In this issue:
Volume 2 / Issue 005
Perfectly Fit!
The newsletter for active cycling lifestyles
Volume 2, Issue 5 / ISSN 1945-1776
A Note from Kevin
Welcome to “Perfectly Fit,” our newsletter which is designed to help you get the most out of an active, cycling lifestyle. I have a team of pros from all over the world that will help me provide you with great info and a place for you to find out what you want to know. Your feedback is so important and we will make a place for you to be heard.As many of you know, I am a professional photographer as well as bicycle designer. I did an advertising campaign a couple of years ago that involved beautiful women athletes and KGS custom bicycles. It was a huge success and many athletes now seek me out to photograph them for their private portfolio, website, spouse or just because it is a good idea.. I am always thrilled to photograph you and if ever near my studio in San Antonio I extend a warm welcome and you have a resource that you may not have considered before!
In our main article today I talk about a bicycle emergency that happened to one of my best clients and how we solved the problem. It’s amazing how Murphy’s Law ramps up before a big event.
Our BikeTech Help Desk has two questions which are related to each other somewhat. The first explains the advantages and myths of tubular tires for triathletes and the second adds to this with a proposed “best” triathlon wheelset for aero and for climbing, since many tris have lots of hills.
Don’t forget to visit our blog as new stuff is posted there almost daily. It is easy to subscribe to the blog so you can get updates sent to 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.
Upcoming Events
These days I am hard at work designing bikes for triathletes who are ready to get their bikes for the off season. This time of year I am staying close to home because people are making the trek to San Antonio. Every positioning session is an event and one which you will find most valuable. Don’t forget lead times in these custom bikes. With six to eight week deliveries, you need to factor that into your purchase plans so your season can be best utilized for success.
Comments
I have had so many positive comments lately about the new website, the blog, and the KGS experience I would have a long list indeed. We work for you and want to make cycling your Fountain of Youth! Keep those comments, questions and challenges coming. Thank you so much for your appreciation of our work.
Feature Article – Murphy’s Law Before a Big Race
I remember back in my bike racing days in the 80’s, my friend Jim Dolan had a major bottom bracket malfunction on the day of a race. He said, “It is so funny, you can train on these things for a year and nothing happens, yet on race day they fall apart!” It does seem like equipment seems to have a mind of its own around a major race. This means that you have an even bigger responsibility to learn your equipment and if you are not maintaining it by delegation to others, you learn what “right” is.I was called to Houston this week to help my friend Julie Mosier Crosno who all of a sudden had knee pain and upper hamstring pain. She had never adjusted her bike and has an iron will to push through any difficulty to reach her goal. The problem was, it was a week before the Ironman World Championship 70.3 triathlon in Clearwater, Florida. Julie didn’t know what was happening, but she had lost confidence in her bike. Her husband Mark had brought the bike to me the week prior for inspection and maintenance and while I gave the bike a once over, I never touched the bike setup as I wasn’t about to change anything. After a change of shoes and new cleats, Julie noticed the pain and became concerned. I was called to Houston and the first thing I did was check the setup.
In fact, the seatpost had slipped a couple of millimeters and I suppose the difference in stack height between the old shoes and old cleats made just enough difference to send Julie’s body into a problem area. We found her perfect saddle height again and afterwards measured, finding that it was exactly at 706 mm, which is where we derived the saddle height earlier in the year. I had since learned a few new tricks about saddle angles and we applied these to the bike with Julie’s delight in comfort and power from the adjustments. Next was the road test.
Those of you who have gone through my positioning know that the
stationary bike gives a false reading for saddle height. I knew that for someone Julie’s height, this would be about 3 mm, and since it was dark, I hopped into the car to follow Julie and give her some light. We took off to find the best saddle height. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance this close to the race. Sure enough, drop the saddle, change the angle a bit, raise the saddle, drop back to the other position, perfection! Julie felt her entire core able to engage at this height which gave her legs something to push against.
There was a 1% uphill section on the course we used for her testing and she was maintaining 27 MPH with ease, and no pain in the knee or hamstring. She is ready to race!
There are two “take-aways” in this story. The first is the value in listening to your body. If you let it, it will give you great feedback. The challenge, of course, is to filter the “real” data from the “not-so” real data, so you can eliminate the worries and negative thoughts that can live in your head, rent free. You still need the ability to know if something is wrong, and be able to fix it. Julie could have pushed through this because she is a trooper. She might have injured herself and would have had a horrible race.
The second point is, how little deviation from your perfect position is required to cause problems. When I am tasked to “fit” someone to an existing bike and I can only get close but not exactly on target, there is initial relief but almost always a problem down the road. Perfect alignment means the ability to push harder and recover quicker. Imperfect alignment may allow you to push almost as hard, but be prone to injury. If you are way off target, as most people are, you can’t push that hard anyway and recovery is compromised, so sometimes you have less problems!
Good luck, Julie and good luck to all who are competing in Clearwater. You have had a long season and you deserve to have a great race.
Until next time,
Kevin
President
KGS Bikes
BikeTech Help Desk
Hi Kevin, 
I got a snakebite flat on the front tire during the Longhorn 70.3 triathlon. I need new wheels and heard that tubular tires don’t get snakebite flats. Is this true? I heard that tubular tires are hard to change, but since it takes me 10 minutes or more to change a tube during a race, I wonder if you can enlighten me.
Jake
Hi Jake,
What you have is called a pinch flat, which occurs when you hit a hard object or pothole and compress the tire down to the flanges. Two holes are formed when the tube is compressed against the tire flanges and it looks like a snakebite. You are correct that tubular tires don’t get pinch flats. Also, tubular rims are stronger for their weight and can be lighter.
