Cycling

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The Giro Rosa, the official name of the women’s Tour of Italy, released its list of teams slated to compete in the June 30-July 7 race. Headlining the startlist is Rabo Women, which boats two-time defending champion Marianne Vos. Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda), the 2010 and 2011 world road race champion, is also confirmed. On the provisional startlist is American Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon), who took second in the Gracia-Orlova stage race in the Czech Republic last month. Stevens also won the U.S. time trial championship in 2010 and 2011. Last year, she captured titles at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Exergy Tour, Route de France, the Women’s Tour of New Zealand, and Gracia-Orlova. Invited teams Rabo Women Specialized-Lululemon Orica-Ais Hitec Products Uck Pasta Zara-Cogeas Boels Dolmans Rusvelo Bepink Mcipollini Giordana Lotto-Belisol Ladies Wiggle Honda Faren-Let’s Go Finland S.C. Michela Fanini–Rox Vaiano Fondriest Bizkaia–Durango Top Girls Fassa Bortolo Chirio Forno D’asolo Tibco-To The Top Netherlands National team United States National team

Magura will add a new 150mm-travel TS8 29er fork for 2014 to address the growing legion of long-travel, big-wheeled trail bike market. Boasting a claimed weight of just 1,600g, the new TS8 R 150 29" will be awfully light for its class, too, when it starts arriving in stores in 4-6 weeks.Instead of upsizing to 34mm or 35mm like some Fox and RockShox offerings, Magura'snew fork is essentially a longer version of the current 120mm-travel model with the same 32mm aluminum stanchion diameter to help keep the weight low.As with all Magura forks, though, the TS8 R 150 29" will use a dual-arch, magnesium lower leg casting that should help offset the smaller tubes, at least in terms of torsional stiffness.Those lower legs will also feature Magura's own 15mm thru-axle design, rubber lower leg protectors to help stand the bike upright when the front wheel is removed, and post mount caliper tabs sized for 180mm-diameter rotors.Tucked inside one of those legs is the company's latest DLO3 compression damping cartridge with three settings that can be selected via a crown-mounted dial: Open for the most active ride on bumpy terrain; Firm to decrease movement while still retaining some measure of bump absorption; and Lockout for the most possible efficiency on smoother terrain. The rebound cartridge is unchanged although Magura has reshaped the knob for easier adjustments.Inside the other leg sits a revamped air spring with an easily adjustable spring rate. Simply add snap-on spacers underneath the air cap to decrease air volume for a more progressive feel or remove them to get a more linear stroke.One thing to note for US buyers: the new forks will actually be set at 140mm (Magura apparently felt that was a more appropriate figure for that market) but users will only have to move an internal spacer to extract the full travel.The new TS8 140 29" will come with Magura's own 15mm axle along with rubber lower leg protectors and an updated rebound knob shape for easier adjustmentsOther fork updatesAll of Magura's new forks will supposedly be more active than before on smaller bumps, too. Teflon-impregnated and precision-sized metallic bushings replace last year's plastic ones while a new silicone-based grease will replace the oil baths inthe air chamber and lower legs. The recommended service interval is 50 hours – about on par with other manufacturer's suggestions.Magura will offer the bushing and grease upgrade as a "Performance Package" retrofit for older forks.Starting in November, 27.5"/650b-compatible forks get an update as well with dedicated lower leg castings instead of ones borrowed from the old Thor range. Axle-to-crown length increases a few millimeters but claimed tire clearance will jump from 2.35" to 2.5".

