Middle of the racing season and I haven’t been doing many competitions. Nearly five weeks to be exact since my last race. Initially it was because of a bad back which took a few weeks to get better, but from there it went to a bout of bronchitis which took ages to clear. This has resulted in bouts of sporadic training where I seem to be going backwards as opposed to forwards and I’m trying my hardest just to tread water.

Every sportsman will go through a period like this but it still remains the most frustrating thing about being an athlete. Give me the constant pressure of heavy training anytime over just sitting down doing nothing waiting for the body to recover. However, when racing every weekend generally all your think about is the following race, how you expect to perform and you dont really have much chance to apreciate the things that you can sometimes take for granted. This week I’ve been thinking over what’s been the pluses for me so far this year and it has to be the support I’ve been having from Wiggle. The equipment they’ve provided has been top draw and I’ve had quality equiptment to race and train with all season, so with little racing at the moment I though I’d mention a few things that’s help me out so far this season….

Bikes
Of course I’ve raced the Focus Raven last year and it was a bike I certainly enjoyed riding. But this year they stepped up again and the frame was definitely better. They improved the head tube by beefing it up to 1 1/2” on the bottom end giving a much more secure platform for the forks and the slender rear end gives good feedback when on the track. I knew that this was going to be a good bike before I started riding it and it didn’t dissapoint…its fast!. Only a shame that I havent had the best of luck to give the bike the result it deserves, but the season aint over yet!

The most important bit of kit of this year turned out to be a supprise. I was given a Focus Black Forest Pro to use as my training bike and although it’s a good looker coming out of the box it has surpassed all of my expectations. I have used it nearly every day and in all weathers, I just hose it down and oil it afterwards and it feels like new every time. Although it’s a little heavier than my race bike it’s just as smooth and for the price…just fantastic! I’ve used my Black Forest for all my training sessions whether they are long rides or sharp intervals and it is just a great bike to ride.

The dhb clothing (despite being renowned for many awards) has improved this year, with race kit being a much closer fitting, softer materials and better padding in the shorts. Good comfy shorts which have never let me down or given me any problems. The fact that I use nothing else speaks for itself.

Comfort when riding is just about the most important aspect, especially when you spend anything above 20hrs a week in the saddle.

This year as with last year I’ve been riding Lake Shoes. I race with MX330C, train with MX170C on the mountain bike and use the gorgeous white CX330C shoes for the road. I can change easily between these and there is no difference in the feel and are all are extremely comfortable and both sets of 330C’s having the added bonus of being really light.. My MX170C training shoes give me extra protection from the weather (particularly in winter) as there is less meshing preventing the wind chill, hence, keeping your feet warm. I particularly love my white CX330C road shoes as I love white shoes when I’m training or racing because I’m sure they make me go faster, even if it is psychological. :)

Anyway, back to racing and my next test will be the fourth round of the southern series this coming weekend at Alton. It’s a bit soon as far as my fitness is concerned but I’m finally starting to feel healthy again and just want to race. I’m hoping that my season will finish strongly and I can get a few results.

Oyama have teamed up with Wiggle to give away a superb prize worth £550! It’s time to get creative as every review you leave us is your chance to win!

1 lucky reviewer will be chosen randomly to win the following superb prize:

An Oyama St James Folding Bike, a luxury urban bike for professionals.

To enter the competition, all you need to do is write a review on any product from the 18th August to the 19th September 2010. Remember, each review you write before midnight (GMT) on Sunday 19th September 2010 counts as a chance to win this cool prize!

Leaving a review is EASY!

Simply find the product you wish to review on-site and click on the ‘write a review’ link on the product page. It’s your chance to have your say so please be creative, be eloquent, be passionate, focus on the product and the Oyama St James folding bike could be yours!

Reviews must be left before midnight (GMT) 19th September 2010 for your chance to win. Please remember that reviews are directly about the product, and not our service. We welcome your opinion on Wiggle which you can include at the end of the review form. If you have any specific questions please email sales@wiggle.co.uk

You can now view all products that you haven’t reviewed in your Wiggle Account

Basso have teamed up with Wiggle to give away a superb prize worth £950! During 28th June to the 1st August 2010 any review left via Wiggle.co.uk was automatically submitted for a chance to win this superb prize worth £950!

We are very pleased to announce that we have selected one very lucky reviewer who has been chosen randomly to win the following superb prize:

A Basso Devil 2010 compact geometry road bike equipped with Campagnolo drivetrain.

This awesome prize will be shortly dispatched to lucky review winner Mark Burrows for his review on his award winning Focus Fatboy.

View his review here.

