In my last review I wrote about the Fulcrum and covered my experiences, likes and dislikes of the Fulcrum Racing 7s my wheel of choice for training. Over all the Racing 7s are good training wheel set for the money.

I have now had enough mileage on my Fulcrum Racing 3s to give a fair review. I have ridden the 3s like the 7s over a myriad of road conditions. However I must say that most of time riding the 3s has been on more vertical routes.

The Fulcrum Racing 3s are touted as being a Training and Racing wheel set. I am using my Racing 3s for competition only and my Racing 7s for training and pit wheels.

Wheel set features:

• The aluminum rim, with a height of 26 mm, features special milling for lightness
• The rim bed is not drilled. Therefore, in addition to the weight advantage provided by the elimination of the need for rim tape, the undrilled rim bed also features a mechanical advantage: greater torsional rigidity and greater vertical elasticity for the wheel.
• The oversize hubs, with an aluminium body and axle, feature adjustable high-precision loose ball bearings.
• The 2 mm stainless steel aero spokes with 16 spokes for the front and 21 for the rear wheel. The spoking is of the radial type for the front wheel and of the crossed type with doubling of the right-hand spokes for the rear.
• Racing 3 wheels incorporate an exclusive Fulcrum® feature: Dynamic Balance™. The wheel is balanced during rotation thanks to a special rim design that counterbalances the joint section.
• Racing 3 wheels are compatible with Campagnolo®, Shimano and Sram drivetrains and are supplied with the Fulcrum® quick releases.
• Nominal weight*:
• front: 736 g
• rear: 923 g
• Total weight w/o QRs: 1659

* The weight of the wheels does not include the quick release, and it refers to the lightest configuration.

To learn about Fulcrum’s extensive list of features on the Racing 3s such as 2:1 Two-to-One™, Dynamic Balance™ and MoMag™ visit there web site here.

Impressions:

I really like these wheels! My last pair of race wheels were Neuvation R28 Aero 3s with Ceramic Bearings. The Neuvations were great after the ceramic upgrade and sliced through the wind with huge bladed spokes but were overly stiff, painfully stiff. The Fulcrum Racing 3s may actually be stiffer than the Neuvations but with out that back breaking rigidity. How is it possible to be stiffer with out being overly stiff? I am going to attribute it to the fact that the rim bed is not drilled and the spokes on the racing 3s are aero but not overly aero. The racing 3s are not the lightest and that is OK with me as I am not a weight weenie rider and find myself riding more crits than Road Races with long climbs. However I gained a full 1 MPH on one of my favorite climbs when I took them out for the first time. I will gladly recommend the Fulcrums to my teammates.

What I Like:

• Smooth loose ball bearings – feel like ceramic bearings w/o the cost of ceramics
• Silent free hub allows you to sneak through the pace line
• Relatively easy to mount a tire (The Neuvations were a real pain to mount tires on)
• No rim strip needed
• Feel light and spin up very quickly
• Semi aero profile does not make for a cross wind fight
• Stiffness with out the harsh characteristics of other aero/semi aero

What I could live with out:

• Price could be a bit cheaper – Prices range from 600.00 – 900.00! US
• Wheels could also be a bit lighter
• The quick releases that ship with the 2009 wheels are OK (2010 QR may have seen a design change)

The 2010 Fulcrum wheels may also see a price increase across the board as Fulcrum wheels are gaining poplarity due to problems at Mavic and the recent UCI approval of all of their models for racing in UCI events. You can still find some 2009 models online if you hurry.  No word yet if USA Cycling will be passing the same wheel rules that the UCI and other countries are passing in an effort to keep racing safe. As of the writing of this article I still cannot find any polices with USA Cycling related to wheels. While the cost of the Fulcrum Racing 3s is approaching what you can get entry level Carbon Fiber wheels these days you will not get a hub as nice as Fulcrums.

Convinced that you need to invest in a set of Fulcrum’s excellent wheels? Check out Main Street Bikes’s selection here. You can also call Tom and Main Street Bikes at 502-220-4136 and order any of Fulcrum’s wheels. Tell Tom that Rob G sent you.

To see more photos of the  Fulcrum Racing 3s click here.

Get out and ride…

Recently someone in the #cycling group on twitter had posted a blog entry on the Myths of Fixed Gear Training. I tried to comment on the article but my weak iPhone twitter client decided to not let me submit my comments.

The gist of the blog post is that investing training time on a fixed gear is not helpful to a competitive cyclist. I wish I could post a URL and a ping back because I am for the most part in agreement. However fixed gear training is not with out its merits. Below I will post the pros and cons based on my own personal experiences.

From Wikipedia: “A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed wheel bicycle) is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving. The sprocket is screwed directly onto the hub. When the rear wheel turns, the pedals turn in the same direction.^[1] This allows a cyclist to stop without using a brake, by resisting the rotation of the cranks, and also to ride in reverse.

Track cycling in a velodrome has always used fixed-gear track bikes, but fixed-gear bicycles are now again used on the road,^[2] a trend generally seen as being led by bicycle messengers.^[3]”

My experience with a Fixed Gear Bike (fixie’):

Fixies’ are relatively inexpensive to own. I had an old steel Raleigh 12 speed that was no longer in use so I had my buddy at Main Street Bikes convert it for me. I must admit I did this on a lark and riding a fixie’ is a recommended practice by Joe Friel the author of The Cyclists Training Bible. I vividly remember the first time I took my newly minted fixie on a test ride. The start was tricky because I had a hard time getting my left shoe clipped in once I got started. Think a comedy routine and one legged trainer intervals and you will have a good mental picture. Once I got started my mind strayed to how do I stop, get unclipped and not fall off! I decided to try and do some start and stops before my fixie journey went much further. After a while I decided I could ride on with worrying about falling over when stopping and continued down my 10 mile out and back from my home. This 10 mile out an back has a little bit of everything on it so it made for a great test ride.

