Archive for 2009

12:08 hours, one pair of Body Paint bibshorts.

Posted on September 6th, 2009 in GEAR, NEWS | 1 Comment »

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Cascade Creampuff Mtn Bike Race

- 105 miles
- 16,500 ft climbing
50% gravel roads
- 50% singletrack
- 12:08 hours
- 2 bikes
- 3 pairs of pedals
- 2 pairs of shoes
- 1 pair of bibs – Body Paint Bibshorts
- No chamois cream
- Zero chaffing

“These bibs and the new pad both ROCK. Kudos to the design/development team”. /MIKE

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Cervélo’s final selection for Tour of Spain.

Posted on August 25th, 2009 in NEWS | No Comments »

Cervélo TestTeam’s final selection for the Vuelta a España. The decision has been made and the nine riders have been chosen for the last of the three 2009 grand tours. With a strong and balanced team that includes three home favorites, Cervélo TestTeam is primed to tackle the challenges of the 21-stage Vuelta a España. The tour begins in the Netherlands in Assen, on August 29 and finishes September 20 in Madrid, Spain.

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Simon Gerrans (AUS), Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU), Xavier Florencio (ESP), Roger Hammond (GBR) and Philipp Deignan (IRL) will be looking for stage victories, while José Angel Gomez Marchante, racing on home turf, is focused on a strong result in the general classification. Alex Sans Vega (ESP) and Marcello Albasini (SUI) are the two sports directors with the Vuelta team and, along with their crew, will provide the riders with the best possible support to help them achieve their goals.

“The team has done a great job in its inaugural year on all aspects of the team’s mandate: equipment testing, fan access, and of course race performance,” said Thomas Campana, Team Manager. “But I am sure that we are not finished yet. The guys are still hungry, and they’re prepared to work hard to achieve top results in the next couple of months until the end of the season.”
Selection Cervélo TestTeam – Vuelta a España 2009

1.     Iñigo Cuesta (ESP)
2.     Philip Deignan (IRL)
3.     Xavier Florencio (ESP)
4.     Simon Gerrans (AUS)
5.     Roger Hammond (GBR)
6.     Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
7.     Jose Angel Gómez Marchante (ESP)
8.     Gabriel Rasch (NOR)
9.     Dominique Rollin (CAN)

Behind the scenes of CTT at the Giro, part 3

Posted on August 24th, 2009 in NEWS | No Comments »

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Join the Cervélo TestTeam for a new episode of the hi-resolution documentary of ‘Beyond the Peloton’. This time, the filmmakers will take you behind the scenes of Italy’s Grand Tour.

Take me to Cervelo’s video gallery >

Offically the “BIG DOG” of Brighton

Posted on August 24th, 2009 in NEWS | No Comments »

Richey

Saturday the 15th saw the coming together of the Big Dog’s of Cycling. Magnus Backstead,  Yanto Barker and the Big Dog Himself….Me! For the Brighton Big Dog Mountain bike race.

Pairing up with the local Caravan expert of the Cycling world, Paul Hopkins of BMV Leisure….plug… We competed in the 6hr Pair. The course was excellent, great climbing, amazing single track and dry! With an MTB Jumble from Retro bike, cakes and propercoffee the event was a true mountain bike festival with a great atmosphere.

The Race! Paul started and came through in 2ndplace not far down off 1st. We pushed on with one lap on, one lap off for the duration, taking the lead on lap two and building on it. We finished 1st and just missed out on clocking up another lap come the finish….a great day out. We cleaned up, packed up and got some chicken from the Barbecue before the prize presentation. A great effort for the ceremony, podium girls, goodie bags and sparkly stuff, you had to make the most of it! Also over the course of the day, I picked up the prize for thr fastest lap and received a very nice model sterling engine which has kept the office amused this week and the kettle on permanent tea duty!

So, rosette in hand, I am now the official “Big Dog” of Brighton….. Life’s complete.

Will deffinatly return next year: http://www.brightonbigdog.com/

Official site of Felt Racing: http://feltracing.co.uk/

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New things fatty is trying!

Posted on August 24th, 2009 in GEAR, NEWS | No Comments »

pbk1Posted by Fatty (PBK) Hi we are very fortunate here to get a few products in to try to use and abuse and to generally evaluate long before they come to market, as well as a few items that are new but not unique,

First off is the excellent Castelli Body Paint bibshort, I was fortunately invited to the Castelli 24h race in Italy way back in June to race for there world team and Castelli kindly provided pre production samples of there latest designs for us to try (and keep).

