Current Equipment Setup - Fizik R5B Cycling Shoes

I've had these shoes for slightly over 2 weeks now and have done about 200 kilometers in them. My older pair of Sidi mountain biking shoes (picture below) had seen better days. Even though they were a little over 2 years old, the state in which they were in was terrible to say the least. In fact, by the time I began writing this blog, the soles of the shoes had pretty much disintegrated to the point where I was walking on the metal cleat and the inner nylon midsole. The velcro straps (both) on the right shoe had pretty much lost their stick and leather uppers of both shoes were slowly separating from the midsole that you could feel yourself slip ever so slightly forward in your shoes when you brake hard whilst standing.

They've seen better days.

If you've read my review on my Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals, you'll know that I got the shoes from the same bike shop in the Damansara Uptown area. Now, I have no definitive way to prove it, but I sincerely believe the store sold me a very old pair of shoes they had kept in stock at a ridiculous price. But I won't go too much in to that. Long story short, I felt cheated.

Fast track to today and I've learned a little more about the cycling world and have improved my decision making a tad bit. Which is why for my new pair of shoes, I did a fair amount of research online, reading up on numerous reviews and watching a number of video reviews on YouTube. Eventually, all of that lead me to my current and first pair of road-specific cycling shoes, the Fizik R5B.

Fizik, initially known for making high-end saddles, decided to enter the shoe market only a couple of years ago but practically hit the ground running and have since been able to put out top-quality shoes since then. If you subscribe to cycling-oriented YouTube channels like GCN for instance or read cycling-specific magazines, you may be familiar with their top of the line full-carbon R1B model with an organic leather upper, which is the exact model their sponsored riders use and retails for about RM1100 here. Unfortunately for me, not only is such a shoe way out of my price range, but honestly speaking, such a shoe would be 'too much shoe' for me, or rather I'd be 'not enough rider' for the shoe.

Fortunately for most of us mere mortals, Fizik also has their entry level R5B, which is the one I decided to pick up. However, don't let the 'entry level' term fool you. These shoes, priced around RM480 (which was the price I paid), still cost a decent premium. From the start, the packaging alone is pretty unique. A simple cardboard shoe box yes but the extra attention to detail with the quotes and what not definitely add a sense of prestige to it.

Inside the box, you'll find an instruction booklet written in a couple of languages regarding general shoe care, warranty, and how to operate the Boa dials. Apart from that, of course are the shoes themselves, wrapped in white crepe paper.

Within moments of picking them up and holding them in your hands, even though they're no where near the price range of an S-Works 6, Shimano Sphyre, or the R1B, you can't help but be impressed by the degree of quality they possess. And lets not forget that 'new shoe' smell!

The R in R5B stands for Road, as in road cycling while the B stands for the Boa retention system or Boa dial that's on the shoe. Boa technology has been around for quite sometime now although they've only made their foray into the cycling shoe scene a couple of years back. Essentially, the dial you see in the picture below tightens the wires that go across the shoe in millimeter increments, allowing for precise adjustments not only when you put them on but on the fly while you're riding as they can be operated with just one hand. For those of you who are skeptical about the structural strength of the system, the Boa Systems company has a lifetime guarantee on the Boa dial and laces (wires) but I'll talk about that a little more later.

The uppers of the shoe are synthetic, which is expected for most shoes at this price point. Just anterior to the Boa laces in a conventional-looking velcro strap that, in my opinion, does very little to add tightness or compression around the foot. This doesn't mean that the stickiness of the velcro is inadequate or that it comes loose or anything. It's just that the Boa system, while appearing to only provide 2/3 of the compression, is actually sufficient to provide an ample amount of uniform compression over the entire foot without any hotspots, almost making the velcro strap an unnecessary addition.

The possibly unnecessary velcro strap. 

The heel cups are able to hold the heels of my feet very snugly even during periods of out-of-the-saddle aggressive sprinting. On the outside, they have a layer of reflective grey material on which the Fizik logos can be found. These bits of grey act as built in reflectors and add a small but appreciated layer of safety to the shoes, especially when cycling at night.

Reflective heel cups.

The inner soles of the shoes are relatively stiff for what they are, with a spongy material underneath where the balls of the feet (metatarsal joints) are located. I assume that it's to dampen vibrations and provide more comfort to the rider. The back half of the sole has a softer material composition, presumably to add more comfort too. I'm no shoe scientist but I can confidently say, for whatever it's worth, these shoes are significantly more comfortable than my old mountain biking shoes when I first put them on.

