Sunday Solo Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40.7
Speed (mph): 18.9
Cadence (rpm): 74
Time Moving: 2:09:21
Time Total: 2:14:49
Work (kj): 1089
Normal Power: 150
Average Power: 140
Max Power: 609
VI: 1.07
TSS: 135.8
IF: 0.798

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Just another Sunday cruise in a summer kit in December. Just surpassed 8,000 miles for the year. Just happy to get to this point without more damage and hoping that 2018 goes a little better.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 66
Temperature Finish (F): 68
Wind: Calm
Sky: Sunny

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20

Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Felt IA16 Bike Lights - ApaceVision

I believe many avid cyclists end up with a drawer full of various bike lights over a span of years. I have quite a few by this point with most of the latest being USB rechargeable. With the wide seat post of the Felt IA16 I struggled a little with finding a suitable rear light that met my desires.

When I use lights it typically because of an early morning start with the sun just starting to rise, fog or storms that come through. I do not ride at night outside so the lights do not have to meet that purpose. I have spent a lot on certain lights and I still like using the Cygo Hotshot clipped on the back of my helmet. I have to clip it on the helmet because that is the weakness of that light not have a decent post mount and certainly will not fit on a aero seat post without some sort of custom mount. At this point most do not have mounts for seat posts as wide as the Felt IA's. However, the Apacevision comes with a variety of mounting bands and I was able to combine two of the larger bands that worked with this seat post.

This will work well for me since I wanted something that was:

• Easy to remove and left no mount on the bike
• Is fairly bright in daytime
• USB rechargeable
• Has a nice variety of flashing modes
• Lightweight
• Reliable - (TBD)
• Water resistant
• Flexible mounting options

The only thing that I am sure at the moment is reliability. Overall I am impressed with these Apacevision lights and how they were packaged with a little bag, variety of mounting option rings and charging cable, which was more than I got with some lights costing 4x more.

A worthy contender? I think so. 

Amazon
Rear    Front

Brewery Solo Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 80
Speed (mph): 17.6
Cadence (rpm): 70
Time Moving: 4:33:05
Time Total: 4:43:56
Work (kj): 2063
Normal Power: 144
Average Power: 126
Max Power: 421
VI: 1.14
TSS: 265.5
IF: 0.767

Goal:

Build Endurance, enjoy the ride, get in a little bonding time with the bike.

Ride Description:

Out and back solo spin just for fun.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 48
Temperature Finish (F): 65
Wind: Calm
Sky: Heavy clouds at the start with some sun at the end.

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
GU gel at mile 24
Clif Bar at mile 35

Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Sunday Solo Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 41
Speed (mph): 18.7
Cadence (rpm): 71
Time Moving: 2:11:47
Time Total: 2:16:19
Work (kj): 1100
Normal Power: 151
Average Power: 140
Max Power: 585
VI: 1.08
TSS: 140
IF: 0.8

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Out and Back Spin. The wind made this ride more challenging, but it did give me some valuable handling experience with this new frame with gusty cross winds. Some of the direct headwinds and the bike felt pretty good as I am down a little lower than the previous bike and fitting. 

Other than the wind it was a nice day wearing a summer kit. 

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 60
Temperature Finish (F): 62
Wind: 10+ mph NNW
Sky: Clear

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Sosebee Solo

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 61
Speed (mph): 17.3
Cadence (rpm): 73
Time Moving: 3:32:08
Time Total: 3:44:03
Work (kj): 1631
Normal Power: 149
Average Power: 128
Max Power: 412
VI: 1.16
TSS: 219.6
IF: 0.79

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Out and Back Solo Spin on the usual route. Great to see Diane, Nancy, Laurie and Joe at Sosebee Bike Park.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 38
Temperature Finish (F): 60
Wind: Calm
Sky: Cloudy

