More Project Reports

The mechanical technical aspects of our pastime are, to some of you fascinating.  To others, what follows will be as dull as ditch-water and dry as stale toast.  If you are not one of those who find intriguing the "greasy bits," then please do feel free to skip today's offering.  Tune in tomorrow for fare that is less mechanistic and more lively.  Thank you ~ your most humble etc.

We mentioned recently that we would be doing more follow-up reporting on some of our equipment projects.  We also dropped a few hints about a newer “secret” project.  Today the curtain goes up, with mixed results.

The following bit is a touch technical.  If you want to skip that, feel free to drop on down to “Conclusions” and “Riding Impressions” at the bottom of each of these project reports.

PROJECT X: Modifying Shimano Groups for Super Low Road Gearing

Background:

It seems to us that Shimano have a definite opinion about gearing.  This has been a source of frustration with us for many years.  The wonderful folks at the redoubtable Japanese component maker have very strong feelings about how low a road gear-set should be.  For the longest time the lowest “authorized” Gearing was on a “road double” driveline, with a low gear combination of 39 X 27.  That yields a ratio of just under 1.5:1.  That’s okay if one is riding in the flats, or climbing the occasional hill.  It seems to work well for young racers.  But for those of us who have older knees, or weigh a bit more, or wish to climb much taller things on a regular basis, it’s just not adequate.

Eventually, Shimano (grudgingly, it seemed) introduced road “triples.”  (A lot of us were already adapting mountain triples for use on our road bikes.)  That was a little better.  Now we had a low combination of 30 X 27, yielding a bit over a 1.11:1 final.  Better, but many of us wanted more.  And besides, triples are heavier, more complicated, and less reliable.

During the 9-Speed Era it was possible to do some interesting things.  At that time, components from both road and mountain groups could be mixed and work well together.  This led to some interesting possibilities.  For instance, a road double of the 53-39 type could be paired up with a 34-11 cassette and a mountain rear derailler.  That gave a huge high gear of 4.82:1, and a low of 1.5:1.  That’s a very adequate high.  The low leaves a bit to be desired.

The road triple, combined with the same rear treatment, resulted in 27 possible combinations from a low of 0.88:1 up to a high of 4.73:1.  That’s some serious range!

All that ended with the advent of the 10-Speed Groups.  Mountain gearing was restricted to 9-Speed, and the 10-Speed road groups were completely incompatible.  The advent of the compact cranks helped some, but not enough.  For those of us desiring truly low “digger” climbing gears, or the gearing for hauling heavy loads up hills, the road groups were out of the question.

That Brings us to NOW:

Thanks to some stiff competition from another component maker, Shimano has recently introduced 10-speed mountain groups!  Ah ha!  We thought that it just might be possible to again combine the mountain stuff with the road and yield wonderful results.  Alas, this turns out not to be the case.

Shimano has deliberately engineered the crucial mountain rear derailler to be completely incompatible with the road shifters.  The “pull ratios” needed to activate the deraillers are quite different.  That means road levers just will not operate the new 10-speed mountain deraillers.  There may yet be a way around this, and research is on going, but as of this writing the two are incompatible.

We wouldn’t want to give the impression that Shimano are prosecuting some vendetta against us.  There are sound engineering reasons for the incompatibility.  But the fact remains, the road shifters just do not work with the mountain deraillers, and the road groups do not allow the sub 1:1 low ranges we desire.

Conclusion:
As of this writing, it is just not possible to combine Shimano’s 10-Speed road and mountain equipment to yield super low gearing and usable highs from the same driveline.  This project is on going, and we’ll post more news and results as we have them.

~~//~~

PROJECT SRAM APEX “WiFli”:  Super Wide Road Gearing

Possibly some of you will remember references we made to testing the SRAM Apex component group.  Apex is SRAM’s entry level road group.  For our money it performs right up there with Shimano’s vaunted 105 level of components.  But wait there’s more!

SRAM has, quite deliberately, taken pains to integrate  their products and to actually promote cross-group compatibility.  That means that absolutely anything in any of their road groups will work with the stuff in another road group.  Apex, Rival, Force, and even the top of the line Red group are completely cross-compatible.  Now that’s cool!  (But wait!  There’s still more!)

