Ultegra SL Wheelset Review by Gary Lee

Shimano Ultegra SL WH-6600G

• 24mm 6061 Aluminum rims
• Offset rear rim increases rear wheel rigidity
• Bladed & butted spokes, 16 front/20 rear
• Oversized hub and axle
• Ice Grey in color
• 10-speed compatible only
• Weight – 1,680g (pair)
• MSRP - $530

The Ultegra gruppo is more than adequate for the weekend warrior or even a serious racer. The price range is attractive and you don’t lost that much to the higher end Dura-Ace gruppo. Ultegra users over the years have benefited greatly from the trickle down technology of the Dura-Ace DNA, with its smooth, short throws, and light weight characteristics.

This is very true of the new Ultegra SL wheelset in the stealthy Ice Grey color option. The wheelset is decently light, affordable, and due to the new rim profile and spoke nipple design is stronger and stiffer than the previous Ultegra models.

One concern voiced to me during a group ride was the lack of lateral stiffness with the older Ultegra wheelsets. According to him during hard cornering the spokes on the earlier generation models would flex to the point that his wheel magnet would make contact with the sensor and he’d hear the clicking it made when it rotated. Obviously a bit un-nerving when you’re at speed on a tight turn bunched in a group!

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Storck Absolutist 0.9 Pro Review - By Ken Conley
All Photos © Ken Conley

• 3K carbon fiber monocoque
• Super-sized seat and chain stays
• Seat post diameter 31.6mm
• Proportional tubing
• Sizes: 47, 51, 55, 57 (tested), 59, 63
• Weight: 980g (frame) 14.88lbs (built w/o pedals)
• MSRP: $3200 (frame/fork/headset) $6700 (as tested)
  

For the past decade, German designer Markus Storck has been at the leading edge of carbon fiber design. With frames, brakes, cranks, forks, and Zipp wheels designs to his credit, he has frequently sought “firsts”, such as the first all-carbon full suspension mountain bike and the sub-10-lb Fascenario road bike. The records have limited the reach of the Storck brand, however, as $6000 framesets are not often spotted on the street — even in expensive-bike-rich Woodside, CA. One rider told me that he saw a Storck once; he believes the rider was German.

Storck is now determined to reach a wider American audience with the more affordable Absolutist 0.9. At $3200 for the frameset, Storck won’t be losing their high-end status any time soon, but the Absolutist is a perfect super bike for delivering designer Markus Storck’s message to a wider audience: stiffness is king.

The Absolutist 0.9 is quintessential German engineering. Fans of German sports cars should know what to expect: fast, tight handling, solid and masculine. It’s not surprising that Storck was picked to design a Porsche-branded bike. Power, not elegance, is the word that comes to mind when you look at the over-sized chain stays and giant Stiletto Aero fork. You don’t buy a German sports car for the leisurely cross country trip: you buy it because you want to weave through traffic and switchbacks with power and ease. The Absolutist is similarly at home in the fast-paced world of the bike race. If you want to think who this bike is designed for, think of Jens Voigt or Jan Ullrich with their powerful, mashing legs instead of Lance Armstrong and his 90-100rpm cadence.

Michelin Pro3 Race™ Review Pro Review - by Steve Cooper

• High Density Puncture Protector (HDPP) nylon belt.
• New dual-compound tread.
• 20 percent more straight line grip than the Pro2 Race.
• New shoulder rubber offers a huge 40 percent improvement.
• Weight: 200g.
• MSRP: $59

Overview:
Reports I’ve read on Michelin’s Pro3 Race are binary. Riders either to seem to praise them or malign them. As far as I can tell, the significant difference in each review seems to have more to do with how soon or frequently the rider flatted versus how the tires handled on the road.

While a tire’s review should be linked to how well it both performs and holds up on the road, it’s hard from this reviewer’s perspective to bash a high performance tire solely based on whether a puncture occurred. Punctures are a risk unless riding on a swept course or a track. And lightweight performance tires are more prone to puncture or cut than a heavy duty training or touring tire. Put a rough and tumble tire in front of me for review, and I’ll shift that focus around to put durability front and center. But let’s be straight up – these are high performance tires first, and second, training tires for those blessed with a respectable tire budget, riding on pristine roads, with an absolute need for every spin to feel sporty.

