A Brief Explanation of BMX bikes

  So with the holidays fast approaching maybe your son, daughter, grandchild etc… has come up to you and said “I would really like a BMX” bike.  Now, ideas for gifts are always great but they can be challenging as well.  Especially if you are somewhat unsure of what you are looking for and BMX bikes can certainly be a bit confusing.  In fact up here at the shop we get a tremendous number of phone calls and questions concerning BMX bikes from customers.  So we are going to spend some time going over some of the basics in an effort to hopefully help some people out.

  For many adults a BMX bike is a style of bike one would use for racing, in fact BMX actually is an acronym for bicycle motocross.  However, in today’s world of BMX actual racing is only one small segment of the pie.  When most kids today say they want a BMX bike, very few of them actually mean a bike they can race with.  The easiest explanation for this is that BMX racing is not quite as popular as it once was and a big part of this is that it can be difficult to find a race track.  The closest race track to Edwardsville is in St. Peters, MO, it is a great facility, and we have some customers that go but very few in total.  Instead today most kids are looking for a bike they can do tricks with and trick riding or whatever you choose to call it is by far and away the most popular form of BMX riding today.  The surge in interest in this type of riding is without a doubt due to the success of the X-Games and the internet.

  The X-Games has done a great job of bringing edgy sports like skateboarding, freestyle motocross, and BMX riding into our homes.   Also, with super advanced cell phones, digital cameras, and dvd camcorders, it is easy for riders to post web videos (edits) of themselves on the internet and develop a huge fan following.  Just Google BMX tricks and you will find a wealth of knowledge on the topic and complete how to videos demonstrating the huge variety of tricks a rider can do.

  Now that you know most kids are looking for a bike they can do some types of tricks and jumps with, what is up with all of the crazy terms they are throwing at you.  BMX is a very trend driven sport and these change very rapidly, so it is almost impossible to give a complete rundown of everything, but some basics should help you out quite a bit.  Many kids get focused on the weight of the bike and while the weight of the bike is important, to get a bike that say weighs around 24 or 25 pounds you are looking at a price tag in the ballpark of $600 or more.  Now that would be a great bike but it would be an advanced level bike aimed at someone that is really into riding.  Most entry level bikes will start around $280 and go up from there.  A bike at this level from a bike shop would be considered a great first BMX bike for someone.  It will be well built and feature components that will hold up to riding.  Some good things to know and ask about during a purchase are.

  Double walled rims - These rims feature an extra wall of metal for increased strength.

  Three piece cranks - These will have a bottom bracket (bearings) and a separate left and right crank.

  Seat - There are three different types of seats.  The traditional railed kind where the seat post has a clamping mechanism that attaches to the seat, an integrated seat and post, and what is called a pivotal seat.  A pivotal seat used a bolt that threads into the post.  The benefits of the integrated and pivotal seats are reduced weight.

Sprockets – This is the front chain ring, sprockets are smaller than they once were to get them out of the way for tricks.

Why are the seats so low and angled - The seats are this way to again get them out of the way for tricks.

What is up with the crazy colors and names - This goes back to the fact that BMX is edgy.

Pegs - The pegs are used for grinding and not for having people stand on them.

Detangler or Gyro - Gyro is an actual brand name for a detangler, this is a component that allows the rider to completely turn their bars in a circle without having any interference from the brakes.

Street/Park bike - This is a style of bike that typically come stock with peg and the tires will not be as knobby as a dirt tire.  These bikes can be ridden on any terrain actually though.

Dirt bike - These bikes will normally not come stock with pegs, they will also feature tires with a different tread pattern to better handle the dirt.  These bikes can be ridden on any terrain actually though.

  Well, I hope this has helped to answer some basic questions you may have had.  Also, please remember this is not an exhaustive list concerning BMX bikes, just a brief introduction.  If you have more specific questions I would encourage you to either call or stop by the shop and speak with us.

Giant Defy Advanced 0

  With 2012 quickly approaching we are steadily starting to see more and more of next year’s bikes show up at our front door.  One of the coolest bikes for next year is without a doubt Giants Defy Advanced 0, featuring Ultegra Di2 Electronic components.  This bike first and foremost features Giant’s outstanding Defy Advanced frame which utilizes Giant's advanced composite T-700 carbon fiber, the same level of carbon fiber found in their TCR Advanced series bikes.  The quality of the material makes the bike exceptionally stiff and at the same times provides an amazing level of comfort for the rider.  In our opinion all of this adds up to one thing FUN.   The bike is built using endurance geometry just like the entire Defy Advanced and Defy family.  This means the bike has a taller head tube, shorter top tube, and a slightly longer wheelbase.  The adjustments allow the rider to sit up a bit higher than they would on a bike using race geometry and help to provide comfort on those longer rides.  Many top professional teams will use endurance geometry bikes for epic classic races such as Paris Roubaix.

