#1351

Scott bikes has made public to dealers some pictures of their 2013 line-up. Not a whole lot of changes to the road line-up. It was hoped that the Addict would be back as a super lightweight frame (sub 850 grams) but that seems like it will have to wait for another year. The big news is that Mavic, Zipp, and American Classic wheels have mostly been replaced by new Syncros offerings. Scott purchased the brand back in 2011 and are now spec'ing a lot of their bikes with stems, seatposts and handlebars.

The 2013 Foil Premium. Looking better then ever,
moving slightly away from the over-used "Blacked-Out".
Although we're betting some well-off buyers are going to
hesitate at that mis-matched Shimano Crankset.

The 2013 Team Issue. Green Edge color accents and
sponsor decals on the seat-stay.

Here is the bike to get. SRAM Red is the best. Those clinchers look fast
( although no one has had a chance to test Syncros as a wheel maker )
and the frame looks awesome.

The Foil 20. Also correct
( as Tati would say )

Looking for a bargain basement Aero race frame?
The Scott Foil 40 continues to be one of the best deals out there.
You better like the extra logos on the seat-stays though as this is
the other model to get ProTeam'ed up.

Other noteworthy news in the road bike department
is that the Speedster line-up gets some of the
aero tube shapes from the Foil design.
Scott's alloy bikes have always been a little underwhelming
as the focus has traditionally been on carbon.
While nothing like a CAAD frame, or a Jamis Icon,
the new Speedster will def be a big improvement.
Hopefully they will be available to ride at Interbike.

Proving once more that CX bikes
are not money makers for big brands,
the top-of-line Addict CX gets dressed down even more from 2012.
Carbon Tubular hoops? Forget about it.
Funny cause that's all we seem to see at the races.

#1350

Is this a cyclocross shoe!?

Shame on Puma, for this is incorrect....

#1349

QOTD:

"The U.S. anti-doping agency has also stripped Armstrong of his victory over cancer. He is now dead."

- The Baty

#1348

C.A.N.R.S Commentary on you-know-who:

by Hunter Pronovost

What does a physical trophy signify anymore? What do the contents of a “record book” really matter to anyone. Is there really even a record book in someone's possession? I think we collectively turned that responsibility over to the internet a long time ago.

The race goes on and Lance will still be Lance....

These are the facts gathered after months of watching this unfold:

Fact #1: Lance was a very good bike racer. The public knows it, and appreciates it.

Most people ( and when I say most it is truly the vast majority I've talked to ) say that Lance was the best doper among dopers and that he won the race among cheats.

Fact #2: You don't have to think he was clean to say he was a champion.

The public is so jaded by professional sports now that whenever anyone does something remarkable, there will be a lot of spectators on the sidelines saying that cheating was involved. What Lance did was impressive in the context of his competition and that's what sports is about.

Fact #3: No amount of official punishment or sanctioning will take away the general consensus.

Maybe if he only won a single year like Floyd, he would be mostly forgotten. But he reigned over one of the largest events on the planet for nearly a decade. People will be always impressed by what Lance did. And they should. Because it was truly impressive. It may sad, it might not be right, but it is fact.

Fact #4: The desire to be heard is what drives the small group that is very vocal against Lance.

Whether it is the small-time blogger, the ex-pro who got caught, the current pro who wants to save face, or Travis Tygart looking to make his career well known, selfish motives are partly at work, paddling against the current of popular belief explained in Facts #1-3

Fact #5: Lance did a lot for cycling and cyclists in general benefited from his career.

Even if the world never gave him super-stardom fame for winning 7 in a row, he still would’ve done what was needed to accomplish it. So we ( as cyclists ) benefited indirectly from his success. There is no arguing this point. Whole articles can be ( and have been ) written about the ways he elevated cycling in general. Anyone who says otherwise is blinded by self importance. Does that make a cyclist who is outspoken against Lance a hypocrite? I think by definition the answer has to be yes.

Fact #6: Lance's cheating are being explained and exaggerated by cheaters themselves.

I believe Lance doped! But you cannot accept the face value of opinions from cheaters themselves. There is a known flaw in their interpretation of reality that flavors their opinion. So when they say he was the worst kind of bully, when they say he forced team mates to dope under the constant threat of recourse if they stepped out of line, they are stating opinion that probably doesn’t represent reality.

To sum up:

     Lance did things in the way he thought he needed to do them to win. It's no secret that he doesn’t like to lose. He saw an opportunity to be great within the system, to stay within the rules of the system while getting ahead of the ones out to beat him. It's human nature and it is played out in offices, schoolrooms and in every election year. 

     To all those that woke up shocked or impressed by the headlines of “Disgrace”, rest assured that any disgrace came a long time ago for Lance. Most people think he doped and most do not care. There is no clear winner or loser here. Lance will be revered by most people long after his non-confession confession. Want proof? 2 words, one name: Bill Clinton.

So yes, Lance Armstrong will always be the cyclist. And he will always be a Rockstar.

