2/20/2009 Podcast

 

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There has been some discussion on the HIgh Road kits for this year.  John G. thinks they are quite cool, while John K finds them cartoonish & ugly.

Could this Hulkster shirt be the inspiration?

I can almost hear Nigel Tufnell now talking about why he likes the kit of Cavendish, ‘I quite like it a lot, really, it is as if someone pulled away the skin to see the stomach muscles, kind of like my shirt.  This is what I am wearing, under my skin, right?’

The Two Johns spend a Friday night talking about the Tour of California and nothing else but everything else that is known as listener feedback.  This week’s winner wants more Horner, compares the Johns to Kirk & Spock searching the cycling universe for intelligence, those left in his wake include:  Alva the beautiful threatens legal recourse for injuries sustained, John G. getting legal & filing papers putting the kaibosh on MTB talk, another girl leaves cycling dude, some stats on why espresso might be an important recovery drink, saddles, compact v. classic frame geometry, why are the John’s not nobel?, helmet visors, how do I make the most of gaining 25# and not riding much?, bike racing on tv is boring, balancing baby & biking, cross will not go away, eurotrash… you get the idea, it goes on & on…but at the end we do select a winner to receive the Slipstreams provided by our friends at Defeet.

Tuts My Barreh

There is so much going on in the world of cycling. LA’s bike found (I had nothing to do with it), Levi getting crashed by a teammate, the other John and I going to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, the imminent replacement of my cables and housing, my trainer session this evening – ss zone, 250 watts… the list just goes on and on. So instead of talking about all of that just sit back, relax, and enjoy these videos.

And now a French lesson. It’s never too early to prepare for July.

Tour of Cali

Yes, the 2 Johns did in fact make it to the Amgen Tour of California. As you can see, guerilla marketing techniques were employed by The Western Superfan at the prologue. Thank you WSF. As soon as the coverage aired our Twitter and email lit up with reports of the sign. I am not condoning dangerous or unsavory behavior but, if someone was so inclined, a 2 Johns themed thong-clad wig-wearing body-painting run along side of the peloton (please don’t knock anyone over) just might win you some coveted DeFeet stuff.

We both would have really liked to have gone to the race. I had the opportunity to work for the organization but had to beg off due to scheduling difficulties. The good news is that next week both Johns will MC a gathering in Toledo where some of this country’s finest frame builders will talk about their craft then we’ll attend the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Indianapolis.

Here we are at the top of a climb…

2/13/2009 Podcast

 

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Special Guest:  Svein Tuft

In this pre-Valentines Day/Tour of California podcast we spread the love.  International News focuses on California and the big names showing up for the race.  We make more picks for the opening stage.  Local news is about taking baby steps towards a new season followed by an interview with Canadian Svein Tuft where talking about his season ahead, how to fit into the structure of the peleton & the value of the team in cycling.  An unsually light listener feedback section sees us select a somewhat put off female getting the cold shoulder from other ladies on the road, as well The Cozen One update- watch wher the chamois cream goes! & Rasta Roadie sighting, would you wear Bert + Ernie?  what do yo use for lube?,  mtb love, can crossers be trusted?, John G is Lost calling in, good Valentines advice.  This is followed by the audio portion of the Binachi Mono-Q bike review.  We wanted to put something special together so you could ask your sweetie, ‘What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than listening to the Two Johns?’

Product Review: 928 Carbon Bianchi Mono-Q

For most every job there is a tool that best fit the use.  In my kitchen I have a few knives of varying size, shape & edge design.  Each is shaped & formed to excel in specific situations.  Would I use the  large cook’s knife to slice bread, or the bread knife to mince shallots? No, of course not.  Technically, they might perform the job, but there are tools available to better help me accomplish what I am attempting.  So it goes with the Bianchi 928 Carbon Mono-Q.  Would this be the bike I select for my assault on the top spots of podiums?  That depends, if my podium is to make my Saturday morning ride dentist friends jealous, have one of the prettiest bikes around and a comforted bum, the answer is yes; but if my goal is to have a bike that embraces the sharp edge & stability of a bike fit for racing that maximizes my efforts, the answer is no.

Unpacking the bike box: One thing is for certain, Bianchi does a good job at protecting their product for its long journey to the shop destination.

