"He said the problem lay in the front end being way, way too flexible and that Armstrong had his stiffened up with a titanium wrap."

This sounds pretty "iffy." I'm not sure what a titanium "wrap" is, or how it might stiffen a bike. Knowing only a small bit about how trek makes the tt bike, i'm not sure how they could have added this nebulous ti wrap during the manufacturing process. It's certainly not visible in pictures of lances bike. They also would've done this to landis' and hincapie's bikes; if a bike isn't stiff enough for lance, it's gonna noodle all over teh place for them.

In other words, i respectfully offer that your freind is full of shit. If i'm wrong, then, well, i'm a terd.

I believe the QR bike you are referring to was the 0-Gravity.

As I said, I personally know squat... but unless you have won some national championships, held a world record and placed in the top half dozen in the world as well as having manufactured bikes for several years... then this guy knows more than you.

I do agree with your coment on the "ti wrap" sounding iffy and of course all the others in the USPS would have the same. Just wish I'd got some more specifics from him at the time. Those Trek's sure look pretty, just wonder about the substance behind them - they never seem to get a huge amount of publicity here - perhaps due to having a relatively slack seat angle (from memory and too lazy to check Trek's web site).

A few reasons why it doesn't make any sense to deride bad bikes, and there are some bad and quite a few "less good" bikes out there is that it doesn't accomplish anything positive at all. Here's what I mean:

• When a bike reviews overwhelmingly good from a number of sources, then it warrants a look. That means the bikes other than that bike are less good. What a publication doesn't say often means more than what they do.
• I have little or no interest in publishing negative reviews on my site since I wouldn't sell those bikes anyway- so I have no interest in using space that could be used to promote something I am willing to sell. Basically, if it is substandard, I'm not willing to talk about it.
• If you just buy what reviews genuinely well consistently, you'll probably be OK if it fits you correctly and is built well.

There are a few bikes conspicuously missing from our review rotation. WE reviewed them, found them sub-par, and have not published reviews of them on our site. There are more bikes that are wonderful bikes that are a story worth telling.

I think one of the best "good news" stories is the upcoming review we are doing of the Litespeed Blade. That started out a number of years ago as a bike with more than its fair share of problems- and we reviewed it this way. The new version of the Blade is a totally different bike- completely updated and redesigned and much, much, much better. In our review I make an argument- a good one- that it is the finest ti tri specific bike you can buy from any manufacturer right now. But when it started, it was rough. Now it is outstanding. That is the kind of story that benefits everybody to tell.

And please don't ask me when the review will be up. Soon.....

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

"In all the time I have read cycling magazines I am yet to come across a review that really slates a bike."

i don't know. i got fired twice from the same magazine for writing reviews that were sufficiently unfavorable as to get me my walking papers.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Define "bike"

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Yeah, but they don't have the nads to actually print it.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

A big part of reading any review is knowing the author and his style well enough to read between the lines. Most reviews in most areas- not just bikes- won't come right out and slam a product, but many of them will damn it with faint praise. The trick is sometimes in knowing when a particular review writer intends his praise to be faint, and when he intends it to be genuine.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

This is actually my primary argument against "custom" geometry:

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Yeah you're right - I recall the specific complaint was about genometry not about workmanship or the like.

My main problem was the hideous color ;)

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_______________________________________________

"Yeah, but they don't have the nads to actually print it."

yes, they did, and they keep rehiring me. they've got honor. well, they haven't rehired me since this last firing. i'm in between gigs. they get conflicted over this stuff. but there is other magazine with which i'm familiar, i swear, it specifically sets out to rag on your product if you advertise with it. like, you CAN'T get a good review if you advertise there. like they're making a point of how they don't cater to advertisers.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Glad to help.

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Tom,

Not all retailers are, shall we say honest as you. You know that in order to be in the "business" you must make certain compromises to be a vendor for certain name brands. I know in the auto business you are forced to take allotments for all of a name brands lineups. Look at how many Pontiac dealers got stuck with those God aweful Aztecs on their lots becasue they were forces to take them. So if you are a dealer and you carry a certain line of products, most of which a good, but a one or two are dogs are you gonna bad mouth the dogs? I doubt most dealers would. In fact they might even be scared to for fear of loosing the brand.

If you have a good LBs and a good relationship with the LBS you would hope that one on one they would tell you to avoid certain products. But in the case of a printed or on-line review like you have with BikeSport the dynamics change altogether. Then factor in that if a LBS has made an investment by bringing product in to sell you can bet they are gonna try to sell it- crap or not.

So no matter which way you turn- Magazine, Online Site, LBS - All of them have an interest in making every product they review look good. After all it will make them more money.

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I'm just a 10 cent rider on a $2,500.00 Bike

[/url]Introduction


We are a gang who like to ride strange vessels called CHOPPERS. They are radically modified bicycles. Modified to suit our needs.



[/url]Philosophy And Creed

Most engineering goes on the axiom that form follows function. This is not the case with the bicycle chopper. We let form prevail, and make the function happen forcefully. If we tried to create efficient, easy to pilot machines the result would be a regular bike. SCUL creates bikes that are difficult to control, damaging to knees, and painful to sit upon. They are structurally unsound and easy to crash. We are test pilots of poorly designed vessels. The single advantage that choppers have over other bikes is that they are better at running over empty Burger King shake cups.

Scul Fighters are made mostly from derelict craft, transformed from civilian to military craft. Any reports of derelict craft in local systems should be reported immediately to the SCUL Department of Derelict Craft Retrieval (SDDCR). It is imperative that this information is relayed quickly, before the craft is retrieved as space junk. Derelict ships have several advantages. First, the cost of retrieving the ship is much lower than buying a used ship. Secondly, it is easier to transform a civilian craft than to build a military one from raw materials. Also it is noble to rescue these beautiful ships and use them again as protectors of peace. Lastly these ships possess special traits that are subtle yet powerful.

The SCUL pilot defends the bicycle and pedestrain population in a leisurly manner.



SCUL believes that cycling should never be discouraged. Therefore a SCUL pilot will strive not to make fun of anyone making an effort in cycling. If a SCUL pilot notices that someone is doing something incorrectly (i.e.: wearing their helmet backwards) that pilot should point it out. Laugh at them later if you must.

SCUL members are encouraged to make fun of everyone else.



-- Great site, randymar!!

Damn, twice from the same boss. How many people can say that?

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TheBikeRacer.com