All of SRAM’s 10-Speed road equipment is completely compatible with their 10-Speed mountain groups.  (Say what?)  Yes, SRAM’s 10-Speed road shifters will operate their 10-Speed mountain deraillers, across any of their 10-Speed cassettes!  Yowza!

We evolved a pretty good setup.  There was a bit of trial and error to match things up so that they would produce exactly the desired result.  Here’s the current state.

Brakes:  SRAM Apex

Shifter/Brake Levers: SRAM Apex

Front Derailler:  SRAM Rival

Rear Derailler: SRAM X7

Crankset:  SRAM Apex Compact 50-34

Cassette:  SRAM PG 1030    11-36

Chain:  SRAM PC 1071

Changes from a complete Apex Group:

First off, we substituted the Rival front derailler for the Apex unit.  This was done to achieve a bit smoother, lower effort front shifting.

We choose the PG 1030 cassette in order to avail ourselves of the widest possible gear range, with the lowest possible low gear.

The Apex WiFli rear derailler was capable of handling the huge low gear, but only just barely.  On some bikes, with shorter stays, or somewhat more aggressive hanger positioning, there are problems with this setup.  The WiFli unit is an SG, or medium long cage derailler.  We found that rear shifting improved dramatically when we substituted the X7 SGS, long cage unit in.

Riding Impressions and Conclusions

Six month riding impressions:

We’ve used the basic Apex set for about two months, and then made the above-mentioned modifications.  Over the entire six month period we have had very little to complain about.  The initial setup of the SRAM driveline is very precise and procedural.  It should be noted that there is a bit more post-installation adjustment required than with Shimano equipment.  However, once this initial dial-in process is complete (usually in a couple of weeks to about a month and a half, depending on volume of use) the equipment performs flawlessly.

The adaptation part is simply getting used to using one lever to operate both up and down shifts.  For users who are new to road bikes this is a non-issue.  For those with experience and habits formed by Shimano or Campy, the adaptation usually takes about a week.  After that it’s as natural as walking. 

NOTE:  We routinely switch between bikes equipped with Campy, Shimano, or SRAM systems, as well as singlespeeds or fixies.  There’s always a moment or two of confusion, and then the brain just goes,  “OH!  Right!” and no further thought is needed or given.  That said, it did require about a week to become fully comfortable with the DoubleTap controls.

Additional note:

The SRAM equipment does work in a very different fashion.  Riders who are accustomed to Shimano or Campagnolo will find that there is a bit of adaptation necessary in switching to SRAM’s Double Tap ™ system.  There is also a bit of different technique required.

Some folks may find that the addition of SRAM’s Chain Spotter ™ is well worth the additional cost of approximately $35.  And for anyone who is operating this equipment on a carbon fiber frame, I’d say this is a must have!

It should be noted; one particular bit of technique is required for good riding.  When upshifting from the small chainring to the large, it is best to make one’s recovery downshift at the rear first, and then effect the upshift while spinning the “unloaded” chainring.

Conclusion:  The SRAM setup (especially with their WiFli™ options) may be for you IF…

·     You are frustrated with a driveline that does not give you a low enough low.

·     If you are a “spinner” and like lower ranges for climbing.

·     If you do a lot of mountain work.

·     If you want to build up a “mountain specific” bike.

·     If you just have some older knees and want to save them a little longer, and you just don’t care how long it takes to get to the top, as long as you are not walking before you get there.

·     If you are building up a utility bike, a commuter, or a tourist, and want to avoid the complexity of a triple while still developing the widest possible gear ranges.

The stuff works, and it works well.  Once dialed and adapted to, it is precise and reliable.  It contains possibilities for amazing performance.

Friday Follies ~~ Peace

Fifteen miles.  Six percent.

As soon as the ride begins, so does the climb.  It’s only fifteen miles.

People who ride tend to toss grade values around.  One hears them.  “It’s a ten percent grade for miles.”  Sounds intimidating.  “There’s sections that are over fifteen percent!”  Wow.