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
GU gel at mile 40

Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Comet Easy Solo

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40
Speed (mph): 18
Cadence (rpm): 70
Time Moving: 2:14:24
Time Total: 2:23:36
Work (kj): 1080
Normal Power: 147
Average Power: 134
Max Power: 419
VI: 1.1
TSS: 135.8
IF: 0.78

Goal:

Build Endurance, burn calories

Ride Description:

Easy Out and Back Spin

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 60
Temperature Finish (F): 64
Wind: Calm
Sky: Sunny

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Time in Levels - Long Term

Time in Coggan iLevels 2014 to Current Day (click to enlarge)

Time in WKO 4 iLevels Year to Date (click to enlarge)

Time in Classic WKO Levels for 90 Days (click to enlarge)

A couple years ago or maybe three now there was a lot of discussion between polarized type training compared to other forms of cycling or endurance training. I know I came away more confused about it all. I thought at the time I fit more in with those who do the classic submaximal type of sustained intervals to improve functional threshold. After listening to the latest video lecture from Stephen Seiler I wonder if more of us actually fit in with what he has observed in data collected from world class athletes through the years. 

Stephen Seiler lecture - Oxford Brookes University Oct 2017

Anyway I thought some of his graphic bar charts of athletes looking at a year or years of data there is a lot of time in what he calls Zone 1. Stephen discusses in the video how he clumps what he says are five classic zones into three zones. From what I discern at this moment that may be a range from Coggan's classic level 1 to level 3 and possibly include what many call the sweet spot. It seems like Stephen's Zone 2 would include Coggan's level 4 and level 5 and then Stephen's Zone 3 would be L6 and L7 for Coggan's classic levels.

So when I look at my years collected in WKO 4 (in the top image) and add percentage of time in levels 1 through 3 that puts me about 68% of my total training time between 2014 and current day. That is close to what Stephen shows in some of his graphics.

Now this has nothing really to do with the meat of Stephen's lecture. I almost feel as if I am more of what he calls in the lecture as a non-responder. I did well competing in strength sports and I have never really excelled in endurance sports regardless of the type of training. Of course some of it comes back to not being able to stay consistent and not really being able to increase my training hours. I do feel as if I could improve a bit more if I were able to train more on a weekly basis. In other words when my CTL is up my ability to perform on the bike is usually up as well. In order for CTL to be up I did a little better managing the training load over a span of many weeks. For me personally, In order to train more on a weekly basis I have to decrease intensity as he mentions. I have tried to increase intensity many times in the past on a daily basis, but have struggled to maintain the training load for extended periods. This again is what I think Stephen has observed.

This also seems to line up with much of what Lydiard coached in his days where he used a submaximal effort, trained consistently and then used higher intensity when getting closer to the competition day(s). He must have found a balance with training enough to stimulate adaptation, but not so much that the athlete fell apart after a number of weeks.

So was Stephen presenting a whole new training scheme a few years ago? It came off as that when reading various forum discussions, but as I watched this video lecture I get the feeling that those who do sweet spot or submaximal intervals could very well fit into what he is saying in this video. Of course some will not fit into this. Some people are able to train in his Zone 2 on a consistent basis for weeks on end. I can testify I cannot. I can train at L4 maybe 3 days of the week and I might be able to train L5 2 days a week, but then I must back off to L2 if I have hopes to keep training in the next few weeks ahead. This puts me right in what I think is Stephen's point. It seems like it is mostly finding the training load one can handle for not just a week, but for many weeks and then for years. We look for that balance for enough stimulation and yet not so much that we cannot overcome the onset of deep fatigue.

I read a sports science blog about 8 years ago and that blog really goes in deep with world class athlete and the basis was lifetime hours trained more so than finite details of daily training.

Anyway I was interested to see how my past years looked in comparison to this lecture.
I am far from being a competitor, but it is still interesting to me.

