Join Dick Drummond and Professional Cycling coach Steve Weller of Bell Lap Coaching for three days of challenging riding.  The thre day road riding camp will focus on training techniques, as well as some race tactics in a fun, friendly environment.  Much of the riding will be race simulation and training that apply to racing and long distance cycling.  These techniques can also be applied to the non- racing, recreational cyclist who wants to become a more effective, efficient and powerful rider.

The camp will focus on developing sprinting speed and efficiency, riding in echelons and tactical riding designed to help you complete your races, century rides, and training with renewed vigor. Learn what it takes to eat right and train correctly to feel fresh when you ride and enjoy cycling to your full potential. Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily and cycling nutrition and hydration products from Hammer Nutrition will be available before and during the rides.

Rides vary in length from 40 – 85 miles and will be preceded and conclude with lectures and tutorials on nutrition, training with power meters, bike fit, and specific workouts for each day.  Each ride will be fully supported with mechanical service, food, and clothing available on the road and bike service at the end of each day. Join us in the beautiful Upper Valley of New Hampshire for some of the best riding in the east and get ready for the upcoming season the professional way. Use this opportunity to see what your fitness level is and garner the knowledge and technique you need to reach your goals this year.

Dates: April 20, 21 and 22, 2012
Cost: $375, including meals
Time: Varies per day, see itinerary for details
Rides: 40-85 miles with 5,000+ ft of climbing.  Recommended gearing 39t-27t
Support: Full neutral support available, mechanical service, power analysis and fitting
Contact: Dick Drummond at Drummond Custom Cycles- 603-632-4277, or drummondco@aol.com

Sponsored by: Drummond Custom Cycles, Cycle Ops, Hammer Nutrition, Bell Lap Coaching and Proctor’s General Store

CycleOps Super Magneto Pro, regularly $399.99, now$ 340.00
CycleOps Fluid2 Pro, regularly $359.99, now $306.00

See why CycleOps makes the best trainers available for recreational riders and pro athletes alike at our Tuesday night trainer class (every week at 6:00).  The class is first come, first serve and lasts 1.5 hours.  We provide structured training to get you closer to your cycling and fitness goals.  The trainers provided are the same models we use in the class.

I’d ridden the Addict Team (integrated seat post version) for a full season and for the most part, really liked the bike. It was very light, at around 800g for the frame, very stiff, and fit me well. The down side to the bike was that it could be a bit harsh on longer rides – translating every bump up through your saddle and bars. After 4 hours, this was very evident, and if I could change anything about the bike, that would be it.

I’d done some homework on the Foil prior to making the trip up to Drummond Cycles for a test ride. I’d read reviews, specs, forums – you name it. There were a couple of things that resonated through all of what I found: the Foil was a great riding bike, possessing a lot of the characteristics of the Addict and, more concerning to me, the Foil was VERY stiff and uncomfortable to ride.

So to keep things consistent, I brought my wheels with me to put on the Foil for the test ride and Dick helped me set it up to match my position from my Addict.

With the bike feeling familiar, we headed out into the balmy 28 degree weather on the not-so-smooth Enfield roads… Perfect conditions for testing just how comfortable the bike would be over the long haul.

Almost immediately, you feel the stiffness of the bike: both torsional stiffness of the front end and the lateral stiffness of the bottom bracket. It’s very stiff – stiffer than the Addict, which up until that point was at the top of the list for me. As a result, the Foil doesn’t feel snappy or quick, like a bike that gives a little and then snaps back. Instead it feels rock solid, robust and stable.

The compliance of the ride is by no means a steel touring bike, but it didn’t possess the same sharp ride that I’d been accustomed to over the past year. For me, the configuration of an adjustable seat post vs. an integrated post was a large factor in the comparison.

The Foil rides like a race bike – very positive feel, precise, but not to the point where you feel like you’re fighting it. For me, it was more comfortable than what I’d been riding, yet still processed the qualities I appreciate the most in a race bike.