There is one group of folks, here locally, who speak of a two mile long grade at a whopping ten percent.  It’s supposed to be over near Luthersville.  I find that interesting.  Two miles is 10,560 feet.  If there were a 10% grade of that distance, it would rise 1,056 feet.  Add to that the general terrain elevation in the area, and it should stick up to an elevation of around 1,800 feet.  For purposes of comparison, Stone Mountain has an elevation of 1,686 feet.  I’d think the “Luthersville Mountain” would be visible.  Odd that I’ve never seen it.

The number 6% doesn’t sound like much.  That’s an elevation change of only six feet in a distance of 100 feet.  Hardly sounds like much.  But at a mere 12 miles per hour, a cyclist will cover 100 feet in 5.7 seconds.  To do that, on a 6% grade, the cyclist must lift the bike and rider 6 feet in that same time.  Not that tough.  The first time.  But it keeps going on.  That’s like picking the bike up and climbing stairs.  To maintain the same effort as a 6% grade, at 12 mph, the climber must go up one complete story, two flights of commercial stairs, every ten seconds.  And keep doing it.  A 6% grade is steep enough to make one know that it’s a climb.  It’s hard.  It’s not super hard, or terrible.  The bike isn’t in danger of stalling or tipping over.  But it takes an effort to make it go forward.

From the south end of Waynesville, North Carolina, the climb starts the moment the bike is mounted.  It goes to six percent immediately.  The grade continues up to Balsam Gap, and from there onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, heading south.  For fifteen miles, from Waynesville to Water Rock Knob, that grade is a relentless, steady, consistent six percent.  It will rise 4,752 feet in those 15 miles.

As the climb progresses, the rider will notice that breathing becomes more difficult.  This isn’t imagination.  The very air is thinning.  Half of the atmosphere is below 5,000 feet.  Ten miles into the climb, when the legs are really starting to burn, there is only half as much oxygen per breath.

It’s 15 miles long.  The grade is a constant 6%.  The rider will gain 90% of a mile of elevation.

Is it worth it?  The view is spectacular.  The descent back down is exhilarating.  Is it worth it?  A car could do it in a half hour.  A rider takes more than twice that long going up.

I can’t wait to do it again.  Peace lives at the top of that climb.

Friday Follies ~~ Gifting

When I was a kid, my whole notion about gifts was that I got them, and that was cool.  It took me a while to learn that giving is a whole lot more fun.

Two gifts that had a profound impact on my life were both bicycles.  The “First Bike,” of course, was the one that taught me how to ride.  The second bike was the wonderful Schwinn cruiser that opened up the world, and made me a rider for life.  Over the year, I’ve done my level best to repay those two gifts as often as possible.

Christmas Giving is in a class by itself.  It took me a while to realize that this was something we did!  It took me longer to see just how well and truly good this was.

Of course, giving of gifts at Christmas implies several things.  One must first get the gifts, in order to give them.  That meant investing some thought in what to get for whom.  Then money had to be set aside.  And finally, the actual shopping had to be done.  My original pattern:  Do it all in the last week before Christmas, with about 50% of that on Christmas Eve.  That resulted in some rather odd present choices on occasion.

Eventually, I thought to combine planning with my Christmas gifting.  It worked better that way.  I had time to make some things, for special people, and to save some money.  I built quite a few special bikes for folks, and mostly, they were appreciated.

There was the period when I was without a car, totally on foot or on bike.  That had an interesting impact on my gift selections.  In those pre-internet days, I didn’t select anything that could not be transported by bicycle, or easily sent through the U.S. Mail.

Not all gift giving is of a physical object.  Not all happens at Christmas or birthdays.  One of the best gifts I ever saw was given on the road.

It was a mid-Summer century.  There were a group of youngish women doing the ride together.  They were members of a newly formed women’s racing club/team.  Most were pretty strong cyclists, but all were fairly inexperienced.  One member of the group was, as often happens, very new to it all.  She was fit, but very new to the bike, and not accustomed to athletic riding for long periods, in high heat.

Kelly was a very experienced rider.  He’d done a lot of racing back in the day.  He was doing that ride, and knew several of the women.  He naturally joined one group of about three of them as they rode along.

“The rest of the group rode on ahead,”  Dee explained to Kelly.  “I’ve had a rugged week, so we’re taking it kinda easy,”  she said.

They rode for a time in companionship, enjoying the day.