  Ok, so that covers the frame but what about that new electronic component group you say?  The Ultegra Di2 group is nothing short of amazing.  Ever since Shimano launched Dura Ace Di2 back in 2009 people have been chomping at the bit to get their hands on the stuff but some were a bit dismayed by the price.  So the new Ultegra Di2 is Shimano’s move to get more people into the electronic shifting game by offering a group at a more palatable price range and best of all it is a highly tuned and well-functioning group. 

  To attain the lower price point Shimano made some adjustments to some key components of the group namely a move from carbon brake levers to alloy, a different wiring harness, and slightly larger front derailleur, but the shift quality remains crisp and smooth.  The biggest benefit of Shimano’s electronic groups is retained with Ultegra Di2, namely the ability to shift from the small chain ring to the large chain ring under load.   Anyone that has ridden a decent amount of time knows that a rider needs to briefly back of the pressure on the pedals when shifting to help avoid a miss shift with mechanical component groups but with Shimano’s electronic groups you can maintain the pressure while shifting.  This definitely provides a performance advantage to the rider and would certainly allow one to cheekily upshift to the large chain ring just as you crest a hill to put your riding buddies in the hurt locker.

  So for those of you that are in the market for a new ride, component group, or are a bit curious by all means come on by the shop.  We have already sold one Defy Advanced 0 and currently have two in stock.  As always any bike purchased at The Cyclery & Fitness Center comes with lifetime free adjustments and 10% off parts and accessories for a year.   

Food as Fuel

  So, another few commonly asked question up at the shop are, what should I be eating, and how often should I be eating during exercise.  These can be somewhat tricky questions to answer since no one at the shop is a sports medicine physician or dietician but most of us have been competitive amateur athletes or still are and we have some cycling coaches working up at the shop so we asked those guys for some advice.  So two of our employees put their heads together (Andy Gibbs has been coaching for around six years and Justin Allen has a M.S. Ed in Kinesiology from SIUE and has been coaching for four years) and came up with some good suggestions.

  For starters when thinking about eating to get ready for exercise or competition you need to think of food as fuel, it still needs to taste good to you, but now that tasty food has one sole purpose.  Because you rely on your food for performance, you are going to need to get a bit scientific with your pre, during, and post exercise meals, so you are going to have to do some quick calculations to determine how many grams of carbohydrates you need to eat.  First and foremost your meals need to provide you with adequate carbohydrates, be well tolerated by you, easily digestible, and if you are eating prior to exercise, the meal should occur three to four hours before you exercise or compete. 

  So why the emphasis on carbohydrates?  Carbohydrates are your body’s main energy nutrient source; they digest easier, and are absorbed by your body faster than protein or fat.   Furthermore, your body stores around 2,000 calories of glycogen in the liver and muscle and when you eat carbohydrates your body will replenish these stores appropriately.  Also, when thinking about a pre-exercise or competition meal carbohydrates are favored over a protein heavy meal because protein breakdown in your body actually facilitates dehydration which is exactly what you don’t want.

  So how much should you be eating before you exercise and how long before you go out?  Thankfully this one is not too complicated and just requires a quick calculation.  You should be eating 3-5 grams/ kg of body weight with the goal being a total of 150-300 grams of carbohydrates.  To calculate your weight in kilograms simply take your weight in pounds and multiply by .45, for example a 180 pound individual would be 81 kilos.  You would then want to eat this meal three to four hours before you exercise and the meal can be in solid or liquid form.  We would recommend experimenting between a solid or liquid meal so you can determine what works best for you.  We would also recommend that you do eat a bit of protein so maybe a bowl of cereal or a bagel with peanut butter but don’t go crazy with a full steak and egg breakfast.  The key to a pre-exercise meal is really the timing of it.  If you eat within an hour of exercise your workout or race performance may be hindered by rebound hypoglycemia meaning, after you eat there is a spike in insulin causing your blood sugar/glucose to dip for a brief period of time.  If you are exercising during this dip in blood sugar/glucose your performance will be affected because you are robbing your body of its primary fuel source during this time period.

