The latest crop of gravel specific road drivetrains offer lower gearing than a typical road bike. Groups like Shimano GRX, SRAM Force AXS Wide and Campagnolo Ekar are designed to help you deal with steep dirt roads with loose surfaces as best as possible through wide range gearing. In the case of 2x gravel groups,…
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…
From bikes like Niner’s MCR and Moots Routt YBB to Lauf’s Grit forks, suspension is an emerging trend in gravel road bikes. Gravel roads can often be rough on their own and going off-road on your adventure bike means encountering even more jostling. Suspension on a gravel bike makes sense for many riders. One of…
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…
By Jim Weaver, Service Manager Emeritus, Fit Werx, Vermont I retired as Service Manager at Fit Werx in Waitsfield, Vermont at the end of 2018. Shortly before retirement, I acquired a Parlee Z-Zero XD frameset. Spending just shy of 10 years building hundreds (if not thousands) of bikes, and servicing an equal number of client…
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…
I started writing my review of the Garmin UT800 smart headlight as part of a review of the second generation Varia RTL510 rear radar system – one of my favorite cycling accessories of recent years. As I got deeper into it, I realized that while the UT800 is a great companion to the RTL510. It is…