The cold morning kept many riders in bed on the 14th of August, but we were out, and took full advantage of the open tracks, ready for exploration and discovery.

Heading out on the normal loop we hooked left and started to explore some of the new trails including the re-work on "Koala". There has been some recent criticism regarding the redevelopment of some of the trails and the new builds, with experienced riders considering them to be “dumbed down”, so I was very keen to check them out for myself.

We were really impressed with the ease of access following the completion of the the new track, and the quality of routes was exceptional. After taking-in some of the new completed tracks we headed over to "Turning Japanese" to check out the under construction trail. It looks awesome, and includes some of the most smooth flowing trail any of us had seen in SEQLD.

Our verdict, the new rides have certainly been build with a full range of riders in mind. Did this mean it was not challenging enough for experienced riders? Not at all. The quality of the track was exceptional, meaning I and the other experienced riders were able to take advantage of the low cut berms and spaced out, this doubles speed!

You only get out what you put in.

With the weather warming up in the coming weeks, we hope to see a few new riders with us on the group rides, and look forward to taking full advantage of some of the under-constructions trails with the BRM team!

Ben May recently broke his collarbone in a recent ride, but will be back on deck and leading our off-road adventures soon. Stay tuned for the next shop ride details.

In 2014 the owner and founder of Specialized Bicycle Company, Mike Sinyard, used his own life experience to create a facility to help fund research into a growing problem in child behavior. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is estimated to affect from 5 to 10 percent of all children in the Western World.

Mike himself had struggled with ADHD through childhood and as his own children displayed some elements of this condition, he felt that mood and ability to concentrate was improved from time spent cycling. Mike explained that the rhythm or the “Zen” of pedaling combined with moderate exercise formed an orderly system that occupied body and mind. The outcomes displayed benefits of sustained attention, motor skill development and behavior.

So in 2014 the “Specialized Foundation” was formed, a connection was made with Stanford researcher Allan Reiss MD to continue research on brain development and disorders that effect children. This approach was to examine and quantify the benefits of physical activity, principally cycling, on children with or without ADHD.

“As a company of passionate riders, we intuitively recognize the benefits of exercise and cycling on our abilities to focus and wanted to learn more about using cycling and exercise as a potential new symptom management tool for children and their families to consider.”

Now as we also face a growing Obesity problem in our society, which manifest in disorders such as Heart Disease and Diabetes. To include exercise in our lifestyle is becoming more apparent as a necessity to achieve longevity and quality of life. Why not make choices such as cycling that can provide outdoor activity, enhanced mobility and recreational enjoyment. Our environment is changing as all levels of government seek to provide infrastructure that allow regular and positive inclusion of cycling to our lifestyle. Dedicated Cycleways segregated from motor vehicles, designated Mountain Bike Trail parks and Rail Trails all offer enjoyable venues to include cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle for children and the whole family.

The research is in early stages to understand and quantify the relationships that have been observed by families and physicians in this matter. The Specialized Foundation promotes cycling as an alternative to therapeutic drugs to achieve health, academic and social success. A balance of physical activity, and nutrition that would lead to improvements in the social, emotional and physical well-being of children. Learn more at www.SpecializedFoundation.org

Heading out for a few hours on the mountain bike is always a happy time, but there are a few key items I would never leave home without. Over the years I have added crucial items and removed some less useful, the result? My Mountain Bike Training Essentials Pack. For those starting out in the off roading space, I recommend putting a pack together before you head out!

Most obviously, the first two items I carry are my phone and my keys, which I keep inside two zip lock bags, alongside a small pump and a bottle or two filled with Infinit. Do not underestimate the importance of fluid when you are heading out for a ride.

The other key essentials are that I will carry in my jersey pocket or in the bike are:

Back Jersey Pocket

1. Puncture repair kit, this uses a cement and a tire plug similar to what would be used on a car tire. The strips are cut and then inserted with a screw driver like device with glue cement to bond.

2. Tubeless tire patch primarily for sidewall

tears or larger punters that the puncture kit cannot fix.

3. Fix it stixs or a multi-tool. I found that the fix it stixs covers most of the tools required to get out if trouble with a good weight advantage.

4.CO2 canister with gorilla tape wrapped around for sidewall repair or anything else that may pop up.

5. CO2 inflator, I try to at least test these semi regularly when airing up new tires.

6. Chain link, I use chain links in all my chains along with carrying a spare.

7. Tubeless valve stem, I have had them snap off with sticks in the past and a spare helps in getting back up and running quickly.