At just short of the 65-mile mark, Dee’s group, with Kelly in tow, caught up to the lead group from the women’s team.  That lead group had been pounding it out, but they were overextended, and their newest member was hurting.  She had overextended, drained her water bottles, and was overheated.  She was close to her limit, and was saying she needed to quit the ride.

A couple of the others were not looking all that good, the result of riding too hard, too early, on a blistering hot day.

Kelly, after hearing a bit of the dialogue, said,  “I think we can get this done, if you  all want to.”

“Here’s the problem,”  Kelly said.  “Several of you are a bit overheated and over-stressed.  We need to slow down.  Slow way down, and focus on moving just fast enough to get some cooling effect.  At the same time, we all need to work on hydration.  DRINK!”

As the group coalesced, Kelly went on, saying,  “While were just easing along like this, I’ll explain what we’re going to do.  We have one struggling member.  We need to remove the load from her, and help her along.  So, at the next rest stop, everyone fills every bottle, but Janet doesn’t carry her own water.  We’ll do that for her.  And then, I’ll tell you how we’ll organize so that we all work together, and we all protect Janet.”

What Kelly then described was a “Diamond Paceline.”  It works like this:

There is always one rider on the “point,” at the very lead of the group.  The protected rider, in this case Janet, would remain in the center of the diamond, immediately behind the point rider.  There would be a pair of riders to Janet’s left and right, protecting her from any sidewinds.  Immediately behind Janet, would be a pair of riders, side by side.  Behind these two, the remainder of the group (in this case, Kelly and four other women, would stretch out in a paceline.

Now the real secret of this formation lies in how riders rotate through it, and how often they do.  “No one takes a pull of more than 30 seconds,”  Kelly explained.  I’ll keep time and call out `ROTATE’ every half minute.”

On each rotation, the “point rider” moves to the left and drifts back to Janet’s left side.  The rider who had been the left flanker would drop to the rear of the whole formation.  The left flanker takes a water bottle handoff, and then drops back to the left trailer position.  The left trailer drops to the back of the whole formation.  Meanwhile, the right trailer moves up to right flank, the right flanker, moves to point, and the lead rider in the following paceline moves to the right trailer position.  In this way, no rider is facing the wind for more than a minute and a half.

Kelly insisted the pace be kept moderate to low for the first 20 minutes.  After that, it picked up a bit.  Kelly had told Janet that she was to take a good solid drink of water every two rotations.  He watched her, and reminded her a couple of times.

“And dowse,”  Kelly said.  “Here take my spare bottle and wet your head down.  It helps.”

Each of those riders was getting a huge kick out of the teamwork.  Their spirits were lifting.  Janet was recovering visibly.  By the time the group crossed the 90-mile mark, a good solid successful finish was certain.

Kelly gave a gift that day.  It was a simple gift of time and experience, but it made a great day for a group of relatively new riders.

How do I know about this?  My daughter was one of the members of that group.  She still talks about it.

The Christmas List

We’ve done this before.  This year we’ve updated the list, dropped some items, added some, and moved some things around to reflect changes in pricing.  Have fun with it, and happy shopping/hinting.

Three Scenarios:

I ride.  Folks I know would like to give me stuff that means something to me, but they haven’t got a clue about cycling!

Someone close to me rides a bike a lot, but I don’t know a thing about cycling.  I’d like to give them something that means something to them, but I haven’t a clue what they want or need.

I’m new to the sport.  I’m having fun with it, but I don’t really know what I need now.

Below you will find some cool stuff for cyclists, in varying price ranges. Just print this post out, underline or circle the items you are most interested in, and “accidentally” leave it out where your friends and family will find it. That covers hinting.

Alternatively, you could use this to identify useful or thoughtful gifts for various cyclists on your list. Note: For some of these items, it will help if you find out a bit about your target. Get clothing sizes, riding habits, and bicycle details, first! With just a bit of thought, and some applied sneakiness, it’s possible to find out almost all of this stuff, and it’s kind of fun too!

And if you are a relatively new cyclist, you might look the list over for some ideas.

Happy hinting, and happy shopping!