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So what can they do with a short you ask?? Well quite alot as it happens this short is as different as a short can be, to start with it is made of a single piece of engineered power stretch lyrca yes a single piece, it also includes integrated leg grippers, integrated so nothing bonded sewn injected or stuck on just a subtle increase in the amount of lycra content, But the real star is the pad, (ProgettoX2) this is a double skinned pad with a free floating pad next to the saddle and a fixed body hugging micro fleece next to the skin, There is a lot of science behind it , but you only need to know one thing, they work, they work very well in fact, they are by far the most comfortable short i have ever worn.

The nice people at Ritchey sent me one of there super logic seatpost to try. Now a seatpost is a pretty static thing so there is nothing to report (but that’s the highest praise going) it is light (approx 160g) hasn’t slipped , doesn’t creek there are optional heads available for oval rails (its supplied with ones for a round rail) and it is well finished, Its expensive but if you are after a premium seatpost you wont go wrong with it.

Ok a new product just in and yet to go on a bike is the New Look quartz pedal these appear to be a ideal compromise between Times simplicity , support and ruggedness and Crank bros weight, more news after the weekend.

Body Paint Bibshort:  http://bit.ly/1Tv9cS

Progetto X2 seat pad:  http://bit.ly/tah1l

PBK-blog: http://www.pbkblog.com

Innovated Continuously! a couple of firsts…

Posted on August 23rd, 2009 in GEAR, HERITAGE, NEWS | 1 Comment »

On 9 November 1979, Castelli won the prestigious Corriere dello Sport Discobolo award. The presentation letter says, “Castelli… has, in a truly futuristic way, revolutionized clothing for cyclists.”

disco11In 30 years, nothing has changed. Each and every day we set out to create tomorrow’s revolutionary futuristic clothing.

Castelli has been at the forefront of essentially every breakthrough in cycling clothing since we made wool shorts obsolete. Were not just creating this seasons fad; were setting tomorrows standards for an entire industry.

1977 First aerodynamic Lycra® short.
1983 First sublimation printing of jerseys.
1984 First functional thermal winter clothing.
1996 First fully aerodynamic skinsuit.
1998 First modern bib short (Progetto Y).
1998 First wicking fabric treatment (Prosecco).
2008 First radiating insulation (Radiation).
2010 Body Paint futuristic short.

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NEW for 2010! One single piece of fabric bibshort!

Posted on August 20th, 2009 in GEAR, NEWS | 8 Comments »

eurobike_logoThe Body Paint bibshort is designed to synchronize with your body’s movement on the bike. It is anatomically tailored and made out of only four pieces of material:

- The short portion is made with a single piece of engineered Power Stretch Lycra®
fabric with integrated Giro++ leg grippers designed not to constrict blood flow.
- Straps made in seamless Giro++ elastic fabric.
- Light mesh fabric on back for breathability.
- Progetto X2 seat pad.

The combination of a single piece of fabric to eliminate seams and cover the bottom of the riders body as if it was painted on, will help harness the riders muscle’s output potential and facilitate blood flow in the capillaries, getting oxygen to the muscles.

The shoulder straps fit differently to those on other bibs. We have removed as much material as possible from the front of the stomach and upper torso area, so that instead of rising vertically from the waist to the middle of the shoulder, the straps curve from the outside of the hips and around your chest to leave more of the chest uncovered makes the shorts feel less restrictive and cooler in warm conditions.

It has been taking us over three years of development to create this one single piece of fabric bibshort. The Castelli Body Paint Bibshort will be introduced to the public at the Eurobike trade-fair in September.

The Body Paint Bibshort comes with the our new patented Progetto X2 seat pad, guaranteeing comfort never before seen before: Click here >>

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Body Paint Bibshort Body Paint Bibshort

Body Paint Technology made its debut at the Tour!

Posted on August 20th, 2009 in GEAR, NEWS | No Comments »

Carlos Sastre, Body Paint Speedsuit

We’ve applied everything we know to make cyclists cut faster through the wind.
The speed suit is made using Body Paint technology: a single piece of fabric to eliminate seams and cover the riders body as if it was painted on.

The cut is very short in the front so that when the rider is in the riding position the suit lays perfectly flat on the front. Velocity® fabric featuring a very smooth surface for maximum aerodynamics. Giro++ flat elastic on leg opening and collar means that everything lays very flat and air flow transitions smoothly from skin to fabric. Longer legs for a smoother air flow around the legs. An aerodynamic flap to cover the riders race number, while letting the air flow more smoothly over the back.

Notice carefully in the photo of Carlos Sastre, you’ll see that the lower half of Carlos’ speed suit is made with Body Paint shorts attached to the upper part of the speed suit that also uses Body Paint technology.

