Plan 2020 - Gathering Supplies

So I've been working on lifting, I've been gathering the materials for the bike/s, and I've been consumed by researching stuff whenever possible.

Dolan Bike

The Dolan is a bit on standby. I have the frame (and fork, seat post, headset), the Zipp disc wheel, an ISM saddle, and a few possible front wheels.

I have, but need to install, a Zipp disc track axle, and (spoiler alert!) also the SRM crankset.

I'm also working on what bars and stem to put on the bike - sprint bar for sure, for other events, but I'm wondering if I can effectively use aero bars to improve my power/speed ratio at the end of the 500m. Each bar will require a proper stem for fit.

Dolan clincher rear wheel

I need to build my rear clincher wheel. I decided on a 24 hole DT rim with graphics on the side, because I'm all about the graphics. I have some Wheelsmith spokes from eons ago, and I'll be lacing those onto my old 32 hole Suntour Superbe track hub.

This is the wheel I'll use on the trainer and on rollers.

Dolan brake

Brake?! On a track bike?!

Yes.

For outdoor tests, standing start practice, and just getting used to the fixed gear, I'll be switching out the fork with my ENVE fork from the red Tsunami. I replaced the ENVE fork with a 3T team fork, as I really liked the 3T team fork on the black Tsunami.

I'll have a brake on the fork and will use a 'cross top-of-bar lever to actuate the brake. This way I can put a brake on the bike and ride it outside. I figure it'll be good for getting better with technique and even with aero testing.

The 'cross type lever will make it possible to mount the lever on pretty much any bar, including some of the swoopy track sprint bars.

Spin Bike, soon to be a CycleOps 300 Pro

Initially I was going to invest in a number of things for the spin bike. Stem adapter, stem, bars, a better BB adapter, a set of cranks, etc. I even contemplated getting yet another SRM for the spin bike.

Then someone suggested a fixed gear CycleOps 300 pro trainer. These came out long enough ago that I was working Interbike when they came out. And although I wasn't impressed with them at that time ("my spin bike does all that just without a powermeter") now I see the value in its massive, 45 lbs flywheel. It perfectly replicates the effort required for a standing start event. Apparently one successful Masters racer uses such a trainer to practice standing starts.

So I looked and lo and behold, a place very close by is selling 15 such trainers. 15! And at $550 asking, it costs way less than just a used SRM powermeter, forget about everything else.

Training Needs

That should situate me for a decent amount of time. I can train the following:

1. Standing Starts - CycleOps 300 Pro, outdoors on Dolan w/brake

2. Speed power - CycleOps 300 Pro, Dolan on trainer, outdoors on Dolan w/brake

3. Top speed - CycleOps 300 Pro, Dolan on trainer, outdoors on Dolan w/brake

4. Pedal fluidity - Dolan on rollers

How To - What To Carry On A Training Ride

Throughout my cycling life I've had this recurring cycle (heh) of "preparedness" versus "minimalist" loadouts. As I go through one phase I start to yearn for the other.

"Minimalist" refers to racing, usually in a criterium. I set out on tubulars, no spares, no lights, no nothing. Just the bike, a bottle or two, and me. If anything happens I either head to the pits or the car; there's no second chance, no repairing the bike. Minimalist is an all or nothing mindset.

For road races and mountain bike races there's an element of self-support. If you flat 30 miles from the car (or at the other side of the course in a huge park), replacing the tube allows you to at least ride back to home base. In mountain bike races I flatted in I think every race I did and I seemed to finish 12th a lot (after flatting). I did do a minimalist race once and, of course, flatted after killing it in the opening single lane gravel section, before the trails even started.

In the same vein, one year, a long time ago, a Junior that typically won the state time trial by a few minutes flatted. He lost his chance to go to Nationals because of the flat (back then the top 6 qualified for Nationals, otherwise you weren't allowed to enter). I figured that even if he fixed the flat and kept riding he'd have won.

The next year he did the time trial with a pump and a spare tire.

"Preparedness" is the extreme opposite of the Minimalist mindset. After a season of racing, as the weather starts to cool, I get into the Preparedness mode. I start bringing more and more stuff on training rides, maybe a vest for the chilly end-of-sunlight, a tail light, maybe shoe over covers. I bring more food than normal, in case my body burns more energy than expected to stay warm.

