Indholdsfortegnelse for May-June 2019 i Bicycling Australia

IN THE JULY / AUGUST 2017 edition long-time Bicycling Australia journalist Peter Maniaty interviewed legendary Tasmanian cyclist Brian Mansell. Sadly, Mr Mansell passed away late last year. We recently received the following letter from Mr Mansell’s partner, June Sculthorpe. DEAR PETER, Thank you first of all for the online tribute you wrote about Brian following his sudden and unexpected passing. As you found out during your visit to him at Kettering in 2017, he certainly was a warm and humble man with a remarkable story. I also wanted to thank you for writing the amazing two articles about Brian that appeared in Bicycling Australia. I’m sure he let you know how pleased he was with the articles. He certainly showed his family and friends the articles and several people bought…

BLACKBURN DAYBLAZER 800 FRONT The big one! This high-powered light turns night into day. It’s a rugged and well-built light that features an aluminium housing, top quality LEDs, a fully (submersible!) waterproof design and removable action camera style mount. The Dayblazer weighs 129 grams and has a 4hr recharge time. MAX POWER: 800 lumens POWER RANGE: 1.5hrs @ 800 lumens through to 12hrs @ 200 lumens in strobe mode. CHARGE: Micro USB WEIGHT: 129g RRP: $89.99 OVERALL: Supreme choice for long-lasting day and night light – perfect for regular commuters and night riders. Pulse mode is very impressive with just enough light between flashes (and good power savings). Rugged, long-lasting and waterproof design … everyone should have a light like this! BLACKBURN DAYBLAZER 400 A powerful yet compact 400 lumen…

Skin cancer. It was never going to happen to me. I had olive skin, not fair like my parents. And I wore sunscreen. On my face. On my arms and legs as an adult. Well, maybe sometimes. I didn’t really need it all the time, unless it was super hot, did I? I do remember way back when, as a surfer chick teenager I rubbed coconut oil into my skin to enhance that natural golden tan. It was also great for enhancing the coveted knick tan when I replaced water sports with cycling. Nobody told us not to. Nobody said it wasn’t safe. Even when that stage passed, my sun sense didn’t really improve. As a bike rider of three decades plus, I preferred (and still prefer) short sleeved jerseys,…

FOR THIS LITTLE REGION, ROAD RIDING has always been strong; the place seems to breed solid and capable riders. There is no singular reason for this but is a mix of factors: the great loops in nearly every direction you roll out of town; a rich history of riding and racing; and elemental conditions that require bravery true to endure. Finally, but most importantly, there’s a strong sense of community in the bunches as they share the weather, roads, good coffee and banter at the end of the ride. For the post-ride food, coffee in the great atmosphere of Alberto’s is hard to beat. Located on George Street in the centre of Launceston, it provides the perfect location to either start or finish your loop. First coffees are rolling out…

IT IS DISTINCTLY POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT sense of bias to my starry-eyed romanticising on the sheer awesomeness of North Wales. Yet, in all honestly, I have to say that the affection and admiration I have for my long-time and former homeland is well and truly deserved. Having just spent an extended winter there I can boldly underline that opinion once more. If you think of the Alps or New Zealand and then miniaturise it, throw in a maze of tiny country roads, steepen them up some, you pretty much have North Wales in a nutshell. By stature, Wales and its mountains (along with the skinny roads that weave over them) may not exactly be giant – although it’s got so very much to go at, and it…

THE UNITED STATES IS A PRIME EXAMPLE. I DOUBT IT would appear at the top, or even top five, of many people’s lists of ‘must visit’ cycling destinations, and yet it is home to mountain ranges and cols that dwarf anything that can be found in Europe making the Galibier, Passo dello Stelvio and Alpe d'Huez look like nothing more than rolling hills. Before we continue, I would like to clarify that I am not anti-European, far from it, only that having had my eyes opened to a bright new world outside of my usual focus I want to share what I have discovered. Which brings us to America, or more specifically, the state of Colorado and a little town called Aspen. “Without a doubt the jewel in Aspen’s impressive…

VENTUM NS1 AERO Lightweight or aero? You don’t have to choose. The Ventum NS1 shatters the notion that a road bike can be either lightweight or aerodynamic. Every element of the Ventum NS1 has been optimised for maximum aerodynamic performance. And yet, fully-configured, the NS1 weighs just 6.75 kilograms. Any lighter and it would be illegal to race. The Ventum NS1 combines forward-thinking design with the most advanced technologies available, like carbon nanotubes and graphene. The Ventum NS1 also includes disc brakes and provides clearance for tires up to 30mm wide. The Ventum NS1 will be available as a frameset or a complete bike. The bikes are available for order from $7495 via ItaliaTech - Phone 1300 050 202 TREK WAVECEL HELMET Trek and Bontrager have unveiled an innovative helmet…