#1347

Everyone just calm the heck down..... Here

#1346

This awesome looking thing is a pedal bike.....Here

#1345

People will throw their money at just about any ol silly thing.....
Here

#1344

A Rockstar on 2 fronts.... David Byrne of the Talking Heads = avid cyclist
Here

#1343

This video is worth a watch. Some pretty cool team time trial footage from Utah.


Posted by Greg W.

#1342

This video is worth watching for production value alone....
Not to mention that these 2 forward thinking girls may be onto something truly ingenious.

#1341

Is Strava killing the social aspects of cycling??? This article has been making the rounds and lends itself to answer in the affirmative...

We're not buying it though.

#1340

Jamis 2013 Preview

2013 continues to shape up to be an interesting year in the development of bikes.

Here's a look at Jamis Bike line-up for the next year. Jamis has, for almost a decade, been responsible for some of the best valued bikes out there. At the high end, Jamis' strict control on Asian production and their own methods for carbon forming resulted in great riding race bikes. There are still ex-Colavita pros who will swear that their Xenith's from 5,6 years ago were the best bike they were ever handed by a team. So when Jamis speaks, we should listen... And they have said a lot with their line-up for next year.

One of the big changes is that Jamis will no longer be offering a CX bike with Canti brakes.
NONE. Not a single one. Jamis has always been a friend of the CX racer and from the start, was one of the first big brands to offer more then 1 single CX model each year. For them to say that they will not even offer canti's says a lot.

The new Supernova Team, full carbon with discs and tubeless tires stock.

Here is the Supernova Elite.

How about an $800 disc brake basic CX race bike?
Told you they had the value. Here's the Nova Sport.

The big new addition to the line-up is the Icon.
It's an aluminum frame that weighs as much
as their basic carbon frame.
56 CM frame at 1150 grams and stiff!
Not a sprinter? Buy this bike and fall in love with crits again.

The Icon Pro features a lesser grade carbon in the fork.
Retails for about $1600 & worth every penny.

On the offroad side,29er's and 650b continue
to get the best of the upgrades.
Here is the Dakota D29er.

#1339

An essential graphic for any fan of New England Cycling culture or custom made bike frames...Here

#1338

Kenisio Tape usage and the myth of its effectiveness is hitting mainstream media... Here

#1337

Are plug-in bikes going to take off? Government is trying small ways to boost their appeal.... Here

#1336

A quick chat with Ben Wolfe:
        by Hunter Pronovost

    Sure sure, You may not have ever heard of Ben Wolfe, but here in the Northeast area of the USA, he has quickly arrived on the scene of elite bike racing. Just barely 19 years old, from the small town of East Lyme, Connecticut, Ben has done his fair share of racing. After early teen years spent with all the best junior teams from the Northeast and a stint with the USA Cycling Junior National team. Ben found himself this year on the strong regional team - Aetna Cycling pb\ Charles Coaching & Nutrition.

Eat, ride, sleep, repeat. Ben puts in the time.

     Midway through this season he went online and scored an impressive win out of a long breakaway at the Nutmeg State Games Criterium, with plenty of New England teams out in full force and some of NYC's best fastmen. On the same course 4 weeks later he nearly did the same thing again, only by himself, solo style.
    11 times more impressive than these feats was a solo victory ahead of a field even more stacked with exceptional talent at the Beverly Grand Prix, outside of Boston. Ben solo'ed away for more than half the race on the somewhat technical course in front of thousands.

Victory in Connecticut

 With all the fans believing they are witness to the start of something special, Ben sat down and talked bike racing and the future for a bit.

H- First off, congrats on a great season... Did you see it coming?

B-To be honest, I thought it would be a good season with the focus, training, and the new team but i never thought that it would be this good. I couldn’t really ask for more (hopefully a good Catskills this weekend).

H- Do you feel any pressure to really cap things off for the sake of next year?

B- There’s always the pressure I put on myself to "keep up the good work". But as from anybody else, there hasn’t been much pressure. Nobody could have seen this season coming out of me from the past couple of pretty lame years.

H- You are on terrific form right now for sure. At what point in the season did you turn that corner from "Lame" to so strong? Can you point to one specific thing (training wise ) that has allowed you to become such race crusher?

B- Thanks! It was really last fall. I really got all my stuff together and put the main focus on being able to ride my bike. Then this spring at the Johnny Cake races ( a spring training series outside of NYC ) I thought "Hey these races aren’t that hard! I may be getting fast".

That confidence is really all I needed to really get "un-lame". The training that helps the most has really been off the bike, eating right, sleeping enough. On the bike I have been doing a lot of miles, but at this level (and trying to make it to the next) what can you expect.

H- When did it become apparent during this year that a move to "the next level" was possible? Is there any specific race you can remember?

B- Yeah definitely. The Bennington Stage race ( In May '12 ) where I finished 2nd overall was a huge step. Thinking to myself "maybe this is possible". Then the Nutmeg Classic Crit and of course the ride I pulled out of god knows where at Beverly.