THE LIST:

Fill in appropriate sizes below:

Shoe size: _______________________

Pants size: _______________________

Shirt size: _______________________

Hat size or measurement around the brow in inches: _______________________

Glove size: _______________________

Bicycle:

Color of bike: _______________________

Bike type (Make &; model): _______________________

Size (measure from the middle of the center of the bottom of the frame to the center of the top tube): _______________________

Wheel size (on side of tire): _______________________

Tire Size (on side of tire)

Note: There are a lot of different kinds of tire sizes. Be prepared to note this exactly. For instance 26 X 1.5 is not the same as 26 X 1 ½. If you are not sure, just copy down all the numbers on the sidewall of the tire, in exact order. The folks at the bike shop are used to handling this.

Cassette (on rear wheel):

Number of cogs: _______________________

Number of teeth on largest cog: _______________________

Number of teeth on smallest cog: _______________________

Crankset (where the pedals are):

Number of gears: _______________________

Number of teeth on big gear: _______________________

Number of teeth on middle or small gear: _______________________

Number of teeth on smallest gear: _______________________

$10 to $100

• Arm Warmers
• Bar tape and installation
• Bar tape or grips
• Basic Tune up
• Beanie or balaclava
• Behind the seat bottle cage
• Bell
• Bike computer
• Bike lock
• Bottle of chain lube
• Chain (check number of gears on the back wheel, it’s important!)
• CO2 inflator
• Cycling Cap
• Fenders (check bike type and wheel size)
• Food!  Gel packs, sports drinks, etc.
• Frame pump
• Full finger mountain bike gloves
• Gloves, summer
• Gloves, winter
• Head band light
• Helmet, entry level
• Hydration back pack
• Jacket, Rain
• Jacket, wind
• Jersey, summer
• Jersey, tri-sport
• Jersey, winter
• Knee warmers
• Leg Warmers
• Mirror for bike
• Mirror for eyeglasses
• Multi-tool
• Multi-tool, Small
• Package of 2 shift cables, 2 brake cables, housings for both
• Rack (to mount on the bike)
• Reflective ankle bands
• Reflective vest
• Shorts
• Shorts, baggy
• Simple Green bike cleaner
• Skull cap
• Socks, summer
• Socks, wool
• South Side Cycling Club membership  ($25.00 per year  go to http://www.southsidecycling.com/ )
• Speed Clean degreaser
• Sun Glasses
• Tail light, good and strong
• Tire levers
• Tires, Pair of touring road
• Tires, road, high performance (check wheel size)
• Tube patch kit
• Tune up maintenance class
• Under seat bag, large
• Under seat bag, small
• Water bottles
• Water bottles, insulated

$100 to $150

• Bicycle computer with cadence feature
• Bike computer (wired)
• Bike maintenance class
• Combine two or three items from above list
• Full season Bicycles Unlimited Spin Class membership
• Gift Certificate at Bicycles Unlimited
• Good warm riding jacket
• Heart rate monitor
• Helmet, nice one
• Light set, rechargeable
• Messenger bag
• Panniers
• Professional Bike Fitting
• Rain jacket
• Set of high quality tires
• Shorts
• Tune up (major)
• Winter tights 

$150 to $300

• Bicycle computer with cadence feature
• Clip on aerobars
• Clipless pedals
• Excellent helmet
• Full tear down & overhaul tune up
• Heart rate monitor
• Helmet, a really nice one
• Light set, extremely good!
• MTB shoes
• Professional bike fitting
• Roadie shoes
• Rollers, indoor training
• Set of shorts, jersey, and wind jacket
• Shorts
• Stationary trainer
• Sun glasses, high end
• Training wheelset
• Tri-shoes (for bike)
• Tri-shorts
• Tune up, tear down and over haul type
• XTR mountain bike pedals

$300 to $500

• Complete bicycle maintenance tool kit
• Entry level mountain bike
• Enter them in one of the MS 150 charity rides
• GPS based cycle computer with HR monitor and computer download
• Hard sided bicycle travel case
• New Drive Line (chain, cassette, chain rings)(check number of gears on rear wheel)
• Road shoes, high end (check pedal type)
• Shimano Dura Ace road pedals
• Training wheel set with cassette, and training tires (check wheel size and the number & size of gears on rear wheel)
• Winter cycling boots

$500 and up

• Complete SRAM driveline, shifter, crankset, and brakes upgrade
• Entry level road bike to use as a trainer & rain bike
• Fixed gear or “track” bike ($700 to $2,000)
• Full and complete home shop tool set (approx $1,000)
• Loaded Touring Bike ($3,000 to $5,000)
• Mid level road bike to use as trainer & rain bike (approx $1500)
• Mountain bike, Absolute Killer type ($3,000 and up)
• New commuter hybrid or road bike
• Nicer Mountain bike (approx $500 to $800)
• Power meter
• Road bike, very very good ($3,000 & up)
• Very good race wheel set

Sky’s the limit!

