EDITION 07 OCTOBER 2013
Rinny’s “best race ever” sees her win The Hawaiian Ironman World Title
Jason’s car is brought back to life by Ross
The rain has well and truly hit the office
IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS KONA HAWAII
Castelli dominates the podium in Hawaii at the Ironman World Championships with Mirinda CarFrae and Frederik Van Lierde
Each month incycle will share the inner workings of Saddleback’s brand building activities, news, events and business developments. Allowing you to gain an in-depth feel for the brands we represent and meet our passionate team. Issue seven is best served with a hot chocolate and a pasty to help you with those winter rides.
Just one short year after launching its line of innovative triathlon apparel, Castelli was worn to victory at the pinnacle event of the sport, the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Both Mirinda ‘Rinny’ Carfrae and Frederik Van Lierde wore Castelli triathlon to their new titles, as did a host of other professionals and countless age groupers. The input and feedback of the sport’s top professionals has been crucial in the development of Castelli’s entire range of triathlon apparel. Having Rinny and Fred wear Castelli as they become Ironman World Champions is testament to Castelli’s success in creating the fastest, most comfortable triathlon gear in the world. They both won because of their perfectly balanced race plans, exactly like Castelli’s Free tri kit: super aero on the bike, great core body temperature management on the run. It was an outstanding day for Carfrae, who wore the Castelli Free Donna Tri Top and shorts and was crowned Ironman World Champion for the second time, setting a new course record in the process. On her way to victory she set new overall and marathon records, and her run split was faster than all but 2 of the men. Van Lierde improved on his third place from a year ago to earn his first World Championship title. He took advantage of the benefits of his Castelli Free Tri Suit to beat six-time Ironman champion Luke McKenzie, who crossed the finish line three minutes later.
Womens winner Mirinda CarFrae
Mens winner Federik Van Lierde crossing the finish
8:52:14
Castelli also launched their latest innovation, the Stealth T1 top, at Kona and US Champion Tim O’Donnell used it to help take nearly ten minutes off last year’s bike split. This bike-only, ¾ sleeve race top was developed through extensive wind tunnel testing and uses painstakingly selected fabrics in a precise pattern to reduce aerodynamic drag over the upper arms, shoulders, and back. Using it, O’Donnell managed to slice nine minutes off his previous best for the bike leg.
Mirinda Carfrae smashes the Ironman® Course Record aboard the new Felt IA FRD Three months ago Felt said that wind tunnel testing showed triathlete Mirinda Carfrae could save more than 12:30mins over the Ironman Hawaii course in typical conditions by switching from her old Felt DA to the new IA. An Ironman bike leg is 112 miles, so she’ll be making an average saving of over a minute for every 10 miles, in theory. Carfrae actually covered the bike course 13:58mins faster than her 2012 time.
FELT EDICT NINE FRD
A look at what is to come from the 2014 Felt Nine bike fleet The FRD programme is a no holds barred approach to designing and building the finest bikes possible using money-no -object components. The project began last year with the introduction of the Nine FRD Hardtail, using TeXtreme速 carbon and some of the most advanced manufacturing processes in cycling resulting in a superlight (900g), yet super tough frame. For 2014 the FRD MTB range has grown to include the Edict Nine, a 100mm full suspension bike using the World Championship winning FAST platform. The good news is that all the lessons learnt on FRD help us improve and refine our entire mountain bike range, the same sharp handling geometry can be found on our entry level alloy bikes right through to the range topping carbon models.
FELT NINE BIKES
MORE OF THE RANGE
FELT EDICT NINE 50
CORE BIKE 2014 The nights are getting darker and colder, winter is upon us and so Core Bike looms...
Another year has almost passed, where did that go? That means preparations here at Saddleback are already starting for Core Bike 2014. Running from January 26th - 29th. We plan on bringing all of the latest and hottest products so be sure to come along. Core Bike 2013 saw Steve Peat’s World Champs bike made an appearance at our Enve stand along with the man himself. So make sure you drop by in January to see what surprises we have in store at our stands.
