The Season is Here! Make sure you are prepared!

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Seat Bag

Seat Bag

minipump

Mini Pump

masterlink10

Master Link

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t let a flat tire, or a simple mechanical rain on your great ride.  The following is a list of items I put into my seat bag for both MTB and Road bikes.  Both my MTB and Road bikes have a seat bag.  It is just plain easier to pack these bags, strap them on to your bike and forget about them til you need them.

multitool

Multi-Tool

TireLeverYellow_feature

Tire Levers

 

 

 

 

 

The guys at LTR Sports can not only set you up with these items, they can show you how to use them.  It is much easier to practice installing a tube inside a nice warm shop as opposed to a cold and rainy roadside!

Mountain Bike …

  • Seat Bag.  They come in various sizes.  I have a tendency to be a minimalist, so working pretty hard to fit everything in is fine with me.
  • Tube … 29er with a presta valve.  A 29er tube works just fine to lend to your friend who flats their 26.  A presta valve (small one) will fit through any rim hole.
  • Tire Levers … A couple is a good idea.  It is nice to have a spare when you break one.
  • CO2 Inflator.  My preference is a 40gram.  Very light, and you can inflate 2 mountain bike tires.
  • Multi-Tool.  Make sure you get a chain breaker.
  • Small Patch Kit … Just in case that spare tube develops a leak.
  • Master Link … Tape this to a cable housing.  It will get lost inside your bag.
  • Mini-Pump … This is optional.  I take one on long rides to remote areas, I have a mount for it on my water bottle cage.
  • Cash … It never hurts to put $10 into your bag.
inflatorsmall

CO2 Inflator 20-25g

inflatorslarge

CO2 Inflator 40g

 

 

 

 

 

Road Bike …

  • Seat Bag.  They come in various sizes.  I have a tendency to be a minimalist, so working pretty hard to fit everything in is fine with me.
  • Tube(2) … 700c with a presta valve.  Put 2 in your bag.  A presta valve (small one) will fit through any rim hole.
  • Tire Levers … A couple is a good idea.  It is nice to have a spare when you break one.
  • CO2 Inflator(2).  My preference is a 20g for road bikes.  I put a couple in the bag.
  • Multi-Tool.  Make sure you get a chain breaker.
  • Small Patch Kit … Just in case that spare tube develops a leak.
  • Master Link … Tape this to a cable housing.  It will get lost inside your bag.
  • Mini-Pump … This is optional.  I take one on long rides to remote areas, I have a mount for it on my water bottle cage.
  • Cash … It never hurts to put $10 into your bag.

Questions?  Let me know, or ask the guys at LTR Sports.

Custom Bike Builds

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We’ve been busy the last few weeks here at LTR Sports. Pre-season tune-ups are rolling through, winter fork rebuilds are cranking out, and new bikes are on the floor. But we always have time for those custom bike builds. Here are a few recent ones

CIMG0402

We built 5 Element 999 RSL’s this year. This XX1 version is 21.5lbs

Working on an Orbea Orca Build
Working on an Orbea Orca Build

Element 970 with customer 120mm Fox Fork

Element 970 with customer 120mm Fox Fork

Sweet Orbea Alma Build with SRAM XX

Sweet Orbea Alma Build with SRAM XX

 

Why Get a Bike Fit?

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LTR Sports has welcomed Adam Sczech as our newest team member. Adam’s main passion is bicycle fitting on road, mountain, and triathlon bikes. Here is why you should look into a proper bike fit.

Would you buy a $5000 suit without a tailor taking your measurements, just letting him “eyeball” you and maybe measuring you inseam. That is the same letting a bike shop take your inseam and letting you spin around the parking lot. A proper fit is the most import aspect of riding a bicycle. Much like a suit, a bicycle can be adjusted and tailored to your exact measurements. A proper fit allows one to work efficiently and naturally with one’s bike. Everyone is shaped differently, which means bikes should be set up differently. A person that is 5’10” with 28” inseam fits a bike differently that a person that is 5’10” with a 32” inseam. Though both people are the same height, their body proportions are so different that they may need different frame sizes. To be comfortable on a bike can be the difference between a great day and a terrible day. Someone in a 40k TT that is in the most aero position possible but has to sit up every 10 minutes will lose to the person that has 150 more grams of drag but can hold the position the whole race. CIMG0498

With the fits we do at LTR Sports, we start with a few basic body measurements in order to have an initial set up for the fit bike. This means we begin with a blank slate, we do not use your current or any real bike at the start of the fit. After the fit bike is setup to your measures we have you warm up for few minutes. This allows you to get a feel for the fit bike and get your blood flowing. If we started fitting before you are warmed it would make little sense since you would be warmed up during a ride. Then we start the fit, over the next hour or so we adjust your position on the bike to make you as comfortable and efficient as possible. We do this using some old school body position measures and a fancy little bit of software that allows us to objectively see how efficiently you make power through the pedal stroke. Once we get you as comfortable and efficient as possible we take the measurements off the fit bike and punch them into a little bit of proprietary software that lets us the geometry of your perfect bicycle. The program then lets us compare any bicycle in the world to your perfect bike. It determines what length/angle stem, seatpost height/setback, and other variables would be needed to make your bike (or bike you are interested in) as close to your perfect bike as possible.

