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…
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…
Over the past two years, Cervelo dealers have been almost begging Cervelo to bring some of the features, especially disc brakes, found on the P5-Disc down to the P3 and P2 level. Thankfully, Cervelo has responded for 2020 with the introduction of the Cervelo P-Series Disc platform. While the in-line caliper brake equipped P3 and…
From fit to electronic shifting and wheels, Part 1 and Part 2 of this series have explored a lot of great innovations in the bike industry in recent years. While there are many additional products and services worthy of consideration, Part 3 will be the last in this series… Here are some more places I…
Welcome to part two of my three part article on how starting to do a fairly long commute to work by bike made me think more about equipment changes in recent years and try some great new cycling products. Part one discussed shoes, electronic shifting and the best gravel/commuting pedal I have found. Here are…
We’re pretty excited about Parlee’s latest engineering creation – the Parlee RZ7 aero road bike. Why? For some of the reasons we are excited about bikes like the 2019 Cervelo S3. Aero road bikes are improving markedly in terms of rider comfort, fit and versatility. They are also becoming a bit easier to work on…
Do you have Zipp wheels now? Would you prefer to have a new pair? A new pair of Zipp’s with all the new technology (wider rims, dimpling, better braking, disc brake compatibility, less side wind effect…)? Are you not getting a new disc brake bike because you have nice caliper brake wheels? Is getting rid…
A number of years ago, Zipp sold their carbon bicycle rims to shops so that custom wheels could be built. However, Zipp stopped this and only sold complete wheels from the factory. This meant that if you wanted a pair of Zipp rims on any other hub, you had to buy a complete wheelset and…
In early winter 2017, my wife and I decided to each have one of our top rated adventure/gravel bikes, the Moots Routt RSL, built to match our fit and ride needs. About 60% of the roads in Vermont are dirt, so the Routt RSL seemed a logical place to expand our horizons. After over a…
Cervelo, Factor, Felt, Parlee, Specialized and Trek all make nice tri bikes that we carry. If a tri bike from one of these brands fits you well, we don’t have any hesitation recommending it in terms of the bike building capability of the brand. All of these brands know how to build a high quality…
For as long as I can remember, many bike publications have criticized bikes above about $5000 for their price. I’ve seen reviews that have praised every attribute of a bike’s ride and build execution only to say that you shouldn’t spend that type of money on a bike as it is too expensive. This does…