The soles of the shoes are carbon-reinforced nylon and are, in my opinion, stiff enough. Sure, they're not as stiff as a pure carbon sole but then again, stiffness doesn't always equal performance. In this particular pair, they're stiff enough for you to not be able to bend the sole by hand. When out on a ride, flex is noticeable when climbing out of the saddle but only if you really try and pay attention to it. Otherwise, it's pretty stiff to me and significantly stiffer than my older Sidis. 

Overall, the shoes are just plain fantastic. Fizik offers a premium product with exceptional design and value for money and I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything better at this price range. I would strongly recommend them to anyone looking for a pair under RM500.

Coming back to the Boa dial. The reason why my mileage isn't more than it currently is is because the dial on one of my shoes broke about a week ago. I had just finished a ride and sat down to take my shoes off. I pulled the dial outwards in order to undo the laces (which is how you're supposed to undo them) but the entire dial came off instead. Now when I bought the shoes at the Rodalink Putrajaya store, because Rodalink seem to be the only dealers who carry Fizik shoes here in Malaysia, the store attendant at that time told me that the Boa dial and laces have a life-time warranty covering them, which of course, was very reassuring to me. 

However, when I went back to the store to claim my warranty, not only did the attendant I spoke to (a different one from before) say that the warranty only covers, and I quote, "manufacturing defects. If it breaks the first time you use it, then you can claim the warranty. If not, then it's not covered", but he kept suggesting that I "used excessive force" when I undid the dial. 

I thought this was just complete bullshit. Not only that, he brought out a replacement dial and told me it would cost RM100 to replace the dial! RM100! For a tiny piece of plastic?! At this point, I was getting quite pissed. I told him that the previous attendant mentioned the dial has a life-time warranty and asked him to at least try to claim the warranty. After awhile, he agreed and told me he'd get back to me.

Fast forward a few days later, he calls me back, telling me that he has contacted the manufacturer, who I'm assuming is Boa, and claims that the warranty can't be claimed. However, he's offering a 50% discount on the dial. In other words, I was bullshitted before when I bought the shoes, almost conned of RM100 when I tried to claim the warranty, and now, as a form of customer service, they're offering me 50% off for something I shouldn't have to be paying for!

At this point, I was pretty ticked off. I told him no thank you and that I'll be coming by soon to get my shoes back. Then, I immediately went online to Boa's website to find out more about their warranty policy. Within half an hour, I was able to claim the warranty for not one but a few replacement dials and laces that will be shipped to me from the US, all free of charge.

At the time of writing this, I made the warranty claim a few hours ago. The website says express international shipping should take 5 to 7 business days so I'll update this space here when/if they arrive. As for now, back to running shoes.

UPDATE (29/5/2017)

Within 5 days of placing my warranty request on the Boa Systems website, the replacement Boa dials arrived! Their service has been nothing short of great as, despite having no contact with them other than the request I made on their website, they kept me informed regarding the progress of the shipment via a couple of emails as well as the FedEx shipment tracking number.

In the package, I found the 4 Boa dials I ordered, 2 dials for each side (left and right). Inside each packet, you'll find the dial itself, a replacement lace, the lace reel, a small plastic screw driver for the tiny screw in the dial, and an instruction manual that very graphically and concisely guides you through the process of replacing the dial.

Two for the left and two for the right.

A spare lace, dial, lace reel, screw driver, and instruction manual.

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After examining my broken dial, I figured out that the lace reel (picture below) was still intact and functional. The lace was still well threaded in the reel and neither had to be replaced. 

However, the Boa dial itself which interfaces with the reel, was noticeably broken as the one that came in the package was in one solid piece while mine (picture below) was in three pieces.

My broken dial.

The replacement dial.

So, it was just a simple case of screwing the new dial onto the lace reel with the tiny plastic screw driver that came with it. Voila! As good as new! 

You'd never have thought it was ever broken!

I kept the spare lace and lace reel that came along with the dial as well as the other 3 spare kits just in case I need them in the future. 

Overall, my experience with this pair of shoes has been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. In the end though, I'd still highly recommend this shoe as the warranty policy on the dials did prove to hold weight and the process of getting the spares wasn't too difficult at all. However, I did wish the Rodalink store attendants knew about this policy before ignorantly asking me to buy something that would've possibly cost RM100. 