Electronic Shifting … Reviewed

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UltegraDi2ShiftersGiantTCR0My first question to myself was “why do I need it”.

I ordered my new Giant road bike with Ultegra Electronic Shifting Di2.  Being the geek that I am, it really appealed to me.  As you read more, I will use the terms lever and button interchangeably.  Electronic shifting is really push button shifting.  The levers that we are familiar with have been adapted to activate these buttons.

UltegraDi2FrontRearDerOnGiantTCR0The very first thing that was impressive to me was the “shimming” built in to the front derailleur.  Regular indexed shifting has a intermediary click in the front derailleur.  This let’s you ride cross chained (big ring, big cog) with very little or no chain rub on the front derailleur.  Electronic shifting takes care of this.  It senses what chainring (front) and cog (rear) gear you have selected, and aligns the front derailleur to take care of chain alignment.

Shifting feel… How does it feel to push the lever?  That is the most interesting thing.  What indexed shifting did to friction shifting, electronic shifting is doing to indexed shifting.  It has a completely different feel.  Your gear selection is simply pushing a lever / button, that activates a shift.  You don’t worry if the derailleur and cables are going to resist your selection.  If you would like to be in the next gear up, you simply push the lever, and you are there.  Absolutely no thinking about it.

Shifting crispness… How fast and accurate does the gear selection take place?  No competition here.  Shifting under load, in other words when you are working hard is a great test of your bikes shifting performance.  Pedaling up a hill while out of the saddle, you can select a different gear with  electronic shifting.  You will be in that gear.  There is no hesitation, no chain rub, no dropped chain, it simply works.

BatteryPlacementrOnGiantTCR0Battery life… 400 to 650 miles.  Your experience will vary, naturally.  If you are doing the Race Across America, you will probably need a spare battery.  If you are planning on doing the Tour de France, one battery and a charger will be OK.  Charging the battery is accomplished in 1.5 hours.

Weight … We have not weighed all the components, and figured out the gain / penalty.  We have weighed the Giant TCR Advanced 0 including:  pedals, water bottle cages, Quarq power meter, lights, and it tips the scales at 16 lbs.

Dirt / Water / Reliability … Personally, 8 weeks, 120 hours, 8 bike washes, no problems.  Bradley Wiggins, 2012 Tour de France Winner, enough said.

Is this a step forward?  Absolutely yes.

See you out there.

Carbon Goodies from Giant and Rocky Mountain Rolling Through

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We’ve had some slick carbon full-suspension 29er mountain bikes from Rocky Mountain and Giant come in this week.  Most have been sold and are on the trail with a happy customer.  Here is a sneak peak:

Rocky Mountain Element 999 RSL, Large, built with some Enve wheels and cockpit, PopLoc remote lockouts front/rear. 22 lbs.

Rocky Mountain Element 970 RSL, XTR, XT build kit, DT Swiss Wheels, full carbon, Fox CTD front/rear shocks with remote lever. 25lbs. Killer value at $5,199

Giant Anthem Advanced X 1. Carbon front end, full Shimano XT, DT Swiss produced wheels, Rock Shox suspension. 25lbs, for just $4,799

Come on in to check these and more out, or contact us for more information.

Final Cyclocross Race of the 2012 Season!

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Last chance to improve your season rankings among the fastest cyclists!  Who’s gunning for the Fastest Cyclists Spot?

We just pulled up the extended weather, and the weather predictors have us scheduled for partly sunny, and temps in the 50′s for Saturday’s post time.

This is the final race in 2012.  Whether you are racing, spectating, or heckling, come on out and enjoy the fun.  EVERYONE is welcome!

All the information you can need is here at the source for bicycle racing:  LTREvents.com

Electronic Shifting Is Here!

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We’ve been getting some great road miles in this fall with the great weather, and have been pleased to see so many others out enjoying the riding conditions.  On that note, we just received another bike with Shimano Ultegra Di2 Electronic Shifting!  Check out this Giant TCR Advanced 0, complete with carbon frame and fork, electronic shifting, and DT Swiss designed wheels.  Price you ask? $4,500! An incredible value for the spec!

50-65% Off All LTR Cycling Gear!

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It’s about time you get rid of those old ragged cycling shorts you’ve been wearing.  Honestly, everyone can see through those shorts.  Do it for your riding partners, and the comfort of yourself, and get some new riding shorts!  Right now, we are BLOWING OUT all 2011 and 2012 LTR cycling shorts, bibs, jerseys and jackets at 50-65% off.  Get the highest-end Voler short and chamois for the price of a basic 1-panel short!  Hurry, offer is only good through December 14th!

Women’s shorts and jerseys, bib shorts and jerseys, jackets are all on sale.  We only have limited selection, so get’em before they’re gone.

2011 Voler Bib Shorts $105, Sale $40

2011 Voler Jerseys $85, Sale $30

2012 Voler 8-panel Bib Shorts $105, Sale $55

2012 Voler 8-panel Women’s Shorts $105, Sale $55

2012 Voler Jerseys $85, Sale $45

2012 Jackets $100, Sale $60

And don’t forget, we only have a couple 2012 bikes left in stock, and they are NOW 20% OFF. Rocky Mtn Element 950 + 970 in 18.5″ and a Rocky Mtn Solo Cyclocross bike at $900!  We are open until December 14th, then closed for the Holidays.  Get here before everything is gone!