8. Derailleur hanger, this has saved me before and will aways carry a spare.

9. Not in pic but zip ties, tissues and bandage. From experience can help in an emergency to stop blood loss.....among other things

Strapped Under the Seat

1. Spare tube either wrapped in a tube tarp or a cut up old tube to protect it.

2. CO2 wrapped in gorilla tape, this tape has saved me with sidewall tears that patch kits did not fix.

3. Specialized EMT levers, these are worth every cent as they are much stronger and durable than anything else I have used. There is nothing worse than a snapped lever when trying to repair a flat during a race

4. To hold it all together a Backcountry Research Awesome Strap. Have been using these for years and absolutely rate them.

So this is the short list of goodies to enhance the fun and safety of any training session. I am always keeping an eye out for new products and ideas that may be useful in case of a sticky situation and would love to hear if you have any suggestions.

If you have any questions or would like to test your mountain bike skills, I invite you to join Melissa and I on the 17th of July for a beginners ride at Daisy Hill, where we will run through the basic techniques and can answer your questions in person.

For more information contact Chris or Andy on 3899 8232 or visit the shop.

There is nothing like a national series race in your own backyard, and again this year, Queensland was proud host to Bayview Blast as a part of the MTBA National XCM Series.

After last years race, I was pumped, and definitely not going to miss this event, so I made sure I fit in a few extra training sessions on the course in the lead up to the race.

One thing that stuck in my mind from last year was how deceptive the amount of climbing was. The effort that you exert in the Bayview Blast is so much more than you think, which I believe is because I enjoy the single track out there immensely! This in mind, I made sure to carry enough nutrition and then to take it in regularly.

Sunday morning arrived and I lined up with the rest of the elite field. The pace was quick from the start and I was consciously trying not to burn too many matches early on.

The first half of the lap, there was a small group of us sitting at a good pace, but the group suddenly exploded and I tactically slipped of the back of the pack for preservation.

Settling into a rhythm, I then had a couple of age groupers and 50km riders catch me, from here on we worked together and caught the elite group I had slipped from earlier.

With the much cooler weather for this years race, and taking in only Infinit liquid nutrition there were a few extra bathroom breaks, but this was the case for the others riders I was with also.

Coming through for the fourth and final lap, the group I was with splintered, so I took the opportunity to push forward, hitting some of my favourite sections a little bit faster.

The final two kilometres of the last lap are some of the best single track in the whole course, combined with the crowd to cheer you on only amplified how awesome this event and track truly were.

Feeling pretty shattered by this point with cramping in the legs, the encouragement from the sideline was all I needed, the pain and fatigue dissipated and I managed to put down a few extra watts to bring it home.

Nothing beats finishing a race like this, and with a solid few laps completed, I managed a top ten finish in elite. I am ecstatic with the result and can’t wait for the next few races in this series!

With the thermometer dipping below 10, many of the usually punters stayed in bed while the Bicycle Riders Mountain Bike cohort made the trek to Daisy Hill, and were rewarded with minimal crowds. The lack of other bodies and cycling groups ensured that the trails and tempo were flowed freely, which helped to keep body temperature up and spirits high!

This episode of the BRM social shop ride saw two new bikes in the mix, a super light SWorks XC hardtail 29er and a 29er+ Plus with huge tyres (3.0). It was great to see these new bikes and how they performed under the conditions, and to meet some new riders!

The lack of rain over the past several months left trails very loose and sandy, conditions which saw the 29+ shine. Despite the dryness, this bike held traction, even the loosest of conditions. Over the course of the ride, we saw several variations of Fatbikes and 29er+, which was incredible, and something unheard of just a few years ago.

In the last twelve months, off-roading has been embraced by many, new riders and we welcome the following! Mountain Bike riding is exhilarating, interesting and fun. For recreational riders and commuters alike, it is a change from the predictability of track or road riding, taking the rider away from the hustle and bustle of life.

All in all the trails were fantastic with minimal traffic along with spectacular weather - another great ride!

If you have never been off road before, we welcome you to join us, we run at a steady pace and love to share our passion with anyone ready to dip their toe in the water. For more details give us a call on 3899 8232. Alternately, just ask Chris, Andy or Gwen at the shop.

The science behind the humble riding glove, is truly something to behold, long gone are the days when a glove merely protected soft skin from the cold, calluses and enhanced grip. Instead it has become instrumental in improving overall performance and in injury prevention for both professional and recreational riders alike.