Edit 11/30/17: 
I continue to think about Stephen's lecture and lifetime hours trained. I see how that has impacted my years with strength training. Sadly I do not have a precise amount of time spent even though many of those years were carefully kept in hand written logs and many more years after competition that are not logged. I started lifting in college as a freshman in 1982 and have 35 years invested. I reached my prime in competition about the age of 32 and continued to gain strength until about 42. There is when I started having issues from lifting heavy through those years. Even as I write this I am working through some lower back issues that may have stemmed through those years of heavy squats. 

Regardless of the issues I have trained with weights only taking a couple planned weeks off each year with those two weeks spread apart. One week in the summer and one in the winter. Other than that I have trained intentionally and joyfully all these years. But going way back I do distinctly remember focusing in on how to train more. I had this thought that meant a lot to me, but do not take as simple as it sounds. "Train more to train more." With progressing efforts each year and trying to climb the ranks of competition I need to raise the bar of training and yet the body, or at least mine, was a hard gainer. It was a slow process progressing the training load and depending on a number of factors I had to wait patiently for adaptation. This is even more true for me in endurance sports as I seem to favor strength training and struggle less with adaptation than I do in cycling. 

I learned long ago that I could not train with maximum weights all the time. I found that other gifted strength athletes could not handle much more either. My prime training weekly routine was a heavy day and a light day for each body part trained in a week. Even heavy day was submaximal training weight. That was about as much as I could handle for long term training over the span of a year. So there was first a macro vision. What do I want to accomplish this year? What do I want to accomplish in the years ahead as a competitor? When I had that vision figured out the micro vision started to take shape. What can I do on a daily basis and what can I handle on a weekly basis that will get me, as best possible, to that year end goal? If I can handle it for a year than it is likely I can handle it for years and I have depending on how one would want to view it. Yes, I am declining in strength because I am aging. Hormones are changing and the body cannot handle the load structurally. There is a higher probability for injury or strain so I am a little more cautious these days. 

This is still my view in combining strength and endurance training. It has become a great puzzle for me in balancing the training load between the two while getting older. It is a unique goal that I have and yet I now feel it is a very worthy goal as I age. 

The question for me then becomes how to put all this together and it is much more complex to post here. The basic premise is to increase the training load and be progressive in training all while being able to handle the training load for many weeks, months and years. It may not be a bad thing to test out performance now and then like using an all out effort on the bike or at the squat rack just to test oneself, but with caution. Haphazardly and randomly doing crap in training can cause one to overreach and then be forced to take time off and miss workouts. Do enough of this random crap training and things may go backwards. I experienced this in group rides where I tried to train with sanity during the week and then go on a group ride that overextended me to the point where I was forced to miss the next several days. When I was in this routine of not considering how a ride would impact training I watched all my cycling training metrics begin to trend negative. 

Although I do love cycling with friends and want to join them I have to consider what is important to me and group rides can be very unpredictable. Sometimes they do ride easy and sometimes it turns out to be a no-mercy hammerfest so I now tend to ride solo more on the weekend so that I am in control of getting out of the ride what is good to me on an individual level. All of it becomes planned. 

• How does the day impact the days ahead? 
• How do I fit in those higher intensity intervals and get in enough consecutive minutes of them in the week that will stimulate adaptation? 

Well I have to admit that when it comes to cycling training I am still trying to figure it out and how to manage that load along with progressive strength training has made it even more challenging, but I am much further down that path than I was when I picked up cycling in 2004.

Going back little phrases that mean something to me.

• Train more so you can train more.
• Consistency is king.
• If you keep doing what you are doing you'll keep getting what you are getting.

In simple terms these three things speak to me about being consistent with an attempt to being progressive.

Get Low and Go

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40
Speed (mph): 17
Cadence (rpm): 70
Time Moving: 2:21:33
Time Total: 2:25:28
Work (kj): 1079
Normal Power: 140
Average Power: 127
Max Power: 540
VI: 1.1
TSS: 130.5
IF: 0.74

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Out and Back Spin on a path filled with debris from the trees from the storm that passed through last night and still a stiff cool breeze. 