We take a look at our Enve wheel build room over the last month
62 1 55 2588 168 1 rear wheels built
master wheel builder
front wheels built
spokes used
man hours
Enve wheel build room
FELT NINE FRD Core Bike 2013 saw the Enve stand host Steve Peat’s Santa Cruz v10 with full GB decal Enve spec.
This month Justin Hoy shares with us his pick of the bunch
SPORTIQUE ELEMENTS CREAM 180ML
FELT NINE 50
Winter is here so with the massive change in weather we have just had this and it’s the mutt’s nuts. Slap some on your hands and face before a ride this winter to take the edge off wind-chill. It’ll save your face and hands from that frozen rosy redness.
Mud, sweat and Cyclocross bikes. 2014 Felt CX bikes race tested The Cyclocross season is now in full swing, the dry dusty courses of summer and early season races are now a distant memory as mud, wind and rain take over. It’s been a busy few weeks for the Felt-Colbornes CX team, they’ve taken part in the amazing Rapha SuperCross series on board a mix of F4x and F3x bikes. Going head to head with the country’s fastest riders they put in some storming performances, knocking on the door of the top 10 and finishing 5th Team at the final round. The Felt CX range is made up of six bikes including Canti and Disc options in both aluminium and carbon. All are ready to race, so with three months of the Cross season still to go, what are you waiting for?
SHOPFOCUS
Rich, Ash and Oli visit Leisure Lakes Cheltenham to install some Castelli love As part of our ongoing support to our dealers, Rich, Ash and Oli paid Leisure Lakes Cheltenham a visit with some new Castelli display graphics. After lots of measuring, cutting, drilling and fitting, Leisure Lakes are now the proud owners of an awesome new Castelli wall. From transforming a plain wall into a Castelli branded section, Leisure Lakes along with us have created a dynamic visual aid to help the selling of Castelli clothing. As well as Castelli we also offer in-store visual support for our other brands here at Saddleback. So if your store could do with creating more impact, speak to your Rep and then the marketing team here at Saddleback will cater to your needs.
GEORGE ACTON Newest memeber of the marketing team, online design is his game
Who is George Acton? A tall 6ft 7” man with a huge passion for Rowing. Where does he live? Thornbury, Bristol. What’s your job title? Junior Graphic Designer. What do you do? Make things look good. How long have you been at Saddleback? Just over 3 months (Feels like 3 years). Worst job you ever had? Night shift temp work while at uni over the summer. Best place to ride? Better to row on the Bristol Docks. Favourite Bike product? Castelli Bib Shorts good rowing clothing. What makes you angry? When things I design don’t turn out the way I envisage in my head. What makes you happy? Rowing on nice flat water as you overtake other crews. What’s your favourite saying? Yeah Buddy. Whats the best bit of advice you could give? Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.
PRO QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“1:15am just now climbing into bed. What a day... Dream come true... Pinching myself... So grateful for all the love & support.” TWEETED AFTER WINNING THE WORLD CHAMPS AT KONA MIRINDA CARFRAE CASTELLI AND FELT TRIATHLETE
What are you listening to now? Holy Grail by JayZ. How would you like to be remembered? The tall one who was good at design and rowing.
Freshly decalled mountain bar range from Enve proves to still be one of the best upgrades around Enve’s freshly decaled mountain bars include the Riser, Sweep and DH. Designed on the trail and tested by pro athletes, these bars are suited to any challenge. Enve’s experiences, thoughts, and ideas have produced a family of bars that place your hands in natural and confident positions. They achieve the perfect balance of strength, comfort and durability in a lightweight package whichever model you decide upon. Pro athelete feedback confirms that the extra width and flexibility of Enve’s mountain bars provides comfort and control for any trail condition. The perfect upgrade for any discipline.