Either way, if there is a moral to this story, it's that it pays to know about what you're buying into as it may end up saving you from potentially wasting money to replace something you needn't have to pay for. 

Top 10 ways to make marginal gains

The term 'marginal gains' was made famous by Team Sky and their philosophy of leaving no stone unturned in their quest to go ever faster. From providing handlebar stems in milimeter increments to their riders so as to optimize comfort to the way they cut the bike numbers that are placed behind the seat tubes so as to make them just that much more aero, from sticking stand paper on pedals to increase the friction between the cleats and pedal surface to bringing it's own mattresses and pillows to major races so as to guarantee their riders get a good night's sleep, hardly anything is left to chance.

Regardless of what some have commented about their methods be very calculative and cold and the team being very bland in general, it's hard to deny their results. Despite having only been around for 7 or so odd years, the team have already, among other successes, amassed 4 Tour de France victories, 1 at the hands of Sir Bradley Wiggins and the other 3 by arguably the most famous Sky rider of late, Chris Froome. They were also the pioneers of certain practices that were deemed unnecessary at one point of time but have become common place among most if not all professional teams. Warming up with turbo trainers before a race and then warming down with them after and off-season training camps have now become the norm with most pro teams.

All this got me thinking, what are the various kinds of marginal gains some of us could make on our bikes? Theoretically speaking, if what separates a win from second place can often come down to fractions of a second, then wouldn't being just 1% faster be enough to grasp victory? So, here's my list of 'strategies' that will each grant you a fraction of 1%, culminating in the full 1% you'll need for victory! (Assuming you're already fractions of a second slower in second)

Cleaning your bike
One of the most invaluable things you can do to go faster. A dirty, rusty, squeaking drive train is going to eat up your precious watts as you pedal against all that extra friction which could be going to your rear wheel, not to mention the added weight of all that dirt (since we're talking about MARGINAL gains). Give your bike a good clean, degrease your drive train then put a fresh coat of lubricant on it. In fact, Team Sky have worked with MucOff in the past to create a special friction reducing chain lubricant for those extra bits of gains. Not only will all of this make the squeaking disappear and the drive train smoother, riding a clean bike will boost morale which, I'm sure, adds a couple more watts of power (MARGINAL!)

Slamming your stem
All the pros do it. The science behind it is simple, lowering your average riding posture improves your aerodynamics which in turn reduces the number of watts your have to put out to fight against all that air resistance. Not only that, if you can truly commit to the lower stem height, then cut off the excess length of fork that's left to reduce weight! These adjustments will allow you to go faster for the same amount of power. Plus, it makes your bike look pro, which again, boosts morale (so marginal!).

Removing excess cable length
As with slamming your stem, removing excess cable length on your bike will mean there's less air resistance to deal with.

Do your brake cables really need to be that long? No? Then trim em'.

That cable sticking out the back of your rear derailleur, can it be shorter? Yes? It's trimming time!

Regreasing your bottom bracket and wheel hubs
Over time, the grease coating the bearings  in your bottom bracket and wheel hubs will need to be cleaned out and replaced as even grease 'wears out'. A fresh new application of grease is sure to make your drive train a little more friction-free and your wheels buttery smooth.

If money is on your side, perhaps you can consider swapping out your standard bearings for ceramic ones, they last significantly longer than steel ones and are known to be smoother. (Almost a full 1% now)

Removing excess seat post length
Assuming you're never going to sell your bike or know how to get a replacement seat post in the event you do, trimming that excess amount of seat post that's just sitting in your frame and weighing you down will make you a tad bit lighter, there by improving your power to weight ratio and bringing you one step closer to a full 1%!

Inflate your tyres to the right pressures
When was the last time you checked your tyre pressures? Are they always at their ideal pressures? If not then you're wasting precious watts when you stomp on your pedal in a sprint only to have all that energy go into turning your underinflated sluggish wheels.

Having your pressures dialed in right will reduce your tyres rolling resistance against the road, thereby saving you precious watts. So plug in that track pump and check the pressure gauge, add a pump or 2 extra to make sure the pressures are just right, then reap the benefits of those saved watts!

Shave

That beard and leg hair are costing you precious seconds. Shaving it all off to expose that silky smooth skin underneath will reduce the turbulence around you as you cut through the air, effectively saving you some watts. No only that, it will make massages easier and all the pros do it, so you'll end up looking pro too which itself is certain (probably) to make you faster.