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 55
Temperature Finish (F): 55
Wind: NNW 10+ mph
Sky: Sunny

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Sosebee Windy Solo

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 60
Speed Avg. (mph): 17
Cadence (rpm): 72
Time Moving: 3:31:11
Time Total: 3:36:52
Work (kj): 1522
Normal Power: 142
Average Power: 120
Max Power: 409
VI: 1.18
TSS: 198.6
IF: 0.75

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Out and Back Spin on a very windy morning. 

I started out from the Sosebee Bike Park and had the blessing to see a bunch of the gang who were also preparing to set out on a course. Great to see Mike Q., Gary Q., Diane, Jim, Joe, Nancy, Bill and others.

The new IA16 continues to feel good and I am very happy with the bike. Now I need to forget about the bike and get dialed in on regaining some fitness. 

Unfortunately and yet very fortunate to have a couple near misses in traffic and come out unharmed and not even crash. One was a car coming the other way turned across my path at the last moment. I was able to quickly go over into the other lane and go around without hitting him. The other was a wide load truck transporting a mobile home and there is too much to describe this one. As he went around me he started coming back over on me for at least half of the trailer length. I had literally a couple feet between that load and the edge of the road. I held my line just enough to get out of that mess. 

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 45
Temperature Finish (F): 65
Wind: S 10+ mph with higher gusts.
Sky: Heavy clouds

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Rainy Sunday Afternoons

Kind of a cold wet day and just before jumping on the trainer for a 90 minute spin I thought I would spend a few minutes catching up on some bike maintenance. The chain on the LOOK has not been cleaned in a while and I wanted to do a little more experimenting.

Since the KMC chain started off new and went through an initial extensive cleaning and then waxing and then re-waxed later after a few hundred miles without cleaning I wanted to try something different. This time I used the ultrasonic tub with boiling hot water with dish detergent. With a quick swipe on the dirty chain I was happy to see very little grit transferred to my hand. I was still very nice to handle this chain without latex gloves or having to worry about traditional black mess. However, I was surprised at how dirty the water became and it took two attempts to clean the chain. From there it went into a bath of alcohol and then into the crock pot and hot wax. Here are a few pictures of how much dirt was in the chain.

Not too bad considering the amount of miles on this chain

Getting there......

Other things done today were dipping a couple air cartridges into Plastidip paint. It kind of puts a nice coating on the Co2, which when used the metal can get very cold and it kind of kind of hides the ugly metal housing. I have mine mounted on Co2 brackets.

Sosebee Solo

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 51.5
Speed (mph): 17.3
Cadence (rpm): 72
Time Moving: 2:59:21
Time Total: 3:05:48
Work (kj): 1343
Normal Power: 147
Average Power: 125
Max Power: 513
VI: 1.18
TSS: 180.5
IF: 0.78

Goal:

Endurance

Ride Description:

Solo out and back spin on a windy and chilly day. Still observing my fit on the IA16 and hoped to put in some longer miles today, but I think this turned out to be a decent amount of time in terms of my fitness level and the amount of headwind on the way back.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 47
Temperature Finish (F): 57
Wind (mph): 11mph SE
Sky: Clear

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 16oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Premier Ultra Glide Chain Lubrication

Product Highlight

I started waxing my own chains earlier this year and have really liked the experience so far. Especially at the times when the chain is dropped and not fearing the result of putting a chain with heavy black grease back on. And not having to clean the drive train has been really nice. It does require re-waxing every so many miles and it can tend to get a little noisy when it gets closer to time to re-wax. 

I have purchased the Ultra Optimized Chain for two bikes as well and the latest will come with the Ultra Glide applied. I thought I would give this chain lubrication a try and see how it goes over a span of time so for now I cannot comment. 

Premier Optimized Chains

Premier Ultra Glide Chain Lubrication 16 oz. 

