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Wilier Izoard Sale!

Jun 06.13 Posted in Deals

Regular $2699, now $2295

For a limited time only

Take 15% Off Your wilier Izoard Purchase

Offer valid until June 30th

Quick, head over to DB West Vancouver and take advantage of this limited time offer. The Izoard is Wiliers' race-ready, comfort bike that won an Outside Magazine Gear of the Year award back in 2009. It has withstood the test of time and continues to evolve. The XP version (introduced in 2012) that we have on offer is full carbon, Shimano Ultegra equipped and is the colour scheme pictured below.

"One of the nicest things about the Izoard is that it looks as good or better than most bikes costing twice as much". Wilier Trestina

Under (or Over) Pressure?

Jun 05.13 Posted in Commentary, We Ride

We get asked on the regular how much pressure road riders should be putting in their tires.

Be sure to experiment in small increments so you don't run the risk of going too low.

The easy answer is to follow the guidelines on the side of the tire, which usually provides a maximum and minimum pressure. Some companies, like Michelin, even provide a chart that shows different recommended pressure for different rider weights and tire widths. Generally, these guidelines produce pretty satisfactory results. BUT, if you've never experimented with your tire pressure on the road, and summer propmpts some longer rides for you as it does with me, now's a great time to try a little trial and error. You'll be surprised how much of a difference 5-10 psi can make.

Tire pressure in the pro peleton gets pointed attention during two particular times: rainy mountain stages and cobbled classics. Neither of these two have much to do with us mere mortals, but the conditions riders face have a lot to do with what tire pressure they run. Below are highlights from an article published by VeloNews before the start of this years Paris-Roubaix, a notorious rim and tire killer.

As you can see, the pressures range from the low 70s to the high 80s, and I suspect many of the teams overestimated tire pressure to keep team secrets. Not only this, but the vast majority of these tires (excluding the Continentals which had the lowest reported pressures) have latex inners, and will seep 5-8 psi over the 6 hour parcourse.

Now, most of us are not riding 27/28mm tires during road season, and though 25mm is becoming more and more popular, the 23mm road tire still dominates the tire choices we see in the shop. The wheels on my road bike right now are pretty standard setup: 23mm Challenge Criterium clinchers on Open Pro rims make for a true 23mm width. With these, I'm usually in the 90 psi range in the rear, and 80-85 in the front. On my winter bike, which has 25-28c tires on wider rims, I am often down into the 60s pressure wise, particularly in the rain. For reference, I am a little under 150 pounds and generally light on wheels.

I find with 100+ psi in my tires, the bike feels a little chattery, more skittish, and doesn't ride as comfrotably. When I was young and foolish I thought this meant speed, and on a perfectly smooth road or the track this would be true. But there are few perfectly smooth roads around here.

I encourage you to experiment with tire pressure.

Many people seem hesitant to drop their pressure beneath the "normal" 100 psi. If you are a heavy rider, this can make sense. But if you weigh 120 pounds, that kind of pressure is probably unecessary, and could be slowing you down. Take the time, next time you ride, to drop 5 or 10 psi from your normal riding pressure and see how it feels. Leave the front 5-10 psi lower than the rear. If you don't notice a difference, drop it a little more. Find a pressure where you don't feel like you will pinch flat or fold a tire over in a corner, but one that still give your bike a bit of float, smoothing out the ride and delivering confidence in corners rather that rattling along. It could change your bike's ride quality drastically.

#trent

Ride in Style

May 15.13 Posted in Gear

Looking Good!

As the season ramps up, who DOESN'T want to look good! We have a great selection of jerseys for you here at DB West Vancouver. Check out just some of what we have on offer:

Assos Jersey
Assos Corporate $209