wipe down the tires and inspect them for cuts and give the bike a quick inspection so when I am running late for the next ride I can just top off the tires, jump on the bike and go.

I wash the bike about once a month or more often if I see it is getting hard to clean, or if I get caught in the rain. Usually, this daily procedure gets the job done. BTW I use Dumond Tech chain lube and it lasts about two to four weeks between applications.

Kevin

Cooper Complete – We have arranged for 10% off anything you buy from Cooper Complete if you put “KGS” in the coupon link and then “recalculate”.

Cooper Clinic - The world renowned Cooper Clinic is starting to create medical exams and services aimed at professional adults who ride bicycles.

Cooper Fitness Center – The Cooper Fitness Center has a special strength training introductory program for cyclists.

These links are to our frame builders and other providers that make KGS Bikes the premiere fitting studio and cycling boutique in the world:

Co-Motion Cycles – We’ve long enjoyed a reputation for building tandems that simply handle better.

Guru Bikes – Our approach is based on combining the best of both worlds: cutting edge technology delivered by hand and with an old school attention-to-detail.

Lew Racing – Lew Racing has achieved a following among racing cyclists because of the wheel’s tremendously high strength, low weight and the meticulous attention to engineered performance inherent in its design.

Parlee Cycles – Simply put, PARLEE frames are the best built and best riding carbon fiber frames available today, at any price. They are functional works of art.

Rocket 7 – Since 1999, Rocket7 has been handcrafting cycling shoes in the USA with the finest materials available.

Sem Custom Paint – Dave Sem is the best extreme detail painter in the world.

Serotta – Only Serottas have the extensive engineering of our proprietary Colorado Concept tubing design. It’s the foundation behind the unique ride of each and every Serotta.

Storck Bicycles – Numerous innovations in frame and component design that are standard in the industry today were developed, patented, and introduced by Storck Bicycle.

Zinn Cycles – For more than a quarter of a century, Zinn Cycles have been working to make cycling more enjoyable for customers, and that commitment remains at the heart of everything they do.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends! We appreciate your time and interest.

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