Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 2 2022 i Bicycling

RICH WILSON LIE OF THE PERFECT WEIGHT, P.26 My 10-year-old son is my frequent riding partner. A couple of days after my 51st birthday, he and I and some friends went to Bryce Bike Park. My wife and I had just gotten him his first full-suspension bike. Seeing him hit the final drop at the end of a black diamond trail made me so proud I thought I might explode. Makes me emotional even thinking about it. Riding with him and seeing him achieve new things makes riding so fun. ALSO: Low- to mid-tier parts are a much better value. SARAH STURM SKOOLIE ADVENTURE, P. 48 I love a long bikepacking trip to get me in shape for endurance racing. I go for a MTB tour over road and like…

RIDE LOTS MULTI - COLORED T-SHIRT Show off your love for the ride with this tee that looks as good as you do when you’re speeding around a bend. CLIMB! Conquer the toughest hills, get lean and elevate every ride with this hill training program that will help you put more power in your pedals. RIDE LOTS SWIRL T-SHIRT Go for a spin in a shirt that will inspire you to keep the momentum going mile after mile.…

Dr. Mandy Gallagher, head cycling coach at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, says her teams can’t roll anywhere without climbing. And when it comes to climbing, Gallagher preaches that mindset plays a big role. “One of the biggest things I tell my athletes is to get out of their head and just focus on the work,” she says. “I also stress how important it is to embrace suffering—how to learn how to suffer.” Gallagher also suggests that no matter how miserable you feel emotionally or how much pain your legs endure while climbing, it’s easy and important to remind yourself how being able to ride your bike, regardless of the grade or the day, is a privilege. “You don’t have to ride your bike,” Gallagher says. “You get…

Can you hold a boat pose? How about a plank? If the answer is no, it’s time to start strength training, says Mike Schultz, CSCS, a USA Cycling–certified coach and the founder of Highland Training in Pittsburgh. The core is often the weakest point on a cyclist’s body, and a strong core is crucial for maintaining steadiness and strong mechanics. “You could be producing 400 watts with your legs, but your speed will decline when your core muscles (upper back, abs, and hips) fatigue,” Schultz says. “The link between your extremities then becomes unstable, lessening your ability to handle the bike.” Strength training also protects your body from injury, which keeps you in the saddle longer, says Chris Myers, PhD, CSCS, coauthor of Triathlon Training with Power. “You need to…

Best Smartwatch APPLE WATCH SERIES 7 Apple made biking a priority with its latest watchOS 8 update and Apple Watch Series 7 release. Now, riders can simply start pedaling and it’ll pick up your workout, thanks to the automatic workout reminder feature for outdoor cycling. Plus, it has auto-pause and resume, which means you can just ride—no need to check your watch every time you hit a stoplight. You also get better safety measures, such as fall detection. But our favorite update is simple: The Series 7 has a bigger screen, which makes reading your stats and texting your cycling friends easier. Also, the screen’s front crystal is twice as thick as that of the Series 6, so it’ll better withstand bumps and scrapes in the gym or on the…

SPECIALIZED CRUX PRO PRICE: $8,000 / WEIGHT: 16.3 LB (54CM) IS THE NEW Crux a cyclocross bike or a gravel bike? Specialized insists that the new Crux is focused on gravel, but you could—if you want—still race cyclocross on it. Essentially it has decided to market the Crux as a gravel “race” bike. My verdict is slightly more sweeping: The Crux just might be the best drop bar bike I’ve ever ridden. In creating the new Crux, Specialized took its much-loved Aethos road platform, made some geometry tweaks, gave it massive tire clearance, and kept it extremely light. With pedals, bottle cages, and tires set up tubeless, the Crux Pro weighs 17.5 pounds. It uses the 825g FACT 10r carbon frame paired to a fork that weighs just under 400g.…

LET ME EXPLA IN (1) I think grace can lead to power, but not the other way around. (2) It’s good to consume less, but also to know when you need to save yourself the trouble and replace components. Similarly, don’t skimp on the gear that keeps you safe. (3) Glory is the view from the top of a peak before you drop in. (4) I would’ve tumbled down many mountains via surprise switchback turns were it not for my disc brakes. (5) Chasing your buddies down the trail is the best way to share the experience. Bonus: You can learn something by watching them rip. (Special thanks to my bud Fred Stamm!) (6) There’s no debate that running tubeless on the MTB is better. Run the psi low to…

RACE A CRIT I had raced crits before, but Tulsa Tough in 2021 had the largest and most competitive field I’ve ever encountered, and my goal was simply to stay with the pack and finish. The race began with a ton of nervous energy—lots of braking in the early turns and fast accelerations. I was not doing a good job of moving toward the front of the pack as each corner came and went, and I found myself behind a few less-experienced racers who did not have great bike handling skills. “Hey!” I yelled at someone as they came dangerously close to cutting me off. I knew the course from a preride the day before, and my training had prepared me for a fast pace. However, after about a lap…