The new Trident glove offers a level of advancement beyond anticipation, and you when look at the research, you can see that it goes far beyond comfort and cooling. After studying the soft gel padding on the palm of the glove, it is expected that this accessory will certainly improve riding comfort, but it is after long distances, that these gloves really come into their own. Immediately, as a rider you notice that the inconsistencies on the track, road vibrations or jolts are buffered, and over the course of a ride, physical freedom is vastly improved. In addition, nerve sensitivity and circulatory issues are addressed, diminishing the need to stretch and shake out numb extremities. These factors combine to improve comfort, endurance and in turn, performance. The most impressive aspect of these gloves, is the fact that there appears to be no compromise: the design is attractive, the comfort excellent and materials are a high quality. When it comes to replacing gloves, the Trident is certainly worth considering. Although the price is higher than some of the other options available, this is a great solution for anyone with hand and wrist sensitivity, or those who simply like to enjoy a comfortable journey!

After studying the soft gel padding on the palm of the glove, it is expected that this accessory will certainly improve riding comfort, but it is after long distances, that these gloves really come into their own. Immediately, as a rider you notice that the inconsistencies on the track, road vibrations or jolts are buffered, and over the course of a ride, physical freedom is vastly improved. In addition, nerve sensitivity and circulatory issues are addressed, diminishing the need to stretch and shake out numb extremities. These factors combine to improve comfort, endurance and in turn, performance.

The most impressive aspect of these gloves, is the fact that there appears to be no compromise: the design is attractive, the comfort excellent and materials are a high quality.

When it comes to replacing gloves, the Trident is certainly worth considering. Although the price is higher than some of the other options available, this is a great solution for anyone with hand and wrist sensitivity, or those who simply like to enjoy a comfortable journey!

Despite the delay by the UCI to fully sanction the use of Disc Brakes for professional road racing in the 2017 season, manufacturers have made a significant commitment to Disc Brake models in their respective line-ups.

The soon to be released 2017 Road Bike Ranges will certainly test beliefs and demand predictions of product managers. Do riders want to stay in-line with the Pro Peleton?, Maybe they dwell in the Club Racing scene and will want to remain in compliance with the controlling body? For many this will be a relief, avoiding the need to invest in another bike. However the growing interest in Grand Fondo style endurance riding amongst riders, will see a growing interest in the benefits of Hydro Disc Brakes on their roadie.

The Disc alternative will certainly provide better braking performance with stopping expectations at slightly later points of entry into corners, and then the real benefit of regaining the desired cruise speed much faster on the exit of corners. The overall weight of road bikes fitted with disc brakes does not grow significantly, if at all, however the distribution of weight does. With no requirement for the rims to have a braking surface depth that would gradually deteriorate over the life of the wheel, the rim or perimeter weight of the wheel is significantly reduced. So cranking the same wattage down the driveline will reward the rider with better acceleration, back into the saddle earlier at preferred speed of the bunch.

So expect to see manufacturers release a road bike range with a high presence of Hydraulic Disc Brake kit, they have made the commitment already and I expect the weight of funding into the sport will also see it sanctioned in the near future.

This weekend Bicycle Riders will host it’s second Off-Road ride at Daisy Hill, led again by professional riders, Ben and Melissa May. We are excited to welcome our experts to the team, in addition to the wealth of knowledge and experience they bring to our weekend rides.

Want to get to know Ben and Melissa a little better? We have summarised a few notable achievements we thought you might find interesting.

Ben May

A tough and consistent performer, Ben is a strong competitor in both the Marathon and XC Mountain Bike events, locally, nationally and internationally. With an unyielding intensity for riding in both endurance and sprint events, Ben has developed his technical skills over the years, and has honed his ability to provide expert advice to others, helping them optimise personal performance.

Marathon and XC Mountain Bike racerPodium at XC Marathon Nationals (Age Group)Top three at XCM Maverick Series (Age Group)Numerous podiums at local events

Melissa May

With her calm yet passionate approach, Melissa May brings to Bicycle Riders a dedication to new riders and a commitment to a healthy lifestyle and good personal fitness. Although a self proclaimed recreational rider, Melissa continues to compete and place in multidisciplinary sports, from running and mountain bike racing, to obstacle events.

Podium in female MTB team event - 6hr race Podium in female MTB marathon racesParticipant in Rogaines, Tough Mudder and Strength HIIT TrainingCompetitive runner

We look forward to following Ben and Melissa throughout the year, and will keep you up to date with their performances. If you would like to learn more about off-roading from Ben and Melissa, we invite you to join us on our monthly Mountain Bike ride at Daisy Hill.