While on my ride I was remembering everything my buddy Tom at Main Street Bikes had told me about riding a fixie on an open road. I became ultra focused and was watching for every dog, squirrel and car like a sniper. Everytime I rode through a corner I was planning on how I might need to bale off the bike. Needless to say I was bit nervous. Why? Well as the Wikipedia snippet covers the wheel has no freewheel so you cannot coast when you feel like it. The bike will propel you along on the slightest force of the pedals once you are up and moving. Feels a bit like perpetual motion.

I discovered two interesting things about my riding style during that maiden voyage. I had a bad habit of coasting once cresting a hill. Not all hills mind you but usually the 3rd hill after a series of rollers. If you do this on a fixie’ guess what happens? If you are not careful it can throw you over your handle bars! I did not go over, but man that woke me up.

After the hill I completely understood what other coaches had told me about managing my momentum clearing the top of a hill climb. The other item I learned was that my pedal stroke was not as efficient as I thought it was. Once I got comfortable riding my fixie I found that I did not need to work so hard to maintain my cadence and speed. I was able to better judge what RPM and levels of leg pressure were really necessary to get up an over hills and around corners with ease. Pedal efficiency is the Achilles heel of most cyclist I have ridden with. They either mash the pedals or maintain the RPM of a rabid squirrel in an easy gear.

I no longer have the fixie. I decided I had learned some valuable lessons and I thought that my 40 something year old knees would thank me if I would get rid of it. Did the fixie’ make me a faster cyclist? No. It made me a smarter cyclist.

Pros of training on a fixie:

• Cheap to build up an old road bike to try it out
• Will show you the errors you are making in your pedal stroke
• Will show you focus by keeping you mentally alert
• Will make you more efficient on rolling terain
• Will give you something new to experience as a cyclist

Cons of training on a fixie’:

• Fixies’ are starting to get a bad reputation in urban areas because of the Hipsters that ride them
• Braking is more of an art than a reality for some fixie’ riders
• Some cities are starting to regulate the use of fixed gear bikes especially the requirement of having brakes.
• Knee damage due to trying to back pedal to stop
• Coasting is impossible (this could also be considered a pro to some)
• Do you really want to explain to your spouse why you “need” this bike

The usual claim I see with riding a fixie is that it will help you develop leg speed. I can think of several other ways to do this with out the use of a fixie’. My favorite would be to train on rollers in the off season as well as neuro-muscular focused intervals on a trainer or the open road.

If the person who I was following and disagreeing with, thanks for the inspiration and helping to remember my first fixie’ experience. Oh and those who are curious about what I replaced that fixie with, I purchased a Single Speed Mountain Bike! Its a blast to ride.

Have a great weekend and get out and spin fast.

When I started my first structured training plan I read something depressing. I am going to paraphrase but the gist was “Unless you are a genetically gifted athlete expect that it could take 3-5 years before you win a race”.

This was a hard pill to swallow but I had already set some long term goals and I didn’t start racing expecting to win. I wanted to improve, be in the mix and give my competitive spirit an outlet. I was not a jock as a kid and most of the sports I did participate in were not team sports or endurance sports for that matter. Based on this I have tempered my expectations on winning. This does not mean that I am not going to try like hell to win it just means that I have decided to temper my expectations.

I heard from a coach that we train to develop assets. So I hired a couple of coaches for my team and we developed skills and learned how to attack our limiters and use our strengths. My self and a few of my teammates now gladly pass this knowledge on to new teammates each year.

Another coach I spoke to explained to me that what wins a race is not the training you did last week, its the training you did 5, 10, 15 years ago. There is alot to be said for using experience to temper expectations. Of course this all goes back to setting realistic training and competitive goals each and every year. I do believe that we build on each subsequent year of training I also believe that unless you put it out there each week you will not see progress.

What I mean by not seeing progress is that we as athletes need to experience many types of training, events and racing to gain the necessary experience. Racing a couple of times a year and training like your a Tour de France contender might make you strong and even fast but it is not going to make you a competent road racer or a winner unless you are genetically gifted.

In a moment of panic last year I contacted one of the coaches that we hired to help us develop individual skills. I had been training like a mad man during last year’s off season and I had fully expected my first race to go very well. Needless to say I did not meet my goals that day. I mentioned this to the coach and he asked me what I thought I did wrong? I said I had no idea and then proceeded to ask him what I should do to recover my fresh new season. He told me to “quit training and start racing”. Then he explained that durring the on season there is a simple formula. I am going to share it below:

• Mon: Do not train – Passive recovery
• Tue: Compete in a training race or a group ride beyond your abilities
• Wed: Go out for an aerobic to easy solo ride
• Thu: Work on a limiter or a strength
• Fri: Leg openers if racing on Sat, Recovery Ride if not Racing on Sat
• Sat: If racing follow your race day protocol, If racing Sunday apply Leg opener intervals
• Sun: If racing follow your race day protocol, If not racing get out with a disciplined group and put in some road time

This formula was given to me over a cell phone conversation that lasted exactly 10 minutes. I did not make any adjustments to this formula last season. What I can tell you is the more I race the more confident I became and the more relaxed I became. The more relaxed I became the better I performed when the surge was on. If you look there really is only one day for traditional training and that is Thursday.

Good luck with your training this off season and remember to build some new assets and race as much as you can handle. You will not only become faster you will be come more confident.

Until next week….