Of course I use clinchers, and I prefer wheels with exposed spoke nipples so I can, if necessary, do some emergency spoke tweaking to get home.

The Preparedness season peaks on my training camp dates. I've set out with 3 extra tubes, vest, arm warmers, long sleeve jersey, warm gloves, shoe covers, all jammed in my pockets, along with my Regular loadout. I'll set off for a Palomar attack loaded down like a pack horse - if anything happened in those long stretches of no-phone-coverage I had to be prepared.

I mentioned something just above - the "Regular" loadout. This is the Minimalist version of Preparedness. A contradiction, sort of, but when I go for training rides during the season I acknowledge that I may run into some normal problems - a flat, bent chain, stuff like that.

The Regular loadout is so often used that I keep a ready-to-go kit which slips easily into a jersey pocket. With warm temperatures I rarely worry about bringing extra clothing, I slip a gel or two into another pocket, and my phone (for Strava) goes into the center pocket.

I've used my Regular loadout to help others less prepared, hence this post.

What should you carry on a training ride?

I fit everything in a convenient, abundant, and free container - inner tube boxes.

There's a key item missing here - my frame pump. I now put it under the top tube but I've also mounted it a bit more creatively in the past.

The "ess-ploded" view.

There's an extra box, in the middle above.

Clockwise from the top left (skipping the boxes and such on the perimeter):

1. Multi Tool
2. Multi Tool with chain tool on it
3. Dropout
4. Tire levers including one with a metal core, screwdriver, and 5mm allen key
5. Food (granola bar)
6. Black spoke key (fits my wheels)
7. $20 bill
8. Extra master link

The perimeter is, clockwise from left, is:

1. Phone (Strava!)
2. Box with second tube in it
3. Empty box (used to boot a cut tire if necessary)
4. Wallet
5. Empty box

I'll list, in short order, the minimum, for a regular road ride using clincher tires. All the #1 items go in one box; #2, #3, and #4 go into 

1. Extra inner tube. Throw out the valve cap and the thing that screws onto the valve, or realize that you'll need to bring them back. I keep them on - I know if they're on then the tube is new since I never leave them on (they're not necessary).

1A. If you need a valve extension for your fancy aero wheels put one on this tube and leave it there so you never forget it. If you have two different height rims then get one for the taller one.

1B. Tire levers. At least two. I use plastic ones, but one is a metal reinforced one so I use that first.

1C. Some cardboard to boot the tire in case I cut the casing badly. Money works but cardboard is better - it's thicker, resists deformation, and doesn't bulge out like money does. I like the cardboard that most innertubes come in so it's easy to find some - just use the inner tube box.

2. Multi tool. You should have an 8mm Allen head on here, in case your pedal or cranks loosen. You should have every other tool you need. If you have Campy brake pads that use the Torx head you may be able to get a Torx fitting that will slip over a particular size Allen wrench or a quarter inch fitting. If you're desperate see if the straight blade screwdriver blade fits in the Torx head.

3. Mini chain tool. Regardless of whether you use a master link or not you should carry a chain tool. If you twist or bend your chain the master link won't help. You need to remove any damaged bits of chain, and you can't do that without a chain tool. Some multi tools have chain tools on them. Since this is an emergency thing almost any chain tool will work, but you should practice on scrap pieces of chain (a shop will have 5-6 link lengths of chain that they'll probably give you).

4. Master link. If you use a master link (I do now) carry an extra. You can use the chain tool but the master link is easier if for some reason you break or drop a piece of the master link.

5. Drop out. Get an extra dropout for your frame (or a few of them - I think I have 5 or something for the three frames that use them). It's meant to fail readily and unfortunately it can fail before it's really supposed to fail, like when you're just shifting normally.

6. Black spoke wrench (the one that fits my spoke nipples).

I slip all of this stuff into two tube boxes and slip those in a jersey pocket. Easy cheesy.

Now to go for a ride.

How To - DV46 Spoke Lengths and Rebuild

The White Industries equipped 16H front and 20H rear Reynolds wheels uses spokes.

Of course.

I broke one of them a month or two ago, and with buying a house, moving, and even working, rebuilding the clincher rear has taken a bit of time. I finally got around to it, after overcoming a hurdle.

I found it a bit difficult to find exactly which size spokes the wheels use, and with the hidden spoke nipples, it was hard to see where they ended (and the broken spoke wasn't of much help). Reynold's site doesn't have specs for older wheels, especially those with hubs other than the ones currently used.