  The question of whether you should be eating anything while you are exercising really depends on how long you are going to be out there.  If you are exercising for under 1 to 1.25 hours than eating will have a minimal effect because it is going to take around 20 minutes for what you eat to have an effect on you.   For any exercise over that time period and especially a race it is a good idea to have some type of calorie supplementation, unless you are working out specifically to lose weight, then your goal for that workout is weight loss as opposed to performance.  There are several ways to take in additional calories while exercising.  An easy way is a gel packet, these packets usually have around 100 calories, they come in multiple flavors, and countless numbers of companies make them (Hammer, GU, Cliff).  They are easily digestible and should be taken with some water to facilitate the digestion process; they work especially well for runners because of their small size.  You can also drink some type of sports drink or drink mix, these will also contain important electrolytes to help keep you going.  Many cyclists will also eat solid foods in the form of bars (Cliff Bars, Powerbars) or special jelly beans (Sportbeans) and even special gummy chews.  The solid foods are typically well tolerated by cyclists because unlike running your body is not being jostled around, some runners shy from solid foods and stick with the gels but only trial and error will help you determine what works best for you.

  After exercise it is also important to think about refueling your body with energy so you should aim for eating 50-75 grams of carbohydrates every two hours up to 500 grams.  This method is preferred over one very large meal and does a better job of refueling your body.  The first 30-45 minutes after you exercise is very important for recovery because your body will readily take up what you put into it, so think of taking in a mix of carbohydrate and protein at about a 1 gram of protein to 3 or 4 grams of carbohydrates, ironically enough chocolate milk is great for this. 

  Really the key to nutrition when it comes to performance is to change your mind set when eating.  You need to think of the food you eat as the fuel your body needs to perform the task if are asking of it.  So think about good quality foods; lean meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts etc… these high quality foods will allow your body to perform at an optimal level.  Like a professor of mine always said if you put garbage into your body then you will probably get garbage out of it.

Demystifying Running Shoes

  So where have the days gone of simply purchasing some shoes to run in and then hitting the pavement?  While some of you may long for the days of yesteryear, the seeming complexity of your next running shoe purchase is actually a very good thing and may very well help prevent common overuse injuries.  With this in mind, it is my goal to help demystify running shoes and explain what is going on.

  For many people a shoe is just something you put on your feet:  the shoe will have a rubber sole, a cloth upper, and some laces to tie, basically think of the Converse Chuck Taylors.  A shoe like this will provide some cushion while you walk but is probably not the best to go running in for most people.  So if a shoe like that will not work for most people then what will?  For the sake of simplicity I am going to break running shoes down into three distinct categories and explain a bit about each category.

  Neutral shoes are best for runners that do no pronate meaning the ankle does not roll excessively inward during as it hits the ground.  These shoes are best for people with high arches and will provide a high level of midsole cushioning for the wearer.

 

              Neutral

                   

  Stability shoes are the most commonly used type of running shoes since a very high percentage of people pronate, pronation refers to the rolling in of the ankle while running.  The runner’s outside heel will strike the ground first then, as they transition to their mid and forefoot, the ankle will slightly roll in.  This slight rolling in may cause overuse injuries during the runners lifetime, so the proper shoes is essential.  A stability shoe will typically have a two tone color on the medial (inside) portion of the shoe, the darker color is a denser foam and is called a medial block.  This building up of the inside portion of the shoe will help prevent the ankle for rolling in too much.

       Mild Overpronation  

Motion control shoes are for individuals that pronate excessively, meaning the ankle rolls in in such a way that does not allow the foot and ankle to properly stabilize the body.  This extreme motion in not very common but shoes with a high level of medial support is required to counteract the effects of this motion.

 

        Severe Overpronation

  So, hopefully you have found this to be informative and you leave knowing more about running shoes then you did before.  If you have remaining questions please do not hesitate to stop by The Cyclery and speak with someone in the running department.  All of our running shoe staff has the ability to properly assess your gait for pronation and get you in the proper running shoes.

Bicycle Maintenance

  Ah yes, bicycle maintenance, by far and away the second most common question asked at the shop besides which bike should I get.  But, fear not because user end bike maintenance is in reality fairly simple and will help ensure your bike will function well.

1.        Before every ride you need to either check the tire pressure with a gauge or use a bike floor pump to add pressure.  It is typical for an inner tube to lose a bit of pressure or psi every day, the air will slowly leak out of the butyl tube because it is microscopically porous, and because the tube requires relatively high pressure with a low volume of air.  For example a road bike usually requires pressure ranging from 100-120 psi in a very small tube whereas your car tire requires a large volume of air but lower pressures 30-40 depending on the vehicle.  Not having the proper pressure can cause what is known as a pinch flat which is when the inner tube presses against the metal rim and punctures in two small spots resembling a snake bite.

2.        You need to lubricate your chain every two or three weeks or after riding in wet conditions.  A poorly lubricated chain will increase friction and cause your drivetrain (chain, cassette, front & rear derailleur) additional stress which may cause them to wear out prematurely. 