What’s most interesting to me about the Foil is that it was designed as an aero bike, yet it doesn’t ride like one. The narrow tubes with tall profiles of the most popular aero bikes today, lead all to often to a harsh ride with poor lateral stiffness. This is simply not a factor with the Foil. If you didn’t realize that the Foil was designed in the wind tunnel, you probably wouldn’t think aerodynamics were a design factor given its superb ride characteristics, or the shapes of the tubes.

Evidently, Scott worked with aerodynamicist, Simon Smart, who also helped perfect the Plasma, to design the Foil. They approached the aerodynamics a bit differently than the standard ‘wing’ air foil shape. Instead, Scott focused on low speed aerodynamics, using speeds more common to cycling, not aircraft. Smart tapped into his time developing struts for Formula 1 cars to design the truncated air foil shape, which retains much of the stiffness and ride quality of a round tube, yet creates a sort of virtual air foil by directing the air around the leading edge of the tube the same way that a true air foil shape does. The result is, supposedly, an aerodynamic frame that competes with the most aerodynamic road bikes on the market while retaining excellent ride quality, stiffness and low weight of some of the best ’round’ tube road bikes on the market. Sort of the best of both worlds…

So the million dollar question has to be, how fast is it? Well, it’s hard to say for sure. I don’t I have a wind tunnel, nor does that kind of data matter much once you’re out on the road. What I can say is that it does feel fast. The feeling, although more subtle, is not dissimilar to a good set of aero wheels. When you put a set of HED Stingers on your bike, for example, it’ll be faster, it will be easier to maintain speed and it will continue to accelerate on downhills. The Foil has a similar affect. The faster you go, the greater the benefit.

If you’re in the market for a new race bike, I can highly recommend the Foil. It’s hard to say if it’s the bike for you, though since so much of it is personal preference. The best advice I could give would be to stop in at Drummond Cycles and take one for a test ride. Regardless, of whether it’s your next bike or not, I’m convinced you’ll walk away from the experience thoroughly impressed.

Brad Sheehan

Brad Sheehan is a cat 1 rider with 10 years of racing experience. He is also Founder/Creative Director at SGD, a design firm specializing in sports-related branding and design.  Most recently racing for the MetLife Cycling team, a program which he also managed and directed for seven years, as well as having many high profile clients within the cycling industry, Brad brings a broad perspective and a breadth of knowledge to the bike.
Since the birth of his son a year ago, Brad has taken a step back from the racing scene, but still gets out on the the bike regularly, often times towing his son along in the bike trailer. He can also be found on local group rides and training races in and around the Concord area.

Well,the bike showed up in my shop as a framest in the beginning of February in New Hampshire. The paint work is beautiful albeit a little on the feminine side (they are Canadian after all).  I ended up building the bike with an Ultegra electric group.  Reynolds carbon tubulars 66/46 up front.  Easton carbon crank, Carbon Revl brakes, and Pro logo Scratch pro saddle.  I didn’t spend much time in the setup knowing that I would have some time to adjust to the bike.

My first ride was about 37 degrees with some pretty rough pavement to really get an idea of the ride quality.  I was out for just under 3 hours with a group of knuckleheads so needless to say the bike was put through its paces.  After downloading the ride I realized that on the first ride I hit 53mph.  The bike never felt twitchy.  For me getting off the bike after 3 hrs I felt great so I had nailed the setup.  I definitely hit some pretty big holes in the road riding in a paceline at 30mph but it never upset the bike or me.  The BB stiffness was perhaps less than my Scott Addict but perhaps a tad stiffer than a Parlee Z5.  I would say that the ride quality is definitely smoother than the Addict.  The steering of the bike is exact.  I love the ride of the ENVE fork- it is my personal favorite.

When we finished the ride I had a big smile on my face.  Thinking back on the ride it was perhaps the climbing that really stood out.  The bike just seems to disappear under you whether you are out of the saddle or seated and that is saying a lot because I am not a small person at about 190lbs.  I am not perhaps the best tech reviewer nor claim to know all of the product out there.  I do however know that I am looking forward to the next ride on the PHOTON which will be in about 3hrs.  Since I have built this up I find myself trying different routes and different surfaces to test its capabilities.  Robert is going to personally have to come and pry the bike away from me because I do not want to give it back.
I will have more on the bike as I rack up some mileage– so far just 150 miles.