As the pros fought behind him,
Ben tapped out the needed power to win in Beverly.

 H- You've had a pretty wild few months... Ok, to ask a question that everyone must be wondering:

At this point in the year, after some incredible races, do you have offers for next season besides continuing with Aetna \ CCNS?

No need to name names.... Just offers... large or small.

B- ( laughs ) There are a few different offers on the table that would all be amazing and of course riding for The Aetna Cycling Team again next year would be great as well. It’s a good group of guys and we have a lot of fun. I'm hoping to have it all sorted out by the end of August.

H- Ok... well I'm gonna push for something more. Anything from teams larger in scope then New England? Because honestly, the public \ supporters will be disappointed to hear that you won't make the jump to the national stage very soon. But if it takes more time then one great year, people should recognize that.

B- There are conversations from US teams as well as some European based teams. CCNS would definitely be the only New England based team I would want to ride for.

H- So in addition to fielding interest from Euro-based teams, staying with CCNS is a possibility? That speaks a lot about the Aetna \ CCNS team.

B- Yeah. honestly, I owe a lot to Aidan ( Charles ) and the rest of the team. They showed me how to race with balls and how to keep it fun. As a developmental team, I would say it doesn’t get much better. A lot of "development" teams just get a lot of money and throw it toward the riders. Sure money does help, but racing style, the mentality, and keeping it fun is what makes a rider rather then the money.

H- Ok, switching to something a little more somber, what happened during the U23 Elite Road Nationals back in late June?

B- Well in the TT I was the youngest in the top 20 and the 2nd amateur I believe. I was really hoping for a top-10 in the TT but 14th was all I could get. The time gaps between me and the top-10 were mere seconds. But I gave it all I had for 30k and came up short. The criterium was fast, but in the closing laps I got caught up in a little tussle and ending up almost meeting face first with the barriers, so any chance (even though it was slim) I had to win was shot. Then the road race.... it was pretty long, but the part that killed me was the 100+ degree humid head on a wide open course. I missed the early move and then tried to bridge with a few other guys. we made it about half way across and then the field got frisky and chased us while attacking each other. I was blown.

H- Sounds like it was better experience then just a DNF in the RR, which many people may simply see on the surface.

B- Yeah it was totally experience building. I found this year, either I podium or finish last place. I think it goes with the "racing with balls" mentality. when it works, its freakin great. when it doesn’t, everybody who just sees the results asks "what happened?"

H- Describe the scene for those U23 races... Are guys out there trying to impress scouts? Where there even "Scouts" there? And if not there, have there been any other races this year where you knew someone from a larger organization was watching?

B- Yeah I mean the directors from the bigger teams such as Bontrager\Livestrong and Garmin are there watching. But its definitely not like those silly ball sports where teams have scouters. A lot of getting onto a team is impressing the fellow riders by tearing their legs off.

H- Big-picture-stuff question: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Cycling wise...

B- Honestly I have no idea. in a picture perfect world i would be riding professionally but only time will tell.

H- Do you feel like you have a specific skill-set that you are confident you can develop or are you simply concerned with getting stronger for right now?

B- Right now its definitely steady state, riding hard for a long time. But really I'm trying to work on everything (except sprinting, I cant do that) to get stronger all around.

H- Going back to the 5 yr question, I think a lot of people would say the odds are heavily in your favor for a serious pro career.... 19 years old and beating guys who have been domestic pros for the better part of a decade. What is something that will hold you back?

B- The only thing that could hold me back would be myself. If I lose sight of the goal, then it’ll get lost. I have a good balance of riding, work and living a blissful life. If I keep that, then nothing should hold me back.

H- Sounds like you are pretty confident

B- It's not necessarily confidence. I just believe if you really want to do something, just keep your mind to it and you will do it.

H- Doping and cheats are in the news constantly, but I hate to bring it up, so it will be brief. At what point in your cycling career do you think you will be affected by a dope cheat? Or has it happened already?

B- If it ever gets to the point where it is either take this pill or step down. I will gladly step down. I know a lot of people say that, but you have my word.

H- Well, certainly there are lot of guys who turn it down and still race with success. Do you believe it is problem?

B- Yea its a problem. I was pretty sad when Frank (Schleck ) tested positive. He was one of my favorite professional riders.

H- Fill in the blanks-

Cycling success is:

____ % Genetics

____ % Training

____ % Mind Games with yourself

B- (laughs)

   25% 25% 100%

no-

   25% 25% 50%

H- I think people will be interested to know what the next step for you is. And in most people's minds, it's easiest explained by what team you are going to be on next year.

B- (Laughs ) Honestly me too... Its all up in the air.. I want to know just as bad as they do...

H- Last time I remember a 18 yr old smashing it up in such a way, it was Tim Duggan... And we know where he is now.

B- Damn, well that’s good to know! Hopefully Hunter. I would love to get to the point where I can say "I was a professional athlete".

We're betting you will