• “Bespoke Bike”  (A frame up build by The Road Dragon, to your exact size and specifications.)  $2,000 and up.
• A guided and supported tour across the US
• A guided and supported tour in Provence, France
• A wine country tour in Tuscany
• All expense paid trip to Durango, or Moab, including bike rental and guide
• Giant TCR, with full Dura Ace group
• Giant Time Trial bike
• Trip to see Tour de France
• Very High end racing bike ($8,000 & up)

Into the Swing of things

Here we go again.  It’s Monday.  It’s mid-October, and just about mid-Autumn.  Halloween is barreling down the road, coming right at us, and chasing the break are the Holidays!  In the meantime, let’s ride every chance we get, and make the most of those rides.  The time is right, the world is waiting.  It’s Autumn in north Georgia, and that’s about as good as it gets.

Holiday Gift Hinting:  For any of you who are working on gifts for the cyclist in your life, or who want some help hinting to others, refer to a previous post on the topic.  Gift hinting    

One week until MidFall Celebration Night Ride!  I’m stoked up about this one.  The route is going to be a blast, and the timing is right.  Expect to need to dress a bit warmer.  We’ll plan to make a stop to allow riders to pull on more clothing, about midway through the route.

Recommended:  Good lights, as always on these rides.  Watch the weather and dress accordingly.  Those of you who have the option, plan to bring your more rugged, more touring oriented bikes.

The New Build is Done!  Keep watching this spot.  I’ll have pictures and discussion up on this one soon.

Watch this space, and watch the Tuesday Tome!  We're adding a lot of seasonal rides.  Plans are in the works to bring back the Dawn Patrols.

Gifting and Cyclists:

“My (chose one: friend, husband, brother, etc.) is a big bicycle rider. They just love to ride that bike. I’m trying to get them something they will like for Christmas, but I really don’t know what to do.”

That, good readers, is what I hear a lot this time of year. If you’ve been in the sport for a while, your friends and loved ones haven’t a clue what to do for you. For that matter, if you are new to it all, the same is true, and you probably don’t have all that clear an idea either.

So here’s the idea. Below you will find some cool stuff for cyclists, in varying price ranges. Just print this post out, underline or circle the items you are most interested in, and “accidentally” leave it out where your friends and family will find it. That covers hinting.

Alternatively, you could use this to identify useful or thoughtful gifts for various cyclists on your list. Note: For some of these items, it will help if you find out a bit about your target. Get clothing sizes, riding habits, and bicycle details, first! With just a bit of thought, and some applied sneakiness, it’s possible to find out almost all of this stuff, and it’s kind of fun too!

Fill in appropriate sizes below:

Shoe size: _______________________

Pants size: _______________________

Shirt size: _______________________

Hat size or measurement around the brow in inches: _______________________

Glove size: _______________________

Bicycle:

Color of bike: _______________________

Bike type (Make & model): _______________________

Size (measure from the middle of the center of the bottom of the frame to the center of the top tube): _______________________

Wheel size (on side of tire): _______________________

Tire Size (on side of tire)

Note: There are a lot of different kinds of tire sizes. Be prepared to note this exactly. For instance 26 X 1.5 is not the same as 26 X 1 ½. If you are not sure, just copy down all the numbers on the sidewall of the tire, in exact order. The folks at the bike shop are used to handling this.

Cassette (on rear wheel):

Number of cogs: _______________________

Number of teeth on largest cog: _______________________

Number of teeth on smallest cog: _______________________

Crankset (where the pedals are):

Number of gears: _______________________

Number of teeth on big gear: _______________________

Number of teeth on middle or small gear: _______________________

Number of teeth on smallest gear: _______________________

Happy hinting, and happy shopping!

