A Pandemic Accelerated Divide The pandemic has accelerated a divide that has been developing for years now in the bike industry. Many of the biggest bike companies are aggressively pursuing factory owned stores and more online sales over independent bike dealer representation. In some cases this will mean a new “Trek Store” may move into your neighborhood. …
The front derailleur has long been the bane of the mechanical components of a bicycle. While some perfectly set-up front derailleurs, like Shimano’s Di2, are immense improvements over what front derailleurs used to be, there is no escaping that the front derailleur is a rather primitive component by necessity. There remains room for improvement in…
Ride Throughout the World from Home With the time change and colder temperatures, trainer time is here for many of us. While the CompuTrainer arguably started the smart trainer revolution decades ago, the current crop of options is like comparing a video game on the original Atari to a X Box Series X. The courses…
I am admittedly late to the virtual riding/training experience. This being said, I’ve used CompuTrainer products (the original “smart” trainer) at work for decades and I’ve worked with different smart trainers from TACX, Wahoo and Saris/Cycleops through the years. However, until last winter, I did not ride a smart trainer consistently and had not experienced…
Fit Werx in Peabody, MA will have revised hours on this July 4th weekend. The shop will be open Friday, July 2nd from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and then closed Saturday, July 3rd . The shop will reopen on Tuesday, July 6th for normal hours. Fit Werx in Waitsfield, VT and Ridgefield Park, NJ will be…
Shimano introduced their first “gravel specific” group over a year ago, so writing about Shimano GRX 800 is not new news. This being said, we wanted to get a little time with the new Shimano GRX 800 components before providing an overview. With this in mind, here is what GRX does and doesn’t do after…
At the turn of the century, we published an article about rolling resistance on bicycles works. The article points out three main things: Rolling resistance is a valuable enough performance variable that you should pay attention to it. Narrower and higher pressure tires are not always better. Suspension and compliance help reduce rolling resistance. While…
FW² in Peabody, MA will be closed from 3:00 p.m. on 12/24 and reopening on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. We wish everyone Happy Holidays and the very best as 2021 starts. Thank you for your support!
We have received a good number of inquiries about new bikes through the fall, which is great. We love to see more people getting out to ride and we also think it is great that some folks who have been riding older equipment are going to have the pleasure of experiencing just how far bikes…
Shimano introduced their first “gravel specific” gruppo in 2019, so some of this is not new news. This being said, we wanted to get a little time with the new Shimano GRX 800 components before providing an overview. The “gravel group” parts from Shimano are designated GRX and are available in three levels – 400,…
Ceramic bearings are often represented as the ultimate way to minimize rolling friction on your bike. The influx of ceramic bearing development into the bike industry sparked needed focus on reducing rolling friction in bearings. However, the reality of why some bearing designs are faster than others doesn’t always align with what is presented. With…
In the beginning, there was the cyclocross bike. Born in racing, but more often ridden in recreation, the cyclocross bike’s wide tires opened up roads previously unexplored by narrow high pressure tires. As time passed, the cyclocross bike evolved to adapt better to the gravel road riding thrust upon it. Wheel bases lengthened, head angles…