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SWEEP BAR WEIGHT 180G SWEEP 9° WIDTH 740MM RISE 0°
OCTOBER’S BEST SELLERS 1 Castelli Nano Flex Arm Warmer 2 Stages Ultegra 6700 3 Bont Riot 4 Castelli Diluvio Shoecover 5 Arundel Mandible Bottle Cage
RISER BAR
WEIGHT 185G SWEEP 9° WIDTH 740MM RISE 23°
DHBAR
WEIGHT 245G SWEEP 9° WIDTH 800MM RISE 23°
BONT ZERO+ The Bont Zero is the shoe of choice for Sir Bradley Wiggins, which he piloted to his Tour De France win. The NEW Bont Zero + has been redesigned to provide a stiffer, better fitting and more aerodynamic shoe. Bont has replaced the traditional lace up format in favour of a new single direct pull dial for secure closure. The original monocoque chassis has been redesigned for improved fit, stiffness and increased power transfer. The outer fabric is Duralite, lighter, stronger and tougher, the dimpled features shout about this shoe’s aero advantage. To add credentials to this already proven model, Rui Costa just cemented it in history by piloting it to his World Championship win.
Our very own Charles Coleman turns himself into a hill destroying machine Holding your heart rate at threshold and turning cross eyed for the duration of a hill climb does not sound enticing but appears to be something I’m rather good at, as proved in the past few weeks. After assembling a Felt F1 with ENVE 1.25 Tubulars and donning myself in Castelli, with no training but a lot of coffee and cake I competed in a few hill climbs for a bit of fun and ended up winning one and podiuming eight times. With these results, I qualified for the National Championships where – out of 180 riders – I finished 10th, far exceeding my expectations! Hopefully next year, with a bit of training and a lot less cake, I can turn those podiums into wins!
This month Justin Hoy shares with us his pick of the bunch
STAGES POWER METER So simple and it works! Only a 20g gain it’s the perfect training partner, a brilliantly hidden power meter. Love seeing massive sprint numbers at the end of races, which are much bigger than my team mates, just like big Chris! With its availability in a wealth of models to match your chosen cranks you need these in your life!
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Eurobike Special 2013
CASTELLI
triathlon machines – these are as aerodynamic as we can make them within the rules. We aim to make our S-Series bikes as aero as a road bike can be, even using elements of the P-Series. With the R-Series our take on speed is through lightness; now we incorporate some of the aero thinking from the S-Series too.
Can its scorpion-emblazoned clothing take the sting out of your winter riding?
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3D knitted body with internal ribbing ensures the Flanders baselayer has a close fit, traps plenty of air for warmth, and enhances wicking. The four-way stretch sleeves are snug, and perforated mesh under the arms accelerates cooling. The Espresso Due jacket is wonderfully comfortable and loaded with features. Its unrestrictive cut benefits from Castelli’s floating shoulder system, a range of closable vents, and sleeves that unzip to accommodate gloves. The high collar, use of Windstopper material and a luxurious fleece lining make this perfect for taking on the worst of winter. The addition of Windstopper X-Fast 2 from below the knee to hip elevates the Sorpasso from being a good cool weather tight to being excellent in biting cold. Such a superb fit without a comfort penalty is no mean feat, and the thicker dual-layer fabric across the front seat pad area provides welcome protection. The tall, zipped ankle grippers are very secure, and the seamless bib straps unobtrusive. The Diluvio gloves have pre-shaped fingers and very long cuffs which are stretchy enough to fit over sleeves and slim enough to slip beneath them. The close fit keeps hands warm and feel is excellent. A Terry wipe extends from the cuff to thumb tip, and the fingers and palm are printed with silicone for grip. At 20cm tall, the Merino Venti socks aim to help keep your feet warm by insulating your lower leg. The neoprene Diluvio overshoes take longer to put on due to their shorter zips, but fit snugly with low-profile ankle cuffs. The brushed lining of the Skully insulates well, and the Head Thingy’s warmth and stretch material mean it can be used as a neck warmer, bandana or headband. www.saddleback.co.uk
MEDIA COVERAGE
BEST JACKET
CP / Felt launched a complete redesign of its aero road frame, the Ar, at this year’s show. Can you tell us about it? Jeff / The original AR changed the way we thought about race bikes. The aerodynamics were superior, but the original design suffered some compromises in stiffness and weight. We always like to build on what we learn, so taking the incredible success of the ultra-stiff, lightweight F-series design raced by [Argos-Shimano rider] marcel Kittel and combining it with our 20-plus years of aero experience in time trial and triathlon allowed us to build the new AR as an all-rounder.