Cycling Legalese is our online cycling law column from everyday cyclist and Chicago based injury lawyer, Brendan Kevenides. Hit and run collisions involving cyclists happen all too often. In this column Brendan shares some words about how to legally protect yourself both before and after a hit and run. Q: While riding I was sideswiped by a car and they ran. My injuries were quite severe and I spent some time in the hospital. Is this a no win situation for me? Brendan Kevenides, P.C.:In my experience, hit and run crashes involving drivers and cyclists happen with disturbing frequency. Generally, a driver will take off after causing a collision for three reasons: (1) Fear of consequences; (2) He/she lacks a moral compass; (3) He/she lacks auto insurance coverage. Very often all three factors are in play to compel a driver to flee a crash. Leaving the scene of a collision in which bodily injury or property damage results is a crime. Unfortunately, a city cyclist should anticipate the possibility of being in a hit and run crash. However, there are steps he or she can take to protect themselves both before and after such an incident: Buy insurance: In 49 states, drivers are required to carry motor vehicle insurance coverage. (New Hampshire is the outlier.) Useful and integrated into our culture though they may be, cars and trucks have the potential to cause enormous harm. For that reason, motor vehicle owners are required by law to have insurance to compensate anyone they may injure. Nevertheless, nationally one in seven drivers, over 14%, fail to carry the necessary coverage, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Many auto policies provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. These provisions of a policy provide important protection if you are injured by another driver who either has no insurance, or coverage that is insufficient to compensate you for your injuries. Generally, the amount of un/underinsured coverage mirrors the amount of the policy’s bodily injury coverage. A bicyclist’s own motor vehicle insurance may provide coverage if he or she is seriously injured by a motorist who either lacks insurance or who has insufficient coverage. If you are hit by a driver that flees the scene, your insurance provider will usually treat that as if you were hit by an uninsured driver and cover you ever though you were biking at the time of the crash. However, some insurance policies require that you notify your insurer very soon after a hit and run incident, often within 30 days, or you may run the risk of coverage being denied. A carless person may buy a non-owners auto insurance policy. These policies are offered by many big name insurance companies and tend to cost considerably less than a standard policy, generally about half the premium of a traditional auto owner’s policy. Importantly, they may protect the non-car owning bicyclist who is injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver. Not all insurance policies are the same. Rates may vary greatly depending on location and the specific coverage purchased. Non-owners car insurance policies may differ materially from one to the other. Also, they may not automatically come with un/underinsured coverage. Make sure that you ask your insurance agent lots of questions, making sure you understand exactly when the policy you are buying will and will not cover you. Press record: Technology has finally gotten to the point where is it relatively easy and inexpensive for a cyclist to ride with a small video camera secured to the front of their bike, or helmet. Riding with one of these cameras recording your ride can be a tremendous help if you are involved in a crash. A review of the video after the fact may uncover the identity of the vehicle and driver involved. Just a few short years ago, it was impractical to ride with a video camera. Many models were too big and too heavy. Even if they were small and light they could not be attached and detach