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Schwinn Madison Pro Review - By Thien Dinh

• Schwinn Custom Track Frame w/ N’Gauged Double Butted Cro-Moly Main Tubes & N’Gauged Track Fork w/ Brazed Crown
• 48×18t Drivetrain w/ Flip-Flop Fixed/Freewheel Hub, Truvativ Touro Track Cranks
• Formula Hubs & Alex Semi-Aero Rims, Schwalbe Lugano Sport 23c Tires
• Alloy 31.8 Bar & Stem
• MSRP - $569

Intro…
The Schwinn Madison is quite simply one of the more exciting bikes we’ve tested recently. Not because it introduces some sort of new nano-carbon-best of the breed technology… Not because it’s an uber light race bike that guarantees race results… and definitely not because it sports a brand new groupset that makes shifting better, faster, or stronger (it doesn’t shift at all!). It’s the opposite of all that, and that’s why it’s so exciting! It’s simply simple.

Blackburn Trakstand Fluid Trainer Pro Review by Gary Lee

Like Blackburn’s Mag Trainer, the Trakstand Fluid Trainer is well constructed and also comes fully assembled right out of the box so you can immediately jump on the trainer. It is an affordable foray into the more popular fluid trainer ranks that won’t break the bank. And like some of the more expensive trainers Blackburn’s Fluid Trainer folds flat to about a slim 6 inches for easy storage under the bed or in the closet.

Setting up the bike on the trainer is fairly straightforward. You have to set the width of the adjusting knobs to fit the width of the rear of the bike and use the lock rings to lock them in place. And with the locking rings set you can easily return the bike to the trainer without much worry about how tight it needs to be simply by loosening only one side when you set up the bike.

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SRAM Rival Pro Review - By Steve Cooper

Component Weights as listed on SRAM website

• DoubleTap shifter/brake levers: 340 grams
• Rear Derailleur: 188 grams
• Front Derailleur: 102 grams (band clamp version tested)
• Compact Crankset with BB: 830 grams
• Brakeset: 287 grams/pair
• MSRP: $899

The temptation to introduce melodramatic themes into a SRAM Rival review is great. There’s the classic road group rivalry between Shimano and Campy, with SRAM, the plucky upstart, ratcheting up tensions as it jumps into the fray. For colorful metaphors you could draw comparisons with major religions, game platforms, and even burger joints. But this is a review focusing on function, not the fancy; it’s practical stuff, so let’s get down to it.

SRAM unveiled their first complete road component groups, Force and Rival, at the Sea Otter Classic in spring of 2006. New terminology was introduced to the road cyclist’s lexicon such as DoubleTap shifters, 1:1 Exact Actuation and OpenGlide cassettes. The product launch was well managed, well hyped and made plenty of buzz in the cycling press and in the race community. Following the success of Force and Rival, in spring 2007 SRAM announced Red, an evolutionary step beyond Force that was clearly a shot at Dura Ace and Record. Ultimately, over the last two and half years, SRAM has pried loose a strangle hold maintained by the road bike industry’s two dominating forces behind road components. And that opening has sparked many comparisons between the entrenched and the untried.

As SRAM’s entry point into their family of road components, Rival is graced with many of the important new features in their more expensive bits but at a bargain price. List price for the front and rear derailleurs, shifters, brake set, crankset, bottom bracket, chain and cassette lists around $1000 USD, with deeply discounted deals for those willing to hunt around. At Rival’s affordable price point, you could build-up a race-ready crit or cross bike that could be ridden “no-regrets aggressive” in even the sketchiest pack.

For our review, we selected a 50/34 compact crankset in 175 with a 12-26 OG-1070 cassette and a PC-1070 HollowPin chain.