< Cervélo’s high-falutin’ RCA. Its technology has now trickled down to more modestly priced bikes in the company line-up
The Ar is priced from £2000; so what sets the range-topping FrD model apart? FRD or Felt Racing Development, is our approach to a ‘no holds barred’ process. If it takes finding new material, manufacturing processes, or testing to develop the best possible frame, then so be it. I would liken it to the development of Formula 1 racing technology that eventually trickles down to consumers. Take the new AR checkerboard finish – it’s not for aesthetics, it’s the result of a new material and manufacturing process we have incorporated to maximise stiffness and minimise weight. It’s called TeXtreme from Sweden’s Oxeon. It uses a standard intermediate modulus fibre, but processes the tow [the individual strand] in a patented way to achieve a tape [individual layer] with very low areal weight. because the fibres in this tape are extremely aligned there is very little room for excess resin, and this equals lightweight. The thin tapes also allow for crimpless weaving of fabric, providing superior strength over unidirectional materials. bear in mind that the entire frame is not made from TeXtreme, high and ultra high modulus UD fibre is still used. The TeXtreme is simply used to replace a typical +/- off-axis set of plies with a single ply. All of this means that our aero road frame is lighter than the competition. In fact it’s a respectable weight for any frame. The stiffness is also high, with excellent ride characteristics.
“our aero road frame is Lighter than the comPetition. in fact it’s a resPectabLe Weight for any frame”
what’s changed as a result of becoming part of the Pon bicycle Group, Cervélo’s new owner? The goal of making faster bikes through engineering is what Pon wanted, and all our most important engineers are still here – but we weren’t the best at the business side. Fortunately Pon is, which means not only can our bikes be the high quality we expect, but also cheaper. in 2014 you have three models at £2000. How do you feel about getting the brand to a wider public? We’re selling complete bikes in the EU and I’m excited more people will have the chance to ride our bikes. Do disc road bikes factor in Cervélo’s future? We did see a need for improved braking, but we believe that road bikes already have disc brakes – they’re just mounted at the rim, and a bigger rotor means better brakes. This is why we co-developed an aerodynamic hydraulic brake with magura. SRAm’s hydraulic rim brakes are also good. That’s not to say we aren’t investigating disc brakes – we’re Cervélo, it’s what we do!
WE SAY...
Superlative jacket and bib-tights are the stars of Castelli’s winter range
> The 2014 Felt AR: one of the next generation of aero road bikes. Felt claims it is 40 per cent stiffer, lighter and more aero than the ’13
why not make all bikes with TeXtreme? The material costs nearly five times that of standard carbon, and required us to develop a new timeconsuming manufacturing process to take advantage of it. It can take upwards of 10 hours to lay-up a single front triangle – you simply couldn’t make large volume bikes using it. what sets the Ar frame apart from other aero road bikes? because we didn’t only focus on the wind tunnel (though the new AR is better than the old model and when benchmarked against the competition it’s better there too) we were able to put much of our effort into making the AR ride how we like our all-around bikes. That meant improving drivetrain stiffness for perfect power transfer, making sure the front end torsional stiffness is well suited to fast handling, and
“We’ve beaten the comPetition in the Wind tunneL, but We aimed to beat the comPetition Where it’s most imPortant, on the road”
understanding that a race bike needs comfort too. For that we designed a new seatpost. It’s aerodynamic and looks integrated but isn’t – we want the adjustability of a standard setup. It has an internal mechanism that clamps only the walls of the post and frame together, eliminating the common problem of crushing faced by the use of a wedge or perimeter clamp. It’s far more secure, which allowed us to make the walls thinner and more flexible. That means that despite the AR being massively stiff, this new seatpost coupled with the 3T Difflock comfort module contributes to the vertical compliance being nearly equal to that of our Z bikes. So I guess my answer to
you is, we’ve beaten the competition in the wind tunnel, but we aimed to beat the competition where it’s most important, on the road. With the new AR I think we’ve done that too.