If your carbon brake surface is worn down, it's best to purchase a new wheel than to try resurfacing it. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.comRe-surfacing brake tracks Dear Lennard, I have a set of Easton EC 90 carbon tubular rims that I use for ’cross. They are awesome despite being a little more than four years old and showing wear on the braking surface (they are not disc brakes). Can the braking surface be resurfaced? If so, how? Do you have any experience with this? They’re great wheels that I am not able to replace at the moment and upgrading to discs is totally out of the question right now. It seems like ’cross can wear the surface down more than road use, so I would like to think there is a solution out there besides buying new wheels. But I am not aware of how it is all done. I would love any advice you could give! — Dan Dear Dan, It had never occurred to me before to even think of doing such a thing. I am very interested to know as well and did some research on it. Unfortunately, the brake track cannot be resurfaced, if you mean by adding material, by any of the manufacturers I’ve contacted. Their responses are below. I also asked carbon-fiber repair firms, and only one of them would do it, and the others offered reasons for not doing so. See those responses below as well. If you were to somehow resurface it, I’m certain that it would void any manufacturer warranty you might have on the wheel. ? Lennard From Reynolds: Inherent in high-performance rims is the design concept for minimum wall thickness that will provide a “reasonable” life span. Unfortunately, this means that there is no additional sacrificial material that could be machined off in a resurfacing operation. In theory, ceramic could be deposited on the worn surface, and then ground smooth. As you may recall, I laminated a ceramic layer onto the surface of the carbon during the molding process (it was a production product for Lew rims), and also experimented with ceramic that was deposited after molding, and then ground smooth (never a Lew production process). For reasons not pertinent to this topic, neither is ideal as a current state-of-the-art solution for a new/production rim, however with significant resources (more cost than the cost of a new rim), a ceramic compound could be deposited to the braking surface of a worn rim and then ground smooth. This would be a solution/process for resurfacing a worn braking surface on a carbon rim. Reynolds manufactures a ceramic brake track rim that is sold under the brand Pacific Rims, and it is sold as an OEM product to certain customers who request this brake track. The reason we do this is to avoid the hassle of needing to use a special brake pad. The ceramic makes the braking surface super durable and although it’s not marketed as a CX product, it would work well for that application. The down side of this rim is that the braking is not optimized for stopping power or heat-resistance, and it does not perform as well as our CTg laminate with the Cryo-Blue pad. It would, however, solve the problem Dan has experienced associated with CX use. — Paul Lew Director of Technology and Innovation Reynolds Cycling, LLC From Zipp: I can only speak for ours, officially. But they cannot. Most brake track surfaces, ours included, are integrally constructed and are not capable of being deconstructed to resurface them. — David Ripley Technical PR Manager Zipp Speed Weaponry From DT Swiss: On the record, we do not recommend “resurfacing” of our carbon braking surfaces due to all of the variables involved. Especially given the brake track is both a structural and functional part of the rim. This is because we simply cannot vouch for the quality, materials used or the experience possessed by the facility or technician on a repair in the field. — Matthew McClendon Marketing/Account Executive DT Swiss, Inc. From ENVE: No, there is not a process that can add material to a brake track after it has worn away. I m

BMC rider out with saddle sores

HR "Finding Joseph I"FACEBOOK PAGEwww.facebook.comKICKSTARTER PAGE to raise money for this projectwww.kickstarter.com/projects/hrdocumentaryI Against I-Thirty years after the golden age of D.C. punk, Bad Brains is a band at war with itself. A local activist and historian ponders their fate.In the Washington City Paperwww.washingtoncitypaper.com

Rubena may seem like a new name in tires to some North American consumers, but back in the Czech Republic they’ve been making tires since 1928. The V66 is their basic touring and commuter tire, available in 26″ and 700c versions, in 28 – 40 mm widths with flat proof and reflective options. The tested V66 has both the 3M reflective stripe on the sidewall and Rubena’s Stop Thorn flat protection system, a stiff 3.5 mm thick strip embedded in the tire. At 450 g each the tires aren’t light, and the Stop Thorn strip is anything but supple, but I’ve always found that heavy tires full of air roll faster and better than lightweight tires with a chunk of glass embedded in them. So far so good, after months of riding around carrying a pair of spare tubes and a pump I’ve yet to have had a flat tire. Stiff sidewalls didn’t make the V66 tires the easiest to put on the rim, but by the same token provide further pinch-flat protection and have bailed me out when not paying the closest attention to airing up before heading out. Perhaps not the best choice for performance riding, but for the everyday grind or a long tour the Rubena V66 with the Stop Thorn casing and reflective strip seems an appropriate choice. At $30 per tire, they’re an economical option in flat proof tires as well. See more about this and other Rubena tires at www.rubenatires.com

Better infrastructure behind rise in riders riding in and out of city centre, economy benefits by at least £4.3m read more

François Gissy piloted a home-made rocket-powered bike to 263km/h on a disused air force runway on Sunday. Gissy developed the bike with help from Swiss company Exotic Thermo Engineering who made the hydrogen peroxide powered propulsion unit. Speed was measured with a GPS unit on the hydrogen peroxide powered mountain bike, reported French news agency AFP.In the understandably short video, Gissy holds on for dear life as the rocket powered bike – blasts past a car on the runway. Please install Adobe Flash player to view this contentThe unverified 263km/h (163mph) – other sources suggest lower speeds of 180km/h and 163km/h – would still shy of the 268km/h achieved by Fred Rompelberg, who was motor-paced to the absolute bike speed world record in 1995 on salt flats in Utah, America.