THAT’S THE OFFICIAL WORD FROM CANCER COUNCIL Australia National Skin Cancer Committee Chair Heather Walker who says, being tightly woven, lycra can actually help protect skin from the UV rays which can damage skin, alter DNA and lead to skin cancers including melanomas, basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. Not alone, of course, but part of a five-pronged arsenal of protection which means people can get outside in the sun to exercise rather than stay at home risking other kinds of cancers. “Fear of skin cancer should not prevent people getting into the great outdoors and exercising,” Heather says down the line from her Melbourne office. “Rather, it’s a matter of employing as many of the five protective factors recommended by the Cancer Council as possible – and lycra…

NOWADAYS, IT’S A BIT POINTLESS TO ASSESS whether any of the three Grand Tours favours time triallists or climbers. To reach the final podium you need to be able to do both – unless there are no time trials or just a short prologue to begin proceedings, which happens more not than often. This year’s Giro d’Italia, the 102nd edition of La Corsa Rosa, with three individual time trials, does not buck the trend. However one approaches a Grand Tour depends on the rider more so than the course presented. Bradley Wiggins rode the big mountains like time trials then stamped his authority in the aforementioned discipline, which enabled him to finish fourth at the 2009 Tour de France then win three years later. Tom Dumoulin does the same, though…

CANBERRA IS A LONG WAY FROM BELGRADE. WHILE there are few Australian electoral boundaries to worry about in the Serbian capital, both cities loom large for Antony Green in 2019. One for his work as Australia’s pre-eminent psephologist. The other for pleasure as the Sydneysider tackles Europe for his fourth time on two wheels. Sitting down there’s a distinct verve in Green’s voice and body language. He speaks fast and has an endearing energy, understandable perhaps given we’re meeting during what really is peak season for an election analyst. Hot on the heels of multiple by-elections in 2018 and the recent NSW State Election comes Green’s ‘La Grande Boucle’, the 2019 Federal Election where the Canberra fortunes of Morrison, Shorten and Co will play out. Yet as focused as the…

MOUNT LOFTY IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN. NOR IS Corkscrew Road. Yet surveying the topography of Girona in north-eastern Spain, it’s hard not to be reminded of Adelaide. In pretty much every direction you’re flanked by hills and mountains. Beautiful to look at. Brilliant to ride through. It’s also the perfect metaphor for the increasingly complex landscape facing iconic groupset manufacturer, Campagnolo. 11-speed, 12-speed or 13-speed? Mechanical, electronic or wireless? Road, CX or gravel? Traditional, compact or sub-compact? In 2019 it seems there are enemies at every gate for the Italians, a situation compounded by the fact the road drivetrain market continues to fragment as more and more riders look beyond the road towards less traditional two-wheeled pursuits. As Campagnolo’s Global Marketing and Communications Director, Lorenzo Taxis, explains over dinner,…

UNDER TIGHT SECURITY IT MADE its cameo appearance at the Tour Down Under in January – being used by the Trek-Segafredo men’s and women’s teams, the groupsets were closely guarded by team staff. Key components were masked with black tape, and details of the new SRAM eTap were scant. But since then the world’s second largest groupset manufacturer have publically launched their drive system that features a number of revolutionary changes. Most notably, the groupset is 12-speed, is available in 50/37, 48/35 and 46/33 front chainrings, with 10/26, 10/28 and 10/33T cassettes. Known as X-Range gearing, SRAM say in moving some of the gear range from the front of the drivetrain to the back, they’ve employed a smaller, consistent difference (13 teeth) between the chainrings while giving the cassettes wider…

FOLLY AND AWESOME. ONE word is overused to the point of clichéd. The other underused to near obsolescence. But both are appropriate to us on our ride from Italy to Germany – five countries in one day. Like so many follies, this idea started as a throwaway notion over hot chocolate on a Sunday morning. Tony, henceforth known as “the Prez” tossed out the idea that our next great trip (to Italy) include a side jaunt to Germany – through Switzerland, Austria and Lichtenstein – thus the five countries (notwithstanding some geopolitical debate on Lichtenstein’s status). And like most similar notions it was left on the café table. Until it was resurrected a few weeks later ... and then again and again over regular intervals on Sunday mornings. For a…

