In this issue:

• A Note from Kevin
• Upcoming Events
• Feature Article – Are You Remotely Interested?
• BikeTech Help Desk
• Kevin Recommends
• About KGS Bikes and Kevin

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.

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 cyclists and triathletes wanting to get a jump on the 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. With our Semi Custom Remote program we can slash lead times so contact us to learn more.

Feature Article – Are You Remotely Interested?

This is Bill's original setup that he sent KGS Bikes

All over the country, it is raining, snowing, windy and cold. This is no time to think about bicycles, or is it? We are getting complaints of cabin fever from all over. Personally, I can’t wait for an opportunity to start riding my bicycle more.

This week marks a first for KGS Bikes. We have been talking about it for a long time, but now it’s official. Our Remote Positioning Program is beginning this week starting with an ad program at PEZ Cycling News.

Since KGS Bikes opened, we have worked hard to get our positioning philosophy out to clients and friends but it is not always easy to travel to San Antonio. Not only that, I found out that traveling to outlying cities was horribly expensive and I spread myself too thin.

Thank goodness for our friends at Parlee Cycles. They were the first frame manufacturer that I have worked with who really understood my positioning science and they have created a FlexFit line of bicycles for road and triathlon that have dimensions that I can use with more people than traditional stock bikes. This semi custom concept allows me to take my BalancePoint™ positioning concept and leverage it. If you can measure your bike with the KGS setup parameters, I can take your bike setup and design an improvement without your need to travel.

Bill with an improved position on a Parlee Z5

If you are going all the way for a custom frame, I still recommend we meet in person because the last millimeters of perfection can only be done that way. Many people, however, have a pretty good setup as it is and I can take those numbers and put my skills to work in optimizing balance. The result is a semi custom dream bike for a fraction of the cost of custom; one which is available right now!

How can we pull this off? Well, there are a couple of things that don’t change much in setups, and that is reach and saddle height (once your toe down position is established). The things that do change are how you balance on the bike and your hip angle, plus saddle angle. I have enough knowledge to be able to work remotely to optimize these factors and do an infinitely better job than other internet shops as well as almost all fitters in person. Without telling all my secrets, I have discovered the fact that Eddy Merckx was right as a master of positioning and I have found a correlation to modern cyclists improvements by adopting principles that he used so effectively.

The bottom line is, you have two ways to benefit by working with KGS Bikes. The advantages are significant. You get a better riding bike. You will want to ride it more. It will be more fun. You will want to keep it longer. It is possible to get the best of both worlds; a great riding bike that really performs well and a great long term value.

Let me share more with you about this exciting new concept. I may not be able to move to your town but I can make your life on the bike a lot more fun!

Until next time,

Kevin

President

KGS Bikes

BikeTech Help Desk

Dear Kevin,

11 Speed Campagnolo cassette and chain. Photo: Kevin G Saunders

I have a Campagnolo Record 10 drivetrain on my bike. 10 speed chains have been very hard to come by and I wonder if an 11 speed chain would be ok?

Geoff

Hi Geoff,

Lennard Zinn has done some experimenting with 10 speed cranks on 11 speed systems with some success. Here are the reasons I don’t think it is a good idea:

1. The 11 speed chain is about 2.12 mm wide on the inside, and the 10 speed chain is about 2.16. That 4/10 of a millimeter is a lot.
2. The 11 speed chainring is about 1.93 mm and the 10 speed is as much as 2.11 mm.

I am afraid that there is a good chance of “chain suck” if you use an 11 speed chain, as the chain could hang up on the chainring when shifting, causing the chain to literally get sucked up between the chainring and the frame. Additionally, the 10 speed front derailleur is a little wider and the 11 speed chain is narrower on the outside dimension so shifting won’t be as crisp.

Campagnolo has started shipping more 10 speed chains and I strongly recommend you stick with a matched set. Thanks so much for the great question.

Kevin

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Kevin,

Chrissie Wellington took ten minutes to change a flat. You can beat her at something! Photo: Beau Sanders, Flickr

I just got a new set of Topolino VX4.0 wheels for my triathlon racing wheels based on your recommendation. I want to know the best and fastest way to change a tire should I get a blowout.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

You have a great question. There are two ways to quickly ditch a bad tubular tire. If it is a small flat due to a thorn, tack or sliver of glass, you already know to use Vittoria PitStop. I am assuming this is a real live blowout.

With tubulars, a major blowout means a ruined tire so you don’t have to worry about saving it. The biggest problem is, you are racing, you are full of adrenaline and when the tire blows you have to not only act fast but do things correctly.

Before you stop, put the bike in the small chainring and small cog like I show you in this video on changing the rear wheel. If the flat is on the front, put the bike in the gear you wish to start out in!

There are two ways to get that tire off. One is to have a small razor knife and actually cut the tire so you can easily peel it off. This may not be practical, but it works well if you can keep from cutting a finger. This is why I mentioned the adrenaline. You also may have traveled by plane and this is just not an option.

The second way is to use one tire lever and cram it under the tire at a point away from the valve stem. Many triathletes leave a 2″ gap in the tape or glue opposite the valve stem to facilitate this.

Once the tire lever is all the way under the tire, rock it back and forth to break the glue bond, then move it a couple of inches and rock it again. The motion is as if you are prying the tire off the rim with the tire lever. Do it both directions and continue for about 18-24 inches, so you have a large area of tire that is not “stuck” to the rim. You should then be able to use your hands to peel the tire off the rim sideways.

Try and keep the sticky stuff on the rim and avoid getting grass or grit on it as you need this stuff to hold the new tire when you mount it. I will have a video soon on changing a tubular tire and these techniques will be demonstrated.

Kevin

Kevin Recommends

Go ahead! Give them a tri! Photo: Kevin Saunders

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 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.
• 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 Studio interior view

KGS Bikes is known around the world as the premiere bicycle fitting studio and cycling boutique. Kevin Saunders, President, has over 25 years experience in bicycle fitting and high-end 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