Author Archives: Rex

A MAMIL’s first velodrome cycling experience

Cycling Queensland Chandler Velodrome track hire bikes

I am a middle aged man in lycra – a MAMIL. I raced road bicycles in my school teenage years. I also rode a few laps around the Silverdome (Launceston’s velodrome) in the mid-80s. Apart from that, I have never ridden on the track. It was time to step up to the velodrome. A few years ago I looked down and decided that my middle-aged spread had to go. I tried running, but itmore »

Building up a Cycling Deal track/fixie frame TF — tips and tricks

Cycling Deal track/fixie frame TF

Building up a fixie/singlespeed frame is pretty simple. There are no finiky derailleurs to adjust or cables to run. You can generally just bolt on wheels, drive train, steering assembly and a saddle. When building up my Cycling Deal track/fixie frame TF, I did find three quirks that needed to be resolved. 1. Seat post — to shim, or not to shim There are many reviews on the internet saying that people needed tomore »

Continental Grand Prix 4000S vs Vittoria Rubino Pro — which is best?

Which rubber to ride on your bicycle is a very subjective choice. Vittoria Rubino Pros have been a long time favourite bike tyre of mine. I recently put a set of Continental Grand Prix 4000s tyres on my Wabi Special bicycle. This article is my subjective comparison. Following is a quick snapshot of the differences between the bike tyres. Continental Grand Prix 4000S Vittoria Rubino Pro Manufacturer summary Top choice of serious race bikemore »

Wabi Cycles Special drive train upgrade

New drivetrain on my Wabi Special

Let me start by saying that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with my Wabi Cycles Special drive train. I like to tinker with my bikes, so when I wanted to change the gearing of my Wabi Special, I decided to change a few other things too! The upgrades that you are looking at are: Wabi Cycles 52 tooth 144 BCD chainring. White Industries 17 tooth ENO freewheel KMC Z610 HX silver chain 3/32″ Shimano squaremore »

Cycling Deal track/fixie frame TF — is this really a track frame?

Cycling Deal track/fixie frame TF

Is the Cycling Deal track/fixie frame TF really a track frame? In short, no. While I see the Cycling Deal track/fixie frame as being aimed at the fashion/hipster market, many people secretly want to know that they are riding a ‘track legal’ frame on the streets — apparently it gets more hipster points. Other people may be considering this frame as a cheap introduction to velodrome cycling. Many people will quickly write off the Cycling Dealmore »

Wabi Cycles Special — review and photos

My Wabi Special after a ride

I recently purchased a Wabi Special fixed gear/singlespeed bicycle from Richard Snook at Wabi Cycles. Following are my initial thoughts on the bike. Which bike? I had read good things about Wabi Cycles on the internet, and also the owner Richard Snook. I have not been disappointed. Wabi Cycles offers several bicycles, including the Lightening SE, Special and Classic. While I was tempted by the Wabi Lightening SE, if I was purchasing amore »

Why are cyclists always so angry?

“Cyclists are always so aggressive and angry.” This is a statement that I see regularly in the media. Why have bicycle riders come to be stereotyped in this way? You would think, given that cyclists are exercising outdoors doing a pursuit that they love, they would be happy and carefree. I have a theory, and it is based in the fight or flight response -– see Wikipedia for an introduction. The fight or flightmore »