Dick Drummond
Drummond Custom Cycles
Enfield NH

This is not to say that lower profile rims cannot be built to be stiff.  A traditional box section rim can be built using more spokes to get be quite stiff.  In effect, this will increase the weight and lower the drag co-efficient, making them a less aerodynamic option.  Most aero aluminum and carbon rims are built with fewer spokes, typically between 16-24 on the front wheel and 20-28 spokes on the rear.  Using fewer spokes reduces the overall weight of the wheel and provides better aerodynamics by decreasing turbulent airflow or increasing the drag co-efficient.  Traditional aluminum box section rims vary in depth  from 18-27 mm. Rim depth greatly affects the ride quality of a wheel.  Lower profile or shallow depth rims provide a lively ride quality that has better rebound and can dampen the ride.  This, in part, is due to the fact that there is less material to provide rigidity as well as the use of longer spokes required to build the wheel, which provide more “spring”.

If you watch the spring classics such as Fleche Wallone, Flanders or Paris-Roubaix you’ll see a large number of riders on traditional box section aluminum rims built with 32 or 36 spokes per wheel.  This is because the tenacious nature of these races drives riders over the roughest roads and teams use them because they provide the greatest amount of strength and comfort in the most adverse conditions.   Increased spoke count on a wheel improves durability and makes them easier to repair by more evenly distributing the tension of the wheel to all of the spokes.

Reduce spoke count wheels have greater tension which puts a significantly higher amount of strain on the rim.  The high tension makes for one responsive wheel that can transform a bike from feeling soggy to crisp.  But because of this higher tension, when a spoke breaks on an aluminum wheel, the rim will often permanently distort making it irreparable even when a spoke is replaced and the wheel is brought back up to the correct tension. Catastrophic failures of this nature make exotic aluminum wheels a gamble when riding over cobblestones.  Carbon Fiber rims do not suffer from this malady as the material has what is referred to as infinite memory.  Meaning, it is highly elastic and will continue to bend and return to its original shape.  Every material has its limitations in terms of memory but carbon fiber has very high strength to weight ratio and requires incredible force to break when strained laterally.  Carbon has low impact resistance but is incredibly strong when stressed compared to aluminum.  These properties in addition to its compliant ride quality and dampening characteristics make it an ideal material for rims used when riding on rough surfaces and many professional riders use carbon wheels in the spring classics.  Of course, cost is a major factor when considering using carbon rims and teams have a quiver of wheels provided by sponsors.  The traditional box section rims are still used by traditionalists who rely on their tried and true durability.

In addition, the box section rims used by professional racers are tubular rims. Tubular rims are built without the taller bead of a clincher rim and require that the tire is glued to the rim.  I will cover tubular vs. clincher tires in another article.  The tubular rim can be constructed using less material and is inherently lighter than their clincher counterparts. Tubular rims are used for this purpose and provide the benefit of running larger volume tires at lower pressure, contributing to a smoother ride quality from the added cushion, making them faster on rough roads or for cyclocross.

When considering the type of material to use when building a rim it is important to take into consideration the type of conditions that they will be subject to.  After all a wheel set is an investment that you want to get the most out of without having to save them for special events or ideal riding conditions.  Professional riders use carbon rims for all types of racing and training but they require more maintenance than an aluminum rim because the braking surface is more prone to wear when introducing dirt, sand and rain between the pad and rim.  Big teams have big budgets and wheel sponsors provide them with multiple sets of wheels to use day in and day out.  For the everyday cyclist who is considering investing in a set of carbon hoops regular maintenance will prevent wear but be advised, if you ride all winter and never clean them after riding in the rain and slush the braking surface will wear significantly faster than an aluminum rim.  Many people use them for everyday riding because the performance of the wheels is addictive, but if you want your investment to last then it is best to save them for race day or use them in dry weather.

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