The month of April marked the first of Bicycle Riders Mountain Biking and Off-Road rides, led by competitive cyclists and athletes, Ben and Melissa May.

The first ride had a small turnout, providing a great opportunity to test out the carefully planned track, designed for those new to mountain biking, or looking to learn some important skills and techniques for safe off-roading. Owner of Bicycle Riders Chris took the opportunity to brush up on some off-road skills, and was impressed with Ben’s ability to lead at a comfortable pace. After a short time Chris said any nerves were at ease and his confidence developed throughout the hour and a half ride.

Bicycle Riders Mountain Bike treks are all scheduled at Daisy Hill, which is just a short, twenty minute drive from the CBD.

Our next off-road adventure is scheduled for Sunday the 1st of May, we hope to see you there!

The Bicycle Riders Team

Next Ride: Sunday 1st May

Time: 8am

Meet: In front of the shelter on the pond at Underwood Road, Priestdale - call for details

Track: Beginner

Pace: Social, no drop offs

What to bring: Bike in good working order, two water bottles and snack

IN THE LAST month, the weekend ride has become an expensive outing for many cyclists, with the introduction of new laws for cyclists and a crackdown on bells. For many, adding a bell to a carefully selected, sleek bike is an aesthetic atrocity, until now. The recently launched HideMyBell combines design elegance and functionality in a inconspicuous add-on for the Garmin Edge.

Designer Mathijs Wagenaar says the idea for HideMyBell came to him while on a training ride, when he wondered if a clean, integrated and lightweight option was possible for mounting a bell on his bicycle. After research, he realised no such product existed, and set to work, carefully investigating the options and sketching out alternatives. Constructed from a durable polymer material, the HideMyBell weighs only 46 grams, with two mounting options, and a starting price of $49.95, we rate this one of the best investments for 2016. For more information visit us in store.

It’s easy to become consumed with romantic notions when you think of how clothing is made, but this isn’t reality TV or a Helvetica-defaced design blog. Design is a reality devoid of stereotypes and preconceptions. It’s the clothing business, after all, and we’re talking about the fastest skinsuit ever made. So take off the rose-colored glasses and get a front row seat for how something of the S-Works Evade Skinsuit’s caliber actually comes to life.

It all starts with a question: How can we better serve the rider’s needs, especially when that need is to go faster? It’s a simple question with an answer that can take years to arrive at. And in the case of the S-Works Evade skinsuit, it would take three years of concept, design, testing, and repeat. Repeat again, and again, and then some more. But before this cycle of birth can even begin, the skinsuit had to find its legs on a computer by the window, past the security door, on the second floor of a sizeable building in Morgan Hill, California. And while the tag might befittingly declare, “Designed in California,” it would be apropos if this was proceeded with “by” and the names of the hands that molded it to form, like Anna, McKenzie, and Peter. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Now the foundation of any article of clothing is called a pattern. Imagine your favorite pair of jeans segmented into an eight-piece jigsaw puzzle. Each of the pieces comprises the total pattern, with each serving as the basis for the precise shape and measurement of how the textiles will be cut for the finished product. Now, multiply this figure by three or four, and you can begin to grasp the complexity of developing the pattern for a skinsuit. And to continue the puzzle simile, every one of these pieces has to be cut precisely in order for the puzzle to come together as intended. In the clothing business, pattern making is one of the most time consuming and difficult aspects of producing a garment, and many clothing producers will opt to outsource this responsibility, with a broadly worded vision, to a manufacturer. Obviously, this production strategy wasn’t in harmony with the vision of our skinsuit. Instead, we’re equipped to perform the entire process in-house in Morgan Hill.

IT ALL STARTS WITH A QUESTION: HOW CAN WE BETTER SERVE THE RIDER’S NEEDS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT NEED IS TO GO FASTER?

If you are familiar with engineering or industrial design, you’re probably familiar with a computermodeling program called CAD (computer-aided design). Essentially, CAD allows designers to precisely plot points of a design to create an exact digital model. For pattern design, we possess similar software that allows our designers to digitally create garment patterns with an unbelievable degree of specificity. This tool is critical, as it accelerates the speed of adjustments throughout the trial and error of the production process. It also allowed us to better accommodate and design for the natural degrees of stretch in the various fabrics that compromise the skinsuit. Which leads us to an important point in the design: fabric testing and selection.