Previous CA Posts

Waxing the Chain

Premier Tactical

Sunday Cruise

Wet, slick and messy pavement

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40.7
Speed Avg. (mph): 19.2
Cadence (rpm): 72
Time Moving: 2:07:19
Time Total: 2:14:11
Work (kj): 1101
Normal Power: 157
Average Power: 144
Max Power: 499
VI: 1.09
TSS: 145.9
IF: 0.83

Goal:

Build Endurance and get a feel for the bike

Ride Description:

Out and Back Spin. Now it all makes sense! Yesterday's test ride of the new bike and I thought things felt a bit weird, but my focus was mainly on the front end with the aerobar extensions and the arm cups slipping. Before I started to day I noticed that the seat post looked a little low. Well not just a little. More like an inch or more. I raised it while standing on the side of the path and off I went again. Today's ride went a lot better in speed and use of power output.

The path full of fallen leaves in many well shaded and very wet pavement was about like riding on boiled cabbage. Not that I've ever done a stretch on boiled cabbage, but I can imagine it being a little slippery. I played it a bit cautiously in some of the worst areas and tried to open up the engine when I could. Even being down in fitness the bike moved along nicely. I think there may be a few small tweaks to make in the fit, but it seems close. 

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 77
Temperature Finish (F): 77
Wind: Calm
Sky: Cloudy

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

2018 Felt IA16 - First Test Ride

Just a random picture of a guy heading toward the fog.
Thought it was cool enough to post.

Green Cobb 55 JOF test saddle will be replaced soon.
It passed the test so a black saddle will be on the way.

The extension bars were moving around on me today.
Stopped by Try Bike Shop and had them readjusted and tightened.

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 59 miles total
Speed (mph): 18.3
Cadence (rpm): 71
Time Moving: 3:00:21
Time Total: 3:27:11
Work (kj): 1357
Normal Power: 142
Average Power: 126
Max Power: 538
VI: 1.13
TSS: 167.7
IF: 0.75

Goal:

Test Ride Only

Ride Description:

I had planned to go to the Budweiser plant for this test ride until I heard some stern warnings of thick fog in that area so I headed south to the Comet where there is no car traffic and it was supposed to be fairly clear. Rolling out from the zero mile marker there was a light fog.

The one thing about testing this bike at the moment I realized it would not be a fair comparison because I have in memory of the B10 and how it performed while I was in good shape. Right now I am in terrible condition coming from the crash this summer and then going through a period of working long hours. My training fell way off and so has my fitness.

My hamstrings were getting tight at times, but that could have been totally because of my poor fitness. My first thoughts of this Felt IA16 as I started rolling in those first miles, "This bike is fast." It felt like I was in a draft of a fast paceline being pulled along, but I was solo. Tiago has the bike setup in a little more aggressive position than my previous fit. I felt like I was on a junior bike and all compacted. I was also concerned that with my neck issues and being a bit more muscular in the shoulders and neck that I would have good visibility. I could see up the road just fine, but I did have less visibility looking back. Even sitting upright I am down lower. For the three plus hours my neck did not get uncomfortable. I just hope that will also be the case with five hour rides.

I was somewhat anxious before this first ride with the fit and function of the new bike, but I believe overall I am going to like this upgrade. Even the Cobb 55 JOF saddle is going to work for me so very soon that green test saddle will be replaced with a black Cobb 55. 

Fit: 

Pretty good and I am not sure how much could be improved. Maybe a slight tweak here and there, but for now I plan to build my fitness and see what happens before I make any adjustments to the fit. The Cobb 55 JOF was excellent for riding off the front of the saddle.

Function:

The bike and shifting performed very well for be on the low end side of components. Shifting was a little stiff, but most newly built bikes and drivetrains are a little tight at first. Every shift was precise and the chain was never thrown off or need for trimming a gear. The bar extensions and pads moved a little on me so I had to access the mini tool from the CALpac and both it and the BSTpac seemed to clean up a lot of items that were strapped, taped and Velcro to the frame. In the BSTpac there are 2 tubes, 1 Co2 cartridge and some money. In the CALpac there are 1 Co2 cartridge, 1 Lenzyne mini tool, 1 small pepper spray, 2 tire levers and 1 gel packet.