Pedal Force RS2 Review - By Steve Cooper

• Semi-compact sloping top tube geometry
• Weight: 960 g (M)
• High modulus carbon monocoque
• Head tube for 1-1/8” Campagnolo Hiddenset or FSA Orbit CE compatible integrated headset
• Seat post diameter 31.6 mm
• Clamped-on front derailleur 34.9 mm
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• Warranty: 5 years
• MSRP Frameset: $800

Intro:
The Urban Dictionary defines a red headed step child as “a person or group treated without the favor of birthright.” In some ways that fits the Pedal Force RS2. But lack of a pedigree is not this bike’s sole defining characteristic. Like many a hot red-head, this bike has that desirable “it” quality, and when your friends lustfully check her out on the street, just smile.

About six weeks ago, UPS delivered two suitcase sized boxes, with an extra large RS2 carbon fiber frame, an FKR8 fork, a SRAM Rival build kit, Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels and some well pedigreed components including a Ritchey WCS bar and stem, Michelin PRO3 rubber, and a Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow saddle.

Unpacking box number one, I was surprised. The frame was a looker. Sexy lines draped in vibrant gloss red and white, with carbon highlights throughout. With matching carbon fork and carbon seat post, this was clearly unexpected; honestly, I was excited.

The second box contained a SRAM rival group in retail boxes, the wheel set and skewers, handlebar, stem, Cinelli bar tape, headset, tires, tubes, rim strips, a fork expander plug and all the manufacturers’ manuals. The hook was set; I came up with some quick excuses to justify jumping into the build.

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Jamis Xenith Team - By Francis Cebedo

• Tri-Oval differential tubing diameters support larger riders without punishing smaller ones
• Asymmetrical muscle-shaped chainstays with driveside chainstay 10% larger than non-driveside chainstay yields 30% more volume & stiffness.
• 850 gram frame
• Weight -15.5 lbs
• MSRP - $5100

Intro

Strengths

• sub 900 gram frame
• excellent lateral stiffness translates to a great turning, great handling bike
• very stiff bottom bracket produces a great climbing and great accelerating bike
• frame paint scheme and aesthetics is beautiful
• FSA cranks with ceramic BB is a nice touch

Fulcrum Racing 5 Wheelset - By Steve Cooper

• Oversized Hubs with sealed high quality bearings.
• Bladed spokes 20 front wheel and 24 in the rear
• 2 to 1 spoke ratio on the rear wheel
• Dynamic balance
• Weight - 1755 grams for the set
• MSRP - $495

Intro
What should you expect from a mid level clincher wheelset like Fulcrum’s Racing 5? Don’t plan on drooling stares from a gram conscious weight weenie. Nor will the gear snobs on your Sunday ride be duped into thinking you’ve hit the lotto. And although the wheels look sharp, they’ll likely look a little downtown on that TdF team poser bike at your local post-ride coffee joint. But if you’re like me and none of those things matter because you’re simply looking to put in lots of real world training miles on a tough set of wheels, expect Racing 5’s to fill the bill.

Solid, durable, medium-weight and bargain priced; they incorporate some cool design features that trickle down from Fulcrum’s top of line models, like dynamic balancing and 2:1 aero spoke lacing. Available from both online and brick and mortar retailers, a set of Racing 5’s can be scored for a deep deal if you’re willing to do a little digging.

The wheels are decaled with racy red, black and white graphics that, depending on your perspective, occupy the pleasing middle between garish and subdued. The medium profile rim, flat black bladed spokes, gloss black hubs, and clean internal cam quick releases scream functional with just enough form to complement most any mid to upper level frameset and build kit. And if you’re interested in practical training wheels to use day to day, mount up a pair of Racing 5’s and save your expensive uber-light wheels for race day. At 25 mph, no one will be the wiser.

Tech Details
Fulcrum’s website lists Racing 5, without quick releases, as 776 grams up front, and 980 grams at the rear. Those numbers don’t add up to a light weight wheel, but are spot-on for a medium weight training wheel. Listed as Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo compatible, the SRAM 1070 cassette used during this review fit perfectly. The hub uses sealed bearings in a one piece aluminum body that incorporates the freewheel body and pawl.

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Specialized Ruby Expert - By Karen Cooper

• Specialized FACT 8r carbon frame, Az1 construction, Designs for Women compact design, Zertz inserts
• S