Over the last few months I have been very fortunate to test some fantastic new kit, I have taken the time to review some of the best kit I have been using recently.

Garmin Edge 500

I was ecstatic to be made a Garmin Ambassador in April this year and provided with a Garmin Edge 500 to use as a training tool. Having used the Edge 705 previously it was extremely easy to use with a very intuitive menu system. The 500 does everything the 705 does, minus the colour screen mapping, but it manages to do so in a much smaller, sleeker case. The new twist mount is also much easier to use than the older mount, single handed 90 degree twist in and out.

The main use of the Edge 500 and the 705 I used previously is as a training tool and both do a fantastic job. Huge amounts on data are available on the go and then post ride the amount of in-depth data through the software included has proved invaluable. A major feature to me personally is the ability to link up to other ANT+ wireless devices, such as Heart Rate via the optional strap or a Cycleops Powertap.

The only slight downsides of the 500 over the 705 that I have discovered so far are the microphone level which is slightly lower and harder to hear in noisy conditions, such as the wind or busy traffic. The 500 also uses different file formats which make it slightly more time consuming when importing data into the Training Center software provided or the 3rd part WKO+ software I use. Neither of these affect the use of the device and I would imagine that Garmin will soon have fixes for the software issues.

I couldn’t imagine training without the Edge 500 as along with the Powertap it has completely revolutionised my training and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a very powerful training computer.

USE Carbon Road Handlebars:

These bars are such a new product in the USE line up that they on not in many shops yet. They are very light handlebars, weighing in at 199g for a 44cm bar they are aimed mainly at the sportive rider rather than the out and out racer. They feature some unique touches that really make them stand out from other top end bars on the market. The shape, bend and drop are all very comfortable and I felt happy with them from the very first ride. The bars also do a great job of reducing road buzz and even when moving from bars with gel pads and thicker tape to these I found the USE bars just as effective and overall more comfortable.

Cable routing is taken care of thanks to the built in cable holders, a feature I have not seen on any other bars. They do a great job and make it really easy to setup the cables and then tape up the bars. I am using the bars with SRAM Rival shifters and they match up perfectly. All other double cable shifters like high end Shimano and Campagnolo should work equally well.

Another neat feature is a flat spot near the shifter mounting, it is a simple but effective way of blending the transition between bars and hoods making them more comfortable when your holding onto the hoods, which for me is 95% of the time.

The final unique touch is how the bars keep the 31.6mm diameter right through the flat section and into the start of the bend. There are a few advantages by doing this, one being it is simply more comfortable. The second, perhaps accidental advantage is that you have more options when attaching devices, such as computers or lights to the bars.

Overall they are the best bars I have used; the weight is competitive with anything else on the market and the shape, style and features really help them stand above the rest.

Cyclops Indoor Bike, PT300:

The latest training tool in my quest for greater fitness on the road to Australia and the 24hr Word Solo Championships is this Indoor Bike from Cyclops with built in Powertap technology. It may seem strange to get an indoor bike in the middle of summer, but the one part of my training where I felt was lacking was the ability to do multiple reps of high intensity work away from the constantly changing nature of the roads. I have not had the bike long, so a full review will follow in future but my initial impressions are very positive.

The whole bike is very sturdy and even when pedalling at maximum effort there is no movement at all. The bike is infinitely adjustable so you can dial in exactly the position you want, from MTB to TT. The display is clear and quick to update information. I can see this bike becoming a major part of my training in the run up to the Worlds.

Power Balance Band:

I was recently sent this new product to try out along with a few other Wiggle athletes. The bands have big claims and top level sport stars are endorsing them, but I will be honest and say I was very sceptical when I first saw the band. They claim to improve balance, power and flexibility but just how it manages it is a mystery to me.

I followed the tests shown on YouTube and to my amazement the band appeared to do exactly what it claims! All the tests “worked” on me and I also gave it to Nia to try and there again is seemed to work just as it shows on the video. It was rather convincing and I must admit I was swayed to believing in it, despite still not knowing how it works… witchcraft maybe?

I have since tried the band on several other people with varying levels of success, but after discussing it with some people they have planted a few more seeds of doubt in my mind. I am going to continue wearing it and conduct the tests shown on the video weekly and also do some cycling specific tests using the Cycleops Indoor bike and Powertap hub to provide accurate and fairly scientific data on weather or not the band can really improve power.

Neoprene is neoprene – right? Can one wetsuit really be faster than another? It’s Saturday morning, it’s baking hot and I’m climbing into the blueseventy Helix, wondering if this suit – which the likes of world champion Alistair Brownlee swears by – will live up to the hype.