3.        Wash your bike but not with a pressure washer or the garden hose, simply wipe it down with a hot soapy rag or use a bike cleaning product.  Your bike will collect road grime and your sweat will leave a residue on the bike which overtime may be harmful to it, so wash it every once and awhile just like you do your car.  But do not spray water directly at the wheels, cranks, or fork because you may inadvertently force water and dirt into the bearings located at these points and cause yourself further issues.

4.        Check to make sure everything is tight and secure on the bike.  Make sure your quick release skewer is in the closed position and snug or if you have bolt on wheels that the axle nuts are on tight.  Make sure your handle bars are straight and aligned with the front wheel, seat post is secure, and finally grab both of the crank arms and make sure they do not move side to side.   By looking over the bike to check these things every couple of weeks you can avoid more costly repairs down the road.

5.       Visually inspect your tires for excessive wear, if you can see the threads in the casing of the tire it means it is time for a new tire.

6.       Finally, when in doubt bring your bike into the shop and have us look at it for you.  We offer lifetime free adjustments on all bikes purchased from us and we are always more than happy to help out a customer.  Frequently a small issue is very easy to fix and costs nothing but ignore that small issue and it may grow into a much more costly one.  

What Bike is Right for Me?

So without a doubt the most commonly asked question here at the shop is “how do I know which bike is right for me?”  For many people the last time they were on a bike was the day before they got their driver’s license and their experience with bikes at that time was pretty simple.  They owned whatever bike their parents had purchased for them, so it may have been a BMX bike, or most likely some type of mountain bike.  Now after X number of years you want to get back into riding because it is a good way to get some exercise or just take advantage of the MCT trails and ride with the family.  So, you say to yourself no problem I will pop into the bike shop and be out in about ten minutes.  But as soon as you walk in, wham, you see a seemingly endless variety of bikes, with prices ranging from around $270 for a single speed cruiser to upwards of $6,000 for a 15 pound road bike.  So now you start thinking did I come to the right place and is there a bike here for me and my budget?

  Well, don’t worry.  Yes, the bike industry now pumps out more styles of bikes than ever before but, with the help of a good salesperson, and some open ended questions from that individual, we can help get you on the bike that is going to fit your needs and budget.  So what is that big question you need to answer to get you going?  How about, what kind of riding are you going to do? 

  If you want to head on over to SIUE’s trails and then check out the trails in Missouri, then a mountain bike will best suit you.   If you really want to get into racing and maybe dabble in triathlons, then a standard road bike is your best bet.  But if you are a dedicated triathlete then a time trial bike with aerobars is your ticket to stepping up your game.  Most people however just want a bike that is comfortable; they can use for exercise, and go on fun rides with the family.  In those cases then a hybrid bikes will work best. 

  For example, the bike below is the Cypress DX by Giant.  It comes in a men’s and women’s version and is considered a comfort bike, meaning the bike has been manufactured to be as comfortable as possible.  It features an upright riding position, a suspension seat post and front fork, a well-padded seat, and an adjustable stem.

  Another example of a hybrid bike that is a bit different is the Giant Escape which, again comes in a men’s and women’s version.  The Escape is a bit more fitness oriented and lighter than the Cypress.  The riding position is not as upright, the bike has a standard seat post, and aluminum front fork.   

  So, as you can see, bikes have come a long way from the ones we know and loved as kids.  But don’t let that discourage you or scare you away.  We encourage you to check out our website at www.thecyclerys.com, there you will find links to various bike manufacturers websites, where they do an amazing job of describing their products.  Then come on into the shop and speak with one of our salespeople, to help get you on the bike that matches the type of riding you want to do.

LIVESTRONG Collection by Trek

  So most of us know Lance Armstrong's story of surviving cancer then conquering the Tour de France seven times in a row and while his cycling exploits are legendary, what he is doing now truly makes him a hero.  Since 1997 the Livestrong foundation has been working to improve the lives of people affected by cancer and this small organization has now grown into a global phenomenon and fundraising powerhouse.

  So with this in mind Trek has launched their LIVESTRONG collection of bikes to help raise money for the nearly 28 million people living with cancer.  With the sale of each LIVESTRONG bike $50 will be donated to the Livestrong organization.  Each LIVESTRONG bike will sport a distinct yellow and black paint scheme and Trek will continue to launch these special edition bikes over the next several months.

  The LIVESTRONG collection will initially start with the 7.2FX and will come in both a men's and women's version both of which can be ordered today at The Cyclery, in fact one customer has already purchased one, and it is a sharp looking bike.