“ONE IN FIVE AUSTRALIAN drivers admits to cyclist road rage, survey finds” read the headline in The Guardian last November. The survey of almost 2000 motorists, conducted by Ford Australia, found that hostility towards cyclists was “highest among people aged between 18-34 – 23 per cent of whom admitted to swearing, honking their horn or making hand gestures when passing a cyclist. “It found one in 10 drivers experienced this type of road rage at least once a month.” And that’s just the drivers who admitted feeling angry towards their two-wheeled, non-motorised, not to mention unarmoured, counterparts on the road. Would the real figure be 1 in 5, 1 in 3 – or more than that? “...Simple: as in CITIES LIKE LONDON AND NEW YORK, REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE…

THE INAUGURAL NOOSA CLASSIC SURPRISED US ALL with a torrential mid-ride downpour of epic proportions – it was the region’s first significant rain in 90 days; the region’s farmers loved it, and the riders revelled in the conditions. Determination, camaraderie and smiles prevailed and the event sent social media into a spin. Visitors wore the weather like a badge of honour, some even describing it as ‘a true one-day classic’. Regardless of the rain the first Noosa Classic was a declared a unanimous success and a fixture on the national cycling calendar was born. A major coup for the greater Noosa region, more than a third of riders travelled from interstate for the 2018 Noosa Classic with many international participants along with numerous cycling groups making a multi-day to week-long…

SPEND A FEW DAYS IN THE DREAM REGION OF BRIGHT in north eastern Victoria, and you will soon realise that you’re in Australian cycling heartland. It’s the type of place where you could easily spin an arrow or a bottle and let the random direction dictate the day’s discoveries. “Hotham, Tawonga or Buffalo?” I’d like a dollar for the number of times I heard that during a recent trip to Bright – the local and visiting cyclists are literally spoiled for choice when it comes to climbs, descents and just about all roads in between. Leaving town relatively early one morning – well, at pro hours, around 10am – the day’s destination was Mount Buffalo. Located a few kilometres out of Bright as you head back toward Myrtleford, the journey…

DECISIONS, DECISIONS... 2011 was a funny old year – the Arab Spring was threatening to change the face of the Middle East, the world was battling a catastrophic debt crisis… and Cadel Evans was atop the podium on the Champs-Elysées as the first Australian winner of the Tour de France, breaking a streak of European dominance going back over 20 years (Lance, you can sit this conversation out). 2011 was also the year that I decided to up sticks and move to the land Down Under. In the days after I landed, I was faced with a big decision – how the hell do I get around my new home, Sydney? House? Tick. Job? Tick. Transport? No idea. I’d always driven around my home town of Reading in the UK,…

LIGHTER, WITH LESS MOVING parts and more efficient, Rotor engineers say their new 13T 1x hydraulic drivetrain offers a ‘simplified and performance-optimised shifting experience’. Rotor say the 1x13 is a lightweight and robust groupset that benefits from the maximum rigidity and optimum structural efficiency of modern disc brake systems. The company have also launched two unique wheelsets to suit the 13-speed drivetrain, both obviously featuring a wider rear hub to contain the extra gearing. The actual weight of the groupset is 1,785g including rear derailleur, shifters, flatmount calipers, hydraulic hosing, 10-36 – 13T cassette and an uncut 126-link chain. Shift indexing for 1x13 takes place in the rear derailleur to deliver crisp and precise gear changes. The smart cookies at Rotor have also incorporated an internal clutch mechanism – this…

TIME HAVE BEEN AROUND SINCE 1987; founded by Roland Cattin, they created the Time pedal that took the world of professional cycling by storm during the late 80s and early 90s. For a decade it was hard to find a Tour De France winner not using Time pedals on their way to victory … think LeMond, Delgado & Indurain. Hand-made carbon frames followed, with Time taking frame manufacturing to a new level and introducing their Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) process. Yep, they had the entire bike industry playing catch-up after that. Success for the revitalised frame building division came quickly, with wins at the World Championships, the Olympics and Paris-Roubaix. For fellow Aussie Mick Rogers, Time bikes were an integral part in his triple world ITT championship wins. The bicycle…

“NICE BIKE … HOW ARE YOU enjoying it?,” the random stranger asked, as I was wheeling the new steed through the centre of the city in peak hour crowds. “Not sure mate …” I quickly replied, thinking ‘who is this weirdo?’ “Is that the Rere or the Tere?” he persisted. Slowing from my rush to catch the ferry, to get home, to put pedals on the test bike and actually ride it, his second question surprised me. A random stranger, in a busy city, just identified and recognised this relatively rare offering from one of the smaller manufacturers of the bike industry. Sure you’d expect a lot of people to be familiar with Specialized, Bianchi, Pinarello or many other mainstream names, but Chapter 2 – a relatively small bike company…