First things first…

Getting into the suit is easy: the legs and body roll up smoothly and I’m impressed by the lower cut neck, which makes sighting easier and reduces the chances of neck chafing (something I often suffer with). The Helix features a reverse zipper (for a speedy T1 – more on that later), so unless you’ve got the shoulder flexibility of a contortionist you’ll need a training partner to help do the suit up for you. Once on, the Helix looks and feels ready for business – and that’s before you’ve even dived into the water.

Making a splash

If you like wetsuits which seal well, you’ll love the Helix. I’d go as far as saying not a drop of water entered the suit from the moment I entered the lake, which not only guarantees comfort and warmth in chillier conditions but also ensures the best hydrodynamic path through the water. The Helix provides a seal unlike any other suit I’ve worn (and I’ve tested a fair few) which is thanks in part to features such as the neatly placed silicon seal arm cuffs. The wide range of sizes (seven in the women’s range, eight in the men’s) also helps ensure you can find a suit which provides the best fit for your body shape. The women’s specific suits – the Femme Fit – are designed with the female form in mind and were developed with the help of elite female triathletes. This is only too evident as you swim: the Helix is an intelligently-designed and researched suit which delivers what many high-end suits promise to but often fall short.

Freedom and speed

Some wetsuits can feel restrictive as you swim, particularly around the chest and shoulders, but the Helix offers greater flexibility and buoyancy, resulting in an unimpeded stroke and a higher body position in the water, both of which will lead to faster swim splits. The buoyancy panels throughout the suit will help even the most heavy-legged triathletes improve their body position. Features such as the proprioceptive arm panels (OK, it sounds like marketing jargon, but I’ll translate it into English soon enough) prove once again that the boffins at blueseventy really did do their R&D when it came to the Helix. Aside from looking very smart and psyching out the opposition, the arm panels are designed to promote better arm position and improve catch, power and propulsion through the water. Maintaining a high elbow through the early catch phase of the front crawl stroke is something which many triathletes fail to do, yet these arm panels are there to help you do exactly that. With this in mind, it’s suddenly no surprise at all that world and Olympic champions are falling over themselves to get into this suit.

Fast transitions

The Helix is great in the water, but truly proves its class when it’s time to get out of it. The reverse zipper came into its own as I ran at full tilt out of the lake: it can be easily grabbed, yanked and released on the fly so that within moments you are flicking the suit off your calves and reaching for your bike gear. It also means if things get really rough and ready in the swim on race day, it’s impossible for someone to pull down your zipper. Always a bonus! Having worn earlier generations of the Helix, I knew it was a winner in T1 and, based on recent experiences with the latest generation suit, blueseventy has made the best even better. I’d stake my swim splits on blueseventy’s Helix and recommend this suit without hesitation.
I would say see you in T1, but if you’re not in a Helix you don’t stand a chance… ;-)

Check out Wiggle’s full range of blueseventy gear – from goggles to wetsuits and transition bags – Click Here

Return to the Wiggle blog next week for Emma-Kate’s review of our blueseventy goggles

Review from Cycling Active July 2010

Head to head, Cycling Active’s Tried and tested review rates two bike brands from two successful Internet retailers Wiggle & Chain Reaction.

The two bikes up for test were the Verenti Millook £1200 and the BeOne Blizzard £1399.99. We are very pleased to advise the Verenti Millook came out on top in Cycling Actives test. Read the Millook test below.

Online cycle superstore Wiggle launched its very own Kiron range in 2009 to general acclaim. The sportive-style machines caught the eye with attractive specs at a very reasonable price.

This Month busy bee Carolyn Hewett has been featured in two magazines, Health & Fitness and Triathlete Europe.

In Triathlete Europe they feature an age group triathlete each month which exemplifies the performance-body weight connection.

Click to read the feature below.

Healthandfitnessonline.co.uk have featured Carolyn where they met three women that have taken up triathlon. They show the benefits of taking up this fantastic all-round workout!

Click to read the feature below.

Millook is the name of a climb in the Verenti Cornwall Tor sportive, so there’s no mistaking who this bike is aimed at. As the middle model in internet retailers Wiggle’s three-bike, own-brand Verenti range, the price is carefully targeted too, at £1,200. Ride & handling: Light, stiff and comfortable – perfect for sportives. Despite its relatively low weight, the Millook is wonderfully stable – sit up and take your hands off the bar and it’ll keep going straight, even through potholes (an accidental test – don’t try this at home!). Best of all, the extra tall head tube – 45mm taller than the same sized Focus Cayo – combines with the shallow drop bar to give you a wonderfully commanding posture on the bike.