Plus, if you don't mind going a for radical change to your hair game, consider chopping off that man bun/afro/bush too, it only adds weight. Heck, going bald will save you cash on hairprodcuts, allowing you spend all that hard earned money on further upgrading yourself and your bike.

Polish your bike
In Formula 1, the cars are all polished to a mirror finish so as the allow the shell of the car to be as slippery as possible as it speeds down the track. So why can't that apply to cycling too? When every last bit counts and you just need that fraction of a second to win, a smoother frame over a 100km stage will leave you a slight bit fresher as you approach the finish line over your opponent, allowing you to go on the attack a little longer or harder to claim that victory!

Do yoga
When we suffer on our saddles, we tend to do so in a relatively extreme position that's held for a prolonged amount of time. Even riding on the tops all day will get your back aching and shoulders weak eventually. As a result, our power output may diminish as time goes by due to the physical discomfort were experiencing or at the very least, hamper optimal pedaling and power output.

This is where yoga comes in. Increasing our body's level of flexibility gives rise to hamstrings that are a little more compliant when on the bike, even if we're riding on the drops. Professional time trial riders spend hours doing yoga to further hone their bodies into aero weapons. This results in a higher threshold for discomfort and an overall increase in power output, resulting in those extra gains

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Cash!

Like Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, if you've got a shit-ton of cash to blow, then money is your super power! Splurge on all the aero and carbon goodness the bike industry just wants to jam down our throats until the next big trend/gimmick comes. A full-on carbon aero monster coupled with a pair of deep dish aero wheels with an aero helmet and a skin suit are all sure to add multiple percents to your gains. A devastating combination that's sure to clinch that race winning sprint.

And that's about it! I had a fun time writing this, smirking away as I came up with the ideas and points. Professional riders must have it tougher than we think if they have to do even half the things on this list, all for the sake of that extra second or two.

That's about it. As always, leave any and all comments or questions in the comment section down below and I'll be happy to reply you as best I can. Thank you for reading!

Pedaling Across Malaysia - Bike status update

With only a couple of days left until I start my ride, my bike has developed a hiccup. The gear changes on the rear cassette are not as smooth and consistent as they were before I sent it in for its service. Occasional missed shifts and the sound of the chain rubbing on the adjacent sprocket when it's close to the ends of the cassette (not the front derailleur) have got me a little concerned and despite hours worth of attempts at remedying the issue, I still can't quite get it to sit right. Not only that, I suspect theres something wrong with the barrell adjuster. So I'm going to have to bring it back to the Specialized store and see if they can solve it in time. If not, I'll just have to settle with the funny gears and maybe get it fixed along the ride.

Definitely not the best condition for a bike to be in days before a major ride but also not the worst. Hope everything can be resolved tomorrow so I can start wrapping up the bike and packing it into its box.

Otherwise, everything else is going quite well. I've checked through all the spare tubes, tools and equipment, everything seems to be in working order. Hopefully no more surprises until Day 1.

The next post will be just before departure, with the bike packed and stored away in a, hopefully, sufficiently-sturdy box and by bag packed with all the necessities and me ready to go.

Shop Tour - Pedalspot (USJ 10/Taipan)

Located in Taipan, the Pedalspot bicycle store carries a wide range of bicycles to cater for the beginner cyclist all the way up to a full-blown pro, provided you have the money to match. They have a branch in Petaling Jaya as well as 2 more branches in Kuala Lumpur. However, the one I visited was the Taipan branch.

One can't be blamed if one has driven around Taipan and missed the store before as Taipan is essentially 50% traffic, 40% signboards and 10% shops. But with a little focus and concentration, the store shouldn't be too hard to find. Here's a link to their Facebook page, Instagram, website and here's a link to their location via Google Maps. 

Upon entering the store, a sense of professionalism can be felt as the bikes and accessories are very neatly displayed for customers to see.

A beautiful Cipollini sits on a shelf to your right while a stunning row of Merida Reactos sit on the floor not too far away.

On the left, a bike purist will appreciate the stunning Colnago C60 frames, made via their tried and true lugs and tubes design. Despite being a fan of more aerodynamically advantageous bikes, the C60 is definitely an exceptional dream bike of mine.

Folding bike enthusiasts out there will be familiar with the Brompton brand and their reputation when it comes to these portable ponies. Personally, I'd get one myself if finances allowed it. when combined with the convenience of the LRT or monorail, who'd ever need a car anymore?