The build up went pretty much uneventful, barring the failure of one of the fork steerer tube clamp bolts on the FSA stem with the final torque of the torque wrench set at 70″lbs.  Nothing is out of place. Cables stops, hangers etc… have no conflicts that hinder their intended function or serviceability, nothing to make me step back and believe there was a detail that was handled haphazardly.  The livery is a la mode in white, in an immensely attractive composition of white & black graphics with Bianchi requisite celeste trim.  The equipment rundown is: carbon monocoque frame, full carbon fork, ultegra grouppo with standard chainset, FSA bar, stem & carbon seat post, Fizik pave CX sport saddle and Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheelset.  As the model’s name would indicate, the Mono-Q is a monocoque frameset, meaning there is a mold for each size, the frame is formed & cured in one piece.  This process differs from the sister bike of Bianchi’s B4P line, the T-Cube, which is a tube to tube, wrapped process.  However, I believe the difference between the Mono-Q & the T-Cube models (which I have also ridden), while both in the upper end of the Bianchi range, lies in the intended specific use of each model (more on that later).

There are a couple interesting details of the Mono-Q, such as the  head tube/down tube junction.  Here it looks almost as if the designers have taken a cue from mountain bike design (gasp John G!) and bent the down tube to hit the head tube at more of a right angle for increased tube joint area.

Another interesting detail are the chain stays which are flattened, and rotated at what looks to be a 45 degree angle to the seat and chain stays.  The rest of the frame has modestly shaped tubes, nothing like the more swoopy offerings from some of Bianchi’s other lines.

This bike test is an unusual opportunity for me to test a bike that is very similar to a bike I ride every day, my FG Lite.  I like my all alminum FG Lite, so much that I decided to sell my all carbon Specialized and build this bike back up & have  really enjoyed the handling characteristics of this bike when compared with  just about any other bike I have ever ridden.

When I compared the geometry of the two bikes, my 53cm FG Lite & the 53 Mono-Q, I noted one major difference, aside from a slightly more sloped top tube, which I am not sure changes anything, but the head tube of my FG Lite is 72 degrees, where the Mono-Q is 71.5 degrees, which translates into roughly 4mm further from the front wheel axle to the bottom bracket.  Everything else is spot on indenticle- down to the wheels.  On the test bike, I swapped out the 100mm stem for a 120 mm & if I had my druthers I would have swapped the bars  & saddle too as I don’t care for the anatomic bend of the FSAs & the Fizik saddle, which has an odd lump in the center & squarish shoulders, but swapping out all the parts would begin to undermine the purpose of a bike test, right?  Frame material withstanding, the only remaining differences between this bike and my daily rider being the FSA bar, Fizik saddle & the 170mm cranks.  The Ultegra group set is really remarkable- I do not know if there is a more reliable, user friendly group available.  The shifts are smooth and always spot on.  While my beloved Campy has serviceability for the long haul & cache, SRAM has the new kind on the block aura- the Shimano Ultegra soldiers on like the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord- simply working flawlessly shift after shift, brake after brake, what about that is not to be admired?

Bringing it together on the road: I rode this bike  for a few weeks with the test riding being a mix of easy short rides, commuting to work, to harder efforts, to a 95 mile endurance ride.  This bike has a supple, smooth ride, but I could not help feel I was leaving something on the table.  While it was adept at being a mediator between the heaving roads and myself, I could not help but feel as if I was losing something when putting the pressure on the pedals.  The same holds true when heading into a turn at high speed.  Where my FG LIte feels ready to go on any line I need to point it, the Mono-Q is slightly more lazy.   The balance of edgy, sharp & confidence inspiring stability which the FG Lite seems to have hit precisely, has been replaced with a delayed response, ‘what me worry?’ posture.  While its stability is a positive attribute to be lauded versus the twitchy, or worse, soggy feeling, of previous bikes I have owned, I feel like there is a missed opportunity here.  This bike has a superbe ride, smooth, supple, maybe not the sharp response of the more rigid stable mate, T-Cube, but why not give it the same geometry?  My guess is that 1/2 degree of reduced head angle is the culprit of the lazy handling.  My question is, why make that compromise when there is no obvious trade off in stability that the 1/2 degree offers?  Who doesn’t want the most responsive ride they can get?

Which brings me back to my knives:  there is an appropriate tool to best fit every task.  Maybe the task of this bike is the Saturday/Sunday dentist ride- where the latest in carbon is nearly mandatory, the pace is aggressive & utmost comfort is a must,  it gets gold stars & smiley faces in those catagories.  At an asking price of $3,200 the scale tips very favorably to this bike when compared to the ubiquitous offerings of Trek or Specialized & it is a very attractive looking package. But if you are looking for something with a little more sharpness and get every ounce of effort from the pressure put on the pedals, it would be hard to buy this bike with the knowledge that remarkable bikes like the T-Cube or the FG Lite built by the same company are within reach.