My 35 year old Silca track pump still works just fine. Don't forget to closely inspect your race wheels after every race. If they are still perfectly round, check the tires for wear and small flint cuts.
thank you for the video; as someone who is about to take part in their first race on sunday running 25 mm gatorskins I feel a little better about my choice lol
@@geraldtone5914 oh, yeah, looks like you can still find them too....we also all raced on 32 or 36 spoke wheels too, which may have absorbed some of the beating.
I just recently got into road cycling and I have to say cannot stop watching your videos, the crits and other vids. Probably my favorite bike channel next to GCN and SAFA Brian. Thanks a lot for putting so much quality content and useful info in terms of equipment and racing. Makes me wanna go out and ride my bike everyday. Thanks ;)
That pump is a life changer, tire pressure is so important for MTB, cross and gravel. Silca also has great sales every few months with demo gear, returns, open box, etc. I got mine for about 1/3 off. Still pricey, but not totally over the top.
I’ve been stocking up on my silca products. I put super secret chain lube in mason jar and submerge my chain for 10 min instead of just dripping it on. Works great.
For coffee to work as a doping agent, you want to ABSTAIN from drinking coffee for at least 2 weeks before the event and just take coffee before the event. The body adapts very well to coffee and soon your morning coffee doesn't have the effect it could really have.
I’d be intrigued to hear about stretching routine? And how that fits into the training schedule. Seems I’m getting older and spend nearly as much time stretching as I do cycling!
I’d get more specific about fueling. Know your body’s digestion (etc) schedule and how long from meal or coffee you need, for same reason, so you’re not running to the john right before the race, or worse, during…
Damn. I feel called out with the gator skins comment. Lol. Going from that to Vittoria corsa 2 tubulars was night and day. The Gatorskins in comparison felt like tires filled with cement. Lol
It's a sweet bike! Super Dave, who has been shown on a number of Jeff's Alviso videos, was the brain child behind this frame. That chain ring is the definition of "lookin' good, feelin' good". I never feel slow when I look down and see that thing!
I've been putting a lot of time looking into a new helmet. Mine is an old Walmart one 😬 and needs an upgrade. I've hit 20.2 mph over 100 miles riding solo and need an aero edge to hit that 21 mph goal. What do you wear/what would you recommend?
Hey Jeff, when you're looking at your Fitness/Freshness graph on Strava, which context are you using? Relative effort or power? They seem closely tied together, but I'm using power meters for the first time ever so just curious how you source data for your fitness.
Sorry Brian, not sold on the wax. I converted to Silca Super Secret wax 3 weeks ago and I'm definitely on the side of completely not worth it unelss you are chasing ~5 extra watts. I switched to get rid of the dirty black gunk from oil lube but the negatives so far definitely outweigh the positives for the non-elite racer.
James, what negatives are there in your eyes? Are you using their drip wax or the hot melt wax? If you don't want to hot wax, their drip wax gets you almost as close with the ease of a normal lube-like application. 100% worth it in my eyes.
@@bryanlrsn7 Brian, 1st off I apologize for the negative comment. I didn't mean to come off that heavy. The frenemy content is top notch and I really enjoy and get a lot out of your and Jeff's insight and experience even if I'm not racing. So thanks. I also apologize for the long reply in advance.... If you are considering switching to wax, I think people should know the both the positives and negatives. If you are a racer looking for that extra 5-7w difference it's a strong option for you. I think there are diminishing returns with wax for the average rider. I will say the 1st couple of rides with the wax were AMAZING (so quiet and smooth) but it quickly lost it shine for me. I'm using the liquid and got the 12oz container to be able to dip the chain in more easily for the initial application. Perhaps I should have invested in the hot melt 1st. The initial prep of the drive train was cumbersome even with timing it with a new chain. I had to clean not only the factory grease off the chain but disassemble the rear derailleur and clean the cage and pulleys, the strip the rings of the cranks and deeply clean them, as well as the front derailleur cage. It was a lot of work. That said my 1st gripe is the mess it makes after after it dries. As you know the wax that is not in the rollers flakes off very easily (way easier than Squirt wax lube IMO) - as it's supposed to. This makes working on the bike messy and requires a drop cloth whenever the bike is off the wall. Simply back spinning the cranks makes a mess on the floor as wax flakes are shed. Cleaning up the flakes only works them into the surface that they fall on which, because it's wax, is easily ground in when trying to clean it up. You have to watch where you step or else if you don't want to track the grey tungsten disulfide wax everywhere. 2nd is the re-application hassle. I have tried the back pedaling drip application method and it doesn't seem to really work into the rollers for me on my Ultegra chain. It mostly built up on the rear cog and chain ring which then flaked off in big chunks. It's very "watery" initially and the surface tension seems pretty high so it either sits on top of the roller until you work it in by moving the roller or if the drip is bigger, it rolls off and drips on the floor. Working it in one roller at time seems to give the best intake into the roller, least amount of waste (it is one of the $$ lubes). It takes me around 40 minutes to do that. I am generally applying a top off every 2 or 3rd ride (60-100 miles or so) or as the noise goes up. Now, just about every night, my wife jokingly asks me if I have worked on my chain today. I don't know if that's good or bad.. ;) Since I've already done the hard part of the switch, I'm going to stick with it for a while longer and see if I can come to terms with it.
Chainwax is no joke! I waxed my chain that i was using on my trainer for a race, and after the race zwift detected a 12w increase in my FTP 😅 Clean your drivetrain everyone!
Love your channel and the 2 of you (I owe my success so far in cycling to you) but this felt too much like an advert to watch to the end. Stay true to your yourselves and your followers! Something tells me y'all in Cali don't need sponsorship money! Look forward for some more awesome content 👏
What's funny here is while we are supporting Silca in this video, I actually stood behind everything I said in this video prior to discussions with them. I have screenshots to prove that I've pitched this pump, their tire calculator, waxing (see previous videos), and aero goodies to my friends every chance I get (ask Jeff lol). My dad still has his Silca pump from the 80s, was the first pump I ever used when I started racing, and I have loved the brand since then. Cycling is a product-driven sport, and while this may have felt like an Ad, these products were included because we truly believe it will help you improve your riding and racing performance.
Hi Jeff, you mentioned having caffeine as an enhancer. I'm wondering what is the best timing to eat/drink it? If I have a coffee in the morning (6AM) and I do a crit race at 6pm, has the caffeine worn off by then?
Black or green tea - theophiline; cocoa- theobromine. Similar adenosine receptor agonists though less intense doses in most of those beverages than caffeine containing drinks. Ideally, you want to wean off caffeine (or alternatives) before A event (1-2 weeks if you can) to get the maximum sensitivity. Some have suggested genome sequencing to figure out if you're a slow caffeine metabolizer so you don't OD and get an arrhythmia or whatever. But, practically speaking, if a single shot makes you perform better or a cup at 4PM makes it hard to sleep that night ... you're a slow metabolizer. If you already drink a couple of cups of coffee every day just to function, you're probably not 🤤
@@bryanlrsn7 cuz it gets to a point when aesthetics out weighs performance. but also aero helmets get hot and thats not just comfort its performance also
why race and risk crashing if you not getting paid? road scene mad douchey with the ig type bros these days, just ride to ride is a thing of the past it seems
I'll stick to MTB racing, it's safer haha. I'd be far more worried about getting into a peloton pileup in a crit than I ever would crashing out in an XC or Enduro race.