$10 to $100

20 gel packs

Arm Warmers

Bar tape and installation

Bar tape or grips

Basic Tune up

Beanie or balaclava

Behind the seat bottle cage

Bell

Bike computer

Bike lock

Bike tune up

Bottle of chain lube

Chain (check number of gears on the back wheel)

CO2 inflator

Cycling Cap

Fayette Bike for Life membership

Fenders (check bike type and wheel size)

Frame pump

Full finger mtb gloves

Gloves, summer

Gloves, winter

Head band light

Head light

Hydration back pack

Jacket, cold weather

Jacket, Rain

Jacket, wind

Jersey, summer

Jersey, summer

Jersey, tri-sport

Jersey, winter

Knee warmers

Leg Warmers

Minor tune up

Mirror for bike

Mirror for eyeglasses

Multi-tool

Multi-tool, Small

Package of 2 shift cables, 2 brake cables, housings for both

Rack (to mount on the bike)

Reflective ankle bands

Reflective vest

Shorts

Shorts, baggy

Simple Green bike cleaner

Skull cap

Socks, summer

Socks, wool

Speed Clean degreaser

Sun Glasses

Swim kick board

Tail light, good and strong

Tire levers

Tires, Pair of touring road

Tires, road, high performance (check wheel size)

Tube patch kit

Tune up maintenance class

Under seat bag, large

Under seat bag, small

Water bottles

Water bottles, insulated

$100 to $150

Basic tune up

Bicycle computer with cadence feature

Bike computer (wired)

Bike maintenance class

Combine two or three items from above list

FitLab AT testing session www.fitlabinc.com

Frame pump

Full season Bicycles Unlimited Spin Class membership

Gift Certificate at Bicycles Unlimited

Good warm riding jacket

Heart rate monitor

Helmet

Jersey

Messenger bag

Nice helmet

Panniers

Professional Bike Fitting

Rain jacket

Set of high quality tires

Shorts

Winter tights

$150 to $300

Bicycle computer with cadence feature

Clip on aerobars

Clipless pedals

Excellent helmet

FitLab AT testing session www.fitlabinc.com

Full tear down & overhaul tune up

Good rechargeable light set

Heart rate monitor

Helmet, a really nice one

High end sun glasses

MTB shoes

Professional bike fitting

Roadie shoes

Rollers, indoor training

Set of shorts, jersey, and wind jacket

Shorts

Stationary trainer

Training wheelset

Tri-shoes (for bike)

Tri-shorts

Tune up, tear down and over haul type

Very good light set

Wetsuit (do this with a gift certificate, fit is critical)

XTR mountain bike pedals

$300 to $500

Complete bicycle maintenance tool kit

Compu-Trainer

Entry level mountain bike

Enter them in one of the MS 150 charity rides

GPS based cycle computer with HR monitor and computer download

Hard sided bicycle travel case

New Drive Line (chain, cassette, chain rings)(check number of gears on rear wheel)

Road shoes (check pedal type)

Set of training wheels, complete with cassette and tires

Shimano Dura Ace road pedals

Training wheel set with cassette, and training tires (check wheel size and the number & size of gears on rear wheel)

Winter cycling boots

$500 and up

Complete SRAM driveline, shifter, crankset, and brakes upgrade

Entry level road bike to use as a trainer & rain bike

Fixed gear or “track” bike ($700 to $2,000)

Full and complete home shop tool set (approx $1,000)

Loaded Touring Bike ($3,000 to $5,000)

Mid level road bike to use as trainer & rain bike (approx $1000)

Mountain bike, Absolute Killer type ($3,000 and up)

New commuter hybrid or road bike

Nicer Mountain bike (approx $500 to $800)

Power meter

Road bike, very very good ($3,000 & up)

Very good race wheel set

Sky’s the limit!

Trip to see Tour de France

New Orbea Orca, with full Dura Ace group

All expense paid trip to Durango, or Moab, including bike rental and guide

Very High end racing bike ($8,000 & up)

New Orbea Time Trial bike

A wine country tour in Tuscany

A guided and supported tour in Provence, France

A guided and supported tour across the US