if you couldn’t ride a Felt, what bike would you be riding? There are so many great bikes on the market with unique features and qualities, but I’d probably say the old Cervélo Soloist Sl. That frame always had a great balance of aero, stiffness and weight; I like it much better than most of the newer bikes in the market, even though they may be faster in the tunnel. I guess most design is an exercise in compromise, and it’s what you end up giving away that can be the final factor. CYCLING PLUS | November 2013 | 159
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Flanders LS Baselayer £55 ★★★★★ Espresso Due Jacket £230 ★★★★★ Sorpasso WS Bib-tights £160 ★★★★★ Diluvio Deluxe Glove £40 ★★★★★ Venti Sock £17 ★★★★★ Diluvio Shoecover 16 £40 ★★★★★ Viva Thermo Skully £19.99 ★★★★★ Head Thingy £20 ★★★★★
The latest reviews from the media world
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BEST TIGHTS
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BONT ZERO+
CHANGES TO BONT’S redesigned Zero+ shoes include a monocoque chassis that it claims is stiffer and provides a better fit, a new Durolite upper that’s dimpled for an improved aero performance, and a fibre-wire tensioner that replaces the laces. Our test pair (size 45) weigh 500g, and they cost £275. www.saddleback.co.uk
ENVE XC 29in rims. Price: £800 per rim, around £2,100 as built From: Saddleback, saddleback.co.uk Tested: Seven months. Getting to test rarefied kit like this is one of the best bits of my job. In these cases, I also feel the pressure to make sure that I have a decent push at it because there’s a lot of hard-earned money at stake. And, so, just like you expect Clarkson to give that Ferrari some stick (because if you bought one yourself, you probably wouldn’t dare), I’ve been braking hard and late, picking my trademark terrible lines through rocks and running far too little pressure in the name of product testing. After standing back and admiring the rims, I set about fitting them and trying to get out of my depth. First I installed the black, ENVE tubeless rim tape and set about running them tubeless with mixed success. The front went up first go, with a little frantic pumping. The rear was a different matter and after three different tyres and an evening of track-pumping, I threw a tube in it and promptly forgot about it. Maybe I’ll have another go one day, but at least it gave me a chance to try them both tubed and tubeless in the name of pseudo-science. These are the XC rims, with a narrowish 18mm inner profile, which means that a bigger tyre, over 2in or so gets more of a rounded profile but, with a weight of a mere 1,450g a pair, I was happy to make that sacrifice. For heavier/radder riders, the AM rims are the same price and offer a 24mm inner width and a still impressive 1,600g
ROAD TESTED ISSUE 284
Shell out nearly £300 on a pair of shoes and you want to know if they’re worth it. Find out in the February issue of Cycling Plus On sale 7 January 2014
RIDER’S DIGEST
BETTER BIKING BY BOFFINS
SWITCH IT OFF
SUGAR WARNING
TOUGH UP NORTH
Almost one in ten Britons have asked their GPs for sleeping pills according to research by a leading health brand, and 44 per cent of those surveyed said their tablet computers and smartphones had an adverse effect on their sleep – even when switched to silent but with the light on. When you turn off the bedroom light, turn off your devices – completely!
The head of Amsterdam’s health service claims sugar is one of ‘the most dangerous drugs of our time’ and should come with a warning as with tobacco and cigarettes. Paul van der Velpen cited the fact that people who eat protein and carbs stop when they’re full, but sugar’s addictiveness encourages you to carry on eating. He also called for sugar to be taxed.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics claim life expectancy in the UK varies enormously depending on where you live. Deprived areas of London and regions in the north performed worst, while those people in the Home Counties such as Buckinghamshire and Surrey, and affluent areas of the capital, could expect to be healthier for longest.