Before a prototype can be constructed, or even before the digital pattern can be completed, prospective fabrics had to be tested in our Win Tunnel in order to make sure that we could hit our lofty aerodynamic goals. This is where we find ourselves at a distinct advantage over any other cycling apparel designer in the world: we have our own cycling-specific wind tunnel just a short walk down the street. Normally, if a skinsuit is even tunnel-tested at all, design houses have to book a limited, precious amount of time at a tunnel that’s far removed from their own facilities. They’ll block out a short, expensive chunk to hurriedly test working prototypes, and then return home to the drawing board with what they learned to make adjustments. And without getting too into the weeds on the cost of production cycles, most companies only possess the resources to repeat this process a couple of times, if at all. Where the Evade’s advantage lies is that we’re able to integrate tunnel testing into the design process, as we have the unique ability to utilize the facility whenever we want. So you could almost say that the skinsuit was designed in the Win Tunnel, or as we say, it’s Win Tunnel Engineered.

To demonstrate the importance of this, we tested hundreds of potential fabrics on cylinders in the tunnel in order to determine their aerodynamic potential. And once potential materials were selected, they were incorporated into the computer modeling. This is vital, as fabric will have a different denier (linear mass density of fiber) and fiber orientation, and thus, different degrees of stretch. So when creating the pattern, we’re capable of placing and shaping materials in a predictable way that enhances both aerodynamics and overall fit. Fast-forward a few months of this back-and-forth, and the digital pattern is ready to become a prototype.

Just downstairs from the design team resides our apparel studio. It’s here that the digital becomes tangible. The computer-modeled patterns are printed and cut to scale, and then the team can begin cutting the preselected fabrics to size. From here, the obvious step is to start constructing these pieces by hand into a prototype, and then getting the working skinsuit onto a fit model for observation and further adjustments. Here is where we hold yet another advantage, and it’s not an obvious one. Every day, the mass of Specialized employees converge on the streets of Morgan Hill for our legendary Lunch Ride. So in the morning, a prototype can be assembled and fit, tested on the Lunch Ride, feedback is provided, and by the end of the afternoon, an augmented proto is ready to be tested again. This ensures that we’re able to dial-in the fit of the suit, first and foremost, which amounts to adjustments of sleeve lengths, leg openings, zippers, chamois placement—you name it.

And with a working model that the team and riders are happy with, it’s back to the Win Tunnel for the bulk of the aerodynamic testing. This is where the breakthroughs happen, and it’s where the fulfillment of our initial design dreams occurs. Much like with the Venge ViAS, we deemed no detail of the skinsuit too small when marginal gains were ripe for the taking. This meant manipulating the design based on testing information gathered in the tunnel. So perfecting seam placement for the closest possible fit, strategically positioning Dimplex fabric at the shoulders, welding seams, eliminating bulky cuffs at the arm openings—think of it, and we probably did it in the Win Tunnel.

SO YOU COULD ALMOST SAY THAT THE SKINSUIT WAS DESIGNED IN THE WIN TUNNEL, OR AS WE SAY, IT’S WIN TUNNEL ENGINEERED.

This testing also led to pivotal breakthroughs, many of which had never been done before. Take for example the Evade’s shoulder construction, where you’ll notice the absence of a frontal seam. Typically, this part of a jersey requires the arms to be their own separate pieces, and this equates to more seams and a less precise fit. Our testing suggested that by eliminating this seam altogether, the skinsuit would experience significant aerodynamic gains.

This resulted in our patented design, but more importantly, after years of testing in the Win Tunnel, adjusting the designs digitally and in the studio, and receiving season-after-season of real world feedback from our athletes in the field, we can conclusively say that the S-Works Evade Skinsuit will save the average rider 96 seconds over 40 kilometers.

So like with all great products, there comes a time where they have to grow up and become finished pieces in the factory. However, we found that factories with the ability to meet our exacting standards were far and few between. Typically, the designers will ship off the patterns to the manufacturers, where they’ll create and evaluate the production process. Oddly enough, though, many manufacturers will take certain liberties with the design in order to streamline production with the capability of their facilities. Given the specificity of our design, this complicated production for us, plus the fact that our intentions were to create an 11-size range of the skinsuit. The last bit there is of particular importance, because the large size range, which includes Short, Standard, and Tall variants in every size, ensures that the fit on the rider’s body is exactly how we tested it in the Win Tunnel. The result? Predictable and evenhanded time savings for every rider. And after years of toilsome work, we weren’t about to let a manufacturer take a millisecond away from the rider’s 96 seconds of gains. So, not surprisingly, our pursuit of perfection led us to the Motherland of exquisitely crafted goods—Italy for our R&D. There, we found a partner that was capable of delivering our vision to the world with the utmost in detail accounted for, suit after suit after suit.