Descending and fast cornering is a joy as you can easily reach the drops without throwing your weight forward onto the bar. It’s all very well saying that’s what you should do on every bike, but with this high front end, it comes naturally. It’s surprising how often comfort seems to be overlooked on ‘racing’ bikes. Surely anyone can go faster, for longer, when their body isn’t being beaten up or contorted?

“This setup is for people like me who don’t want to be bent double all day,”

says Wiggle’s Paul Bolwell.

“Above all, it had to be great for descending.”

And it is. You get a head’s up riding position on the drops, one-finger braking capability with the competent own-brand Me3 dual-pivot brakes, confidence-inspiring steering from the all-carbon fibre fork and stiff, reliable Mavic Aksium wheels, not to mention superbly grippy Vittoria Diamante Pro tyres. The Millook is certainly not backwards in going forwards up mountains – but it positively begs to be hammered down the other side.

So how do you know if the Millook is for you? Well, if your current bike is unexciting, has a huge stack of spacers under a stem which is already flipped skywards and you still can’t enjoy descending on the drops like a bat out of hell, then it is.

Shiny own brand finishing kit all does its job well: shiny own brand finishing kit all does its job well

Frame & equipment: Chassis blends alloy and carbon, while own-brand parts do job well

The Verenti has certainly got the looks, with white decals on smart black paint, and red detailing that’s matched by red brake hoods and excellent performing red Gore Ride-On cables – both of which come with the SRAM Rival drivetrain. Finishing kit is shiny black Wiggle own-brand, with the Me3 bar, stem and seatpost all made from 6061 aluminium. They all do their job well, adding to the efficient but always comfortably firm quality of the ride. A closer look at the spec sheet shows some clever mixing and matching of materials and components in this build. Take the stiff aluminium bar and stem combo, which wastes little precious upper body effort through flex, while still managing to isolate your hands from uncomfortable road vibration with added gel padding under the bar tape. Likewise a first glance at the elegant but uncompromising-looking 31.6mm alloy seatpost might worry you about ride comfort. But the high-modulus carbon fibre seatstays and chainstays must be working together well, because despite the rewardingly direct power transfer for climbing and all-out sprints, the ride is still easily plush enough for you to be seated all day.

The triple-butted main frame triangle is working just as hard, as there’s no noticeable flex when sprinting, nor fore and aft frame flex in high-cadence seated sprints. Bolwell says the company looked hard for a frame material to reproduce the qualities of their scandium Kiron bikes last year, and are more than happy with this 7046 aluminium tubing. The 7000 series alloy is claimed to be 16 percent stronger than the more commonly used 7005, so less is needed for the tubing and weight is reduced by 12 percent. Bold claims, but the Millook is surprisingly light, efficient to pedal and comfortable – suggesting this tubing and what Bolwell calls

“a fortune on tooling”

has let engineers put the right amount of metal in the right places.

Review from Cycling Weekly

Mike Hawkins Thursday 29th April 2010

VERENTI’S first carbon bike,the Rhigos.03, is squarely aimed at the sportive market. So is it the sort of machine to whose handlebar the aspiring sportiviste will eagerly zip-tie their laminated number?

Price-wise the Rhigos.03 sits right in the middle of the Verenti range. Below it are the alloybased Millook and Kilmeston and above it, the platform-sharing Rhigos.02 and the Rhigos.01

To keep life simple, Verenti bikes use SRAM groupsets exclusively and the .03 is based around the Rival family (third from the top), but with a few key changes to help it hit the price point. A compact Truvativ Elita crank and own-brand Verenti Me2 brake calipers are the most noteworthy. The brakes match nicely with the other Verenti products namely the Me3 stem, bars and saddle.

Mavic Aksium wheels complete the ensemble with Vittoria Diamante ProTech tyres, which show that corners haven’t been cut. From the first look the Rhigos looks muscular and well built,thanks to the oversize tubes, but with a nod to the past as the tubes are joined with lugs. This style of manufacture allows Verenti to offer six sizes without a sky-high price.

It’s when you hit the corners hard that you discover just where Verenti’s designers have spent a lot of their time and effort. With the diameter of the head tube it’s not a surprise that the Rhigos’s front end is stiff, but that fact gets away from the subtle feel it can impart.

There is plenty of information coming through, which allows you to really get the most out of the corners, and it does this without giving a harsh ride impressive stuff. At the same time the rear end is stiff, which is good for drive, but I’d like to see a little more comfort built in for our ever-deteriorating British roads.

It’s worth checking the head tube length suits as it’s one of the longest we’ve seen, but due to the subtle design this is easy to miss.