Now let’s talk about flats and changing. I hear many stories of people taking from 10 to 20 minutes to change a tire during a triathlon. It is much harder when your body is filled with adrenaline and it seems like you are all thumbs. Personally, I ride tubular wheels and tires for training and would if I raced. I love the ride, the feel, the cornering ability and mostly the fact that they flat less. Here is what I do.
- I carry a spare tire and a CO2 cartridge plus a Vittoria PitStop can of liquid latex. It will fix most flats from small glass, tacks or thorns and you don’t have to change anything, just fill up the tire and go.
- For race wheels in a big race, I would put the PitStop in the tires the day before and do a short ride to spread the stuff around. You will need to pump up the tires to proper pressure on race day, not just do it the night before. CO2 will leak out more than air and you will lose more pressure than you thought.
- I also carry a small razor blade or knife to cut the old tire off. If there is a massive blowout, fifteen seconds with a knife and the old tire peels off easily, leaving the glue or Tufo tape on the rim. Stretch the new tire on and go. This can be done in less than two minutes and can be done under pressure unless you feel that you will be a danger to your competitors or fingers with a sharp object in your hands!
- lternatively, leaving a two inch space opposite the valve stem with no glue or Tufo tape gives you a starting place to peel the old tire off the old fashioned way.
I use Tufo Extreme tape which holds the tire on very aggressively. I do have to match the tire profile to the rim and find that cheap tubular tires as well as Continental Sprinters have a shape that is a little hard to get the tape to stick to. Otherwise I use glue which is a multi day process. I will explain proper gluing in a later post, but it is complicated enough to warrant the Tufo tape as far as my needs are concerned.
At the end of the day, don’t be afraid of tubulars. If they weren’t significantly better, the top racers wouldn’t use them. For triathlons, you need good equipment. Race well.
Kevin
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Hi Kevin,
I am getting new triathlon wheels and have been contemplating the most aerodynamic wheels out there, but my analytical side is giving me conflicts. I did the Coeur d’Alene Ironman this year and the climbs were unbelievable! I had Zipp 404 clinchers on my bike and they are plenty aero but are so heavy! I never hear of anything but “aero” being discussed but roadies want these light climbing wheels. In my experience, many triathlons have plenty of climbs so this is my conundrum. What do you recommend?
John
Hi John,
I believe great minds think alike, as I just had this discussion with the folks at Topolino Technology. Their VX4.0 wheels have an aero rim, Kevlar/carbon spokes that are bladed and yet soak up tons of road shock and they weigh a featherweight 1250 grams for the set! These are tubular, which folks know I like, and they are bulletproof. I use these wheels as my daily training wheels with Continental GP 4000 tubular tires.
If I were racing in a triathlon I would use these wheels. They are the best bargain in the industry at sub $2,500 and are fantastic performers. There is a slight aero trade off to Zipp or HED, but the weight savings for climbing, the stiffness for cornering and descending and the ability to absorb road shock to keep your body from fatiguing as much makes them a hands down favorite in my book.
Kevin
Kevin Recommends
We only recommend products, services or companies that we have actually tried or worked with personally. A recommendation, like a reputation, is very important and we do not take this responsibility lightly. The following links are to our friends at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. Dr. Kenneth Cooper is considered “The Father of Aerobics” and has put together a group of world class companies that have a direct impact on us as cyclists and as professional people: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 custom bicycle studio 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.
Kirklee Bicycles – KirkLee is an up and coming great framebuilder from Austin. We are very excited about the quality and performance they bring and are proud to offer KirkLee frames as part of our KGS custom bicycle options.
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.
Red Licorice Events – The “Sweet and Twisted” team that promotes Austin’s best athletic events. KGS Bikes is an ongoing sponsor of triathlons produced by our friends Erin and Leilani and we are thrilled with the relationship.
River Place Country Club – This is our Austin address where we can meet in person to define your custom bike. We arranged with the folks at River Place CC to rent space on an as needed basis to offer a quiet focused environment to determine your ultimate bicycle position and then design a custom bike around that position. The New York Times describes cycling as “the new golf” and River Place CC recognizes that they can offer more than golf to the active lifestyle advocate.
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.
Source Endurance – They are teaming with us to provide physiological testing, data analysis, training consultation and long-term coaching. They have two state-of-the art labs, one in Austin and one in San Marcus. We are proud to recommend them and invite you to check them out.
Tacx – Home of the Fortius Virtual Reality trainer. This is the trainer component of our “Ultimate Spin Bike”. Tacx also makes many other fine products. KGS Bikes is an Authorized Tacx Testing Center.
Topolino Technology – Our wheels embody this ethic: A fundamental redesign of wheel construction to take advantage of extraordinary materials with amazing properties, yielding a wheelset that performs like no other.
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.
About KGS Bikes and Kevin
KGS Bikes is known around the world as the premiere custom bicycle studio. Kevin Saunders, President, has over 25 years experience in bicycle fitting and design of custom bicycles. He also has a broad knowledge of anatomy, structural engineering and industrial design. KGS Bikes creates custom bicycles with the best components available and uses framebuilders such as Co-Motion, Guru, KirkLee, Parlee, Serotta and Zinn. Visit kgsbikes.com for more information, including beautiful photography of the bikes carefully created for their owners. Don’t forget to find us on Facebook, twitter and at your next event to photograph your bike position and post it on Facebook and Flickr for you to share with your friends.Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends! We appreciate your time and interest.
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KGS Bikes – 16611 Huebner Rd. – San Antonio, TX 78248 – 210-849-2501
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