Stability:

The route today is a straight out and back bike path. There were no T-intersections to see if I could go fairly fast through a turn while in aero and no "S" turn descents to see if I could zoom down and trust the bike to hold. I will have to wait another day. I do know with sitting down lower in aero that I could not ride with others. At least not for a while or maybe it is just never worth the risk. Short light sprint actions will also need improvement. I did not feel as stable with a hard sprint and going across a couple of overpass bridges felt a little more challenging, but the bike steered where I wanted. I just think it is going to take me some more hours in aero to get my confidence up with this more aggressive fit. The bike seems good though and I can say stability was me and not the bike.

Performance:

I will have to come back to this when I have better fitness. It feels fast and I feel like I am in a fast position, but I also struggled at times. Was it the position/fit or the fitness? I am not sure and I need more time to understand.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 64
Temperature Finish (F): 71
Wind: Calm
Sky: Fog and heavy clouds.

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
GU gel at mile 25
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

2018 Felt IA16 - Upgrade

Build and use from October 2017 to April 2019

After an April 2019 upgrade

TriRig Alpha One bars and Omega X brakes front and rear

SunRace 11-28 Cassette and SRAM Etap

Enjoying the clean appearance with no cables in view

Pictures and original setup from October 2017

First view of the arrival of my Felt IA16 with a Cobb 55 test saddle

CALpac 2.0

Some upgrade arrivals and unboxing

2018 Felt IA16 Black Edition 51cm (me: 5'6" with 31" inseam)
Drivetrain: lower end component mix with 11-28 cassette
CALpac 2.0 and BSTpac storage box

Upgrades and Swaps:
Crankset - (Quarq) Riken GXP with 52/36 rings (BB30 to GXP adapter)
TriRig Front and Rear Brake - (Tririg Omega X)
TriRig Alpha One Aero Bar
Saddle - (Cobb Cycling 55 JOF)
XLAB Turbo wing with dual XLAB Gorilla XT cages - (XLAB Turbo Wing , Gorilla XT Cages)
BTA bottle cage and computer mount - (Speedfil Z4)
Aerobar Arm Pads - (Cee Gees Cushy)
Flo 60 Wheels - (Flo Wheels)
Premier Optimized Chain - (Premier)
SRAM etap Aero Group
SRAM TT990 Brake Levers


Links provided for additional detail of the upgrades. You may find some of these items at better pricing with an extensive search.

Future Upgrade:
Drivetrain: SRAM etap
Aerobars: TriRig Alpha One

First Ride:
1st Test Ride Post
2nd Test Ride Post

For about a year I thought of upgrading from the 2011 Felt B10. During this time it  waivered on how to approach a new purchase and for most of that time the plan was to start with just a frame purchase and then build up from that point or swap component over from my old bike. It was just about at the last weeks when I decided that maybe the approach for me was to buy the low end of the frame that I wanted, swap some parts from one bike to another and then upgrade the drive train later. Part of this was how I viewed the consignment sale of the old bike. There were other factors like spreading out costs over a period of time rather than just plop down a big figure on a fully decked out bike brand new.

The initial bike fit is a bit more aggressive feeling than my previous bike. It may take a few rides or more to get used to down in aero for longer periods of time. At 54 years old I do not feel like I am ready to go to a comfort bike. I still desire to ride and train in an aggressive position and develop good sustainable power. So I am willing to give this position a try and see if my body is willing to cooperate. Quite a bit of time was spent trying to get the saddle nose angle right and it was challenging for Tiago. It may need more work, but for now I am going to give a try and then decide. The very end of the Cobb 55 seems to angle up slightly. You cannot see it with the eye until you lay a small level on the last couple of inches at the nose. 

