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In the (Feed)Zone
w/Mark Swartzendruber
Product
Review
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Part
of the fun I've been privileged to have as a halfway decent bike
racer is getting new stuff every year. Some of it I've gotten as
part of the team sponsorship package, some I've bought at "pro"
pricing. This year, the new stuff is the 2005 Raleigh Team. The
Team Carbon is Raleigh's first all carbon frame and it's a beaut.
I've
never really thought much about carbon as a material. It's light,
but aluminum alloy can be made stiffer and lighter. In the past
6 years I've raced on a Boron Steel Bianchi, 3 Waterfords with progressively
advanced versions of Reynolds 853 tubing, a Basso 0.9 Scandium/Carbon
frame, a cheap Motobecane with 7005 aluminum tubing and a very sweet
Orbea Lobular with an aluminum main and carbon rear triangle. Carbon
is everywhere these days and truth be told, I've won some big, tough
races on my $295 7005 aluminum Motobecane so the frame material
probably doesn't make too much difference. So I thought.
Johnnie
the Mole delivered the frame to me still boxed at a Tom Trawl in
Central Hooterville. We went for a ride afterward and he had his
Carbon Team frame built up and I was immediately jealous of the
look of the bike. Geometric Carbon tubing with a matte clear finish
looks very cool. I took my bike to the local bike shop for the build
up with D.A. 10 speed drive train, Truvative Roleure cranks and
Tektro C40 brakes. The bike weighs in at a hair less than 17 lb
for a 57cm frame with the Rollf wheels I race on.
I was
surprised by the ride quality. Here in Central IL the farm roads
I ride are mostly chip and seal asphalt. I never realized the amount
of buzz produced by the pavement until I wasn't experiencing it
on the carbon bike. I guess this can be said of most carbon frames,
so what would differentiate the Raleigh from a Trek or any of the
myriad other carbon frames available.
The
first thing I noticed was the classy, authentic head tube badge
from one of cycling's historic companies. How cool is that?
Click for Larger Image
The
above mentioned Basso 0.9 scandium frame had to be returned to the
sponsor because it was too much of a noodle for me to race. It was
fine for the guys on the team who weighed in at less than 165 lb,
but for a fatty boombalatty who by virtue of incredible mass must
produce over 400 watts just to go 20mph, I need a stiff bike. I
was concerned that I would be disappointed by the Raleigh. My disappointment
never materialized. This thing is a rocket. It's as stiff in the
bottom bracket as my track bike. Raleigh did a great job of building
the bottom bracket shell to accommodate big watt time trial specialists
and sprinters, of which I'm neither.
Click for Larger Image
The
final differentiation of the Raleigh is price point. The 2005 Team
Carbon has an MSRP of less than $3000 built with Shimano DuraAce
and Ksyrium SL wheels.
www.raleighusa.com
I'm
not much of a bike geek, so geometry figures don't mean much to
me. What I do know is that the set up of this bike takes classic
road geometry from Europe and puts it into modern carbon. No compact
geometry and super long head tubes on this bike. Here is the chart
for those of you who study such things.
Plush
ride, modern good looks with old school class and a big bottom (bracket).
What more could a guy ask for?
Druber
addresses the Hooterville Controversy
A few
weeks ago I wrote about a fictitious race promoter who puts on the
fictitious Hooterville World Cup. Never has story telling created
such a storm of controversy since Henry Miller wrote "The Tropic
of Cancer". This leads me to believe that Hootervillians either
have too much time on their hands, or are on the whole, unbalanced
people. Giving the benefit of the doubt, I will address the many
respondents who have spoken to me, sent e mail and made phone calls
to me after the article was posted.
I live
by two rules. Don't be a peckerhead and recognizing that 100% results
are impossible, don't be a COMPLETE idiot. Well, three rules. Whenever
possible blame your older brother, but since he's clearly not responsible
for the Hooterville shit storm, rule three cannot be invoked.
Only
a complete idiot would read what I wrote and attribute malicious
intent. Only a peckerhead would attribute malicious intent and then
go on to spread their own pre conception of malicious intent.
Only
a COMPLETE peckerhead idiot would accuse Truesport or yours truly
of posting the article in order to do damage to the fictitious promoter
of the fictitious Hooterville World Cup or to an individual race
on the fictitious Hooterville World Cup schedule.
Most
people who read the article and responded to me understood the point
of the story. They understood the article to be
1.
An exaggeration of actual events
2. A jab at racers who complain about what they perceive to be
unfair race conditions who complain vociferously about the races
they continue to do each and every weekend without ever taking
an easy drive to the hundreds of other races outside of their
own telephone area code.
3. A humorous look at how financially secure 40 and 50 year olds
react to getting prize money for playing on bikes for an hour
on a Sunday morning.
After
the article was posted, I showed up for a time trial hosted by a
real Hooterville race promoter who many of you took to be the fictitious
promoter of my article. We had a discussion, like adults do, face
to face and understanding was achieved. It's amazing how having
a face to face chat with another individual will help create a sense
of respect and clarity. I'm told that most of the Hootervillians
who complain loudly about the races that the real Hooterville promoter
puts on have never spoken face to face with the promoter to voice
their concerns or grievances about his races or to make suggestions
on how his races could be improved. I find this a strange thing.
I find
the real Hooterville race promoter to be a reasonable person who
tries hard to make the people who show up for his events feel like
they're getting a good value. Though I've only done two of his criteriums
and a handful of his time trial events, I've enjoyed them and as
far as I remember, I've received what I expected when I won the
criteriums and participated in the time trial series. The real promoter
of the Hooterville races makes a living providing a venue for anyone
- not just Hootervillians - to ply their trade…excuse me hobby.
He is a service provider. He differs greatly in this regard from
other race promoters who put on single events or maybe at most a
few races per year. When you're only promoting one race per season,
it's a difficult but doable job to raise money, secure a venue and
enlist police and medical services to close roads and do all of
the things that go into putting on a race. I've promoted a couple
of races myself and I can't imagine repeating what went into the
single race twenty times per season. He told me and I'm sure he
will tell anyone who should be so bold as to have an actual conversation
with him as opposed to complaining about him behind his back, that
if you don't believe his service is a value, then you are welcome
to not purchase his service. This would then force some racers to
look for races outside of the 317 area code. The choice is and always
has been yours. Do or do not but don't complain about your choices
- especially not to me.
For
those of you who suspected malicious intent on the part of Truesport,
rival promoters or me…Grow up and don't be a peckerhead idiot.
See
you in Hooterville,
Druber
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