It’s a long road to perfection, and sure, it’s not as glamorous as a celebrity panel of judges or a runway show at Fashion Week, but the S-Works Evade Skinsuit embodies everything that we know—passion, motivation, obsessiveness, aerodynamics, and good ol’ fashioned hard work. It represents what happens when talent motivates talent, a team pushing itself harder and harder along each step of the way. More importantly, however, the years of hard work produced the fastest piece of cycling clothing ever made, and this only stands to benefit any rider that’s hellbent on speed. We did our part, and before we know it, we’ll probably be doing it again.

At 0350am I woke to the sound of torrential rain and wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, but it was race day, so up was. Before I knew it I was rolling through the familiar motions of a race morning.

Having only raced one other olympic distance event, I am still working out my pre race routine, as I certainly do not need to eat the amounts I would before an Ironman or an Ultraman.

After a good breakfast, I arrived down at transition and laid my gear out. With plenty of time up my sleeve, I took the opportunity to grab a relaxed morning as I was not due to start until 8:07am. It was a great break before the race, as my supportive dude drove up from Brisbane to cheer me on…I always race better when he is in the crowd!

At 7.30am, I completed the ritual walk down to the swim start and fit in a quick warm up, in the bath temperature ocean. It was going to be a hot race. As we were called to the start line and given race instructions, I positioned myself far right, as I thought due to swell would bring me right on the first turning buoy. These calculations are important, unfortunately on this occasion I had a slight miscalculation, but was able to correct my position, but as a consequence had to negotiate my swim through the traffic of earlier wave starts.

Exited the swim in 2nd position, in time of 23:48.

Transition 1 - I have always been quick with this, and managed to catch and pass the girl in front of me!

Bike: 1:06:57 Fastest in Age Group and 9th fastest female of the day.

As a side note, I am not experienced in Olympic distance triathlons, so my goal for this event was to see what I was capable of on the day. In the first 20km I was overtaken by lead female, but at the turn I made the decision to push a heavy gear into the head wind, a punishing, but good decision, as I was first into transition two, with a minute lead.

Transition 2: Shoes on and I was gone.

By this stage, it was 9:30am and really starting to get hot! The run was hard work. Around the 6km mark, torrential rain briefly fell, and soon became thick, sticky and humid air. I had to dig deep and draw from the mental toughness I have developed over the years to hold off a group of girls fast approaching, and pleased to keep them in my shadow.

Mostly, I was ecstatic to walk away with second place for my age group, fourth female age grouper home and 15th female overall in what was my first ever Mooloolaba triathlon!

Run time 47:16

Total time 2:21:11

At the moment I consider myself to be 70% race fit, and am now highly encouraged and excited for the coming months, as I prepare to work with Richard Thompson of T:Zero Multisport on the Sunshine Coast, leading into 70.3 World Championships.

Next up, Byron Bay Oly in May. Watch this space!

The professional cyclist is an impressive and majestic creature, capable of marvelous feats of strength, grace, and sheer ‘squeeze every last wattage from the power cottage’ determination. They’re also, occasionally, guinea pigs on bikes. This is a good thing. The feedback—and occasional odd requests—they have on bikes and equipment can affect how that final product feels and performs. Whether it’s testing tires with pro road teams like Etixx-Quickstep, or spending a year working with Boels-Dolman’s Evelyn Stevens to perfect the S-Works Power Saddle, pro testing of Specialized products leads to innovations and improvements that can benefit all riders.

WEIRD IN A GOOD WAY

For mere cycling mortals, the idea of generating enough raw power to pull the heel of your foot from your shoe while pedaling is mind-boggling, but for Alberto Contador, it was a legitimate thing. “It’s interesting when you get riders talking about something that you can’t fully experience yourself,” says Rob Cook, Design Director of Footwear at Specialized, recalling when Contador first came to him with the request for a better heel fit in his shoe. “You wonder to yourself: ‘how the heck do you move in a way that lifts your heel out of a cycling shoe?’ You just can’t totally comprehend it at first.”

“Sometimes you have to actually build the shoe to get it,” he says. “Then you realize that, although you obviously weren’t strong enough or fast enough to experience the negative as he was, you can experience the positive. And once you can feel the benefit, you realize that it’s a change that will actually be good for many riders.”

In this case, a performance-enhancing request from a pro athlete led to a more consistent heel fit in the new S-Works 6 and Sub 6 road shoes. This kind of scenario—where a pro rider requests a change for their specific need—occurs across all disciplines and products. Whether it’s the fit of a shoe or the grip of a tire on a specific surface, athletes always want to find ways to improve their performance, and testing new innovations and materials is part of that story.