Corbis
1 CASTELLI Cycling Plus 281 2 FELT INTERVIEW Cycling Plus 281 3 BONT ZERO+ Cycling Plus 281 4 ENVE XC 29 RIMS Singletrack 85 5 FELT AR FRD ProCycling 183 6 FELT IA 220 Triathlon
Can you see a day when designs converge, when aerodynamics, lightness and handling combine? Some companies’ models appear to combine lightness and aero, but these are a compromise. The fastest aero frame requires more surface area, hence more weight, than could be accomplished with a design focused purely on low weight. To get the lightest or the most aero frame, we still need different designs. It seemed obvious that climbers would prefer the lighter R-Series and rouleurs the more aero S-Series – strengthening your strengths. but there’s a twist… Applying analytical modelling of real racing situations, we’ve learned it’s not always that obvious, and sometimes it’s worth considering whether strengthening your weaknesses might make you faster. For example, if you’re a rouleur, you might have no problem riding the echelon on the flats but struggle on steep climbs. Why not choose the R-Series? likewise, the climber who excels on the steepest pitches but sometimes is in danger of getting shelled on the flats might choose the S-Series. A reversal of conventional wisdom might be worth thinking about. Either way, we’ve been making light bikes and aero bikes for years. Our RCA is the lightest production frame – and has a touch of aero – while the Cervélo S5 is the most aero road frame we’ve ever tested, and even lighter than many other brands’ ‘light’ frames. If you ride flatter circuit races we’d say an S, just as we’d recommend S-Series bikes to triathletes for hillier courses or draft-legal events. The P will be quicker over flat or rolling terrain and traditional TT disciplines.
JEFF SoUCEK Felt’s director of research and development
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all-in weight. ENVE’s clever bit is that the spoke holes are moulded in, rather than being drilled into a finished rim, cutting through the carbon layup. With ENVE’s method, the material around the hole is still as strong as the rest of the rim, allowing a higher-tension build. These wheels have been on my main bike since the spring and have been everywhere from the top of Welsh mountains to hot laps of Lee Quarry at the local Brownbacks race series. In that time, I’ve never run more than 25psi, even with tubes and haven’t had a single puncture. I’ve bounced off rocks and done my best to misbehave with these. At all times, the ride has been great; taut without any harshness (albeit on a cushioning suspension bike) and very easy to forget that you’re riding on racing wheels ‘made out of cloth and glue’ as esteemed bicycle journalist Paul Smith puts it… The wheels are still running true and solid and the high tension build helps keep them that way – having seen one of these rims take 800lbs of pull at a single spoke hole before the spoke (not the rim) broke, I’ve no doubt that it can probably take whatever your wheelbuilder can dish out in the name of a tight wheel. You might baulk at the price, although ironically, ENVE is proud it can make these rims in the USA for ‘only’ this much, but that bit is always going to be up to you and your wallet. Overall: It’s hard to justify carbon anything if you can’t afford it, but for arguably your bike’s most important upgrade, these are light and strong in the ultimate expression of Keith’s Law*. They’re race wheels you can run year-round on your trail bike. Chipps. *‘Cheap, light and strong – pick two.’ – Keith Bontrager.
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SHoW SToppErS eurobike hiGhliGhtS From the
GreAteSt bike ShoW oN eArth!
The Eurobike show in Germany is where all the most important new bikes and products for the next season are shown. Procycling was there to pick the highlights
Writer: Jamie Wilkins Photography: Dan Milner, Jamie Wilkins
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Felt AR FRD The all-new Felt AR aero-road bike got us more excited than anything else at the show. Felt claim itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as stiff as their F1 and main rival the Scott Foil, while surpassing the latter for aerodynamics thanks to a huge amount of R&D. Key features include a very tapered headtube, an underslung rear brake and softer aero shapes that reduce drag at high crosswind angles, help air to reattach and provide stiffer tubes. This model with Dura-Ace Di2 and Zipp 404s weighs 6.89kg.
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Mirinda CarFrae
On board her Felt IA at Kona World Championships in Hawaii. She beat her ride time last year by a massive13:58mins