For more information on Body Paint Bibshorts:  Click here >>

It’s fast, it’s furious and it goes on for 24 hours!

Posted on August 19th, 2009 in NEWS | 2 Comments »

Simon Richardson (CyclingWeekly) at the Castelli 24 hour crit race.
Simon Richardson (CyclingWeekly)I’m at the Castelli 24 hour criterium in Feltre, northern Italy, and can’t remember the last time I had this much fun on two wheels.

Between 10pm and 1.30am last night I was racing around a 1.8km circuit in front of huge crowds against the likes of Marzio Bruseghin, Andrea Noe, Michele Bartoli, Francisco Ballerini and various amateur riders, Italian industry insiders and local weekend warriors.

And I do mean racing. It’s flat out, people are attacking, others are getting dropped and as I write this we’re only just about to hit the halfway mark.

The peloton is made up of 100 teams, each team has 12 riders, only one of which is out on the course at any one time.

Each team member typically rides for 20-30 minutes before swinging off and letting their team mate jump in to the race – like a Madison but with not hand slings.

It actually takes a fair bit of concentration to get the change over right. When waiting in the numbered pits before going out, you have to watch out for your team mate coming by. Most teams use the system of holding fingers up to signal how many more laps they intend to do.

The real skill is riding out of the pits and jumping in to the group your team mate was just in. I got this wrong last night and chased the group all the way up the climb, only to blow and have to sit up and wait for the next one.

Castelli 24h Race, June 12-13th.
The course itself is great fun with a deceptively hard climb up through the start finish area, a, fast twisty descent and a long, fast flat section round the back of the circuit that finishes on a wide, sweeping cobbled left hander that brings you back to the start finish.

Get yourself in a good group and you’re lapping in just under three minutes.

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The Castelli crit gets underway. Bright orange Lamborghini pace car was opening the race!

More images from the crit race: http://tinyurl.com/ntz4r5

CyclingWeekly, click here!

SRAM XX / CASTELLI

Posted on August 17th, 2009 in GEAR, NEWS | 7 Comments »

Extensive test rides and tech sessions, 21 journalists from all over the globe have enjoyed the new XX group set under the beautiful Italian sun at Massa Maritta, Tuscany.

It’s the brand’s first ever complete top-line off-road group, featuring the first 10-speed mountain bike cassette and the first double-ring crankset. SRAM has brought its four off-road brands — Avid, RockShox, SRAM and Truvativ — together to create a high-innovative system of top-of-the-line parts meant to work together at the highest level of racing and just as useful to the weekend warrior who does a lot of pedaling.

It’s been a while since mountain bike tech sightings have generated as much buzz as these new components. With Julian Absalon’s World Cup victory on XX last weekend, everything looks promising for the XX bike group.

When talking with the SRAM people at the beginning of the year, they simply said that the new parts were going to be very light, very cool and very innovative. And, what would be a better match than having Castelli to provide the technical clothing for the bike experienced journalists.

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The SRAM XX race kit is based on the same product models as supplied to the Cervélo Test Team. There’s nothing spared in terms of comfort and performance. The bibshorts are constructed of a durable and breathable Lycra® Power fabric, the Kiss+ seat pad with dual layer, dual density padding, flat lock stitching, anatomic fit and the famous FREE bibs to keep the chest free and cool.

Sram XX

The cut of the jersey is extremely anatomic for on-the-bike comfort. It’s the attention to little details that counts too. The YKK Vislon® zipper slides easily with one hand. And it’s full zip for easy on/off and temperature regulation. The side panels are in a lighter mesh to help stretch and cooling. And the silicone gripper elastic at the bottom helps keep things in place.

Speaking of riding, how do they feel?
Before going to production, we had to make sure that the jersey and bibshort were 100% trail tested. After two months and about 45 hours of mountain biking, the shorts themselves have survived a couple of crashes and been hip-checked into trees at speed without any visible damage. In fact, the shorts did a fantastic job playing second skin while moving moisture and heat very well. The anatomic and antibacterial KISS+ seatd had plenty of well-placed padding where it needs to be, and it quickly dries the sweat away.

The jersey was feeling good when riding and the textured fabric with Prosecco treatment quickly wicked the moisture to the outside of the fabric while keeping the rider drier. It all sits very unnoticed against the skin and the full length zip makes it easy for temperature regulation.

May 28, “just rode with the complete kit for 3 hours – it Is AWESOME, the shorts are Killler,
thax thanx thanx!!!”
Sram mechanic.

“Molto bello il completo, e comodissimo!” Ciclismo magazine (Italy)

Technical information on the Sram XX bike group, Cyclingnews: http://bit.ly/j86l0
Photos: Dirk Belling / Sram

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