“When it comes to tires,” says Wolf VormWalde, Director of Tires and Tubes, “sometimes you’ll get a rider with a special request. For example, with the mountain team looking at different terrain from one race to the next, we’ll sit down with riders like Aaron Gwin, or Anneke Beerten and Curtis Keene, and we’ll talk about tires and what they need from them. Then we work towards meeting those needs—translate them into product specifications like new tread patterns for mountain or compounds for road and mountain—then test the samples with the athletes. And if that goes well, they’ll use those tires.”

But specific rider requests are just one side of the athlete testing coin. Product developers will sometimes want to test new technologies or materials and get feedback from the pros. Here, the testing sessions can seem a little more…mysterious. To get from-the-hip feedback, sometimes sleight of hand has to be involved so as to not plant preconceived ideas that’ll mess with the findings.

WE WON’T TELL THE ATHLETES WHAT MAKES EACH TIRE DIFFERENT DURING THE TESTS, WE HAD THE MOUNTAIN GUYS RIDE A COURSE MULTIPLE TIMES, TESTING DIFFERENT TIRES TO GIVE FEEDBACK.

— Wolf VormWalde, Director of Tires and Tubes

“We won’t tell the athletes what makes each tire different during the tests,” says VormWalde. “A few months ago, for example, we had the mountain guys ride a course multiple times, testing different tires to give feedback. So let’s say we know one tire should behave softer over small ripples, the other maybe a little firmer, and the third one has a very firm, hard casing but maybe gives you more safety at higher speed when the hits become hard. But the athletes don’t know any of this—we need to see if their feedback matches up with what we think should happen with each tire.”

So how do you keep an athlete in the dark?

“To tell each tire apart, sometimes you write a number on the side, or sometimes we use dots,” he says, describing how they keep track of which tire is which. “But these markings can become a problem, too, because some of these racers are very….” he pauses, searching for the right word. “Like, they’ll say, ‘I test rode a tire with a number two on it. I gotta have the tire with the two’. They’ll get a new sample and notice it doesn’t have the two on it. But it was just handwriting with a marker that we did on the test day.”

The feedback itself is a mix of anecdotal and raw data, depending on the discipline.

“In mountain,” says VormWalde, “the environment and the courses change so much it’s hard to express in numbers, so that’s more ‘feel’ based. But with road, a lot of time the feedback comes from the technical staff after velodrome testing. They’ll come back with power numbers and values. Comparing certain tires on certain wheels and how many seconds faster a tire is.”

“Of course, road teams also come back with more anecdotal feedback when it comes to handling. That’s then similar on the road as it is in mountain.”

One thing is clear when talking to both Rob and Wolf—pro athletes are in a league of their own. The issues they encounter and the conditions they perform under are extreme and can help find problems with products quickly. They’re also, as Wolf puts it ‘super fit’—a definite advantage if you’re going to ask someone to ride the same course over and over and over again.

“Christoph Sauser?” he says. “He can just ride a two kilometer or two mile loop all day and not be too phased by the effort.”

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

Pro cyclist Evelyn Stevens will be the first to tell you that she has a reputation as a bit of a saddle princess. But it’s this quality—her sensitivity to any saddle that’s just a little bit ‘off’—that made her the perfect candidate for working with the saddle team on the S-Works Power saddle development.

“I’ve always voiced my opinion when something’s not right,” she says, “and I just wanted a saddle where I could be in an aggressive position and still be comfortable.”

Evie’s initial involvement with testing and the saddle team began with the Sitero saddle. Her feedback on positioning while using that particular saddle converged naturally with work the team was doing developing a new road saddle that put the rider in a more ‘power’ position.

“The best thing about Evie is that she would give the test saddles time,” says Nick Gosseen, then head of saddle development. “She’d take prototypes and test them for a week or a month then give us feedback, and she knows pretty quickly what she wants and is able to articulate it clearly.”

The process of tweaking the saddle after each round of feedback sounds a little McGuyver-ish to the initiated, but these quick-turnaround tweaks made it easier to test and re-test until a more perfect, final version of the saddle emerged.

“In the beginning,” says Gosseen, “it was just cutting up production saddles and refining them—and I mean literally using X-Acto knives, epoxy, anything you could to give the saddle structural stability so that Evie could ride and test it safely.

