Bio-Mechanics Cycles & Repairs E.News
REPORTING FROM THE EYE OF THE TDU STORM
In This Issue
Things that make you go, "Eeee!!"
Pace yourself
For your peepers
Meet the Riders 
Focused like a lazer beam...

Mild-mannered financial adviser by day and crime-fighter by night, Alex Bates was kind enough to pause in between catching bad guys and posting scathing social commentary on Facebook to put up with the BMCR Rider Quiz. 

 
 Discipline?
Is procrastination a discipline?
 (ed. Yes.)
 
Funky nickname?

Stabmaster Arson - probably because I have some good rapping skills.

Currently riding:
BH road bike and Dolan track bike.

Favourite loop?
Having a coffee at The Greek, going down to Europa for a coffee, out to The Mill for a coffee then back to Europa for a coffee then to The Greek for a coffee. It's about 50km and can take up to 5 hours.

Training schedule?
I don't really understand this question; can you please re-phrase it?

Pre-race snack?
I usually wait 'til after I get dropped.

Any odd pre-race rituals?
I always have two Panadols in my back pocket when I am racing. This is not a joke.

When I'm training I like to listen to...
...people in cars yelling at me for stealing their road.

Most painful crash?
Trying to be funny after a lot of drinks and ending up on the road and bleeding in a busy CBD intersection.

Essential bike accessory?
Fizik bar tape

Dream riding destination?
I hear in Italy they just sit around drinking coffee and do a little bit of riding in between and this sounds OK to me.

The most useful riding tip I've ever received was:
"Go where the most people are."

The most useless riding tip I've ever received was:
"The faster you go, the easier it is."  I'm sorry, but are you insane?

Motto:
Be excellent to each other.

Tubes or tubeless?
Solid tyres, easy to fit.
(ed. Yes, thanks for reminding us.)
 
And, finally, why do you think Tim is so cool?
I'm just being nice so I can get a good deal on a bike.

Thanks, Alex!
 
Alex: "Why do you ask me these things? Why?"
BMCR Rider Style Tip: One must always match one's helmet to one's arm warmers.

Dear Subscriber,

Happy New Year, BMCR-ers! We hope y'all had as nice a holiday season as we did. Ah, you know you've had a good time when you return to work with scratches, grazes*, and a few more cases of wine in the cellar. Anyway, it's back to business now! Good luck to all those braving the Tour Down Under Challenge Ride or Ride Like Crazy events, or competing in the MTB Nationals -- fingers crossed for some rider-friendly weather. To distract yourself from your looming training schedule, read on for new products, a new special, and one of our delightful rider profiles!

* Mum, if you're reading this, the injuries aren't serious. (Lia's mum: "Why do I only find out about this stuff third-hand?")
Hurry! Bring money!
Oh. My. God. How much do we love this? OK. We're not known for selling things just because they look cool but we've Bike Glow: Before.made an exception for this product: the Bike Glow. It's a fibre optic light tube which you can wrap around your bike (or yourself, should you be so inclined) and it has three different flashing modes to keep you visible -- and snazzy! -- at night. (As you can see from the 'before' picture on the left, it's unobtrusive by EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!day.) You're also spoilt for choice colour-wise, with eight different options (aqua, blue, green, pink, purple, red, white, or yellow) to match to your paint job. Want to see the Bike Glow in action? Swing past the shop in the darkened hours and take a peek through our window. You, too, will dance like a bower bird when you behold its glowing visage.

Whether you're using one as a serious training tool or just trying to break your PB on the way to work, we've got a Pro Digi X10: for the less-slender-fingered among us bike PC to suit. The Digi X10 mounts to the handlebar or stem, has a compact design, and features an easy one-button operation ("the fingers you have used to dial are too fat...") plus ten functions, including a speed pacer so you can sing the "Go speed pacer" song. If you're looking for a wirelessScio W-2.1: it knows your future option, the SCIO W-2.1 boasts a sleek low-profile design, dual-line display, and 21 features, including a calorie counter, auto lap, and options for a second bike. (Inexplicably, it also can tell you the time to arrival. No, we're not sure how, either. Possibly it is a tiny, tiny Tardis.)

People don't tend to get excited about headsets. They're not glam. (Not like a Bike Glow; those things are AMAZING and have you SEEN the COLOUR RANGE? ZOMG!) No, headsets are more like the stagehands of the bike world: quietly doing their thing to keep everything working, but when they stop doing their Sunline headset: not fun, but functional. (Trust us; it's better.)job, performances suffer. How do you know if you need a new stageh-- er, headset? If your steering feels notchy, sounds crunchy, or behaves as if the bike has suddenly developed free will and wants to go in a different direction to you. The Sunline V1 All Mountain headset is strong, light, and perfect for XC and road bikes. Even better, it's normally $150 but we managed to get a few on special for just $100. Now you can get excited.

Why use a saddle bag? A more appropriate question is: why not use a saddle bag? If you like to leave a trail of keys, tyre levers, and personal miscellany along the tracks behind you like a sweaty Hansel or Gretel, then you're better off without one. For the Aero... or hover-bag? You decide!rest of us, however, the Topeak Aero Wedge is a great choice: tough but lightweight, and compatible with I-Beam seats, its unique locking mechanism means it only comes off when you want it to. Because it's thoughtful and wants to keep you visible to others, it also features a reflective strip plus a little loop for a rear light. We've got the small and medium in stock but even the small has bags (ha ha!) of room. So let the Aero wedge sit snugly under your saddle like one of those sucker fish that attach to sharks and... um... let me work on that analogy. I'll get back to you.
Pacer, not Racer
If you've been toying with the idea of getting a road bike but have been put off by the whole carbon!lycra!Lance! side of things, we have a solution: the Surly Pacer, brand new to our shop floor. Super-comfy thanks to the cro-moly steel frame and fork, and British Racing Green: is there any other kind?with extra clearance if you want to run mud guards or wider tyres, the Pacer is designed to be ridden all day. And who can argue with a $2,000 price tag? Nobody! So if you're unconcerned with the super-light-fantastique-latest-whatchit scene and just want to get on and ride, the Pacer's got your name on it. (Well, not literally. You may need to pay for it first. Then you can go nuts with a compass.)
Cover your eyes, children!
When's a good time to take 10% off Shimano sunglasses? Why, when we're right in the middle of a run of 40+ degree Solstice manual: 'Put on face.'days! Which is now! ("We know, shut up," say our readers.) Whether you're looking for some swish photochromatic sunglasses (meet the Equinox and the Galaxy), fancy lenses (can I interest you in an Antares?), aerodynamic shapes (hello, Zenith and Solstice) or just something to whack on yourPulsar manual: 'Sunglasses not edible.' face and forget about (Pulsar, come on down), we've got it here. Most models come with multiple lenses, and all come with a travel case and a manual. (The manual is, ostensibly, to head off all of those "where do my sunglasses go again?" phone calls from confused consumers.)
And that's all for this month! As a quick side note, BMCR will be shutting up shop for a few days after the Challenge ride to get the feeling back in our hands. (Yes, we've got a taste for holidays now...) To that end, we'll be closed on Saturday, January 23rd, and re-opening on Wednesday, January 27, after the Australia Day public holiday. See you fore and aft!

Keep riding, and stay safe.

Cheers!

Pete, Lia & Andrew
Bio-Mechanics Cycles & Repairs
Restraining the urge to festoon the shop in Bike Glows
Secret news: Lia's got a book contract! :-D