With the Rhigos.03, Verenti has come up with a great handling, very affordable, lugged carbon, sportive machine.

In conclusion…

A great opening gambit in its bid to become a major player in the sportive market.

Rating: 9/10

What a weekend, a superbly organised event, great weather and a fantastic course was found at the Wiggle Super Series New Forest Spring Sportive. Check out this Wiggle Super Series Event Video courtesy of UK Cycling Events and Ross Chapman.

We also have received a great customer review of the New Forest Spring Sportive by Neil Partiridge. See what he had to say..

Decisions…

When I first saw the advert for the New Forest Sportive I didn’t even know what a “Sportive” was. According to Wikipedia it is a mass participation event where cyclists “challenge themselves in a personal battle against the distance and then ultimately, the clock”. I was still reluctant to take part because I thought I would be out of place… firstly because I am a commuter and occasional tourer, and secondly because my only bike is a straight handlebar steel frame tourer.

I emailed UK Cycling Events (the company behind the Wiggle sponsored sportives) to ask their advice. A swift response reassured me that the events are designed for people of all disciplines and abilities… they also said an 83 year old completed the event last year! Still hesitant, I decided to give it a go. A few clicks later I was registered for the event and more than a bit apprehensive.

The day before

Because I live in West Sussex, I didn’t want to travel to Brockenhurst on the day, so decided to camp the night before. We travelled down by car, and pitched tent at Roundhill campsite.

The campsite has modern, clean wash facilities and lovely hot (free) showers. There is no shop or electric hookups, just lots of open space (and new forest ponies). It is one of the nicest campsites I have stayed in and highly recommended for families.

After pitching we drove to the Brockenhurst College to register, which turned out to be a good decision as it saved queuing the next day.

On The Day

I was hoping for a good night’s sleep, but the forest was SO cold overnight we even had a hard frost. Because of that I barely slept a wink.

So, feeling very tired, I cycled down to Brockenhurst college, followed by my support vehicle (my wife with a car full of various energy drink and bars!).

I arrived about 7am (an hour before the first riders left) but already it was a hive of activity. The registration desks were already receiving riders, and there was coffee on tap.

I sat back and drank a few coffees (still trying to warm up and wake up), just soaking up the atmosphere. The hall soon filled up, and there was a constant flow of riders signing in, buying coffee and waiting to start. All the staff were very cheerful and there was a lot of banter between riders.

I had expected the event to be “roadie-centric”, and from my observations the riders seemed to be split into the following:

40% Hardcore Roadies with all the team gear and carbon fibre bikes weighing less than a flapjack
40% Keen Roadies with some team gear and part-carbon bikes weighing less than a loaf of bread
10% New Roadies with nice bikes but maybe not the legs
10% The rest of us – touring bikes/shopping bikes/penny farthings

So I was in the minority, but not alone.

Eventually, unable to put it off any longer, I changed into my cycle gear and headed for the start…

The Ride

We left in groups of about 10 every couple of minutes, and people soon found their own pace, speeding up or slowing down accordingly. I initially paired up with a couple who were there for a fun day out, rather than “going for gold”. We chatted for a bit until our way was blocked by several cattle, complete with shaggy coats and huge horns…. you don’t see that at the Tour de France!

For the first half of the ride I kept an eye on my cycle computer, aiming to keep my average speed at the “Silver” standard. By the half way stage I was starting to slow down, so was very pleased to see the feed station. There was chance to fill up with energy drinks, and assorted energy bars etc to choose from.

Soon after the feed station (I think) there was a short sharp pull which left a lot of riders struggling. I resorted to pushing my bike up… as did a couple of others.

The last half of the race was generally flat, but occasional hills did test my rapidly tiring legs. I was overtaken by and overtook the same few riders quite regularly, so I was obviously not alone in needing occasional rest stops.

My wife was waiting near Burley with a few words of encouragement… and the good news that it was only 10 miles to go. That gave me my second wind and I cruised into Brockenhurst.

At the finish I was given my “finisher” medal and complementary magazine. It was then time for the free cup of coffee and a sit down.

After The Ride

I was delighted to finish the ride… although I knew it was a distance I had covered many times before, I had never ridden against the clock.

My initial concerns were unfounded – there was no pressure, everyone involved (staff and riders) were friendly and helpful. Despite being surrounded by carbon fibre bikes costing more than some cars, at no point did I feel out of place or unwelcome.

Well done to everyone who took part, especially those with a less than ideal bike and/or physique – I hope you had as much fun as me.

If you’re not sure, sign up for one and give it a go – I guarantee you will love it.

Neil Partridge.