But they do have a support number.

So I called Reynolds, got a friendly and competent customer service person, and he looked up the spoke length for the White Industries equipped 16/20 spoke DV46 wheels.

The inner rim, where the spoke nipples sit, are the same for both the clincher and the tubular. The outer cap differentiates the two models. Since I have matching tubular and clincher DV46s, I decided that I better rebuild everything - the clinchers now, the tubulars after the clinchers.

Fine, I'll skip the front tubular I rebuilt two years ago, since that already has newer spokes. I used non-aero spokes, the better to make the wheel less flickery in sprints - for some reason I can't track a straight line when sprinting on aero-spoke equiped wheels. It must be me since no one else seems to have (or notice) this problem.

Anyway, for reference sake here are the spoke lengths:

Rear:
264 mm non drive
274 mm drive

Front:
266 mm front

I'll be re-using the original spoke nipples. I hadn't even taken one out to see what it looks like, but this last spoke popped way up top so the spoke nipple is rattling around in the rim.

The Reynolds spoke wrench (consumer version).

It is double ended, one longer than the other. I used the shorter end as the handle since it's easier to twirl. The wrench gives you tons of leverage so you don't need the long end except to free up old frozen nipples.

Here is the culprit. It broke on the threads. Brass nipple because it was a drive side spoke. Note the spokes are round for drive side, aero for non drive side. As mentioned before, I'll be using all round spokes, DT 14G Revolution spokes.

Preparing the new spokes.

Since it's a rear, I'm using two different color Spoke Prep, one for each side (they have different length spokes). In the Reynolds case the spokes are really different in length, but in normal wheel builds they differ by about 2 mm. This is hard to see right away and to avoid confusion and mis-laced wheels, it's better to play it save and use two colors. For front wheels you just use one color.

Nothing like some nice Spoke Prep. Dip and then rub it around.

Two different sides, ready to go. In my case I did Right Red (or beige). This makes Blue Left. The Blue side is visibly shorter, even in this not-too-close-up picture.

I started by removing one old spoke, then replacing it with one new one.

Spokes can be bent a bit. I'm doing this with an old spoke but I did it with new ones too. Don't bend too much, but relacing a wheel, one spoke at a time, will require some spoke "tweaks" to thread certain spokes through the mesh of spokes on the other side of the hub.

Respoking is a pain, especially since I didn't want to rotate the rim around at all. Since I didn't know how the rim reacts to different spoke angle stresses, I left the wheel intact (but loose) as I relaced the wheel.

Progress is when all the Red (beige) spokes are gone.

With hidden spoke nipples it's a real pain to thread the nipples onto the spoke. First you have to make sure the nipple gets on the spoke (I dropped two into the rim). Then you tighten it down. Since the spoke wrench for a hidden nipple rim is so far from the spoke, I can't feel the spoke twisting. Therefore I need to hold the spoke with my other hand to feel its twist.

Holding the spoke to feel it twist. Or, if removing a spoke, to hold it in place.

Turning the spoke nipple from the top. I couldn't take the two pictures at once because I don't have a third hand.

Wheel is laced but not tensioned. Note that all the spokes on the grey plastic bin top are the old black ones.

Favorite part of building a wheel (or relacing) - the spoke bend. I did it early on to make the relacing a bit easier, but at the end I did it properly using a screwdriver.

Wheel tensioned.

The wheel after its (my) record breaking run of 244 watts for 20 minutes. Note empty Gatorade bottles.

Its maiden run was on the Monday night group ride out of Granby Bikes. The wheel felt immediately responsive, stiff, rigid, just a joy to ride. Sure, you say, you've been riding other wheels, another bike, of course your "nice" bike will feel fine.

Fine, I admit that I've ridden the Giant on training rides, mainly with the Granby group. But I've been racing the Cannondale a couple times also, and I've ventured out a few times on it shod with race wheels, tubulars (no spares or anything). Although the tubulars are nice, they're not as, well, immediately responsive as the clinchers. I may have (a lot) more tension in the rear wheel but I'll have to check. Any differences or similarities should stand out when I rebuild the tubular DV46 with the same type of spokes.

Regardless they're nice wheels to ride now, and with a 20 spoke rear, instead of 19, it's a heck of a lot better.