WHEN RICH WILSON was in his late 20s, he was a newbie cyclist working at his local shop, trying to learn all he could about the sport. A local coach walked in one day, and Wilson jumped at the opportunity to ask for training advice. “He looked me up and down, and he said, so dismissively, ‘Yeah, easy—lose some weight,’” Wilson says. Those words were a slap in the face. Wilson has never been a small guy. He’s 6'1" with a build that calls to mind the high school football offensive tackle he once was. His weight has fluctuated throughout his life, from 205 to 320 pounds. But the coach’s words stung—and served as a startling introduction to the cycling world’s toxic views on weight. “I was taken aback. I…

AGENDA HOW TO BUY A USED BIKE Bicycle manufacturers are still catching up to the surge in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and industry experts say the new-bike shortage will likely last many more months. So it’s time to consider buying a used bike, which may lack that fresh-offthe-line shine but still has many delightful miles left. The best-known player in the specialty used-bike online marketplace is The Pro’s Closet, with solid presale inspection and service and excellent postsale guarantees. You can also browse Bike Exchange, Bicycle Bluebook, and the classified sections of pinkbike.com roadbikereview.com and MTBR.com. Looking for something classic? Vintage-bike specialists like RetroBike, Vic’s Classic Bikes, and Steel Vintage Bike can scratch your itch for lugs. Fan sites like YetiFan.com and VintageCannondale.com typically have for-sale boards, too.…

Cyclists, like everyone else, should aim to get a mix of protein, carbohydrates, and fat from mostly whole, unprocessed foods. A good rule of thumb is to fill a third of your plate with a starchy carb, a third with veggies or fruit, and a third with protein, plus some fat from nuts, cheese, avocado, or oil, says Roxana Ehsani, a sports dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For dinner, that may look like a big scoop of rice with a stirfry of veggies and chicken cooked in oil and topped with crushed peanuts. To make sure you’re eating enough overall, estimate your energy needs by adding your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and total energy expenditure (TEE) using an online calculator. To fuel for performance, Ehsani…

What do you need to pedal far, ride fast, and crush climbs? Equipment that supports your efforts, food to feed your every mile—and a strong body, built on and off the bike. With this list of the best workout gear and food picks, all tested by our team, you’ll have exactly what you need to reveal your peak performance. All you have to do is go for it. The benefit of indoor bikes and trainers: You can ride all year long without worrying about the weather. Plus, thanks to current cycling technology, you can import your favorite local routes, immerse yourself in virtual outdoor settings, follow a coach’s workout program, or ride along to an energetic instructor’s intervals. In other words, you can progress your fitness while getting an anything-but-boring…

THE TRUTH ABOUT MAX LUMENS AND HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST LIGHT FOR YOUR RIDE Over the past decade, lights have gotten brighter, smaller, and more lightweight, all while increasing claimed run times. Two key technologies have driven this progress: LED lamps, which produce more light per watt than older halogen bulbs, and lithium batteries, which store more power in an ever-shrinking package. Thanks to these improvements, lights are significantly better than ever, as well as more affordable. This is just a simple fact, not marketing hype. But there’s always been a lot of hype about bike lights, so we tested the latest crop to help you find the best lights for your ride. HOW WE TESTED Our test team put several of the most popular lights on the market…

Depending on where you live and what kind of winter you deal with, your long-sleeve kit might vary from an insulated deep-winter jacket to a lightweight long-sleeve jersey. Fortunately, as fabric technology has advanced in the outdoor industry as a whole, cycling manufacturers have continued to innovate, resulting in winter jackets with exceptional warmth but the weight and feel of a long-sleeve jersey—and long-sleeve jerseys that can keep you cozy through a chilly morning without making you overheat later in the day. Our team tested more than 20 different long-sleeve garments in conditions ranging from mild fall afternoons with temperatures in the mid-60s, to sub-30° winter mornings. Winter weather is different for riders all over the country, so we tried to include recommendations for as wide a swath of…

We need to talk about mountain bike seat tube angles. If you pay close attention to mountain bikes, you’ve probably noticed the trend toward steeper seat tube angles. A decade ago, a Cannondale Jekyll had a 73.6-degree effective seat tube angle; now it has an effective seat tube angle of 77.5 degrees. The reasons for the change are fascinating but also important, because seat tube angles affect your comfort and performance on the bike. They also involve trade-offs that bike brands don’t like to talk about. A seat tube angle’s primary job is to position the rider so they can push the pedals efficiently and comfortably while sitting in the saddle. After 200 or so years of bicycle evolution, it’s generally accepted that you want to sit with your hips…