“We created probably two or three saddles that allowed us to test certain things with her. One was nose length; another was foam density and curvature in the back of the saddle. It helped us narrow the tree down and decide which direction we wanted to go with the Power saddle. She had some things she specifically liked, so we found a version that worked with her during testing, and she ended up riding it full-time.”

I RODE SOME REALLY WEIRD STUFF. FORTUNATELY, I’M NOT TOO CONCERNED ABOUT HOW COOL I LOOK.

— Evelyn Stevens, Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team

These early prototypes are not always the most beautiful, particularly the final prototype that she liked.

“It was a hacked up thing.” Gosseen screws up his face when describing the aesthetic glory of it. “I mean it looked so terrible it looked like something that someone did in their backyard or back garage or whatever.”

Fortunately, the final production of the S-Works Power saddle is much more beautiful, and as a thank you to Evie for all of her valuable feedback during testing, the saddle team created a one-off Power saddle for her.

“For me,” says Evie, looking at the saddle. “Red is a symbol of power and strength. When I look at it, that’s what I think. It says, be strong and be powerful when you get on your bike today.” And as for being part of the testing process?

“I think because we race it, and ride it, and we pay such close attention to our bodies, we’re able to give good feedback. And in the end, that means someone who just wants to ride their bike a couple of days a week can get benefit from that.”

FAIL HARDER

It sounds strange to say it, but some of the testing robots in the Test Lab at Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill are such fans of professional athletes that they model their entire lives on them. And their dedication to replicating real life in a lab environment is good for you, because it means safer bikes for everyone.

The Test Lab is a constant metronomic hum of activity, with each machine set to perform single, specific tasks, over and over and over again, simulating something that happens in real life, but in a controlled way.

“For example, this machine here,” says Santiago Morales, Test Lab Manager, is saying ‘Brake! Brake! Brake! Brake! Brake!’ while that one is going ‘Pedal! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!’ but with all the intensity of the hardest part of an all-out sprint.”

Scanning the room, these robotic machines are everywhere, testing everything from frame integrity to wheel strength. One is set to simulate failing to lift a wheel over an obstacle and hitting it hard, while another mimics completely casing a jump. Wheels are put through their paces, with machines set to test rim heat while braking on the longest descent ever, or hitting a bump at 35kph over and over again. Extreme cases for sure, but in order to set up these tests on each machine, you first must understand what happens in real life and work your way back to create the test parameters—and that’s where lab testing and athletes come together.

“The first thing to know,” says Morales, “is that international standards for bikes are intended for ensuring minimum safety, and those standards they’re usually pretty old and limited. Mountain bikes, for example, only have one standard. But think about it—there are multiple kinds of mountain bikes. We have cross country, enduro, downhill, and all of these are different. So if you test a downhill bike to the minimum standard, it won't always do a good job. That’s why we invest time in creating our own standards and tests to meet the specific conditions we intend the bike to see.

“And that’s where the athlete comes in. We gather data from them—athletes from within the building and the pros—and that data can tell us the forces that a frame sees, for example. So when you’re developing a test, you’re trying to match those forces in the frame, but in this artificial set up. The athletes are usually the ones who put the highest demands on a product, so by taking that, and understanding what that athlete performing at the highest level needs, we can use those numbers to backtrack and design a test that replicates that situation. So testing is a combination between the data we get from the athletes, the research we do into extreme riding conditions.”

One of the ways they collect data is through what’s called a ‘strain gauge’ bike.

“Sagan rode this," he says, referring to a silvergrey bike covered in sensors and hanging on a wall of the lab. “Each one of these sensors measures how much a tube in the frame is stretching, then you can back calculate the load that it’s seeing. So when you have an athlete ride this bike, you’re measuring how it’s reacting to his riding style. Then we can take all that data and create something that replicates it for a test.”

As Morales is talking, a call goes out in the lab: ‘Breaking!’ Everyone covers their ears as a mountain bike frame succumbs to ‘seat tube ultimate strength’, a test that simulates a botched, hard landing. Products die sudden and important deaths here, with each sacrifice marked with an epitaph of sorts. He picks up a piece of a Roval wheel to show the words ‘brake heat to fail’ scrawled on the side.

“We break a lot of stuff in here,” says Morales, laughing. “And that’s no joke.”

Professional athletes wear many hats in their lives. They’re heroes to kids and adults alike, slayers of epic mountain stages, and fearless descenders of way-to-steep rock gardens. But it’s not all about podium steps and champagne showers. Through their willingness to try things that might give them the edge, they play a part in helping to make bikes and equipment faster, safer, and better for all of us for the one thing that really matters—the ride.