I have the BSTpac, which is Felt's name for the draft box loaded for this first ride and I was hoping to put a little more in the box for those long self-supported courses where there is little to no one to help me if things fail on the bike. Currently I have everything put away and it certainly looks overall cleaner than my previous bike. 

In the BSTpac (draft box behind the saddle):
2 - clincher tubes
2 - tire levers
1 - Co2 cartridge

In the CALpac (bento box on the top tube):

2 - Co2 cartridges
1 - mini tool
1 - small pepper spray (because)
2 - gels

May 2019 Upgrade Ride:

After adding the SRAM etap group and TriRig Alpha One bars I took the bike in to Curtis Henry, owner of Cannon Cyclery, to fine tune everything. Curtis also suggested some other refinements that added to the bill but have been good. The etap group works like a charm with virtually no drive train noise in part to updating the chain rings that work better with etap, a new cassette and a hot waxed KMC chain. 

The bars and arm cups of the Alpha One feel great so far up to an 80 mile ride and I expect will be good for the longer course. The bike handles great and I appreciate the different aero bar extensions with a different hand placement. Previously, I was using extensions with a slight S-bend where my palms could lay flat. There were times I have been very fortunate that I did not crash by hitting an unexpected bump while casually having my hand lay on the bars without grip. With the current extension bars that came with the Alpha One my hands always cup the extensions even when ultra relaxed on a steady long section. I have already noticed hitting some unexpected bumps that there is much greater safety because of the position of my hands even when relaxed and in the zone. 

The form and function of the Alpha One bars combined with SRAM etap using Clics at the extensions (I did not add extra blips on the bullhorns) were well worth the purchase to me. While the stock low end mechanical group functioned fine along with the stock bars it looked messy and that bothered me. Being a bit mental about the mess and seeing it for 4 to 5 hours while in aero was eating at me. Now it is all clean and the form is great. But what about the function?

It is difficult to say to be honest because while I have data it is not good enough to say. What I can tell you is that at the time of writing this my fitness is far below where it was when I was using the bike at first purchase and yet I am holding speeds on the same courses and similar conditions at a much worse fitness level. This bike with these upgrade feels much faster than before and certainly much faster than my old Felt B10. 

Also form and function is the Speedfil Z4 BTA bottle and computer mount. Previously I had it mounted to a carbon plate that was using Velcro straps. With the built in BTA mount on the Alpha One bars the cage is stable and clean looking. No more straps to look at and it doesn't move when pulling the bottle out like previously. 

Draft Box Challenges

This is not an issue for me personally. With my fit I am able to open the lid enough to access the contents inside, which to be honest has not been needed so far (no flats yet). However, this may be an issue with others depending on the bike fit, frame size and if using some rear bottle cage mounts. Just be aware. The lid snaps shut and has never opened during a ride, whereas, I have been on a ride with a guy using a Trek Speed Concept and his storage box lid came off several times. Good thing for him it was tethered with a string, but he still had to stop a few times to reattach. I have heard of others having to tape their lids down. So far the Felt box has functioned well for me.

4 inch / 101.6mm

5 Inch / 127mm clearance for lid to clear the bottle cage to open

TriRig Rear Brake Upgrade 4/4/2019:

I was not planning this upgrade, but while changing to the TriRig Alpha One bars and having to redo the cables I decided to go ahead and add another Omega X brake to the rear. I thought the rear stock brake was adequate, but now that I have this Omega X installed I can see a drastic difference. I have not tested on the road yet, but just applying the brakes rolling by hand there is a lot of difference both in how much pressure I need to apply in comparison and how there is no wheel slip with just a little pressure.

Perhaps some efficiency is lost with the stock brake having the need for a heavily bent noodle? I am not sure, but with this mount there was no need to use a noodle and the cable has a direct line to the brake.  

In the box are quite a few mounting options to fit various types of bikes. 

Use the TriRig supplied low direct mount