As you go deeper into the store, you'll come across some colourful Cipollini frames sitting above the main counter along with other accessories. 

Behind the counter, you'll find all the gear, tools and accessories any cyclist will ever need. from mini pumps and saddle bags to cycling computers and gloves. The store is about as complete as can be.

Most bike stores I've been to generally carry Shimano groupsets, so its nice to see a store with something different once in awhile. This store is one of the few official distributors of SRAM in the country. I personally have never riden a bike, both road and mountain, with a groupset other than Shimano.

As I mentioned at the start, this store is more than capable of catering to amateur professionals with the cash to spare. Hence it's no surprise to find the range topping SRAM eTAP groupset on sale.

 Apart from that, you'll find other tiers of SRAM groupsets along with some Ceramic Speed products and a power meter or two within the glass counter, all signs pointing to this store being anything other than a small fry.

Ceramic Speed Jockey wheels for those marginal gains

Quarq powermeter

Moving onto bikes, the store is an authorised distributor of Merida, Colnago, Bianchi and a couple of other major bike brands to name a few, with their most extensive line being Meridas. From Merida 100s to top of the range team-edition Reactos, a bike to suit every level of rider. They even have a handful of mountain bikes, mainly Merida too of course.

An interesting bike that caught my eye while I was strolling through the store was this Speed X Leopard bike. For those of you who don't know, Speed X is a company out of China and turned heads when their pioneer bikes, the Speed X Leopard and Leopard Pro broke records on Kickstarter for a bike-related project, ranking in the top 50 Kickstarter campaigns of all time.

Dubbed a 'smart' bike, the bikes feature composite frames with full internal cable routing, full Shimano drivetrains, carbon wheels, and a variation of the SpeedForce stem, called ‘Smart Control’. Pricing for the 105-equipped Leopard and Ultegra Di2-equiped Leopard Pro was US$1,499 and US$2,499 respectively. You'd be commended for pulling the trigger on these bikes for their prices alone. But what really sets them apart is their integrated cycling computer which measures everything short of power.

Moving on, as I mentioned before, the store does sell Colnagos but unfortunately I am no expert on the brand. So, apart from their flagship C60 and their beautiful Concept below, I don't know of any other models by them. If you're interested in a particular model, perhaps give them a ring? I saw a couple of Colnago cyclocross bikes too.

The Ferrari of bicycles

Campag of course, what else would you want to put on such an Italian bike?

Ernesto Colnago

 

Beautiful one piece bar-and-stem, carbon fiber of course

Simpler Colnagos, for us mere mortals

All the way at the rear of the store is their work area, a little cluttered but what's that saying about brilliant minds? 

They also have a variety of MET and Mavic products for sale, that includes Mavic wheels, shoes and helmets.

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Keeping to the theme of pro-level gear, we'll zipp (hehe) on over to aero wheels. Most aero heads will be familiar with the Zipp brand and their rather effective marketing strategy. whether you buy into the whole 'aero is everything' craze or not, you can't deny their success as far as reach goes. they're probably one of the first brands people think of us far as aero wheels are concerned. in the store, you'll find some 303s, 404s, even the wallet-hurting Zipp 808.

At the time of writing this post, the new sawtooth style 454s have been released but when I visited the store in September, they had yet to be announced so I couldn't ask the store attendants whether or not they'll be bringing a pair in. however, looking at how extensive their range of products is, I wouldn't be surprised to see a set or two sometime next year on display.

Apart from wheels, you'll find some Zipp handlebars too.

Apart from Merida and Colnago, they carry a good range of Wilier bikes too.

Roads and folders aside, they've got a few mountain bikes as well as mountain bike-related equipment for sale too but they're definitely overshadowed by their more tarmac-oriented brethren.

That's about it. A rather short post on the store. It's not the biggest bike store I've been to, but it's no less professional than some of the best. To be honest, this was the second ever store I visited to do an overview on so I was still quite inexperienced at the time as far as questions to ask and what to look out for, which is why this post might not be as extensive as the posts in the Treknology 3 or Specialized PJ stores. I'd highly recommend stopping by if you're in the market for a Merida or Wilier or anything else I've mentioned before, they drive very competitive prices. 

That's about it for now, thanks for reading! As always, feel free to leave any and all comments or questions in the comment section down below and I'll try my best to get back to you.